Play Date

Upon arriving home & unloading myself, the girls and our stuff we encountered Mrs. Neighbor in the parking garage. She was also just arriving home. She’d been walking. We greeted each other and began a conversation that had mostly to do with our children, their ages (same ages within weeks of each other!) and how to live in apartment community with small children and neighbors below you.

What a lovely lady. We made a play date w/ my two and her youngest one for Friday morning in the apartment courtyard. She’s going to school me on the property whereabouts for our children.

To note: she is extremely friendly and understanding of our issues with the girls and their "leaden feet" as she is a mother herself currently living with children the same age as ours. I have a feeling they will extend grace for a period of time. :) Nathan & I have our work cut out for us with our two adventurous angels.

New Life Experiences at (the apartment) Home. Pt.1

Things we're adjusting to in our new home:

We live on the third (top) floor in our new home. Nathan is insisting we call it "home" and not "the apartment" because... it IS our home now. Anyway, we're on the top floor. This was an available option to us; we chose it. We decided that we would be courteous of others rather than rely on others to do that for us. We've got our work cut out for us specifically with our children who are used to jumping & twirling & cart wheeling as loudly as possible throughout the house, running through the house during very exciting games of hide & seek, swinging from the stair case, leaping to their feet and crashing down toward the front door every time Daddy walks through it, etc. We had such a big house and back yard previously I didn't enforce a lot of boundaries when it came to their physical play. Besides, both my girls are extremely physical and imaginative in their play. Why stifle? Now we are in an apartment on the third floor. I am TRYING not to stress about every footstep they make. I am TRYING to let them be kids ("wild" as Mateja calls it) during the winter in a tiny apartment on the third floor. It's been less than two weeks, so I need to give myself a break and breathe deeply. Do some more yoga.

Our tiny new home has only two windows, one sliding glass door and the front door. Ventilation is an issue for us. We have three air units (heat/AC) that we barely use because it's so WARM in here. I think that's GREAT (because I loathe being cold). Nathan is suffocating. Ha. Every time he walks in the front door he bemoans the stuffiness of the air. He's right. It's very stifling in here. So I've taken to keeping the sliding door half open during the days and one of the windows slightly open. It hasn't seemed to help enough. Not sure what else to do yet.

Another adjustment is the complete lack of kitchen space. I suppose many families of four could make do with this just fine. I’m not sure this family of four is doing it that well. I still have TEN unpacked boxes sitting on the floor in the kitchen. Most of them house pantry items. I purchased a pantry cabinet. I insist that everything else fit in the cabinets and drawers. If it doesn’t fit it leaves this house. I rid myself of a LOT of kitchen items before moving here (everything from dishes & appliances to tablecloths & boxes of tea). It wasn’t enough. That’s an ongoing project. In fact, I must away now! Off to pack up some dishes and get them OUT of this kitchen.

Great Advice

Today my brilliant four year old (who will be five in four days) says to me, "Mom, I think we should do no candy and no television for a whole year. How does that sound?"

My eyebrows shot up to the ceiling and a smile crept over my face. "I think that's a great idea. What made you think of that?"

Matter of factly she responded, "It was just somethin' I've been thinking about. We would have really healthy bodies. Cuz candy and television are NOT good for healthy bodies, right? Maybe we should have no candy and no television for five years. What do you think about that? Is that a great idea, Mom?"

"My darling, I think that's a GREAT idea. Why don't you talk to your dad about it when he gets home?"

Getting Caught Up

We have definitely been absent from our normal lives. Not sure all of what our new normal lives will look like other than... well, we live in a new city! Adventures to be had...

Exhaustion has been the buzz word around our house lately. We've all been thrown off our normal routines with this move. I think getting off of routines/out of ruts is a good thing. I don't know if lack of sleep & health NEEDS to accompany it. Actually, I DO know. It does NOT need to accompany. I digress - I'm exhausted.

Anyway, will be getting back into the swing of routine here soonish. I actually try to have at LEAST two days a week that aren't too structured. It makes living with my lover easier. He's fairly unstructured. Rather, he's adventurous and spontaneous. I've been learning to incorporate that into my life since we got married, thus the two days a week that are lightly structured.

More to come. I know you've been patiently waiting to hear the latest! HA HA HA HA HA

Loud Animals Upstairs

On our way up the second flight of stairs to our new home from a family night out (we went to our new fave frozen yogurt spot - thank you Sis) we ran into Mr. Neighbor who lives below us. Well, we didn't literally RUN into him but you know what I mean. After rapidly exchanging salutations, Mr. Neighbor said, "We always know when you're home." Nathan with a nervous laugh asked, "Oh, can you hear the girls? Are they loud?" Instead of answering either question directly, Mr. Neighbor nodded yes and said knowingly, "They'll get used to it." And then the conversation ended as we said our rapidly passing goodbyes.

I'm not really sure what Mr. Neighbor meant by his last statement. Was he referring to our girls? They will get used to it? Or was he referring to his family? They'll get used to it? Ever since then I'm forcing myself NOT to stress out every time my leaden footed children scramble down the very short hallway or come crawling into the living room acting like lions and cheetahs. They're kinda like little monkeys... loud little monkeys. Oh God. Help!

Misery?

Monday

Today was supposed to be a day full of busyness. The girls had a full schedule. I had a full schedule which included lots of driving back and forth. I had three different people scheduled to help me with the girls or with the clean-up of the old house. One cancelled because of a family emergency. Another cancelled because of illness. And the third I called to tell her don’t bother coming because I’m in bed with the flu. Can you believe it? Here I am in my new place full of expectancy and hope and… the flu. I’m such a healthy person that I truly forget what it’s like to be ill. It sucks. I’m on my third thermos of Thera Flu in two days time. Nasty stuff. But it does its job. It’s almost against my religion to take the stuff.

I’ve spent most of the day in bed and most of that time in bed has been sleeping. Misery is the flu. Misery is helplessly laying in bed on your husband’s third day off while he does the duty of two people (today is President’s Day and thus a holiday for him). Misery is aching all over. Misery is missing taking the girls to a princess birthday tea party. Ah, well, misery is overrated.

I’ve had time to just BE here in my room and realize all the more how very happy I am in our new home. LOVE it here. The noises are going to take some getting used to of course, but it’s that way in any new place. My husband met our downstairs neighbors. He had such a good report. They too have two children same ages as ours. And they are thrilled that a family has moved in above them. Score! This is the opposite of misery. We live less than ten minutes from my grandmother’s home. This too is the opposite of misery: pleasure, gladness, cheerfulness, joy, glee, bliss, delight, exhilaration, ecstasy, contentment, satisfaction, amusement, thrill, elation, wonder, happiness…

Feeling better about things that are the opposite of miserable. Back to bed.

V-DAY = MOVING DAY!!!

Oh the day of the big move. It has come & gone. The day has. Just like each day before it. We’re sitting on our bed with boxes surrounding us on each side. Nathan says, It’s like a hotel. I love it. I don’t love the boxes all around but they will fade. I love newess. A new season/time is upon us again. Hallelujah.





I'm EXHAUSTED. And not feeling 100% but... the NEW is here. yay!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Quote of the Morning

Our nearly five year old is getting ready for school. She has been instructed to get a jumper (the word we use for jacket/sweater/sweatshirt - it's all encompasing). She burst back into the room with no jumper. Mateja, where's your jumper? That was me. She held her hand up (think Tina Turner, STOP in the name of love), "I have to ask Daddy something first! Daddy!! Is it going to rain today? Can you check your phone, please?"

oh my heck.

What was I THINKING!?!??

As you probably know, we're currently in the process of moving. I wish I could say that I'm wife and mother extraordinaire, but these days that’s purely wishful thinking. My mind is constantly racing with my “to do” lists of things to pack and things to donate and things to throw away and things to clean and things to paint and people to contact and schedules to work over and utilities and do we get a moving truck or not and posting to craigslist and selling our living and dining room furniture and do I have enough paint for the office walls or do I need to go to Home Depot and where am I going to sit the girls for lunch once the dining set is picked up and didn’t I contact the post office to have our mail forwarded and – oh – don’t forget to register to vote once the move is complete and what did I do with the packing tape and Ari’s doctor’s appointment was this morning?!?!??? Oh crap. Where’s my phone?

In the midst of a somewhat busier day than normal I decide (whilst on a phone call) that I need to get the girls doing something fun and creative and distracting so that I can finish packing the drapery and the sheet sets and finish this call. Somehow I misplace the pillow cases. The girls are antsy. They’ve just woken from their afternoon nap and are ready to do something. Ari has managed to pry open the lid to a box that contains finger paints. What an excellent idea! Finger paints will do the trick. (was I thinking?) I pull out the large craft box full of paper and begin to spread sheets all over the living room carpet. How fun this will be. There’s no furniture in the living room right now except a rocking chair so I spread out the sheets of paper and continue my telephone chatter. Meanwhile the girls have unscrewed the lids to the “washable” finger paints and have begun to be distracted. Perfect! I run back into the front room to continue folding the drapery and bundle the sheets. Still can’t find those missing pillow cases guess I won’t seal this box yet. I’ll label it as soon as I get off the phone. Better check on the girls. I pause a moment to finish my conversation. This has to be dealt with. Conversation ends well. I rush back into the living room. As soon as it registers: there are blue foots prints all over the carpet my brain shifts back on. Of course there are. Of course there are.

Seriously, what was I thinking? I remember thinking this might get a little messy but I’m learning to deal with messes. I also remember thinking this was truly a good idea. I mean, like, TRULY a good idea. Once my brain shifted back on, well… My first thought was, Thank GOD we’re having the carpets cleaned next week! So I let myself off the hook. I let the girls finish making a mess. I encouraged them to clean it up and then I pulled out the camera. I made a mental note to self: don't forget to find those pillow cases and, Marina, NEVER AGAIN on the carpet. I mean honestly, what was I thinking?!?

Clown with no fork

The latest school story - of course it's about Ari.

Pick up hour had come. She followed the other students out of the classroom to meet us moms who were standing in the hallway entrance. Rounding the corner, she smiled up at me. Horrendously bright pink eyelids and equally bright pink lips met my stare. Her grin always invokes a smile from me. I love this spunky kid. School Director said, “She escaped during dismissal and got into the stamps. That’s the pink.” Then onto something else, she started by asking, “Does she eat with a fork?” “Sure.” “A big one or a little one?” My response, “Either, both. Why?” “Well, I gave her a fork during lunch because she was eating with her hands and she acted as if she didn’t know what it was. I didn’t want to force her because, you know, culturally I wasn’t sure what you do at home. Is it OK if we give her a fork?” I chuckled, “Sure! Reinforcement is good here. We eat with forks at home. Well, she doesn’t prefer them, but…” “OK. Just checking. They had spaghetti for lunch today! By the way, she’s really getting better at listening!”

That was that. So she looks like a clown and doesn’t use a fork. Love this kid.

The BEST Therapy

I spied a bummer sticker today: "Shopping is the best therapy." I thought, Maybe giving could be the BEST therapy.

As we prepare for this move we are giving much away. Love that. It's great to know that someone will get some use out of things that aren't getting used over here. It feels good. Therapeutic.