4.17.2012

greetings from nova.

i am writing this here new post from my couch in my wonderful new living room in northern virginia. we couldn't be more happy with our shiny new digs, which is incredibly lucky because we hadn't seen this place in person until we stepped foot on it at 10 pm after a very long 2 days of moving. people said we were crazy for agreeing to a home that we found on the trusty old intertubes, but we really didn't have much of an option and that is kind of how the husband and i operate. we trust our guts. our guts are rarely wrong.

our new house is a three bedroom single floor house with a giant kitchen and pretty hardwood floors. our backyard is nothing short of gigantic and looks like a scene from cinderella could be filmed on site. we have robins and squirrels playing out back constantly and the kids adore the giant, fenced, new play land. it took the minis a few days to feel comfortable, but they are beyond thrilled with our new house now. their transition was made much easier by the fact that our amazing parents flew in from california to help us move and unpack for 4 straight days. nana and papa were a safe place for the kids to land in a week of serious chaos.

our move filled every square inch of a 26 foot uhaul and we learned that everything we own can fit into 75 sizeable boxes courtesy of my husband's work. our extra new bedroom is a little on the small side, but it is nice to have a room for the kids' toys and television. we are transitioning chunk over to sharing a room with gage this week, something that gage is very excited for. chunk has been in our room since she was born (our old master was big enough to fit her crib in) and gage feels like it is his turn to have a roommate. i look forward to being able to watch tv in bed at night or simply read a book with the lights on. chunk hasn't been a bad roomy, but mom and dad will be happy to fly solo for a while.

the kids are doing great lately. we started brushing chunk's teeth at night and she has really been taken with the new activity. she is talking up a storm - forming sentences of 2 - 3 words and following instructions really well. chunk loves her mouse still and is starting to laugh at all the appropriate times during the episodes. she doesn't care for any other tv than mouse, and can be very unreasonable when it isn't on - she totally gets that from her dad's side of the family. tv junkies, all of them. her favorite quiet time activity is compartmentalizing random toys and finding a new place where they all belong. her favorite toys are still anything play food and cooking related, followed closely by the bajillion toy cars that we have. this week she was finally able to enjoy their new water table during our 89 degree day and she loved the freedom of having a new yard to play in.

gage is still finding new ways to surprise me daily. he loves sweeping and cleaning right now, something he has definitely picked up from my daily habits. every time he takes a bath he spends a large portion of it "cleaning" the walls of the tub with his wash cloth. he has been very hands on in organizing our new house and finding places for everything to go. his current catch phrase is, "you know. right?" which means, "i am correct in whatever i say and you will agree with me." he is absolutely enamored with our giant back yard and loves that he now has a new place to use his toy lawn mower, play t-ball, blay basketball, and enjoy the gloriousness that is his new water table. watching his run outside and explore his new stomping grounds makes me so happy that we worked so hard to get this place for him specifically. after watching him be confined to an apartment life for the last 2 years, we are so happy to give him the gift of space and freedom. he isn't even afraid of our new collection of outside crawlies, yet.

my birthday this year was the best one i have ever had. i was filled with messages of love and happiness from friends and family. the husband gave me a pretty blue box and we went as a family to explore washington dc on foot for the day. i couldn't be happier with our new big city and am really excited to take the kids to the smithsonians and to show them the history that surrounds them. today i was able to watch as the discovery made its finally journey right over our homes to dulles airport and was happy knowing i couldn't have seen anything like that anywhere else. there is a lot to be excited about and take in and we are trying to slow down and remember to breathe.

4.03.2012

grateful

i am a horrible blogger keeper upper. i am an even worse blogger keeper upper in the midst of stress and moving and all of the other things that come along with that. i also feel like a horrible mother because i am letting my kids watch way more teevee than they should be right now because they let me actually pack boxes and go through the house when they do. damn, honesty.

but this is not about me. this is about my amazing little gage man.

having a crazy 18 month old is difficult right now. she doesn't understand why i keep putting everything in boxes and she is mad at me and the world because of it. with her personality alone i have no idea how i would be doing this, but with the amazing superhero that is gage, i can.

you see, my little 40 year old is a miracle worker. he sees me getting into packing the house and he understands what needs to be done to get us from this apartment to our shiny new yard. without me asking gage has stepped up his role of being a big brother and he keeps chunk entertained while i pack each of our things away. gage may be strict in action (uncle tom, donuts are not healthy for us), but he is completely understanding and bending when it comes to the ultimate goal.

i am so proud of my little man for being such a big man. i am so proud of the love and affection that he shows to his little sister during such a difficult stage of transition. he may be a handful sometimes, (mom, i say these things because i know everything and every person else is ridiculously) but he is wise and sweet beyond his years. my little man is such an amazing and important part of this family and i am just grateful to have him and to be able to learn from him.

i never thought these things to be possible - but i love him more with each day and each second. i am so thankful to be his mother and to be able to have a hand in raising him. i love my little man.