First, the house:
We are enjoying it a lot, although it's been a stressful first month. As I said before, moving with a new baby is not such a good idea, although I am definitely glad that we moved. For this move, I am trying a new method, which is to unpack only the bare necessities, and leave everything else in the garage for an indefinite period of time (I am absolutely getting spoiled to having a garage!). Incidentally, we don't actually need anything in those boxes filling the corner of the garage, and this method is saving my sanity right now by cutting down on the clutter that would otherwise be inside our home. I'm working on making things functional and organized before doing any real decorating... for now, we've just thrown a few paintings on the wall for some color!
Second, the new semester:
School has started back, which means that Stephen is gone and I am officially now alone with Isabella all day. (This job is not as easy as it sounds!) Stephen is teaching four sections of English 102 (or 1102, depending on what school you went to) this fall. He's already getting swamped with papers and quizzes to grade. His big challenge this semester is learning how to better manage his work load so that he can spend his nights and weekends with Bella and me, rather than spending them grading the fine writing of his 94 freshman students. He's done well so far, but at the end of the day he and I are both exhausted!
Taking a walk on the beautiful UGA campus
Bella's first visit to Stephen's office on campus
Our favorite part of the day is our nightly post-supper walk around the neighborhood. We've already met lots of other neighborhood folks, along with their cats and dogs, on our walks. Having Bella along makes it easier to meet people because so many of them want to see what's hiding in our stroller!
Our eighth wedding anniversary was this week. We thought about taking Bella on her first trip to a nice restaurant, but decided we'd have much better chances of a relaxing meal by staying at home. So, I made the foolproof Crock Pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Not exactly romantic, but really, who cares? After Bella went to bed, we watched our wedding video, along with some other home videos from 2002. I can't believe how goofy we were, and how much we've changed since then. It would be nice, I think, to be that carefree again, just for a day even. It looked like so much fun to be 19...
Our anniversary entertainment: Bella showing off her Superman (Superbaby) flying skills!
Smelling the anniversary flowers Stephen got for me...
In other news, Bella rolled over for the first time ever this week, but neither of us saw it, much less caught it on camera! She rolled over while she was in her bed, and scared me to death when I saw her face on the mattress. She hasn't rolled over since. However, she did sleep through the night for the second time ever this week, from 8:30 pm. to 6:00 a.m.! (I did not sleep the night, though, because I was so worried about Bella that I had to keep checking on her!)
Sunday morning sleep-in with Mommy and Daddy (Bella's the only one who got to sleep in because she fell asleep in such an odd position on me that it kept me awake! But we loved watching our beautiful little girl sleep and had fun listening to her snore...)
More pictures of the house coming soon... I am really just trying to concentrate on Bella right now, and on keeping my sanity intact with all the adjustments going on, rather than focus on decorating. Bella seems old enough for a routine now, so we are trying to get that down, and are devoting as much time as we can to her.
Bella is more beautiful every time you post pictures (and so different!)The garage sounds like a fabulous storage space! I am about to the point of throwing half our house in the shed, and we haven't even moved recently. It just really sounds like a better option than trying to find a place for all of the "stuff", or clean...Remember how we used to inspire each other to do things, just by being in the same room? I have really needed you to come and just sit in my presence these past few weeks :-) Happy belated anniversary! 19 was indeed a carefree year...I can't believe it has been that long.
ReplyDeleteJenny
Bella's so cute. I wouldn't stress about getting the house together either, I'm pretty sure your sanity is more important. I still have boxes lined up in our spare room and I just decided to keep the stuff I don't need in the boxes and shove them in a closet. Works for me! I wish I could be there to help you out, you sound so busy. You need some serious alone time, like a nice hour by yourself to do whatever you want every day. You need some sisters!
ReplyDeleteJen