We've Moved!

Again.  Wow.  We've made a goal to be here for 3-5 years.  The wall of boxes is huge.  The painting we'd hoped to do probably won't be done for a while.  There is a lot more of the yellow paint than I remembered.  But we're here!  Kind of crazy that this city is where DH and I met.  We had definite plans to not move back here.  Just goes to show that you shouldn't make too many plans.  One perk is that we still have friends in the area.  Sometime in the future (no earlier than January) we'll have a party here.  But until then, don't be strangers!  

Here is our Thanksgiving turkey, Tom.  We met him a few days before he became dinner.  Some of our friends raised turkeys for Thanksgiving and they let us have one.  He was a very impressive sight.  It was fun to see him next to all of the hens.  He was huge!  When he was delivered to us, ready to cook, he weighed 17 pounds!.  And he tasted absolutely delicious!  

Owl Sighting

I was sitting by our front window and saw a big thing run into our neighbors tree branch.  I looked again and realized that it was this huge owl!  We called the neighbors and I started taking pictures through the window.  When all the neighbors had been notified, we carefully opened the front door and made our way outside.  After a few minutes of being carefully quiet, A got out.  And he's not quiet.  And the owl still sat.  So we let N move and make noise.  And still he sat.  The owl eventually flew to the peak of our roof, but still wasn't disturbed by us.  Very cool!

Shoe Shopping

Not for me.  For A.  He had outgrown his size 5 shoes, and we only had a hand-me-down pair of size 6 sandals.  So it was time.  Crazily, he had never had to go shoe shopping, having received hand-me-downs from the time that he started needing shoes.  Love hand-me-downs.  So we go into Shoe Store #1.  They measure his foot at a 5, and tell me to buy 5 1/2.  Ummm, okay.  You're the expert.  5 1/2's wouldn't go on his feet.  I tried the wide variety, they went on, but he was screaming.  Size 6, still screaming.  So we left the store.  He could wear sandals all winter.  Not really.  We went across the hall in the mall to Shoe Store #2.  They measured him at size 6.  The sales lady helped us find a pair of shoes and tried to put them on my boy.  When the wouldn't go on, she felt his foot and found that he has a high instep.  And his foot is wide.  So we go for a size 7.  And they go on.  And when he stands up, they have room to grow, but not too much.  And now when he walks, he doesn't trip (as often.  He's still a toddler).  My 1-year-old wears a size 7.  Crazy!  But he loves them. When I get him dressed in the morning, he usually finds his shoes and insists that they go on his feet.  And he wears them ALL day.  I love my boy!

Round Two

We made an offer on a second house.  And we've had the inspection.  And we're very excited!  If it all goes according to schedule, we should be moving in Thanksgiving weekend.  Wahoo!   And because I forgot to take pictures (again), here is one that I took while staying with my Grandparents this past weekend, while in town to find our house.

Yikes!

You know how I blogged a while back about winning a Grand Champion at the county fair?  With my wheat bread?  The recipe that I got from my mom?  She just realized that she'd forgotten to put 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt on the recipe card.  A pretty vital ingredient.  Or so I've always thought.  And I still won Grand.  Oh, and I've been making the bread from that recipe card for well over a year now and I never noticed a difference.  Which leads one to wonder, how vital is salt?  Or have I just been really lucky to not have tasted the difference?  And how bad were the other breads that were entered into the fair?  Because you'd think that the judges ought to have been able to tell that SALT was missing.

Fall

A and I found ourselves alone for a while yesterday.  It doesn't happen often.  We took the opportunity to play in the leaves - each in our own way (i.e., he played, I played with my camera).  Fall is such a beautiful time of year.  I think I've finally decided that it's my favorite season - and not just because it's where my birthday falls.  I love the colors, the smells and the sounds.  

In other news, we had our inspection and decided not to take the house.  So we back to the hunt.  DH is currently working over there, so he's working with our real estate agent to find something that we'll like.  I'll keep you posted...

Accepted

We put an offer in on a house and it was accepted!  Hooray!  Now, pending an inspection, it's ours!  So I thought I'd share pictures.  We didn't think to take pictures of the inside, but here is the outside.  After some work and water, the grass will turn green and beautiful.





The inside also needs some work, but we're excited about it.  It's a tri-level split, which apparently we both really like, since there were more than one on our favorites list after looking at all the homes.  Inspection, here we come!

Newborn Stage

I've heard people say that they miss the newborn stage when it's gone.  I've NEVER felt that way.  EVER.  Now, though, I get it.  J is such an easy-going little newborn, that I'm loving the newborn stage.  She snuggles right into me, and falls asleep without a sound.  She takes good naps during the day and sleeps at night, going back to sleep after eating.  She's incredibly patient with her older siblings, who love on her with enthusiasm (we're working with A on the concept of GENTLE.  I can understand his confusion, though.  What's a boy supposed to think when he sees his mom hitting [i.e., burping] the baby?).  J's okay with tummy time, is mostly happy when awake, will accept a pacifier if she isn't fed immediately....  It's a first for me.  And I will miss the newborn stage.

In other news, DH got a new job, so we'll be moving again.  To Utah.  We took a whirlwind trip this weekend to go house hunting, found one we both like, now we're just waiting to see if our offer is accepted.  I'll give more details on the house is we get it.  So, DH starts work tomorrow, and the kiddos and I will stay here until we close on the house (moving twice in a month or so with 3 young kiddos sounds ludicrous to us).  

Blurb

A while back I came across a promo code for a free book at blurb.com.  So I followed the link and was actually able to create my own book and have it published.  For free!  The only part that I had to pay for was the shipping (isn't there always a catch?).  I'd had an idea in mind for a book for a while, so I decided to go for it.  The entire process was easy!  And when my book came, I loved it!  I still do, in fact :).  And though I know that I'm probably the only person who will ever own a copy (the prices are rather high), I'm still happy about it.  And I'm counting it as getting published, even though I didn't have to go through the harrowing process of finding a publisher, etc.  And even though I haven't written down my bucket list, it's in my head.  And getting published is on there.  Except now, I can cross it off!  When I actually get around to writing it down.

Surprise!

That's what J did to us! 9 days early. More than a pound lighter than either of the other kiddos. Cute as can be! We're back from the hospital and getting accustomed to being at home. Working on getting all of the last minute things ready that didn't get ready prior to her coming. To get a personal invitation to her blog, for pictures and updates, leave a comment on this post or send me an email.