In this little house.

No photos, but I suppose that isn't a reason to not update the blog.  Give me a week and we'll be back to regular posts around here.

In this little house, Miss Quincy had a birthday. It happens every year and there's nothing I can do to stop it.  Little Q isn't so little anymore. I love her so much, even when she's being a little stink...which seems to be daily as of late.  She just LOVES being six, and loves that she's "almost seven" (because that's what being six is all about) which is how old Reese is, so "basically they are the same age right now".  We had a little family dinner with s'mores brownies and presents, and she had a Polar Express friend party on Saturday.  It was a lot of fun and I am really tired, but there is no time to rest, because we are all aboard the holiday train!

In this little house, Corbin carries around a 2 foot Christmas tree and plugs it in wherever he can find an empty outlet. He shouts, "Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas" in his best Santa voice and tiny lights illuminate the kids bathroom, the hallway, or a bedroom. It's super cute and he looks like Clark Griswold carrying the tree all around our little house.

In our little house, Reese anticipates her birthday on friday and a Willy Wonka Party.

After the birthday festivities are over, we'll settle in and enjoy some more of our favorite Christmas traditions in our little house.  I love how big my parents were into holiday traditions. Every year when I make gingerbread men I am right at home.

Our funny little elf has been doing funny little things in our little house.

There are Christmas lights lining the roof of our little house and they will probably be there until April. or May.

In our little house Soren sleeps in the living room or in the only spot that a pack n play will fit in our bedroom.  There is a treadmill in the hallway of this little house and the live christmas tree is in the kitchen because that's where we could fit it.   If anyone fails to clean up after themselves, even for one day, it seems that our house very quickly goes from clean and orderly to looking like a tornado blew through. Not putting things away turns our living room into an obstacle course.  We need to get into a bigger place, or get rid of some stuff.

What a first world problem to have, I know.  You know you have too many things when you make decisions about Christmas gifts based on whether or not you have a place to put them.

There are many benefits of sticking it out a little longer in our little house.

For one, I can hear the baby from any room in the house, so I don't have to worry about him if he is in my bedroom and I am in the dining area.  I don't ever need a baby monitor.  Also, when we lived in Green Bay, our washer and dryer were in the basement, and our bedrooms were on the second floor.  We had a laundry chute to get the dirty clothes to the basement, but everything still had to be carried back up two flights of stairs after it was washed.  Doing laundry in my hallway does cause traffic congestion occasionally, but it also doesn't take long for the children and I to put everything away.  There are many many times when I've been on bed rest and recognized that our lack of a laundry room was actually a blessing because everything is so close I can use one foot to push the laundry baskets around on the carpet.  This little trick would never work in a large house :)
Reese and Quincy love sharing a bedroom in our little house, and would share a room even if they had the choice to have their own space.
Having limited storage has forced me to be creative about organization. There are baskets and storage bins lining every shelf and every basket has a purpose.  Everything has a place, or we do not keep it.  (hence, the treadmill in the hallway. We are trying to find it a home...looks like the girls' bedroom might be the winner.

In our little house, there is only one living room/family room/play area, so we are always together.  I think my children are good friends because they have never known what it's like to not have to share space.

Thanks to my little house being little, there were little bodies sleeping in a snug 76 degrees last night during 20 degree weather.  My wood burning stove was able to heat every corner of this little house.

There are only two bathrooms in our little house which means I only have to clean two bathrooms.
That's a lie. I clean zero bathrooms. My kids clean the bathrooms. But I bet they're glad they only have to clean two of them!

The opening of the garage door can be heard from any room of this little house, and the sound sends five sets of little legs to the dining area to welcome Aaron home.

There are only two smoke alarms in our little house, but everyone was definitely alarmed when I set it off the other day.

My whole home will soon be filled with the smell of freshly baked bread.

For everything my little house lacks, there is an abundance of something good that makes up for it.  I dream (constantly) about our "someday house" and all of it's spacious rooms and acre-y glory, but I do love my little house and I really really love the little people who fill it.  Who knew adding a tiny baby would require so much space?

I can't think of a better reason to be crowded.