Never enough time...

Well, I never seem to have time to update this. I feel like I can't write about the mundane everyday stuff without writing about the big events of moving and the new baby but I'd rather write about the small stuff so here's a brief update:



The baby:

Alex is almost 12 weeks old and seems to finally be getting better. He was extremely colicky and driving us crazy. We started giving him lactobacillus and also changed his formula to a reduced soy, broken down proteins one and something is helping. (or he's just growing out of that fussy stage). Now he still cries a ton but is consolable. We're not walking him around for hours while he screams. He still rarely sleeps during the day and only if I'm holding him but yesterday he slept in his swing for 45 minutes! He still HATES the car and screams every time we get in the car for the entire car ride. I've learned how to drive while holding his binky in. Basically I have to be double-jointed in my right shoulder. At home I can sort of rotate him around a few different seating areas, like the swing for a minute, his bouncy chair for 5 minutes,his playmat for 5 minutes, and his bumbo seat for 5 minutes. It's a lot better than before so I guess I'll take it!

The house:
Love it. Love everything about it-- except that it's hard to keep the kitchen clean. Why would granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a glass top electric range be so desirable if they just show spots and handprints everywhere? There are many things about the house that I didn't discover until we got here (hidden storage, fantastic lighting etc.) and I'll take pictures and post something later.

The town:
Well, Middleton is Money Magazine's number one small town to live in for a reason. It is great here. People are friendly and helpful, the air is clean and fresh (although you can certainly smell "farm" if the wind is blowing a certain way), and life is certainly convenient. I love love love the nature trail two blocks from my house. I was there a few days ago and was so jealous of the families biking and walking. I figure Talia will be able to walk for a longer period of time... when? Probably never. And perhaps we'll be able to bike it as a family in about... 5 years? Lots of people have tandem attachments for the kids. Maybe we'll get one of those sometime. I want to borrow a neighbor's jogging stroller to see if T will tolerate that. She hates strollers and doesn't like the "bumps" in particular so I doubt she'll enjoy it. It's too hot these days anyway. Looks like Ron and I will have to give each other time to go there separately.

Money:
I'm acting like I have more money but I don't yet. I'm buying more organic produce and more prepared items at Whole Foods. I'm sending gifts to friends. I'm practically hemorrhaging money to Target. I bought the kids some new clothes and FOUR shirts for myself (at H&M, so it wasn't too much). We haven't received a paycheck yet. Housecleaners are more expensive here-- I guess they're not illegal immigrants like in Philly and have to actually pay the government and give themselves health insurance here. We're going to start with once every other week but I really want it once a week.

Family and Friends:
I miss everyone but they don't feel that far away. Since I never really talked to my Philly friends on the phone it seems weird to do so now, so I miss having close relationships with people I see every day. I am becoming closer to some neighbors and will meet people outside of the neighborhood someday.

Talia:
She seems to have adjusted perfectly fine. She loves having neighbor friends, likes school, loves swimming and gymnastic classes. She definitely wants me to play with her more and does not want to go to bed. We gave up the nap in this whole moving situation and that's fine with me-- I like the freedom of not having to be home everyday after lunch-- but she doesn't go to bed any earlier. And when she does nap at school it's even harder to get her to bed and she STILL wakes up in the middle of the night once or twice to get her covers put back on. I mean, really, how hard is it to put the blankets on yourself?!?! Alex sleeps at night better than she does.

Time for me:
Haven't had much. Went on the nature trail once. Sewed a little the other day while T played with fabric and Alex napped. Had a babysitter and had a "date" with Ron, if you call furniture shopping a date.

Ok, now that that stuff if out of the way I can start talking about the little stuff again. Like how I love my new laundry detergent. It smells soooooo good! Downy Simple Pleasures in Water Lily and Jasmine. You will NOT be disappointed!

I also went to a few garage sales and bought a big rubbermaid tote filled with fabric for $25 and got a lot of good stuff. A bunch of 30's reproduction type prints and a pile of batiks as well. I'm trying to make this flag garland from Land of Nod. It's going to look great!

Lastly, I love GPS. It's the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.