Some days it all comes together!

Look at that planning. Look at that mildly clean stove! Look at that variety of ingredients (some are even organic), nutrients, and a planned meal. Being a mom takes so much time, planning, and energy that sometimes you just have to pat yourself on the back. 

The planning of meals, grocery-listing, shopping, hauling of stuff from house to kitchen and then magically finding time to put it all away, keeping the toddler and dog's nose out of everything...... is quite a chore. 

Today I thought to cook the sweet potatoes while mopping and doing yard work.... so they were ready for tonight when I was able to mash them (alongside the toddler), pop them into the oven, and get the meal ready before I heard complaints of grumbly tummies.

Today we spent a lot of time outside. Today I enjoyed the basement that I cleaned out and overhauled last weekend.   Today I helped a kid call their mom because Spanish club was cancelled. Today I helped a kid learn to roller skate. Today I was totally focused on my toddler and then totally focused on the kids playing and walking outside for awhile before settling inside to make this dinner. 

Sometimes it all just comes together. And kids, for the memories you have of all the day mom screwed up and burnt the rolls or didn't have the right ingredients on hand to make things the right way, or forgot to go to chef school and learn how to cook, just know that tonight, you'll sit down to dinner on time, say grace, eat with your family a meal cooked with love and that you'll like the taste of. Hopefully you remember more of these meals than the others:)                                  

Houses, Houses, Houses, Home

My mind has been going crazy with houses lately. We have a few house projects going on at work, and especially over the summer, they had my mind spinning with desire and possibilities . Since I don't really show what I do at work I'll give you an idea.... Inside many of these homes have the traditional detailing with new updates and modern things like beautiful kitchens. And if they don't, we add them. There was one home that was so sweet with just the perfect colors, the perfect tile, I loved the family's taste. They had a chance to remodel it themselves and it was so perfect I could just picture the addition making it that much better. There were several turn-of the century homes that we worked on that just appealed to my design sense. I even came across one very livable actual Frank Lloyd Wright home for sale at an almost reachable price. I hope google's search history doesn't let on just how often I pecked through those photos.

And then there was a high rise I've been working with the homeowner on. We went shopping together and I was actually paid to surf the web on Houzz, creating idea books for several projects. It was fun and I humbly say, I enjoy it so much my passion comes through in reading the clients well enough to provide them with some beautiful ideas. My boss gave me license to be "the one" to head up the high rise apartment project and it's everything I could have hoped for. Being "a designer." It's still under construction, but I'm just itching to see it all come together- especially for the nice couple who will retire and live and raise grandchildren and host Christmas and barbecue at the 4th of July there. It's awesome putting other's needs in your mindset and designing for them.

But that leaves my own mind crazy wanting to find what we, our family, want and need. Of course our finances are never a good precursor to jumping into the next price bracket for homes, but we were reading articles all over the place about the housing market booming in our little neighborhood. And maybe, just maybe, we could get a little out of our place and put it towards a new place. Logan is coming into the junior high school in the fall of 2015, and while the grade school has been good- the jr. high is not what we want. So we are looking at that as a goal- do we find a private school, find some way to make his experience (and the girls thereafter) great, or find a new place to land. The girls share a room and well, our kitchen chairs don't really even fit into our kitchen. Our dog takes up her own space. It's getting tight in here.

We have been married for 16 years, and 9 of them have been spent in this house. The other 7 have been spent in let's see how many places.... Green Street, International District, Queen Anne, Elliot Avenue, short stints in our parents houses and then our town home in the Seattle area. We loved that little place. But something (we can't even agree what made us move) made us move. I think it was a combination of hormones, wanting to fit a second baby into our home, family, good timing with an upswing in the real estate market, both of us job hunting at the same time (why not look where we want to land), family. Did I mention family? So we sold our sweet town home with a view of the mountains (below) and moved to the Chicago area. 

Into a cute 3-bedroom brick Georgian with 1-year-old Logan and our dog Abby. It needed some work, but it's been a somewhat sturdy house. Actually when the realtor was asking what we had done to over the years I realized it was a lot of Botox and maintenance and just a bit of prettying-up. So we made the backyard nice- which is great when family comes over. And beautiful spring evenings where steaks sizzle on the grill and the kids run around playing soccer on the grass.

Maybe it's because this winter the yard looks like this that we are just feeling fed up. Ready for change, ready for spring of course. But winters are harsh and this house is needing work, and it's only more apparent after this harsh weather. Do we really want to dump money into it? Really? Hmph. New roofs and new furnaces are just not much fun.

We thought about renting a town home in a cool town near work and a great school district from a family member while they move out to a new smaller place, and selling our place. I spent hours tetris-ing our things into this home in my brain while rocking the baby to sleep, doing boring tasks at work. The end result is it will be tough. But do-able. So do we want to get rid of a bunch of our stuff, and sell the house for a not-much-profit? This town home would be extremely urban and a new way of life for all of us.

So we called a realtor and got all excited about the possibilities. Only, the answer was that the housing market isn't working miracles.... yet..... and we may have to be creative instead. We can't add on, the FAR is maxed out. Finishing a basement is a hard decision as there has been so much flooding in the area. Plus, its a basement. Who wants to stick their kid down there right? We could make it really nice, but nice costs money and guess what? Apparently the house isn't worth money. 

Yes clutter is evil and stuff is evil and clean is good right? At least that's the trend nowadays. But with all these snowy days (about 100 now) and days home with no place to go, the kids have dug out old toys, found my packs of pipe cleaners, made big creations, tented up our living room with those extra blankets I so happen to have. I inherited some things from my aunt's passing and these are non-essential, they are "things", but who am I to send those out of my life. They are family, some of them heirlooms. Am I going to be the one to send American Girl Dolls, special Lego Star Wars creations or Venice's prized baby doll nursery packing because they are too big or too many? Or how about the dollhouse made of real wood with a turret and curtains I sewed and built with my mom when I was 11? After all these years, and care repainting it, I should just let it go because "clean is better?" Cutting down on junk is a no-brainer, but we don't have a house full of junk. We have a house full of life and living. And just the logistics of housing bicycles for all of us is a big deal. 

So, kids, your mom is going mental over all of this. I want want want. Then I feel guilty for wanting. Then I feel like I owe you good schools, but I settle into knowing your schools are pretty good and you really love learning which really is most of the battle. And then I hear stories about the ones you will be going to and I second-guess myself. Then I realize if we jump price brackets in homes we may never be able to afford so many awesome things for you- college, sports, activities, vacations, adventures. I have no idea if we will move or not, but at least now you can look back and see why or why not and what your mom was thinking about it all. And even if we decide to move- where should we land next? It's so very hard. The places that are so nice are not so cheap. Do we stay in the Chicago area- land of family and the Polar Vortex, or do we venture into one of the many destinations available even staying in Jorge's firm? 

Anyone know a good psychic? I'd looooove to know. So at least I could sleep a bit better at night.

Waking UP

When Venice wakes up, it's usually because Carly the dog has woken her and she's not usually happy about that. So she's clingy, whiney, demanding, and wants me to carry her around to carefully selected locations. We get downstairs and there is a 10 minute discussion of which sippy cup to select and what to put in it. Sylvie was my milk princess. She was intolerant for awhile but once she got going, by late age 2 and age 3 she would devour milk. It relaxed her. Venice and liquids are a bit different, especially in the mornings. I think the problem is she doesn't actually love many drinks. Sure she would like a frozen mango smoothie but that's not happening at 5 am before coffee! So trying to get the dog out and putting her down on the stool for a moment so I can use the bathroom are met with big giant tears and screams. It's chaotic, it's frustrating, it's annoying, it's loud.

Last night around 3 am I couldn't sleep. I decided to head downstairs for a few minutes and drink something, try to get rid of some heartburn. Well Carly popped right up to her baby gate pawing gently at it to let me know "ME TOO!"

I brought her down with me, let her out, she came right back in. We were in sync. She was quiet, walking around after me as I fixed the heat, got something to drink, settled onto the couch. She didn't even try to jump on the couch, just nuzzled into my lap a bit for a pet. But it was so quiet I realized!

Lesson to be told: toddlers are loud and demanding. Dogs can be too, but when it comes down to it the dog is more concerned for your needs and if you are okay if things are out of routine than a toddler.

It was kind of nice to have a pup to hang out with until I fell asleep again.

6:05 the house was ablaze with activity again. Logan was getting dressed and slamming the lid of the hamper, Carly knew he was awake and was desperate for his attention. The dog actually woke Sylvie up and then of course the rest of us were up as well. Crazy crazy busy days. But really, isn't that what life is about? I guess we'll rest..... eventually.

It's March..... in the winter that will just not end

We are breaking records left and right. Cold beyond compare. In the top snowfall stats for the last hundred or so years. The entire country is winter-worn and weary. And our boiler  broke on our heated floor. Magically, my husband decided to tear apart the motor and rebuild it by replacing a broken spring. I'm not sure what the motivation was but I'm super excited to have a heated floor again and appreciative that it took time and not money to fix it! Sylvie is living it up with cute boots and leg warmers at least! After my boots broke, I even went and bought a new pair of boots similar to Doc Marten's and I'm glad I did, I've been wearing them for 2 months straight.

So we have had about a million play dates. I worked Tue, Wed, Thu full days for this entire year. But several months ago we got so busy in the office that my boss asked me to work more hours if I was able. So I worked Mondays but left early enough to get the kids from school. So Mondays and Fridays have become free days where we are done with our work by 3 pm and I can invite people over or drop them off at a friends house. Our house seems to be the popular destination, and that's okay by me. I enjoy seeing the kids grow friendships and navigate play dates. 

Logan's friends like to play video games in his room- especially Skylanders. They dig into a toy box of weapons- swords and shields or those silly nerd blasters or guns that make sounds. I put a shelf together of his lego creations and they will pull the ships out and run around making sound effects. I have had several moms say they love that the kids don't just play video games here. Swords and such may be a bit babyish, but I love that it keeps them having fun and being silly and actually looking at one another! They also love cards so they will pull out decks and compare or play against one another. Pokemon was a big thing for awhile, but Yu-gi-oh seem to have taken over. And randomly Logan has been telling me he plays chess with one friend at indoor recess at school. Which is just cool because I personally do not know how to play, but I think it's a great life skill.

Recently Sylvie and her friend dragged out ALL of the American Girl stuff. Her entire room was set up as an American Girl apartment with beds, closets, bathroom furniture, a sink, the works. I did grow tired of tripping over it on my way to getting Venice to bed, but I love the effort she put in to set up little miniatures and special things like a baby bassinet under this loft bed. She is my creative soul. She tears through the house on days off going from one project to another. She will check youtube for "how to make" and design herself braces, or a cast for her american dolls, or just sketch. It's fun to see her so happy with it all. She has also jumped on the Frozen song "Let it Go" bandwagon and I'll catch her singing. Not as much dancing or gymnastics as before, but she's still likely to randomly climb and jump all over the house. I'm hoping to start gymnastics back up soon once the Polar Vortex's leave for good! Logan can't wait for soccer to start again. 

I met up with some moms from my meet up.com moms group and we did a "toddler busy bag" exchange. Basically all those awesome things you see on Pintrest that you want to make the idea was to buy the supplies to make 10 of one thing so it's a bit cheaper, and then exchange them so you get 10 different bags. Venice has been having fun with them. She is much more like a preschooler, able to sort, use fine motor skills, etc. She also adores her My Gym days with my in-laws and though she won't tell everyone her name, she's brave enough to try balance beams and flips on the barre. She also like Sofia the First and this costume was a Valentine's Day gift.

Venice is also mastering all the kids songs - this is her dancing the hokey pokey with Elmo. As I type she is tearing apart Sylvie's Barbie Dollhouse and I hear her speaking in voices for the dolls. She is setting the house up properly, and has an extremely fastidious personality when it comes to how things should look and be done. She has called me over 10 times to get the doll sitting just right on the chair or swing.

Venice is a grazer. She doesn't put away huge amounts of food. But she reminds me of a sophisticated European. She would like a divided plate, with several options, cut equally into appealing pieces and arrangements. She will hunt through the pantry to find the perfect thing to accommodate her banana for example. Or each bite of yogurt must contain a raspberry as well. She eats somewhat slowly, avoids any imperfect bites. And uses her silverware and napkin. I often leave her at the table still eating while the rest of us are done and moved on. She will also go back for seconds. I gave her a snack because she couldn't wait at 4:45. Ate dinner with her at 5:10. It's 6:00 and she just asked for more steak and potato and sat and ate another serving. She'll be begging off my husband's plate at 7:00. And she'll join in for a late night snack at 8:00. 

"If you're happy and you know it, give a smile....." The girls definitely butt heads, but Sylvie has more patience with Venice than I do! 

Carly is 8 months old now. She's definitely still part puppy and settling into "Dog." She jumps, she's little and cute, she's springy. She looooooooves the snow, but not the cold. She gets big balls of ice on her fur, but will charge through discomfort to play with us all outside. Her poor side yard has been piled high with mounds of snow for 2 months now. We've cleared some areas for her, but she'll also climb right on top of the piles of snow and run around creating a "mote". We had one rainy day and she was not a fan. I'll be curious how spring goes for her, but I'm guessing she's going to love up those warm days and we'll be exploring the neighborhood beyond the immediate areas in no time. 

Well that's February/March  for now. Can't wait for spring to come!