Stay-at-home mom tips: Volume 1

Disappearing into the bathroom with a book is a great way to get some no-questions-asked alone time.

The great transition

Only one week left in our beautiful Alaska home. The home where John and I began our life together, the home where we first brought our beautiful baby girl.

I've been focusing on treating this move as less of a "good-bye" and more of a "see-you-later" type thing. But every once in a while, little reminders sneak up on me of just how emotionally tough this whole moving business is. Shoot, there are times when all I have to do is look at the flowers in my backyard and I get all weepy.

But writing is therapeutic. Just when I think I want to wax poetic about the deep emotional ties I have to my raspberry bushes, I remember the mosquitoes that prey mercilessly on me as I try to pick berries. Just when I'm about to expound on the profound loss I will feel for our decks, I remember the bee hives that lurk beneath them. When I ask the age-old question how I will cope without 20 hours of daylight in the summer, I remember the 20 hours of darkness in the winter.

I also remember how I didn't really fall in love with our house until we were faced with the prospect of leaving it. How sick I was of being buried by snow for 6 months at a time. How much I craved a real road trip. How I truly believe that starting in a new place together will be the best possible thing for my small, beloved family.

And at the same time...

I remember how, even though I love my family, I didn't really get the value of being here with them until I realized they won't be right around the corner anymore. I didn't understand how much I cherish my friends and they cherish me until I told them we were leaving. How the isolation and tough conditions of Alaska breed a unique type of people, whom I will miss tremendously.

So as my heartstrings are being pulled every which way, I'm just going to put myself in God's hands and know that all things will work out.

And now, I'm going to dry my eyes and pull out one of my favorite books to read to Sofia -- Oh, The Places You'll Go, by the tremendous Dr. Seuss.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
through your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike,
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Real estate purgatory

Apparently selling and purchasing homes simultaneously is not compatible with having a life. The last few days have been nothing but a barrage of repairs, mortgage paperwork and headaches (mostly for John). But each day we get a little bit closer, and I think someone's currently replacing the lightbulb at the end of the tunnel, so we should be seeing that soon.

Thankfully, we have our own personal little angel wing to always cheer us up!

Playing catch up

Since I last blogged, here are the haps:

-Took trip to Portland without Sofia, fell in love with a house.
-Lost house to another couple.
-Mourned loss of house.
-Stewed over what to do next.
-Found out other couple lost house.
-Got house back.
-Celebration!
-Made new dance costume, got ready for Girdwood Forest Fair.
-Performed to Gypsy Underground at Forest Fair.
-Had a lovely Fourth of July at Forest Fair, and then at home with the Danilava-Smith clan.
-Began new session of dance classes.
-Adjusting to life with a walking toddler.
-Dealing with record-setting high temps.
-Hanging out in the park every day with Sofia.
-Being equally sad and excited about life outside of Alaska.

Here's a random assortment of recent pics:

These are from a trip out to Hatcher's Pass over Memorial Day weekend...







Hiking with Sofia in Glenn Alps, with Lucy getting too close to a mama moose and her two babies:



Our new house!



And finally, a cutie patootie shot of Sof and her bud Alyssa: