Neighbors

I am beyond ecstatic that I FINALLY have a friend as a neighbor! Adam and I have been living in the same place for the past four years now and we've always lived at least thirty minutes from our closest family and friends. It's a toss up because we absolutely love where we live, but there just isn't anyone close enough to do the little everyday things with! When we decided to move (two doors down) Adam's cousin and his wife jumped at the opportunity to move into our old place! Of course I was ridiculously giddy at the prospect of having one of my really good friends living two doors down. She has a little boy who is smack in the middle of Ruby and Quin's ages as well! Stephanie and I met when Adam and I were first dating and hit it off right away. We've steadily grown closer and closer over the years and once she had her little boy it brought us even closer together! We've already been taking advantage of going on walks, taking the kids to the park, and she is now going to be my exercise buddy. Not to mention, how nice is it to have a friend you can call and ask to borrow a cup of sugar? We've even worked it out to where we are going to babysit for one another and every other week each couple gets a date night! If you knew how long it's been since my husband and I have gotten to go on a date you would understand how beyond excited I am about this. Yay for friends! Yay for wonderful neighbors!

New House

In January we found out the apartment two doors over was opening up and we decided that it would be an awesome thing for us to live there! Although I HATE moving, there is something quite cleansing about it. You are forced to sort through every cupboard and drawer, clean out the closets and overall junk things that you really don't need but you keep telling yourself you need. I cannot believe how much stuff we accumulated that we never use. We were able to get into the new apartment a month before we actually had to be out of our place, so we had some opportunity to fix things up a bit, repaint and clean. Thank goodness because the new apartment needed a major face-lift. Adam tore out the shower and re-tiled that which was the greatest thing EVER since I wouldn't have taken a shower or given the girls a bath in there for my life. I cannot tell you how stressful it was to try and do all the things that needed to be done with two little kiddos! I was trying to paint and keep them entertained which is nearly impossible. ESPECIALLY Quin who was not tolerant to being put in the play pen. It's like trying to cage a wild beast! We painted EVERYTHING! Baseboards, door jams, every wall in every room.....and I can truthfully say I never want to paint again. EVER. Now that's it's completely done and I'm sitting in my new living room, I can say it was all worth it. We gained a ton more storage space and a downstairs bathroom. Not to mention new carpet and fresh paint always makes it feel nice and clean! I love our new little bungalow and now all I need is for this 80 degree weather to go away so I can have more fires in my new fireplace!


 Before and after Fireplace

 

 Before and after of the bathroom!

 Before and after of the shower!

 Before & after of the living room (not the best pics because I used my phone!)

Moving the piano up the stairs was quite a challenge! 

  

Sunset from our patio! From my bedroom window I have an ocean view! :) 

Beauty Queen

Oh, what to say about Quinny boo?? It's probably better NOT to say anything and just to show you pictures. This child does beat all. You'd never know it to look at her, but she puts the night in nightmare. She coined the phrase "I am the most difficult child ever known to man." Oh wait, I just made that up, but you get my point. Then she looks at me with those big brown eyes and makes one of her faces that are simply irresistible to all mankind. The blood curdling screams that awaken me from my sleep numerous times a night disappear when I look into her perfect little face. She's a doll. I know I'm not just some fanatical parent who thinks their child is pretty because people literally stop me when I'm out and are in sort of a trance as they stare at her. Grown men at Staples grovel at her feet. She is a little princess through and through. My love for her negates the fact that she is what my sister calls a "demon child," because all I see is her toothy smile and my heart grows times ten.

 Oh yes and did I mention she's completely insane and fearless????

Ruby-licious

The ever incredible Ruby never ceases to make me laugh on a daily basis. Her personality is seriously hilarious. Her antics unbearably funny and her sense of awareness kills me! She is 2 years and 8 month old and her comprehension is completely absurd. She will ask me questions that make me stop and stare at her. Her new thing is that she wants more babies in my tummy. Apparently having little Quin isn't enough and now she's asking (quite frequently) for a little brother. She's even named him Josh. My parents thought I was pregnant because she told them I was. I guess I know that when the time comes she can't be trusted with a secret.....  Along with her growing taller, her attitude is getting to be quite a giant. I think maybe because we are nearing the naughty threes she's become a little more high strung than usual. I'm really cracking down and with both the girls we are getting on a schedule! Too much madness going on and nobody is sleeping well! Ruby is so lovey dovey lately as well and we enjoy "scuddleing" on a frequent basis. (This is Ruby's hybrid between snuggling and cuddling.) What a joy our little one is in our lives. She's a laugh a minute and the life of the party! Gotta love Ruby Lee!


Because you can never have to many hideously ugly scrunchie bow things, right? 

 Even with the stomach flu she's always up for a silly face!

 "I'm just 'pretending' to eat them, mom."

 Getting creative at Home Depot

Madness!

I really do love blogging, although I know you probably don't believe me since my posts drop off for months at a time! It's more of a matter of FINDING the time between all the craziness to write! I think about blogging quite often, and if I had some sort of time warp or a way to stop the clock and sit in complete quiet where nobody needed me.....well, there would be a lot more blogging going on. Like for instance, right at this very moment my adorable 2 1/2 year old is sitting next to me on the couch with a pile of books BEGGING me to read to her. That's the best case scenario because normally it would be my crazy 10 month old munchkin who is vying for my attention. Both of the girls are growing too quickly for me these days. I can't believe how tall Ruby's getting. I had to put away all of her 2 year PJ's and pull out her 3 year old ones! She just shot up like a little bean sprout! Quin is as vivacious as ever and teething has been frustrating for all parties involved. Although to be truthful, she's already such a difficult baby that it's really not THAT crazy from our normal every day. (She STILL has never slept through the night!!!) She's really into food lately and LOVES eating things by herself. So glad they make gluten free O's! I'm going to write about five posts to catch up on everything that's happened recently (or not so recently)....So here are some pictures of the girls and I'll tell you all about my crazy past couple of months in another post coming soon!