Playing Dollhouse

We're moving again this summer. Just across town, but a move is a move. We have moved every year since we've been married (4yrs this summer), and before that, Luke and I each moved every year since 2007. That's a whole lot of moves. For those curious, it went like this:

2007: Amherst, MA. We were teammates and both lived in the same apartment complex.

2008: Pittsburgh, PA - Luke. Champaign, Il  Megan. (Dating/engagement long distance)

2009: Loveland, CO. Newly Married :)

2010: Greeley, CO.

2011: Emmitsburg, MD. (Big house)

2012: Emmitsburg, MD. (Little townhouse)

2013: Emmitsburg, MD. (this summer, moving to medium house)

We're not in the military, we are focus missionaries :) And although moving can be exhausting, it forces you to not hold on to things you don't need. You part with furniture more easily because you got it from Craigslist, didn't pay a lot for it and don't care about it. Someday maybe we'll have nice things but for now this is the way it is. And I can't say I mind all that much. Aside from the opportunity to see and live in lots of cool places and get to know some amazing people, I have a small confession to make....

I love to organize. And clean. And decorate. And set up house. I think it could be called playing dollhouse syndrome. Each home has been so different and I have thoroughly enjoyed setting them up and making each feel warm and homey. I've definitely got sewing curtains down, but that's be honest that's like the easiest thing in the world to do. Still! Luke bought me a sewing machine our first married christmas and thinking back, I have used it to mostly sew curtains!

I'm probably nuts but I don't mind putting on my rubber gloves and cleaning an entire house before moving into it. And I mean deep cleaning. (Luke says every time I clean it's like spring cleaning, haha) but I like knowing its all been cleaned before moving our belongings and selves into a new house. I want it to be sparkling, dust free. I have high cleaning standards and what can I say, I'm only going to be happy if it's done by me. Or Luke. He can be even more meticulous than me.

I love organizing bedrooms, linen closets, medicine cabinets, although doing the kitchen always overwhelms me because there is just so much. And I like to hang pictures pretty quickly because it just doesn't feel like home until I have my familiar pictures on the walls.

I'm so excited to move into the new place this summer because it is bigger than the place we are currently in. I've already been setting up all the furniture in the rooms in my head. And we are allowed to paint! I really want to do the kid rooms.

Some days I do crave more stability but for now I'm enjoying the adventure and playing dollhouse.

Monday Musings

I had so much to do around the house today. Laundry that's taking me days to finish, leftover mess in the kitchen from last night, just general tidying up. And the kids wouldn't stop begging to go outside. It wasn't even that nice but I took a break and we went for a walk. We stopped on Main Street at the coffee shop so I could try the new drink of the month (and say hi to daddy and the team who were holding their Monday morning meeting there today). Then the kids and I went to the playground. Our tiny town has like 4 parks and they are all within walking distance. It's so great how independent Casey has become and can climb up the stairs and go down the slide over and over again all by himself. Hailey's newest thing at the park is climbing the rock walls. She's got some strength in that little body of hers. The fresh air did us a ton of good.

I don't know what it was about today but I ended up having a ton of energy. I'm attributing it to 1) 2nd trimester. Loving it. 2) After being sooooo miserably sick last week and finally feeling somewhat better I wanted to be productive.

After the walk in the morning, once the kids went down for naps (took Hailey forever and I was praying for patience the whole time) I did a Jillian Michaels work out. I had to take 10 second breaks a few times, but overall I didn't do so bad. I was sweating that's for sure. It felt so good just to move. When the kids got up from their naps I decided to cut the grass. It was starting to get long, the kids want to play in the yard with the weather being so nice lately, I didn't know when Luke was going to get the chance to do it, and I thought I would do something nice for him. I only got half the yard done and stopped because I decided I wanted the blades lowered so that it cut the grass shorter, I like my grass really short, and I couldn't figure that part out.

Now I'm waiting for Luke to come home from bible study so he can give the kids a bath. That's the one thing I'm not wanting to do this evening. He can have the dirty whiney kiddos all to himself :)

An Obsession with lotion

Hailey, that is. Not me. She is ridiculous. Granted she has very dry skin during the winter to the point that we actually limit the number of times she takes a bath each week (she would take one every night if we let her), and we completely slather her with thick thick cream afterwards. When I need to get extra aggressive I put the stuff on her every morning too. If she feels dry, she itches, and if her nails are long, she scratches herself, and then those oowies hurt and need more lotion.....and on and on it goes. I'm doing my best here, few baths, short nails, lots of lotion, and still she deems it not enough.

Two weeks ago, I peak in at naptime because I heard some noise and she had gotten a container of aquaphor off the top of the changing table. This stuff is basically Vaseline.

It was everywhere. She tried to put it on her hands and feet and in the process got it all over her shirt and pants, and bed. After getting her cleaned up, scolding her quite extensively to get the point across, I took a good look at her clothes. And walked away. I didn't know where to begin. Petroleum jelly didn't exactly seem like the type of stuff that was going to come out easily.

I think I put it through the wash on cold right way, but with other clothes too. Stupid. Thankfully it didn't get on anything else. But I didn't come out of her clothes either. At that point, I did the smart thing and ran to google.

Rubbing alcohol. I scoffed and walked away again. The technique was complicated -scrap off excess lotion, pour over area and pat with clean white cloth- ok so maybe I was just feeling lazy and I just didn't want to deal with it. I was also feeling like I had already messed the whole thing off because I had thrown it into the wash without scraping, etc, there is no way it will work mentality.

Yesterday I thought I should finally do something about it and gave it a go. There was no excess stuff to scrap off so I just doused it with the rubbing alcohol and let it sit. I didn't have any clean white cloths laying around to pat with.

Then I put it in the wash again, on cold.

This morning I am in shock. Not a trace. Obviously I'm so excited that I came here to tell you all about it.

And guess what? Last night Hailey was supposed to be falling asleep and she comes in to my room where I'm reading my Real Simple magazine (ironic, just the sort of magazine to give tips about stains) and she is COVERED in desitin.

Googling again to see if it's same solution.

I'm coming for you Butt Paste.