Transition of the Room

Our home renovation focus has shifted from major home remodel and brand new spaces to the re-purposing of existing spaces. We are now scheduling contractors to bid on re-working our basement to accommodate a bedroom for Emma. The existing room in the basement that functions as Jim's room will be transformed into the needed bedroom. The exercise equipment and all of his things will need to find new homes and since our house isn't getting any bigger most of his things will be packed away. Jim began the process right away and has packed the majority of his shot glass collection already. His sports memorabilia will also be coming off the wall and the beer bottles will be stored. I don't have an appreciation for the things themselves that are being put away but I do appreciate the personal sacrifice this entails.  Jim has enjoyed using the room as his own space but he has also graciously given it up for our growing family.

Emma is enjoying the prospect of a new blank slate and has a vision for her new bedroom. I introduced her to Pinterest.com and she is having a great time finding and pinning design ideas for the space on her board. The room shift also means we get to envision and put together a room for Pumpkin. I'll start with the pieces we have from the girl's nurseries and go from there but I know for sure that Emma's turquoise walls will become something softer. I am sure we will come up with something in the next 14 weeks. In the meantime Jim is being an amazing example of placing family first, and the girls have noticed his selflessness.

Swim Lessons at the pool

Our first summer as pool members is more than half over, and the swimming lessons are underway. Our pool offers 3 sessions of swim lessons but we weren't able to do either of the earlier two because of vacation and vacation bible school, so we made sure to get Megan and Bridget into the 3rd session. We have been coming to the pool pretty regularly this summer, not everyday or most days like some of the pool families but at least a few times a week. I am finding it a great way for my 7 summer charges to spend the day. They play well, are physically active, and are outside, all without complaining or fighting for 2 whole hours. When we get home it is time for naps, quiet time, and summer workbook completion.


All of our girls are comfortable in the water but Megan could benefit from actual instruction and Bridget needs to actually swim not just be OK in shallow water. The lessons are in the evenings so frequently the whole family will go to the pool for a few hours. Both girls had positive outlooks on the lessons and eased in well. Bridget is an Accorn (non-swimmers) and has gradually gained confidence and can go under water now. She is practicing freestyle arms and effective kicking. Floating on her back still scares her for now. Megan was originally signed up for Branches (swimmers without formal stroke training) but they moved her up immediately to the Saplings group. Even though Megs hadn't had formal training she  did freestyle well on her first lap. Megan has great arm extension and strong kicks. She has learned butterfly and breast stroke as well. Today she did flip turns without issue.   

Both of the girls are enjoying the lessons and I think they will build on what they learned for the rest of the summer. I have also collected more freckles then ever, while the girls have beautiful slight tans.

Road trip to Boston

This past weekend Will and I took a road trip to Boston to visit my Godmother, Aunt Deb. Will's family was used to seeing Deb when they stopped in Boston on their way to vacation with friends in Maine, but their friends moved and so they hadn't gone in a few years. I haven't been north in a number of years and was longing to stay connected. Heather had encouraged the 2 of us to visit and had us put together a list of weekends that would work. She did some prodding and Will and I both agreed to the 2nd weekend in July.

    Aunt Deb hasn't really been in touch since the death of Gramma, when she moved Ella into her home in Boston. I tried to call but with no luck, so I sent a letter. The day before we planned to go up I called and got her on the phone. Since it was such short notice I was a little worried that she wouldn't like the idea, but the phone call put any worry at ease. Deb sounded excited to have us come and offered to feed us and have us stay with her.  Will had arranged hotels using his points so that was already taken care of. We decided we would drive up after work on Friday and spend the night in Connecticut. That way we would be in Boston before lunch.

    Traveling with Will was so easy. We had great conversations and no stress. At one point in New Jersey well after dark we both got the feeling that we weren't on the right road and somehow wound up on the parkway instead of the turnpike. Shortly we came upon traffic lights. We were definitely not on the NJ turnpike. Both of us just looked ahead for a gas station or somewhere to stop for a bathroom break and we saw Dairy Queen so we pulled in. We both pulled out our phones and discovered we were on the Jersey Shore. We got blizzards and worked out the turnpike on Google maps. We had a few laughs about visiting the jersey shore and headed for the turnpike.  It took us a few extra attempts to get on the turnpike. We could see it but not get on. I made a couple of "it should be up here but no guarantees" navigation directions and Will patiently made a few more u-turns, till we got on the NJ Turnpike. No stress, no blame, just life- which we were both enjoying.  


   We got into Boston before lunch on Saturday and were warmly greeted by Aunt Deb and Ella. It was so good to see them both doing so well. It felt strange to not be greeted by a German Shepard as well. Deb has had a dog as long as I can remember. Sasha, then Hanz, and most recently Daisy. But Daisy died last year and her absence was notable. Aunt Deb is a wonderful hostess and made us feel very welcome. I hadn't met Ella before so we were introduced. She kept telling me that she was a very old lady (103). She has lost a lot of her hearing but had some fun stories to tell about St. Louis, where she grew up. Ella was completely enamored with Will and throughout the afternoon commented how handsome he was, that he had nice teeth, and fancy shoes. 


    Deb's house is full of charm. It is a historic home built in 1857 and she has kept it in great repair. Her yard is edged by a wall of stacked dark gray rocks and provides a wonderful scene to view from the dining room. We shared lunch in the dining room together, where we caught Deb up on all of the goings on in the family. She got a laugh out of Will's stories from the People's Republic of Montgomery County and shared some of the craziness in MA. All the while Deb was attentive to Ella's needs and treated her with care and dignity. Ella meanwhile raved about Deb's cooking, especially the homemade pies and responded to Deb's care with gentle thank you's. 


    In the afternoon Will and I checked into our hotel and arranged to bring dinner back to the house with us. Deb recommended a local seafood restaurant, where Will could get a good lobster roll or 2. Since it is hard for Ella to get around, Deb only goes out for groceries and doctor's appointments, so a dinner that she didn't have to prepare was very welcomed. We spent the evening discussing current events, politics, and family memories. I love hearing Deb's stories about growing up in Wisconsin as well as stories handed down. She shared about visiting every Christmas and working side by side with Gramma to get everything ready for family festivities and older stories about hand washing clothes in Newald and how far domestic chores have come. Stories of days of cotton dresses being turned into quilts and hand crocheting doilies leave an impression of a different quality of life. Will and I headed back after dark and then returned in the morning. We walked to Mass at the local church and then enjoyed brunch with Deb. She looked less energized, after what was an interrupted nights sleep, and she commented that that was one of the harder parts. But Deb serves 24-7 with grace and a tender heart. Will and I both left hoping to someday offer Deb that same kind of care.


    Will and I headed back to Baltimore in the hopes of being home in time to put our kids in bed. We had checked in with our families throughout the weekend and were ready to see them. It is the connection to family that brought us to Boston and that same dedication that drew us back.

The first baby toy needs a place

With each child, choosing the first baby toy has taken on it's own special ceremony. Jim picked out a blue whale for Emma's first toy, and then when we were pregnant with Rachael I picked out Rachael's Speckles. When we were expecting Megan we decided that Emma would get to pick out the toy for Megan. She picked a Classic Winnie the Pooh. Rachael then got to pick out Bridget's 1st toy. Rae chose a blue and green dinosaur named Steggy. Shortly after we let them know about baby Pumpkin Megan got the job of finding the first toy. Megs kept her eyes peeled for the right toy whenever we saw stuffed animals and then this past weekend Megan found a tan lion with a mane of velvety tabs. The lion is adorable and very soft. This lion had a tag on him that said Larry but it didn't seem to fit. A number of names were suggested and Jim thought of his friend Steve's nickname: Hug-ums.  It was perfect.

So Hug-ums waits to meet our little Pumpkin. He waits on my dresser. There is also a growing pile of baby things on my small set of drawers. I have a feeling that this storage will not work much longer. The closer we get to delivery the bigger the pile will get. Pumpkin's things need a place and Pumpkin will need a place. Jim and I are both worried about creating space for our new little one.

I mentioned some of our home improvement options awhile ago and we are well into the refinance process. We were hoping to add a 2nd floor knowing that the cost would put us at the edge of our comfort zone. Then this week we got the appraisal report. It came back well below what we expected, what our realtor expected and well below the level which would make our addition possible. It took the wind right out of our sails, Jim and I both felt rather demoralized and we went back to the starting board and rehashed all of our options again. We have decided that we will pay off debt and focus on using the space we have. We will plan to move Emma down to Jim's room and set it up as a bedroom and maybe upgrade the bathroom. We are thinking we will also fix up the garage a little so the exercise equipment can go in there. It is a completely different project and means we have to start over getting bids and project designs. Pumpkin is due in 15 weeks and maybe it can be done by then if things go smoothly.

Until then Hug-ums will be a lion without a place but at least Pumpkin seems pretty comfy for now.

Powerless 4th

We drove back from our amazing but exhausting Florida vacation to news of widespread power outages in Baltimore. While we were on the road we contacted neighbors and confirmed that our power was definitely out. We got home Sunday evening to heat and humidity and a dark house. I got a text from friends saying that their power was back and inviting anyone over who needed dinner or AC. We definitely needed both so we brought over some meat from our freezer and treats that were still mostly frozen and took them up on their offer. It was a wonderful evening hanging out with their family and Megan stayed to spend the night with her friend. The rest of us went home to the dark house and after having driven for 2 days we were ready for bed. We used our flashlights and dug through suitcases. It was hot so Jim headed right to the basement but the rest of us attempted to sleep in our beds. It wasn't long before all of us, except for Emma, wound up on the basement floor.

It is always an adjustment coming home from vacation and even more so when none of the normal routines can get back on track. On Monday morning I had to go to work and looked forward to the AC. Jim had the day off and made arrangements to borrow Mary and Ed's generator. They lost power too but only for a 36 hours. The girls spent the day in the AC at Becky's so it wasn't bad. The other side of our street got power back before we got home form vacation but we were still out a day later. It didn't look very promising in getting it back soon either. A number of streets were blocked with large trees including the main road 2 blocks from us. A good number of the traffic signals were out as well as local restaurants and stores, but we found a local pizza place with power so we went there for dinner.

Jim set up the refrigerator and freezer to be powered by the generator as well as chargers for our phones and a few fans. We made due and settled into the basement for sleeping. By Tuesday morning the excitment of the adventure was waning. I had the Shumakers and our girls for the day and we decided to get out of the stuffy house and go to the pool. That worked well but we had to return for nap time. I was hot and cranky and so were all of the kids. We were so blessed to receive an invitation to cool off and have dinner at another friend's house. That night sleeping was much harder because there was no breeze and the temps didn't get lower overnight. We all woke up tired Wednesday morning and still with no sign of power.

Wednesday was the fourth of July and it just didn't feel like a holiday. Jim and I were both not sleeping well and hot and cranky and frustrated with the lack of power. The power company didn't have an estimate of when we would get power back so I made the decision that it was time to go to the laundromat.  I had done some laundry while on vacation but it had piled up to 6 loads of clothes. We decided that we would skip the 4th of July parade. Sitting in the heat of the day on the side of the road was just completely unappealing. The girls were disappointed but we were still going to a cookout with the extended family and we would see the fireworks. We enjoyed the cookout and the girls had a blast playing with cousins, launching water bottle rockets and doing sparklers. After an impressive firework display we headed back to the still dark house. Thursday also started to the rumble of the generator and I took the kids to the pool for the day. Finally that evening power came back on. It took both Jim and I a few days to shed the deep weary feeling the heat had inflicted. 6 days of no electricity in 100 degree heat was definitely over our tolerance level. It is wonderful to get back to the normal daily grind with all of our electronic luxuries.

Florida Vacation

Our week vacation was so full and so fun. The road trip was easy except for the occasional traffic issue. The girls kept themselves busy and out of trouble. It was so nice to get to Florida and see Jim's family again. The girls looked so forward to it and his family is so attentive to them. We spent 4 days in the Disney Parks and we went to Universal Studios for 2 days. It was non-stop and exhausting but also so fun. The girls were all wide eyed at each of the worlds we entered. Bridget couldn't get enough of the castle at Magic Kingdom and all of us appreciated the details that made the parks a complete experience. The whole family supported Megan's collecting of autographs and were willing to stand in lines for her.  Emma, Rachael and Megan got on tons of rides with Jim and Uncle Bill while Bridget Grandma Kate, PawPaw and I did more enjoying of the shows and atmosphere.

It is too much to go back over the whole trip but I do want to mention the wonderful character lunch that our immediate family went to at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom. We had all just gotten drenched in a downpour and had soaked shoes but we enjoyed the really good buffet. The characters made their way to us just as we finished lunch so it was wonderful timing to give hugs and get autographs. I got in on the fun and got lots of hugs from my favorite Pooh characters. Bridget had been a little apprehensive about getting close to the characters earlier in the week but she enjoyed giving and getting hugs from Pooh's friends.

 We also had an amazing time in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. From the train depot to the Hogwarts castle to Honeydukes Sweet Shop. It was well done and transported us all to the stories. The big girls enjoyed the roller coasters thoroughly and Grandma Kate headed off Megan's disappointment in not being able to ride the dragon coaster with the first butterbeer of the day in a souvenir cup. We had a great lunch at the Three Broomsticks and then we headed to Hogwarts for the Forbidden Journey ride.  It was a great experience.

  

  
The whole group also did the Kilimanjaro Safari together at Animal Kingdom. It was a long line but worth waiting for the nearness of the animals in a natural setting. We had a giraffe right next to our truck, we saw baby elephants and all kinds of animals. Rachael pulled out our camera and got some good shots. I felt a bit jerked around by the end of it, as did Grandma Kate so we took it easy the rest of the day and stuck to air-conditioned shows. We all enjoyed the Lion King performance and the big kids then did some rides with Jim and Uncle Bill including multiple trips on the Yeti coaster. After their 2nd ride of the Yeti they meet us just in time for the Nemo Muscial and while we were there they were given Fast Passes to ride Yeti again.   

We spent many late nights out and I was amazed at how well Megan and Bridget did despite lack of sleep. The fireworks shows were worth seeing and we all enjoyed the parades and the light show on the castle. It was physically exhausting for everyone and by the end of the week we were so ready for home and full of memroies.