Goodbyes and Leaps of Faith

We said goodbye to 221 S. 5th Avenue yesterday. 

Why did our final walk-through seem to trigger every memory of living under that roof?  As excited as I am for the opportunity to raise our kids in the country, something about leaving the familiar... the comfortable... the known... requires a leap of faith. 

I left my house key on the kitchen counter and willed myself to look ahead, never turning back.  We spent the rest of the day where it needed to be spent. 

In the country... at the neighbors.

"There comes a day when you realize turning the page is the best feeling in the world, because you realize there is so much more to the book than the page you were stuck on."

Zayn Mailik

Luck, Freak Irons and Butts

Spending my days with Molly has become my 'Chicken Soup for the Soul'

 

Top quotes from our day... so far.

 

That iron is a freak.  I hate that iron.  I do not like him!

(after a small amount of cold water leaked onto her leggings)

 

I need you to smell my hands.  I just touched my butt and they are stinky.  Do you want to smell them? Please smell them.

 

Me "I'm a pretty lucky Mama"

Molly "Yes, you are"

 

Adjustments and Randomness

We are all adjusting. 

 

The kids are tired as they adjust to sleeping in the same room.  Mike and my bed is not what we're used to and I'm still doing daily loads of laundry at the old house. 

 

Adjustments.  

 

We're learning many things too.  For instance, Netflix rocks.  I love gas ovens as much as I love sitting at a dining room table.  It's strange to finally have enough seating in the living room for everyone and recliners are amazing.  Unleavened communion bread is a hassle to make and the cost of a 6 month dental check-up is ridiculous. 

 

That is my random blog post for the day.  May as well enjoy some random photos too.

 

My communion bread attempt.  Luckily for us, Lutherans don't mind 'leavened' bread if the unleavened bread attempt flops.

 

My kids before school this morning.  They're really tired.

 

Where Moo prefers to nap these days.

Whew!

Wow, what a ride this has been!  Our 'old' house is empty (just don't peek in the garage) and we're occupying a 900-something square foot home.  The tv and dvd player are hooked up and needless to say, were watching our fair share of Little House on the Prairie and counting our blessings after each episode.  We'll have internet again Tuesday and I'll be excited to start posting pictures again once that happens.  I haven't actually taken many photos, but the mental images developed this week will be forever etched in my mind...

 

The dead mouse which laid on the basement floor while showing my kids and mother-in-law the rental house for the first time and trying my darnest not to start bawling.

 

Grandma Boyd painting insides of cabinets, scrubbing appliances, plunging plugged toilets and mentally visualizing rooms in the rental for possible furniture arrangements.

 

The college-like hangover I woke to Wednesday morning (just 1 hour before the U-Haul was to be picked up for our 'big haul').

 

The kids returning from spending 6 days at my parents (which I'll never be able to repay them for) to tell me they actually liked the rental better than the 'old' house.

 

The look on Ross' face when he realized Mike and I decided to keep Kratt at the rental instead of taking him to the country for the summer.

 

Maisie crying for the billionth time 'I'm hunnngrry."  As well as her new haircut from Papa Green that takes Aunt Heather and I back to 1985.

 

Walking into our 'old' house to clean and being overwhelmed by the smell of cat piss leaching in from the old basement walls and being grateful I don't live there anymore.

 

My husband (God bless him) who still amazes me with his strength, attitude, patience and uncanny ability to deal with my ever-changing mental situations.

 

There are many, many more images which I'll store in my heart of hearts as this process unfolds.  In the meantime, I continue to count my blessings and thank the Ingalls for their pioneer perspective on challenges while realizing I'm living more like an Olson than an Ingalls and for that, I have no complaints. 

On the move

We are 90% moved into our rental.  We are exhausted, scratched, scraped, hungry, stinky, overwhelmed and just a little on the pissy side.  Mike just threw the king size mattress out the window and off the roof.  It's been an interesting day.

 

On the plus side.  My babies come home tomorrow.  I'll post more once we get our internet connection going at the 'vacation home'.

 

Sincerely,

Official east side renters.

Pine Wood

I know, I know, I should be packing and cleaning and sorting and on and on and on.  But Ross had Pinewood Derby last Sunday and he won second place... OVERALL!  Mike Ross worked super-hard on his car and managed to get the weights and axels just perfect to bring home not 1, but 2 trophies.  I don't really get how that worked, but whatever.  As G'funk would say, "more dust collectors"

 

The girls and I went home midway through the event because Maisie had pooped in her underwear 'just a little bit', and Molly's underwear were damp.  Plus the girls claimed to be 'hungry for Skittles' most of the time and it just wasn't working out.  Grandma Boyd came to the rescue and offered to stay home with the girls so I could go watch the finals.  Of course, I didn't think to grab my camera for the finals, so you'll have to use your imagination.

 

Ross' car tied with another car for second place.  They had to do a 'race-off'.  Ross paced the gym floor and looked as though he was on the verge of puking.  The suspense was killing him.

 

He won.

 

Ross' car below.  #202

Some hot bald guy in a Baconfest shirt ran the scoreboard. 

 

A pack of Wolf Scouts await the first round of races. 

 

Ross realizes his car is fast.  I couldn't believe he wore the holey knee jeans. 

 

 

He doesn't hide his excitement. He's a little bit like his dad.

Packing

Because we'll be building our future homestead this year, we'll be forced to rent during the process.  I explained to the kids they couldn't bring all of their toys to the rental home.  Were talking tight quarters for a minimum of 6 months.  Most our belongings will be in storage during the process and we'll only bring the essentials.  Like a little vacation... at least that's what I'm telling myself.  Each child was given 2 canvas bins to fill with their favorite toys.  In less than 10 minutes, each child emerged from their room with their selected toys.  After the emotional roller coaster  past 3 weeks has brought, the site of their bins brought me an unbelievable amount of appreciation for their sweet innocence.  I couldn't resist capturing their 'chosen items' through my camera lens.  The memory will be forever stored in my heart as well.

First up, Ross' bin: a tupperware of loom bands, 3 various guns, a broken matchbox semi-truck which hasn't be played with in ages, purple hand weights I used during my pregnancy with Ross, numerous books including a Boyscout Handbook from 1959, a book on Native Americans and book about Daniel Boone and Colonial Americans.

 

 

Maisie's bin: a pink Care Bear I didn't know existed, her Barbie make-up kit, her jewelry box, a framed photo of her handprint when she was 9 months old, a feather boa, two glass animal decorations I got as a kid and her Children's bible.

 

Last but not least, Molly's bin: a stuffed frog which has no significance, Maisie's pink dog Sparky, a big baby and a little baby, numerous books which haven't been read since her existance, 2 microphones, pair of doll slippers and a matchbox truck. 

 

Have I ever mentioned these kids make life worth living and teach me everything I need to know about live at the same time? 

 

God bless them.

Awkward Moment

That awkward moment when your son's teacher corrects your 'checked work'.  Dang you Juan.  I thought you had 6 dimes and 4 pennies.  Saxon Math is constantly trying to trick kids and make their parents feel stupid. 

What has this world come to? 

Off To A New Adventure

Around here we don't look backwards for very long

We keep moving forward

Opening up new doors

and doing new things

because were curious...

and curiosity

keeps leading us down new paths.

 

Walt Disney

 

We sold our house today.  We close March 31st.

Yes, that is 3 weeks away.

 

More to come...

 

Sincerely,

A soon-to-be country mama

 

Thankful Thursday

I don't know what I ever did to be blessed with this little girl who calls me mommy...

 

 

Whatever it was, I am forever grateful.

Dead because he Died

What Maisie chose to write during free-writing time at school today...

 

 

Dr. Seuss is ded beceuss he diede.

Musical Programs, Farts and Norwegian Girls

The 2nd Grade Music Program was performed Thursday evening.  Ross was NOT looking forward to it, to the point he wasn't planning to tell me when the program was scheduled.  After I found out, he begged me to let him skip it.  As the day of the program approached, things only got worse. 

He was assigned a part. 

As a dancer. 

He bawled, he pleaded, he raged and was ready to lick the floor to make himself sick for school Thursday. 

No such luck, he was going.

We found seats in the balcony and that's when it started.  Throughout the program it was as though
 someone kept crapping their pants.  The smell was horrendous to the point Mike was seriously baffled by how awful it became and was clearly seeking the culprit with a look of disgust. 

Meanwhile, my contact was out of focus the entire program and therefore, my photos turned out blurry.  Not to mention the tear gas being emitted wasn't helping my cause either.

None the less, Ross survived the 2nd Grade Music Program.  I reminded him at least he wasn't in the front row with itchy balls like last year.

Ross ponders where we are sitting. 

The dance begins.

After returning to the bleachers, he looked straight at us with this expression.

Each student wore a sailing hat.  Grandma was the first to notice Ross wore his sideways like a Norwegian girl.