Mother's Day

 Our days at 331 are numbered! I am tired of the jankiness of this house (I swear in the last month the house knows that we're leaving and a million little things keep going wrong. Our poor landlord haha) but this is where our kids have their first memories! This is where we brought Jack and Claire home from the hospital. This is where 3/4 learned to walk, talk, and not run into the street. I look at the peeling paint or our duct taped kitchen sink that sprays when you turn it on more than halfway or the toilet that doesn't fully flush and now that we are so close to moving these annoyances have turned into more sentimental memories, like "awww look at the salmon pink walls in the kitchen. Those aren't really that bad!" (YES, they are.)

My last Mother's Day here was a good one. It was actually kind of unusual because Grandma and Grandpa had invited the kids to sleep over in their backyard, but that night it was raining so they decided to just sleep in a fort under the picnic table. Claire isn't old enough to do that kind of thing so I stayed home with her and Austin went, mostly for Stockton's sake. He needs some extra coaxing at bed time in new places. But that meant that I had the house to myself after 9 o clock on Saturday since Claire was asleep, and then Sunday morning was quiet with just the two of us before we joined everyone at Grandpa's house. I didn't sleep as well even though I did enjoy taking up the whole bed (which, let's be honest, I do every night anyway), but the calm was really nice. I love our kids but they are constantly LOUD and ACTIVE! Claire and I settled into our TV chair and watched a movie, just like old times when the kids were at school and we would just hang out together, and it was delightful.

The necklace Austin got me with the birthstones of each our children : ) 

It's a little hard to fully relax in our house right now...there are boxes everywhere! I ran into one in the middle of the night a few days ago and I have an epic bruise. There are also little rectangles of packing tape strewn about the house because Natalie sprinkles salt and pepper on them and calls it "art" haha. Creative but messy.

 Claire has recently fallen in love with Elmo. She also really likes Ernie, but Elmo always wins. She even says "Ell-mooo?" and it is just the cutest. She still loves her pillow cozy station when we set it up for her.

 I got to go on this lovely nature walk last week, and I'm still feeling uplifted from it! Fresh air and alone time in the wilderness are always what I need. I am so grateful any time I get the chance to explore and enjoy.

Sometimes I feel like I've lost my "passion" and turned into a boring, uninteresting person, or at least so busy with homemaking and motherhood that I don't have anything that is purely for my own pleasure or edification. I've always looked forward to cultivating my own garden someday, but Austin suggested that even if I can't grow anything right now, I can start learning and gathering knowledge and insight. He was so right! I got a few gardening books from our used bookstore and have been taking notes and making lists. It is COMPLETELY delightful and enriching! I feel energized and passionate and reconnected to my individuality. 

 You can't really see it but there is a fox down the street! Jack and I were on a walk and this fox was in the yard right next to us, just checking us out fearlessly. We left some chicken out for him under the bushes the other day and they were gone the next morning! (We had accidentally left the chicken in the oven overnight haha, oops.)

(And now on 5/24 I came back to this post not realizing that I hadn't finished, and I don't feel like describing the rest of the pictures. But they are happy, so enjoy!)

Jack and Carson talking from curb to curb. The Eickmeiers are so great!