First Fourth with two kids

Well, I was reminded that camping is a bit harder with a baby – boy there is a LOT to pack. And naps are not easy to come by. Even in our little air-conditioned pop-up oasis. But mostly the kids were happy and had a lot of fun.

As usual it took me a little time to adjust to camping life – oh yeah, I have to walk a block to the bathroom and uh, how am I going to wash these dishes? Things like that trip me up at first but by the end I always have a few ideas about how it could be better. Like for one – I will not put our little booth up again until necessary because leaving it down creates a great little play space and room for bags.

Anyway, we had loads of relatives to visit with and tons of kids for Ella to play with. One of Ella’s sweet little cousins, well 12-years-old, not THAT little, took Ella to the bathroom so many times, we started to call her our nanny. Thanks Melia!

Otherwise we swam, and ate very well (thanks Shirley and Bryan!) and visited downtown and baked in the sun and enjoyed the fireworks on the beach and celebrated nephew Rylan’s birthday. Good holiday.

Photos to come.

The inquisitive years

I think Ella has reached the age where she has a lot of questions. And I mean a LOT. Here’s a sampling of what she asked me on our drive this morning:

• Are all husbands dads?
• Are girls husbands?
• Eva’s thumbs are smaller than mine right?
• Is that the road over there?
• Are we going to see grandma today?
• What is a question? (After me mentioning that she asks good questions!)

A look back

I’ve been looking at Ella’s 9-12 month and 12-18 month clothes, to see if Eva will need anything else. It is so fun to look through these clothes. I have the worst memory, but I can pick up every piece and remember where I bought it and many times what Ella wore these clothes too. It kinda makes me sad she’s growing so fast! But I’m excited I’ll get to see Eva wear them.

Shirt: Hand-me-down from cousin London. Pants: part of jams from Gap outlet. Shoes: given to her by her friend Liam. She cried and cried over wanting to have a pair of red shoes like his, so he gave them to her.

Mudroom makeover: Before and after photos

Before: This is the closet in our small laundry room, which is attached to our garage. It is a very small room – too small for four doors.

The inside was a hodge podge of stuff. Not much organization, just a shelf and a rod.

The other side of the room has the washer and dryer in it. And also becomes a dumping ground for things we want to remember to grab on our way out – such as that pot I needed to take back.

After: Our carpenter turned the ordinary closet into a mudroom, complete with four lockers (one for each of us), plenty of hooks, cubbies to place sunglasses, wallets, etc., cubbies for baskets and a bench to sit down at to put on shoes, which are stored beneath. It is great to have a place to put the many bags, jackets and random stuff we bring home everyday. And now when Steve has something I don’t know where to put, I just throw it in his basket. I think it’s helping me to remember everything to take with me too. I just throw everything into one of the bags that’s always there.

The laundry side looks cleaner now too that I don’t put any junk over there. And I love the new paint color. A little lighter and brighter in there.

The key hooks finish the room and I added a great picture of the girls that Steve took. I just converted it to black and white and printed it off at home too – and grabbed a frame I had at work for it. So that detail was free! I think this may be my favorite room in the house now. And it’s the smallest!