5 on Friday

It's been a minute since I've done a 5 on Friday and this will help prevent me from getting too wordy.  You're welcome.  Linking on up, here's what's currently good in my world:

 1.  My new pantry.  A Regram, but nevertheless it makes me happy.  I have a small grocery store in there, you know, since we live out in the middle of nowhere.  Or if the zombies come.  Most importantly I have an entire shelf devoted to Starbucks coffee & Spark.  I shall never be without.

 2.  This Quinoa salad is one of THE best things I've ever shoved down my gullet.  And 100% clean.  I made a big batch today to eat for the next several days.  I got the recipe from Kroger the other day, they were handing out samples.  You can find the recipe under my newly added RECIPES heading (next to "About the Kiddos").  Yay for Gramma figuring something out!

 3.  Teeny little felt heart garland from HollyCreekHome on Etsy.  Way to trick out my mantle, eh?

 4.  MoJo.  Man they are hilarious and frustrating.  They push me to the edge of my sanity every day (multiple times!) but they are at such a fun age right now.  (We just can't go out in public very often)

 Joey still cuddles with me at least 5 times per day.  This particular morning he just laid there looking at me for the longest time (which is rare because he usually only needs about a 45-second cuddle and then he's gone again.)  I love this picture:  His big blue eyes, his belly peeking out....pure sweetness.

5.  We have a double dinner date planned Saturday night and I cannot wait!  All I want is a big ol' steak (it's been forever since I've had one??) and a big glass of a good Cab.  And some fun adult time out with my main squeeze - we've been so focused on the house/to-do lists/the kids/moving/etc. that we are exhausted and haven't made any time for fun.  Also?  The other wife is mom to FOUR BOYS under FIVE.  I can't wait to hear her nuggets of wisdom and nothing shuts me up faster from complaining about my "hard life with two kids", haha!  AND this couple used to live in Rochester, MN...small world!
 

Cliffgate (AKA the new house)

I affectionately dubbed the new house "Cliffgate" the first time we drove up the long, mountainous driveway, and the name stuck.

I will spare everyone the long and painful details of JUST HOW DISASTROUS this move was -- there's not enough antidepressants to cheer you all up afterward.  The movers couldn't get their trucks up our long steep driveway AFTER they were loaded with every.single.thing.we.owned. -- and Mother Nature was not cooperating with all this Polar Vortex business.  We had to spend 6 days total at my MIL's with two toddlers and no stuff.  We survived.  I'm just thankful we had somewhere to go. 

And WHO moves in January anyway???

The big move finally happened last Saturday and we are still trying to find our way out of boxes.

I am loving our new home.  When I first found it back in October, we knew it wouldn't happen overnight.  It was a bank-owned property that had been sitting vacant.  The previous owners custom built the home, and we are told, sadly left due to divorce.  They had a young set of twins and the house is laid out SO nicely for small children, with room to grow. (Play dates anyone?)  You can definitely tell they put a lot of thought and detail into their dream home.

I'm leery of doing a complete house tour (even though I live for those on other blogs!) because of weirdos out there.  Paranoid much?  Maybe a little.  Thank goodness for a high tech alarm system.  

So here are a few pics taken from the listing when it was active.  (Plus it's a mess right now)

 

The foyer.  And ignore that builder grade light fixture because it's getting evicted.

I am lusting after the RH Orb for the foyer but the Husband is not excited to shell out any more money after our billion dollar move.

The kitchen, which I am terribly unqualified to cook in.  I heart gas stoves.  And 2 ovens?  That's a lot of cookies I can bake at once.  The white pendants above the island have been replaced.

The great room with the sad little fireplace.  I'm campaigning for some built-ins and big stone wall all the way up to the ceiling, but again, Bank of Husband is resisting.

The master bath & closet.  The water pressure is amazing.  It goes from "trickle" to "take your skin off".  I love it.

A similar view of the great room with previous owner's stuff, but this shows the catwalk upstairs that I can only imagine MoJo launching toys (or eachother) off of.

 Since it was bank-owned, the bank came in and repainted & replaced some of the carpets.  There's a whole lotta beige going on, but since I'm the Queen of Neutrals and a total commitment-phobe, I think it suits me.  So far we've only replaced a bunch of light fixtures, but we have more things on the agenda.

The yard and driveway need major work.  Like excavators and engineers and more than just me & a shovel can handle.  We have nearly 6 acres and it's a mountain.  We've had several bids and let's just say MoJo are going to grow up eating Ramen noodles and living off the land and *gasp!* going to public school. 

Kidding.  Sort of.

I'm still getting used to the idea of being out in the country, away from civilization.  There's a WalMart 3 minutes away, but I don't count that, haha.  I just miss our old town and will continue to drive Morgan to preschool there twice a week. It's only a 20 minute drive so it's not too bad.  And it gives me an excuse to visit Target!

Other than all that, the place was in great shape and we feel so lucky to have found it.  It's the only house we looked at, and the first time we took a tour, I just "knew" it was the one:  I could see our kids growing up here.

Anyway, that's the story on the house and what I've been totally consumed with lately.  The kids are adjusting just great - they have bedrooms next to each other and they have really started playing a lot more together.  I can't wait for spring so we can get outside and explore.  Everything is an adventure to them and I just love seeing it through their eyes.

I can't stop

OK, I know I said I was shutting the ol' blog down, but I can't tell you the number of times I've come back to make an entry and then stopped.  Habit?  Yes.  But I miss it!  I still follow all my faves even though my commenting has been lacking.  I'm still blowing off homework for blogging and I still haven't even thought about starting on the kids' baby books.  Some things never change.

So I'm not letting my blog die.  I won't.  I can't.  And I can't stomach the thought of someone else stealing my "Tammyfantasyland" title (which someone recently asked me about - thanks for putting that in my head!).  It's mine and I shall die with it.  Or something like that.

So I shall forge on.  I will find a way to balance my time with my children and other duties (school, home, etc.) just like before.  If I blog more infrequently, you'll know why.

But other than that...I'm baaaaaack!