Bittersweet.

Just as I've begun developing a new vision for our house and furniture, it's all leaving us. Piece by piece, people come and go, inspecting our things to see if they suit their fancy. This is a bittersweet process for both Peter and I because as people make offers on our things, we have come to realize that to these people, none of this means even a fraction of what it does to us. This is our home, our first home, and we've built it together. We've trash picked and thrifted, we've shopped and even splurged. There are wedding gifts, too. I have great memories of trips to furniture stores, and shouting for Peter to stop the car because we had just passed a "good" garage sale. We visited a furniture bank, estate sales, and thrifted a lot, too. And every single item in our home has a story and is here for a reason, because we don't take in just anything.

That was one of the best parts of being engaged--  shopping together for our home.

But there is a second part to bittersweet, and that is the joy of a new beginning and the excitement of a wild adventure. We'll accumulate new stuff (that really is all it is anyway, isn't it?), each with their own new stories. We'll trash pick and thrift, and maybe splurge again too.

And so! if anyone's looking for anything-- furniture, kitchen-ware, clothes, purses, shoes (sad), books, pillows, sheets, bedding-- we've got it. We're opening the house for a moving sale second week in April, but lots of things are going before then.
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These past few weeks have been rough. I try to make the best of them, but a two year old that doesn't understand doesn't make it easier. All she knows is that there are two babies in my belly and that they make me sick. Then she looks at her doll and back at my stomach, as if she can imagine how uncomfortable I am.

Truth is, I'm still so sick. Mornings can be pretty bad, but usually once I eat I can be somewhat pleasant. Until 10 o'clock, and then I need a morning nap. But I can't, because toddlers don't usually take morning naps, especially if you want them to sleep for a large part of the afternoon. So I push on and continue to sing about Old MacDonald and his farm full of zebras, giraffes and rabbits. What sounds do they even make??

The weather has been purely beautiful, and that makes things so much better. Even if the sun isn't out, the temperatures have been at least somewhat mild. We love taking walks to collect acorns and look at everyone else's dogs (who Joyce thinks are all named Loxley). We love coloring with markers on the front porch and watching people walk by.

To her credit though, she has been picking up day by day that something isn't quite right with me. Do I really have to read the zoo book to myself? This morning she saw me close my eyes and take a deep breath and said, "Ang'ea tired?" "Yeah, sweetie, I'm tired. I'm sorry." "Do you wanna have a b'anket?" She then proceeded to unfold a blanket and lay it over me.


Precious.
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We were given tickets to another Cavs game tonight and I am more than thrilled. I anticipate a sore throat and no voice tomorrow. Thanks to all I learned at the last game we went to, I now know there's two baskets and a half time, the cheerleaders are only cute from far away and the hot dogs are $5.


-A.H.