Wild To Child

Since our big move to Eastern Washington and back again, we have downsized considerably in space. So much in fact, that it is impossible to go anywhere in our town home and not hear a crying child...three out of five times they aren't even my kids! It's been really tough going from a 1500 square foot home into a 900 square foot town home in a complex.

The biggest mistake we made in choosing a place was not getting one with three bedrooms. I figured putting the girls together was the obvious answer, because they are both girls and we could save money at the same time. Needless to say, the girls each occupy a bedroom and Evan and I have been sleeping downstairs in the living room! I miss, miss, MISS having a garage, and a big yard, and the luxury of not hearing your neighbors walk up and down their stairs. The upside to our home now is that it does have a TINY (I mean super small...like a 10 foot square) yard, rent is pretty cheap, and they let us move in immediately. Now I know why.....

The moral of the story is...I will never try to get a one year old and a three year old to share bedroom again. Never. Ever. EVER.

Noel's first tooth finally broke through today which is why she's been especially fussy. On top of teething, my poor little girl has a cold....so the runny nose and cough make screaming hysterically a tad bit more difficult....believe me-I know. Nothing I've tried has helped her feel any better and by the end of this, we'll both be a contagious puddle of drool and tears and snot on the floor.

Scarlet also hit a milestone today. She actually walked up to me and said "help me", when she needed assistance putting something together-instead of throwing it on the floor, and then throwing a massive tantrum. We'll see if it lasts. They are both growing up so fast....

This afternoon, our neighbor brought over her granddaughter to swim with Scarlet and visit for a bit. When the little girls mother came to pick her up, I had a brief flashback of my former life. Quite obviously a professional, and nicely dressed, her mother introduced herself to me and for the first time....in a LONG time I felt absolutely self conscious and uncomfortable. Here I am sitting in six year old swimsuit bottoms and a t-shirt, hair all messy, and definitely not as "in shape" as I want to be. And she's decked out in designer clothes, perfect figure, and GORGEOUS shoes (not to mention the Mercedes she drove up in). I couldn't even stand up to shake her hand because I was so embarrassed by what I was wearing. On top of that it really made me miss my career (which of course....she's in the same line of work) and then I felt guilty for even feeling that pang of jealousy when I should be thankful for the opportunity to stay home and raise my children. It was like Jackie Kennedy meets Beverly Hillbilly. She probably sanitized her hands the minute she got in her car. I seriously loved her shoes though, all the while thinking about how many diapers or how much formula the price of them could buy.....