Our New House

When Chris and I realized we'd be moving to another new town we immediately started thinking about where we wanted to live. Before leaving Eugene we had sold our house and decided to rent in Corvallis. We found a beautiful old house in walking distance to the downtown. It was the perfect situation for that year. We enjoyed the beauty and charm of a 1920's house without any of the maintenance or responsibility of an old house. It gave us a much needed break. But up here the rental market is trickier and we were leery of moving Margot into yet another temporary housing situation so we decided to buy. We were not ready for another old house though. Our fixer upper in Eugene was a little more than we had bargained for and with a new job, town and baby on the way this didn't feel like the time for house projects. So for the first time we bypassed the darling old houses and focused on new and newer construction.

It's been an interesting adjustment being in a brand new house/neighborhood. On the one hand everything is so fresh and clean and lovely. On the other our neighbors are really close :) We are lucky that our new house is close to an older established neighborhood and there are lots of mature trees around us.

So here is our little grey house. We ended up choosing a smaller floor plan in a more central location rather than a larger house further out. We have sacrificed square footage but the location is so much nicer for us. We are one mile from Chris' office and really close to everything we do. 

Decorating a brand new house was a lot different for me. Unlike the old Spanish revival bungalow we were moving out of this house offers very little in terms of architectural detail to work around. It was a blank slate and that was intimidating at first. 

Three and a half months since our move and it is starting to come together. We still have a dozen or so little projects to complete inside and an entire back yard to do outside but we are making progress every week.

I thought I'd do a little house tour over the coming weeks. This is the front of the house and front porch. We were able to pick the exterior paint colors and I love the grey paint paired with the pop of yellow from the chairs. The house came with a landscaped front yard and overtime I hope to change out some of the vanilla landscaping and add more color and texture. I'd love to have lavender, black eyed Susan, fox glove and other perennials in the flower beds and maybe some kind of tree out front as well. 

A different sort of summer

Somehow spring turned into summer and we are now 23 weeks along. We were overjoyed to learn a few weeks ago that we are having another little girl. Margot has been hoping and praying for a baby sister and it was such a joy to tell her the baby was a girl.

We also learned that I am very high risk for a premature delivery. It was a good news bad news sort of day. We were so excited after the ultrasound, learning the gender and seeing how healthy she is and then there was a thud when the specialist came in and told us about the premature birth risks and what our options were.

After a few weeks we seem to be settling into a new normal. We have done and are doing everything we can to keep our baby girl safely inside and now we wait as the weeks pass. When I was pregnant with Margot I was put on strict bed rest at 28 weeks. Bed rest is no longer prescribed due to some complications that can arise. So I am on "chair rest" which means I am to stay off my feet when possible. I can drive, get up to get Margot milk or sit on the floor and play with her. I can even go to the park and sit on a bench (so long as someone else is there to play with Margot) or go to Church. I cannot lift anything, grocery shop, be on my feet for any length of time, travel more than 30 minutes from an approved hospital or do anything strenuous. This situation is much scarier than my pregnancy with Margot because the complications are arising earlier and are more severe. Yet, chair rest is a dramatic improvement from bed rest which literally had me laying vertically unless I was getting up to pee! Now I can do so much more. It's also nicer to have Margot home with me to play with rather than being alone each day.

But what do we do? Our routine has changed quite a bit. Housework is out of the question except folding clothes on the couch and occasionally putting something away as I get up to do something. Grocery trips, target, any shopping, and solo park trips (just Margot and I) are not an option. No walks, or library trips either. And we are facing a whole summer sans camping, hiking or beach trips.

Margot loves to read so we have morning and afternoon story time. Besides the constant rotation of picture books Margot picks (right now her favorite is Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling) we have been reading the original Winnie the Pooh, Little House in the Big Woods, an old children's reading primer called Round About, her storybook bible and a collection of classic children's poetry. She has lots of toys that we can play sitting down such as her doll house and tea parties have been a favorite. Coloring, building blocks and cooking in her kitchen are also big hits. And in the late afternoons when we are both bored and ready for Daddy's return we have been watching the Frugal Gourmet and Julia Child on you tube. This is a big hit and has lead to some cooking adventures for her and her Daddy. Once Chris is home I sit at the counter on a stool and chop vegetables and prep dishes for him as he cooks.

All in all the summer is shaping out to be much slower but also sweet with extra snuggling, reading and playing.

Hello Stranger

There is no other way to intro this post then the somewhat lame "it's been so long". But, alas, it has. I meant to Blog and then I just stopped thinking about it. Yet more and more our long distance friends and family comment on my online disappearance. As I thought about it over Easter weekend I realize that I miss it.

When I last left this Blog I had quit my job in order to stay home with then 2 year old Margot. We moved to Corvallis and were settling into yet another new house. Fast forward many months and many events and once again our family has seen so much change.

A better job opportunity opened up for Chris moving us yet again to a new town further north. We went ahead and bought a house up here. I suppose our age and maturity is showing because this go around we skipped all the darling, old, character-filled fixer-uppers and bought a BRAND NEW HOUSE *gasp*. With a small child, a new job, a new town and one income we just didn't see the time or resources to fix up anything. So we are settling into a little grey house and enjoying the simplicity, modernity and cleanliness of new construction.

Margot started pre-school last week. At three and half she is more than ready and eager for the socialization and activity. I think it's been more of an adjustment for me than for her. It was hard for me to willingly give up 5 hours a week with her when I am bombarded with the reality that she is growing up so fast. While she eagerly greets her new friends and experiences I hope to utilize some time to myself to be out of the house, blog, run errands in peace and soak up the luxury of sitting in Starbucks for two hours at a time!

Lastly, I'm thrilled to report that we are expecting a second baby this fall. We are sooooo excited and Margot is just beside herself with joy. 

I used to hope for less change in our lives, and to some extent I still do, but I have to say that this round has been so good. I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you. 

Until Now...

I didn't necessarily plan to take an almost 4 month break from my blog, my funny little piece of the web that I have dutifully kept going for 6 years now. However, once I finally did walk out of that office, and once the UHAUL was finally unloaded, and once my husband kissed us goodbye on my first official day as a housewife, I realized that what I needed was a break. After 6 years of supporting my family and almost 10 years in politics and 2 very hard years as a working Mom I was "plum worn out" as my grandmother said when I arrived at the ranch a few weeks later for my first little vacation.

So that's what this summer has been. One long beautiful, blissful break! I have avoided the computer at great length. I have gone to the park almost everyday. I have cooked and ate and done dishes. I have cleaned, unpacked and organized. And I have had so many snuggles with my moon pie. Not that it's always a picnic in the park home all day with a two hear old in a 100 yr old house that seems to think it should welcome every bug in the neighborhood on in while baking to 85 degrees by 5pm.

Bugs aside though it's been a glorious summer. And slowly day after day the years of pent up stress, worry, anxiety and to do lists have started to fall away. I learned that while it might seem like the work stress goes away as soon as you turn in your office key that it actually takes lots of time to physically recover from acute stress. Everyday I feel better. Everyday I have just a little bit more energy, a little more capacity to learn a new thing, remember my hobbies, be creative and get down on the floor for hours on end to play with my two year old.

And now finally, 4 months later, I suddenly wanted to blog. Not because I have tons of followers, or want to grow a business or have anything brilliant to say. But because I want to record this time and share it with those I love and friends I've made along the way.

Last Day

Today is my last day at work. I'm just about to start packing up my office. My emails have been sent, issue emails are drafted for all our staff, my goodbye lunch is quickly approaching and my darling Margot has dutifully completed her sticker chart of the days until Mommy stays home with her.

We are still crazy busy with the move but I wanted to pop in with some last pictures of my office for my memory keeping. I can't believe how many hours I have logged in this place and that as of tomorrow I will no longer wake up and rush to get out the door to come sit at this desk. 

Meanwhile my new "boss" has been busy telling me all the things we are going to do. "first Mama we have to pack and move, then we can play and play. I'm going to be the mama and you can cook with me and we'll make spaghetti"

And lastly look at this darling Easter dress. Somewhere in my camera is a nice family photo but meanwhile look at how grown up she is. 

moving on out (and a sneak peak at the Corvallis house)

hello blog friends, 

Long radio silence I know. The thing is I just couldn't bear to write one more, "still waiting for our house to sell" post. And silence seemed like the most manageable solution. But that is no longer the case since we are PENDING. We have very quickly gone from the what seemed to be never ending limbo to OMG we have so much to do in the next two weeks how are we ever going to get out of here. So now we are packing, sorting, taking things to Goodwill, pawning off furniture, doing those last minute doctor, dentist, car tune up, eye appointments before we move to a new town and have to find all knew dentist/doctor/auto shop etc. All while I wrap up work and say goodbye to my 8 year career in public policy.

We are also looking ahead and couldn't be more excited about getting to Corvallis. We have the most darling house waiting up there for us. Chris is so looking forward to a 10 minute commute to work. And me...I am in awe that I actually get to quite my job in less than 10 days! I think that first Monday morning when I don't have to be out of the house with a toddler by 7:30 am and Margot and I are chillin' in our jammies at 9:30 eating French toast it's finally going to really hit me. And I predict I will be feeling VERY HAPPY!!!

I think the next 10 days will be a whirl-wind and so the blogging will undoubtedly be spotty until we are moved in but I do want to share a couple of pictures of our new house. It's a 1926 Spanish revival bungalow just a few blocks from the downtown. And it's completely charming!

Darling right?! It is tiny, 1150 square feet and it's a completely different style than our last house. But I am looking forward to the decorating project and I'm so thrilled to be walking distance to the whole downtown, farmers market, library etc. 

So that's what's up over here. I'll make to pop in once we're moved. Till then its back to the to-do list!

ya ya ya....

it's been a long time...yet again.

It almost felt like spring had finally sprung but then the rain came back....le sigh.

But rain or no rain the forsythia are out in full force which is at least a promise of spring.

Some warm sunny days brought a flurry of activity on the house front but still no offers.

While we wait I am trying to stay thoroughly distracted from thinking too much about it. Silly books, long walks and lots of hot baths and tea are good. But perhaps best of all are fun activities with Margot. This past weekend we took her to Portland and had a fun trip at the zoo with Chris' parents. Tuesday Margot and I went wedding dress shopping with a dear friend who's wedding we are going to be in and Margot oohed and awed over her flower girl dress. And last night we gave Margot her first hair cut.

It was definitely one of those "sob sob...where has my little baby gone" moments. 

I finally succumbed to all the hype and we got our first package of honest company diapers yesterday. We are already kind of obsessed. They are so cute! 

I loathe the change to Facebook's news feed format. Anyone else??? It's harder to read and much harder to quickly scroll through for the names I care about.

Easter is coming and I can't wait to go Easter basket shopping. I find Easter basket's ridiculously fun! I already have a few ideas. Easter dresses for Margot and I have been procured. Margot's is a darling thrift-ed baby gap dress. Pink with an ivory peter pan color and an ivory eyelet lace petticoat. Classic. Mine is an ivory cap sleeve shift dress with irregular black polka dots on major clearance at the j crew factory.

And lastly, "conscious un-cuppling"...there are no words.