Goodbye Bungalow Bill

A few weeks ago I sold my house.

16 years ago I bought the bungalow.  

At the time in knew exactly zero about home ownership and probably almost nothing about being an adult.  

Over the years this house has served so many family, friends and strangers.  

I counted up 16 individuals that have lived within these walls during this time even more had keys just in case.  

I did many crazy home improvement projects like my shelf-walls and kitchen, refinishing the hardwood floors etc.

I had so many special moments there like bringing home my babies, pizza and puzzle parties, small groups, fajita Friday’s, game night, craft days etc.

I would have liked to keep the bungalow but it was time to say goodbye.  

It’s been a real blessing in so many ways and I don’t regret it.  

It has good bones, simple layout and quirkiness.

I was glad to pass the bungalow onto my friend Brittany who’s been renting it the last two years. 

I know she will enjoy and love it for all its flaws and character as I did.  

And now it’s time to figure out what’s the next thing for us.  Not yet sure if that’s Ohio or someplace new.  

Apple orchard

I love apple orchards.  

I love the smell of a freshly picked apple.

I love the way they taste.

I love how the skin is not super thick.

I love slicing them up and baking them into apple crisp.

I love making them into pie.

I love filling out bags super full.  

I love getting cider slushees and Carmel apples.

I love seeing the animals.

I love watching my kids delight in the animals.

I love watching my kids sprint down the rows of apples looking for the perfect tree.  

I love how thea took a bite of each apple she picked and then put it into the bag (not kidding).

I love how Jones was fearless with the animals and let them lick him and gave them all a sample of food from his ice cream cones. 

I love the orchard.

11 - Blink Cincinnati

Checked Blink off my list this weekend.  I would have liked to see more exhibits however my kids can only walk so many steps and start to get really sleepy at like 10pm.  So we settled for what we could see. Highlights for me dodecalis, the rainbow, Cincinnati Rhapsody and the parade which was insanely long.  

18 Some Other Quilt

Finally a second finish in 2019!  I got two charm packs off my friend Lindsay for a steal.  I mixed them with excess from a Michael Miller challenge I never finished, to make this baby quilt.  Total time to complete was not much but actually sitting down and doing it seemed to be ages.  My half square triangles aren’t perfect but it works.  I used scraps for binding and backed it in this Michael Miller houndstooth that I seem to have tons of.  I also made a small tag in the corner to label it.  

Pretty soon I will send it off to a friend who’s baby is due super soon.  

37 - Dress for Thea

This is a dress I made Thea from an old shirt of mine.  I took like 3 inches off each side and moved the neckline so it fits her tiny head.  Added some trim from scrap fabric.  And it fits.  It was surprisingly simple.  It’s longer than dresses she normally wears but has room for her to grow.  And I was able to repurpose my Michigan shirt from like 2009.  ❤️

21 - Preschool for Thea

Finding a preschool for Thea has been challenging since most of the local school are half day and she couldn’t attend Jones’s school.  But we looked into the options and I did the $$ math and I am sending her to the local Montessori school.  She currently only goes two days but she LOVES it.  She’s ready to go the second she gets up.  And in fact has been known to run out to the car before taking off her PJs.   They have a nice outdoor classroom and she loves to do the daily doodle and work on the centers.  I am hoping that more days open up and maybe I can afford to send her all 5 days of the week.  

14 - Michigan

A few weeks ago we headed up to the keweenaw to Eagle harbor.  We said goodbye to my grandpa and enjoyed family time.  My kids got to experience it for the first time.  The magic is still there.  

First day of kindergarten (22)

This guy started Kindergarten the other day.  And he LOVES it.  He also loves riding the bus. He’s already made several new friends.  

Below is the letter I wrote him on his first day.

Today’s your first day of Kindergarten.  You have been looking forward to it like someone might look forward to a trip to an amusement park.  You think of Kindergarten as a magical place.  And you know what?  It is.  It’s a magical place of learning.

You will learn so many things there.  I hope you can read at the end of the year but if not it’s not the end of the world (you know I didn’t really read until the 4^th grade).   I also hope you develop a love of math.  I always loved math as a kid because it was so logical, and it came so easy to me.  You already are a big lover of all things science and investigative and I hope you explore that further in school.  

At the meet the teacher event you told Mrs B. you were the “Idea Man” in preschool.  Which is soooo true.  You are a leader and full of ideas and hope this year is full of experiences where this skill can blossom.  Just remember to include all the kids in your ideas expand those ideas so their ideas can blend with yours to make great big ideas.

My real mom advice is simple:  Give and show love.  Try and try again.  Mostly be yourself.  You got this.

Love Mommy

9 -on The Potty Train

Finally!!  She’s on what she calls the Potty Train.  After several failed attempts in getting her to potty train.  She finally there aside from an occasional accident. She’s been actually doing really well overnight I think we will phase out overnight diapers soon too.  Huzzah.  

I literally have no secrets, bribes didn’t work on her, nor did rewards, or praise, or just going every 30 minutes.  The promise of preschool at an actual school did entice her but I am not really sure that did it either.  Anyhow good job Thea lady you did it.

48 - Find ginger with Kathleen

Kathleen has a goal for the year to have all the ginger.  So when I made my list I included her goal on my list.  I tasted a bunch of NASTY ginger things at her house this year are literally disgusting.  I feel like ginger is probably supposed to be a costar not a star.  

Anyone when we were shopping this past week for my birthday we found some ginger things for her quest.  This you don’t have to eat and the smell is not overwhelming.   We found these taper candles and this soap.