Home

I'm slightly embarrassed to be showing you the mess that currently passes as our home, but I wanted you to see where we live and the great space we've been blessed with.
On Saturday we were inundated with help (I think like 14 people came from the church?) and everything was out of the apartment in 30 minutes. Took another 20 to get it fit into the truck (not a wasted inch; Steve did good). We headed to the house and again it took about 30 minutes to unload. Started at 0830, done at 1000. Of course the pizza we promised didn't open until 1030 and it was such a gorgeous day people wanted to get home, so we skipped on lunch for everyone (HUGE thanks to Jess for supplying breakfast and goodies for everyone). Some of the guys stayed and helped get stuff to fit. Our ceilings are very low so the bookcases and loft bed got cut down, and heavy furniture got placed more or less where I wanted it. I don't think I freaked out on anyone, and thanks for ignoring it if I did :)
We made some good progress getting stuff put away but that tapered off yesterday so you'll see a lot of boxes featured in the photos. I did get the important items completed (beds put together, bathroom and kitchen assembled, tomatoes and cucumbers planted).
A few side notes. Henri has been a bit out of sorts with all the changes. She had a brief separation anxiety phase back at 6ish months and it seems to be rearing up again. She gets very upset if anyone leaves and you can just see the stress on her face as she wanders among the boxes. Yesterday I got out some of her books and she pounced on them with a desperate grasp. I was also told in nursery she freaked if her diaper bag was out of reach; it was something she recognized. What I didn't tell the worker was that her real security blanket is my bra. Yup, she's been carrying one around quite a bit this past week. I figure as long as we keep it in the house it can't hurt. It's just gross when I need to wear it and it's soaking wet from where she's been sucking on it.....She's also teething (top right) and has a very snotty nose; not sure if it's teething, allergies or a cold. Every time she gets this and I finally make an appt with the MD she gets over it before we get there. So I'm letting it go for now.

Anyway, lots of changes but we're trying to keep the routine the same until we all get acclimated. A cessation in the rain will certainly help. And the contractors are finally here, so I'm feeling more confidence in our main support beam already :) Poor guys look miserable as they're on their bellies digging out nasty muck AND it's pouring on them when they go outside, but I guess it's semi their own fault as they were supposed to come yesterday when it wasn't raining. I attempted brownies for them and somehow my never fail recipe failed big time. A combination of too little cocoa powder and a new to me oven, I think. And apropos of nothing, does anyone know how to increase the temp on a hot water heater? I like my showers piping and at the moment the temp doesn't even qualify as lukewarm. It might be part of Steve's grand scheme to keep utility costs low, but 30 second showers (and I'm not exaggerating on the time, either) are very disheartening. But we have a curved shower rod so the liner doesn't touch you while you're in there :)



Little model is very into bright colors right now



Love her faces



This is what the poor suckers contractors are digging out



Living room from the front door (or maybe it's the side door. I don't think we've decided yet)



Living room from the doorway of Henri's room



Can't wait to hang this pict in H's room; the colors go perfectly with the wall. Not sure you can see, but the goat is saying "maaaa". Awww!



The guest bed cut down to size



H's closet is coming along nicely



Pantry's filling up



Learned very fast that H is still too young for fridge letter magnets. I'm finding them all over the house



The table fits!



Perhaps a bit girly, but the shower curtain matches the paint.



The mirrored cabinet Steve put together and hung. Holds a lot!

I'll post again when things are actually put away and cleaned but this hopefully gives you a general idea of the layout. Just realized there's none of the master bedroom, but it's still a mess of boxed and strewn items and I'm still figuring out spacing for everything so that will have to wait.  A special thanks to Allie for coming down last week and helping me pack. Also, my folks came last Friday and put the gardens into great shape. I think we're going to have a very lovely yard with a bit of work. Off to unpack a few more boxes :)