Magic Eraser, I think I love you

I was so excited the other day when I used a Magic Eraser to tackle some of the scratches and scuffs on our apartment's walls -- and they really, truly came right off! When we moved in, the apartment had freshly painted walls and new carpet, but 6 months worth of living has left its mark. I know I won't be able to get the walls and carpet to look perfect again, but I'm willing to put in a little effort to get them more presentable.

Fortunately, we've never had any of the kids take a crayon or marker to the walls, but they've used the walls as "roads" for their cars, airplanes, blocks, you-name-it, and the result has been some pretty scuffy looking walls. I've used the Magic Eraser before at our house in Ramona, but the wall paint had more texture, so the results weren't quite as impressive as they've been here.

Anyway, the Erasers disintegrate quickly, so I've already gone through 4 of them! I bought a couple more boxes of Target brand generic Erasers to tackle any remaining scuffs after the movers come on Monday, plus do the baseboards and whatever else needs to be shined up a little. For some reason, using the Erasers is kind of fun (little effort = big results), so I'm almost looking forward to it!

The Beginning of the Lasts

It's hard to believe, but we're just about 10 days away from moving to Colorado. A week from tomorrow, the movers come to take everything that won't be traveling on the plane with us. A week from Tuesday, the car movers come to take our cars. We're quickly heading into what I like to think of as the beginning of the "lasts" -- last trip to the library, last Mass, last grocery store trip, etc. in Buffalo. It's very exciting, but also a little overwhelming. I'm sort of determined to leave Buffalo with about the same amount of stuff as we arrived with (even a little less would be awesome!), so I'm trying to eliminate as much excess as I can. Granted, the movers are coming to do all the hard work, so it's not like *I* have to box the stuff up and physically load it and unload it myself -- so technically I could drag along as much stuff as I want and it wouldn't really be more or less work for me. However, I will be the one unpacking and re-homing everything in Colorado, and the thought of trying to find a spot for too many odds and ends is a little wearying!

It should be an interesting 10 days -- lots of orgazining, throwing stuff away, packing, cleaning, and trying to undo some of the marks that 3 little boys have left in our little apartment. Probably a fair amount of DVDs for the kids while I squeeze in cleaning and some eating out when our food supplies get low. Lots of excitement about our new adventure, but maybe also a little nervousness about leaving the comfort and familiarity of our home and routine in Buffalo for the past 6 months.

If you think of it, we'd appreciate your prayers this week and next! I'll be sure to offer up our moving work and stress for the intentions of our families and friends.

View from a different country

We made the short trip up to Ontario, Canada this past Friday and it was a lovely day. It was sunny and fairly warm, and it was really neat to see Niagara Falls in a different season (our first time was just after Christmas) and from a different vantage point. The view from Canada is truly spectacular. We walked the boys' legs off on a lovely walkway along the Niagara River. We also saw lots and lots of Canadian geese, especially when we started eating our picnic lunch. They crowded around our table and honked loudly and hissed, but they scattered quickly (much to the boys' delight!) when David stood up, scolded them, and shooed them away. I'm glad he was with me -- I'm not sure they would have taken me as seriously :).

Swamp walk

There is a neat walking platform above a swamp near us, so the boys and I took a swamp walk today to check it out.
They thought it was cool since we've never seen a swamp before. It just felt good to be out walking in the sunshine with the birds singing, although I did have reassure Thomas that there aren't any alligators in this swamp, and Jack declared that it was "stinky" the whole way through :). Peter loved saying Hi to the geese and ducks that we saw, and it was cute to watch him run-toddle along the wooden pathways (and thump to his heart's content!) without worrying about making too much noise on the floors.
We saw lots of Canadian geese, which still honk as loudly as other geese and gave us menacing glances, but for some reason they seem classier than regular geese. There were lots of other people out on the walking paths, and it seems like Buffalo is coming alive again after a long winter. I'm not sure if more wintry weather is in the forecast for our remaining 3 weeks here (3 weeks!!!) but it sure feels like spring is here to stay, and I am thankful for that. I'm also thankful that they boys have been better behaved since Monday's craziness, so my sanity is on the mend. This Friday, if the weather holds, we're planning to make our trip to Canada! We have our passports, and the kids just need their birth certificates, so I think we're set (although for some weird reason I have a mild fear that we'll have unexpected trouble getting back into the country!). I'm sure it will be a good adventure, and we'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Ordered today from Amazon

I've been coming up empty on new ways to teach the kids respect and self control -- my usual methods just aren't working anymore and I'm getting frustrated. I've heard

good things about all 3 books, so hopefully they'll give me a fresh perspective and we can have a more respectful and peaceful household.

We've had a LOT of really poor behavior and attitudes (especially from a certain almost-6-year old!), so much so that I know I was "that" mom in the grocery store today -- trying desperately to control her 3 terribly behaving and crying kids while pushing a full cart toward checkout. I felt defeated, but I put on a brave face and got through the store as fast as I could. Jack spent the next several hours in his room (he chose to skip lunch), and Peter and Thomas were playing quietly in the playroom before nap time ... until I discovered that they had been scraping toys across the walls, leaving a mess of marks and scrapes all over the paint! Augh!

Anyway, the power struggles with the kids is really wearing me down lately. I consider myself an intelligent, capable, and confident parent, but I think it's time to call in some expert advice. I really hope I learn something useful from these books!

Puddle jumpers ...

Don't always have the luxury of dry bottoms.


Or clean hands.


Or unmuddied sweaters.


But they sure do love finding out where all the water goes when the snow melts.


And splashing and sloshing and squelching to their hearts' content.

One Man's Trash

It hit 50 degrees today in Buffalo, and let me tell you, it felt absolutely wonderful. It hasn't been this warm since October maybe? The sky was gray and cloudy, so it felt a little depressing, but it felt so freeing to be outside in just a lightweight fleece jacket -- no heavy coat, no gloves, no hat. I took the boys to Island Park (it's a tiny park that is enclosed by a creek, so you have to walk over a bridge to get to it). They got to swing, go on the slides, and we found some uncovered grass to run around on. It was great! I'm amazed at how slowly the snow is melting -- after days of temperates well above freezing, there is still plenty of snow on the ground. Still, the boys have been able to play outside for 3 straight days, and it's been awesome.

I was talking with Joyce today and she mentioned that the temperature in Apple Valley today was pretty close to the one in Buffalo -- right around 50 degrees, except that it felt a little chilly to her. She mentioned the "one man's trash is another man's treasure" saying, and I realized how true that is! I remember many 40 and 50 degree days in San Diego that I felt it was too chilly to drag everyone outside to play. I much preferred waiting for temperatures in the 60+ degree range. In fact, until we moved to Buffalo, I don't think the boys even owned anything heavier than a sweater or light rain jacket. If it were cold enough for a heavier jacket, I didn't bother going outside. I think I can safely say that when we get back to California, I won't be taking the wonderful weather for granted!

So, the warmer weather and more sunshine is doing wonders for my sanity. Oddly enough, the boys' moods don't seem to be improved with the better weather -- there have been some crazy drama moments and whining over the most trivial of things. I'm starting to run out of ideas from my parenting bag of tricks, but I'm hoping that a change of scenery and a move into a larger house next month will reset their attitudes a little.

Baby steps to April 8th

One of my favorite movies is "What About Bob". Well, I'd have to say the first 2/3 of the movie are awesome, and then it gets a little weird, but I really love so much about that first 2/3. Something about how much Bill Murray's character bothers Richard Dreyfuss's character is just hilarious, and it never fails to lift my mood. I also love the "baby steps" therapy, and I totally get that feeling when Bill Murray is staring at a clock intently, saying "Baby steps to 3 o'clock ... baby steps to 3 o'clock ... baby steps to 3 o'clock". I have so been there and done that, just replace "3 o'clock" with whenever David is getting home from work (or the kids' bedtime!).

Now I'm baby stepping to April 8th, our last day in Buffalo and our first day in Colorado. For so many reasons, I'm ready to go on to our next "home away from home". I have enjoyed so much about our time in Buffalo -- playing in the snow, sledding, experiencing Western NY sights and culture. But, I won't lie -- it has been a difficult 6 months! The biggest challenge has been adjusting to apartment living -- a smaller living space, trying to keep the kids from making too much noise for the neighbors. Also, apartment living made dealing with the cold weather more difficult. I think we would have had a lot less cabin fever crazies if we were living in a larger place and/or we didn't have downstairs neighbors so the boys could burn off a little more energy inside the house.

On April 8th, this all changes, and I think we'll all let out a big sigh of relief when we arrive at our rental home in Colorado Springs. We were very fortunate to be able to find one that fit within David's corporate budget, and it has plenty of space and even a yard!

We'll also be a LOT closer to our families in California, and we're already eagerly planning ways to have them come out and visit.

For now, the goal is to put one foot in front of the other and do our best to make the most of our remaining time here in Buffalo!