Two Years: Unforgettable

Two years ago, sweet William Michael entered our lives.

His first moments brought so much joy into our hearts, our lives and our relationship. I don't think we thought it could ever get better. But it has. As he has grown and developed, I think we have both fallen in love with him more than when we first met him at 8:18pm on Thursday, March 31, 2011.

He still looks like this newborn boy to me…when he is asleep at least. I know he has changed by leaps and bounds but the resemblance he bears to these first photos always makes me smile.

Happy birthday my son. May you have a wonderful second birthday (and Easter) with our family.

Happening this Week

The whole idea of waking up early because I am finally sleeping better has its benefits. By 7:15am today I packed two boxes (one was 95% of our spice cabinet) and put the ingredients in the bread maker for some fresh bread (traditional white bread…added Rosemary). Today the carpet installers come to lay new carpet in the four bedrooms and two rooms in the basement…pictures to come!

I have grandparent assistance again so William doesn't have to wait around with me for the installers. Once the carpet goes in and tack strips with nails aren't all over the place, the house will be a much safer place for him to be. It also means I can bring a box of toys so he can be there with us without us being so worried about his safety.

Hopefully I can unload a few kitchen related boxes while I am there by myself. There is much more cabinet space in our new home which is exciting but also a little daunting. We do not have an official pantry, but there is a long refrigerator height door with pull out shelves and plenty of additional cabinets for food if needed. I would rather limit our food to the refrigerator and "pantry" as I do now, because as a family of three it is enough and prevents food from going to waste if hidden in the back of a cabinet. Also, in our current home, I have a linen closet in the dining room. Our new house does not have a formal dining room, so there is not a linen closet either. So, I will be storing tablecloths, napkins, servingware, etc in kitchen cabinets as well as the buffet that was in our kitchen.

Also while at the house I hope to assemble William's birthday banner since his party is next weekend! Also want to cut the food tent cards and maybe put some new white paint in the bathroom closets. We will see…I have been told to take it easy and my feet, hands and knees are also asking me to lighten up!

Also happening this week: DirecTV, satellite internet installation and hopefully some slow unpacking/transfer of items from once house to the other since we just live up the road.

Lessons Learned in Reno: 1st Weekend

On Friday we started working on our new house! My husband picked up the flooring at Lowe's and we spent some time that afternoon enjoying the place we will call home (or "my farm" if you are my two year old).

Lesson 1: Main living areas look better WITHOUT carpet.

Living room on Saturday morning

Living room on Saturday evening

Lesson 2: Old mauve carpet looks best thrown out on the front lawn!

Photo of the carpet and pads from the two upstairs bedrooms

Lesson 3: Paint trim white! On Sunday we went and picked up a new gallon of Valspar White semi-gloss paint to start painting the trim throughout the house, mainly the bedrooms. New carpet will be installed on Tuesday so painting trim before carpet is installed is much easier and allows us (or me) to not have to be super exact.

Lesson 4: This house is going to be where we live for many, many years and raise our children. It is a wonderful feeling. It is so relaxing to walk outside and not see neighbors, only our land. I so like people, but it just seems so "zen."

Lesson 5: (No photo). We are lucky to have grandparents nearby to keep William while we work on the house. He spent both days this weekend with my mom and had a wonderful time. We missed him lots, but couldn't have gotten as much done as we did without her help.

Weekend 1 achievements:

- removed all carpet (about 1900 sq ft worth) and brought to the local "beauty spot" to dispose of it

- laid our beautiful new floor in the living room

- removed all of the window grates and cleaned the inside of the windows

- painted all the floor trim in the master bedroom and started the other large upstairs bedroom
- removed the floor in the entryway in preparation for our new floor
- in the laundry room, we removed a handful of boards with nails hanging out (as hooks), a large MDF bookcase once used to stack shoes to the ceiling and a broken wire rack

We Bought a Farm!

Believe it or not…we bought a farm! We just closed on the property eight hours ago after making our initial offer in September. Surprised we are moving again? Some of you may have been with me since 2009 when I started writing about building our current home. But yes, we are moving again. Only 2.5 miles up the road, but technically it is a new town (same school cluster) and 13 more acres of land. Eek! 

So this will mean one of two things for this blog. 1) I will be sharing lots of DIY and home improvement projects because we have a new place to start and make our own. 2) I will not share as frequently because I have an almost two-year old, am 33 weeks pregnant, moving and trying to make the house "ours" somewhat before baby arrives.

I am not going to share any pictures of the house itself yet, but for now, enjoy the view :)

Gone too Soon

It is Friday evening. Thursday evening my husband received a phone call from an unknown number (and caller) with sad news. It is that experience that you never want to have. He told him that his good friend from graduate school had died the day before as the result of a heart attack. He gave him funeral arrangements and that was pretty much it. I received that call once. It was August 2004 and one of my closest friends had passed away.  My husband handled his emotions much better than I did, and probably still would. This is the first time since we have been married that we have experienced a "shared" loss that has affected us so much.

This friend, D, has a four year old son who is his spitting image (except with hair, D was bald) and an 18 month old daughter. My heart breaks for these children and his wife who lost the most influential man in their lives at the young age of 42. My husband and I just sat in silence last night, me trying not to cry too much and get myself worked up well into what is normally my bedtime. Today was devastating for both of us. It is all we can think about, nothing else seems to matter. He will be leaving for Georgia this weekend to attend the funeral and service on our behalf. I just can't believe it.

But actually, I can…

My father passed away in his mid-30s after a battle with brain cancer that lasted about a year and a half. When he passed on April 27, 1992, I was two weeks from my seventh birthday, my sister was three and my brother was only 18 months. There is not much I remember about that time of my life and looking back I find that both a good and bad thing. I do remember coming home from school that day, seeing lots of cars at our house and being excited that my Dad had been released from the hospital. It was the opposite. I remember my reaction, but not actually hearing the news. Then it all goes blank.

As I have grown up, close friends have asked me, when appropriate, and not at all to make me mad, if I felt like it was "better to lose my Dad young or if I wish I had more years worth of memories with him?" "Do I think it would have been better (used very loosely of course) to lose him suddenly?" I'm still not sure how I feel about these questions, what my answers should be because they change. Because of my age, growing up with my mom as my single parent is something I was/am used to. I never really knew it to be any different. She over compensated for not having my Dad alive with us and did a hell of a job raising three children. I know D's wife will do much of the same as she finds the strength. Do I wish I had more memories, not ones from photos only, with my Dad? Of course! The chance to remember conversations and vacations with him? Of course! But do I think the heartache of losing a parent would be greater as an adult or teenager? Absolutely.

In reality, there isn't a "better" situation when a parent dies long before their time. I do believe that it is harder for the living spouse to cope than young children because everyone surrounds them with love and activities to keep them occupied during the immediate future and time of turmoil. But, being a parent myself and hearing William say to me "Mommy home, Mommy here," I can't imagine not being here. I can't imagine my husband not being here. God forbid anything happen to either of us, I hope he remembers us for the rest of his life. I hope I have taken (and been in) enough photos and videos so he can see our interaction and things we experienced together as a family.