Almost There

The three of us are almost four--Brian has been gone since Monday but is coming back late tomorrow night. The week has gone fairly well considering its auspicious start. The sun has been warming our faces and necks and our spirits as well. Harvey is continuing to practice his new dance which is exclusively pelvic thrusts.

Norah and I have done some drawing:



The above is a picture of a dog that I drew. She added legs to it (for the first time intentionally drawing something that resembled the thing she was claiming it to be).

Our house is almost ready to put on the market. We have finished repainting the inside--below is a picture of our new and improved living room walls and fireplace:



We have some small touch-ups on the inside and the outside of the house needs to be cleaned, but we are almost there. In more ways than one, we are almost there.

Another One of Those Days

1. Brian left for five days this morning.
2. He took his car to the shop
3. I took Norah to school.
4. My car overheated.
5. I had no car and a daughter who needed to be picked up in two hours.
6. I had two lovely friends who helped me get through the day.

In lighter news, Norah has announced the following regarding Harvey's illness, "Harvey has diarrhea in his butt. I don't like diarrhea." She also explained to me this evening that the heater is cold (we don't have the heat on anymore) and could I put a coat on it. Thank goodness she helped me laugh my way through this harrowing 10 hours.

Finally, I have signed the below petition to add our names taken off of the phone book distribution list. What a waste of paper.

I am in. I spent the month of February on my retail fast and I am going to spend the month of April doing as well. Mine is starting tomorrow and ending on May 5. There may be some exceptions this month (unlike February) as we are putting our house on the market and have to get a few things here and there to spruce up the place a bit more, but I am totally in. And I have added my own rule--no eating out either unless there was a previous engagement or we are forced to do so with family in Florida. I will keep you posted. Before the day is out today, I need to buy a birthday present, and then game on.

today was one of those days

that I just felt like crying all day. The recipe for the day was there--couldn't fall asleep last night, Harvey teething and waking up throughout the night, cold day with unpermiting weather, no scheduled plans to see anyone, and bad news on the job front yesterday. Brian is also coming home very late tonight so I knew it was going to be a long one.

I tried though, I really did try. This morning Norah and Mama went out for their very own breakfast while Dada stayed home with the H-Bomb. Norah has been really asserting her independence from me these days. And the more I need love from her, the further away she pulls. So, I have been trying to play it really cool (and I am NOT very good at this). When I engage her rather than seek love from her, our interactions go a lot better. So after our little breakfast this morning (Starbucks was the only place on earth open early enough for our breakfast time), we went to CVS and picked up some paint. By the time we go back home, H was down for his first nap and the painting began.




I spent the rest of the day battling exhaustion and the temptation to crumble into a lump of tears on the floor. When the kids woke from their very short naps, I managed to get outside and ran into our incredibly nice neighbor and his neat two year old. We strolled to the park on this very cold, windy day and chatted about everything under the sun--dieting, real estate, teaching, two year olds, etc... I got some much needed respit from my head while we talked.



Tomorrow will be better. Yes. It will.

petitcollage

I just got one. I just got one. I just got one. I have been waiting for months and months and months to get one of these wooden collages from the etsy seller petitcollage. I waited so long in fact that the prices went up, but I feel certain that the piece will be worth it. I love her whimsical work. It is really so perfect for Norah's room.

I have been an on and off etsy addict since my brother's partner and my friend Marla told me about the site a few months ago. Like everyone else, I love looking at my seller's favorites, and their favorites, and so on and so on. I discovered etsy before I discovered the blogging world though, so I did not have nay real direction and ended up finding loads and loads of nothing. now that I am more familiar with some of the sellers, I waste less time on the site and have a whole lot of fun. I'll post a picture of the collage when it comes in.

Outdoorsy Art

I think I am falling in love with the online crafting world. The only problem i, I have too many ideas and not enough time in my lifetime to get them done. While I am reading my daily list of blogs, I feel my heart starting to pound with some excitement and some near panic--which project should I do with the kids tomorrow? how much time have I wasted with my children already? how many moments have I lost? I find that when I am feeling good and doing something new and different with either Norah or Harvey, each day fills me with wonder and awe--at the human body, at the human mind...

One day last week while Harvey was sleeping, Norah and I went outside looking for things in nature that we loved--well, really I was collecting those things and she was hoarding her new Dora doll from our neighbor Maia. Anyways, we brought some leaves, pine needles, and a pine cone inside and made some pretty, happy pictures.

Norah made this one:


And I made this one:

Spring Cleaning

Brian and I have undertaken a pretty large job in the past couple of days. To say that we are cleaning out for spring would be an understatement. We are giving our house a makeover for a couple of reasons. I have to say, it is such a good feeling to get rid of stuff that has been hanging around for years. Although, while I used to feel a complete sense of relief when I gave stuff away, I do feel a twinge of guilt when I do so now--how could I reuse this? I gave away some old curtains today and wondered if I should have held on to them--I could have dyed them and used them as dress-up scarves for Norah and Harvey in a couple of years (or months!).

Our house is already starting to take on a whole new looks (pictures of the finished product are forthcoming). We have repainted the living room and entrance a very dreamy, light shade of grey. Our designer neighbor (the one who chose the color) would never call it grey, but that is what it looks like to me. While the walls are pretty, all of our furniture appears very dark and heavy in their new surroundings. I think I must migrate to warm colors--I loved the prior color on our walls--an almost mustard yellow. Tomorrow, Wilmer is going to finish painting the sunroom/my NEW office.

On another note, I LOVE the cleaning product pictured above, Ecover. It can be found at Whole Foods. I spray it on my granite countertops every night as I am finishing up my work in the kitchen. There is something about the smell of it that is so soothing to me. It signals an end to the work of the day and a time for relaxation.