Virtual Tour

Welcome to our humble home!

This post is probably more for my family and close friends than any other blog readers. I have had requests for pictures of our new place. So, here is a virtual tour (sorry the pictures are kind of wonky, I did my best getting them into a logical order, but I couldn't get them to all line up the way I wanted them to, and as soon as I added captions, everything got all messed up again!!):

There is a cute little porch...that currently has our ugly trash can on it.

This is what you see when you walk in the front door.

This is what you see if you turn around after walking in the front door.

Looking from the kitchen to the living room (including the evil dishwasher that made me hand wash everything for a week).

To the side of our kitchen, we have a laundry room. There are two doors to the left. The first is a pantry, the second a 1/2 bathroom.

Our kitchen/eat-in dining room/back door

The pantry

1/2 bathroom

Another view of the living room. Door on the left of the picture is the coat closet. The door on the right is the front door.

Up the stairs

Our lovely coat closet/storage closet. (I'm pretty sure if you walk in and keep going, you'll end up in Narnia.)

The upstairs hall

Boys' bathroom, as seen through the mirror, because the door opens into the bathroom, creating a total non-efficient use of space.

Linen closet. Gideon is trying to close bedroom #3, also known as "The Adventure Room".

Here are my models, showing us how fun it is in the Adventure Room.

Closet in the Adventure Room (it is currently the most un-unpacked and unorganized room in the house.)

Boys' bedroom. Which is 1,000,000,000x's cleaner than it was earlier this morning (I had to clean to vacuum...which was horrifying in its own way).

Kid's closet

Master bedroom

Door to the master bathroom (window is just to the right of this picture).

Our lovely garden tub...with a crack in the side...so I won't be able to soak until that's fixed. Sad day.

Master closet. You would be able to walk in just a bit, if there weren't a million bags of blankets on the floor.

Our tiny, sloped back yard...full of prickles, mushrooms, and the smell of moth balls. (But it's warm out there!)

The back of our house, including our kiddie pool, mini grill (we've used it twice this past week), ginormo flower pots (that I hope to put to good use this year), recycling can, a mysterious black bin (that I don't know what to do with, but has awesome bugs underneath of it), and another trash can full of metal (that I also don't know what to do with).

 So there you have it! Our digs here in the Charlotte area! It's a little bit hard to believe that we have already been here for over a week. Things are definitely beginning to feel like home, though.

So, who wants to come visit???

I will probably become a sweeping expert

I swept my kitchen and dining room yesterday. It was kind of an eye opener...and definitely a new experience for me. All of our other homes have had carpet where the table was, and just a little strip through the kitchen of laminate. So, I have never really needed to use a broom over such a large amount of space.

I'm here to tell you that, unless my kids magically became messier after our move, I possibly...maybe...probably...definitely...should have been vacuuming our floors more often.

It was atrocious. There were crackers. Crumbs. Cheerios. Crumbs. Dirt chunks. Crumbs. Dried cheese. Crumbs. And probably some more crumbs.

And the whole time, all I could think of was the fact that a similar mess (and worse) was hiding in my carpet at our old home in between vacuuming. Which...I guess meant that the floors didn't looks quite as dirty for a longer period of time. And when I did vacuum, I got that satisfying crackle while going over the worst parts.

But then I think of the spilled milk. Spilled yogurt. Spilled taco filling. Spilled spaghetti sauce. Spilled Jell-O. And I am ever so grateful for a floor that will need to be swept at least weekly.

Revolution!

Obviously, it is time for a blog revolution. Or maybe just a revival? Something! And, because of recent life changes (one in particular), I have finally...hopefully...found the motivation to jump back on the blog-wagon.

My little family just moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Charlotte, North Carolina.

I have always lived within the Greater Cincinnati area. Always. As in, my whole freakin' life. (Ok, it's not like I'm just barely leaving the nest at the ripe, old age of 82, but it's still a big deal to me!)

And now I live in The South. Honestly, I never really thought much about North Carolina being part of the South. (Normally, when I think of the South, I think of the Deep South, which doesn't include NC. But geographically, culturally, demographically...NC -is- part of the South.)

Mostly, the area is just like any other. Except they don't have my favorite grocery store. But there are little things, cultural things, that do make it different. First off, spring has clearly arrived. Back in Cincinnati, we would still have a month of slightly-above-freezing-windy-gray days before spring really kicked into full gear. Here, there are already trees in bloom and yellow daffodils basking in the clear sunlight. I almost already need to mow the lawn.

Another difference is the racial makeup of the city. It is A LOT more diverse. In Cincinnati (I think this is going to become my catch phrase now! "Well...in Cincinnati...blah blah blah"), especially the places where I have lived...er, the country.... it is predominately white. Way predominately. Downtown had the higher concentration of blacks. Here, they are everywhere! It's probably still predominately white, but there are a lot more blacks here. There also seems to be a larger Latino community here in Charlotte, as well. I know this probably sounds bad, and I really hope I don't sound rude in saying it. It is just something that is very different from what I am used to, and is simply one of my stronger observations so far.

Next is the recycling. I like to identify myself with the green, crunchy people as much as possible, but I have always had a hard time recycling. Mostly because, (in Cincinnati) it isn't provided standard. Plus, I've always lived in apartments, where it seemed difficult enough to worry about normal garbage! But now, we have been provided with a recycling can. AND it is North Carolina state law that all aluminum and plastic numbers 1 and 2 are to be recycled. I really doubt that they are digging though your garbage to make sure you recycled everything that you were supposed to (and then sending you any proper fines), but I would like to try my best to keep my integrity with the recycling laws. I already have a small can inside full of recyclables (and not just the mandatory ones) to go into our big can for pickup next week!

I've been a little cautious about the kids, and wondering how they will handle this move. They are both really whiny and clingy. But at the same time, happy. It's weird. They both seem to understand that this is our home now, but it's still upping their little, tiny stress levels. Which, is totally understandable. I've had several people remind me that for children, a move has similar stress levels to a death in the family and divorce. That's a big eye opener, and I try to remember how difficult this might be for them when I feel like I'm losing my patience because of all the whining and tantrums. Hopefully, they will adjust quickly.

I should write a post or two detailing more about our move....that will go on my to-do list. I'm going to try to take this blog revival seriously (especially for my mom!)

So, here we go on this new adventure!

Seriously. A tangent post.

For some reason, my blog has seriously taken the back burner in my life. And when I say back burner, I mean the back burner on some stove in someone's possibly abandoned house that I've never been to before. I've been turning into a ravenous crafter of late (and spending most of my online time perusing Etsy for ideas or Ravelry for patterns). I'm definitely more likely to have a crochet project in my lap than a new post idea in my head. Maybe because it's much more brainless? And I really feel like this stage of parenting has totally decimated my thinking powers. Some of the things I've had running through my mind lately have been: Why do toddlers like to eat crayons? And how do I get a specific one to stop? And speaking of eating and stopping, how do I get this toddler to stop biting? And how am I going to piece that reconstructed shirt dress together? And how do I get my kids to play nicely? And should I take a nap today? And how do I keep this crazy toddler from getting into everything and climbing onto everything and whining about everything and begging to nurse 24/7 and messing up everything that I clean withing .02 seconds of me cleaning it?

As you can see, I have a lot of questions about how to have the perfect toddler. And by perfect toddler, I mean a responsible adult in a toddler body.

Basically, the toddler stage is by far my least favorite of the stages I have encountered. (I'm sure people will tell me that teenagers are worse, but in my particular stage of life, I really don't know if I can accept that.) I think having a toddler is harder because I also have a preschooler who still acts like a toddler sometimes....and hasn't quite figured out how to play nicely.

And speaking of preschool, some of my friends from church and I have put together a joy school for our preschool aged children. We meet once a week at our church building and we take turns teaching about letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and various other topics. It's pretty exciting that Bug is old enough for this type of stuff! And I really love being so involved!

Shortly after celebrating Gizmo's first birthday, we cut his hair. It was a sad and difficult thing for me to do. I loved his curls so much! But, everyone was calling him a girl, and the hubby didn't appreciate that. So he said the curls had to go. The really sad thing, though, is that people still call Gizmo a girl...even without the curls. I guess he's just pretty.

And speaking of pretty, we let Bug pick out his own Wii remote (because he's learning how to play Mario, and that's awesome and fun) and he chose a pink one. There's actually something that I really love about having a boy who has the favorite color of pink!

Bug is really growing up! He reminds me all the time. ("Mom. Me big, right?") I am thrilled that he is totally potty trained. He sits in a booster seat in the car (and even buckles his own seat belt sometimes!) But he is turning into a total drama....king? He fake laughs. He fake whines. He fake cries. And he exaggerates practically everything. (His coloring isn't right...."OOooooohhhh man!!!! I haaate that!!!") I've started having to remind him that if something frustrates him, then he needs to put it down and walk away. He isn't very good at remembering that, though. If the hubs talks to him, when he was talking to me, he says, "Don't talk to me! I talking to mommy!" Or if he goes to the bathroom (usually when he's pooping) and I ask him -anything- he will yell, "DON'T TALK TO ME!" Like I said. Drama.

And Gizmo is growing up. Or at least climbing up. He climbs on EVERYTHING. Bookshelves, kitchen cabinets, bathroom drawers, computer desk, beds, tables, chairs. He is either a monkey, or he has sticky tree frog pads on his hands and feet, because he climbs onto things I had no idea he could. His balance is impeccable! And my nerves are always on edge.

So....that's what's up right now....and now I need to go crochet some more.

*New Pictures Added* Not just another day

Ok, ok, ok....I couldn't NOT post today (and I'm wondering how on earth I've let myself go so long...again).

Today is Gizmo's first birthday! We actually celebrated on Monday night with family. I made a super yummy carrot cake and I actually frosted it! (I didn't frost Bug's cake...er, pumpkin bread...when he turned a year old. I must be relaxing my parenting style already!) I still think Gizmo might have liked the roasted potatoes for dinner better than he liked the cake, though.

I am really struggling to accept the fact that it HAS been a whole year since I birthed my second child. I don't know if it is just because every year seems to go faster no matter what, or because of some other reason. I suspect that because Gizmo was born at home, and I'm home all the time, it seems like it could have been any time (yes, even just yesterday)! When Bug was born, I was at the hospital. That out-of-home experience gave me more of a frame of reference for how long ago it actually occurred. But I didn't get that (thankfully) with Gizmo's birth.

So, a little about Gizmo's personality: He is really laid back. Don't get me wrong, he is still very active (climbing on the table, walking at 10 months, etc). But he isn't hyper-active (like Bug). It's a bit harder to get him to laugh, and when he does laugh, it is usually more reserved. Although, when he is upset, he definitely lets it all out!!! He is a thinker and observer. I often say that when the boys get into trouble when they are older, it will probably be Gizmo who thought up the plan, and Bug who carried it out.

Gizmo has wild, red hair. We haven't cut it yet, even though it is getting long, because it curls all over the place. It gets him A LOT of attention. It also, apparently, makes him look "too pretty to be a boy", because he gets called a girl quite often.

Gizmo is a pleasure to have in the family. I'm so happy to be him mom! Happy Birthday, Gizmo!!!

(*The original picture from this post was from over a month ago, so, after taking new pictures, I removed it and added some of the new pictures from Gizmo's actual birthday.)

On the move. On the table.

Bug and Gizmo are very different, but at times, so very alike. Bug was....is....very physically active. And hyperactive. Gizmo seems to be just as physically active as Bug, but he is so much more mellow about it. Or maybe just quieter about it? I can't really tell. It just seems that his physical milestones are less in-your-face than Bug's were....in a different way than the "Oh, he's just the second one, so you don't notice as much" kind of way.

Gizmo started walking withing the past two weeks or so. It started out with just two or three steps in between over enthusiastic family members. Then he started taking more steps, moving from the couch to a toy in the middle of the room.

Now he can walk quite a bit without grabbing onto anything. And he stands up on his own, too.

Of course, if you notice him and give him praise, he gets really excited....which apparently shuts off his balance completely. Then he will stand up, fall, stand up, fall, stand up, take two steps, fall...all while flapping his arms with joy and grinning like a maniac.

This morning, while I was making a pie, I head Bug sternly telling Gizmo, "No Gizmo! No climbing! My water!!!" I turned around and Gizmo was ON THE TABLE!!!! Our kitchen table. Apparently, he had used a stuffed animal as a stepping stool onto a chair that was pushed out, and then from the chair climbed onto the table. And he was about to dump Bug's cup of water everywhere, right before I intervened.

I have to admit, I was shocked to see Gizmo up there. He isn't even 11 months yet (just 5 more days for that), and he climbed onto our table! Without me noticing until he was up there! I actually shut him out of the bathroom this morning while I took my shower....I'm just beginning to realize that might have been an unwise decision. I guess I'll have to start making sure chairs are all pushed in before I leave Gizmo to play by himself for longer than 2 minutes! But then I'm sure he'll find something else dangerous to climb on!

Bug sings the ABCs

Bug has been learning his ABCs. And he loves to sing them. Except....he's really not that great at it. It usually goes something like this:

"A, B, S, 9, 10, 18, a wunney, A, B, S, O, P, orange, X, Y, Z....."

Over and over and over again. I haven't quite figured out how his alphabet seems to have WAY more letters in it than mine does (and it also has way more numbers, colors, and made up words that resemble real words). Sometimes he starts out singing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and it turns into his alphabet. Which, you can't blame him for that, since it's the same melody. It's actually all unbearably cute, though. So cute that my little sister recorded it on her phone for her ring tone.

I just have to keep telling myself that someday, he will be a genius and all this hassle of learning numbers, letters, shapes, colors, animals, etc. will get sorted out!