Life in Maryland: January 2014

Here is the crew enjoying a rare moment of peace and cooperation in the room they've dubbed "the third floor". House With Stairs boasts a finished attic that is every kid's dream of space to run and spread toys and every mother's dream of play space that doesn't need to be picked up at night. For now, it's gated in the middle to give Devon some security about keeping his cars and trains up there, but he's been asking to open the gate and "let my precious girlies come to my side and play".

Everyone is asking how the kids who say they're freezing in seventy degree weather are processing a move to a colder place.  Thankfully, we feel it's going pretty well, although this setup that Devon rigged with a space heater was not a good idea.  Right now Devon's big thing is the adoption of a current favorite word: NEVER.  I think it's helping him adjust to the complete newness of life and the very legitimate question of why absolutely nothing is as it was before.

Devon: (grabbing a toy from the girls) Hah!  Now you'll never get to do that again!
Mommy:  Devon, give it back and apologize.
Devon: I'll never do that!
Mommy: Okay, well then time out (getting up).
Devon: (handing back the toy) Now you'll never have to see me have time out!  Never, ever, ever!

The best part of Maryland for all three is, I am sure, the snow!  It was such a blessing when the first snow gave the kids something to look out at in the first few cold days in the new house.

Devon got to build his first Maryland snowman, make his first snow angel, and develop a serious attachment to shoveling snow.  When Daddy shovels off our long driveway, a huge chore that we might just have to give up and do this winter because we're too overwhelmed to add a snowblower to our long list of household things to research and buy, Devon goes out too and gleefully makes circles around Daddy, pushing a huge pile of snow before him all across the yard in crazy patterns.

Devon's love of things is often measured by the length of his meltdown when they are over.  His tantrum coming in from the snow for the first time will hold the record for a long, long time.

Forty.  Five.  Minutes.

Devon: I'll never get to play in the snow again, Mommy.  Never, never, never, never, never!

 Yep, he loves the snow!  Even a trip to the car from the store can be an opportunity to sneak in some snow time if he bolts at the right moment.

 I've been as creative as possible to try and fill the cold days with new experiences.  90% off cookie decorating kits are nice, but so messy.  I know nobody likes to hear a mommy complain about cleaning up the kid mess, but I struggle with what to do with the kids while I clean up.

Devon: You're never going to see this cookie again, Mommy!  Never, never, never!  It's going to be IN MY STOMACH!  If you want to see it again, too bad!  Never going to happen!

 We've been trying to rotate activities, from play dough to paper dolls to coloring and back again.

 

Mealtimes in the new place are awesome!!!  The girls outgrew their high chairs as the move unfolded, and were able to transition easily into sitting at the table and feeding themselves exclusively from day one in the new house.  It's a transition I was putting off selfishly because of the food mess, but it was time.  Our first weekend as a family of five included a fool's errand drive to Dover, DE to pick up a used table and six chairs advertised on Craigslist.  The table has been such a blessing, being exactly big enough to seat the five of us without too much grabby hand interference and exactly small enough that I can reach all three kids across the table if I need to.  At $180 it's been by far our cheapest house purchase and it's not so special that I cringe at the yogurt handprints and crumbs that mar the surface.

We topped off the day with lunch at Chick-fil-A and the coldest beach trip ever!

As we stepped out of the car at Woodland Beach, I marveled at the cold and decided to keep the girls in the car.  As Daddy and Devon went out onto a tiny sandbar, I checked my weather app and it was 21 degrees!  On the way home, father and son told me all about it.  As they walked, ice and sand crunched around their shoes.  Devon has been asking to go back to the crunchy beach ever since.

This is what play group looks like!  A Methodist church in Delaware hosts every Thursday, snow or no.  It is so, so nice.  It's also interesting that I feel much less housebound here than in Florida already.  This playgroup would probably be at the beach in Florida and I couldn't join in.  There are so many places to play with four walls and a door.  We've joined MOPS, the closest thing to The Buggy Bunch around here, and are hopeful to make inroads into friendships very soon. 

Speaking of getting out more, this is a picture that wouldn't have been possible in Florida.  My three kids enjoying the sunshine after lunch while I calmly stand outside in one place and hold the camera.  

Wow!

It's a new experience for me to say "let's go outside" and have three kids run to the mudroom, put on their shoes and coats, and just go outside.  We're so grateful to have two acres here to give us a safety buffer against wandering.  So far, the kids instinctively stay close to the house and as long as I can keep all three in sight it's actually relaxing for me.  I can't describe how it felt the first time we did this.  It was sort of euphoric, like the top of my head was going to lift off.  It was also terrifying, because I had no idea what all three would do when I said it was time to come in.  Run in different directions?  Head for the road?  

When I yelled "Okay, time for hot chocolate!"  all three drove their scooters back into the garage and filed into the mudroom like they did it every day.  Unbelievable. 

We even go enjoy the snow while Daddy's at work.  The space makes all the difference.  I can't help but think that this will be a great place for them to grow up.

I'm such a sucker for little winter clothes.  These are from Auntie Amy and made the girls super happy.

I feel like I've missed out on two years of dressing the girls in fleeces and footie jammies and have lots of catching up to do.  Yes, the girls have been persuaded to wear jammies to bed, although I usually have to sneak back upstairs to zip Carrie's back up because she zips them down to stick a finger in her bellybutton as she sucks her thumb to sleep.

The kids were so disappointed by the first snow melt that we were actually grateful when twelve more inches arrived last week.  We watched the snowfall from the huge den windows.

Then we set to work.

Saturday morning mommy and Devon made pancakes to fortify us for a long day of snow play.

Yes, those are our repurposed sand rakes and shovels.  Hahahaha!!

Then we solved a pressing problem: what to do about a sledding hill on our very flat land.

Turns out, our back steps make a perfect toddler sized hill.  So cool, and so nice of Daddy to keep replenishing it as every run eroded it.  So much fun!

Devon:  You'll never get to do that again, my precious girlies.  All the turns will be MINE!
Mommy: Devon.......