2 Weeks In!

Ok! Lots to update on! I made it through my first PMS in the heat and humidity and things are starting to look up!

On June 8th, we drove over two hours to Ikea (in Joseph's BMW with broken A/C, windows up, children whining and Joseph stressed about traffic). We got to Ikea and it was a madhouse. We loaded the car so full we couldn't see the children which was a blessing and a curse. We made a stop at Starbucks for some coffee and potty break then another 2 hours home. Lord. Got home and kids went to bed, Joseph and I built everything (getting in only ONE fight that was mild-moderate then resolved). Since then, the place has felt like home. Pictures:

Here I am crammed in the BMW with all of the stuff (you can see the instructions for the couch bottom left because we had to unwrap the whole thing and put the pieces all over. Note the sweat in my hair and crazy in my eyes. Note how fine Josiah looks)

The boys enjoying their ice water at Starbucks. Major Seattle representation right here.

Lily before realizing Joseph threw away the rest of her water while she was in the bathroom so she didn't dump ice all over the car. I did not take pictures during the melt downs. I was having an internal melt down.

Our $40 table and $12 chairs with $5 curtain panels. Finally a sense of home!

After all of the building, I heard a crash in the bathroom. here is Lukie with his pants down after deciding to sit on the bathtub and pulling everything down on him. This has been a theme for Lukie since moving. I couldn't stop laughing.

Boys enjoying our first breakfast at the new table. I can't flip the photo on this blog. So 2006.

I put together a Saturday morning feast with Ikea cinnamon rolls for our first weekend there.

After the feast, I went out for 4 hours to breath. Ends up you just need to take a breath in then let it out and a sense of calm *can* be yours. I got free refills on my coffee and a croissant (more like a dense roll... *snob emoji*) while reading my Wild Feminine book. It seemed necessary to start with a mimosa. It was hibiscus ginger tea with champagne. Perfect for Florida!

Thinking through my own concepts of femininity

My very helpful homework questions (later talked through with Erin)

Spent an evening sleeping in my bedroom/office praying for Sarah in labor (hence the candle.. we burned through a couple) and designing a tattoo for between my shoulders. Wild Feminine can be so inspiring!

Here is all the meaning: firstly, the drawings of the heart/womb represent the two "hearts" in my body. I've connected them with symbolic plants because I love the connection between the heart and womb. They are anatomically correct because I love the mix of science and art. The cherry blossoms are my favorite spring flower. They are beauty, new beginnings and Seattle. The peonies are mom/Stacey's favorite flowers and represent my strong influences. The little red dot flowers coming off the top right are flowers that can grow most anywhere; they are adaptable. I am also that way. The fern and pine branch are my childhood staples and will always represent home to me. I will add some wild flowers along the left branch of the cherry blossom because I'm wild and I had wild flowers all over my wedding reception. So that was a productive couple of hours.

We had Lukie's The Boss Day at Toys R Us so he could spend the wads of cash given to him for his birthday! He chose this slip-n-slide, 2 swords, a transformer, a couple Hot Wheels, a Hot Wheels rolling carrier case (which he obsessively reorganized over and over... ahem.. Joseph's son), a lizard and a pterodactyl (which is weirdly real looking and he keeps making it hug me with its tiny pokey fingernail hands *shutter*)

Here is the first time at our neighborhood pool...

And here is from this weekend. They have new swimsuits, pool toys and much more confidence! They are the *only* kids who can't swim. There are 3 year olds dive bombing off the sides and swimming while their moms chat nonchalantly. Josiah looks like a huge clumsy kid because he's so old to not have swim lessons. Total Florida mom fail but I feel good about it. 

My favorite tree to look at while I sit outside drinking cold tea.

The back yard panorama for you. Note the beeping of the construction in the background. Behind our fence, I am watching trees go down one by one. The kids love it but it's really ruining my morning vibes. Below are pictures of Lily that she requested I take. On the right, she would like you to know she is dumping water onto herself (so you can think it's funny).

Father's Day was fun this year. I took the kids to the grocery store (where everything Joseph loves exists) and Krispy Kreme. They got balloons at the store so we had something to decorate with. The kids made cards and told him what they loved about him then had major meltdowns. The afternoon was haircut time for all since Joseph went out to get one. I carried on my tradition of trying really hard to make their hair look normal while they cry that it's itchy. Super fun. I also took the shaver up the back of my neck and took off quite a bit of hair without looking. Joseph came home and made it look not-terrible. I didn't touch the front so at least you can't tell I impulsively shaved myself. I feel sooooo much better though. I think everyone in Florida should shave their necks.

This brings us to the present. I'm currently looking for a job. I found a posting for an open interview and decided to jump on it. I wasn't nervous for the interview because I really didn't want the job (it involves a lot of wiping people, ventilators and death) but needed the practice. When I parked in front of a swamp with a sign to not feed the alligators, my heart started pumping! I couldn't hardly lock the car because I was so focused on the swamp. No alligators, no danger and apparently no need to worry. However, I'm from Seattle and alligators=full chase, terror, teeth.

Ok that is all! If you're wondering why the font size changed (because that would really make me curious)- the small font is a caption to a specific photograph. It would not let me create a caption if the photo was next to another one. Again, so 2006. Because of that, I just typed freely underneath the 2 times I had side-by-side photos instead of making a caption. I hope this clears things up.

I love you all.