Stopping to Gaze

Above: Stopping to gaze at the sun setting -- a quick look out of the car window, one of the evenings on our long drive from the midwest to the northwest.

The sun has set on another day. There's home we're setting up again, and the changes to adjust to, one day at a time, while life goes on day after day, everyday life that's not without its crazy moments -- we're hanging in there. And before with two children, already our hands were full, after #3, it's very late still, if not later now when I call it a day, whether or not I'm done with the daily chores, and even harder for me to find time to blog.

But the stopping to gaze, we all need that, and keeping in touch with you who care and share -- THANK YOU!!! and thank you for coming here to see how we're doing -- is something I'll love to do still. So while I'm not a blogger of few words, I'm learning to kiss... keep it short and sweet, lah! It's really late now, will talk more later!

Moving Along

Kait, after those independent steps walking by herself (and it's 'look ma, no hands' before the 'look pa' this time!), is back to cruising again, and cruising more effortlessly now.

Crawling also still gets her places fast, fast enough that if I ask Jon and Ben to watch her for a bit, one minute she's right under their nose, the next they are asking me, not just me checking with them, "Where's Kait? Where'd she go?" !!!

I call her the Queen of the Floor!

Along these lines, Kait also knows a few other tricks. Like, scooting bum and legs first to get down a step...


... and being able to fling open cabinet doors and pull open drawers at her height when she's standing up -- she's quite strong, *gasp*! So, it's not just her, but I am on my toes a lot as well! Kait also has her nose in the trash and laundry bins!

When she's not busy moving around, the other nickname I have for Kait is My Little Koala. With every child, you (just gotta) learn to multitask better with one hand; and so it is when I go about my chores and errands as much as the boys' school activities and baseball sessions with the baby girl joined at the hip. This is both the more and more mobile, and also superclingy, bad separation anxiety stage!

Kait will be 10 months old tomorrow, and can it be that she knows how to pose for the camera already?! These pictures are specially for those who tell me you come here to see how much she's grown. Thanks for dropping by, this works for me to try and update everyone at the same time, and tell you how very much I appreciate your encouragement and prayers.

We are going to move early... NEXT WEEK! We were just now still going over again the possible plans and options, and this looks to be the best window for Vern. He has more to go for his dissertation, but the weeks after that leading up to the defence will be even more stressful than now. He will make a trip back here by himself for that.

Meanwhile, with no offer on the house yet, we made another price drop and hopefully that's as drastic as it goes. Ours is more affordable than places in better school districts, but where we live there is a surplus of homes, and the spring market is winding down, if not already over. Why won't the agent try other ways besides letting an auto e-survey get responses from other agents who bring people for showings? We've been working hard ourselves, hosting three open houses and reaching out to interested parties in whatever ways we could.

Last Sunday, another family, dear friends of ours with their children, were so nice to take Jon and Ben out for a second movie together in three weeks during the open houses the agent left us to do. Their house sold much faster, they're off, but they understand how most kids have the natural ability to mess up the place faster than we can straighten it out. Of course it's not only for open Sundays, but every day as well for two months now we've lived like this. It drives me nuts to try and have as few things on the floor, table, and counter tops, and I do a clean sweep of the house every time before going anywhere in case someone calls for a showing. But it's so that the house shows nice at all times, as close to how we've staged it. Decluttered -- as best as we can, but lots stashed away to get back to, and depersonalized, but not without the warmth and coziness of home sweet home; that was our approach. But where art thou, where is the person or family who really think this place will work for them?

And now, we have more, lots more to work on before the move. Vern, trying to be on track with his schoolwork, and many more things I'm trying to put/give/throw away before the actual packing of our luggage, among other stuff we have to wrap up here. We will drive instead of fly to save some, and pay the movers more to pack, simply because we cannot do it all. The two of us vs. the three kids, we are outnumbered -- this is one of more things now we have to be down-to-earth about!

OK, I have to run...

and Kait waves *bye* , TTFN!





Pictures of Kait at 8 to 9 months old.

Staying in touch

Our phone lines and internet were down for a whole week. Feels good to be connected again, and yes, being able to keep in touch like this is good, always good!

We're still here, haven't moved. There's plan A (move early) and there's plan B (move later), depending on how things go with the house and Vern's schoolwork. He's still trying to figure this and that out (headache!). The children and even sticking to the basics with the cooking and cleaning keep me busy day in day out, and it's after they go to bed when I can start the laundry process now. Then it's a long night, Kait is up as often as the boys last time, and for sleep's sake I let her nurse (again and again) before Ben or Jon or both boys will come wake us up at 5am!

One load, one step at a time... and Kait started walking a few steps by herself the other day! Life just got busier!