Our new house

At long last, I give you some photos from inside our house. We're close to settled - hopefully by the time we leave for England next week, we'll be "settled" and ready to start some projects in the new year.
Boy, does this house give us a lot of "opportunity" and "potential"! These photos, as carefully staged as they are, present a positive impression of our home. Just know that every wall is poorly painted, every baseboard (skirting board) poorly installed or missing, and every window and door in need of replacement. And I'm not showing off the bathrooms at this point. (Enough said.)
At top we have the living room, with the front door barely showing on the left. The TV is in the cabinet just visible on the right (remember that, Mitchum fam?) and the Christmas tree is out of sight, in the corner on the other side of the entertainment center.
Next is the dining room, with the new bookcases Stace and Cora put together. Then comes the kitchen, which basically needs to be gutted. But it is a nice size, and I am able to cook meals for my family, so I'm am blessed to have it. Off the kitchen is the play room, an addition that at some point we hope to replace with a properly permitted room, into which we'd build a new kitchen. Though the room has its faults (windows looking into it from the house, no venting for cooling or heating), we truly love having a nice big place for all of Cora's toys. Our lovely living room would feel small if her toys were in there too.
Next is our room, and then Cora's room and the spare room.
It is such a great gift from God to be settled into our own home. Wow. When I look back over the last eight or nine months, from when we began considering moving up, to now, I see the hand of
God all over things. When our first contract to sell our condo fell through, it was so disappointing, but in the end, the timing was perfect to be in our condo still when Sue and Gord came over in August. And, prices were generally a lot higher in April and May, so we would have paid a lot more for a house then.
And, of course, our house wasn't on the market yet, and we are so excited to have a place to improve ourselves. Plus, this neighborhood has an HOA pool and spa and playground for Cora, a two-minute walk from our doorstep; and a top-quality elementary school that's a 10-minute walk from here.
Though we were confident things would work out in the end, it was a bit stressful to sell a place we loved only to move into a tiny apartment, with no guarantee that we would find the home of our dreams in our target neighborhood.
I haven't mentioned this here before, but several days before we moved from the condo, I was reading in the Psalms and a verse I'd never noticed leapt off the page:
"My choice is you, God, first and only.
And now I find I'm your choice!
You set me up with a house and yard.
And then you made me your heir!"
That's from the Message, a modern-day translation, and it truly comforted my heart as we moved from our condo, and over the weeks and months while we waited to see where we would end up. (Especially when our bid on a different house was rejected, and when it took ages for things to move forward with our escrow on this place).

I'm so grateful for our home, and looking forward to however many years we are blessed to live within its walls.

Decorations and shampooed arms

Cora likes our Christmas tree. We've always had real trees, but this year a spectacular Black Friday deal at Home Depot enticed us into the fake tree world - $50 for a tree that was normally $200. Now, even in the years that we spend several days prior to Christmas in England, we can put up a tree.
Next, you can see our nice, simple Christmas lights and wreath on our house. We were fortunate in that a prior owner had installed hooks, many of which Stace was able to use, so putting them up was rather easy. It's a nice treat to have a house to light up for the first time, and a neighborhood of our own to walk around at night, admiring the displays. (Amusingly, Cora is scared of a lot of the decorations. Big blow-up snowmen? "All done! All done!" Animatronic waving Santas? "All done! All done!" She also was "done" with the cutesy snowman I put on our hearth and Stace's Burt Rutan bobblehead doll and England garden gnome.)
Cora is definitely speaking more words, trying out new words, and stringing words together. Stace has taught her "See ya, mate" and "Alright, mate," so she will fit in with the Somerset tots when we visit in a couple of weeks. Also, she can fill in the blank when you're counting (I say "1, 2, 3" and pause, and she'll say "4"), and with certain words from very familiar stories, even words she doesn't normally use.
So, for a couple of Cora stories. Sometimes when I can't find her in the house (it's SO big, 1,425 square feet might as well be an 8,000 square foot mansion for us!), I've learned to look in our shower. She likes to dig her fingers around the outside of our shampoo bottles, and wipe it on her arm - today, I caught her putting it on her sweatshirt sleeve. She calls it soap, and acts like it's a perfectly natural, reasonable activity. She also will open each bottle of body wash and shampoo and stick it to her nose, getting a good whiff. Additionally, she likes to do this with the shower door closed. I think she thinks she is hiding. (Hiding is fun for her these days - several times I will go into her bedroom after she's been asleep, and though she was calling for me a moment earlier, when I enter she is silent and hiding under her blanket or pillow.)
The photo with Elmo in the collectible car was not a set up. Well, I asked her to stand there and smile, but she put Elmo in the driver's seat and was pushing the car around, on her own. Stace was a bit worried when he saw the photo, as he got it as a gift some 15 years ago.
Lastly, a preview for those of you still hoping I'll show more details of the house... We made a trip to IKEA this weekend for some odds and ends, and furniture, which Cora helped Stace assemble (when she wasn't drawing on it with the pencil, dumping his container of tiny parts, or throwing the wood glue). I've been busy working on getting the rooms in better working order before photographing them for public consumption. This week I should be ready to post them.

Elmo Slide!

Cora and I were playing in the back yard the other night, kicking the little football around. She saw her Elmo doll and said, "Kick Ball Elmo" (well, it sounded more like "dee bah Elmo" but I knew what she meant). She proceeded to swing Elmo into the ball, pushing it along with the doll's body. It was adorable, so I grabbed the camera. She was done with the game by the time I came back, but turned her attention to a new game:

(For you not fully able to understand Cora-speak, we have her saying, "Elmo slide. Wheee! Slide! Wheee!" and later "Walk.")

Cora really loves her new house... I really do hope to have a nice house post up soon with more photos. Stay tuned!

SClarita Christmas Fun

We had a very fun weekend, full of Christmas activities. We started out by going out for drinks Friday night with our real estate agent and mortgage broker and their spouses, to celebrate our home purchase. They both worked so hard to get our sale to go through, despite the annoyances that come with buying bank-owned properties. Stace and I highly recommend them - let us know if you are looking for a real estate professional!
On Saturday morning we went to a holiday and literacy festival at Hart Park in Newhall, where they brought in snow for the kids to play with. Cora seemed to like it fine, though it didn't occupy her for very long. The festival had lots of booths with books and toys, and performers sang, read, danced and acted out scenes from literature on stage. What a great free event!
We then walked over to Heritage Junction, where Cora enjoyed checking out the 108-year-old engine that has been fully restored years after a fire at the movie ranch owned by Gene Autry. Cora loves trains, which she calls "tee tees," her version of "toot toot." She gets excited when she hears them nearby. A funny memory - Cora loving watching the train pass by while we were driving, and immediately asking, insistently, "More ta Tee Tee! More ta Tee Tee!" How great to be thought so powerful, that I can control the trains!
Heritage Junction features old houses integral to the history of Santa Clarita. The houses have been decorated for Christmas, and we really enjoyed seeing them. A lot of work has been done since we last toured the buildings, and it's really worth a trip if you've never visited. Cora and I are posing in front of the Edison House, one of several houses built in 1919 for the Edison workers who electrified the town. In the front parlor, volunteer docents offered cookies, brownies and hot apple cider - it made me miss my grandma, as she always made Christmas cookies and loved volunteering.
On Sunday, we went to Mountasia to attend the children's Christmas party put on by Stace's work. Cora enjoyed her pizza lunch, which she ate while sitting on a booster chair like a big girl for the first time. She ate one whole piece, minus the crust, and a couple of bites from the second piece.
Here's Cora in the fire engine brought in to entertain the kids at the party.
On Sunday afternoon, we walked the short distance from our house to the hospital, to watch the big Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. Also this weekend, we took family portraits at Sears for the first time, and in the evening we took photos with Santa through my MOPS group. When I say "we" took photos with Santa, I mean it - Cora wouldn't go near him without us there. She is still very much in her "mummy mummy mummy" phase.

Here's Cora entertaining herself before the Christmas tree was lit. (She started saying "yes" last week, so I wanted to get it on tape.)

Moving Day!

We have moved into our house! Praise God, all went very smoothly and it was great to have the four days to get things somewhat in place, and also enjoy ourselves and relax a bit with Cora...... who did very well behind the wheel. Cora likes her new digs, especially the outdoor space and the little nearby playground. Stace and I are thrilled to have so much more room than we've had before, plus an attached garage and NO STAIRS to climb. We're also amazed at the amount of work we have ahead of us. The house needs an awful lot of TLC. We're up for the challenge though.
Somer likes the house too - she likes running around, and finding lots of new places to sleep. When we first moved her into the house, she spent a number of hours hiding withIN the box springs of our bed. But she's happy and at home now, and has only escaped into the yard a couple of times.

This morning, Somer found a disturbing sight - the neighbor cat sauntering around our back yard, acting like he owns the place. He probably does. When we first moved in, the remains of two mice were on the patio, surely left by the black cat. When he spotted Somer, he came straight up to the door and they had a staring contest, both of the cats raising their fur on end.
Here's Cora helping Stace put up the curtain rod in our bedroom. About half the rooms lacked window treatments, including the sliding glass door in our room, which became very bright around 6:30 a.m. Thankfully, the curtains we had in our bedroom in the condo, which we used purely for decoration, are thick enough to block the light. Stace has been busy since we moved in - he had to replace the missing garbage disposal, hang three curtain rods, program new garage door openers and move tons of boxes around.
Cora, having her first nap in her new room. She slept well her first four nights, and then had a bad night on Monday. I'm so relieved to have no one attached to us to worry about anymore, when she's crying in the night. I'm also relieved to have the Internet back and hooked up at home!

Since we'll soon be without Internet for at least a day or so, and busy packing and moving, here's a video to keep you loyal readers entertained.

Cora's other favorite song (besides the beloved "Elmo's Song") is Old MacDonald Had a Farm. She's been good at saying E-I-E-I-O (or a pretty decent facsimile) for a while, and over the last few days has become able to sing the animal noises in the appropriate spot ("With a ... moo moo here" - etc.) She also likes to pick which animal we sing about next.
She has started to say her own name, but without the hard "c" sound (still can't make that sound). Her name, according to her, is "Doo-uh." I love it!
I decided that Cora really ought to be playing with her dolls now. So I got out the two dolls Nan and Pop got her, and her blanket and pillow, and suggested she put the dollies to bed. She picked up the concept right away, and had a lot of fun. Stace helped her get in "bed" with the doll.
She later decided the doll needed to go potty. Cora's other favorite toys lately have been the Fisher Price animal train Nanny got her for Christmas last year, and Auntie Melly's old cell phone, which she gifted to Cora. Cora loves pushing the buttons and making all sorts of noises with her "real" phone. She says she's calling Uncle Dean.As for our move, we got the keys and closed the deal Monday and have been moving boxes over since then. The garage is already half-full of boxes and stuff. On Wednesday after work we'll rent the moving truck again, and do the big move on Thursday. Stace has a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving, so we'll take advantage of that to be moved and settled by Friday afternoon. We'll do our family meal over the weekend. Exciting times!

Back to Ventura

We headed to our favorite coastal spot Saturday to see the sea, eat fish at Andria's and to check out the wood flooring options at Lumber Liquidators, a factory-direct warehouse. Cora enjoyed the fish, and she especially liked the rice pilaf. Rice is one of her favorite foods currently, and it's a word she can say well. (Other words she likes to say at the moment include "sit down" and "outside.") She also enjoyed riding in her car and pointing out the boats, another word Stace taught her to say. Later on, she insisted on pushing the car herself, and wouldn't get back in until Stace promised to push her really fast.

The Lumber Liquidators showroom had a mind-numbing number of options on display, all beautiful. We've picked out one we think will be a great choice for the bedrooms in our new house. The house has brown ceramic tile throughout the living room, dining room, kitchen and hallways, and horrible carpeting in the three bedrooms. We're looking for a wood or wood-like floor for the bedrooms that is light in color (the rooms are fairly small) with dark grain tones mixed in, so it looks OK next to the dark hallway tile.
Our mortgage on the new house funded Friday, so we should be set to close escrow and get the keys Monday! We are so blessed and thankful!

Parenting in public

Two interesting tidbits from the last week:
The first was highly annoying to me, the second so nice it more than made up for the first.
Last week, my friend Susan and I were walking near the mall when a woman pointed to Cora's monkey harness (visible here) and sniffed, "I must tell you, that is horrible."
Susan and I were both a bit stunned - Susan had already told me about the Elmo harness her daughters had used, so she fully understood why a parent might choose to use one; and in England they are common. Susan said to me, "What, she'd rather Cora run into the street and be hit by a car, or be forever strapped into her stroller?"
Later I thought of what I should have said to the woman: "Um, do you have children? Did you stay home with them? Did you breastfeed for the recommended one year? Did you use cloth diapers, or landfill-filling disposables?" Assuming one or more answers to the questions would be "no," I would then say, "Hmmm. See, I make different parenting choices than you. And I'm not criticizing yours."
The nerve of people!
Anyway, last night, a situation at dinner more than made up for it. Stace, Cora and I were at a sandwich shop when a woman with four small children sat near us. She had a baby and three that were, say, six years old and younger. She prayed with them before they ate, and the children were incredibly well-behaved. It made me think, here I am, sometimes feeling overwhelmed with just one toddler, and this woman is doing a fantastic job raising four! At some point during our dinner, Cora screamed about something or other, and Stace and I handled it as we thought best (NOT giving in, but remaining calm - in this instance at least!). When the family behind us got up to leave, the woman asked how old Cora was and complimented Stace and me on how well we are handling discipline with Cora. Wow! We were so touched, and we told her so, especially since she obviously is doing a great job with hers.

These photos show us today at the grocery store, taking advantage of the cheap turkey deals! We snagged a 15-pounder for $4! Cora is eating a sandwich - she already ate through her box of raisins. Going to run any sort of errands these days means being prepared. I have to have lots of snacks and books to attempt to keep Cora entertained and happy.

On the house front, we have signed our loan and expect to close on the deal Monday. We had been hoping to close this week and move in this weekend, but buying a foreclosure is a long, slow process. At least we should be able to get moved in and settled over Thanksgiving - and, we are thankful and blessed to have a home to move into. The fires last weekend really drive that point home, with hundreds of SoCal residents now homeless. The photo shows the smoke of the Sylmar fire visible from our apartment complex Saturday. About an hour after that photo, the fire crested the hill with huge flames. This time around, as opposed to last year, Santa Clarita wasn't too affected by the fires, other than having all the freeways shut because of the Sylmar fire.

funny girl

We lucked out and found Cora some new toys at a garage sale.
We got the slide and the car for $6, total! Now that we'll have room for such toys, I can see a lot of garage sales in our future.

Cora has been silly lately. Last night when I was doing dishes, she kept running behind me, back and forth from one side to the other, laughing like crazy when I'd look down and say "Boo!"
She also amused me (and annoyed me) by spending our entire car ride home from the store shouting, "Owie Dee! Owie Dee!!" It took me a few seconds to realize what she meant - apple juice. Earlier in the day, she had asked for apple juice, and called it "owie," her word for "apple." I encouraged her to call it "apple juice," which she translated into "owie dee."
Also tonight, she got hold of my hair comb and took turns going to Stace, to me, and to Somer, tapping/scratching our heads with it. She then went around the corner and came back with my contact solution, which she held to each of our cheeks, in turn. Then it was my body spray bottle - she held that up to each of our faces. Then it was time to "comb" everyone's hair again. Boy, it was hard to get off the floor and get anything done, she was so entertaining. And busy. She is a very busy girl.

She was running around Stace while he lay on the floor, back and forth, in a u-pattern around him, shouting "Hello" over and over. She changed the pattern up a bit when I started filming, of course.

New friends

Cora received these beautiful animals as a gift from my cousin Dara, who recently got married in Ohio. Dara comes from a very artistic family, and she designed them as part of her job, as a toy designer. Cora was very pleased with them!

Cora has decided that she LOVES Elmo, the Sesame Street character with the babyish voice. We don't even have cable, but we found on Youtube a clip of Elmo singing "Elmo's Song" with Big Bird and Snuffy, and she has fallen in love. You can see that by the above video; she asks for the video clip on the computer countless times each day. Below, you see Cora in heaven, watching the clip. We've decided to get a little Elmo doll and put it in Cora's room when we move into our new home, to welcome her into her new room. (And it won't be the singing, dancing, talking Elmo dolls you see so many places - we played with one today in the store and it scared Cora. After it ran through its spiel, Cora kept saying "All done! All done!")

Magical Day

We took Cora to Magic Mountain over the weekend, her first theme park visit since she has become old enough to enjoy it.
The yellow truck was her first ride - when we finished, she said, "More ta!"
Magic Mountain has been working on its image, trying to become more family-friendly and not simply a place for wild teenaged thrill-seekers. To that end, part of the children's area has been remade into "Thomas Town" with Thomas the Tank Engine featured prominently. Cora already likes Thomas - we've been watching a Thomas DVD this week - so she really enjoyed her ride on the train.
She also loved walking everywhere, and only fussed when we put her in the stroller when it was time to walk with speed back to the car.
Thanks, Grandma, for the tickets!

My, what big leaves you have

Cora found her Thomas the Tank Engine hat the other day and put it on her own head. Well done! We've been without cable television for over a month, but at the library last week we checked out two children's DVDs, including a Thomas DVD. She loves it. Stace and I, meanwhile, have been watching the World War II series by American documentarian Ken Burns. We've also enjoyed the movie Casablanca and the musical South Pacific, so you could say we've been on a WWII kick. It's heavy stuff, and very sobering. Makes you realize you have so little to worry about when you're just concerned with when you're going to close on your new house.
Anyway, back to Cora. The second photo shows her Thursday morning enjoying her cereal. It was a new-to-her cereal and she asked for seconds and thirds. The last photo and video show the joys of fall.
We had some excellent news this week. The bank that owns the house we're buying agreed to put in the appliances we need to for our sale to move forward. (Our lender required a furnace to be in place to give us a loan.) We hope to move in before Thanksgiving.
In other good news, I filled up my tank yesterday for under $30! The fall of the the price of gas has been amazing. From a high of $4.67 (at least that's the highest I paid) to $2.60 now, it's hard to believe.

Stroller Strides Party

On Friday we had a Halloween party for the kids (and us!) after our workout. Above, you have Cora the Doggy and Harvey, the cool 80s' kid. If I'm not mistaken, the shirt he's wearing is his dad's, so it's VINTAGE cool. Below, you see the kids playing with bubbles and eating cookies.

Cora enjoyed her cupcake, or at least she enjoyed the frosting.
After eating the icing off her cupcake, she then re-iced it.
Yum!