Things and Stuff

Wow.  I know I've been really quiet lately, but I promise, I've got a good reason!  Life has been so very busy this month.  All the usual chaos has been present, plus - drum roll please - it looks like, Lord willing, we're probably going to be purchasing and moving into a house early next month!

That, of course, is a story in and of itself.  Nothing is for certain yet, so I won't tell the whole story until it is, but suffice it to say that we're cautiously optimistic, and as long as the various inspections and appraisals and legal stuff goes according to plan, we'll soon be homeowners.  It's been a long time coming.  We're pretty excited about it all; of course, with the state of the world these days, and the economy and all that, no home purchase (unless you're quite well off, which we are not) comes without compromise, and this is no exception.  We had to give up or put on hold some dreams in order to move forward with others, but all in all, I think we'll be happy with it.  And, there is a neighbor across the road with a daughter only two weeks older than LW, and who is expecting another baby girl in July, so I'm hopeful that we'll even be able to make some new friends in the neighborhood.

Incidentally, I've decided that the process of home searching, home buying, and moving is far, far more complicated than the process of planning a wedding and getting married was.  And that is saying something, because I really thought that was the biggest "planning" ordeal I'd ever have to go through.  Maybe it's just because it all happens in a much shorter time frame, though.

In other news, LW turns *two* in just a couple of weeks, as well.  I can't believe how the time has flown.  It seems like the first year of her life went by so much slower.  I think in the first year I was so focused on her: her needs, her growth and development, that I didn't have any time or energy (or truth be told, any interest) in my pre-baby activities or interests.  This year, that interest and energy returned, even if time remained limited, and at the same time, she grew more a tiny bit more independent, and more able to be a part of activities.  Thus, this year it feels like our family is back to "normal" - but a new normal, of which she is a crucial part, if that makes any sense!  I can't wait to see what this year of her life will bring, as she becomes more verbal, and even more capable.  It's hard to remember what life was like before her...

As a complication of life being so up in the air (in that we don't actually 100% know where we'll be a month from now), I haven't been able to start a garden yet this year, and I really miss it.  I'm hoping to at least get tomatoes and such in; if we manage to move by early June it should be possible, since I think I didn't put them in until at least Memorial Day last year.  My green thumb is positively itching though, especially last week when it was lovely and warm out.  This week promises to make me happy to stay inside, unfortunately, with rain and cooler temps.

It seems like it's a year of big transitions and changes for almost everyone I know.  Friends are getting married, friends are having babies, friends are moving and buying houses, friends are making important and far-reaching decisions about their lives; on the one hand, I'm glad to be a part of the general, dynamic, changing process, but on the other hand, the part of me that resists change is saying, "But we were happy here, we were comfortable, why oh why does it all have to change."  Even though I was desperately desiring the change, it is still oh so hard to have to actually go through it.  Upheaval is never easy, even when it is positive upheaval!

Anyway, that's the general explanation for my blog silence.  I'm hoping to get back into posting more regularly as the weeks go by, and after (if?) we move, life will settle down a good bit.  I've got a huge stash of yarn sitting and waiting for me to have a bit more time to knit (although I've been plugging away on projects even with the busyness; the great thing about knitting is I can bring it with me, and knit while my husband drives), and I also have quite a few things I'd love to write and share about.  In the meantime, please don't go away just because it's quiet here!  I promise I'll be back, more regularly, before too much longer, and if you've got any tips on moving, especially moving with a little one in tow, I'd absolutely love to hear them.  Please pray that the remaining hurdles are overcome, and that our move goes smoothly!

Fun for a Monday

I've recently altered my work schedule so that I do the bulk of my workload (about 12 of the 15 hours) on Monday and Tuesday, in order to have a four day weekend.  This is great, once I hit Wednesday or Thursday, but it does make starting the week back up a little bit rough.  I have to work mostly when LW is napping, or Jim is home, which means mostly in the afternoon, evening, and after she goes to bed at night (9-11 pm - ugh!).  This week, though, I decided to try to make the mornings as fun as possible: I did most of the housework on the weekend, so I'm telling myself to let things slide as much as possible, and just have a good time playing with LW.

At this time of year, mostly she just keeps saying "Awk, Awk," i.e. she wants to go for a walk.  But, unlike yesterday's balmy temperatures in the 70's, today is a brisk 55, warm enough for her to want to stay out all day, but cold enough to have me shivering in a few minutes (for some reason, she's always warmer than me; the "dress your baby one layer warmer than you would be comfortable in" was always backwards for her).  Thus, I needed a good indoors activity.  Fortunately, I intentionally got some alum at the grocery store yesterday: the last ingredient I needed to make some homemade playdough!  I found a good recipe at Skip to my Lou.  I expected this to be a lot more difficult than it was; all I had to do was boil and stir.  I added some food coloring and orange essence for scent, and voila! playdough, minus the scary chemicals and "don't let your child eat" warning.

Although she only ended up playing with it for a few minutes (so far), there's something really cathartic about molding dough.  It's a great stress-reliever, which is exactly what I needed today (we're supposed to hear about an offer we made on a house today; hence, I'm a little more stressed even than usual!).

How would you conquer a case of "The Mondays"?

Trials and Tribulations

My soon-to-be two year old is not content, it seems, to partake in the typical childhood bumps and bruises.  Yes, she falls off from things regularly, and bangs her head, or drops things on her toes, or squashes a finger.  But she also has to take everything one step further.  Like yesterday, when she managed to sprinkle black pepper in her eye.  In case anyone ever wondered - a two year old with pepper in their eye is not a happy camper, and if their fingernails happen to be long at the same time, the bloody scratched mess that will result is enough to result in an instantaneous lifetime's worth of Mom-guilt.

Oh yes, and it was dinnertime, too.  In the flurry of activity, our pasta got pretty gummy.  But, the good news is that LW is fine, now (albeit scratched), and we've learned better than to let her play with spices until she's at least 25.

Ever had a toddler spice catastrophe?  Please share, and let me know I'm not the worst Mom alive.

You know your brain is on overload when...

You change your one year old, leaving her bare to air out for a bit, but then completely forget to put her diaper back on.  Instead, ten minutes later, you blithely snap up her outfit, bundle her into the car for a grocery trip, and don't even notice until you are back home and your husband points out, "why is the baby all wet?"

To LW's everlasting credit, she managed to hold it for some two hours until we were home and not in public anymore. 

Really - I shudder to think of the awful sort of mess (literal, not figurative mess) that could have happened.  And the embarrassment.  And the accompanying need to never shop at the conveniently located store again.

I knew this sort of thing (not this exact thing, but this genre of things) went along with the territory of having kids.  I just figured it would be some 4 or 5 kids down the road when I started to lose it, not on my first... the first is supposed to be the one that you keep immaculate records about, and keep meticulous care of, and would never, ever forget to put a diaper on.

Heaven help me once I do have that 4th or 5th child...