A first of november DAYBOOK

Outside My Window...
It's happening!
THE TURNING OF THE LEAVES
My favorite.  So pretty around here. Dangerous for me to drive, really.

I am thankful for...
the 20 minutes of gymnastics-nursing and giggles that I get each and every night at bedtime. It's my FAVORITE part of each day. Nothing else exists except me and my baby in a dark, dark room.

I am thinking about...
how I'm like taffy.
Probably, really, all moms feel that way.
So pulled in different directions... stretched so thin... happy and eager for all of the directions being pulled to - but not sure how this really works. Not in a real 'finished taffy shape' at the moment... still in the stretching stages. Not 100% of anything, really.  One foot in the door of Kindergarten Teacher. One in Mommy. One toe in Wife. One toenail in Dancer. Ok, a small hangnail portion of a toenail, but it's hanging on! And one foot as Literacy Committee Chair (a complex role I'm passionate about) - there just isn't enough of me to go around.  And I'm really feeling it. ADVICE PLEASE.  If you've never hit that 'comment' bar, now is the time to do it!

love it when she sleeps like this - with her arms up

Learning all the time...
Was reminded today that in order to keep our brains healthy, we have to continually be learning something new. Invigorating idea!  Hm... what would I chose next?  Piano? Guitar?? a Language? a Religion?

Right. I'll stop now. Too stretched at the moment. Will hit pause on this one. I promise. ;)

how 'bout a picture of 2 new little teeth?

From the kitchen...
chocolate chip cookies!  (unfortunately everyone else got a virus... so I had to pretty much eat the whole batch myself. Yes, I can take one for the team.)

I am creating...
not much.

I am working on...
being more efficient and choosy about how I invest my time and energy in my work.  So far it's just the goal. Not sure how to accomplish that yet.  My kids and my family and my home are calling to me with loud voices and I'm feeling ... gulp.... DOMESTIC lately. Ouch. Kinda hurt to say that. Me???? Yes. I want to bake and clean and cook and change diapers. I'm crazy. What can I say? I don't even know myself anymore!! ;)

at the carnival-like event in our neighborhood called "Hilloween"

with her old/new bestie - glad you're back from Jerusalem, friend!

I am going...
nowhere. poo. I want to go somewhere!

I am hoping...
the virus has left our house for good.

one of her RARE grumpy faces... (and my new 'connected in hope' scarf)

I am reading...
Ten Ways to Destroy The Imagination of Your child - by Esolen
-- recommended by Sarah
At first, I was intrigued and even impressed. But as this rolls along... I think he's gone beyond his point and is now just caught up in himself. Going to finish it out because he references a lot of interesting literature and his point has already altered my viewpoint .... but I gotta say I do so with caution

I am praying for...
my angel girls

I am hearing...
well - when I started this post, I was hearing the low rumble of the dryer, Norah Jones, and the clink of my wine glass on the table..... now I'm hearing the drones of the TV, and the hilarious conversation of my husband and sister-in-law

Around the house...
Trying (again) to tame the toys.

raised legs on the art table... those little tubs are baby-finger-proof... but works-in-progress are just too tempting for little hands

One of my favorite things...
the smell of my baby's feet

A few plans for the rest of the week...   weekend
a birthday party, groceries, hanging with Rachel, prepping for parent-teacher conferences, lit committee work, and loads upon loads of laundry (no, Sar, not as much as you. You take the cake on that one)
Did i say?? AUNTIE RACHEL IS VISITING!! :) YAY! Ainsley is in HEAVEN:

Picture Video thoughts I'm sharing with you...
(Word)

The Big Switch

So - HOW, just HOW are we fitting another little creature into this skinny DC townhouse?

We had to rearrange a bit.

Those of you who've been in our house will appreciate this.  Just imagine it:

We decided to swap rooms with the girls.  Give both girls the Master Bedroom to share (it's bigger) and we'd take the teeny middle room.  I must admit, that while it was the most only logical solution... I still had my doubts at first.  Those doubts have melted completely away.

It turns out that a mens closet (2 hanging rods) is just about PERFECT for sisters.  Baby dresses up high.  Big girl stuff within reach.  I was hoping this would facilitate independence in the realm of dressing as we enter Kindergarten... well... let me tell you.  it HAS!  Indeed, our monkey princess loves that she can sift through her favorite dresses and choose for herself.  The down side is that I'm cleaning up a pile of clothes from the floor at least twice a day (do ALL little girls go through this many 'costume changes' in a day!???)

folded clothes for both girls on the right, baby blankets & crib sheets on the left, diaper stuff up top. DREAMY.

don't worry, Nana, mommy ordered wooden letters for adelaide's name too :)

The windowsill between the bedrooms displays Ainsley's special Ocracoke Mermaid, wedding and new baby statues, and her soccer trophies.  a flowered scarf hanging behind it helps soften the light from mom/dad's room at night.

It's an entire TOY CORNER 

(next 2 pictures show the right side and left side of the window nook)

easy access to DOLLHOUSE

 Changing Table:

Hanging above the changing table is a menagerie of mobiles.  They dance and sway in the movement of the ceiling fan... providing entertainment for baby during changes and eye candy from any vantage point in the room.

Big-Girl-Only toys are in bins behind the cupboard doors -- so hopefully baby won't get to them on her own.

The girls have more room to play, Addie now has a crib (BOOOYEAH!) and all of their stuff fits.  But what about momma and dada's room, you ask?  well.... it's cozy and we love it (though it is a bit tight)

Baby still takes naps in her swing in here... her favorite nap place... and Ains can then have access to all her toys during nap times.

Mom had to stuff her clothes into the linen closet (linens & Daddy's clothes are now in the girls' closet space).... it meant for 3 HUGE bags of clothes donated between mom and girls getting organized. Whew!

Hair Station & Bath Towels are now on the little table (handpainted by moi last summer) just outside the bathroom:

Since I'm on the topic of "around the house"... 

check out what we did with the living room.  We switched the furniture during maternity leave... in anticipation of needing more space for a crawling baby, and for providing a better play area for Ainsley.  Out with the BIG, in with ... IKEA. :)  I'm telling you - it's so satisfying to SIMPLIFY and clean out those nooks and crannies.

The leather couch is SUPER comfy - and easy to keep clean even with kids jumping on it.  While it was a bit sad to say farewell to the antique chaise (nursing haven turned 'daddy chair'), it was definitely time.  and this little number takes less space, is easier to clean under, and works just fine.

Moving the couch back against the wall opened up the space to allow a separate "play area" for the kids, and a good visual on baby even when I'm standing in the kitchen at the other end of the house.  Because this furniture is so much smaller (and we also got rid of some bookshelves and things), it doesn't feel as cramped as it did before when we had a couch in this position.

Art/Work corner:

A tad different than Sarah's art space... but works for us right now. 

Hopefully these little colorful latching bins will keep baby fingers out of big-kid-only art supplies.

toy shelf:

1. big girl games on top

2. board books in the middle

3. baby toys on bottom 

(she's already getting into them all by herself, little mover!)

Oh, and Jake-Bed under the TV. Movies & CDs and CD player in the corner. 

Still need to cover all those wires.  QUICKLY.