Hi.
My brother Patrick will not read any of this post because there are TOO MANY WORDS!!
My brother Patrick will not read any of this post because there are TOO MANY WORDS!!
My heart has been plagued by homesickness this week. I don't think it's been for any reason in particular, but I've felt a little bit heavy. You know what hasn't helped? Instagram. Seeing all of the pretty NYC photos from friends every day. Or knowing that my really great brother in law is in New York with my amazing friend (who he is dating, hooray!) and we're not there. Also! Fall! Texas apparently doesn't have it. The plus side is that Q & I went to the pool a few times last week & lounged around in our swimsuits in 90˚ weather. We could really, really get used to the warm. The down side is that I'm pretty sure that winter in Houston is like 3 weeks long, & it won't hit until January - & maybe it will get just a little bit chilly. In the meantime, I feel like I'm in some strange place where time stands still & summer never goes away (yet I see pumpkins!). I'm a four seasons girl - raised in the Northwest, educated in Utah, lived in New York - & this will all take some getting used to. I'm really sad about not having fall colors, wearing fall clothes (I love fall clothes) & having that crispness to the air. So. No fall = some sad feelings. Anyway. You know what does help? Phone calls with good friends, upcoming super-duper fun plans, & throwing all of the scraps from dinner right down into the garbage disposal for the first time in 6+ years. But still! Homesick.
We've had a busy weekend. Errands, some meals out (we found a great burger place) & some much needed time together as a family. It's been nice. Also: In the past 72 hours, I've ordered an ottoman for our living room, returned an ottoman, & ordered another ottoman. Ottomans are tricky! Furnishing a house is tricky. It's been fun, but it requires a tremendous amount of patience (which has never been my strong point). I'm sure our house will look really fantastic by the time Quinn starts preschool. Until then - this week, our bed comes! And our couch, too. We're going to have a couch in our living room! I cannot even begin to describe how happy this makes me. And our dresser comes the week after that (even though I have no idea what will actually go in our dresser - thank you, Texas-sized closets), & then I have some serious plans for our walls, & then I need to figure out window coverings (stress). And then! Well, I have a zillion other things to take care of, & then maybe our house just might stop echoing.
We've had a busy weekend. Errands, some meals out (we found a great burger place) & some much needed time together as a family. It's been nice. Also: In the past 72 hours, I've ordered an ottoman for our living room, returned an ottoman, & ordered another ottoman. Ottomans are tricky! Furnishing a house is tricky. It's been fun, but it requires a tremendous amount of patience (which has never been my strong point). I'm sure our house will look really fantastic by the time Quinn starts preschool. Until then - this week, our bed comes! And our couch, too. We're going to have a couch in our living room! I cannot even begin to describe how happy this makes me. And our dresser comes the week after that (even though I have no idea what will actually go in our dresser - thank you, Texas-sized closets), & then I have some serious plans for our walls, & then I need to figure out window coverings (stress). And then! Well, I have a zillion other things to take care of, & then maybe our house just might stop echoing.
What else.
Quinn hates his pediatrician. HATES him. Or at least is thoroughly terrified of him. The thing is, this is the NICEST MAN YOU WILL EVER MEET. The nicest. He got down on the floor & crawled around with him, has a wall of singing fish in his office, carries around a stuffed lizard & speaks in his very best lizard voice (it is a very good lizard voice), & has the biggest, happiest smile you've ever seen. So of course Q is terrified of him. Of course. We saw him twice last week (his 1 year appointment & a follow up for his first ear infection that miraculously cleared itself up), & each time Q was as happy as could be with the nurses. But Dr. Edralin? Terrified. Big + fat alligator tears. Burying himself in my arms. It is so embarrassing. Poor boy.
Mike is home all week! It's his first week not traveling since we moved here, & I'm going to be happy, happy to have him home at night (especially since travel will pick right back up again the week following). I really love being a mother, but every day + all day + all night is not so much fun. Really though - Mike is happy with his job, & we're happy that he has it, & especially that while he's busy working away, I get to be in such a safe & happy place (even if it's sometimes a little bit of a lonely place). And Grey's Anatomy started last week, my house is still sort of in shambles & I haven't even sorted through our Europe photos yet. Oh, & I have a toddler (!?), so I have plenty of things to keep me occupied when he's away.
Speaking of Q basically being in junior high already, he is so big & grown up all of a sudden (a sentence I will undoubtedly be using over & over again for the next several decades). But seriously! He's all about swinging fast these days & gives me a look that's like Mama, I've totally got this.
And speaking of the park: Have I mentioned that I'm basically a minority in my neighborhood? Seriously, I go to the park & no one is speaking English. No one. I mean, they can speak English. But the kids are running around in their little packs speaking a zillion miles an hour & I can't understand a thing that they're saying, & when we meet our neighbors, we find that they've come from all over the place. Our two-houses-down neighbors had us in the other night - they're from Mexico & run a business from the United States (something that is quite common in The Woodlands, with many families escaping the violence in Mexico & coming here) - & the husband looked at me & flat out asked why I didn't fluently speak Spanish. Um. I'm adding that to my to-do list right this second (because I really didn't have a good answer except that I'm lazy & only took two years of high school Spanish - but I got A's!!).
Lastly: We're (Q is) weaning. Well. We're seriously thinking about it anyway, & I cut out a feeding today & gave him some fruit + quinoa instead. This already makes my heart sad, & makes me think about how hard it will be for him to start preschool, go to summer camp & leave for college. But it's time! I think. Eventually. Probably.
Sigh.
Photos!
Mike is home all week! It's his first week not traveling since we moved here, & I'm going to be happy, happy to have him home at night (especially since travel will pick right back up again the week following). I really love being a mother, but every day + all day + all night is not so much fun. Really though - Mike is happy with his job, & we're happy that he has it, & especially that while he's busy working away, I get to be in such a safe & happy place (even if it's sometimes a little bit of a lonely place). And Grey's Anatomy started last week, my house is still sort of in shambles & I haven't even sorted through our Europe photos yet. Oh, & I have a toddler (!?), so I have plenty of things to keep me occupied when he's away.
Speaking of Q basically being in junior high already, he is so big & grown up all of a sudden (a sentence I will undoubtedly be using over & over again for the next several decades). But seriously! He's all about swinging fast these days & gives me a look that's like Mama, I've totally got this.
And speaking of the park: Have I mentioned that I'm basically a minority in my neighborhood? Seriously, I go to the park & no one is speaking English. No one. I mean, they can speak English. But the kids are running around in their little packs speaking a zillion miles an hour & I can't understand a thing that they're saying, & when we meet our neighbors, we find that they've come from all over the place. Our two-houses-down neighbors had us in the other night - they're from Mexico & run a business from the United States (something that is quite common in The Woodlands, with many families escaping the violence in Mexico & coming here) - & the husband looked at me & flat out asked why I didn't fluently speak Spanish. Um. I'm adding that to my to-do list right this second (because I really didn't have a good answer except that I'm lazy & only took two years of high school Spanish - but I got A's!!).
Lastly: We're (Q is) weaning. Well. We're seriously thinking about it anyway, & I cut out a feeding today & gave him some fruit + quinoa instead. This already makes my heart sad, & makes me think about how hard it will be for him to start preschool, go to summer camp & leave for college. But it's time! I think. Eventually. Probably.
Sigh.
Photos!
(This child of mine is always trying to grab my camera. Always.)
8 comments:
xoxo sending love to you my friend.
Jane hated her first pediatrician. We switched to save the trauma. However, Q might be in the stage where every Dr. office is traumatizing.
Cutest boy in the swing. Its amazing you're so close to the park!
that makes me sad that you're homesick, and i'm glad mike is there this week. save all your homesickness for next week so we can make it feel better at northpark.
i need to hear the ottoman story.
and his squishy little legs in the swing? i love it.
sorry you are sad. nothing will beat fall in ny. i get depressed too just thinking about it.
ugh. anyway. fun plans ahead! and quinn really is so sweet.
go make that cake. it will make things all better.
I feel you pain! (Moved from SLC to Tucson just over a year ago.) How can stores be carrying autumn clothes when it is still spicy hot outside? Halloween candy? It is still on the 90's! But you know what, warm climates are great I nthe winter when friends with 4 seasons are freezing and need a warm place to escape! And yes, I have Spanish CD's in my car, I don't listen as often as I should, but it is the language expected in these parts! Hang in there, it does get easier!
~Leah
hmm. maybe we should plan our ski trip for this winter?? would that make you feel better? we could even go to aspen or telluride this time (vail & breck are really fun too though). then you can freeze your little buns to your hearts content!
I sort of want to hear the ottoman story too! Did you return the one you bought on instagram or was that the second one?
Why don't we live closer? A bunch of us? It would make life a whole lot easier with the husbands are working or traveling and we go to the park..
I'm dying. Q is killing me.
So much personality in such a tiny package, Mr. Q. Thank heavens his knees still have baby chub, otherwise - total junior high kid right there.
I'm sorry you're homesick. I wish there were magic words to fix that. {hugs} Tu puedes practicar espanol conmigo!
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