life update.

Posted on June 28, 2012 by mommyinthemidwest

I suppose an update is in order. I’ve been trying to hold off because we know how things turned out last time. We do have a contract on another house. It is almost a total remodel. I mean it. New floors. Paint in every room. Kitchen do-over. 4 bathrooms that need to be completely updated. Lighting, fixtures, tile. EVERYTHING.

Right now, we are waiting for their response to our requests from the inspection. There was nothing major but a few fixes are going to be deal-breakers if they refuse. This house was built in 1983 and wow… I think everything in there is original. You get the idea.

Work.
Work.
Work.

In other news, we have a big first tonight. Theo went away to an old fashioned amusement park with Nana and Pop Pop. He’s spent the night with them before, but he’s never gone out of town or been away from “home” with anyone but us. We’re missing his first amusement park. It’s kind of a big, sad deal!

Dexter is starting to talk. He mimics and repeats sounds, trying to say words every day. He is starting to say things on command. He’s also starting to identify objects by name as he points to them. My favorite? When he points and says “I want that.” Not quite that plain, but I understand him. He’ll say “I want that” and point, then he keeps saying “that, that, that.”

I can’t stop thinking about this house. I have some pictures of it, I’m debating posting them. Because guys? It’s lovely outside, but pretty hideous inside. Should I? What have we gotten ourselves into?

Reminds me of a fascinating blog I stumbled across while searching for remodeling ideas. It’s written by homeowners who bought a house that’s….Not Quite a Teardown…but almost. The transformation is shocking and addicting.

Work has been pretty tough lately. I haven’t been getting much sleep. My grandpa has been really sick. We have had some fun, floating on rafts in the lake. We really need a getaway. We need a change of scenery. Some new kind of fun.

~C~

this little thing he does.

Posted on June 15, 2012 by mommyinthemidwest

We haven’t abandoned Dexter’s bottle yet. He still gets one in the morning and one before bed. With all the other change and uncertainty going on in our lives, it’s hard for me to take away that one comfort he’s got. While I’m holding him at night, as he’s drinking his bottle, there’s this little thing he does. I want to remember it forever.

What does that have to do with this?

Ryan got me this beautiful silver necklace for Mother’s Day this year from Uncommon Goods. Are you familiar? They have a lot of neat gift ideas, but I really love that they use a lot of recycled materials in their products.

Mama bird sitting on her nest.

My 2 blue eggs inside.

Nest detail.

The “nest” is copper.

I wear it every day. Back to bedtime…

Dexter drinks his bottle, holding it with one hand. Eyes closed, his other hand searches until he finds my necklace. He manipulates the pieces with his fingers until he gets it just the way he wants it. When the eggs are out of the nest and out of his way, he rubs the inside of the rounded pieces, holding them between his thumb and forefinger, switching between the silver and copper pieces. The bottle drains, his eyes get even heavier. His hand gets heavier until it falls onto his own chest. That’s when I sit and stare at him for a bit longer before kissing his blonde head and whispering “good night, my little egg.”

This mama bird will protect her nest til the end of time. I wish the little eggs weren’t in such a hurry to hatch and fly.

xo,

mama bird in the midwest

strawberries and fire trucks.

Posted on June 11, 2012 by mommyinthemidwest

June 9, 2012.

The local fire department had their annual strawberry festival Saturday. I pretty much failed at getting any pictures of fire trucks or strawberries. We did have some yummy food (ribeye sandwiches, sloppy joes, fresh corn on the cob, and strawberry shortcake with ice cream).

Dexter makes this face. ALL. THE. TIME. Only sometimes, it comes with scrunched eyebrows.

The coolest thing was the rescue helicopter that Theo got to climb all over. A few minutes later, we got to watch it take off. I’ve never been in (or even that close to) a helicopter before, so Theo has one up on me.