Misplaced Ramblings of the Displaced

This Saturday marks exactly three months we have been displaced.  Three long months of feeling very in-between, all the while trying to not let it impact our work lives, married lives, and kids' lives.  I knew it would be a challenge, but I underestimated so much.  Like not having an address for starters.  We put a forward on our old address to my parents' house, but didn't change my online billing address for various places because I knew we wouldn't be here for long.  Then, when we started ordering lots of merchandise for our new house - light fixtures, furniture, window coverings, etc., we found it a gigantic pain to have them shipped to my parents', only to have to load them in our car and take them to our new house in Cedar Falls.  So, we started shipping things to Beau's office.  Long story short, it seems we get a shipment almost daily right now - sometimes, to Beau's office, sometimes, to my parents', sometimes, to our old address on accident, and other times, well, we have no idea!  If I can't keep it straight, I'm almost positive UPS can't!  I've gotten so confused when I call online companies and they ask to verify my home address that I play a guessing game with them until we get to the right one.  And poor Cruz!  Of course our preschool would pick this month to start learning addresses!  He's asking when we get to move to our new house more often all the time, I think because I reminded him of all his toys in storage.  It's going to be like Christmas for him soon enough.

When it comes to building a house, I most definitely have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  On one hand, I don't know how people designed homes without it, while on the other hand, I'm confident it's cost us a lot of money. :)  Not to mention, it's made this decision process completely ridiculous at times.  In many ways, our decisions got much easier after the "big things" were purchased and decided.  Big things like flooring and siding, electrical wires and plugins, cabinets, windows, and tile.  Once we got past the dreaded paint colors, I made the mistake of thinking it was smooth sailing from then til move-in.  Wrong!  I have spent the last three weeks tirelessly searching for light fixtures for every room of the house.  That's over 20 light fixtures, people!  And to think my loving husband actually thought I could go to Menards and pick them all out at once!  Our contractor suggested we go to a few lighting specialty stores, but I decided to take my own route and rely on Pinterest to direct me to my favorites online.  Much easier said than done.  After keeping in mind a budget, measuring and searching for ideal sizes, matching and coordinating colors, attempting to decide what look I'm going for in each room, and dealing with company return and restocking policies when something arrives damaged or definitely not what I was going for, I have been in the depths of lighting hell!  And then I get these brilliant ideas from Pinterest that involve things like buying a cheap ceiling fan, replacing the hood plate with a three-bulb ceiling fan light kit, removing the three bulb 'hoods' and replacing them with cage lights and Edison bulbs for our outdoor ceiling fan.  So, instead of buying a completely fine outdoor ceiling fan, I buy a fan, a coordinating fan kit, and then find cage lights to order online.  I can't wait to see the look on my electrician's face when I explain that one to him. :)  Needless to say, I'm sure others have approached this building process much more efficiently than I have.  

And then comes our stories from the seats.  Car seats, that is.  If I have learned one thing in the three months I've commuted to work, it's how very lucky we are to live within five minutes of our job, our kids' school, and Target. :)  I have completely taken for granted the luxury of being able to run home to grab lunch, to throw something in the crock pot for dinner, or to grab my computer charger when I forgot to pack it the first time.  My alarm goes off at 5:30 every morning and it's a race to the finish just to get showers in, makeup on, bags packed, breakfast prepared, and kids out the door in time.  But the worst predicament has been when the kids are sick.  Beau and I are blessed with jobs that allow us to be flexible.  We take turns being where we need to be and often run back and forth so our kids can be home on days when they need to be.  When you live a half hour from home, this is far more difficult, if not impossible!  And with how sick we have all been the past three months, we've had to be creative and flexible with our schedules far more than I thought we'd have to be.  I swear Mila's been sick more than she's been healthy this winter and I am counting down the days until spring is here and my baby can kiss this dreaded cold season goodbye.  

But then, there are the sunrises.  I have seen my fair share of them the past three months and they have been this sweet, beautiful glimpse of perspective and hope to start so many of my mornings.  I've been able to catch a lot of them driving east every morning on Highway 3, and they always make me smile and glance in my rear view mirror to stare at the faces of my babes as they watch their movie with their stocking caps on, content and at peace in their car seats.  It is in these moments that I remember we are doing just fine.  God gives us hope in every sunrise, in every new day.  That drive, no matter how cold some of the mornings have been, has become this quiet little pause button at the start of every day, an opportunity for me to reset and recognize all the good that has existed during this crazy challenging period of our lives.  I smile and remember watching Cruz climb up on the couch with Papa to snuggle before bed.  I remember Cruz and Mila's baths together, trying to get Mila dressed as she crawls away from me on Cruz's bed, followed by "Five Little Monkeys" and lots of cuddles to follow.  I remember waking up with Cruz standing next to our bed after making the long trek from his all the way downstairs every night.  I remember impromptu visits to Great Grandma and Papa's, Parenthood sob sessions and Bachelor girl fests with Mom, and picnics at the library on a Saturday afternoon.  It's been wild and crazy most of the time, but I have a feeling we are all going to miss each other quite a bit when we part ways.  My kids aren't going to know what to do.

Thankful for this season, for the lessons, and most importantly, for the sunrises.  For there was never a night or a problem that could defeat them.
          

5/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2015"

Cruz: Received his first letter home from a teacher on Friday.  He was not being a good listener and was provoking his friends to be funny instead of listening, too.  Friday night, we were discussing our action plan as parents and Beau asked my parents, "Did Ashley ever get a bad letter sent home from school?"  After they gave an emphatic "No", Beau mumbled "hmm..." and walked away.  I guess he was having a little deja vu with that one. :)

Mila: FINALLY turned a corner late last week.  She has four new molars in that mouth of hers and she seems back to her bright-eyed, busy self.  We had a good, quiet weekend getting snowed in at Grandma and Papa's.  Mila took long naps both days and learned to say the word baby.  She says it in this high-pitched sweet little voice, usually when sticking her finger in a doll's eye, exclaiming, "bae bae?" and looking around for approving nods.  

A New House Bucket List

We have hit the month mark of moving in to our new house and we are beyond excited!  I stopped over there Friday and it was utter chaos.  There was a guy spraying trim in the kids' rooms, another one painting doors downstairs, someone building our board and batten in the office, and someone else grouting our bathroom floor.  The energy was palpable and it is so rewarding to see it all come to life before our very eyes.  

The other day, Beau and I ran to Des Moines for a quick trip to look at furniture.  We've been so busy making decision after decision on the house that we haven't had time to think much about what we want to put in it!  And since everyone has warned us furniture can sometimes take ten weeks to get in, we decided we better get a move on it if we want to start making this a home as soon as possible.  

We had a blast together, taking advantage of rare, much-needed time for just the two of us, laying on couches that weren't ours and imagining movie nights cozied up with our little ones.  We splurged and purchased an unbelievably comfortable couch, love seat, and a farmhouse table for our dining area.  Actually purchasing things we can soon move into those rooms made it feel very real and made us very excited!  Little by little, this is all coming to life.

On the drive home, we went back and forth sharing all the things we were most excited for about this house.  Amenities we've never had before, like a warm, attached garage, a mudroom for our shoes and coats, and more than one bathroom!  After months of making decisions, feeling displaced, and trying to maintain some sense of normalcy under a heavy amount of stress, we can finally see the end in sight.  Soon, we can focus on settling in and planting our roots in this new place we will call home.

So, a little house bucket list of things I can't wait to do in our new pad...

// Curl up on our new couch and watch season after season of Parenthood.  

// Blare Alabama Shakes through our whole house audio and clean with lemon oil and vinegar.

// Craft with Cruz at the kitchen table after Mila goes to bed.

// Make stiff drinks and sit on the deck with Beau.

// Host dinners for the friends who have opened up their tables to us the past three months.  Fill the house with my favorite scents of garlic and tomatoes and open bottles of red wine around the island.

// Fill the house with fresh green plants of vases of spring blooms.

// Soak for an hour in a tub filled to the brim with bubbles, dog-earring pages of a new book.

// Fill the pantry with clean, healthy foods for our family.  It's not every day you get the opportunity to fill completely empty cupboards with food!

// Play board games in front of the fire.  

// Have fresh baked banana bread ready for Cruz when he gets done with school.  I would be his forever and ever. :)

Happy February, everyone!                      

Finally! A House Post!

Now that we are over the hump of what has seemed like one of the craziest periods of our entire lives, I have been anxiously awaiting the chance to document our long-awaited house progress on this blog.  On one hand, it's seemed like an eternity ago that we broke ground on this place, yet when I look at pictures, it's unbelievable how fast they can pull it all together.  I took a picture with Instagram the other day and scrolled through to compare it with the last picture I had taken.  I was blown away to see that just seven weeks prior stood a house with not a single piece of siding or a single stone on the front.  I have a whole new appreciation for contractors and their ability to put all the pieces together to make this thing work.  We absolutely love our contractor and I will be so sad when he's not hanging out in our house every day!  Although it would get a little creepy...

I know I've said it before, but I completely underestimated the decisions that went into building this house.  I knew I'd be picking paint colors, flooring, light fixtures, and even light switch plates, but never dreamed of the options and choices that exist.  And then there are the decisions I never anticipated, like how far apart I would like each subway tile in my shower, what shape of bowl I would like my bathroom sink to be, and where to place floor vents so they wouldn't be under furniture, long before any furniture is even purchased!  Being the kind of shopper who usually buys three shirts with every intention of returning two after I try them out first at home, I quickly found this approach wasn't going to fly with building a home.  But all in all, my hours of research, my dependency on my Houzz app. (how did people build houses before this?!), and my months of daydreaming have paid off and I've been so happy with how everything has come to life.  The fact that I successfully picked out seven different colors of paint without having to repaint one wall is enough to celebrate!  I've never painted a wall without repainting it in my life! 

It's been a long haul, but now that decisions are winding down, I'm mostly feeling really thankful for this journey.  The toughest jobs reap the biggest rewards, after all, and we are just weeks away from turning that key and enjoying this place we'll call home for many years to come.  

Some pictures of where we are at...

The front, pre-siding and stone.

It's now nearly complete except for our front door and outdoor lighting.  And grass and a driveway, of course!  It got a little too cold a little too quick this year and our concrete experts felt it would be best to wait 'til Spring.

And the back.  We originally thought we were purchasing a full basement lot (meaning no walk-out) and were planning a nice patio off our dining room and kitchen.  Then, our excavator informed us our lot was best graded for a walk-out.  A few adjustments and one nice big deck later and we have a walk out basement!

The finished product.  This spring, we'll seed our lawn, plant some trees, and pour a concrete patio off the back. 

Walking through the front entry into the living room and kitchen.  I wanted lots of west facing windows for gobs of natural light and an open kitchen and big dining area fit for big family meals and lots of entertaining.

The flooring is under there, you just can't see it!  Just trim, ceiling beams and moldings, window bench, and light fixtures left in here.  

Looking in at the office (or most likely play room for now) from the living room. 

We were fortunate to have both of our dads play an important role in this building process.  Beau's dad built our kitchen and all of our built-ins and my dad did our heating, cooling, and plumbing.  This meant many weekends of me holding down the fort while Beau played sub-contractor, but it was nice to have their expertise along the way.

Appliances, pendants, door pulls, and faucets are here and ready to be installed, just waiting on back splash and counter tops. 

Standing at the kitchen island looking into the living room.  The fireplace is in construction and Beau and his dad set the built-ins this weekend. 

A better look at the hardwood over by the window.

Standing by the island looking into the dining area. 

Ha!  One of Cruz's favorite reasons for going to our new house is that he usually gets lots of quality time with one of our phones!

The master suite, right off our kitchen.  I adore the French doors that go out onto the deck and dream of many early weekend mornings sneaking out to the deck to drink coffee and read the paper while the kids sleep on the other side of the house!  

Definitely not in our early plan, but this deck ended up being one of our favorite features of this house. 

The master bathroom, still in need of floor tile, shower tile, and our double vanity. 

Standing in the mudroom looking into laundry room.  The doorway Cruz is in leads to our master closet, which leads to the master bathroom.  Hopefully closer proximity to motivate me to keep up with laundry. :) 

The kiddos' rooms are on the other side of the house.  Cruz Man's room...

...and Mila's pink room and her walk-in closet.  She'll thank me for this later. :)

The kids'/guest bathroom.  I am so excited to wash little heads in that tub!

That's all I have for now!  Looking forward to sharing more progress and eventually, complete pictures of our new pad in the weeks to come!