Over So Soon..

He was TOTALLY into Christmas this year. Had to make sure he was on the nice list. (Which some days this past month was a battle...most parents know, that during the holidays, when the children are suppose to be the well behaved ladies and gentlemen...they instead turn into toy hungry heathens.) He made a wish list. For months and months and months. He wished and wished and wished. For Dinosaurs. Dinosaur shoes. Dinosaur clothes. Walking Dinosaurs. Roaring Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.

We travel for Christmas every year. Normally ending at my parents late at night on Christmas eve. I carried my sleeping child from the cold car and started to carry him into the bedroom to get ready for bed. With his eyes still closed his groaned..."mom.. I need to spread reindeer food so they know where to come and find me." And so he did. At 12:30 in the morning. In the snow. On my parents front lawn.

Of course, I couldn't let him wear dino clothes for Christmas Eve. He had to snazz it up a little. I think he cleans up pretty nicely. He threw the shades on himself. And yes his hair is obscenely long.....I did let him wear his jammies for the next two days straight. But so did I.

And after all the traveling we ended up on Christmas with a foot of snow. And since we were all too tired and full from eating, we sent out son out in his pajamas to shovel the deck. Just kidding... that was about a two minute period..just to try out his new red shovel.. the only non-dinosaur item on his list.

Snug as a Bug

I've been living out of suitcases and boxes since November 5th. Last night I hung up my last piece of clothing in its perfect place to live. (My clothes didn't have a place to live for a few days last week, which as most of you know throws my life into turmoil. )

We moved during the coldest week of the year. It was 20 below last Wednesday and I was hauling load after load into the old house. (There were 4 U-haul loads made along with the movers that kindly moved my furniture for me) Its windows on the front porch iced over several times, but I didn't mind. It was beautiful to come home to at night. It wasn't exactly the most ideal week to move. Our pipe burst. Our bed broke. The screen door locked itself and wouldn't open again without being completely taken off. I am sharing a bathroom. Something I have never done in my whole life (except for the first year in college, which I'm sure I drove my roommate insane with all the hair products, toothpaste and other required girl things.) My puppy has ran off three times only to come back to my thundering whistle. (yes, I whistle louder than anyone I know....) My feet are cold and I have now taken up wearing slippers on the hard wood floor, something I forgot about whilst having carpet for the last few years. The fluffy furniture didn't fit into the unfinished basement and were sold on Craigslist in a matter of hours. There was bickering. There were scratches left in places I didn't want. I'm so tired that I don't remember going to sleep at night most of the time.

However... of all the things gone wrong, I can honestly say, I'm insanely happy. I love the old house. I love how I will make it mine. I love that my family is adjusting so well (even the animals, and even the ones that need to romp around the neighborhood from time to time), I love the uninsulated windows of the front porch. I love that I can again dance in my kitchen.

New Old House

Last Friday I put up my Christmas tree. In my new house.

Before all the moving craziness began, I made my family have a moment of calm and togetherness. With our tired bodies we went and picked out a Christmas tree (we bought it this year, as I couldn't take the time to drag them to the mountains) and decorated it in an empty house. No furniture. No boxes. Just the tree and the lights and all the memories that hang on it. I brought the record player over and we played Christmas music and danced and sang. It was perfect. It was very reminiscent of the days of yore, or at least what I think it would have been like back then.....with only the fire for light and heat.

We moved into a big ol' house built in 1916 this past weekend. The first two floors are finished and the basement is not. It needs a garage door and there is a chicken coup in the back yard (in the middle of town)There is work to be done on it, and there will be bickering (not fighting), and there will probably be holes put where they aren't suppose to. There will be things that go wrong. But... I can't wait for it all! If the whole thing comes out remotely what it looks like in my head... then it will be completely awesome!!!!

I want to thank all the the folks that have been helping us along the way. We would not be able to do this without you. Our friends and family have been enormously supportive and we really appreciate it.