So... what have we been up to the past two months?

Well...

In October, we packed up and moved in with my parents. It sounds pretty simple when I say it like that. It wasn't. It was a hectic week of Mom stopping by after work to lug totes of clothes and other things we just couldn't live without back to her place, 45 minutes out of the city. It was a crazy weekend of trucks being loaded and unloaded, me trying to make our space here functional, and C back in the city madly trying to pack the remainder of our belongings in time for the movers on Tuesday. It was touch and go for a while when they came-- C even called to order another container to be dropped off as we didn't think it was going to fit in the one we had, but the guys we hired worked miracles and squeezed it all in.

Moving was not a fun process, but the purging that was involved was cathartic. Starting fresh is a feeling that I like. Unfortunately, in this case, there is a kind of purgatory in between.

But purgatory could be worse than having a space as large as the main floor of our old house essentially to ourselves. And our landlords could be worse. C might have a few words about the commute, but we've made due. I take Nolan into the city a couple times a week to buy groceries, run errands, or visit with some other moms/babies who happen to be at home. Days we stay out here are sometimes hard to fill, though I can usually conjure a reason to head to the Co-op. I have cooked almost every night and now that my class is over, I'm pretty much a domestic goddess (I don't want to brag, but I even made my bed three times this week). Norah will stay home more often, now that I am not using naps to conduct literature reviews or put together presentations.

This past Monday was the last class of the semester for my grad class. I can't believe how natural it feels to be back at it or how efficient a student I am now that I don't have all the time in the world. I am pleased with the caliber of work I produced and excited to be knee deep into the process. I am still not settled on a topic for my thesis, but hopefully heading back to work this coming semester will help to inspire me.

Oh yes, I had intended to go back at the semester change, but a slight delay on the Fresh Start front has changed that. Instead, I will make sure we have at least two weeks in the new place before I jump back in. Not ideal, but better than then me trying to commute 45 minutes with a 10 month old and a three year old, while completing a grad class, working full time, and then trying to settle into a new house.

Nolan has continued to grow on the same trajectory. I am not going to even hazard a guess at his height or weight, but he is bigger than a lot of kids twice his age. He is eating solids fairly well. I started him on purees when he was just over 6 months, but a few weeks ago, I switched to a Baby Led Weaning approach, which has made for some messy entertainment. I'm hoping we can avoid having another Magic-Bullet kid in the house. So far, his gag reflex appears to be a lot less jumpy than Norah's was. His sleep has been a roller coaster of success and failure. Because of our present living arrangement, we try hard to keep our children quiet when others are sleeping (which can be as early as 7:30 at this house). This means we are running to both kids at the slightest peep. It goes without saying that this has led to some pretty brutal sleep habits. Nolan will go through phases where he is up every two hours and Norah has had a few beauts where she has decided that being awake from 2 a.m.-5a.m. is appropriate. We use nights when my Dad is out of town to re-sleep train them and ride out the benefits as long as we can. Tonight, Nolan didn't cry a single minute before drifting off to sleep. Let's hope there's more of that in the future.

Norah refuses to nap for us any longer. If we don't throw her in the car at some point in the afternoons on weekends, we end up running an insane asylum from noon to 8:00 (or 9 or 10). Being bested by a toddler is not the best feeling in the world.

That said, each of them provides us with enough moments that really are the best to make up for it. Nolan's laugh comes so easily. Just press your nose into his chin or "scare" him when he's expecting it, and he'll bust a gut. Norah loves to dance and sing and make-believe (Or be me, mummy. I be mummy, k? Norwah! Come here, Norwah! Time for bed!). Her life is a constant performance where we can see the wheels turning (is THIS how I be... a girl?... a BIG girl?... a good girl? ... a friend? ... a big sister? ... is THIS how I... show that I'm angry? ... get what I want? ... make them laugh?). We all have a pretty good time most days, though with the long commute and rough night times, there has been more than enough frustration here lately to last us a lifetime. I'm glad that Christmas break is coming soon to give us a breather before the home-stretch to our Fresh Start.

That's all I have in me tonight. I'll try again soon. Thanks for still reading!