The Long Way Home

Hallelujah!

Our long journey home has ended and we are finally where we are supposed to be.

A few things I've been reminded of lately:

*Drinking hot tea in a hot bubble bath is the cure for the common anything

*Having an attached garage saves your lower back (groceries + toddler= heavy)

*Having a sparkly new washer/dryer makes doing laundry downright delightful

*Warm homemade bread is damn good

We moved a few weeks ago, two garages down. But the difference in the two homes is vast and wonderful. We now have a bathtub that isn't located in Jude's nursery, a garage that opens to the house, a new washer/dryer of our very own and... I found my old bread maker! (I don't think we "lost anything in the move," but I sure found some stuff.) Not to mention this new place is twice as big with no spiral staircase, no hard tile floor and has an indoor garden atrium right smack in the middle of the house. We are very happy birds in this new nest of ours. Our cats seem to enjoy sunbathing in the stream of sunlight that pours from the huge windows on our vaulted ceilings.

Around noon our whole exceedingly pale family needs sunblock indoors (roman blinds are in the works). Here is a picture I took of Jude and I in front of a vintage stained glass window in our living room. Looks like we're outdoors, doesn't it? We might as well be.

Jude helped us unpack and decide what to keep and what to get rid of. He was really cut-throat about it, he's not a fan of clutter.

"Hmmm... Mom hasn't listened to this CD in ages... *toss*..."

And sometimes he thought it was a better idea to undo something I had just done, such as "reorganize" my shoe closet. Outside the closet.

March flew by, we stayed crazy busy with home renovations and decorating. Now that we are settled, April is the start of our new life and is already filled with playdates, a wedding, a baby shower, a 30th birthday party, two Easter egg hunts, and a new play gym membership for Jude... dare I say we actually have a busy social calender coming up?

My newest project: starting my own local Mom's Club. After searching online for something that I was excited about and coming up short, I decided to organize a group of hip chick mamas in the area to join forces against the June Cleavers of the world. I'm not a "loving every minute of it" mom, seeking same. Not that I don't love motherhood, I really do. I just don't love the messes, the tantrums, the night-wakings, the separation anxiety... in other words, I love most of it, just not all of it. But man is it difficult to find honest, fun women that aren't constantly comparing their toddler's shoe size and vocabulary. I can't pretend to have all of my ducks in a row, because they just aren't. I may have even misplaced a few ducks. I'm not wearing a Juicy Couture velour track suit and I probably forgot to pack a snack. I just want good conversation with creative people and a fun time for Jude. So, the search begins. I'm hoping to produce an intimate group of about 10 girls to kick around with once a week, and hopefully inspire each other to be honest and supportive. If only my girls from Babycenter lived next door.

Here are a few recent pictures of Jude, mostly taken in our indoor atrium. It's pristine, even lighting almost all day long... score!