The Aster

And so we began to do our time at The Aster.  

J thought we could do it for years.  I was less optomisic about our tight quarters but thought we could last the six or seven months until the house was completed.

We lasted two months.

There were several times I thought about getting in my car and just driving away (not forever but maybe a few months).  I KNOW it's possible for two adults, two small children (and all of their crap) and two dogs to live in a two bedroom apartment but we found it quite difficult to go from over 3000 sq ft to 947 sq ft.  It was horrible.  The time we spent in that apartment was almost right up there with suffering through all of the showings at the last house.

The boys had to share a room for the first time which also doubled as the "play" space because the living room and kitchen were one space (which as I look around now, my masterbedroom basically equates to the communal living space in that apartment) and there was no dining area at all.

The last two weeks we were there Jack was sleeping with us (see exhibit 1 and 2 below) because Leo still wasn't sleeping through the night and was waking up Jack.  It is truly amazing how this little boy could spin a full 360 degrees throughout the night.  No judgement to others but we don't do the co-sleeping thing in our house.

September 2014, the universe finally cut us some slack...a three bedroom townhouse became available at same complex so in order to save our sanity and our marriage, we moved (AGAIN).

While the townhouse was not the answer to all of our problems, it was exactly what we needed to get us through our limbo.  There was 3 bedrooms, 2 levels, a tiny kitchen, a place for a sofa/TV, even space for a card table to eat at and an attached garage.  We lived on a courtyard with a little playground right out our front door.  There were tons of families (many waiting for their homes to be built as well) with kids in the 2-8 year range and everyone was super nice.  If fact we made couple of really good friends while living there as did Jack.

It was absolutely perfect for the boys.  In fact, part of me knew that I would be sad to leave purgatory just for the social factor and the convenience of opening the door to let Jack out to play with all the kids.

The hardest part for me was my inability to keep the place clean and organized for more than an hour.  I am a stay-at-home-mom.  My house is my "office" and since I spend so much time in it, I prefer my home to be clean and orderly.  In my mind everything item has a "home" and that is where it should go.  I realize with kids that is an outlandish concept but not entirely impossible.  However, I quickly discovered I was fighting a losing battle in the townhouse and I needed to lower my expectations.

We tried to keep ourselves busy.  The boys and I went to Illinois for Labor Day, there was a trip to Florida in October, back to Illinois for Christmas and a few long weekends away in the mountains in the new year.  Having things to look forward to helped to make the time go faster and offered a distraction for our anticipation.

The new house was within a mile of the apartment so just about everyday I would drive by to see the progress.  It was very exciting to see it all come together.  Our time at The Aster went relatively quick until the last month, then the walls started to close in on me.  It was hard to pack the minimal amount of stuff we had in advance and I felt like a in a holding pattern surrounded by half empty boxes. (The photo below was of Jack's room and a packing area.  If you know me, you know this mess sends my anxiety through the roof.)

While updating the blog, I have been looking through all of my old pictures.  I take a lot of pictures...or at least I did.  During this time, I clearly needed a distraction so I remember that I was really working on my photography and trying to teach myself new things.  I am far from a professional but looking at these photos reminds me that I need to pick up the damn camera again.

Trip to Illinois over Labor Day 2014
- Boys saw their first Theresermans Parade, Jack visited the farm and rode in a tractor the first time

October 2014- Longboat Key, FL.  I could have an entire post of just pictures.  My "happy place" always turns lots of great photos.)

Fall 2014

Christmas 2014- Traveled back to Illinois to make the family rounds.  This trip exhausting at the time but I think that years and years of having to divide our holidays three ways has become the norm in my sub conscience   The off years when we stay in Colorado for Christmas or Thanksgiving always seem too quiet and anticlimactic.

And last but never least, our sweet boy, Leo took his first steps in December 2014!

Lindsey