Speaking of a new community.......
We've temporarily moved downtown with my David's mom until we close on a home in Greensboro. It's been a journey so I'll spare you the details.
A few things we've experienced since living downtown:
1.) The available bed for David and I to sleep on is a day bed. Don't get me wrong we are thankful for a roof over our heads at this moment, but we were a little hesitant about sharing a twin for a month. Luckily it has a trundle that pulls up to the same height as the daybed. The first night David tried to cuddle, I rolled away. It was hilarious. I would have been fine, but being the cuddler that he is, the next night he went and found his tow straps and strapped the two beds together so I could no longer get away from him.
2.) Rosemary (the herb) is completely ok to take if it's overgrowing on the sidewalk. Nobody jacked me up for doing so therefore I proclaim it as legal...right, please correct me if I'm wrong. It also makes a wonderful scent throughout your home when you boil in water with sliced lemon. This was essential after smoking out my mother-in-law's house one night for dinner. In my defense I blame the burnt stuff that fell on the bottom of the stove from the previous Thanksgiving and not my cooking. So I cleaned that off the next day. After putting us up, it was the least I could do.
3.) Krispy Kreme makes a wonderful after school snack when it's conveniently on our way home. Thankful for my friends who decided to be disciplined and self sacrifice by passing up all their free Krispy Kreme coupons to me so we could partake in the heavenly goodness.
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4.) We decided how to make living with my mother-in-love work for the best since we will be together for a month. A couple nights a week, we put our kids down and then go out for the evening on mini-dates. No work on her part, she just has to stay here which she was planning on doing anyway. Hey, we have to use it while we can. We've walked around NC State, gone for coffee, late snacks, and basically anything to talk..... uninterrupted.
5.) I went to a park we've never been to before down here the other day. I was able to help someone jump start their motorcycle without even turning on my car. Who knew? Then later was told I may not want to venture that way again. At least it makes for interesting conversation as David makes the long drive home from work. But really, if other kids that are allowed to play on that park, why wouldn't I want mine to play there? I know what your thinking and I use to think it too, but Lesson # 112 of parenting - your kids will hear things you don't want them to hear. Say Whaaaa....? While we don't want them to hear them, they are teachable moments on what words we shouldn't say. We always ask- do you ever hear mommy and daddy talk like that? They always say no and we never hear it again. Explaining what those words mean can be another story...sigh....We cannot protect them our entire lives......nuff said? Remember the bubble - we can't keep them in there with us - that's not what we are called to do.
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6.) Our kids belong outdoors and I'm pretty sure yours do too. Most weekends if there isn't a house project going on and right now since there is no home to have a project on, we've been doing lots of outdoor activities. We took a hike over at Umstead the other day. Afterwords we quickly learned one way to have a peaceful dinner is to take all 3 littles on a 2.5 mile hike. Everyone gobbled and nobody said a word except for "more please". My 2 yr old even did 1.6 miles all by himself!
7.) Found the best kept secret in Raleigh - I double dog dare you to go. The flea market on Capital Blvd - near the bowling alley before you get to Atlantic Ave. No need to go inside, although it is interesting and an experience. The secret is the super cheap fresh fruits and vegetables on the outside under the tent. Probably just available on weekends. Every kind of produce you can think of - Tomatoes 2 for $1, Mangoes 2 for $1, Avocados 2 for $1.....the list goes on. All fresh, not overripe. What was interesting and why I mentioned the bubble is because we took our kids and I noticed right away we were about the only ones that looked like us. Didn't feel uncomfortable, just noticed. The kids didn't notice at all. They are in classes at school that have an equal mix of hispanics, african americans, and other nationalities. They are very diverse and we love it, we as parents need more of it. In fact, most of my son's friends at school are always of a different race. He has a knack for picking out kids who look nothing like him to be his friends and thinks nothing of it. Melts.my.heart.
8.) Thankful we don't have a mortgage this month as our gas bill from David commuting and me going back and forth with the kids last month was over $1200! OUCH!
So here's to breaking out of your bubble and maybe feeling a little uncomfortable. What might be one thing you can do to break out of your bubble?
