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Aug. 4th, 2008 08:47 amThis is Day 1 of VBS for Ananda, Aaron and Isaac. Isaac has never been before, though of course he goes to AWANA at the same church every Wednesday - I really, really hope he likes it. He was nervous but keeping it together, when I left. A and A are just thrilled, they walked in like they owned the place - all their VBS teachers and our old PATH babysitter Jamie are leading it and our new across the street neighbors' kids, who they've been playing basketball with, are there. I thought it would be hard to wake the three of them up so early on the first day, but Ananda was in our room at 7:40 like "You guys..." and by the time I got out to the living room all three of them were sitting on the couch ready to go O_O They acted like I was torturing them making them eat breakfast.
People asking me whether or not we're all moved into the house yet is starting to feel like when you're 42 weeks pregnant and everyone is all "Have you had the baby?!" NO!! NO NO NO!
There are certain benefits to a very slow gradual move, particularly over a distance of only 4 blocks. Like, Grant was able to put our giant dining table up on an appliance dolly and walk it over there. And, I've taken almost everything breakable over by just carefully piling it in reuseable shopping bags and driving slow, then immediately carefully taking it out over there. Like, piles of teacups even. No newspaper and thingamabobs.
We've been spending almost all of our waking time there, and there is no internet there, or tv, which has proven so awesome that I'm actually dreading HAVING internet and tv there at all. So far it's like...
Ananda is usually meticulously using stenciles and patterned paper to cut out clothes, applying them to either silhouettes she's also made or teeny tiny hangers we bought.
Aaron is almost always playing either the piano or one of his guitars.
Isaac, Jake and Elise alternate between chasing games, lego building, books, and climbing and rolling around laughing in "the hideout".
We do a lot of schoolwork, and reading aloud, and watering plants, and re-potting and planting new things. There is always a lot of cleaning. Perhaps it's a personal problem of mine, but I really resent cleaning a lot less when my family is actively engaged in somewhat productive persuits as I clean, rather than lying around with passive entertainment.
It's not like we always have passive entertainment, here at the old place. But if I let A and A watch something they want, and I later let Jake and Isaac watch something they watch, and they both picked a movie, that adds up to 4 hours a day pretty quick. If Grant comes home and plays 30 minutes of video games, too, or Isaac uses a computer game for 30 minutes when he wakes up, and I check my friends' page throughout the day and update at night...you see where this is going.
It just seems like we spend more time out in the rain with our popsicles at the new place. And now we're spoiled - we come back over here and it's like, Wow. This is a tiny kitchen. GEEZ, how did we SURVIVE all this time with one bathroom the size of a broom closet, this is ridiculous! It's crazy how much easier it is to clean spacious bathrooms, too, by the way...the broom and swiffer easily get to places like behind the toilet, and there's nothing nasty like that 2 inch space I've dealt with, between the vanity and bathtub here, where shower water always ends up. It's just...open.
We have a plumber coming over for a ton of things this afternoon. I really hope they can all be resolved today, it's one of our last hurdles to living there.
I'm still going to therapy. It's huge for me right now. I'm always trying to make time to write in my paper therapy journal.
Church was really emotional for me yesterday (in a good way). And I'm (just now, finally!) reading a book Dama gave me, The Illumined Heart by Frederica Matthews Green. I would say it is having a profound effect on me, though I'm not done with it yet or necessarily sure what to do with it all right now. I think I might start over when I get to the end, which I don't think I've ever done with a book before. Besides the book of John.
Either late at night or early in the morning I always find time to read my friends' page. And I always go back to where I left off and start there, so I'm not "missing" anything. I usually have a running list in my head of comments I'd like to leave but I rarely have the hour or so that I'd need to actually go leave 6 3 paragraph comments. I'm sorry for that, but really, I read it ALL.
People asking me whether or not we're all moved into the house yet is starting to feel like when you're 42 weeks pregnant and everyone is all "Have you had the baby?!" NO!! NO NO NO!
There are certain benefits to a very slow gradual move, particularly over a distance of only 4 blocks. Like, Grant was able to put our giant dining table up on an appliance dolly and walk it over there. And, I've taken almost everything breakable over by just carefully piling it in reuseable shopping bags and driving slow, then immediately carefully taking it out over there. Like, piles of teacups even. No newspaper and thingamabobs.
We've been spending almost all of our waking time there, and there is no internet there, or tv, which has proven so awesome that I'm actually dreading HAVING internet and tv there at all. So far it's like...
Ananda is usually meticulously using stenciles and patterned paper to cut out clothes, applying them to either silhouettes she's also made or teeny tiny hangers we bought.
Aaron is almost always playing either the piano or one of his guitars.
Isaac, Jake and Elise alternate between chasing games, lego building, books, and climbing and rolling around laughing in "the hideout".
We do a lot of schoolwork, and reading aloud, and watering plants, and re-potting and planting new things. There is always a lot of cleaning. Perhaps it's a personal problem of mine, but I really resent cleaning a lot less when my family is actively engaged in somewhat productive persuits as I clean, rather than lying around with passive entertainment.
It's not like we always have passive entertainment, here at the old place. But if I let A and A watch something they want, and I later let Jake and Isaac watch something they watch, and they both picked a movie, that adds up to 4 hours a day pretty quick. If Grant comes home and plays 30 minutes of video games, too, or Isaac uses a computer game for 30 minutes when he wakes up, and I check my friends' page throughout the day and update at night...you see where this is going.
It just seems like we spend more time out in the rain with our popsicles at the new place. And now we're spoiled - we come back over here and it's like, Wow. This is a tiny kitchen. GEEZ, how did we SURVIVE all this time with one bathroom the size of a broom closet, this is ridiculous! It's crazy how much easier it is to clean spacious bathrooms, too, by the way...the broom and swiffer easily get to places like behind the toilet, and there's nothing nasty like that 2 inch space I've dealt with, between the vanity and bathtub here, where shower water always ends up. It's just...open.
We have a plumber coming over for a ton of things this afternoon. I really hope they can all be resolved today, it's one of our last hurdles to living there.
I'm still going to therapy. It's huge for me right now. I'm always trying to make time to write in my paper therapy journal.
Church was really emotional for me yesterday (in a good way). And I'm (just now, finally!) reading a book Dama gave me, The Illumined Heart by Frederica Matthews Green. I would say it is having a profound effect on me, though I'm not done with it yet or necessarily sure what to do with it all right now. I think I might start over when I get to the end, which I don't think I've ever done with a book before. Besides the book of John.
Either late at night or early in the morning I always find time to read my friends' page. And I always go back to where I left off and start there, so I'm not "missing" anything. I usually have a running list in my head of comments I'd like to leave but I rarely have the hour or so that I'd need to actually go leave 6 3 paragraph comments. I'm sorry for that, but really, I read it ALL.
