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Bub courtney friends General mom mother the kiddos

Good People

While walking to school this morning Lennox lost his sharing thing…he stopped to say hello to a friend and show the Spiderman ball he proudly chose. He had it all worked out, what he was going to tell every one about this ball. Share all the great memories of catch with his brother and Daddy. We hurried along to the classroom and just before walking in realized his sharing bag was empty. So we ran back through our steps tracing them all the way back to the meeting with his friend. It was no more then a minute later because our friends had only reached the end of the path we had just taken. Sadly the ball was no where to be found. The path we took is well traveled so I can only think that someone picked it up, not such a cool thing to do. Lennox being the very sensitive kid that he is, was heart broken. He spent the first half of class crying off and on, morning the loss of his sharing item. It was very sad, and then one of Lennox’s classmate’s mom felt so bad that she went out and got him a Spiderman bubble set and brought it back just in time for him to use it for sharing. How awesome is that! Such a wonderful and thoughtful thing to do, and it totally changed his mood, a small thing to us, restored his faith in humanity-ya know. So his day went from I lost my ball to look what Mrs. Sharon got for me. I am eternally grateful…because instead of taking a sad boy home for a sad afternoon, I took a happy boy home for an excited afternoon. Oh and she lives down the street…so yeah I have awesome neighbors!!!

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courtney

The Move

We’ve been in our new house a week today! Oh I love this place, from top to bottom I love it! I just want to give it and the neighborhood a great big hug. The house is a tri-level and we actually have pretty awesome views from every floor. From my very large kitchen window I can watch the sun rise, and from our bedroom window I can watch it set. You can see the mountains all the way around. It backs up to a canal, complete with ducks, geese and trails for walking. Our back fence even has a gate leading out to it.

The yard is the perfect size, just enough grass for playing but not enough for us to go broke watering in the summer. It’s manicured and comes complete with gardener-I love having a gardener! Then beyond our yard are many, many wonderful neighbors. We’ve met a few and so far everyone is really cool. The house to the right of us also has 4 kids 5 and under (and a pool). The house to the left is an older couple-who love kids-but have no grandkids.

I don’t even know where to begin on the inside of this place. For me this is wonderland! It’s beyond spacious with deep closets every where. I have a huge open office (kitchen), with two ovens-TWO ovens! A pantry that easily fits all our food items, a whole cabinet for spices and cook books, and special cabinets for pans and dishes. The dishwasher is large and so extremely quiet you have to stand next to and touch it to know that it’s going. I mean really I have hit the lottery.
We have a formal dining room and a huge living room. Our oversized couches seemed oversized in the last place, here they are a perfect fit. There’s a large brick fire place and windows that run the length of the room. We have a foyer… that makes a 4×6 carpet look small!

Downstairs is a nice little private room Ev’s using for his office (real office). The first of three bathrooms (that’s right THREE) is also down there. It’s a full bath with pretty cool (and I think old) rose fixtures. The faucet knobs are gold roses and everything else has rose ends-even the cabinet door knobs. The laundry room is down there too, in a little nook off the garage. It’s inside and has big cabinets above the washer and dryer. Having an indoor laundry room is awesome!!! The room has a door so it’s super quiet and when the dryer’s going it fills the house with clean clothes smell! There is also a den with a sink and slider to the backyard. Ev’s mom is going to make that her home away from home.

Upstairs are all our bedrooms. The boy’s room is about the same size as it was before and carpeted. It fits all their stuff and works for them. The girl’s room is a bit bigger then before, which is awesome because two cribs don’t fit easily in any space. There’s a full hall bath, and did I mention the tubs are all on the big side in this place. All the kids fit easily in the tub at once. Then there’s the master bedroom, and oh it is a master! It’s gynormous!! Our cal-king looks average in this room, we put a 4×6 rug in front of our bed and it looks small. It’s insane. We have a master bath too, with a double vanity and his and her medicine cabinets! This place blows my mind, and I’m so grateful to call it home! As soon as it’s in better order I’ll take pictures.

Moving was nuts, and I never want to do it again. We handed the keys over for the old place on Wednesday. I don’t think I’ve been happier to see a place go. Not because it was a bad place to live, but the process of moving out and cleaning was overwhelming. We hadn’t planned on leaving the old place so quickly, we made some changes and had to return them to their original state. Just not something I want to repeat if we don’t have to.

The kids are all doing well, haven’t missed a step. Aidan got into preschool, and will start in the fall. We signed Lennox up for kindergarten (you know the one we can see from our house). Cuba’s getting over a sinus infection, but other wise the ladies are doing great. Talking up storms, new words sneaking out every day. They are so busy, and smart. It’s good and bad. It will probably get easier when the house is completely childproof. All and all the things are good in the mooshoo household.

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babies Bub courtney mom mother the kiddos

We’re moving

It’s been 3 weeks today that my mom passed. It’s an odd thing to say. I’ve run into that over and over in these past weeks, how do you tell people. How do you tell them without it being awkward? I’ve discovered it’s always going to be awkward. Its funny being worried about making people feel bad about your own loss.
My mom’s death was not sudden. Many who know me know my mom had Multiple Sclerosis. That is not what took her life. She lost a battle with alcohol and died from cirrhosis of the liver. I shouldn’t even really say she lost a battle, I don’t know that she left this world thinking she had a problem.
Some where a long the road she began to self medicate, MS and drinking do not go hand-n-hand. Most of the medications are already hard on the liver, oh and guess what alcohol only makes the symptoms of MS worse. Unknowing, or not accepting this reality she just increased her intake, until alcohol was in control. Nothing was more important and then she gave up.
She left behind many confused and hurt people. That’s the crappy part about death, the dead move on but we are left behind to deal with life with out them. We all say it’s good they’re not in pain any more, and they’re in a better place…but what about us. The people left behind that still need them.
My mom never met my daughters, one of which looks just like her-down to her sideways smile. Lennox will be the only one who has any memories of her and they will be few, but good. She was an excellent grandma, and my heart breaks for my children because they will only know stories of her.
Life doesn’t stop, it doesn’t even slow down when you lose someone. I was in VA for a week, came home and hit the ground running. I had to register Lennox for school right away, which went so badly that we are now moving.
Registering Lennox for kindergarten left me in tears, insanity the complications! I put it in God’s hands and guess what – he provided. I drove by a house for rent in the neighborhood that Lennox’s preschool’s in and pow bang boom we’re moving! I have two more weeks to pack, and it’s actually not going to bad.
The new house is so insanely nice that it boggles my mind! It’s huge and in such a nice a neighborhood. We don’t even have to cross a street to take Lennox to school. I’m so excited to move in, this month is not going to go by fast enough. I’m thankful for moving, it gives me something to think about besides my mom.
lennox and grandma

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Aid babies Bub Cora courtney Cuba General the kiddos

Meet the Tooth Fairy

We’ve hit yet another milestone…Lennox official lost his first baby tooth! It’s been loose for a while but fell out this morning. He’s so proud, telling everyone he sees. I am both excited and heartbroken. Time is moving so fast. There was a brief moment when we anticipated milestones, waited for them to come. Now they sneak up on us, pop out of no where yelling boo!!
bub
In other news we headed over to Half Moon Bay and spent an afternoon at Pastorino Farms. They have a pretty neat pumpkin patch with lots of bells and whistles. We walked away with two pumpkins and lots of good memories.
us
kids
aid
bub

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Cora courtney Cuba

Belated

Ok so this is the belated birthday entry for the ladies…

I can’t believe the first year is over. I think this has been and may always be the hardest time in my life. I’m on the other side now and I see the light in the not so far distance. Life is in no way easy…but it’s getting easier. It’s more fun now. I can breathe and play again. Everyone’s basic needs no longer take all of me. We have a routine now and the girls sleep through the night in their own beds…oh how far we’ve come. We only nurse before bed now, the three of us crammed in our special chair. That time is quickly coming to an end. The last few days I’ve sat in the dark running my hands over the not so little-any-more heads, feeling sad. When you take out the multiple feedings, the never being able to be more then 4 hours away, nursing became not something they needed to grow and survive but a special time between us. No matter what I replace it with it won’t be the same, so I’m lingering just a bit.

The girls are amazing, two completely different people. They make each other laugh, and chat in the cribs while handing toys back and forth. There is no question they’re sisters. There’s fighting, giggling; so much love. They are both working hard to walk.
Cuba is really working at, it’s almost like she is purposefully practicing. She walks 4 or 5 steps before losing her balance or being taken down by a random toy or brother. She always looks around to find me or Ev watching, so pleased with her self. She’s so smart; you can see the wheels turning. Cuba is a chatty girl, so many important things to share. She points and waves and will yell to get your attention. She copies the dog’s bark…and only does it while the dog is barking. Cuba has Ev’s tongue…the kind you can touch your nose with. And she’s just figured that out. She has her own brand of humor and gets slap happy several times a day, breaking into uncontrolled laughter if you even look at her. It’s so incredibly cute! She loves cheese and bagels; but isn’t a real adventurous eater. If I can get her to taste it, she’ll usually eat it-but tasting is tough. She has changed so much just in the last 3 months. It’s like some one hit fast forward. We went from baby to toddler over night. She’s even figured out how to climb on to one of living room chairs… the sofa is coming soon I’m sure. One of things I find amazing about her, is how she sits and plays for long periods of time a lone. Surrounding her self with hand picked toys; she plays happily, usually until someone tries to steal one of her treasures. She is an amazing little person with her open mouth kisses and big round eyes. She’s a wild hair pixie, bright little star, and I love her more then time will let me show, I couldn’t be prouder to be her mama!
cuba
cuba
cuba
cuba
Cora is an angel, blue eyes and blond hair. Her skin is fair and when she smiles it spreads over her entire face. She has a great big light heart that she wears on her sleeve. She is a beauty. Cora is flirting with walking. No real steps alone yet, but she’ll hold your hand and walk and cruise easily from thing to thing. She makes the most amazing sounds; I think we may have a singer on our hands. She sings her own little songs that sometimes sound like coyotes howling at the moon-or gizmo from The Gremlins. She sings when she’s happy, while she plays, and sometimes when she’s upset while she cries. She has Ev’s mouth, pouty lips. She pushes them out so they ended up touching the bottom of her nose (a face Ev often makes). She does when she’s loving on something, which she does often. Cora is a snuggler, and a wrestler. She throws her self right in with boys while they roll around. She tackles, tickles, and lovingly head butts you. She loves water, sand, and really just being out doors. We went to the beach a few weeks ago (the girls first visit) and boy did she love it. It was hard to keep her out of water. We’d play for a bit; then walk back up to the blanket. I’d set her down and off she’d go, crawling back down to the water’s edge. When she’s in the bath she bends down and sticks her face in the water over and over. It makes her laugh and laugh. She is a joy, a true sweetheart. I love her to the ends of the earth and back, am so happy to be her mama!
cora
cora