Finally (sort of) Settled In

It's been so long since the last time I blogged and so much has happened since then that I hardly know where to begin. For starters, we're finally semi-officially moved into our new house. Unfortunately thanks to a handful of unexpected, um, glitches, it will probably be a couple months before we feel fully settled. The good news is that at least Anna's room is done. After all the upheaval, Josh and I wanted to make sure that her room was all girly and good to go before we got into the house. Mission accomplished. She loves her room. She especially loves her big new closet because she can see all of her clothes at once and put together fancy ensembles and demonstrated below. Mary Kate and Ashely Olsen have nothing on Anna when it comes to creating those wildly disheveled yet somehow chic looks. She is a true fashionista which must be the result of my eBay escapades because it certainly did not come from me directly. (And doubly certainly did not come from her father whose idea of great fashion is his "Many Faces of Chuck Norris" t-shirt that he paid a dollar for at a thrift store.) What's not so great is just about everything else that's going on with the house. There are about four hundred years of weeds and overgrown trees to deal with, a broken dishwasher, a broken dryer, and a leak in the downstairs bathroom ceiling. All of these, though, pale in comparison to the wonderful buckling wall that we discovered shortly after settling on the house. Josh eneded up having to rip the whole back of the house -- roof included -- apart and basically rebuild it. Right now that skeleton of a room is just standing there staring at us and has forced us (and the oversized furniture we bought for the room) into our tiny living room. It feels constantly cramped and chaotic and frankly, if I step on a plastic farm animal one more time I think I'm gonna lose my mind. I'm sincerely hoping we're able to finish the family room off soon, soon, soon. At least we know (or hope) that this is our forever house, so all the work and money is a good investment. And lest I give the impression that everything is just awful right now, let me state for the record that I love my hard working husband and my two crazy kids more than ever. Jack is still a ridiculous handful -- shunning sleep almost as much as ever -- but he's adorable and sweet. It also doesn't hurt that now we have about a billion family members and friends who are nearby and willing to help me whenever I need it. So, even though the move has been stressful, it is all working out for the best.