Thankful.

This past week was our first Thanksgiving as a married  couple...and wow we had so much to be thankful for. Living away from your family really makes you appreciate those little things that we so often take for granted. We definitely took some time to enjoy those special family things that only happen on holidays. Just to name a few:

• The ever-present separation of men and women--men to the TVs women to the kitchen
• The family dinner (J and I rarely even eat at our own table...)
• Morning coffee--J never drinks coffee so I love having coffee time with our families because I am pretty sure he is the only one who doesn't have coffee in the morning

Of course I enjoy every moment spent with our families, but those are some of those cozy moments that I miss way up here in PA. Speaking of...our moving day is set, and we will be residents of Roanoke, VA by January 1, 2012. New place for a new year!

We found a new apartment in Roanoke that we are super excited about! We will be living in 300 more square feet than we currently have for $1 less a month than we currently pay...still deciding what to do what that $12, any suggestions? Seriously though I can't wait for another room--I'm thinking craft room/office/reading area, I can't wait to decorate! AND in other news we will be having our very own WASHER/DRYER in our apartment...for those of you who don't have one you know how awesome this is!

So needless to say, J and I had so very much to be thankful for this year. We have had an amazing year in 2011 full of awesome experiences and now we are looking forward to the next chapter of our lives. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful large family and so many great friends and now we are going to be a little bit closer to everyone.

Now we just have to pack up everything and get ready for our big move...easier said than done.

J and C and a NEW City

Just as we were getting used to our new location up here in PA--its time for another move.
Drumroll please.....

Salem VA here we come!

We are quite the excited pair because this move is taking us much closer to our families and friends back in SW-VA, and J is especially excited to be back in VT country!

So for now we are scouring the internet for a new home for J, C and little P in the smaller and more familiar city of Salem. Just like our last move, we only have a few weeks to get ready for the 308 mile trip to our new home.

Hope Salem is ready for us-we can't wait to get back to Virginia. Time to start packing...seems like we just got organized :-)

Clutter.

My whole life I have had an interesting relationship with clutter. During my earlier years I basically ignored clutter to the point of interventions. These interventions included but were not limited to-my mother attacking my closet on her only day off from work, my friends 'coming over for a sleepover' and organizing my room, my grandmother showing the actual way to fold that turtleneck, and my sister demanding that I find her long lost tank top that I absolutely did not borrow....ooops sis I found it!

So now that I live with a boy (gasp!), in a one bedroom basement apartment, with lots of new exciting things from our wedding, clutter is lurking around every corner ready to pounce.  The thing is, J is not going to give me an intervention if the laundry isn't done on time (thank goodness!) so I have to do my own mini-interventions every now and then!

Living in a small space with tons of stuff makes your relationship with clutter become quite tense, therefore clutter and I have finally parted ways for cleaner pastures. This has been very satisfying, and now I truly know where every tank top resides. But the thing about clutter is that just a few more things can make it come back with vengeance. So with the arrival of my mom, sis, and step-dad this past weekend, clutter returned!

That clutter was so embraced because having it made their visit so real and it made our apartment so homey. Three girls getting ready in the floor of the dining room with hand mirrors is definitely not the most convenient way to primp, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Yes, we were crowded, but that's the best way to enjoy family, and most of our time was spent outside exploring.

We so enjoyed having our visitors and their clutter that after they left it felt very empty. So this morning I am drinking my coffee alone and looking at a messy Lebanon News piled up on the coffee table, I might just avoid throwing that treasure away for a few more days.

Our trip to Trax Farms!

Moms...How do they do it?

Okay, so being a nanny has got me thinking about how in the world all of you wonder-moms do it all?! I have been discussing this little mystery lately with some of my friends and family because I already feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. And this is what we have come up with...

When you become a mother God gives you the superpowers of:

• No need for sleep
• Ability to shower and dress yourself in under 10 minutes
• Ability to stretch groceries like the 'fish and the loaves'
• Ability to make every part of dinner be ready at the same time (my mother-in-law should teach a class in this...and cooking in general)
• Super willpower regarding NBCs new fall line-up
• A new sense of turning trash to crafts
• Knowledge of what temperature is right for a coat and scarf

So naturally I have none of the aforementioned superpowers, but being a nanny has really got me thinking that there are a few more superpowers I hope to recieve once I become a mother--these are things that all of you super-moms out there have already mastered...

• The incredible ability to multi-task above and beyond the call of duty(my mom has got this in spades!) Yes this bastically covers everything except...
• The ability to use Saran wrap...If having a baby doesn't give me this, I think im never gonna get the hang of it

So okay you power-moms I really don't know how you do it all, and still have clean and stylishly dressed children on your hip, but I just wanted to let you know I've been thinking about all of you and your masterful abilities to get it all done! To all of you working moms out there, just wow you are amazing. To my mommy thanks for having all of these superpowers I love you!

As for me, I think I need a few more years of practice being a wife before mommyhood...but oh its fun to dream!

The leaves still change...

So it seems that the leaves still change in Pennsylvania; which is a wonderful thing to see! The past few days have been perfect fall days-warm with a breeze and a blue cloudless sky. These days really remind me of Virginia and make me feel a little closer to home, because on days when the newly colorful trees blend into that perfectly crayon-blue sky I can imagine sitting on my moms front porch and looking at the exact same scene. Although I have to admit that there is no better view from the front porch swing.

It is truly wonderful to be able to enjoy those last few beautiful days of fall before the cold starts to haunt you, especially when you have a sweet husband who will walk with you. We newly discovered an awesome walking trail behind our apartment that has incredible scenery to enjoy along the way--except a creepo bridge that we have to walk underneath. Our favorite part is a huge beautifully manicured horse farm that stretches out over rolling hills. The owners have a gorgeous old farm house on the property and they even placed a small covered picnic table at the edge of the trail for taking a little break from exercising to enjoy the view. That incredible view includes many many many Arabian horses grazing and running, it truly is a breathtaking sight.

Being able to enjoy the outdoors during this time of year has made missing the country a little less hard. I get caught up in the beauty of the season and then get snapped back into reality by a loud car horn...why must everyone be in such a hurry?





Storing for Winter

So the days of winter are fast approaching, but we have been able to enjoy a few days of nice weather. This week, J and I discovered a very nice walking trail right next to our apartment complex--yay for trying to walk into shape a bit since it seems I've been storing some lbs for winter! After fighting off weeks of being sick, I am finally starting to feel better (after two rounds of antibiotics yuck!) so the exercise regimen can begin in full force--I'll keep you posted since I'm quick to abandon these regimens before they ever really take off!

Last weekend we had our first visitors to our little apartment near the city and it was so much fun! We loved being hosts, plus it was a much needed push to actually hang our photos, clocks and such instead of always dodging their post on the ground. I will be adding photos of our apartment soon...

With the winter fast approaching, and our very informed discovery of how severe winter can be here in the 'burg I feel like start storing up for winter--but living in small quarters makes it hard to get a stock of food inside. Ideas on what to buy and where to put it are welcome--im open for suggestions from anyone who has lived in small apartments! Paris is very excited for winter it seems because this is what I found in her bed...

Maybe we should take a tip from our sweet doggie and just keep a few boxes of pasta in the bed??



To Everything there is a Season...

Well it is definitely fall in Pittsburgh! The weather is cool and the football has begun...sigh. Living in Pittsburgh is a little bit like living in a different world because everything {EVERYTHING} is about the Steelers. We were shopping last week and I had on a tee-shirt that said "Virginia is for Lovers" and a man came up to us and began asking us about VA and was very concerned about our NFL loyalties--don't worry J saved the day with a fast response about some players statistics--needless to say, outsiders better be Steelers fans! Thank goodness we come from a state without an NFL team.

In other news, we have FINALLY added pictures and decor to our little apartment walls. J took a break from the 50 football games on Saturday to hang some pics and such--it really looks like people live here now! I also went reorganized our closet--well reorganized would mean that I had organized it once before, so I organized our closet--had to get those sweaters ready for this Falltime weather!