New baby, new city, new house, new perspective. This year has been a year of changes, both good and those more of a refining fire type. In February little baby Zacary came into this world and made it even brighter. I'm amazed how calm and happy he is and so laid back! I thought I was done having babies so I've had to get back into baby mode and preparing for each new stage, my life revolving around naps and feedings and lack of sleep. So I think I see a lot of outlet covers, unfinished To Do lists, and coffee in my future. The other kids have adjusted well to having a new baby around. Ryan is helpful with doing some chores for me. Connor is the best at making Zac laugh. The other day in the car Zac started crying and Connor started playing an intense game of peek a boo and Zac's giggle was just as intense. Isabel likes to get in his face and speak baby talk which is quite funny. Somehow it is hard to remember our family without a Zacary in it.
After adding a new addition to the family we quickly out grew our tiny home. At the end of March I started, with our realtor Lynne, house hunting and house hunting and house hunting. By May 15th we still hadn't gotten a house. We tried on two different houses but lost them to other applicants. We had to get out of our house and David and I decided to move into an efficiency. So the next five weeks of our lives we lived in the hotel. The hotel was only about two miles away from the boys school and about five miles from David's office. Suddenly I felt my world shrink. From a house to a one room hotel, from the distance to friends and family to the hotel to school, school to hotel. Even my bed, a king to a full. My back was not happy with me. There wasn't much for the kids to do in the hotel. there was no pool or playground. So almost everyday after school we made a trip to a park and so they wouldn't get bored we switched it up and went to different parks almost every time. Isabel's favorite thing to do was to take bath and play like she was in the pool. Thank God we didn't have to pay the water bill! Since living with three active kids, a young baby, and David in one room wasn't enough, at about three weeks in I got really sick. I would feel so cold that I'd violently shiver one minute and the next I'd be burning up and soaking in sweat. I could barely stay awake and I couldn't keep anything down so taking the kids to school and feeding them was almost impossible. After four days of a 104 fever I went to the doctor and found out I had an infection. After antibiotics I almost immediately felt better. Then it was back to house hunting. After two more weeks of no luck we look at a house I found online that wasn't in the area David wanted to live because it was farther than he wanted to drive to work each day, but after looking at it I knew it was perfect. A total of five weeks in the hotel and after school ended we decided to spend the last two weeks at my mom's house. I couldn't wait to have more than one room for us to live in and a bed bigger than a full to sleep in. The next two weeks were full of excitement of moving day getting closer and anxiety of getting all our stuff moved and all the other things that have to be in place to move.
We are now P-Town residents. Our neighborhood is nice and quiet. It's a pretty neighborhood near the Elizabeth River. The houses are all large, old and well cared for. Our home was built in the 60s and is perfect for hosting! Yay! I love to host! I have also found that , for me, it is easier to keep my 3000 square foot home clean than it was to keep my 1100 square foot home. Everything has a place! Dare I say I have TOO much space? Never! I've also found I don't hate cooking as much and I thought I did. I just don't like cooking in a tiny cell where I feel I am being punish and sent to my corner to think about what I did. I love my kids, but it is also wonderful to have a playroom so that they have a place to run around and be loud and crazy. I can now hear my thoughts. I can now sit on the couch and not get jumped on because I sat in the middle of their "boat" where you have to jump around to keep the sharks from eating them. We have a whole dedicated room for that! I'm super excited to get to host the Gonzalez Thanksgiving and the Gleason Christmas. Now all I have to do now is find a dining room table the expands to fit 10 to 12 people. No big deal right?
I've decided to try this blogging stuff. It's my way of keeping in touch with those that aren't living close by and for those who are but life gets in the way of keeping in touch. I'm really bad at keeping in touch. It's the Gleason curse. Please sign up to follow my blog if you are interested in what David and I and the kiddos are doing. After reading this post you are pretty much up to date on the big things that have happened this year. In posts to come I will included pictures. I'm not a photographer or a writer, but I do like to share my life with those closest to me.
