Life has felt a bit like the first photo lately. Hazy, soft... passing by happily with cuddles and late mornings, passing by blurry with lots of middle-of-the-night feedings and teething-induced fussies, passing by quickly with cleaning and laundry and many tasks of recovering from the holiday rest, passing by lazily with cleared schedules and a short to-do list.
One of my sisters took us thrifting in Houston, and we went again over the holidays in search of work clothes for Benjamin. Things we are wearing that were recently thrifted: Jax's velour sweater and red corduroys (Polo Ralph Lauren in immaculate condition!), my blouse and my jacket. I've also worn the jacket with a teal blouse and pale tan pants.
The heat is out in my car and in our house, so we've been wearing lots of layers. Leggings under pants for me, baby legs under pants for Jax. A tank, long sleeve, and sweater (and scarf) for me, and a onesie, long sleeve and sweater (and hat) for Jax.
As far as the heat goes, the car is in the shop, but if the repair is too expensive, we might just deal without heat. The house, Benjamin did some investigating. He is so good at figuring out mechanical things that he can often repair appliances even though he's never done so before. He discovered the roofers who made such a racket this spring when Jax was first born, had cut a hole (now patched) above our heater. Chunks of roofing materials were stuck in a fan and various parts of the heater. It was kicking on, but not heating. He narrowed it down to a safety valve. He knows it's that part because he can bypass it and get the heater to kick on. I voted to replace a safety valve instead of bypass it.
The only thing I stopped him from doing was waving a lighter around inside the propane gas heater. He was looking for a pilot light, and I told him they haven't made appliances with pilot lights for decades. I'm loving that he can figure out how to fix the heater himself. I won't love it if we burn the house down in the process.
Christmas was delightful. Noisy, chaotic, and loads of fun with five little cousins. Jax cut his first tooth and spent Christmas Eve in urgent care getting breathing treatments. I'm still not sure what part of his illness was teething, and which part was viral. It was an adventure to say the least.
Since coming home, we've put away the decorations, purged the baby toys, and are slowly finding our rhythm again.
Little by little, we're getting the hang of the new year.
