Almost Ready

We are two days away from our big move to California.  I have said most of my goodbyes and have most everything packed.  I am painting trim little by little every night after the girls sleep, since we are still hoping to sell the house.  It looks better than it did when I started but there is still a lot I would have liked to get done if I had the time. 

Little Rock has been a wonderful place to live these past four years.  The girls and I have spent countless hours at the libraries here and I think I will be sorely disappointed in local libraries back home because CALS has raised my expectations so high.  Also, having everything centralized here in Little Rock is so convenient.  The zoo and children's museum are just a short drive away.  I know I will be racking up the miles in California and the higher gas prices make that even worse.

I have met some truly heartfelt people that I will miss.  Librarians, neighbors, the girls' teachers, and the wonderful ladies in knitting and quilting have made everything so enjoyable here for the girls and me.  I will miss the friendships I have made and am thankful for them.

However, I am looking forward to being close to family again.  The girls will get the chance to grow up with their cousins which is something I missed out on as a kid.  And you can't beat California weather and the beach being so close by. 

Here's to starting out on the next chapter of our lives!

Naan

I have been baking lately to get through my baking supplies so I don't have to throw them away.  Last week the girls and I made graham crackers to use up the graham flour.  They were good to munch on.  They were healthier than store bought but they did not taste anything like the store bought version; less sweet, which I like, but also had a much stronger wheat flavor and a chewier texture. 

 

On Sunday I decided to use up some of my bread flour and make naan.  My husband and I had tried to make naan once a couple years ago and did not fair so well.  I think the yeast was old and we burnt a couple of them.  This recipe though was easy to put together and didn't take to long to make if you don't consider the time it takes for the dough to rise.  

 

The girls helped me add ingredients and mix the dough together.  I like including them in the kitchen and they are much better at following directions than when we first started.  After the first rising, I separated the dough into small balls and let it rise again.

 

It did not take long to roll the dough out after the second rising.  I did a little over half at first and then finished rolling the rest while the first set cooked.  I like recipes where there are stretches of inactivity such as rising or resting because I can time it with Baby M's naps.  I worked on the dough while she was sleeping and let it rise whenever I was too busy to deal with it.  It worked out well.

 

I love my reversible cast-iron grill/griddle.  It was a wedding present and I use it often for pancakes and then I always have a grill handy when I need it. The naan fried up quickly and I didn't burn a single one!

Fresh baked naan is delicious.  It is cheaper than what you get at the grocery store and tastes so much better.  Next time I will knead in chopped garlic like the recipe called for instead of being lazy.  I'm sure that would taste even better.

And here is a picture from our last visit to Little Rock Zoo.  The original plan was to hold Baby M up instead of me looking through but she was comfortably asleep against her daddy's chest and I wasn't going to mess with that.  The girls and I have had such good times there.  I'm going to miss living so close to a zoo that is the perfect size for children. 

Field Full of Daffodils

We headed up to the Wye Mountain daffodil field again this year.  More daffodils were in bloom than last year and it was a beautiful, warm afternoon.  We picnicked there and the girls ran around exploring the whole field.  They liked dressing up in their spring dresses and Easter hats.

 

Cross Country Dog Travel

The original plan was to fly Anna, our 70lb pointer, to CA with us.  Buy her a kennel, put her on the plane as checked luggage and pick her up from the cargo area when we arrived.  It sounded simple.  But after looking into it a bit, that plan hit a few snags.   First, the small commuter plane to Dallas doesn't allow kennels in Anna's size.  Second, American Airlines won't fly animals in cargo when the forecasted temperature is above 85 degrees, which probably wouldn't work in southern CA at the end of April.  Third, besides being incredibly stressful to a pet, about one animal dies while flying every week across all the airlines.

So what to do with the dog?  We couldn't leave her here until June to drive back with my husband because of his work schedule and because he'll be using the space in the car to move other things.  So I searched online and found companies that drive animals cross country, which sounded really expensive even before I got a quote for $2,600.  Yikes!  I also put shipping her up for auction on the Ebay site Uship, where companies bid to ship a variety of things for you.

Before the day was out, I had a reasonable bid from a guy at Purrfect Pet Delivery Service, who would pick Anna up in two weeks and drop her off at my Mom's house about 3 days later.  All his reviews are good and after talking to him, he seems like a guy who really loves animals and his job.   He'll take her in his personal car (along with 1-2 other dogs he'll pick up along the way), walk her at rest stops, and sleep in the car with her too.  If all goes well, it should be a pleasant trip for her: safer, with more personal service and ultimately cheaper than flying her would have been. 

Preparing to Move

I took a hiatus from blogging toward the end of the pregnancy and in the first two months of Baby M's life.  Hopefully I'm back, even if it is only in short, sporadic posts.  Currently all three of my adorable girls are sleeping and I am able to try to post something again.  I have started two drafts over the last two months and neither of them made it past the first paragraph so we'll see how this one goes.

 

Yesterday we had a yard sale and our first showing to sell the house.  We are now without all except the most necessary furniture.  Both the living room and play room are bare.  The kitchen is more roomy where the smaller of our tables used to be and I now get to sit on the floor while reading the girls to bed instead of in the rocking chair.   We still have beds to sleep in and a table to eat at.  And it will mean less work for us when we move in month and a half.

 

It has been really freeing to organize and get rid of so many things.  The house feels so much larger and tidier.  The previous mass of toys in the play room is now confined to one bin.  My craft stash that had been taking over my walk-in closet is now either packed away or donated.  I also put everything away as soon as I can after we use it, so the house is tidy in case we need to show it.  It feels good to have a clean, organized home.  I wish I could keep it up when we move to a new house, but I suspect I will have a remission into chaos when the constant fear of a showing is not driving me. 

 

The girls are dealing with the changes pretty well.  They are a little more fussy and clingy sometimes but that is understandable considering the adjustments they've already had to make with the new baby and now the move.  They know we are moving to California. We talk about it and have a count down going so it won't catch them by surprise.  I think that our previous visits and the presence of our family there is a huge help in making it a positive experience for them.  Plus they have each other which has really made the transition with their new baby sister go much better and will probably help with the move as well. 

 

Wintertime

We had an ice storm over the weekend while much of the country was also dealing with winter weather.  Luckily we did not lose power like last year.  We have remained toasty inside while the temperatures have stayed below freezing.

We did go outside for a little bit once the storm had past.  The girls don't really remember last year's snow, so this felt like a new experience for them.  They were disappointed that they couldn't make a snowman and name him Frosty (you can tell what we watched recently).  It was mostly ice and did not want to be shaped into a snow ball.  Maybe we'll get some real snow this winter for them to play in before we move back to southern California and minimize our chance of every seeing much snow again.

 

 

They got to hold icicles for a bit which made me a little wary, but we kept a close eye on them.  Poking out their own eyes or each others luckily did not cross their minds.



I knitted them some mittens last spring, planning ahead for this winter.  They are still a bit big for them and awkward but at least they helped keep their hands warm.  It was cold out there!

 

The mittens have different fair isle patterns on them but the pastel colors make it hard to see unless you are looking at them closely.  I can't decide whether I am happy with my color choice or not.  Most of the time I like to knit bright colors for them.

 

The girls and I haven't ventured out since Thursday and tomorrow is also not looking good unless it really warms up in the afternoon.  Both our driveway and our cul-de-sac is steep and getting out to the main roads is difficult.  I also don't really know what I'd do if we got stuck.  Digging our car out of ice and snow was hard enough in New York, when I was in great shape.  I really don't see myself able to do much a few weeks away from delivering a baby.

 

 

Science Time

My husband's parents came for Thanksgiving week and it was lovely.  Two extra people helping around the house and keeping the girls busy.  Not a vacation for me but I was definitely able to take some long breaks.  We were very busy with family pictures, story time, a visit to the Museum of Discovery, Thanksgiving dinner and a trip to the Zoo.  The girls had such a nice time getting spoiled.

We are back to our usual routine.  The girls are delving deeper into the murky waters of the terrible twos.  I'm tired and losing my patience with them more than I wish.  They just aren't listening much and throwing more fits over little things.  I know it will get a lot worse once baby sister arrives before it gets better.  But at least it is Christmastime and I love Christmas!

 

This morning we tried out a 'science' activity.  They created a chemical reaction by mixing an acid and a base.  Of course the particulars of that did not matter to them.  They liked playing with an eye dropper for the first time.  And they liked how the baking soda foamed when they dropped colorful vinegar onto it.  Since it is December, I choose red and green food coloring for the vinegar. 

 

 

D needs to work on her timing with squeezing and releasing the eye dropper bulb.  But T got the hang of it and didn't need help from me after the first few tries.  There was very little mess and they had fun.  Success!