Quick, pictureless update

Graduation was wildly fun--lots of Matt's relatives came into town to celebrate with us, and we got to see everyone we love best before we left.  I even managed to fake my way out of a few tearful goodbyes by pretending I would see people soon.  Then, of course, I cried like a love-sick teenager in the privacy of my own car as we drove out of town.  I signed up for the military life with Matt to meet new people, see new places...kinda forgot that I couldn't just load them all up in the back of the truck when the next move came. Stinks.  

But it's not all doom and gloom here.  A list of things I love about Vegas so far: 

1.  The house is really wonderful.  Although it could be significantly improved by say, furniture and dishes, we already got lovely new tropical brown granite countertops installed.  I now spend more time than I should lovingly rubbing them with a burp cloth, but I haven't quite gotten to the point of naming them or anything, so it's all under control. 

2.  We have this giant, moon-like pointy mountain a few blocks from our house, standing separate from the nearby mountain range.  It is appropriately (though not very creatively) named "Lone Mountain" and beckons me to come clamber and dirt bike and explore.  It's a lovely reminder that despite commercialism and development, all God has to keep wildness about a place is just stick a big fat mountain in the middle.  Try moving that thing with a backhoe!

3.  The tile floor that we planned to complete in 2 days only took us 5.  Knowing that for most home improvement projects, (time actually spent) = (time planned)x3, we came in an entire day behind schedule and rewarded ourselves by showering (for the first time in.....) and going out for dinner.  And now, I have a truly awe inspiring porcelain-tiled bathroom floor.  Be sure to schedule time for an unsolicited tour should you ever be invited for dinner.  

4.  Clouds roll in over the mountains in the evenings, and although we haven't actually had rain here, we've seen it falling in the distance in streaky watercolor brilliance.  It also makes for sunsets layered with color and texture.  All completely unobstructed by any pesky trees.  

5.  The girl down the street had me over for dinner, the next door neighbors gave us gardening tips, and a lady out taking a walk gave me tips on where the good local gyms are.  I can already see that the neighborhood is friendly and that people are ready to make new friends.  

6.  Best of all, Matt is on his way back home now from picking Jack and Charlotte up from Salt Lake.  Our whole family will finally be reunited, and this house will finally begin to feel like a home.  

Here's Jack at his fabulous baseball 4th birthday party. I have a 4 year old now???
Here is Anna being her darling self in the exersaucer.
Matt and the kids as we celebrate his birthday, after he got back from his long trip to Vegas. I'm sure that they had a good reason for being naked...
Here is Matt wearing his new "the Todd" scrub cap and a shirt that says, "Trust me, I'm a doctor." I mean, if we're going to do the over confident surgeon thing, let's be thorough.... :)

parenting

While Matt was away (and praise heaven, he's home now), I had to, out of necessity more than anything else, adjust my parenting strategy from "you'll obey me or else" to more of a "long suffering and gentle persuasion".  Trouble was that the "or else" part---a time out, a spanking, or revoked privileges, was never enough to conquer Jack's stubborn streak.  It literally sometimes devolved into shouting matches: "Jack, Mommy said no!" with him responding, "Mommy, but Jack said YES!"  Sound familiar to anyone? :)  Anyway, we've moved to a system in which I ask the kids to obey, explain why I want them to, and help along with them, but unless it's really important (like when Jack opened the back gate and ran off, or when Charlotte tried to wrestle the baby out of the exersaucer), I don't really use punishments.  Because they don't work. 

 I'm teeter-tottering the equilibrium between too strict and too lax--and I've gotten a couple of disapproving looks at grocery stores ("Hmpf!  I know that if that were my child, they would be under control...").  I've also, gratifyingly,  had a few people tell me they can't believe how well behaved my children were.  I blinked, cleaned my ears out a little, and looked at them suspiciously...but it's true.  I do have pretty awesome kids, and one of the big problems before was that I was just always assuming they were out to get me.  Which is, well, mainly untrue.  I'll let you know how our continued parenting battles go--let me know how you deal with the discipline teeter-totter.  

Yesterday, Matt picked up the keys to our new house and spent the rest of the evening in little boy glee measuring things and pulling off floorboards and in general satisfying the handyman within. For which I am very grateful. There is no handywoman within me--not even a little one. I tried to paint my bedroom once in high school and it took me 3 months, and even then the only way I finished was by bribing a group of friends with pizza.

It's gray and cold here AGAIN, and on days like this, I feel like maybe I could trade all of my friends and comfort and security for friendly strangers and blue skies...

**Sorry, MD friends! I didn't mean it.....really...want to move to Vegas with me?**

Homeowner--yikes!

We found a house! I went to Las Vegas during the last week in January because it was the only time I could go and still have free (= Matt was off work) babysitting. I saw nearly 20 houses over 3 days, but finally settled on this one in Northwestern LV. Here it is, in all its stuccoed glory. To satisfy the middle-westerner within, there is a neat square of grass in the middle of the backyard desert landscape, but all things considered, I actually think the spiky plants and rocks are pretty cool.

Why didn't I take the picture?!

So, yesterday, while I was in the middle of unearthing my house from various layers of child debris in preparation for preschool, I left breakfast out on the kitchen counter. I know, rookie mistake. Next thing I know, half of the surfaces (the lower half) in my home are covered in cream cheese fingerpaint, and I catch Charlotte contentedly drawing swirls on the kitchen floor. In that moment, I was furious and incredulous, but I also had a little corner of myself that said, "you know that you're going to laugh about this someday..." Unfortunately, a much larger corner of myself started insisting that Charlotte follow me around with a dishcloth wiping walls and bookcases before I could take a picture. Now, I'm really wishing I had, because, in the grand scheme of things, it was a really cute thing for her to do. Someday, I will have a hard time convincing her that she wasn't always 16 and that I still see the finger-painting toddler when I look at her. If only I had photo evidence! Anything that you wish that you had taken a picture of, but hadn't?