Kitchen Bench

I decided to add a bench to our kitchen table. Easy for kids to use, extra seating, space saver. I was sold on the idea pretty early on, but I now got around to doing it.

Not much use in showing a picture. A bench is a bench; but I left Lorelai help assemble it, and I let both girls sign the bottom.

While I plan to keep this bench for quite some time, I wanted to snap some pictures and preserve their little mark on building something for our home.

M.LEWIS

Countdown to Avenida

5 weeks out from Avenida move. I cannot wait. Seriously, this apartment is shrinking by the day. Each week the house is getting better and better. I am so in love with it, and we still have a lot of love to put into it.

Not much else to report really. I am just prepping with furniture and textiles for the new house. The goal is to have a lot of it purchased and ready to set up so we don't have a mad rush of "Oh shoot! Adalaide doesn't have bed!"...right now she is still in the crib. I know, 2.5 years and in a crib. But she is crazy and tiny...so the crib works best for us in the apartment.

Oh to have a yard again...with trees! I can't wait!

Now to make the next 5 weeks pass quickly and smoothly. Hmmm....

M.LEWIS

Waiting Game

We're still waiting here in apartment land. I'm trying to be proactive while waiting; thinking ahead to what I will need to buy for the new house, how I want to set up the rooms, etc. Our latest purchase with this in mind is a new tv. It was a big purchase, but one that was probably overdue. Of course, with a new, big tv, comes a new appropriately-sized tv stand. So that's 2 new things accomplished.

I am thinking about changing the bed situation for the girls. Our current one is not working well and was not meant to be long-term. Addy climbs out of her crib now, and rather sleep in Lorelai's bed, so I might go ahead and switch around a few things to keep the peace at bed/naptime better.

I am itching for a yard, and more importantly, so are my dogs. It's a scorching 106° outside (and that's before the heat index), so the kids aren't missing the backyard too much yet, but the dogs are crazy...mainly Nora.
Leashing them up all the time is getting old, and Nora misses sitting and surveying the yard...so she tries to do so from inside, which doesn't work too well.

Our upstairs neighbors are by-far the loudest, most frustrating people to share a ceiling/floor with. They have a toddler son who, by the sound of things, has full reign of their apartment. Stomping, jumping, crying, screaming...the usual sounds of a child, but at midnight, or 3 am? That's not ok! I am being woken up, or kept awake by someone else's child, and that's frustrating. I have been quite tired lately due to this, yet I can't really change anything about it.

At least there has been great progress at the house lately. Drywall, stone, brick, and stair work have all made great strides this past week. I hope this continues. I so want that September 30 closing date to stick...though we have decided to rent the apartment through October just in case hiccups pop up along the way. A pricey, but needed, safety net.

More stone and brick since accomplished

Stair railings in, and drywall/texturing almost complete!

One month into our lease, and I am so ready to move out! It's like taking a vacation, but removing all the fun parts of a trip and just focusing on the "live out of a suitcase" displacement side of it. A little over 7 weeks left...in theory. FINGERS CROSSED!