the rhythm of our new home

As mentioned in the last post I wanted to share a few new pictures of our place.  Mind you we are still slowly unpacking and moving things around a tad, but overall it is done for now and for the next 8 months... until we have to pack it all back up again (sigh).  Even though we are only here for a short stint many things will happen here... a baby will be born, Isabelle will become a big sister, and a certain momma and daddy need to feel like they are living in their own space.

                      
                       kitchen (w/ a dishwasher!)                                   living room

                                               
                   dining room w/ anniversary flowers                   stairs down to the water

isabelle playing by the lake

And as our life begins to settle and we feel more at home our daily rhythms are slowly making their way back into our lives.   Since I am home now full time (also with no car and 15 minutes from anywhere until the commute situation is figured out) with Isabelle I am slowly realizing how important these rhythms are to my ability to be momma all day, every day.  I gather a lot of inspiration from some passed down Waldorf books (thanks Scott, Deb & Mia!) and am happy to say that so far things have been going well.  I tend to be a task master and thrive on efficiency.... and this job forces the exact opposite - it's ok to take a half an hour to clean dishes with my little helper even though it might really only take me 5 minutes (and possibly result in cleaner dishes...).  By following a simply structured day Isabelle is naturally seeking her own play time and seems to be content with our current situation (even though she does ask once and a while when we might see her friends, go to school, or visit co-op kids).

we start with a morning circle to sing songs and celebrate the new day

isabelle loves this time (asks for it all day) even though she would never participate in library or co-op kids circle days - she loves to sing and dance

we do something together

like make applesauce from a handwritten recipe (thanks jodi!)

                 

and then Isabelle plays house

and feeds her dolls

And then we sort of repeat the whole thing again in one way or another.  It has only been a few days of just me and her and in some ways I anticipated wanting to pull my hair out... but it has been really good so far and I am feeling really positive about the next few months that Isabelle and I have just to ourselves.

i have even had time to start whipping up little things for all those babies out there

there are so many of you with baby bellies that need some knit goodies...

 and lastly, but surely not least, we get to spend our evening with daddy showing him how well we wash the dishes together

thank yous

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days, as you can imagine our lives have been full of unpacking, rediscovering toys, wondering how we accumulated so many toys, trying to hide half of the toys, and most importantly creating a space to call home.  First and foremost, I have to thank my parents for spending the weekend with us and providing emotional and physical support.  Mental break downs were tamed with comments like "lets go get more cabinet liners!" and "it is way bigger than I expected, no smell at all"...  And also a huge thank you to our dear friend Joel who flew out to Idaho only to drive back with Aaron and then help us unpack our moving truck - THANK YOU.

isabelle and grammy enjoying the view

So while our my first impressions of our new rental were dismal (I decided to trash my original post I wrote a few days ago....way too negative...I'm glad I held off on posting it)  it has turned out to be great.  After moving all of our things in and moving the owners things into the basement it feels like home - and a pretty darn good one.  We are nestled right on Mascoma Lake with a beautiful view of leaf colors to come.  We have a comfy living room, decent space in the kitchen, a dining room, and three bedrooms.  And by three bedrooms I mean a guest room (/baby room)....and by guest room I mean come visit!  Seriously - if you can, the leaf peeping on the lake will be superb in the next few weeks and we  have plenty of space.

Yesterday Aaron and I also "celebrated" our 2nd anniversary - hard to believe it has been two years since the sun shined so hard on that beautiful fall day and that we have been partners in crime for just over 6 years now.  Today I hope to take some more photos of the place to give you an idea of our new home, but for the time being thanks for being patient and sending us all your positive thoughts - we have felt them.

the escape artist

stupid cat...

So much to blog about and I so don't want to overwhelm you with all the ugly details but will try to share the highlights - now that I can (sort of) laugh it off.  So.... Wednesday morning I wake up, eager to pack the car and head up to see our new home (for the next 9 months), and I go to check on Furio (who was exiled to the bathroom during the night due to excessive yowling) and the bathroom door is open and no signs of Furio.  First I think....someone must of accidentally let him out....man this is going to be a (insert bad word) trying to find him.  So I wander my parents house looking in some extra hairy places but no luck...then the kicker...my mom says the window screen has been knocked out and the (insert bad word here) cat must have jumped for it.  Sigh...anyone who has met this cat knows he is hardly tame and can't be caught...I lost the cat the DAY we are going to NH (insert several bad words and tears here).

Well, it turns out that I did at least find him (I did not catch him).  I followed the trail of my mothers cats gazes and a mysterious yowl my mom heard and found him in one of the several inconvenient locations to try and trap a cat at my parents house (if you haven't seen it think - wow this is a great place for a cat to hide...so many hidey holes....).  I tried four times to try and catch him.  Each coming up empty handed, soaked from morning dew, mumbling profanities, and an overwhelming amount of gross boob sweat accumulating each time (sorry if that is too graphic....I haven't experienced boob sweat until pregnancy and it is no fun....at all).

So with a heavy heart and no way of coaxing the cat I decided to leave him behind with the hopes that my mom (a critically acclaimed cat whisperer) and possibly enrolling a have a heart trap might do the trick once the cat decides he is hungry enough.  I'm hopeful but not certain it will work and that our new house (which is a whole other post I can't even start on right now...as I have gone into far more detail on this one side story and I promised I wouldn't) will not be minus one for too long.

oh and this is just the beginning... more to come later

heading north

Tomorrow we head north to our new home and to hold you over until we get there and get internet going I wanted to send you over to our good friend Melissa's blog for her daughter Maggie.  A few days ago Melissa blogged a very sweet post on Maggie & Isabelle's goodbyes - and posted some very cute and typical maggie and isabelle dress up photos.

check it out here.

Thank you Melissa!

a trip to the zoo, apple picking, and yes... more donuts...

Saturday we went to the Rojer Williams Zoo and this was definitely the first time Isabelle really loved the zoo.  In the past she has been a bit apprehensive or not to sure what to think of the animals - but not this time.  She ran from exhibit to exhibit squealing about what she would see next.  And of course her most favorite was the bald eagles - unfortunately they weren't close enough for her to see their "huge talons" but she knew they were there...

visiting the elephant

                 

isabelle's impression of the flamingos

                     

not quite sure that glass is thick enough between us and the bear

a ride on the carousel

the picture every rhode island family must have in an album somewhere...

Sunday morning we took a ride over to Narrow Lane Orchards to pick a big bag of apples.  Isabelle enjoyed taste testing and I pretended that rubbing the apple on my shirt got off whatever they sprayed the trees with....(sigh).  After the orchard we headed over to Allie's donuts for some deliciousness and then vegged out for the rest of the afternoon while grammy made an apple pie.  

sporting her new purple zoo baseball cap

i know most of you know- but i have nothing to do with the clothing she puts on her body - its all her

And finally, as if Sunday wasn't fun filled enough, we headed over to the Small Axe/Umbrella Factory end of the year party and got to catch up with many familiar faces.  It is hard to pinpoint but there is something so darn nostalgic about the faint smell of emu, bonfires, good food, and reggae beats.  

it is truly a special place

I still have a few more friends to see and things "I must do" before heading up to New Hampshire to see our new place.  My mom, isabelle, and I plan to drive up on Wednesday and expect the boys and the moving truck to arrive on Thursday or Friday.  Aaron and Joel are seemingly having a great time exploring Utah National Parks and are now on their way to Ft. Collins to see friends.  Here are a few pictures Aaron has sent me from the road...

joel at Canyonlands

arches

the beginning of fall

With a rain storm and cool breeze knocking the humidity out of the air and leaving us with a cool sunny day we decided to head straight for some fall goodness.  The four of us (Isabelle, Grammy, Grampy & myself) headed to CT to visit Clyde's Cider Mill for some delicious apple cider and cider donuts... I really can't say which is my favorite part.... the cider or the donuts...so good.  This was Isabelle's first cider donut experience and I'm pretty sure she was happy with the outcome...

yummy!

Clyde's is a pretty unique place in that it is the oldest steam powered cider mill in the US - and of course with our luck it wasn't running at the time - they were cleaning the mill.  Regardless, we had a nice afternoon sipping mulled cider and eating donuts.  On the way home we decided to stop at the beach for a quick walk.

charlestown breachway

chasing waves and enjoying the crystal clear view of Block Island

(mama's backside suffering from a baby that insists she eat constantly...does that mean a boy or girl..?)

And after all that we still managed to meet up with friends (Kelly, baby Noa, Kris & Sara) to pay Mrs. Mai a visit at Ocean View for some delicious chinese cuisine.  Kelly took some pictures and maybe I could get her to send me a few (in all her spare time...:)).  

One slight disappointment for our dedicated Ocean View lovers.... the General Gau was made with white meat this time...lets hope this isn't a "new thing".....

And today we head off to the zoo "to visit the bald eagles and check out their talons"

traveling circus...

Isabelle keeping grammy busy and Sid & Furio patiently waiting to board

We made it!  All in all it was an uneventful flight and we made it into RI on time - and hello humidity!  The weather is sticky and hot but we are in for some cool fall weather in the next few days - perfect for apple picking, cider donuts, hot cider, hay rides, and applesauce making/canning (yay canning finally!).  For the next few days Isabelle and I will be enjoying Rhode Island, visiting with friends and family, and of course eating all those coastal goodies.  

As for Aaron, Joel arrived in Spokane last night and the car will be ready by this afternoon.  The duo plan to head south to start their epic road trip back east today, starting with a little camping in Utah and then visiting friends in Ft. Collins, CO. 

Isabelle is thoroughly enjoying bossing family around and we are both excited to see our new house in New Hampshire.  Isabelle is going to get her own "big girl bed" ...and I believe grammy will break out a set of stashed princess sheets she found for the big event (exciting...).  The cats are adjusting to life in a room as I shower them with unexpected and unusual amounts of attention and lovies (our pets have taken a back burner i must admit).  And in baby news, I had my last appointment with our midwife the day before we left and baby is finally head down and ready to go (was transverse last time and I was fixating on the "what if's").

Until next time Moscow...

Until next time because it is way too hard to say goodbye.  Moscow has been a wonderful community and we have met so many great friends who have turned into family.  None of you will be forgotten and I know I haven't said good bye to anyone of you - our paths will all cross again one way or another.  But for now, thank you for being our family away from family.

until next time

lots of love,

Caitlyn, Aaron, Isabelle, baby, Sid & Furio

corners of a deconstructed home

The count down has officially started...and it is all happening very very fast.  The past week has been interesting...  the least interesting part was I got into a car accident.  And without going into great detail it technically was my fault (even though there were some circumstances).  Isabelle and I managed to come out unscathed but the car suffered some damage - that thankfully will be able to be fixed.  In the mean time we are renting a huge suburban that I am pretty embarrassed to be seen in.

Life has been so hectic that it was really surreal that this actually happened to me.  I am just so thankful it was only the car that took the brunt of the accident and that we are all safe and sound.  Anyways, moving on...

Slowly, but surely our house is being deconstructed and put into boxes, wrapped in bubble wrap, and destined for a new home.  

And we can only hope that our new home will be as good to us as this one has.  Thanks for being patient while the posts are slow coming.  The next week will be full of cleaning and teary goodbyes.