We took a ride up to Montreal today to go to Ikea. Downsizing requires a major storage improvement. We ended up coming back with a new bed that has storage drawers under it, an 8' storage compartment for living room, a bench with drawers for the bathroom and we still have to figure out the closet system.
The wall is up, painted and the door is up as well downstairs.
The kitchen cupboards are installed and the plumbing is done upstairs.
We even have it rented to a UVM Medical Researcher for May 1. We have been amazingly fast paced on this whole transition. We still have lots of hauling and moving and sorting and decluttering to do before it is all said and done. I'll post some more photo's when I can.
The boys went with us to Ikea and Anders had a ball pushing his kid size shopping cart. He also had a blast running up and down the warehouse aisles. Kuba was amazing. Just completely content to be with us anywhere doing anything at all. He only cried for the last 5 minutes before we pulled into the driveway after a 10 hour day.
The only bummer (no pun intended) is that Anders has been having a real regression regarding potty training and pooped 4 different times at Ikea! How is that possible? Must be something about the Swedish Meatballs!
More later....
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
REN O VATION
Well, first the stud wall went up and now the sheet rock! Currently we are having it mudded and anticipate the wall will be painted and brand spankin' new by the weekend.
We plan to move down over the weekend so we can begin the kitchen upstairs....
We plan to move down over the weekend so we can begin the kitchen upstairs....
We are handling the changes remarkably well so far. With the wall in place, we still have ample room in the dining room and the new bedroom space is an okay size too. It's the storage we will have to figure out....We'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Changes...
Things are changing in our house rather quickly these days.
Anna, like most of the architects we know, just found out she is out of a job as of next week. Did I just say she lost her job? Yup.
That is a big deal! I am just a part-time teacher and a big chunk of my salary goes to paying our families health insurance.
So, we've decided to change our living situation.
Divide the house into two!
Our house used to be a duplex but we have been living in it as a single family for the past 5 years or more.
But...necessity is the mother of invention.
We are in the process of clearing out so that we can install the kitchen again upstairs, and build a wall downstairs to create our bedroom. For those of you who don't know our house, we will be living in a one bedroom 700 square foot space.... and renting out the upstairs which is even smaller. But, the upstairs apartment has the better washer and dryer!
Luckily we have the option to even do such a thing.
We remain optimistic about this change.
More later....
Anna, like most of the architects we know, just found out she is out of a job as of next week. Did I just say she lost her job? Yup.
That is a big deal! I am just a part-time teacher and a big chunk of my salary goes to paying our families health insurance.
So, we've decided to change our living situation.
Divide the house into two!
Our house used to be a duplex but we have been living in it as a single family for the past 5 years or more.
But...necessity is the mother of invention.
We are in the process of clearing out so that we can install the kitchen again upstairs, and build a wall downstairs to create our bedroom. For those of you who don't know our house, we will be living in a one bedroom 700 square foot space.... and renting out the upstairs which is even smaller. But, the upstairs apartment has the better washer and dryer!
Luckily we have the option to even do such a thing.
We remain optimistic about this change.
More later....
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Observations
I was looking at my son yesterday as he prepared to take a sip of apple cider. There was something about the way he anticipated the taste of his favorite drink, something about the way he licked his lips as he brought the glass towards his mouth, there was something so amazing to me about his total whole body focus that I wanted to write about it. I decided to write about the things I love so much about my children. The tiny moments that I notice because, well because I look at them so often and with such interest. So here is my attempt at naming 25 things I simply love about my boys:
1. I love the way Anders drinks from a glass. I love how excited he is when he is really thirsty and about to have a really good glass of juice.
2. I love the way Anders cries and hugs his brother when he is accidentally hurt by Kuba. There is something heart wrenchingly beautiful about the way he says "Kuba." It is as if his world is about to end and if he can just cling to his brother all will be well.
3. I love the way Anders loves his bedtime story. He is a lucky boy in that each and every night either Anna or myself will make up one or two stories just for him. Currently we are on a roll of "Lars and Anders" stories. Lars is a magical polar bear who lives in the arctic and Anders has regular adventures with him. This series has been going for a few weeks now, and was inspired by a real book about a bear named Lars.
4. I love the way Anders says "aminals." And how much he enjoys playing "animals." This game he has invented is all about imagination and the fascinating world of his favorite animals. He has been playing animals for years now, and nothing makes him happier than when one of us plays along with him. It really is the way to his heart.
5. I love the way Kuba says "a gi ga dor." (the fact that he can say a 4 syllable word like alligator already is pretty darn great too!
6. I love feeding my children. I love making Anders lunch for school and I love feeding Kuba in his high chair. It gives me great pleasure to know that they are eating well and are enjoying their food!
7. I love the color of both of my boys hair. Strawberry blond and white blond. Beautiful!
8. I love the crazy ear piercing siren sound Anders makes when he is pretending to be a police officer giving speeding tickets to Anna and me for running in the house...(yes, we are speeding just for him!)
9. I love Kuba's hysterical facial expressions and dramatic charm.
10. I love both boys love of language. They are brilliantly verbal and fascinated by words. Rhymes, songs, stories, nonsense syllables...you name it, they are all over it!
11. I love how Kuba kisses his doll. Open mouthed, and precisely on the lips.
12. I love how hard it is for my oldest son to truly master toilet training! He really is in control of this one and ain't nobody going to hurry him!
13. I love how much Anders wants to hold his brother's hand.
14. I love how much both boys love being home and playing with us.
15. I love that my boys are gentle.
16. I love how Anders says "eskited" when he really is excited about something.
17. I love how Kuba stands up in the bathtub anytime water is poured or sprayed on him. It's an immediate response and as soon as the water stops he sits down again. (we are working on this!)
18. I love that when we do a blessing on our meal at dinner, Anders wants to go first, and nearly always is able to articulate a real gratitude. Sometimes they are simply remarkable.
19. I love how my boys look. They are so beautiful and I think I will eternally think they are the most beautiful in boys in the whole wide world.
20. I love the slight accent Anders has when he says "girl," and "world." It's sounds more like "guyil" and "wuyild."
21. I love that Anders tries so hard to be a fast runner.
22. I love how eager they both are and how ravenous they are to learn.
23. I love how whenever you ask Kuba if he's hungry, and he is hungry, he says "hummy" - which is slang for "hummus." His favorite food right now.
24. I love how he says "othaside" when he wants to nurse.
25. And finally, I love how completely innocent and open and alive and amazing they are. Just witnessing the purity and intensity of their being is quite enough to make me happy for a lifetime.
1. I love the way Anders drinks from a glass. I love how excited he is when he is really thirsty and about to have a really good glass of juice.
2. I love the way Anders cries and hugs his brother when he is accidentally hurt by Kuba. There is something heart wrenchingly beautiful about the way he says "Kuba." It is as if his world is about to end and if he can just cling to his brother all will be well.
3. I love the way Anders loves his bedtime story. He is a lucky boy in that each and every night either Anna or myself will make up one or two stories just for him. Currently we are on a roll of "Lars and Anders" stories. Lars is a magical polar bear who lives in the arctic and Anders has regular adventures with him. This series has been going for a few weeks now, and was inspired by a real book about a bear named Lars.
4. I love the way Anders says "aminals." And how much he enjoys playing "animals." This game he has invented is all about imagination and the fascinating world of his favorite animals. He has been playing animals for years now, and nothing makes him happier than when one of us plays along with him. It really is the way to his heart.
5. I love the way Kuba says "a gi ga dor." (the fact that he can say a 4 syllable word like alligator already is pretty darn great too!
6. I love feeding my children. I love making Anders lunch for school and I love feeding Kuba in his high chair. It gives me great pleasure to know that they are eating well and are enjoying their food!
7. I love the color of both of my boys hair. Strawberry blond and white blond. Beautiful!
8. I love the crazy ear piercing siren sound Anders makes when he is pretending to be a police officer giving speeding tickets to Anna and me for running in the house...(yes, we are speeding just for him!)
9. I love Kuba's hysterical facial expressions and dramatic charm.
10. I love both boys love of language. They are brilliantly verbal and fascinated by words. Rhymes, songs, stories, nonsense syllables...you name it, they are all over it!
11. I love how Kuba kisses his doll. Open mouthed, and precisely on the lips.
12. I love how hard it is for my oldest son to truly master toilet training! He really is in control of this one and ain't nobody going to hurry him!
13. I love how much Anders wants to hold his brother's hand.
14. I love how much both boys love being home and playing with us.
15. I love that my boys are gentle.
16. I love how Anders says "eskited" when he really is excited about something.
17. I love how Kuba stands up in the bathtub anytime water is poured or sprayed on him. It's an immediate response and as soon as the water stops he sits down again. (we are working on this!)
18. I love that when we do a blessing on our meal at dinner, Anders wants to go first, and nearly always is able to articulate a real gratitude. Sometimes they are simply remarkable.
19. I love how my boys look. They are so beautiful and I think I will eternally think they are the most beautiful in boys in the whole wide world.
20. I love the slight accent Anders has when he says "girl," and "world." It's sounds more like "guyil" and "wuyild."
21. I love that Anders tries so hard to be a fast runner.
22. I love how eager they both are and how ravenous they are to learn.
23. I love how whenever you ask Kuba if he's hungry, and he is hungry, he says "hummy" - which is slang for "hummus." His favorite food right now.
24. I love how he says "othaside" when he wants to nurse.
25. And finally, I love how completely innocent and open and alive and amazing they are. Just witnessing the purity and intensity of their being is quite enough to make me happy for a lifetime.
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