a long month...or two now?

Disclaimer: I started writing this roughly two weeks ago (right after mothers day).  And I just copied this over and didn't reread it first, so have fun!  I have been entering data and reconciling church bank accounts all day and need to get out of here!  We are headed to fro-yo for a MUCH needed break on this rainy day.  

WOWWEE. It has been a crazy month.

This week is the week I have been waiting for nearly 4 weeks. The last week of April we got the painting finished and moved out of the other place (which I also had to do some painting and cleaning at) by the 27^th. Now the last of the bridal showers, bachelorette party, and all the other wedding things I had to do and the wedding are OVER. We had a full weekend with lots of driving and visiting with family (even got a trip into the zoo on Friday), and finally life seems to be getting back to normal. Our days are gaining some rhythm to them, and the house is slowly taking shape as our home.

I am pretty sure a million things happened this month. I think I may have even invented a weight loss program. Want to know a great way to lose 5 pounds? Use the becca weight loss plan: Spend 10 hours a day painting, clean two houses from top to bottom, pack and move small loads of your stuff throughout the day when you get a few extra minutes, get a puppy, and try to keep two kids happy all day while trying to make sense of chaos. Continue for a week and a half. After this point, stop painting and moving, but continue to wake up at 6:30 every morning by a child who can’t sleep if there is a hint of light in the room, unpack boxes, move furniture (having stairs helps), walk your dog (and two children – one in a stroller, one strapped to your body), and eat mainly scraps left over from your children’s meals. You may consume large quantities of coffee and be obsessed with mango passionfruit tea in the evenings to unwind before finally going to bed. Be prepared to wake up 2 or 3 times during the night to put your youngest back to bed. Put back on a couple of pounds after your sister’s wedding when you no longer need to fit into your bridesmaid dress by stuffing your face with leftover brownies.

But in all seriousness, we are very, very, very happy to be at our new house! And its nice to be able to start enjoying it. Last night we had our first dinner outside on our back porch, and Jeremy and I drank tea and sat on our swing for a long time with the dog after the kiddos were in bed last night. Jeremy and I were just talking about how glad we are that we had to move, because we never would have done it if we hadn’t been forced. We have gained all the things we have been longing for, really. An awesome yard and place to entertain, a garage with a loft (we set up a guest/music/tv room up there – we go out there when the kids are asleep, turn on the baby monitor and watch a show. It’s so fun! And I love not having a tv in the house), a loft bedroom (something Jeremy has always wanted), a Jacuzzi tub, a large kitchen, a house that stays warm and will not be hard to heat in the winter, and a great office for us both to work in. I feel overwhelmingly blessed and all the insanity is definitely worth it. Things are finding their home slowly, so there are a lot of piles still around. We did have to downsize quite a bit, but it has been a good process. We have so much less and it feels so good to be getting closer to the simple life we have been craving. We are learning that little changes over time go a long way in the end and are trying to not get discouraged by not seeing immediate results. I can’t believe all the change that has taken place in our lives as we look back over the year – who knows what this year will bring! I am anticipating much, much more.

Anyway! I just wanted to write, because it feels like it has been so long. I hope I can have you girls out some time soon! If you need a break, this is the place for it! Our yard is perfect for lounging in the son, its just beautiful. And it is so much easier to walk to the store and the dock now, because we don't have to scale the giant hill up from our house.

PICTURE DUMP! I loved looking through my phone pictures this month. Although life seemed pretty chaotic and busy, every day has been full of little blessings and the joy that I see in my children's faces in these pictures is a little overwhelming to me, because I feel like I have failed time and time again parenting them, but I see God's grace in their smiles. I was finally able to reconnect with my mommy friends in the past week, too. I attended a baby shower for a dear new friend, whose older son will be attending my preschool class next year. It was so nice to visit over a lovely brunch and catch up with her. We are so like-minded, even though she is probably close to ten years older than me, I enjoy her company very much. I also had a spontaneous playdate at the park last Monday. We headed out and I simply posted it on my moms group fb page and invited a few other moms via text and had a great turn-out. I had missed being around people a lot! And it was beautiful out. I got to say goodbye to one mommy friend who is moving to Enumclaw. She was really a cool person and we had so much in common, but I'm glad we got to see her one more time! I had another goodbye this last weekend from another friend. She and her husband and baby are quite suddenly moving to California. She has been so homesick since she has been up here, so I know she will be much happier down there, but I will miss her also. God brings so many different people in and out of our lives, but I'm glad that over the years I have been able to adopt the mind set of every relationship being a blessing for a time. We had a couple ar two kids (she is expecting her third) over last night who I only recently met, and I am seeing a real new friendship form in that. She is my age (which is rare that I find someone my age with children the same age as mine), and we have very similar ideas about parenting and schooling. So, socially, we have had a busy week, but it has been energizing for me! I LOVE having people over to our new place, it is so perfect for entertaining, and there is so much room for the kids to run and play outside.

We got Kaia fixed this last Thursday, and since then (I think it was actually all very traumatic for her – she had extremely high anxiety when I picked her up) she hasn't been as jumpy and has been obeying much better. I think part of it is that we are able to give her a lot more attention now that we are home more and not as busy, but I also think she took it almost as a discipline from me. We started letting her inside, because we want to keep her wound clean, and we want her around us more anyway, but I barely have to look at her when she does something wrong and she stops and goes to her “time out spot”. She has been doing really well though! Last night she stayed in her bed all night and even though we haven't had her in the house, she doesn't like to go potty inside and is doing so well with the kids now, I hardly have to worry. I never, ever, ever thought I would have a dog – much less an indoor dog. But, she's starting to win me over. And our floor is all tile, so its nice she can be in the main living space and we can clean up really easily, and she is pretty good about not jumping on the furniture or anything. Although, she was chewing on my rugs this morning...ah well!

I guess that's it for now. ha ha.  what a random place to end.  Oh well.