One Year Ago

We took possession of this house a year ago on Wednesday. It's been a ride with the renovation and learning how to do all of those home repairs. Here are some things we learned:

1) Whenever you go to Home Depot to get a part for something, even if you take all of the things that it has to hook onto, you'll still get it wrong and end up having to go back and exchange it. (Ben spent a total of 5 days hooking up the gas on our dryer which proved this theory over and over again.)

2) Renovations take three times as long and cost twice as much as you think they will.

3) When you have more places to keep things, chances are you will put things in a different place everytime and have no idea where anything is. (This is especially true if you are 8 months pregnant when you move.)

We love our home!! It is everything we ever dreamed of having, and we feel like we'll never own another one like this one. Here are highlights of what we love.

Attached garage (hello bringing baby in while it's snowing). A 4th guest bedroom and bathroom downstairs. A finished basement. A laundry room with built in shelves. A room all of Ben's own to store his things that he'd always leave out in the living room and I'd trip on weights. An open concept living dining area. A yard that backs onto a ravine. A play structure that was already there. A long attached back porch. A neighborhood that has lots of mature trees within walking distance of our work and shops.

Happy anniversary, house.

Blog Block

Yep. It's me. I'm still here.

It's been a long month. A month of night wakings and colds and company and teething and extra projects at work and the list goes on. I have just been dragging myself around; I've been so tired. Things always seem so bad when you are sleep deprived. It's not really that they are bad at all. But when you are in that state, you just don't think right. Or see right. You all know what I am talking about. Hence, I have not been blogging or doing much of anything for that matter. Just hanging in there. Tonight Isabelle went to bed early (she had a 9 month shot today) and I managed to post new photos on Flickr and now I'll work on some blog posts.

This has been a good but different summer. I've enjoyed the time with friends and family who came and visited us. Isabelle did so many wonderful things this summer, and in some ways I feel like I've spent the whole summer in awe of how she is developing and growing. But I missed being at the cottage for a week and reading a new Harry Potter book. And being bored. And having time to work on projects at work and clean up my office. I missed swimming. I missed going to Ontario. And now summer's over and I'm feeling as though the fall is ramping up relentlessly.

One thing we did very regularly this summer was walk. In fact, most mornings after Isabelle woke up, we fed her and then we headed out for 40-60 minutes. It was precious time for Ben and I to talk and connect, and Isabelle loved being outside. We often treated ourselves to a cold drink at Starbuck's as a reward for the good exercise. When I think of this summer, I don't think of the fatigue or the disappointment at things left undone. I think of Isabelle crawling and pulling up for the first time. I think of those great walks and picnic suppers by Reed's Lake enjoyed by the three of us. I think of time spent with the people I love who sacrificed a lot to come and visit us. And I tell myself that it was another season. They come and go, and there will be more.

Farewell summer.

Me Time

Ben and I have been talking a lot lately about how we use our time. We struggle with getting our housework done (doesn't everyone?) and also having "me" time. Ben uses that time for exercise, and I use it for music. Tonight, even though we were tired, Ben did the dishes, and I tidied the main floor and vacuumed. Then at 9:30, Ben began working out and I played the piano. And now the whole day is ahead of me tomorrow with manageable tasks like picking up clothes in the bedroom and paying bills, instead of a mountain of dishes and a dirty floor. I like feeling that I can play with Isabelle during the day, instead of trying to do housework with her around. I'd rather just do the work when she's asleep at night instead.

I enjoy playing the piano, but I struggle with several things. I've never had a good technical regime, and so I'm never sure if I'm doing the "right" kinds of exercises. I also don't have a lot of finished pieces on my shelf that I love, and that I can actually play well. I have lots of stuff that I like the sound of, but that I can't play unless I'm in awesome shape. That's discouraging. So tonight I chose two pieces (Mozart's A minor Sontata, 1st movt. and Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu) that I have worked on in the past, but have never finished, and committed myself to working on them bit by bit, in hopes of actually being able to enjoy playing them in entirety and with accuracy.

Video on the Blog: Take Two

Click here to see some highlights from Belle's summer.

Okay, this ended up being fun after all my frustrations. Uncle Ben was here for a visit this week and he showed me a "simpler" way. I won't save them up like this anymore, but will try to post smaller clips more frequently.

No Time to Talk

Okay, here's a speedy update on what I've been doing.

1. Mom and Dad came for an awesome week long visit. We worked on the house and did fun things.

2. Isabelle has acquired a lot of new skills in the last 2 weeks and I'm still struggling to adapt (i.e. babyproofing). She has also been napping for only 1/2 hour at a time so there's no time for blogging, teeth brushing, housework, etc. She can now crawl, pull herself up in the crib and stand with assistance. She also got her first two teeth (bottom front) while Mom and Dad were here.

3. We had a mouse in our house so Ben was fixated on catching it - and he did...at 12:30am this morning.

4. Spending what precious little free time I have trying to upload video to my blog and I'm still not there yet. I'm very close.

5. Trying to stay cool. We broke heat records set in 1995 this week.

That's it for now. More details later.