Walking

Remember that post a few days back about having the worst week ever? Yeah, it didn't get better. Thursday I totally fell apart. A mini nervous breakdown, perhaps? It really wasn't a laughing matter. It was all just too much suddenly - the baby, the trip to NC, the move, the mastitis, the late nights working frantically on the house, Matt's trip and not nearly enough sleep. I feebly waved my white flag on Friday and sought out some help and then tried to catch up on some desperately needed sleep over the weekend. I'm starting to feel a little better now, and looking forward - to the warmer days that are right around the corner, the two birthdays to celebrate this week, and a much anticipated visit with Matt's mom. 

It's warmed up just enough outside to start taking some walks in our new neighborhood with the kids. It feels so good to get out of the house and breathe in some fresh air - even if that air's still pretty cold. 

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Portraits of my children, once a week for a year.

Olive - playing "Frozen" with her dolls. She's always Elsa.

Silas - on an apple kick as of late. 

Oona - peeking out of her many "going outside in the cold" layers.

Wednesday Stills

Last week Matt and I worked and worked and worked, painting and readying the new house as much as we possibly could before moving us in last weekend. Between working on the house, packing and trying to take care of three kids all while recovering from mastitis and having to stick to a tight breastfeeding/pumping schedule - I can honestly say I have never in my whole life been so exhausted. And then, Monday morning, barely settled in, Matt had to take off for a work trip on the east coast. It has easily been one of the worst weeks of my life. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have issues with control. Mainly, I want it, (and in spades) and when I feel I'm losing it I fall apart. And my life is totally out of control this week. Toootally... I don't know where anything is, my kids are either over excited or totally confused and upset, I've had maybe 5 hours of sleep total since Sunday because the baby is mildly sick with a cold and I still have to find time to clean the old house up before the weekend. I'm not handling it in the most graceful manner.

The greatest blessings in life sometime seem to come in the most awful timing. I've been trying to keep that thought in the forefront of my brain this week. As awful as I might feel, the house is a blessing. My kids are a blessing. And things will eventually feel normal again.

And until then, there's coffee. Lots of coffee. Coffee is indeed a blessing. :)

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Portraits of my children once a week for a year.

Olive's favorite part of the new house: Everything. (bouncing off the walls, literally, with excitement.)

Silas' favorite part of the new house: Nothing. (He's very discombobulated and confusted at the moment, poor guy.)

Oona's favorite part of the new house: How the wood floors waaay amplify any and all noise in an echo-y manner and cause her to jump out of her baby skin at least 50 times a day.

(Just kidding on that last one.)

Olive Says Some More...

No, we don't let her wear lipstick out of the house! 

O: "Mom, tonight I'm going to have a dance party."

Me: "Sounds good."

O: "But I can't have a dance party without dessert. And presents."

Me: .....................

O: "I'm scared to grow up. I don't want to leave you and Mom."

Matt: "You don't have to leave. But when you're a grown up you might want to get married or -"

O: "Can I marry you or Mom when I'm grown up?"

Matt: "Uh, no, you can't marry people in your family."

O: "Hmm. Well, I really like Grandma and Papa. I guess I'll marry them when I'm grown up."

O: "Mom can I have your "I Hate Mondays" shirt when I'm a grown up?"

We've been putting in late hours after Matt gets off from work, painting at the new house. Grace has generously been staying with the kids at night and putting them to bed for us since we haven't been coming home until around 11pm. Obviously, Olive is concerned that I'm shirking my very important duties, because I found this on my pillow the other night...

And speaking of Grace...

...Olive is obsessed with her, particularly her style. Yesterday Olive showed up at the breakfast table dressed like this (those are Grace's boots and glasses) and declared that she WAS Grace and would not answer to any other name.

This is a fun age, almost-5-years-old. She keeps us on our toes!

We Bought A House!

Last Thursday, Matt and I bought a house! It still feels surreal, as it all happened really quickly.

The shortish version of a rather longish story: in December our landlord let us know that he wanted to move back into our rental. Talk about a ton of bricks falling on our heads. I was weeks away from delivering Oona, the one and only contract we had had on our house in WV in the year-plus it had been on the market had just fallen through, and we knew it would be really hard finding a similar, affordable rental that would house our growing family. 

So we cautiously started looking at some real estate options. We had fairly tight budget constraints because of our mortgage in WV, so we were surprised when a house popped up within our price range in a neighborhood we had been drooling over in the year we've lived here. It had only been on the market one day when we looked at it, and we fell hard at first sight. It ticked all the boxes of things that our family needs, and then some. We made an offer immediately. Lo and behold, our offer was accepted and THEN: the very next day, we got a contract on our house in WV! We are still kind of in shock about well everything worked out.

Back foyer.

While the house is in an amazing location, the interior is in need of quite a lot of TLC. Pretty much every square inch needs a fresh coat of paint. However, the house has really good bones and we are really excited to slowly make the space "ours."

Like I said...looots of TLC...

Our plan is to get as much painting done as possible in the living areas before moving in next week. I'll try to post pictures of the process as we get to work!

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[Portraits of my children once a week for a year.]

Olive: This week she got to try on lipstick for the first time, courtesy of the coolest Auntie Grace ever.

Silas: This week he went splashing at the local aquatic center for the first time.

Oona: This week she wore a new headband and looked awfully cute. *Not for the first time.* :) 

Happy

Yesterday was the best Monday I've had in about 3 months. It got up to 45F and every local Michiganer I came across was sooo happy. The warmth put life into my step. I finally tackled cleaning out the minivan and that one little accomplishment made me feel like I had a handle on life again. We ended the day swimming at the aquatic center and getting frozen yogurt with friends from church. To top all that goodness off, the baby gifted us with a 7 hour stretch of sleep last night - a record for her! 

I love this song. I love the dancing. And did you know Pharrell is 40 years old? That blew my mind.

I hope whoever and wherever you are, that you are feeling some wonderful "happy" today!

)

2 Months

Yesterday marked Oona's 2 month birthday. She's growing and changing so fast these days! It's a joy to discover new bits of her emerging personality.

This girl loves people. She follows us all around with her eyes as she chills out in her bouncy chair during the day. When she's been fed and burped and changed and is STILL fussy, it's almost always just a case of needing someone to talk to her. She loves sitting on Matt's or my lap and watching our faces while we chat to her. She likes to talk back in baby noises and is very generous with her sweet grins.

She is finally sleeping some longer stretches at night (praise. the. Lord.) And she'll actually sleep/nap in her cradle now! We were starting to worry that she would never transition out of that silly bouncy chair that she loves so much.

That newborn look is forever fading away and she's chunking up in typical Frey-baby-form. She's already moved up into size 2 diapers (whaaat?) and her 3 month outfits are getting snug. Oh I love me a fat baby, but I somehow always forget about how much work it is to clean out all those fat rolls. :)

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Portraits of my children once a week for a year

Olive: Extrovert, through and through. She gathers a following wherever she plays.

Silas: Introvert, like his mama. Crowds intimidate him. I catch him often zoning out, enjoying his own thoughts. What do 1 year old boys think about anyway? I'm pretty sure mine mostly thinks about food.

Oona: I have a hunch she is going to be a people-person. She wants to be held and talked to at all hours of the day (and night.)