The kids moved from one house to the next seamlessly. I suppose it has a lot to do with us being here working on the house so much the last several months. They really got a chance to play here and get used to things before the big transition. Lola keeps telling me that "our new house is so much fun!" so that is a good sign. Occasionally she asks me if the old house is sad, and although I always tell her no, sometimes I feel a pang of sadness for the old house.
I imagine it sitting, cold and empty, missing all the crazy hustling and bustling that has been a part of its existence for the last four years. I feel a little sad when I think of walking up and down the stairs at night when we first moved in, eight months pregnant with Lola, as the bathroom was not so conveniently located on the bottom floor. I remember getting her little nursery ready, painting everything a girly pink, and hanging cute floral trim. Many quiet nighttime feedings were spent in the old rocking chair by her window. Then came time to turn the office into nursery number two, and I remember laying little Rowan down in his sweet little room for the first time after we brought him home. Both my babies learned to walk in that house, and both learned how to conquer stairs there. Many happy baths were taken in that old tub, and countless hours were spent playing in the yard. When I go there now to clean or just to check on things, I can almost hear the echoes of little voices, and I do imagine that our old house is sad without us.
The new house though, must be swelling with joy at its active new occupants. The basement, once a dreary green room that no one wanted to stay in for long, is brightly lit, and warmed by the cozy fireplace. Toy cars and dolls litter the floor, and the sounds of play fill the air. Upstairs the smells of family meals waft into the living room, where I love to curl up on the couch and relax, enjoying the peace that comes from having a large playroom on another floor! At bathtime, I can hardly get the kids out of the tub. They love the great big sparkly jacuzzi style tub!
In this month of changes, I decided that it was high time that Rowan got his first haircut. I said farewell to that fine wispy baby hair and hello to a little boy! He did awesome! I gave him a tootsie pop (usually banned candy at our house) and he sat in tootsie pop bliss, drooling down his gown and allowing the hairdresser to work her magic. (Rowan is seen here sporting his awesome battle scar from his fight with the big concrete flower pot. The flower pot won.)
Lola too had a new first. We found out after much trial and tribulation that the "little bus" doesn't come to our new house in the mornings to pick her up for preschool. Instead, she was to ride "big bus," a very large school bus with very large kids on board. The school found her a high school "buddy" to make sure she is ok on her short ride to school, and there is a nice lady to pick her up off the bus and escort her to the preschool room. After preschool, "little bus" drops her off again like normal. Lola, being Lola, marched right up to that humongous bus the first day it came, climbed up those great big stairs and rode off to preschool without so much as a second glance back. I nearly had a heart attack watching her leave, but she was just fine. That little girl has so much confidence! Nothing is going to stop her!
I finally found the box that contains all the Halloween decorations, and I put them all up one afternoon while the kids were napping. They were very excited to see the lights and spiders and other spooky things when they woke up. Lola had a short brush with stomach flu the day before Halloween, but she was bright and cheery when she woke up Halloween day, and so we went ahead and dressed up to go trick or treating.
Rowan dressed up as our neighbor from town, who is also his godfather. Lola was a princess kitty, an idea that she came up with all by herself. We took them into town to visit Rowan's godparents first, and it was a riot! Rowan looked just like the man we had dressed him up as. He was a perfect mini-me, and his godfather was tickled to death. We got lots of pictures, then loaded everyone up to finish trick or treating before hitting the local Halloween party downtown. Rowan won the costume party for his look-alike costume, and Lola had a great time playing with her friends from school. Everyone ate way too much candy, including myself. I have issues with popcorn balls, as in I can't get enough of them, and am currently suffering from a little popcorn ball overload.
After the party, we hit a few more houses and then came home for a late dinner, bath, snuggle time and bed. I am currently trying to keep myself awake long enough for Wil to get home from Haunted Palouse, where he is working as the chainsaw guy on the haunted hayride. I worked the haunted house both days last weekend, and realized that staying up that late two days in a row is really starting to get hard! Sleep has not been an issue for me since my insomnia days following Rowan's birth. Now I almost feel like a narcoleptic! I decided to take this weekend off from being a spooky skeleton cowgirl, and I am almost relieved to have not been able to get a babysitter! Kudos to the people who are working all four nights. What a marathon!
Anyway, this big old house is quiet and peaceful at 11:30 pm. The kids are sleeping soundly, the cats are nowhere to be found, and the dog is out like a light. Hopefully Wil gets home soon, as I can barely keep my eyes open any longer. On quiet nights like these, I feel extra specially blessed for our lovely home, our wonderful family, and our good friends. I suppose I had better sneak down and turn off Lola's light. Tomorrow is another day!
