Movin' in and movin' up

Molly moves in

Yesterday we put the crib (now Molly's crib) back up in Elijah's room (now the kids' room). Miss Molly will still be sleeping in our room at night for a while (until she is waking less often), but she did need a safe, Elijah-proof place to take naps and chill out during the day. I am glad that her quilt really seems to work well in the room - now her side looks feminine and his side looks masculine, but they go well together. I don't know why I get so concerned about these things - Molly isn't going to notice for quite a while - but it really makes me feel so much better that it looks like she belongs in the room too. I have a little project that I'm working on for wall hangings, and the curtains still aren't up, but we're getting there.



Movin' on up

When Patrick's parents were here last week, they brought us two big, new (to us) things: a couch and a minivan! Our last couch was originally my grandparents' and although it's been great, it has been showing it's age (mostly by sinking lower and lower to the ground - great fun for getting up out of it when you're pregnant!), and was now past ready for retirement. Patrick's parents are redecorating and very graciously offered us their couch. It is a good piece of furniture that is still in great shape and I'm sure will last us many more years. Hooray!

The biggest change around here is our new-to-us van. It is a 2002 Chrysler that was originally Patrick's grandfather's. Some of you (those who already drive some similar family-type vehicle) are saying, "Oh, don't you just love your van!?" Some of you (those who haven't yet come to this very interesting place in your lives) are saying, "A minivan? Do you really want to drive a minivan?" Honestly, I feel a little of both - I am excited and not really excited at the same time.

First of all, we have two kids now. Two kids in car seats. And a double stroller and all the other junk that kids need when they travel. It all just doesn't fit very well into my little Civic. You should have seen us trying to get the four of us plus my mom and even a minimum amount of gear into my car. Yikes! We need the space! (Especially now that we would have to buy another ticket - driving is more reasonable than flying.) And I have to say that getting the kids in and out of the van is much easier than the car, especially with power doors.

But I will miss driving my Civic (it will be Patrick's commuter car now when he doesn't take the bus). I really do get unreasonably attached to my car. I can't say that I've ever wanted to drive a minivan and I'm still kinda uncomfortable with it - both the idea of it and the actual physical vehicle. There's the adjustment that comes with driving any new car - learning where everything is, and getting a feel for how it drives - plus, 1) I'm switching from a stick shift to an automatic, and 2) I haven't driven anything this big since high school. Of course, I loved that car, so maybe this one will grow on me too ... For now, I am still really nervous whenever I have to back up, but I think it's so cool that my key chain has a remote for the doors. Silly!