Sunday, March 25, 2012

Doings at our House...


I thought I might be checking in a little more often with my own posts and updates...but the truth is I've hardly been on the computer at all.  Of course I have less time to be on the computer with a new baby to take care of...but with Eric home during the day and still needing to do things for school to keep his sub going, I have a lot more competition for computer access.

Anyway, we've had a few things worth mentioning this week...biggest thing...we had a visit from Nick, Katie's birth-dad and his wife yesterday.
They took a last minute trip from Alaska to California and flew through Seattle and made the trip out to see us.  We didn't know they were coming until a couple days ago, and they were only able to stay for a few hours, but Katie was super happy to have them come.
This was a real treat because we don't get to see them often, and it was our first time getting to meet his sweet wife.
We usually think about Katie looking a lot like her birth-mom...because she does...but the older Katie gets it's obvious that she also takes after her birth-dad a lot too.

Our house is getting REALLY close to being done.  We thought we'd be able to move in next week...but then when the cabinets came in, the ones for the kitchen didn't fit right...so it will be another week or two before the new cabinets will come and that will delay things a bit.  The downside is we can't take advantage of spring break to move...the upside is we get to keep the extra cabinets that won't fit and use them in the garage or elsewhere in the house.

It's fun to see it really start coming together and should look even better by the end of the week.  It's been a while since I posted house pictures, so here are a few...

Our downstairs is pretty much one big "Great room" with the living room, dining room and kitchen all open to each other.  This is from the corner of our living room looking to our dining area and kitchen.
This is our kitchen...I'm so looking forward to not being so cramped.  You can barely fit two people in our current kitchen to work and even then you're always in each others way.  Our stove will be in that blank spot and you can see a bit where there is a gap where these cabinets are not quite the right size.

I also keep dreaming about this not so little corner of my bedroom that will soon be home to my sewing machine and craft stuff, complete with windows for lots of natural light...and to the right Anson's little crib room, so he can be nearby and still in his own little space.  It will have folding doors.

And finally the spot the kids head to first every time we go over to check progress on the house...their little play area under our stairs.  This was one of the things we had customized in the house.  The original plans had the space under the stairs completely closed off, but we had them add doors through the back of the coat closet and living room closet and added the window.  We thought they were going to just leave the walls and floor bare...but they did the complete dry wall and trim, and we're told they're putting carpet in it too.  I can't wait to fix it up into a little play house.  It's a little hard to tell in the picture, but that doorway is short and that is a little 2x2 window to give a little perspective.  Grown-ups can get inside bending over, but this will definitely be more comfy for the kiddos.

We've had a pretty relaxing lazy week at home.  We're starting to gradually get things packed and ready for the move.  I've actually been pretty spoiled having Eric home from school to help with the kids and feeling really blessed that I've had a pretty fast recovery.  I feel almost back to my old self.  I'm bouncing back a lot faster than I did after my c-section with Becca...I think it might have something to do with not being in labor for 3 days and total exhaustion prior to the c-section this time. 

The older kids are adjusting just fine.  The girls are especially in love with Anson and are always asking to hold him and trying to be motherly toward him.  Becca takes particular pleasure in knowing where his pacifier is, and on one occasion, brought it into our room when Anson was crying and got him to go back to sleep on her own.  And I can't hardly get posed pictures of him by himself without her slipping in too.


Seth asks to hold him sometimes, but is generally less interested than the girls...which is not surprising considering the kids' personalities.  I suspect Seth will be much more interested when Anson is more able to play.
He hasn't been read TO all that much...but there has been plenty of reading WITH him on our laps...but all family members.


I've done more reading in the past week or two than I've done in ages.  After watching Anne of Avonlea one time while nursing Anson, I decided to re-read some of the books after I couldn't remember which details they had kept the same and which were different between the books and movie.  I've now re-read all the books from Anne of Avonlea (#2) through Anne of Ingleside (#7) and am now part-way through Rilla of Ingleside...the last of them.  Now I'll need to find something else to read while nursing.  As much as I love the movies...it's a reminder that the books are even better and the movies (especially Anne of Avonlea) leave out SO much.  Anyone else out there Anne of Green Gables fans?

I'll admit that it does pass all that time nursing faster...but then it's hard to put the book down when Anson is done.  Any recommendations for a good book series to read next?  I've thought about re-reading the Harry Potter books, but I'm afraid those would be even harder to put down than Anne.

Well, I'm hoping to get at least one or two tutorials posted soon...but who knows...until then, I hope you're enjoying the Favorite Bloggers Tour.

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6 comments:

  1. I am so far behind on pop culture, but I read The Hunger Games this week for the 1st time and thought it was fantastic. I didn't even know there was a movie coming out this week until someone mentioned this week. I just ordered book 2 of the series because I couldn't wait for the 300+ people in front of me in the library hold line to get through it. I read a lot while nursing too. :)

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  2. Congrats on the house! And what a cute little boy!! The Hunger Games is definitely a great series! The Uglies Series is also a good one, along with Matched (and the second one in the series that I can no longer remember the name of...)

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  3. Those pictures of Becca and Anson together are absolutely precious in every way! What an exciting time with a new baby boy and a new house! I absolutely love reading books while nursing... so many great things about having a newborn (I know there are lots of hard things to ie: lack of sleep) Have you read the Fablehaven series? How about The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale? that is the beggining of a series as well. I loved reading all of the books in both of those collections.

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  4. Your house is looking great. I love all the reading pictures. I'm jealous you read the Anne series. I have them but have never read them. They are on my list once I get a break from my two book clubs. I really liked reading UNBROKEN this past year. I also loved THE HELP. We also read a bunch of Holocaust books which I can get sucked into but they are rather depressing. I liked the YA book series by Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, Goose Girl & Enna Burning). They are nice light, easy reading books. http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-hale-shannon.asp

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  5. Congratulations with the new wee one! Sitting myself with a 7-week-old and reading up a storm, as I nurse up a storm. Have just got caught up on Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series (12 books in all right now, I think), which I can warmly recommend. Nice, well-written, gently humorous books about Precious Ramotswe and her private investigations in Botswana. Just finished The Hunger Games last night -- it was a two evening read. Will start with the second installment, Catching Fire, today (-: Very quick, escapist reads. Read the Twilight trilogy with the last babe, two years ago, just to see what all the fuss was about. If you're looking for a little deeper read, well, there's always Marilynne Robinson's beautiful books -- Housekeeping, Gilead (won the Pulitzer) and Home. But these are literature with a capital L -- thought-provoking, linguistically playful -- but this is not always what you want while nursing (-; So, congrats again and happy reading and nursing...

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  6. The house is looking SO great! The playhouse area is such a smart idea, and I'm sure you'll have it all dolled up and ready for play in no time. I have heard several stories lately of new cabinets not fitting... must be a mis-measuring conspiracy! I'm glad they are letting you keep the wrong-sized ones to use somewhere else, though... yay for more storage :)

    Love the pictures of the kids with Anson, and as far as reading goes... have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? It's one of my favorites. I'm not sure what genres you prefer, but if you like the fantasy(ish), you might try Wildwood Dancing, too -- we just read that for my book group and it's one of my new favorites. But I'm a sucker for that genre, the semi-fantasy... not full-on fantasy worlds, but fantasy overlapping a realistic world. Anyway, long comment, good luck with everything :)

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