New Table & Chairs Super Sleuth

Last weekend Will finally convinced me to go to "The Dump", a discount furniture showroom here in the Houston area. I hadn't wanted to go, I just thought it would be ucky, but actually it was quite nice and they had good deals on great quality furniture. We were able to find a dining table and chairs set that we both like very much.

The Dump buys their items from manufacturer's overstock or discontinued lines. This means that it is nearly impossible to find the same items on the internet to see how much of a deal you are getting. Well, OK, I know it was a good deal, but being a total deal-hound, it is bugging me that I can't verify exactly what I saved. Today Will rented a uhaul trailer and went and got our new furniture and there was a defunct web site address on the boxes that I used to get to a architectural review website, I still can't find prices but at least here's a picture of the table and some very similar chairs. Our side chairs have curly-q arm rests, not straight ones as in the picture, but you can more or less get an idea. I can't just take a picture of our actual furniture because it is all boxed up awaiting our move to The Big New House.

The changing pad and the changing pad

Recently a friend posted a cute picture of her nearly two year son on his back on the changing table, calmly reading a book while being changed - how adorable! By contrast, I am certain that any day now I will receive the recall notice that my changing pad is secretly infused with crack. Here's Bella, who has decided mid-change to explore the supplies basket. (Note - this picture makes it look like she could fall off the dresser but I was standing right next to her I promise, please don't turn me into Nancy Grace or anything!)




So, next I have updated pics of the new house. Here's the fireplace - our Texas Star will go right above the mantel. OK, so there's no mantel yet but just imagine a rustic wood beam above the fire part and then the big metal Texas star above that -

The kitchen if you are standing in the breakfast area looking in -

The landscaping is in. This is what the builder puts in, we will probably end up changing it to suit our tastes eventually but it is very nice for the time being.



The electrical and fixtures are all in - here's a closer shot of the front door & porch light.

The back of the house (there is now grass but not in this pic)

The front of the house by day -
And by night -

Weight Correction

Bella weighed in at 16 pounds 10 ounces on her most recent doctor's visit, so I'm thinking that when I posted that she was just under 16 pounds that I must have gotten the number wrong somehow. Anyway, I know its minor but still, it was bugging me!

Getting Settled...

We are all settled in to our rental house and this week was really our first week in a long time to get back into a regular routine. It feels fantastic to be back on schedule, eat meals at home, have children in bed on time and actually have some down time every now and then. How wonderful to curl up with a book (Stephenie Meyer's The Host is FANTASTIC by the way) or some mindless Bravo TV (Top Chef rules!) at the end of the day.

In other news - Bella is 9 months old today. She weighs just under 16 pounds - definitely on the petite side but growing well and proportionately. She isn't walking yet but she has a very fast crawl, loves to climb and stands supported for long periods of time. She is such the dare devil that I think it is just a matter of time (a few weeks even wouldn't surprise me) before she takes that first step! She is eating all manner of "solid" baby food and even some real foods such as cheerios, mashed potatoes, little pieces of biscuit and puffs. She babbles and chatters up a storm, we've hit all the major consonants and vowel sounds (ma, da, muh, puh, bah, buh, etc.) plus a lot of tongue clicking and raspberries. She copies her big brother whenever possible and his antics keep her laughing that deep baby belly laugh that I love. She just continues to be a really sunny, happy, laid back baby. She wakes a few times at night to eat but goes right back to sleep and is no trouble.

Mother's Day was low key for us - made special by Coldstone ice cream and a trip down to the swimming pool. The swimming left Will and I both convinced that we would love to one day have our own pool. Not so much because it was so great, but because it was so wild. You know sometimes I really feel like we are some of the last parents on earth that discipline their children - or even watch their children. I was truly appalled at how parents were just clueless about their children's behavior and safety down at the pool. OK, rant over!

Here's some pictures of my children after Abby Beasley's birthday party last Saturday - hooray naps for everyone!

Lastly, here's a fairly updated shot of the new house, although now we have 2 trees and a front door not shown here.

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The Move

I have a confession to make - I love moving. I always have. I like the way living spaces look without all the day to day clutter. Everything is clean and simple, the bare bones-edness of that first night when you go to bed exhausted, fully satisfied with just clean underwear and a toothbrush. I like the simplicity and spaciousness that exist in those first few days. I like the straightforwardness of the tasks - clean, pack, carry, unpack, fold, put away, stack the boxes. Moving is good, earnest work, it wears you out and you sleep well at the end of it.

You sleep well, that is, unless you are three. In which case you will stay awake until ten every night! Actually, Jacob is adapting really well to being in the Little While House. He is such a lover of routine that I was worried, but he's taken it all in stride. Apart from struggling a bit at bedtime, he has really done great.

Despite the long days we are all feeling very happy and relaxed - the hard parts are all behind us - we've sold the house, gotten our money, moved into the temporary house and now all we have to do is relax and shop while the new one is finished. We are already really liking being further down on a cul de sac, we've clocked a lot of hours in the front yard and drive way of the rental and so I am even more excited now about being at the back of a cul de sac on our real house. Will jokes about this because the back yard is so big on the new house and yet he knows that I will spend a lot of time in the tiny front yard. I tell him this my Mexican-ness and he shouldn't try to understand or change me! :)


If you ever watch the HGTV show "Sleep On It" our lives are kind of like an extended version - there are things we love about our rent house (huge pantry, covered back porch, air conditioning that rocks compared with our old house) and things we really don't care for at all (hall bath is cramped, living room is a mustard yellow sponge paint). We are incredibly blessed to have a house to rent for these next few weeks but also terribly grateful that it isn't permanent.

Our "Little While House"


The Not-So- Mellow Yellow Living Room



Our Big New House is coming along great, they have finished all the brick and stone and put up the cedar timbers and when we came around the corner to see it my breath caught in my throat - I just LOVE it so much! I don't have any photos yet of the finished facade, but here are a few from last week as the stone and brick was just going up -

The front -



The side of the house -