Pro Daddy

My husband is such a pro at this daddy thing, y'all.  He has jumped back into rocking and diaper-changing and cutting up food in tiny pieces like we never left Toddlerville.  I just plain could NOT do this without him!  It's wonderful to see him do what he does so well and remember that this is why we make such a great team.  I feel like I've been run over by a truck, scraped off the pavement, and then run through a food processor, but these 17 days will go by SO fast.  The two little ones that we're taking care of for a while are doing great and being mommied by my girls, too!  I'm thankful that we have the chance to do this.  And even more thankful that my hubby is game for this.  A lot of guys wouldn't want to make room in their homes for extra kids, especially little ones that are more high-maintenance.  :) And I'd write so much more, but I have to go cut up some pancakes and put lots of hair in ponytails!

It's hard to believe it was one year ago today that we started moving into our "new" house.  It was so empty and lonely-looking, with echoing rooms and bare, sightless windows.  Big enough for our family, but not so big as to be ominous or imposing.  Signs of my dad's and my uncle's craftmanship are throughout, but especially in the upstairs.  The chimney comes out of the floor and makes a 45-degree rotation before going into the ceiling.  To deal with this awkward placement, those Livingston brothers did what they knew to do-work with what you have and make it look good.  They built a baseboard frame around the chimney base and put the parquet tile flooring right around it.  Dad couldn't have known that he was building bedrooms and a playroom for his grandchildren.
My littlest must've known that my dad was on my mind today.  This evening out of nowhere she started crying and saying "I miss Grandpa Harry."  She never got to meet him, but I reassured her the best I could and told her he would've loved her very much.  The two of his grandkids that he did get to meet were awfully special to him.
Anyway, back to our house...a year after move-in day, the house is no longer empty-not by a long shot.  Curtains, rugs and furniture have made it look and sound and feel like home.  I don't know if this is the house our grandchildren will come and visit someday, but it will be the setting for our kids' memories for at least a few years to come. 

Starting off a new blog with some of my writing...maybe it's garbage, maybe it's just ok.  This little piece was prompted by my frustration with my kiddos during summer vacation.

Longer days

Sticky evenings

Groggy mornings

Coffee iced instead of hot

Grass tracked all through the house

Sweet corn and watermelon

Sparklers and lightning bugs

Bare feet and popsicles

Swimming and floating and sunning

Tan lines and sun-streaked hair

Long shadows and aimless drives

Popcorn and naps on the couch

Lego castles and box forts

Bubbles and hot sidewalks

Cats sleeping flat as pancakes in the shade

Bike rides and ponytails

Windows rolled down

Ditches full of wildflowers

Endless bowls of ice cream

Freckled noses and sunglasses

Carrying played-out children off to their beds.

Listing out all of these blessings definitely helped adjust my attitude!  Off to have one of those endless bowls of ice cream and visit with my worn-out man.  Good night all!