The Love of the Gain

Many people say that the sense of smell evokes memories the way no other sense does. Smelling Isaac today brought me back to memories from years ago, memories of standing on my doorstep hugging Mark goodnight. Yes, you guessed it. Isaac smelled like Gain. 

When I started dating Mark, I fell in love with the smell of Gain. His mother used Gain detergent and as a result, ensured my love for her son. I could spend hours cuddling him, smelling him. (Of course I fail to mention another partner in the scent combination...Old Spice Pure Sport. Mark lent me his hoodie one night and I said "Wow, this smells so good!". He replied, "That's the armpit." Well, it was an incredible smelling armpit at that!)

When Mark went on his mission I'd visit his family sometimes and once I entered their house/car I'd be on cloud nine again. "It smells like Mark," I'd say. You would probably say it was fitting for Mark's mother to give me a jug of Gain detergent for a gag gift at our wedding reception. When we bought our new washer & dryer, we couldn't use it, and to complete the nightmare I couldn't find HE Gain. I was devastated! Finally, I found it. And bought two. I've been saving it for months until we finished our other detergent. 

Yesterday I did my first load of Isaac's clothes. Now whenever I smell him a wave of memories flood my mind and put a smile on my face. 

The House That Mark Wants

The Ellingson Army has a favorite pastime...looking at houses on MLS.

This addiction may be a bit harmful because of dissatisfaction of our own home that occurs afterwards and the high hopes we have of owning homes out of our reach. It's not that they're too out of our reach, they're just not right for us right now, with ONE child. We did find one house that we loved...enough to look at. I know, I know, we shouldn't have done it, but now Mark is in LOVE. I was in love too, more like "in like", but the voice of reason was far too loud in my head to pursue anything more.

It was a charming little house originally built in 1949, but has recently been rebuilt from the studs. The builders kept a lot of the original fixtures and baseboards to keep the character of the original home. They even picked brand new tiling/laminate that looked aged and fit with the charm of the rest of the house. It had a claw footed tub, and a great upstairs play area for kids!

Mark's dream house

The kitchen with the coolest floor tiles,
yes, that design is tile!

The dining room featuring the original fireplace

The most charming stairwell
in the living room

So the voice of reason told me that the 6.5' ceiling in the basement would be a pain and the small fenced yard with no space for a garden would not be practical for a family. The kitchen was charming, but was lacking great counter space, and of course for an Ellingson, it lacked the necessary island with bar stools. Ok, ok, so it was basically a brand new house, but I guess I just wanted to keep our house and renovate it the way we want. We've got a huge yard and garden and we don't live on a corner (which in the winter would be a pain!). Of course, we live right close to the Ellingsons and just walk over for a cup of sugar or for babysitting.

I recently watched a House Hunters show where this young couple were on the search for their first home. I was appalled at how particular they were about what they wanted. How much space do you need for 2 people? They were most particular about the yard. They were upset with small sized deck (which I thought was huge!), and the yard with tons of grass, but the nice looking shed was in the middle of the yard...not the right spot for this young couple. When Mark and I were looking for our first home, we definitely didn't have many specifics. We looked past the ugly carpet and the creepy bathroom ceiling and saw what we could make of our first home!

So for you future young, first home buyers, keep your dream house in mind for buying your SECOND home

The Day Home Dramas

Well, it's been a while since I blogged. I haven't forgotten about my blog, but who's really following anyways?

I've taken over my sister in law's day home while she's away for a month. Each day I have 2-6 kids including Isaac. After school sometimes I have an additional three. Needless to say, things can get a little hectic! I'm so exhausted by the end of the day, I'm unmotivated to clean my own house, let alone BLOG! I'm constantly thinking of new games to play and all I can think about are "What time is it Mr. Wolf" and "Red Light, Green Light". The only games I remember playing when I was a very young girl, waiting for the big kids to get out of Ukrainian Dance class. Any help in that department would be great!

Isaac sure has fun, and it's a challenge to get him down for a nap each day. Today I decided to try only ONE nap. Sure enough, it's on the day he wakes up at 6:30AM! It was a challenge to get him to noon, for sure! He's going to be very bored when this is all over. I think I've fallen more in love with Isaac because I'm not playing with him as much anymore. I steal more kisses when I put him to sleep and think he's even CUTER!

What I've learned for sure is that you have to STAND YOUR GROUND! There's a particular girl who, if you give her an inch, she takes a mile! I also found that I have no patience for kids who cry for no reason...I usually say, "I know you're not crying for any reason, so if you want to stop crying, you can come and play ______ with us!" I think I'm converted to having an all BOY family for that very reason! It's so interesting to see how kids develop. I love to see the stories they make up and how they "read" books (make up the story from looking at the pictures). They have great made up games and now I know I'm not the only one who gets upset when Isaac wrecks my towers!

Now for a little photographic update!

Isaac had his first hair cut on Christmas Eve Day. I almost cried seeing those curly whisps on the floor! Mark wanted it shorter, but I insisted on keeping what little was left of the curls!

Before

Before. He REALLY needed a hair cut!

After. My Dapper Dan!

Doesn't it look SO CUTE!?

Isaac's new fascination. Heat vents. He takes them off and puts his legsdown them, gets out, goes back in, etc. I've also found a couples toys stuck down their too! ...AND SO IT BEGINS!

Isaac learned how to drink out of a straw and now enjoys smoothies so much! 

Yet again, Isaac has the most fun with non-toys. 

He was playing with these toys in the cart in the grocery store and people came up and said,
"You can't play with those, it's WINTER". Stupid people! It keeps him happy!