While I’m agonizing over the small stuff (well, that’s a catchy if not depressing title right there), I can’t just twiddle my fingers and not write. I mean, I’m writing for Thirsties and Green Child Magazine and even an awesome Arts & Analytics group that does analytic work in arts, athletics, and entertainment…but, this is my home. And I’ve got ideas and thoughts that I just can’t wait to get on with.Â
So, I thought I’d share a bit of a recap of the end of summer (all things I wanted to write about in separate posts but got inundated with life and the WordPress conundrum). We’ve been back in the swing of things as far as back-to-school goes for a couple of weeks now, so it feels like summer was SO long ago, but *technically* it’s not autumn until tomorrow. See? Maybe I AM on top of things. Â
The CSA – As you may have read, we decided to try out a local CSA this summer. CSA stands for “community supported agriculture” and, in our case, was quite easy to take part in. We selected a farm that uses organic practices, paid, Dave picked up at a location relatively close to his work, and had a box of fresh veggies to work with for the week. The verdict? I’m glad that we did it, but learned that the full share was WAY too much food for our little family. Hence, we wasted WAY more food than I was comfortable with.
I just couldn’t keep up. Sure, we tried a few new-to-us recipes, but between a rather picky toddler (at least he’s a fruit eater!), varying energy levels on this pregnant mama’s part, and the sheer amount of food, a half-share would’ve been fine. Definitely a lesson for next time. Oh, and I’m also rather happy that we just did the summer share rather than the whole summer/fall share. ‘Tis the season to enjoy crisp Saturday mornings at the farmers’ market!Â
Summer fun (and learning) – While there were days that I felt like the laziest person on Earth (and I felt awful that Hadman wasn’t getting outside nearly as much as he should), we tried to get out a time or two each week. With the sheer heat of the season, there were times that I’d slather us both up with sunblock, grab some toys, head outside…and turn around within 10 minutes because our little guy is just as anti-humidity as his daddy. Blah. Energy depleted.
And, of course there was Old Forge, the beach, and Sesame Place. We felt awful that we couldn’t see our friends in Massachusetts as we’d planned, but Hadley and I both got sick, then his turned into pneumonia. By the end of the summer, we were just glad not to have to use a nebulizer and to be generally back to our own selves. I’d still like to call it a productive yet relaxing time…for the most part.
Big changes – Oh, yeah. And talk about transitions!
We struggled, succeeded, and struggled again with potty training. I’m pretty sure that I waited too long to start, so that by the time we made a concerted effort, his heels were dug rather deeply. He’ll still occasionally whine, “But I don’t HAFTA go potty!!!” and has the occasional accident, but he’s finally started feeling a sense of urgency about the thing. About two or three times a week, he’ll have an accident on the way to the potty (which he urgently runs to), but the fact that he’s not just sitting there in his pee with no regard to the wetness is a HUGE deal. So, I’d say we’re *almost* there; I’d call him mostly trained and 100% in his “big boy underwear” (actually those cloth Gerber trainers that give a bit of extra protection that feel totally like underwear). Oh, and #1 is our only problem; we’ve never had issues with him as far as #2 is concerned. I’m sure you can sleep well knowing that tidbit of information.
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We ALSO threw at the little man a shift in his sleeping situation. Since we’re slowly-but-surely transitioning the office to ALSO house the nursery space, we finally moved my old DIY desk to the basement (it was nothing but a landing pad, I swear; I almost never sat at the thing! Works much better near our laundry area) and, eep, scooched Hadley’s crib into the office. So, I sanded, primed, painted, and reassembled an awesome hand-me-down toddler bed for the little man. Verdict? He’s done pretty damn great with it. Some days he wants two pillows, some days not, and he lets you KNOW about it. Little stuff like that. But, he knows not to leave the bed on his own (we’ve got stairs that, for a few days, we used our baby gate on…not really necessary, though), and we’ve got the added peace of mind that we’re still using the monitor with a motion sensor under his mattress, so we know if he gets up immediately.
I was melancholy, but I think Dave took it even harder. Here’s his two cents on the whole “big boy bed” change. I can’t blame him. I just wanted to try to keep the shift as positive and Hadley-centric (rather than baby-centric) as possible, regardless of my “he’s not our baby anymore!” emotions. And, as it was, the little man seemed to fully understand that he’d need to share it whenever the baby comes along, anyway. (And, as it is, we’ll probably use a cradle in our room for the first couple of months, just like we did with Hadman, so things won’t shift so dramatically, anyway.)  Â
Home searching – And, then, there was another shift. We checked out numerous (the word “crapload” comes to mind) houses throughout the summer and all were either a) too small, b) out of our price range (particularly with work that needed to be done on some), or c) just…no. I like to think that we’re not picky, but maybe it’s simply not true. Given the fact that we’re busy with a 3-year-old (and an infant shortly!), jobs and side gigs, we’re trying to be realistic about the sheer amount of energy, time, and effort we can put into a house. We’re simply not as young as we used to be, either. *hips creak*
But, seriously, we’re not one of those HGTV couples who poo-poo wallpaper or completely outdated furnishings. I even completely planned on refinishing any wood floors before moving in, should they need it, as well as painting plenty of walls and doing general updating over time. It’s expected. But, a full bathroom or kitchen gut might be difficult, even down the road, and would often put it as a price point that we simply couldn’t reach. And, we also wanted to make sure that we didn’t get a house that would juuuuuust squeeze our 3+ people and 3 cats in; we’d like to be able to spread out and grow a bit (without having too much space to take care of). Okay, maybe we are picky.Â
We finally reached a point where, sure, I get daily Zillow updates and check out some new listings once in awhile, but our active search has gone dormant. No more “let’s just see what it’s like on the inside” if we’re not positive it’s for us. We’re trying to slow down a lot of our activities in preparation for the new baby (and in hopes of getting some fun time in with our “only child” while the title still fits), so the overwhelming rollercoaster emotions of “is this THE house???” have been put to rest. Yes, we’ll continue the search at some point, but for now? We’re hibernating.
So, those are my updates, for now! I’ve also been hitting up the semi-occasional Periscope here and there (username is still “megactsout”, if anyone wants to follow along), but it definitely has me feeling the “wow, when did my childhood lisp come back?” self-consciousness. If I have something to share, though, I just go for it. *shrugs* What’s the harm? While I’m at it, I’m doing a bit of nursery hunting for some of the stuff I mentioned in my inspiration post — of which I’m officially leaning towards mint and coral accents. See? I still find ways to relax. 😉
How are you guys doing with your own transition from summer to fall? We’re LOVING the slightly cooler temperatures (still not “fall” enough for us, but it’s a start!) and sleeping with our windows open. Anyone else looking forward to apple picking and super comfy sweater season? (Or, in my case, over-sized maternity sweatpants.) I’m pretty excited to do some baking, personally. What about you guys?
