Secrets are no fun

Remember back in January when I alluded to a big change coming in 2014? Well, I suppose it is time to 'fess up.

Emily is moving.

I know I don't owe you all an explanation, but I hope you understand that we feel it is in her best interest for her to live with her father. It was a hard decision, as I'm sure you can imagine, and it has been followed by many difficult steps to prepare us all for this change.

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~ Elizabeth Stone

At summer's end Ben and I will have to take on an entirely different parenting role - a long distance one. Luckily, we live in the age of the internet so we'll be able to "see" and talk to each other regularly.  We plan to have some fun finding creative ways to say "we love you" across the miles. Of course, there will also be visits and family vacations. Those are some of the silver linings.

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. ~ Agatha Christie

My personal journey will be a search for my new place in the world. Who am I outside of "mommy;" what do I like, how do I act? I suppose some excitement can be found in the prospect of looking for myself...but I'm not there yet. I'm still struggling a bit with accepting this whole scenario. I imagine this is a lot what parents sending their kids off to college, or those in the armed forces preparing for deployment feel like. It is a strong cocktail of grief, apprehension, and anxiety, with a spritz of excitement and a sour lemon twist.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it myself. ~ Joyce Maynard 

As in all things, We can only do our best with the time we have left of Emily living here full time, and with the time that follows. And with whatever time comes after that.

Baby, it is cold outside

Like really cold. I apparently should have been training for this sort of weather because my body is not conditioned for the cold. Nope.

We got our first snow in December; an early winter in DC terms.

Some of us were more excited about it than others.

By the end of January we'd had more than 7 seven inches of snow and maxed out the allotted number of snow days for our school district. Internet,snow days are only fun one day at a time. Four consecutive days of school closures equals too many hours of a stir crazy child. I hit my limit about three days before she did.

Sure, it looks all beautiful and romantic, but really it is cold and wet. And more cold. With a side of ice. It looks like Narnia up in here!

And now The Washington Post is projecting another 5 to 14 (14!!!!!) inches before the end of this week. Good thing Emily thinks shoveling snow is a type of fun.

Also, she acquired this really awesome hat.

Smiles make everything awesome. Even snow days.

And suddenly...it was done

2013 arrived with a visit to the hospital. Whoops.

Then I decided to give up sugar. Why?

We welcomed spring by starting our house hunt. Stressful.

via Evelyn Henson

In April we took a time out. Whew!

Along with the May flowers came a baby shower. Yea!

Then we hit the road. Exhausting.

Designed by Sarah Reed

We began to make ourselves comfortable. Sort of.

August brought our first house guest. Good times!

Suddenly, we had a fourth grader! Say What?

Then, I ate dirt. Hard.

In November I was thankful to find this guy still wants me around after five years. Insane.

December 24 Em lost a tooth and waited up to see the meeting between Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Fail.

The next week we welcomed the new year along with my parents in New Mexico. Actually, we greeted the new year when we woke up New Year's day because we are all either too old or too young to make it to midnight. Whoops.

I hate being a downer, but I'm approaching 2014 with a bit of apprehension. First, I'm only starting year two of my I-broke-a-mirror-and-now-have-seven-years-bad-luck. We've also got a major change in the works later this year, but things haven't developed enough for me to talk about it yet.

I'm sure the year will come with a fair share of exciting and wonderful things too, and those I intend to milk completely!

Welcome to Virginia

Dear Internet,
I guess I took an unexpected blog hiatus. I had given myself permission to slack off on blogging on account of the move. Then, I got behind - so behind I didn't even know where to start. So, I just never started. Whoops. It has been implied, however, that curious minds want to know.

I'll try to catch you up.

It was a week before we actually closed and moved into our house so we chilled at a pretty nice Residence Inn for a week. Admittedly, the cats were able to settle in more quickly than Ben and me.

When I say we moved into the house what I really mean is "camped out." It was another three weeks before our stuff was delivered. Hence the photo here of our classy evenings together. Ben took his frustration out on our kitchen wall.

Does this remind you of anything?

I continue to struggle with the idea of doing one thing at a time so...

I had to do it, Internet. I mean, the master bathroom was brown. I'm actually quite fond of brown, but this particular shade in this particular room was a bit...off-putting. Perhaps a different angle will help you to better understand.

Sadly, neither the bathroom nor the kitchen has been finished.

After all, why spend time in a bathroom or kitchen when every inch of your neighborhood is begging me to come outdoors?

That's right, I took those photos in my neighborhood. Where I live. Don't be jeal.
Yeah right; you should totally be jeal. It is gorgeous here.

That's a snippet of my life the last few months. If you are very good I'll give you more snippets again soon!

Love,
J-

Bag Lady

Over the winter holiday, Santa brought Miss Emily a very special new friend.

This is Caroline Abbott, an American Girl from 1812. Caroline is a perfect match for Emily because she's smart, brave, beautiful, and more than a little headstrong. You know, nothing like my daughter.

Just before the flight home from Grandma's house, we saw another little girl toting her American Girl in one of these nifty  things.

American Girl Starry Doll Tote

Oh how nice it would be to let Miss Caroline see the world instead of being clutched tightly against Emily's chest! Unfortunately, the carrier has been sold out.

It took my daughter about three minutes to get over here disappointment and  start shopping for an alternative. Is she my kid or what? As it happened, we didn't have to look very far because I had a nifty bag pattern bought way back when.

It doesn't look as though it is still available through Simplicity, but the Tuffy Girl Vintage shop on Etsy has it.

We also didn't have to go far to find fabric. See! I knew all those scrap bin purchases would pay off!

I just love that tulip print! Em chose that for the lining and trim, and the pink-tinged leopard print for the bag's outside.

No offense to American Girl, but our tote is way cuter!

Not to mention one-of-a-kind. just like a certain spunky somebody...

It is a bit big for Caroline, but that just means there's more room for her stuff to go with her!

And that doll already has a lot of stuff.

And I have one happy little bag lady.

Home is...

Well, I'm back from a week of house hunting in DC. I wish I could tell you the hunt is over, but things didn't turn out quite like we'd hoped.

I've said it before, house hunting is hard. However, this time around I confess it is also a little fun. The busybody in me relishes seeing the insides of all those different houses, and imagining how I would set things up if it were my home.

I can't take you into the houses I saw on my trip, but I'll gladly share with you some of my favorite inspiration homes and decor.

Brookleigh Daybed from Rosenberry Rooms

I'd set Emily up with this daybed in a heartbeat. Sadly, she's not that into it.

Smeg Refrigerator from West Elm Marketplace

Ben has already agreed this is the refrigerator for us!

Tiny Victorian cottage in the Catskills

I'm pretty sure Emily needs a little something like this in our backyard. She agrees saying it would be"perfect for a sewing studio."

Flor tiles in "Just Plain Folk" and "Lanyard"

I first read about Flor tiles in 2007 on Dooce.com. I liked them then, but I fell in love when I saw this great rug on Brooklyn Limestone. I'm still working to bring the rest of my family around.

Powder room on HOUSEography

In DC powder rooms are in practically every house. At least one of ours will have dark blue walls and a gold ceiling. I'm doing it, there's no stopping me, don't even try.

English Farmhouse sink in a kitchen by Hallie Cohn Designs

I fully intend to have a farmhouse, or apron-front, sink someday.

And you? What's going on in your dream-house tour?

Dear Emily

It has been a long time since I last wrote an entry for you. It seems we are all so busy; you as much as anyone else. I think, though, that it is all the activities you get up to that have made you more Emily than ever before. This school year you've tried cheerleading, chorus, and flute lessons. You figured out how to climb a tree, and finally conquered the art of riding a bike. We have had to work to reign you in - to keep you from bouncing to something new before you've seen the last thing through. Problematic, sometimes, but also indicative of the possibility you see in every opportunity.

 
And you read. Oh, how you read! Just this past Wednesday Ben commented on your literary growth. When we moved to Florida almost three years ago you groaned whenever we tried to make a game of reading billboards because it was hard for you read them. Now, you read o a sixth grade level. In fact, I've sneaked some of your books out from under your arm once you fell asleep at night and devoured them.

 On Thursday I attended an award ceremony at your school where I watched you receive three awards - Principal's Honor Roll, Progress, and Citizenship. Not only do you care about your performance in school, but you care for the people around you. What an amazing package.

I told a friend you had asked me why we used money to buy things and no longer traded stuff. Her husband rushed over to us just to proclaim you a genius. I couldn't agree more. It isn't just that you're smart; it is your desire to grow smarter, to wrap your head around ideas and squeeze the possibilities out of them. It is the way you often express yourself so articulately we have to remind ourselves that you are not 10 or 12 or 15 years old. You are eight. A wonderful, beautiful, delicious eight-year-old. But to us, your parents, you score a perfect 10.

Love, Mommy

Never a plain...invalid?

It seems as though I've written a lot of posts lately about illness and recovery. I suppose we could chalk it all up to bad luck, but I prefer to think of it as getting all the yuckiness done in one fell swoop.

I thought I'd let you all have at the never plain life of a convalescent.

We have recently been under siege by hundreds of tiny black ants that materialize from thin air no matter how many times we kill them off. They're like regenerating zombies from an RPG or something. Perhaps not, but they still give me the heebie jeebies. Em and I invented an ant trap from a rotting clementine, molasses, and the lid to a butter tub. Sadly, it was unsuccessful.

I've been working on this puzzle for over a week. Sometimes the kitties help by doing such things as throwing pieces off the table or experimenting with using the box as a bed.

I've gone back to my grade school days of practicing my handwriting. By the time I'm all better I plan to write beautifully with either hand I choose. In the meantime, some people my wonder why I am letting a four-year-old transcribe my letters.