Date Archives → March 2010

cuteness

William walks now, and it’s so cute to see him become even more a part of our activity. The cutest thing so far? Last night, Ryan had both boys on his lap, reading a bedtime story in the rocking chair in their room. Suddenly, William slipped off his lap, toddled to the bed and grabbed his “special” quilt, and then dragged it behind him as he set off down our hallway, calling, “Mama!” He’d decided it was time for me to wrap him up and nurse him to sleep. Aww!

Equally cute, but incredibly sad, is what he’s doing right now: Since he didn’t fall asleep while nursing and rocking, I laid him in his crib for naptime and left him. Ryan just peeked in to check on our crying baby, and said he’s standing at the edge of the crib, holding up his “special” quilt and crying, “Mamaaa! Mamaaa!” Aww!

My little sweetie. I love that boy.

some pics. but only some.

Both boys are napping, and I am sitting in quiet. This has not happened for over a week, thanks to the constant buzz of our current happenings. Can I just say: a bit of quiet in the afternoon is really nice.

Especially when the afternoon quiet occurs in a family room with panoramic views. From the comfort of my couch, I see golden fields, woods, farms on the other side of the river, and all of this hemmed in by the distant blue of the Adirondacks.

Beautiful.

We’ve made progress, thanks to the cheerful and inspiring help of Liz, Mama, and many others. I finally found my camera, and then couldn’t find the cord thingy that moves pictures from camera to computer, but at last, it’s all in one spot. Now I’ll start putting up pictures. Here is today’s meager offering:

[before: kitchen]

Please note the drapery and wallpaper. A bit dark for my taste, although removing the drapery from these windows feels almost wrong. We’re talking yards and yards and yards of no-expense-spared window dressings. Mrs. Livingston did things right — but more on that another time!

[before: kitchen]

Please note the cupboards above the sink peninsula. That peninsula is not on my list of “things to keep”, but those cupboards literally made me cry. I literally couldn’t bend over the sink without hitting my forehead on them. (I think I’m perhaps a bit taller than this designer’s target demographic?)

before: family room]

Now, this room was built as a sunroom adjacent to the kitchen. It’s accessed by triple french doors, and has three walls of windows. I immediately envisioned a wider opening between the two rooms in order to create a fabulous kitchen/great room. Once again, the wallpaper here is just not doing it for me.

So, where we’re at currently:

[kitchen/family room: during]

With the drapes and the overhead cupboard gone, it’s already well on its way to being the bright, open kitchen I envisioned the first time I stepped into this house. How exciting!

[kitchen/family room: during]

Wallpaper: gone.

(Please note the adorable split-rail fence area, which will one day [read: 20 years from now!] be my dream vegetable garden. Also note the dusting of snow, which does not faze girls like me in the least bit. I’m from around here. Snow in March does not shock me.)

[kitchen/family room: during]

This is where Ryan and I will grow old together. You’re welcome to join us.

[kitchen/family room: during]

This is the view from the windows across from the fireplace, where I’ve put my new cherry drop-leaf table. Many a deer will be spotted from this precise location. (Possibly spotted and shot, if my father has his way. Can’t you just see him sitting at the table, with a cup of steaming tea, a fire blazing, and shotgun in hand, ready to throw open the window and take a shot? That’s city-boy hunting at its best.)

And of course, the most important part: adorable boys.

They like to play in their sunny new family room while I work in the kitchen:

And sometimes they wake up grumpy, but most of the time, this is the sort of company I have early in the morning:

The end.

(For more “before” shots, including our bedroom and Ryan’s office, go here. To keep up with the “during”, subscribe to my flickr stream!)

so far:

— two rooms stripped of paper
— books, toys, and furniture in family room
— kitchen cupboards full and ready for action
— many window treatments taken down. oh, what light!
— beautiful corner carved out in front of windows: antique secretary, antique cherry table, a spray of [faux] pussy willow, antique linen placemats, and a fun mix of benches and chairs gathered round
— and many, many boxes emptied.

psalm of the day: 71.

coffee?

It’s 6:30.

William woke, I nursed him, Ryan and I chuckled quietly at his strong personality, then they both slipped back into sleep. Quietly, I found my warm slippers, grabbed Ryan’s sweatshirt, and padded down the carpeted hallway. The doorknob at hallway’s end opened without a sound as I made my way to the kitchen.

My second morning in this house. Our house.

The coffee routine was a bit smoother this time around; yesterday was all clumsiness and trying to remember where the spoons were. Button pushed, coffee dripping, I headed to the couch in the family room. Here, a wall of windows looks out over breathtaking views stretching to the Adirondacks — but that will be when the sun comes up. For now, there is a blanket of gray fog wrapping our house, leaving only a dim idea of where edge of woods meets our yard.

How many mornings will be spent exactly like this, in this exact spot?

We are so, so blessed.

29

I’ve had a ridiculously hard time putting life into words lately — as you may have guessed, given the scarcity of writing here. I figured today would be a great time to jump back in, since today is one of those days when Life hands you an obvious writing topic:

Today I turn 29.

No, really. 29 as in yesterday I was 28 — not to be confused with 29 for the 15th time because I never want to turn 30.

Last year, my birthday was celebrated with three most special fellas, an Applewood pizza, and chocolate cake from Trader Joe’s (Ryan insisted on providing the birthday dinner!) We sat in our ridiculously small dining room, and William snuggled on my lap as we ate, because he was still a pretty young little guy.

This year, I’m 2900 miles away from that dining room. As I sit here, looking at my parents’ kitchen window at the rosiness of a new sunrise, I realize it’s not just a new day, and a new year, but a new season. So much newness! Pretty exciting.

Today I’m far away from my very, very most special fella, and I miss him. It’s been a long three weeks of being apart, and I can’t wait for Thursday, when he’ll leave the beautiful West Coast and come join us for life in this quiet corner of the world.

Today I’ll try not to be too antsy about getting into our new house — even though the closing is taking weeks longer than originally projected. That happens, right? I know that in 6 months, these few weeks won’t even matter to me, because we will have settled into family life in a new home. So instead of antsiness, I’m going to just be really, really glad that I get to spend so many days with my dearest family. That I get to hear someone singing or playing in the music room almost all day long — the part I always miss the most about this crazy house!

Today I’ll ask the Lord to help me make these short vapor-like days really count. Because 29 came really fast, and it’ll be gone before I know it, just like all the other years. Because it’s easy to think, “Oh, I’ll do that, or be like that when I’m older,” and guess what? I’m older. Because as fleeting as they are, and as insignificant as they seem, these days have the ability to carry moments that change lives. My life included.

Yeah. Lord, change me.