A Girl’s Dream November 29, 2012

Having married an architect who loves the character and style of old homes, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never have a big walk-in closet.  I’m ok with that because I know I get a lot of other wonderful features in an older home even if I don’t get the big closet.  It’s a compromise.  I find it funny when I watch House Hunters or some other HGTV show where the couples joke about the closet and how the husband can put his stuff in the guest room.  It’s the age-old tale, right?  Women have more clothes and therefore need more closet space.

Jeremy and I fit right into that stereotype.  I have way more clothes than he does, and therefore I need more space.  But given my statement above about the old homes we have lived in, more space is not always possible.  We have had to make up some creative solutions.  In our last house, Jeremy took the small closet in our actual bedroom, and I got the larger closet in the adjacent room that was the exercise room/playroom/dressing room.  It was a bit awkward in layout, and it was hard to reach everything easily, but it worked fine.  When we moved into the rental we’re in now, we split the closet 60/40.  On my 60%, I created a double rack to increase my space.  But since we use the wooden IKEA hangers, the closet was still stuffed to the brim.  It was a serious feat to pull something off the hanger without bringing anything else down with it.  My sneakers and sandals were in a big plastic bin at the bottom of the closet, and my dress shoes were just piled up on one side.  It was beyond annoying!  We both felt that anytime we got new clothes, we had to get rid of something else just so it would fit in the closet.  (Granted, on our budget, we I shouldn’t be buying new clothes anyway!)

Last week, I had had enough.  I told Jeremy that while I love old homes too, my dream was that someday way off in the future, I would get my walk-in closet even if we had to build our own “new-old” home.  I expressed my sincere hatred of our shared closet and the fact that my shoes were not getting the respect some of them deserved just being tossed on the floor.  Well, guess what?  He listened!  Over the weekend, he suggested we go to IKEA to find a closet system/armoire that would make us both happy.  While I loved his enthusiasm to solve our problem, we were still worried about whether this was something we should be spending money on now, especially with Christmas bills right around the corner.  Then I remembered our credit card reward balance, and off to IKEA we went!

Behold – Jeremy’s new armoire!

Is there some rule about not showing the inside of one’s closet? Oh well.

My far more manageable closet! It’s like a dream.

 

Granted, our dressers are still stuffed to the gills, and we have underbed storage, but it’s all about compromise.  (See how nice and neat and protected my shoes are on the upper shelf?  Yippee!)  And while it is not a walk-in closet, I consider myself pretty lucky.

 

Pinterest Success November 27, 2012

I’m trying to keep up with my goal of actually doing what I pin on Pinterest.  It doesn’t always work out as planned, but I had to share my most recent success.

Source

I love breakfast.  I probably wouldn’t have said that when I was younger, but it has become a favorite.  I think it’s because it can be like an early morning dessert.  Now I know there are many people who will judge me for feeding myself and my family sugar for breakfast, but let me note that this kind of thing is for a weekend breakfast only.  During the week, we try to be good with our breakfasts…  cereal, bagels, toast, grapes, apple slices, cereal bars…  But on the weekend…  well, that’s a different story!

While I usually make special breakfast treats like pancakes or cinnamon rolls (easy Bisquick recipe!), sometimes I cheat and buy an Entenmann’s Ultimate Crumb Cake at the grocery store.  It is so good!  So when I saw a pin for homemade crumb cake, I knew I had to give it a try.  It was so easy and so good, I don’t think I will ever buy an Entenmann’s one again!  Jeremy was in heaven, the kids gobbled it up, and I sat in bliss while eating my delicious breakfast treat.

Please check out Dine and Dish’s recipe!  (And now I might just have yet another blog to add to my ever-changing list on Google Reader!)

Conversation with Mason November 26, 2012

Mason: Mommy, it’s really hard work being a Mom.

Me: Yes it is, but why do you say that?

Mason: You have to get Cooper breakfast and water every morning.  I did that for him today, and so I was basically like his mom.  And it was hard work.

Me: Well thank you for helping Cooper.  And yes, it’s hard being a mom, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Giving Thanks – Day 5 November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!  It’s a gorgeous day here in Providence, and for that I am thankful.  But I have a lot more to be thankful for today.  Here are just a few…

1.  I’m thankful for the peace and quiet I got this morning before the mayhem.  Even though it was only about 20 minutes, I was able to lay in bed, read my book, and just reflect on the day ahead.  It was wonderful.

2.  I’m thankful for my mom.  She is not only helping me with so much of the cooking, but she’s my support rock today too.  We’ve been having some attitude issues with the kids, and my mom is being a good example of how to let it go and focus on the good.  I have so much to learn (cooking-wise and parenting-wise), and she is a great teacher!

3.  I’m thankful for nature.  We went to Roger Williams Park this afternoon for a walk, and it was gorgeous.  Most of the leaves have fallen, but there were still some bright spots of gold and red.  The fresh air invigorated all of us before our evening of chowing down.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Giving Thanks – Day 4 November 21, 2012

My day has been a productive one!  Yet, here I sit at 6:21pm squeezing in my Giving Thanks blog for the day.  I thought of waiting until later to be able to show some pictures of my upcoming nighttime adventure, but I figure I’ll save that for another day.  So 9 minutes before Mason and I leave the house for our downtown destination, I am giving thanks rather than brushing my teeth and my hair and making sure I have enough cash for the evening.  Oh well.

Today I am giving thanks for my husband.  I often feel like the luckiest girl in the world (but doesn’t every happy wife say that at some point?)  It is the truth, though.  I won the lottery when it came to husbands.  I was telling the story of how we met a few days ago and relayed the “love at first second sight.”  (long story)  I really did just know.  I had no doubt that he would be my husband and we would live through our days together.  Thank goodness he had the smarts to finally ask someone for my number!

I am thankful for my husband today because he is strong; he is brave; he is cute; he is loving; he is an amazing father; he is supportive; he is mine.  We have had over 10 years of memories together – some have been good, some have been bad.  But we’ve been through them together, and that makes us stronger.  We are on a path where the destination is unknown right now, but I can’t think of anyone else I would want to walk beside.

Giving Thanks – Day 3 November 20, 2012

I did it!  I have passed another Real Estate Licensing Exam.  The first was 6 years ago in Maryland.  And today, I passed the Rhode Island exam.  (Now to just pay all the fees and fill out all the paperwork to actually get my license!)

You might have guessed then….  today I am thankful for the ability to get this done and out of the way before the holiday season.  When I first started my job back in early October, my “boss” offered to pay for my licensing class and exam.  I figured I would put it off a little bit while I got settled, but when I looked at the schedule of classes, I realized that one was starting the next week that would get me done before Thanksgiving.  We decided together that it would be better to just get it over with so that I could be more effective at work after passing.  (And before they all were too dependent on me!)  I took classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1pm-4pm for 6 weeks.  It was an intense and quick turnaround.  My team was amazingly supportive through it all and understood when I couldn’t help as much on class days.  Jeremy and the kids didn’t feel too much of the pressure until it was nearing the end of class and time for the test.  Jeremy planned a day of fun for the kids this past weekend so I could get a lot of studying done.  He gave up our couch-cuddling DVR time to let me study at night too.  And my mom was awesome just getting out of my hair this morning while I did my last minute cramming.  It was a team effort for sure!  And I am so grateful for the support.

There is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  I am excited to fully focus on work, family, and fun.  And all the craft projects and baking plans I have for the holidays can go into full swing!  Let the celebration begin!

Giving Thanks – Day 2 November 19, 2012

I am so thankful for my family.  I know that may seem like an easy one, but the last 4 months have not been easy on our family.  As I’ve said over and over on this blog, we left our family behind when we moved to Rhode Island.  No more Wednesdays with Nana and Kristin.  No more sleepovers at Meema’s.  No more easy drives to see Jen, Scott and Hayes.  No more simple last minute family gatherings.  This isn’t a case of you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone because we knew we had it good.  We knew how fortunate we were to have our family so close.  This is a case of we didn’t realize how lucky we are to have our family come see us so often!

We are thankful that Meema, Nana and Papa, Jen and Scott and Hayes, and Kristin have all made the efforts to come see us in Rhode Island.  There have been several trips…  Whether they drive or fly, they’ve come a lot, and we love it!  I am grateful to have such dedicated family that are willing to make the long drive or pay for plane tickets, especially since it is not as easy for us to get down there for quick trips.  We can’t wait to have a house big enough to host them all more comfortably (and maybe then they will come even more!)  It’s been wonderful to share our new life with them.  And I can’t say thank you enough to each and every one of them.

Our Thanksgiving gathering from 2011 – a weekend full of awesome memories!

Giving Thanks – Day 1 November 18, 2012

I promised myself a couple of weeks ago to be really grateful this month.  Although it shouldn’t be just for a month.  It should be all the time.  When I’m stuck in a rut and feeling sorry for myself and wondering why life is so hard, it usually only takes a few minutes for me to realize how selfish I am being and how many other people have it much harder than me.  But it is difficult to see beyond yourself and your circumstances all the time.  It’s not always easy to put yourself in other people’s shoes.  You need strength to truly empathize.

And today, as I begin my week of Giving Thanks, I am thankful for strength… and courage.  Both have come in many forms over the past year.  From having the strength and courage Jeremy and I both had leaving jobs in which we were comfortable and stable to Mason and Cooper finding the strength and courage to walk into their new schools on the first day not knowing a single kid.  We have faced many challenges with our new life in Rhode Island.  We miss our family and friends.  We miss the familiarity of our old house and neighborhood.  We miss feeling stable.  But through missing all of that, we have found our strength…  and our courage.  We are breaking new ground, and it is feeling good.  And when times get tough, as they always will, we first acknowledge that we can get through it; that we are strong enough to get through it.  And then we remind ourselves that we are not alone in our troubles; and that we should actually be grateful that our troubles are not worse at this point.  I’ve been working hard to instill these ideals in the kids too.  I want them to focus on all that they DO have versus all that they think they still need.  It’s hard when you’re battling Christmas commercials and toy magazines in the mailbox every day.  So I need to be the role model.  I have to summon all the strength I have built over the years and just be thankful for what I do have rather than what everyone else around me has.  It’s hard to not show your jealousy.  It’s hard to not want for more.  But it is even harder to teach what you can’t preach.

Therefore I’m grateful for the strength and courage that has gotten me this far in life and for where they are leading me on this new open road.

4 Years of Blogging November 4, 2012

It is pretty crazy to think that 4 years ago I started this blog.  Where did the time go?  I started this blog as the crazed mom of a 3-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son.  I was feeling overwhelmed at the time and wanted to keep reminding myself that while every day is not good, there is something good in every day.  Now 335 posts later, here I am as the busy mom of a 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.   So much has changed in 4 years, and I think I’ve shared most of that on this blog.  From job changes to parenting challenges to lifelong memories, this blog has stood as my journal and scrapbook all at the same time.

As I often like to do with old journals, scrapbooks or photo albums, let’s take a stroll through memory lane.  I’ve compiled some of my favorite posts below.

The Need For Good In Every Day – Of course, this is one of my faves since it was the one that started it all.  It’s funny how the little things that really made my day back can still make my day today.

Kid-isms – Kids do say the darndest things!  Reading this one again reminded me that I really need to write down more of what they say.

Happy With What We Have – This one especially caught my attention after a meeting at Cooper’s school the other night.  Other moms were talking about their struggles…  with their kids, with paying tuition, with life… and I left with my heart aching for them, but also feeling very blessed.  It’s a good reminder to thankful.  I’m thinking of another Thanksgiving/November challenge of what I’m thankful for every day.

Mothers and Daughters Part 2 – I love watching Mason grow up through pictures.  This story reminds me of our special bond.

What’s Wrong With These Pictures? – Looking at this one, I laughed out loud.  Still to this day, High School Musical is one of the only movies they can agree on.  Cooper is in a scared phase right now so if there is any bad guy at all, he says he doesn’t want to watch it.  Of course, we don’t give in and still watch the movie while he pretends to do something else but eventually joins us for the whole thing and then says how much he loves it.  He’s crazy!

Birthday Cakes Retrospect – Baking is my hobby, and I love coming up with ideas for birthday cakes.  Cooper’s 2nd birthday cake shaped as a football helmet was not only the most daring design I’ve done, but it was also the most delicious cake!

My Nephew Is Here! – New babies are always a hit, so why wouldn’t the birth of my nephew be one of my favorites?!

Backseat Confessions – Similar to Kid-isms, these are such a perfect snapshot of the kids at that exact time.

Staying Put – It’s very interesting to look back at this point in time when we had really decided we liked our life in Silver Spring and were going to make the best of it.  My how things change!  Now, two years later, we’re getting ready for our first winter in New England – the place we had officially “given up” when this post was written.

Work Hard, Play Hard – This post was about a vacation we took to Deep Creek, MD with some of our dear friends.  It was such a fun trip – not only because we love Deep Creek and we were with friends, but also because it was so needed after working so hard.  Reading the post again brought the feeling of relaxation and fun right back to me.

Gearing Up For A Change – The post that announced we were moving to Rhode Island was bittersweet for me.  The entire move is still bittersweet.  We’re happy in Rhode Island and still feel glad that we moved, but we definitely  miss certain things and certain people.

Whew!  I’m exhausted emotionally and physically after reading through 4 years of posts!  The good part of it all is that I got some ideas for future posts.  I was reminded of feelings I’ve had over the years, including the good and the bad and how I dealt with them then so that I can use clues for how to deal with them now.  And I was able to set some goals for my blog.  First and foremost, I definitely want to do another week of “Being Thankful” during the week of Thanksgiving.  I recently saw a pin on Pinterest about the 30 Day Mom Challenge.  I think I’m up for it.  I think it would be great, especially during the holiday season when life gets hectic and stressful.  So starting December 1, I will start the challenge.  Anyone want to join me?  And my final goal that I’ll share is to blog at least once a week.  It won’t be a problem during November and December when I have so much to talk about, but starting in 2013, I challenge myself to blog at least once a week.  Blogging is usually a release for me, and I think it is good for my soul to write it out and get memories down in blog format.

Finally, thank YOU!  Thanks to those that have been following since the beginning.  Thanks to those of you that are reading today for the first time.  And thanks to everyone in between!  It is your choice to read what you want, and I am grateful that you choose to read this blog.  (I would love to get more comments, so leave me a note when you stop by!)

Cheers to another year of blogging!

A Halloween to Remember November 1, 2012

It’s November 1st!  Where did October go?  Absolute craziness.  We did manage to close out October with a bang, though, thanks to an awesome Halloween in our very own neighborhood.  To some, that might not seem like such a big deal.  Most families we know live in great neighborhoods where streets get blocked off for safer trick-or-treating or where everyone sits on their front porch handing out candy and chatting with the neighbors while drinking beer or a cocktail in a red plastic cup.  (My dad was the biggest fan of Trick-or-Beer!)  Those all seemed quite idyllic to us considering we never got much action on Halloween in our old Silver Spring neighborhood.  We lived on a somewhat busy street that had only just recently gotten sidewalks.  We were on the edge of two different neighborhoods, and no one but our close neighbors actually came to the door trick-or-treating.  In the past, we usually went to our friends’ neighborhoods so that our kids could get a true Halloween experience.  But this year was different…

First our small little village had a Halloween parade through town this past Saturday.  Everyone gathered at our waterfront park and then paraded through town, stopping at the local shops and businesses who were passing out candy.  The parade ended at our local playground where a band was playing and more treats were being passed out.  Apparently this event had gained popularity enough that people from other towns come all the way just to participate.  But all we had to do was walk to town!

Commander Cody (clone trooper) and our Rainbow Fairy

It was great to feel like we were really part of the village!  We had some Virginia friends in town that came with us, but we also ran into other people we know from our neighborhood and school.  (Always a good sign that you’re settling in!)  We were going to cap off the weekend with the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Zoo but Hurricane Sandy had other plans.  The winds picked up, the rain started pouring, and schools and businesses were closed.  During the storm, though, we managed to do some pumpkin carving.

Cooper with his Sharpie design. Bad mom because I don’t remember what he told me it was supposed to be. Maybe a ninja?

Mason went for the basic Jack-O-Lantern design. Next year, I’ll have to get more creative with our options.

And Jeremy was proud of his Angry Bird pumpkin. His office had a contest, but unfortunately he didn’t win. There’s always next year!

Fortunately, Sandy didn’t do too much damage around us.  We didn’t lose power, and no major trees fell.  We were back in business on Tuesday!  Despite all the reports that the rain would stick around through Thursday, by Wednesday evening, it was all clear for some serious trick-or-treating.

I had bought one bag of pretzels from Target to hand out.  A couple of days after that, I realized I probably needed more, so I got a bag of Reese’s pumpkins.  Then yesterday on my way to work, I got more nervous since the weather was going to cooperate and knew more kids would be out.  I stopped yet again and got another two bags of candy.  Thank goodness!  We are left with 2 bags of pretzels, and I actually think they are from the kids’ trick-or-treating.  I had the perfect amount!  Jeremy took Mason and Cooper out with our neighbor friends while I stayed back to pass out candy.  It was so cool to have lots of knocks on the door.  I had never had so many trick-or-treaters.  And everyone was friendly.  (I considered sitting on the front stoop, but I wouldn’t have been able to read my Kindle in between groups of kids.)  By 7:45, I was almost out of candy, and Jeremy and the kids had been out for an hour.  They returned, we sifted through their loot, and sent them off to bed on a sugar high.  While catching up on our DVR, we got a few more groups of kids whose parents were driving them around.  After someone knocked on our door at 9:45, we decided it was time to turn off the lights and call it a night.  And what a night!  It was so great to have a wonderful Halloween experience in our own small, quaint neighborhood.   And the crazy part?  Our neighbors told us that last night’s activity was light compared to other years!  If that was light, I can’t even imagine next year!  It was a Halloween to remember.

PS – Our thoughts and prayers go out to  those that were not as fortunate during Hurricane Sandy’s wrath.  

It is so hard to comprehend the damage that was done, especially in NY and NJ, and we will be looking for ways to help from afar.