Holidays, family

In response to my husband's prodding, I am finally updating this blog. It's a good thing because there's so much happening in our lives, individually and as a family, that I really should be recording things somewhere!

It is now late December and we are in the midst of slowly enjoying our Holiday break from work and school. It is so wonderful to be home, to be fully present with Caitlin, to have some time to bake, to sip wine and read before bed, and to catch up with family and friends whom we have not seen in some time. We are still staying with family until the right house materializes, but in the meantime it is nice to have the present love and support of grandparents. Cait is toddling around and exploring. She points ahead of her all the time, saying "dah!" She is now enjoying the surprise of some new toys from old St. Nick--her favorites being the wind up cars that dad picked out, the pretend breakfast in bed tray ;), and her new books (a mom favorite). She appears to be cutting another tooth (finally! number 3!) which causes her some discomfort.

We have much to look forward to in 2011, but I'd like to take a moment and pause and (as inspired to do so by another blog friend) remember my favorite things/moments of 2010--a year of change and blessings! In 2010, we endured Snowpacalypse in Pittsburgh hibernating with friends, Caitlin went through a million changes (crawling, eating solids, interacting more!), we moved from PA to MI to be with family, I started my first teaching job (teaching Honors and At-Risk Social Studies, two diff. grade levels, and managing student gov't.), Stephen started law school and we live in someone else's house! I said to Stephen the other day, I think we are pretty darn flexible given all of our insane life circumstances! ;)

Things we are looking forward to in 2011:
-becoming more involved at Mack Ave
-moving into our house!
-going to the cottage with family! (and maybe camping with grandma and grandpa)
-visiting Pittsburgh in January!
-exploring more of our beautiful state!

We have been blessed beyond proportion, and despite the amount of energy and creativity that it takes to get through each day with our challenging work and school schedules...we all lay our heads to rest each night with full bellies, and very grateful hearts. We have been enjoying the warmth of this Holiday as we embrace friends and family and as we sit in stillness and ponder the wonderful mystery of Christmas.

Autumn is upon us...

My favorite season is here and with that comes sweaters in the morning, treasured leaves pressed in books, and snotty noses. ;) So many things have changed for us in the past few months and we are emotionally and physically tired and overwhelmed. However, there is goodness amidst the chaos.

I am thankful for...
-a job! my first REAL teaching job and all the frenzied stress that comes with it
-a great babysitter (thanks to a friendly connection whom I'd like to get to know better); Caitlin is cared for by loved ones and a wonderful new family w/ children and a dog that she can play with...knowing that she is safe and happy allows me to go to work with ease
-the prospects of a great church: Mack Ave...we've only visited once, but the teaching was excellent and it seems like good community of people who care passionately about the city and its economic revival
-5 years of marriage to my best friend in the world...and the coffee maker that he got me for my classroom as an anniversary present ;)
-FALL! and the prospect of getting to the cider mill...i LOVE Michigan in the Fall; I'm so happy to be here

Stephen is doing what he can amidst the law school work to find us houses to look at; I believe we'll start touring a few next weekend. I'm so antsy to get out there and look!...esp. now that we can get approved for a loan! ;) He's at a new home buyers class right now getting some know-how...and he's been watching HGTV like crazy for tips and insight.

I do hope you're all enjoying the splendor and warmth of this season...

hot and sticky summer

We have officially relocated. We are now Michiganders. It is so nice to be back home after years away. We certainly lived in a beautiful place, but this is home. And now begins the work of transitioning our lives. There are many logistics to changing states, esp. when you own and operate vehicles. It is exhausting to try to get our ducks in a row, and it is exhausting to not know what awaits me, professionally, in the next month or so. I continue to pray for a miracle teaching position. But I recognize the high likelihood of having to sub full-time (or at least nearly full-time). Subbing is horrible. You have no authority and no relationship with the students and students seemed to be hardwired to take advantage of subs. But before I stress about something in the future, I will just continue to hold out hope that more secure employment is out there. I love History, I love making difficult information accessible to students, and I just love working with young people. I had so much fun teaching at Hillel Academy in Pgh; and I do believe that my own classroom awaits me someday.

Stephen is preparing for law school and I am so excited for him. I am nervous about feeling like I'm going to be a single parent w/ the amount that he will have to study. But, hey, I did it this last year when he worked weekends and evenings and I know I can do it again. I will just miss him and I'll be wishing I could just sit w/ him and talk through the day. I married my best friend and I just like to talk to him! I know that he will enjoy stretching his mind in new ways as well. My dad was working, going to night school and raising two very small kids around this age. He is very empathetic to what Stephen's personal demands will be in the coming years.

We are new to a city that we both grew up in (Steve) and near (Me) and we are optimistic.



Before orientation, buying a car, and other craziness ensues...we are running away to Holland to meet up with friends from college. It will be fun to meet their new little one and catch up.

Be back in a few days...!

Food

I am feeling like I do not have many profound things to say so I will do what many bloggers do and simply list the things that are currently giving me joy!

-Feeding my baby! She loves to play with the food on her tray and put it in her mouth.
-Watching Caitlin climb (literally) to new heights
-HGTV (It feels like "research" as we head towards a house hunt in Detroit and Detroit Metro)
-the hopefulness that new job possibilities brings
-A long, morning nap for baby = shower for mom, time to clean bathroom, make bed, switch laundry and putts around on the computer
-Homemade macaroni and cheese!
-A gentle breeze...

I hope you all are finding some simple joys in your morning on this lovely Wednesday (I'm surprised I recalled the day of the week! I've lost track since school let out)

on moving...

My husband and I are no strangers to moving as we've done it four times in the five years that we've been married. First there was our 1st apt. in our current neighborhood. Then the unit below our friends opened up and it was in an old town house so we thought it'd be cozy to be "virtually" living in the same house. Those friends relocated months after we moved in (only across the neighborhood), and we quickly grew discontented with that place (really high cost utilities and leaking water and strange smells) and moved into a studio behind our former business. Then the studio got a bit cramped and Stephen needed space from work so we moved up the street to our current residence. We have actually been here for 2 years--a record for us! In retrospect, I would've been fine w/ our first place for all 5 years...but hindsight is always 20/20. Our current apt. has room for a nursery, a front porch, and laundry in the basement so I've been pretty content here. However, we are definitely "house hungry." I think that's expected since we've been married 5 years and been through so many changes; it's that desire to settle into something more long-term and to make it our own.

So we are embarking on our 5th move this month. It is unique for us in that we now have an (almost) 8 mo. old "crawling" around and we are moving in with family. We are trying to avoid a separate storage unit, but there's an obvious amount of sorting involved based on what things we will need immediate access to, and what can be tucked away in respective family basements.

Purging is good.
Sorting is healthy.
Trying to sort while Caitlin investigates the dangerous things in her room does not work so well.

I believe we will get there.
It helps to have deadlines.
We just really need to buckle down.

Wish us luck!

Father's Day

We recently spent 9 days in Detroit for a sort-of vacation. Our intention was to go to the cottage in Canada for some of that time, but that's hard to do w/ an expired passport ;(. So we just took our time with both families, a few friends, a grad party and some Father's Day celebrating. I was also lucky enough to get a last min. surprise interview. It may turn into something, it may not...the market is VERY competitive over there as there are so many teachers out of work and folks graduating from teacher's colleges in the area. The fact that I've had 4 interviews is encouraging in and of itself.

We got to spend time with Caitlin's new cousin, Hudson..I'll post more pics in the future. I can't believe I forgot how SMALL Caitlin was @ the nb stage! And she got to play with her cousin Lily who seemed to enjoy entertaining her. It makes me feel good to know that Caitlin is learning her family faces--all the grandparents and her cousins. I grew up seeing one set of grandparents and aunts and uncles pretty frequently and that is something that I want for my child.

We also got to go on a DATE! Our budget has been tight and we don't have as much free babysitting around here, so we've just been enjoying the post 7pm hours as "adult time" for conversation and renting movies. BUT...it was extremely nice to finally get out and spend the whole evening together. We went to a vegetarian restaurant in Ann Arbor, got coffee at Espresso Royale and sat in the park. We lucked out b/c it was 1/2 off wine night @ the restaurant...I look forward to more dating in the future! ;)

We also did a bit of preparation for moving into Stephen's family's house. I am so grateful that they're allowing us to land there temporarily while we begin the hunt for the right house, the right price, and the right neighborhood.

dreams

Since it is on my mind so often, I thought I should write about the house/space that I dream about as a way to process it/get it off my chest! ;)...in a good way, of course. A few years back my husband and I did a wee bit of house hunting in Pittsburgh. We came across one very cute 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath, finished basement, big backyard house just up the hill from where we live. It was in very good shape as an elderly couple were taking care of it for 40 years and when I say "taking care," I mean it. Sure I would rip down all of the wall paper, re-do the whole kitchen, rip up the carpet, etc. But it really seemed like it might have been worth our while. The one BIG plus to me, was the big, long, sturdy wash line out back. It turns out it just wasn't the right time, and we didn't want to rush if we weren't sure we were staying in Pittsburgh for years to come. I am glad that we waited.

Today I am fully aware of the fact that it may still be a few more years before the right house is ours for the owning. However, I am just taking a moment to dream...IF I could have the ideal house/setting, it would have:

1) 3 bedrooms
2) 1.5 bathrooms
3) connect living area and dining room
4) MUD ROOM (this served my family WELL as kids came tromping in with boots in the winter, etc.)
5) laundry hookup
6) room for a wash line!!!!!
7) room for lots of gardens
8) room for a bit of grass for caitlin to play in...and for steve to get the satisfaction of mowing
9) room for a sewing table & desk (3rd b.room?)
10) basement or attic storage
11) NATURAL LIGHT (I'd rather only use the lamps on overcast days or during the evening)
12) lots of counter space in the kitchen, a pantry, and a gas stove (I realize I may have to provide that appliance...)

And in the spirit of a walkable community...I would like to be able to walk to many places (library, drug store, coffee shop, farmer's market)...and there a only a few places in Detroit-metro where this is possible...so we start praying...NOW! ;)

Ah...that's what dreams are made of...