On a tear

I consider that to be a Southern phrase but maybe it's not.  Maybe it's only Southern when "tear" has two syllables.  Anyway, we've been on a bit of a tear lately.

Daniel is tying up loose ends with house plan stuff, slab cleanup, and super late Christmas presents.  Our excuse is we have a kid.  That's why stuff is late.  We're harried parents.  If we get raised eyebrows, we've even been tacky enough to drop the special needs card.  Which is really a joke.  99% of the time, Eva is easy going and delightful.  When strolling through the grocery store and Other Children are being holy terrors, Eva and I raise our eyebrows and find another aisle.

Back to the tear and the house.  We received some excellent, genius, and patient design service.  The only problem has been us and our limitations.  Unfortunately, Daniel and I have strong opinions: I am picky about design & layout (with absolutely no experience in either) and Daniel is picky about lighting, efficiency, & electrical (he has professional experience in all three).  We also have very specific parameters, i.e. existing slab, accessible first floor, and BUDGET.   So this is what happened when all of those things were mixed into a pot:
We absolutely love the plan.  This is an early sketch but the gist will remain the same.  We'll have an accessible first floor with two beds and two baths and the living areas.  The second floor will have two bedrooms and one bath.  If the second floor fits the budget.  Once we get bids we'll have a better idea of how much we can afford and what adjustments we'll need to make.  Daniel says that's value engineering. We might find ourselves swimming in value engineering.

I have been on the adding-a-child-to-the-family tear, which includes a little nesting and scouring various sources for information and photos of Audrey Mae.

Nesting: does anyone have a recommendation for a double stroller?  Currently we carry Eva everywhere we go.  Audrey isn't walking yet, either, so something's going to have to give.  I'm mainly worried about Eva fitting well, as her knees don't bend much.  So maybe side by side?  That way the girls can chat.  Are those too wide to be maneuvered easily?

Also, I made matching blankets for the girls.  They don't need them.  We have lots of quilts.  So illogical, I know, but I felt compelled.  Nesting is a real thing.  So they're getting matching doublewide lamb quilts.




And last, but certainly not least, I have been gifted some awesome pictures of Audrey Mae.  Thought I'd share a few.




I have also learned that in the last couple of years, Audrey's personality has bloomed and she's enjoying playing and interacting more.  That's good news, friends.