and by the way

I changed the blog settings to allow comments from those of you without google accounts. So, feel free to send gushing remarks about the kids, or my writing skills . . .

Move in progress . . .

. . . and therefore, limited time to blog. Things will be slow over the next couple of weeks as we transition and wait for phone jacks. That's right--our new place has no phone jacks. We're only the third tenant since renovation and, apparently, no one else ever wanted phone jacks. Anyway--here is a bit of a preview.

I'll send an address via e-mail, but the new apartment is roughly in our same area of the city. It's about one mile from our current place in a "transitional" neighborhood. A bit more rough around the edges, but perfectly safe. We're excited to watch things develop over the next year.

The front door opens onto the longest hallway ever:
The kids already love racing up and down this hallway. It's too narrow to use for anything, unfortunately. There are two bedrooms, then a bathroom and one more room at the end of the hallway. I didn't take pictures of the bedrooms. They are boring while empty, but each has a window and a closet. They are a bit on the small size: roughly 8X10. We'll be in one and Joseph will be in the other. The bathroom is pretty standard. The last room will be the "study" but also has a laundry closet with large (!) washing machine. There is back door out of that room with this view:
Sorry, it's a bit blurry. There is a bit of a patio where we will soon be putting a little grill. There is a small side yard where the kids could play. Across the street, you can see the vacant, overgrown lot. Ahhh, urban blight. This would be an awesome neighborhood if all those vacant lots were developed.

The other room, to the right of the front door is kitchen/living/dining all in one. The kitchen is at one end:
That's all of it. Pretty small, but very beautiful. I'm so happy for the nice counter tops (I really hope that formica is out of my life for good) and the gas range. I'd definitely take more cupboards over the microwave and dishwasher, but, oh well. Next to the dishwasher is the world's largest refrigerator:
This thing is crazy. It also almost completely blocks the window behind it. We uncovered the top part and we like the urban view of brick walls. The other end of the main room looks like this:
That is, more or less, the living room. The whole room is about 20X13. Definitely small, but I'm glad that I'll be able to work in the kitchen while visiting with guests or watching the kids. Plus, since the dining room table will be, essentially, in the kitchen, I'll have more surface area for working that way.

We are really excited about this place. The configuration is a bit odd, but works well for us. Eric's study is so far down that hallway that he'll never hear us during the day while he works. And, sleeping kiddos won't be disturbed by noise in the living room. So, for example, when we pack up all our stuff again in one year, the sound of the tape gun won't bother anyone.

I'll try to post again more specifically about the kids soon. But, keep us in your prayers as we move Saturday!

In case you were wondering . . .

. . . why the baby aisle at Target carries jumbo-packs of those little plastic things to plug into electrical sockets . . .

Margaret is such a little climber. She still won't crawl on her knees, but I think that's in part because she is SO FAST on her belly, and partly in imitation of her brother. They look so cute racing around together commando-style. But, Margaret easily gets up to her knees when she wants to stand. She's cruising all around the apartment. Yesterday she got from end-table to couch to bookcase to end-table to Daddy! She can scale small piles of things (and not-so-small piles of things). I'm a bit nervous for her safety as we're beginning to pack and there are pyramids of boxes everywhere.

She has tried letting go and standing on her own a couple times and immediately plops to the ground. But I think we definitely have an early walker on our hands.

And she's doing her best to get in the way of the other walker in our family . . .

Don't tackle your sister!

Of course, when the sister laughs hysterically when tackled, it does not reinforce my admonishments.

Actually, the kids have been getting along great, lately. Joseph's new thing is to come up behind me and say, "I love you too, Mommy," while hugging my legs. He's started doing the same to Margaret. Very cute.