Our new home: After - The Kitchen

From mustard yellow walls, black cabinets and battered linoleum to cheery light yellow and white cabinets with lovely faux hard wood, our kitchen probably made one of the most dramatic changes in the house. While we are still hoping to expand the counter space with some home made cabinets over winter, the old dining table is filling in nicely to hold all of our small appliances.

I love the view from our kitchen window as I cook and wash dishes, especially when the cows are grazing in that pasture.

Stay tuned for more dramatic changes taking place as we settle into our new home!

You might be a Momma if...

... You have a new reason to tie your sweat pants - that little man who is learning to pull up and stand doesn't differentiate between sweats, jeans, skirts or chair legs and doesn't mind exposing his mother in the process!

Our new home: Before

We were super excited to get into our new home -  but before that could happen we really needed to do some work throughout the house.  In addition to some deep cleaning and replacing some flooring and fixtures we really wanted to paint.  The former tenants had very 'festive' taste in colors and it showed!  Additionally, they left quite a lot of things behind when they moved out, some of it was usable, but most of it needed to be junked - including two cars, one of which didn't run...

Here is our home Before:

Bedroom before...

Kitchen before...

This is after we painted the office - and Pandora getting the baby's things.

Painted, but piled with boxes!

Chris hard at work!

The living room after...

The bathroom before...

You might be a Momma if...

... You have the Bath Time book memorized.

Ebenezer loves this book!  He loves pointing to the toys we read about and squeaking the pig's nose at the end!  And yes we've read it so many times I could recite it in my sleep - and do recite it to him as we are getting ready for bath sometimes!

It's like a finger pointing to the moon...

... Don't look at the finger or you'll miss all the heavenly glory!

While Ebenezer isn't Bruce Lee yet, he sure is taking a que from this line! He loves to use his index finger to check out the world around him.

New found freedom

Ethel was dead to begin with.

Sorry, I felt like channeling a Christmas Carol - I know, silly, but it's cold outside! :)

We recently had to scrap our old car, Ethel, because she developed a larger problem than we could fix. Good news, we still have our lovely Kia for Chris to get to work. Bad news, now there wasn't any transportation for Eb and I while he was gone. This wasn't too much of a problem since I was mostly going to my parents which is literally a mile away (less if you cut through the pasture), but it has been frustrating for me to have to depend solely on others or loaned vehicles while we look for another car.

One of the perks of living so close to the family is getting to eat lunch with them on the days Chris is at work. This necessitates a lot of back and forth however. On several occasions I tried walking, partly for fun/exercise partly to save whoever was driving a trip. The first time with our "city stroller" we only made it a few feet down our gravel driveway - the bumping from the small wheels was wearing me out and I knew we wouldn't make it down our nearly quarter mile drive. The next time I tried the BeJorn. We made it to the mailbox but I realized going back home was the better move, Eb is such a big guy I just can't keep his weight on me long enough to make it all the way... So for a time I was stranded unless I had a loaner from Mom and Dad.

All that changed just a couple weeks ago when, after much shopping and research, our new jogging stroller arrived! Oh how I danced a jig when it got here! I don't really jog or run with it, but the large, bike style tires and suspension between three wheels would make jogging a breeze if I so chose. The swivel front wheel (which can lock straight if you want to run) makes maneuvering a cinch - and it rolls so smooth once we hit pavement it wants to take off! I can tackle our gravel driveway without completely wearing out or shaking Eb to pieces - I might be in live with this product!

Wanna see how fun it is? Here is Eb and I taking it out for our first ride all the way to Mom's. Eb lives being outside so he had a blast!

If you're curious, and for my own future reference, we ended up with a Baby Trend jogging stroller from Wal-Mart, Target also carries them. I live lots of things about this stroller but a few highlights include: a shade that can ratchet to ANY direction - including straight in front of his face - to block the sun, deep cup holders that my water bottle doesn't bounce out of even on gravel, covered compartment that holds phone and keys, swivel front tire and inflatable tires that absorb shock, and the price. Did i forget to mention the price? Jogging/running strollers are typically terribly high, I was hoping to find a good used one on Craigslist, but after shopping and comparing, I realized this cost less or similar to a good, used, fixed front tire stroller. So I took a chance and it totally paid off! Obviously I don't know how it will hold up long term, but for now Eb and I are totally tickled with our new form of transportation!

'This is so cool, Mom!'

The neighbor's barn through the mist.

Hanging on fences for photo ops...

"Our" farm from the road.

My beautiful surroundings...

Our destination!

Oh Fall! How I've missed you!

Brisk mornings, coloring leaves, blue skies, pumpkins, apples, warm clothes and cozy quilts! Oh the excitement and anticipation that fills my chest! Each season has its wonder and glory, fresh every year, but fall sets my heart a glow every time. This year is especially sweet since I haven't experienced quite this dramatic of a change for over two years now. Don't get me wrong, Florida was lovely this time of year, after a sweltering summer you could finally enjoy being outside. But it was nothing like the transition I had come to know and love.

One of my favorite parts of Fall that I had nearly forgotten was the morning mist. Cool air moving over ground still warm from summer's kiss created beautiful, dense, morning fog, the kind that made the world look smaller and more mysterious. Rather than finding this mystery threatening, it is comforting to me. Like air wrapping the earth in her water vapor blanket to ward off the coming chill. It makes the whole world pause, be still, during those lingering fall mornings.

Waking up to the first of such mornings this year was like wrapping yourself on that old familiar quilt you thought you'd lost. Immediate comfort, peace and sense that all is right for a few moments.

Thank you fall, for such a lovely welcome back to the world of seasons.