Downsizing

Always seems to have a negative connotation. But guess what? There are perks:

1. I like the eat in-kitchen! Since I spend most mealtimes retrieving items for the children (I need a spoon! May I have more milk?) and not actually sitting, I'm only 5 feet from the fridge, drawer, etc., rather than the 15 perhaps I used to be.

2. The playroom is truly its own room now, rather than the bonus area type room it was before. So I can theoretically close the door! That leaves me just the kitchen and (1) living room to have to clean after bedtime and can be done rather quickly. Don't get me wrong, I didn't clean the playroom much before, either,but now I can't even see the stuff.

3. After the first few nights, the boys settled into a new bedtime routine and they are going to bed well and falling asleep quickly. Since the move, they seem to have reset themselves when it comes to bedtime behavior. In two months, we have removed naps entirely, moved 800 miles, and started pre-school, so it's hard to say exactly what caused the change, but I am ever so grateful to God for the miracle of mostly smooth, easy bedtimes. They were difficult for a LONG LONG LONG time.

4. I have the biggest utility/mud-room ever! Everything that I don't want to look at but need to have close goes there: washer/dryer, broom, coats, boots, recycling, plastic bag holder, it's great. You know how you (and by you I mean me) come in carrying a baby, a diaper bag, purse, two kids and their backpacks and coats and boots, and everything just gets dumped in a huge pile? well, now we have room for little shortie coat hooks and the kids have learned to hang up all their stuff and put the boots in the boot tray. no kidding! I even have plans to organize and decorate. (We will have to see about that one)

5. We have a huge garage that is currently storing a bunch of our junk (with room to park of course) but it's not quite as swanky as our last one, and I feel comfortable spray painting all my shabby chic Pinterest projects in there...could be the lovely graffiti in there that makes it so homey;) but seriously, once that gets organized (read, WARM outside) it's going to be a very useful space...you might be surprised how few rentals have two car garages!

6. We are within walking distance of a state of the art library! I know it has nothing to do with downsizing, but because of our location, we will be able to walk there and spend lots of time in the children's area. (I already like it better than our old one.) Except the kids won't have the self checkout machines anymore. Small price to pay.

7. We have lost our beautiful view of the woods in the backyard (but that means we've lost the mosquitoes, too, praise The Lord!) but the view out my kitchen window receives the morning sunrise (I've never had that) and two big bushes (I hope they are lilac) filled with sparrows all day long. They tweet and sing and there is a cardinal couple who often joins them (how appropriate, Hubs and I were SVSU cardinals) and their red red feathers stand out against the white of the neighbor's house.

8. We have one bathroom. Okay, it's not a perk. But it's worth mentioning because God has a sense of humor. He knows how much I hate cleaning bathrooms, and He must think I need a lesson on appreciating them because you don't know what you've got till 3 of your bathrooms are gone! So now I'm Clorox wiping and Lysol spraying every day because I have to use it, too! One of the first things Hubs did was install a new toilet seat...and he's always thinking of me, friends. He bought one that removes easily for cleaning. Did you know they existed? They do. Kohler. Guess what? It works like a charm and now I know why I couldn't get the boys bathroom to smell clean before! Thanks, honey!

One bathroom is bringing us closer together, too, literally. Oh, so literally! On Tuesday, there was a moment when C was in the tub, I was using the commode, and N was sitting on his little potty. I'm pretty sure M was in there, too.

Tonight it happened again, me and all 3 kids in there...but maybe I'll write that story tomorrow. I think it deserves its own post!

Downsizing...so far, so good.

4 Bed, 1 Bath, Great Location

We just moved back to the small town where I was raised. Not born, of course, because it's too small for a hospital. They did have babies in hospitals 35 years ago, even in small town MI.

What's that old saying, you can take a girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl? Something like that. I've grown accustomed to Minnesota suburbia and being close to every big box store imaginable, then, "small town" Minnesota, population 20,000. Now I'm living within the city limits, population 2000, so I'm not technically in the country.

And I love it.

"Look at the sunrise!" M cried this morning. A gold and pink sunrise was visible out one kitchen window, lighting the bean and grain silos with a pink reflection a few blocks away, visible through the other. I smiled, happy that my Keurig coffee maker is located between the views.

A high school classmate and Facebook friend commented on my post about dropping the boys off at preschool yesterday: her daughter is in their class.

My mom came over last night to help with bedtime crazies because Hubs is on the road again.

My MIL has tomorrow off and is coming over to take the boys to their second day of preschool.

My nephew's birthday party has been planned for a Monday night this month- and we will be in attendance for the first time ever.

Our library is within walking distance, and I can't wait to take the kids. My Girl Scout meetings were held there.

Today I received the very last garbage can the city had in storage. Whew, that was close!

Except M told me to go use my own bathroom when he found me in there today. Going to keep working on those manners, and sharing a bathroom, too.

"You've Got a Friend in Me"

The boys' first warm outdoor afternoon two weeks ago.  They LOVE their new backyard and were missing it terribly today!

Welcome Home

I'm back online finally!  We've learned that the house is wired so that I can only have my computer in one of two places: Hubs' office or the kitchen counter.  So now that we've moved in together (hee, hee) and split wires, I have my desktop dinosaur back up and running!  The flip side is that I'll only have access to it when the boys are sleeping.  That's not all bad - if I didn't have enough to keep me busy before, I certainly do now with more rooms to clean!

Astonishingly, we are closing in on two weeks in our new house.  Here we are opening the door with the boys the first day:

We had lots of friends and some family on hand to help us with the move.  A thousand thanks to you all for your love and muscles!  We couldn't have done it without you. 

The playroom is currently my favorite room in the house!  The weather has been pretty chilly since we got here, so we've been spending our hours down in the basement.  Above, you'll see my sons demonstrating how to play quietly and individually!  It doesn't last long, but it's heavenly while it does! 

We did have one nice day, and since they tasted the freedom of the backyard, they've been begging to go "oussigh?"  The cozy coupes arrived safely and will be well loved again this year.

We are going to go with a "rocketship" theme in the boys' room because this is what their bedroom has!  A giant hand-painted rocket!  There are stars, too, and a smaller one on another wall.  Of course we chose this room for them and I can't wait to put the rest of it together. 

There is so much more to tell you and so many stories of the boys and how they love exploring their new house and how they are finding so much trouble together!  But first,I wanted to send you a couple of pics and a little love to tell you that we are alive and well and enjoying the blessing of our new house together.