Unpacking!

Oy, while the move has officially been completed, we are still unpacking! It's been a "one step forward, two steps back" sort of ordeal, what with Emily's "hellion on wheels" mentality. You can see her path of destruction. The door to the DVD rack open, movies in a heap on the floor. A few feet from that, papers torn out of a box that I was attempting to sort through near my desk. Then, just another couple of feet, an empty container laying next to a pile of puffs. This is with in minutes. It's incredible. The phone rings, making lunch, helping Elijah in the bathroom...she chooses her moments carefully.

Psh. Ma's crazy. I'm innocent!

So, the house came with washer and dryer hookups...and while we didn't actually own a washer or dryer, a generous relative had an older set in her garage and let us come pick them up from her-free of charge! Husband didn't really scope them out because, well, they were free so what difference did it make? Let's just say he could have saved himself some backache if he had inspected! The washer was (to put it delicately) ancient and held a load that wouldn't have supported a set of bed sheets. Plus, during the test run, the pipes leaked.

It wasn't the most exciting news that we were in the market for a washing machine; they're sorta expensive. Craigslist didn't have anything that seemed worth it...so Husband and J went shopping while I hung at home with the kids. They came home with a screamin' deal. Who knew that most places don't actually cary most washers in stock and that you have to have them delivered? We certainly didn't! Luckily, they had a washer big enough for what we required, in stock at the warehouse (thankfully close by), and because it was the last one in stock and they weren't planning on getting more in---we received a discount on top of it already being on sale! Now, needless to say, the kids have a new plaything. (Note: The triangular piece of cardboard to the right was deemed a "saw" by Elijah, and a moving box full of toys was successfully dismantled.)

I attended my second craft fair over the weekend. This one was far less "hoppin'" than the last one, I can only assume that's because the first one was a Holiday Fair. And while I didn't sell nearly as much as before, it was almost more exciting because someone recognized me from the Holiday Fair! Also, I was able to visit with a different woman who wanted to sell my lip balms at her cafe across the street from a local ferry, but had accidentally deleted my voicemail when I contacted her so she couldn't return my call. I was sure I had given her my card; regardless, she took down my contact information and I should be hearing from her soon! I'm selling my products at a local consignment shop that's in the complete opposite direction, so I'm super excited to be expanding like this!

A few days ago, I felt like taking a trip to the store. Past experience has taught me that taking the kids out in public is no longer a pleasant affair. Change of scenery seemed crucial, so I took a chance, and planned to leave after Emily's nap. It was a success! I took my sweet time, a whopping hour and a half, browsing through this place of shopping. Elijah, who typically enjoys walking around with me, agreed to stay in the cart because Emily was sitting in there, too. They were so well behaved. No shrieking, throwing binkies, tears, pulling hair, or attitude. Elijah had asked if they "had toys" in this store, and after I told him there were toys, he was anxious to go look at them. I let him know once I finished my shopping, we would go look. So they patiently waited for me to finish collecting the small odds and ends that we needed around the house before browsing through the toys. All by themselves, here is what they picked.

Em's "ba-ba" (baby)

Fire Watch!!!

I am extremely conscious of what sorts of influences are introduced to my kids (movies, toys, clothing, furniture, etc....) but it still amazes me what a "girl" Emily is and what a "boy" Elijah is. Oh, and Elijah totally loves his new watch. He's always telling me that the little hand is on ____ and the big hand is on _____. When I suggested putting a clock on his wall with all of the numbers to better understand telling the time, he told me, "No, Mama. I can tell you the time with my watch." Well okay then :}

Moving!

It's been wild and crazy around here the past two weeks. Deep within the nitty gritty of moving, I was without internet until earlier this week. Because I didn't have access to the internet, I simply kept my computer at my mom's lest it fall victim to moving related injuries. Didn't want that to happen.

Dear Husband was the hero during the move in that he was ready and willing to go full steam ahead to get us moved into this place ASAP. It has been absolutely exhausting for him and just when he thought it would slow down, he was recruited to do some work for a family friend. A huge plus for the additional income and all, but it has involved 10+ hour days throughout this week. So, really, he's completely tuckered out. In the mean time, I've resumed the at-home status with the kids and as if the daily grind wasn't busy enough, I've got unpacking mixed in now, too. We're unpacked enough that we've regular access to the necessities, which of course means there's the regular havoc being wreaked on the premises. So half unpacked house + tornado Elijah + hurricane Emily = hair loss.

It has been fun settling into a place that is our very own, though. And we have a roommate, J; he's fond of the kids and has become a great help with them, too. Speaking [more] of the kids, they're super excited about their bedroom. Their room has been a priority of mine and I went and got new bedding to start with. It really is a challenge to stay as neutral as possible when buying items for boys and girls. I didn't want something media influenced like Spiderman, Toy Story, Disney Princesses, or anything like that.

So sports and flowers was about as middle ground as I could get to. Granted I only went to one store, but that's about all I could handle with both the kids with me. I'm not completely opposed to gender specific object matter but I do want to be conscious about what sorts of social influences I'm including in my children's lives. In any case, the kids love their beds and want to be in them. *confetti* I put a medium sized book shelf in between their beds with all their books on the bottom shelf. I don't know what I'll do with the remaining shelves yet seeing as how Emily clears every surface regardless of what's occupying its space.... I'll figure it out eventually. I do have exciting plans for the walls and a crafty idea for a light source. All in good time.

Another fun thing about this place is that there is a wood burning fire place. Right from the get-go Husband and I have made a huge deal about the kids staying clear of this thing. The fireplace itself is in an odd location. Imagine, if you will, a large rectangle. The left side of this rectangle is our living room. A little right of the center of the living room is a coat-type closet and directly behind the closet, is the fireplace, pointing toward the living room. The remaining space is the dining area. Definitely a different kind of layout, but I enjoy it as it makes the place more unique. You can actually walk around the left side of the fire place; mind it's a narrow area, but it allows there to be two paths of traffic through the house. But because of the openness surrounding the fireplace, it poses some seriously dangerous possibilities. We're in the market for a gate of some sort, preferably one that can wrap around the fireplace instead of something that will cut off the walk way entirely. So far the kids of obeyed the rules, but naturally, are getting comfortable with the idea of a fireplace and curiosity is lurring them in.

With this house also comes a fully fenced back yard! I'm super stoked about this because, [while there are a few gaps in the boards that will soon be fixed] the kids can roam about comfortably safely. It's a fairly good sized back yard that boasts a variety of bushes and trees. Our landlord said that we could do whatever we wanted to the yard, and could take out any of the smaller bushes and trees that we liked. I'm glad we received his permission on all of this because my first plan is to remove a small bush that's located in an ideal gardening area!

The kids had an absolute blast the one day this year it's been nice enough to go play in the dirt. Elijah was collecting worms (which were plentiful-this is some nutritious soil!) while Emily squealed while poking a shovel at the dirt. But this is the area that I cleared the weeds out of and am planning to plant a little bit of everything that can fit there. With the size of that bush that's there, I figure tomatoes can fit nicely. Once the temperature kicks up a little bit (ie: above 50) I'll start the seeds in those biodegradable pots and get them acclimated so that once they've germinated I can simply stick them in the garden. I'm so anxious to get started. I just know the kids are going to love watching the plants grow. And picking the veggies? It's going to be fun!!