My brain is operating in complete chaos mode at the moment. We decided we wanted to buy this house, and 30 days later, we signed papers and it was a done deal. We moved the furniture and big stuff the next day, and spent the night in the new house that same night. We’ve been here three weeks now. The amount of things we hadn’t yet moved, let alone packed, was ridiculous. I didn’t even want any more of that shit by the end 😂. We made a trip to the old house almost every day and came back with a load, just trying to get it all.
The first few days were stressful because it was almost like camping or being on vacation, except for in those scenarios, we would’ve been better packed. Leading up to the closing date, I started packing but I couldn’t pack anything we used daily, because, obviously, we were going to need it. So most of the boxes that made it on the first trip weren’t the most useful.
I wasn’t sad about packing anything until I put these magnet photos in a box. They used to adorn a black metal cabinet at the old house, and it looked so weird without them. I considered unpacking them at one point because I didn’t like the bare look 😅. Quinn even commented about how he didn’t like the pics being gone.
We’re pretty well set now and we love our new house! It’s funny all of the things that lots of other people have in their homes that they probably take for granted, like windows that open and overhead lighting. We had floor to ceiling windows in the living room of our old house, which formed one whole wall, and a fourth of another side. They did not open, so we basically had no airflow in the largest room of the house. Same with overhead lighting. The only installed lights were in the kitchen and bathrooms. It’s easy enough to buy lamps, but the lighting always sucked. Our new house has tons of windows, all of which open, and many light fixtures. They’re not necessarily my taste, but they’re efficient 😅. This house was owned by multiple generations, beginning with grandparents and then handed down to the grandkids, who are themselves, now grandparent aged 😉. The house was most recently consistently occupied by the grandkids stepmother. I’m not sure if the design choices were made by her or not, but someone had an extreme love for wallpaper, lace, and sheers 😬. Oh, and wall decor. I’m assuming family photos, given the history, but almost every single wall has at least one nail/picture hanger, and some have multiple. As someone on a journey to minimalism, I can’t imagine 😅. One wall in our new living room has a huge glass display case✨ built in, ✨ a feature most visitors have loved so far, but one we want removed. I have nothing to display except craft supplies 😂. My friend, Megan, did have a genius idea though, and that was to put plants in it. That is something I could get onboard with!
My favorite thing, by far, is the amount of space we now have. The layout is great, we no longer have a walkway between our stove and refrigerator that seems to get the most use while someone is trying to cook 🙄. The only thing I miss is our old driveway and yard. The new yard is tiny comparatively. Luckily, we now live next door to my friend, Mandy, and she and her family have been amazing at sharing their trampoline with us. We have a habit of encroaching on our neighbors’ yard, we really should come with a warning 😂. Tina’s swing set and Alexis’ side yard were constantly in use by the Eagleson boys. That’s the beauty of being part of a small community. We’re very thankful for the great people we’ve always had surrounding us.
Quinn even invited Lincoln to jump on Mandy’s trampoline 🤦🏻♀️. Boundaries are a hot topic at our house 😂.
The trampoline is Quinn’s favorite thing about our new house, but Mandy’s dog is second. Funny that neither one of those things are ours 😅. His third would be that he can now splash in the bathtub because we have sliding glass doors, instead of just a curtain. I’m happy about that one, too, because I don’t have to fight with him about it anymore.
Our move was made easier by all of the people who:
Saved boxes for us-Brad, Marsha, Tina, John, Lisa S., Fern, and Kim
Helped us move the heavy things- John, Coen, and new neighbor guy across the street.
Watched the kids while we loaded the U-Haul and then so I could clean the old house- Kim and Megan
Helping me clean the new house-Kim
Welcoming us to our new house with a perfect gift- Chris
Thissssss is why we needed someone to watch them while we packed up the truck. 🤦🏻♀️
They had way more fun at Kiki’s house anyway 😊. I want one of these in my size!
I appreciate everyone’s help so much! The house has been well maintained, but mostly unoccupied (except for occasional visits by one of the owners who stayed here when he visited from out of town) for the last 7 years. Basic cleaning to remove dust accumulation has been the biggest chore, now that we are unpacked. Different people have different standards, and I find it amusing. Like, the toilets definitely hadn’t had a good clean in a long while, but the microwave was pristine 😂. There is carpet throughout most of the house, including the dining room 😩, and that’s not my favorite. I ripped all of the carpet out of the old house, but we had original hardwood floors underneath. I don’t know what’s under this, but it’s in good shape still, luckily. It’s just harder to keep clean with two toddlers and a dog 😑.
Moving can be really stressful, and it definitely was, but the most exasperating event was taking our children to Walmart on day five. They. Were. Awful. Screaming, touching everything, not listening to anything we said. There were consequences when we got home. Adding to the frustration was the fact that Walmart was a friggin mess from their remodel, making finding everything that wasn’t food on our list extremely difficult. Pro-tip: don’t move while Walmart is remodeling. You need something familiar in your life 😂. I usually do pickup orders, leaving the navigation of that mess to the experts, but it’s not always possible. I’m happy to be back to a (new) normal routine, which typically involves avoiding shopping in person.
I’ve been trying to give the boys a lot of grace because this big life change brings lots of big feelings. Aside from the move, I’m trying not to spend Quinn’s entire childhood being frustrated with him. There are some things that can’t be given leniency though, and Quinn has found the line when it comes to putting his hands on his brother. He would get mad at Ash and just shove him down. This went on and on, despite being in time out repeatedly. We finally had to explore other punishments because that wasn’t getting the message across. We took away his costumes (his favorite toys) for several days, adding days every time it happened. I tend to prefer logical consequences. Since these two things (pushing and costumes) aren’t related, I was hesitant about its effectiveness, but it seems to have worked, for the most part. It still happens occasionally, but only once a day, at most. Quinn struggles with boundaries involving other people’s bodies. Apart from the pushing, he’s been in trouble for not respecting my body as well. One day he kept being reckless, running and slamming into me, jumping on my back unexpectedly, etc. I have had enough of that.
A third issue we’ve had has been with him lying. I know it age appropriate, but he has to be taught that it’s wrong. He mostly lies about things that will get him in trouble, like who dumped out toys, what happened to make Ash cry, etc. It was no different the other night, but what he lied about wouldn’t even have gotten him in trouble, if hadn’t lied about it. I actually felt really bad for him because he was so upset over it. We were getting ready for bed, and he needed to go put on his pull-up (he wears them just at night still), but he didn’t want Philip to go into the bathroom with him. That isn’t normal, he usually doesn’t want to go alone. He said he wanted to take his pull-up into the kitchen to change into. When Philip told me what was going on, I immediately thought he was going to try to lie about wearing one, and I had just changed the bed sheets that day, so I wasn’t risking an accident overnight. We told him he needed to show me that he put one on, but he refused, and started crying. Philip told him he needed to show me or lose his costumes for a day, and still he refused. I saw the top of it sticking up from the front of his pants though so I didn’t know why he was throwing such a fit about it. I took him in the kitchen and asked what was going on. He said he would tell me, but not to tell Dad. It was pitiful how upset he was, barely able to even tell me through fighting back tears. He said he had colored all over his legs with markers ‘by accident’ 🙄 and didn’t want to be in trouble for it when dad saw it. I gave him a hug and thanked him for telling me and said he wouldn’t even be in trouble for that, so this was all for nothing. I took him upstairs to put him to bed, and he asked if he could have his costumes in the morning. I told him he would have to talk to dad about that. Philip and I talked about it and agreed he could have them back if he was well behaved the next morning. Philip made him a deal where he could wear one to school, if he followed the rules before it was time for him to go. He didn’t make it, though 🙄. He shoved Ash down by 10am.
The first day he went to school without a costume (which is his norm), his teacher said, “Quinn! You’re wearing clothes today!,” which probably sounded odd to the grandpa dropping off his granddaughter, who doesn’t know Quinn’s usual attire 😂. He told his teachers all about his punishment because when he wore a costume to school the next day, his other teacher said, “Oh, you must not be grounded anymore.” 😂.
I’ve allowed Quinn to start chewing gum semi regularly, now that he’s proven he knows how to keep it in his mouth and chew it for a while. I got him a pack of watermelon gum for Valentine’s Day, which he was very excited about. He always wants to chew two pieces because that’s what Philip does 🙄, but I tell him he only needs one. I noticed one time he had some that it seemed too big for his mouth. He also seemed to run out of it quickly. I bought him another pack and when I gave it to him, he started to leave the kitchen with it. I was like; “What are you doing? Take your piece and then put it up in the cabinet.” He said, “I’m just taking it somewhere else to get my piece.” I said, “No. I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get two pieces and you don’t need two. Get one and put it back.” He took out one piece and put the pack in the cabinet. He was caught red handed 🙄. He’s gonna have to get much better than that.
Another tough love lesson Quinn has had lately involved looking after other people’s property. We got Ash a whiteboard/chalkboard easel for his birthday, but Quinn has pretty much taken it over. He loves it and uses it daily. That’s fine, except he always forgets to put the lids back on his markers, so they dry out. Now he wants to use my dry erase markers. I was letting him because he started putting the lids back on the ones he was using, but Ash does not, of course. The expectation was that he would give it back whenever he was finished with it. He started forgetting to do that, and I found my marker without a lid on several occasions. The last time, I told him he needed to help find the lid, since he lost it. He refused and had a big “not my problem” attitude. I told him if he didn’t help look for it, he wouldn’t be allowed to use my markers anymore. He didn’t, and I found it myself, and the consequence was enforced. He has asked a few times again to use mine, and I’ve declined. When he asks why I remind him of how he didn’t respect my property when I loaned it to him, so he’s no longer allowed to use it. He still has some that work, mine are just better. He’s getting some retractable ones in his Easter basket, but he doesn’t know that, of course. He’ll just have to wait it out.
Aside from those frustrations, things have been going considerably well. Both boys have even slept in their own beds! Shocking, I know. Going from one shared room to two separate has been challenging because the toys have to be split and we don’t have enough furniture 🥴. We decided not to bring the bunk beds, mostly because Quinn initially chose the smaller room, and he was who liked them the most. They wouldn’t have fit in his room, but he has since decided he wants to switch🤦🏻♀️. That ship has sailed though, and I bought them floor bed frames and new comforters to match their interests. They’re going to have rival rooms because Ash likes Marvel and Quinn likes DC characters 😂. Right now they’re both in the same room, which seems completely silly given that them needing their own rooms was a major deciding factor in moving to begin with 🤦🏻♀️. However, for the time being, getting them to sleep in their own beds tops logistics 😅.
They were really excited when I switched out the floral closet pulls with superhero ones 😊.
That room (the one Quinn is switching to) has the worst wallpaper in the whole house 😂.
Quinn originally wanted the smaller room because of the closet. He thought it would make a fun place to hide.
Turns out the other closet has hide ability, too. Ash hid in there with Harper, our neighbor 😅. He really likes her.
I hoped, but didn’t expect, Quinn would sleep in his own room once we got settled in the new house, but it happened so easily, it’s almost unbelievable. He wanted to sleep there after his new Justice League blankets arrived. He still wakes up in the middle of the night and comes to our bed, but it’s a good start, anyway. Since he wanted to switch rooms, Philip moved his bed into Asher’s room, and I pushed them together, making it easier to lay with both of them at once. The first night I put Ash in there, he immediately said, “I no like it!” 😂. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep though. He slept until 1:38am, which is when I heard him and went back in to lay with him. He was crawling over on top of Quinn 🥴. He went right back to sleep, and then Quinn woke up shortly after and went running into our bedroom. I was still in their room and whisper-yelled for him. He came back and said, “How did I not see you there?!” 🤦🏻♀️. The next two nights Ash didn’t wake until later and later in the morning, and he finally slept there all night without getting up!
Ash is a pretty easygoing kid most of the time, but he’s been my leg ornament for the last couple of weeks. He constantly wants to “uppy.” I’ve always wanted a house with a second story, but carrying these small humans up and down stairs suuuuucks. My hips, knees, and back have hurt for weeks now 😂😭.
Quinn doesn’t like going upstairs alone, so if he can’t talk me into going up with him, he’ll ask Ash to. He usually will, but if he says no, Quinn gets all kinds of mad. He says he’ll never play with Ash again, a threat he makes almost daily 🙄.
Kids will literally fight about anything. When we were driving to go pickup the U-Haul on moving day, they argued over who had the power, like they’ve seen characters say in shows they watch. They were back and forth, Ash stirring the pot and laughing after saying, “I have power!,” because Quinn was legitimately mad, saying, “No, Ash! I have the power!” He even tried enlisting my help, telling me to tell Ash he had the power 🙄🤦🏻♀️. I never knew I’d have to take imaginary power from someone, but here we are.
Quinn likes for Ash to play his way and gets mad if he doesn’t. If Ash pretends to sling webs when he isn’t wearing a Spider-Man costume, Quinn tells him he isn’t allowed to do that 🤦🏻♀️🙄🙄🙄🙄. It’s all so ridiculous.
Quinn’s newest most often said phrase is, “You’re/he’s/they’re not being very nice!” You have to take it with a grain of salt, though, because that could mean someone hit him or it could mean someone isn’t doing what he said. It’s sometimes exhausting to allow him to play with other kids. I hate having to mediate every five seconds.
He even tells me I’m not being very nice, and to be fair, he’s not far off sometimes. But it’s always because I’m matching his energy. He usually says that after I’ve given him consequences, or threats of consequences. I’ll say, “I’m frustrated with you. You’re not being very nice. Not following the rules is you not being nice. You get back what you put out. If you’re not being nice, others won’t be nice to you.” Teaching all of these life lessons is draining.
Quinn has unreasonable expectations and gets mad over silly things. He told me the other day that I’m the worst mom ever because I refused to get a bowl of cheez its for him that were 12 inches away from him. He was sitting down and didn’t want to get up to get them, so he yelled for me to come in from another room. I was like, “Absolutely not.” He got so mad 😂. Later that day, he told me I was the best mom ever, though, so he got over himself.
Ash has been saying so many things, it’s hard to keep up! One phrase he is repeating from all of Quinn’s time outs is, “Quinn not listening me!” 😂. He also says, “Quinn not being nice!” The first one cracks me up, the second does not 😑. I don’t need another complainer.
He loves to disagree, often saying, “No, I not!,” to anything he is described as, like a sleepy boy, a silly boy, etc.
If you try to give him something he doesn’t want to eat, he’ll say, “Put it in your mouth.” 😂. And if he does want something, he says the opposite, like in the exchange we had last week.
Ash: “Marshmallow.”
Me: “You’re not having a marshmallow right now. You haven’t even had breakfast.”
Ash: “Marshmallow. Put it in my mouth.” 🤦🏻♀️.
Anywhere I go, there’s always the question, “I come, Mama?”
He never forgets and is quick to tell you, “My turn!,” when he wants to pick the show on TV.
His ability to tattle has evolved into a full sentence, “Mama, Quinn push me down!”
He hates riding in the car when it’s sunny. One day he was screaming, “Turn it off!,” and I had no idea what he was talking about. When I could finally look at him in my rear view mirror, I couldn’t help but laugh because he was flailing his arms around, trying to get the sun out of his eyes 😂. Another day he kept telling Philip, “Help, Dada!”
Ash made a connection when he saw his cousin, Lincoln’s, shoes that look like his, so he now calls his Crocs, “Lincoln shoes.” Quinn gets jealous and tells him, “They used to be mine, Ash, not Lincoln’s!” 😂
Since turning two at the beginning of the month, he has developed many new skills.
His fine motor ability has evolved to his being able to open a starburst wrapper. That is very useful 😂.
He had a party at the end of February because that’s when I was able to rent the Center. He was soooo shy when everyone sang to him, grabbing onto my leg. His party wasn’t my best because I forgot the balloons, food coloring for the punch, and stickers for the kids, but we still had fun. I waited to let him open his gifts after the party; some that evening, and the rest the following day. It was so nice to let him play with each thing as he opened it, instead of a frantic frenzy during his party. I know some people like to watch others open the gift they got them, but I prefer to do it this way. I’m happy to send pics or vids to anyone as he opens their gift and as a thank you. It just makes everything a little easier, and the party is used for maximum fun.
🎵 happy birthday to you 🎵
I painted the Hulk for his new room, but also used it for the table centerpiece at his party. I made his cake, too.
I also painted others for their new rooms.
Ash liked everything he got, but I think Quinn liked it even more 😂. He asked if we would get him everything Ash got for his own birthday 😅🤦🏻♀️. We told him he can play with Ash’s toys, but they continually fought over the Hulk gloves their Nana sent. Quinn was genuinely distraught because Ash had some and he didn’t, so Nana sent some for him, too 🥰. She asked before she did, and I normally wouldn’t entertain thoughts of spoiling him in that way, but he deserved it this one time 😉.
In other news, I got a new nephew since my last post! I took the boys to the hospital to see him, and on the way there I stopped to get Lori some candy. Quinn said, “Why are we getting Lulu candy? Because she was so brave?” 😂. I don’t even know how he made that association, but yes, yes that is why. Pregnancy and childbirth sucks. Anyone who does it deserves candy, for sure.
Oliver Evert Preston
The boys weren’t interested in holding Oliver at the hospital.
But when we visited them a week later, Ash said, “Baby. Hold it.,” as he stood, holding out one arm 😅.
I love being closer to my brother’s family. I’ve seen them more in the three weeks we’ve been in our house, than I had in the last two months!
I love this face 😅. She has already been down to ding-dong-ditch us 🤦🏻♀️. The doorbell video was pretty amusing 😂.
😝
They were so excited to find popsicles left in the freezer from the previous owners 😆.
Quinn was being stubborn and wouldn’t get in the pic on the day we closed on the house.
We’ve managed to do a few activities during the chaos. We got Asher the easel for his birthday, but Quinn has used it way more. He writes and draws on it multiple times a day.
We did some simple step by step drawings, and he has practiced copying words.
Another letter activity involved finding the matching letter carrot to one I held up, and then feeding it to the bunny.
We did a matching egg hunt. They had to find the eggs, and then match them to the correct picture. Ash was good at matching the plain colored ones, but couldn’t quite get the patterned ones yet.
We made our first sensory bin. Quinn said, “Are these coffee beans?!” They weren’t. He found out they did not taste good 🤦🏻♀️🙄. I watched the FedEx guy give it a funny once over on the doorbell cam when he delivered a package 😂. He’s the same person who delivered to our old house, but the sensory table was always on the back porch, so he never saw them. I’m sure he thinks I’m nuts.
I was still tracking our outside time, but it became a source of stress, and that’s not what it was supposed to be about. We are still spending time outside, despite our new environment being smaller in the way of the yard. We’re making it work!
Ash got a balance bike for his birthday and he was able to ride it right away!
😊 🚴
We hadn’t given it to him yet, we were waiting for a warm day, because we knew he was going to want to ride it outside. However, when we were packing things in the basement, he found it 🤦🏻♀️. The next thing we knew, he was trying to take it upstairs by himself 😂.
They begged us to walk to the park. Ash insisted on wearing his “mouse ‘jamas” that day 🤷🏻♀️. That’s not a battle I fight.
We’ve had lots of visits with friends, most of which I didn’t take pics of. It’s nice when the kids go play while the adults talk 😃.
Scratch art with Scarlett and Savannah
We visited with their bonus cousins at Kiki’s house. Ash ate a chocolate frosted, barvarian cream filled donut and that’s all the messier he got 😅. He did a pretty good job with it.
We had fun times at the library. Quinn did a great job painting his rainbow 🌈.
The orneriest group of boys there is 😉.
Sophie PUPdate 🐾:
We left Sophie at the old house until we got the U-Haul all packed, and then we took her down.
She watched us unpack with the boys 😆.
She passed out with them that first night, too. She was anxious because it was storming, and ended up in bed with everyone 😑. After that first night, though, she was good to go. She has slept downstairs in “her” chair, just like she always did.
She started getting really attached to Quinn, and allowed him to pet her and love on her more than ever before.
He was so happy that she allowed him to sit by her.
He yelled for me to come look at her one morning when she rolled over beside him. I told him that means she trusts him, because leaving her belly up like that leaves her vulnerable.
She would often follow the boys around to see what they were doing. I’m not sure what happened, but she’s back to not loving all of the attention Quinn likes to give her 🤦🏻♀️. He says he didn’t do anything to her, but I don’t buy that. My guess is he scared her or accidentally hit her while being crazy.
They were trying to pose for a pic with her with their matching shirts Mimi got for them, but Sophie didn’t cooperate 😆.
Soph was the first to sleep in the Ash’s new bed.
Quinn was so excited when my brother gave us their dog tie out so Sophie could come outside with us.
