And the chaos that followed...

We moved.

Moving is unnerving. It shakes the core of the rhythm of life - not to mention is completely exhausting. We only moved 5 miles from where we had been living for 4 years, but moving 5 miles in a city is like moving to another town that you've visited a few times. It's not like everything is foreign, but at the same time nothing is the same. Top that with the fact that Kyeson and I are still not sleeping through the night and it makes for some crazy days. For instance, shortly after we moved in here I ran with the girls to Target and got lost. I didn't get lost on the way to Target, I got lost in Target. The new closest Target that I run to is different in layout from all the other Targets that I usually frequent and I was so tired that I literally could not remember where the different areas of the store were. At one point I was standing in the cleaning supplies, and I didn't even know which direction to go to get to the front door. It was a crazy feeling.

We lived like this for about a month.



That whole month we didn't know for sure if we were going to be moving into our house, we didn't close until the day we moved. We just kept planning, hoping, and praying. August 30th the last paperwork finally went through, 2:00pm on August 31st we closed and at 4:00pm we got home and started loading the moving truck.

Chaos.

This is the new place :)



And then 5 days after we moved in Steve started a new job and Tryn started school.



So we had to adjust to new schedules, figuring out how to do the whole bus thing. The first few days found us running down the block to catch the bus - it was a great way to make a first impression with the other moms in the neighborhood.

Even though moving was a very positive experience for us - buying our first house!!! - there were days when all I wanted is to know where my socks were, to not keep opening the wrong kitchen cupboards, and to not feel like I was searching for a new proverbial needle every hour. We went from living in a one level 900 sq foot condo with no yard to a two story house with a basement on a double lot, which was grand, exciting, and more than I had hoped for. It's amazing. What is even more amazing however, is that every morning I know where my favorite coffee mug is and whether or not there is coffee in the cupboard. I can cook a meal with my dishes, which is more therapeutic than a massage and more necessary than the food itself. Normal is good, normal is comfortable. Things are starting to feel normal here. It is so good to feel normal in a bigger house with a great yard in a quiet and safe neighborhood.

Really good.

Today, A New Normal?

This is the first day since moving that we have had a semi normal family day. We actually hung out and did something together that was fun and not work - pictures to come later. However, this is what "normal" means right now...

Wake up. Feed Kyeson. Realize Tryn has 24 minutes left until she has to get on the bus and she is still in pj's. Get Tryn dressed and ready to go. Steve takes Tryn out the door as the bus is pulling up a few minutes early at the end of the block. Watch Steve pick up Tryn and run half a block with her down to the bus. Open up the fridge and coffee gushes out. Proceed to clean up 4 1/2 quarts of cold press coffee that leaked out of the container all over the inside of the fridge. Finally eat breakfast while holding fussy baby. Put Kye down for a nap. Drink a cup of coffee. Start laundry. Kye wakes up screaming after 20 minutes. Feed Kye. Go on a run with Piper. Shower. Make the family lunch. Eat lunch while, again, holding a fussy baby. Drive to an apple orchard with friend Becky. Have a really fabulous time picking apples and playing outside. Drive home. Start apple pie with Berlin. Stop making apple pie because Kye is freaking out. Put Kye down for nap. Make apple pie with Berlin. Start dinner with Tryn. Realize planned chicken dinner also needs to bake. Work out a plan to bake apple pie and chicken at the same time. Finish apple pie. Husband comes in and asks if I made two pies as he needs to bring a dessert to work tomorrow. No. We negotiate. I agree to make another pie. Eat dinner. Run to store with Berlin for more apple pie ingredients. Berlin spills a bag of almonds all over the floor at the store. We pick them up. Come home. Hold Kyeson who is having a rough and gassy day. Put the girls to bed. Start second apple pie. Stop making second pie to hold Kyeson who is not happy. Steve makes some pie. I make some pie while holding Kye in one arm. Finish pie. Remember I started laundry. Do laundry. Put Kye to sleep while Steve irons shirts. Eat a piece of pie. Sit down on the couch. Collapse.

And I told Steve just after dinner, "Today has been a really good day!" He agreed.

Moving Eve

You might be wondering how I am finding myself blogging on the eve of a very big day when I have a countless amount of things to do...the truth is, I don't know. I am eating Sebastian Joe's Nicollet Pothole ice cream (which, lets be honest, if they don't stop making it I am going to have to renew my gym membership! It is the best ice cream I have ever had in my entire life. Not kidding.) and trying to take a small break from the chaos of my life and my house.

Steve and I have lived here on Bryant Ave in North Minneapolis for 3 years and 11 months - moving out one month short of our 4 year anniversary. We have welcomed 2 babies into our family at this house, had countless late night hangs with our besties, Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas breakfasts...this is the home that our girls know. This is the longest I have lived anywhere since I moved out of my parents house when I was barely 17 years old (I think I moved out exactly this week 13 years ago).

Steve and I are bringing our family into our very first house tomorrow. Steve and I own a house, this is brand new for us. It's is exciting beyond words. Something that we have dreamed about for a long time. It's real, it's happening, it's tomorrow. I can't wait to start decorating!

So many thoughts tonight. So much mess. So many boxes. So many feelings. So much chaos.

Freaking Out

Today I am trying not to freak out about several things. One of them is this:



Remember this little baby that I had practically yesterday? She starts school a week from tomorrow. If I think about it too long I might start crying and never stop.

See these two?



They are almost exactly 5 years apart. Five years ago Tryn looked like Kye does in this picture, and now she is big enough to hold him.

Two weeks ago, for the first time ever, I felt excited for Tryn to go to school. She is going to have so much fun learning things that I don't know how to teach her, having all of her questions answered, and making new friends. Her mind is at a place where it needs to be stretched, used, and grown - all with information and projects that I don't have time to do with her. And so I am glad that she will get to learn, because so far she loves to learn.

But I am going to miss her being around.

Also, I am a little nervous about the fact that we are embarking on this journey of "school"...for the next 20 or so years. That seems like a really big thing. Every year around this time we are going to be getting ready for school, the kids will be gone most of the day, and that feels crazy. I was homeschooled and childhood was a totally different experience for me, I don't really know how to do this "going to school" thing. And that seems weird.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I don't have a ton of time to think about it because I also have a newborn to take care of, a three year old to run after, a five year old to occupy, and a puppy who needs attention. Not to mention we are moving into our first house this week and my husband is starting a new job today.

Call me in a few weeks to see if I am still sane.

:)

Two Months!!

Little baby Kyeson is TWO months old!! Not today, but on the 12th and now it's the 24th or something crazy like that...and obviously I am way behind. I can't even tell you how crazy life is right now. Well, I could try, but it might turn into a small book.

Anyway, I can't believe we have had Kye two whole months already! Sometimes if feels like he was just born yesterday and other times it feels like he has been around forever and I barely remember life without him. Sometimes it feels like all his days just run together and he is basically the same every day and has been since he was born. But then I realized last night that I was remembering when we first brought him home and how different he was then and I guess he really has changed.

Kyeson, seriously, is the best baby. Well, he has one flaw, but just one. Kyeson is a perfect baby for about 3/4 of the day. He lays right down for his naps, goes to sleep without a pacifier, doesn't fuss about anything really, plays by himself, puts up with whatever the girls to do him or however they interact with him (which usually involves screaming or yelling as close to his face as possible). Then the evening comes. And he is gassy almost every evening, no matter what I do or don't eat. And then he likes to be awake as soon as we put the girls to bed and we usually have to convince him to go to bed when we are finally ready to crash. Needless to say, Steve and I don't get much adult only time in this house these days - hopefully that changes soon. Bedtime used to be my favorite time of day - because I would get a break - but not so much anymore.

So far Kye is amazingly interactive, similar to Tryn who started talking when she was 6 months old because she just loved to converse so much. Kye loves to be talked to, he will "talk" back forever. He just loves the interaction. However, unlike Tryn who laughed for the first time when she was a mere 6 weeks old, he still hasn't laughed. I think we are getting close, he gets really excited sometimes, but he just does not seem easily amused...yet he's so happy all the time. Confusing. I can't wait, it's one of my favorite things, the first baby laugh.

Oh, at his 2 month appointment he weighed 12 lbs 1 oz and was 23 inches long. Growing like a champ!

I even took some super cute two month pictures of him in this adorable little hat that I found, but as my house is in a total state of moving disrepair I don't even know where to find a camera cord. Seriously. It's horrible. So, you will just have to feast your eyes on this bit of cuteness instead :)

Again...

I keep trying to get to my post about Kyeson turning two months old - but it takes time and my girls keep saying the cutest things. So, whenever I get a chance to sit down and write something quick, I want to make sure to write what the girls said so I don't forget...

Steve was going out to take the dog to the open area across the street (where there used to be two houses and now there is just grass) and Berlin asked, "Daddy!! Can I come wif you?"

Steve, "Sure!"

Berlin, to me while running inside to get her shoes on, "He is such a nice Daddy, isn't he?"

Me, "He sure is." :)

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Berlin took Piper out of her kennel and Piper ran into the neighbors yard to go explore. After running into tell Steve that Piper took off Berlin had to, again, put her shoes on and said, "I am going to go get Piper. I am going to save the world!"


Haha!! She is SO great!!

I will get to Kye's two month post soon...hopefully :)

Addition to Kids Say the Darndest Things

This morning I was braiding Tryn's hair, getting her ready to leave for the day. She asked me, "Mom, when am I coming back?"

I told her, "Oh, sometime later today."

After a second of silence she said, "Is later longer or shorter than "awhile"? I know how long awhile is, but I don't know if later is longer or shorter than that."

She makes me smile :)