Miss Fix-it

Sasha has seen her grandma, grandpa, and dad doing a lot of 'fixing' lately, and it shows. She found the nails in the window screen at her grandma's house, and promptly grabbed her toy hammer.
"Don't worry Dad, I'll fix it," she announced to her father and went to work.


And here are a few pictures of Sasha at the new apartment in Montana:


Talking to grandma.

Armoire

So I previously mentioned that Sasha is getting her own bedroom in our new apartment. Sasha's dad and grandma are busy getting the new place ready! The apartment has 2.5 bedrooms. Sasha gets the "half-bedroom", which is actually perfect for her. It's small but that's fine. It's not closet sized or anything rude like that. Previous tenants used it for an office. It cannot officially or legally be considered a bedroom because it has no windows and no closet. When I look at the floor plan, I wonder if it wasn't once a part of the master bedroom.
Anyways, it's perfect for Sasha. It will be her very first bedroom. She will want to be close to mom and dad, and the room is right there next to the master bedroom.
My mother-in-law is a very talented former interior decorator. She will be decorating and painting Sasha's room as a very special project (Yay!). The theme she has chosen is pink and green. So far she has purchased a pink and green rug, and a pink and green bed comforter. She is going to repaint the walls.
Sasha's new bedroom has no closet, so an armoire is needed. Sasha's dad and grandma decided to build one from scratch. Here is Sasha posing with her new (unfinished) armoire:
Sasha poses with her new (unfinished) armoire.
So far I think it looks great. Here is a second picture, this time look on top of the armoire. Grandma has it partially decorated. You can see the pink and green theme in the choice of decorations. The bunny in the basket even has green and pink clothes.
I believe the armoire will be painted green and pink in accordance with the theme but I could be wrong.
There are also plans in the works for grandma and dad to build Sasha's bed, a matching toy box, and also a bed for Cassie.

New Apartment!!!

Okay now this is finally starting to feel real. Through much networking, my husband and mother-in-law in Montana have found the perfect new apartment for us. They are there now, getting it ready for move in. Security deposit is paid. Moving truck and movers are scheduled. Everything is set for an official move.
The apartment
It is a two-and-a-half bedroom with a nice spacious one car garage. The half bedroom is a small bedroom attached to the master bedroom, and it has no windows, so it technically cannot be considered a real bedroom. The half bedroom also has no closet. This is perfect for Sasha's first new bedroom of her own.
Kitchen, already being tested by Sasha and Grandma.
A double sink! Oh how I have missed these seemingly normal sinks! Our current sink (inset bottom right) just has one well in it and it's so hard to properly wash dishes with only one sinkwell. I look forward to having a double sink with a sprayer again! Oh how simply amused I am. (Ignore the mess, they're painting)
Dining room. Nothing fancy.
Woot! A really big kitchen pantry!
Living room.
Master bedroom, 2 closets. I like the way the window is set out like that so I can set maybe plants or something there.
Sasha's first bedroom! Note no windows, no closet and it's a bit small. It is considered the "half bedroom" and is right off the master bedroom close to mom and dad.
Laundry room! Grandma has purchased us a washer and dryer set as a housewarming gift. I'm so happy.
Cassie's bedroom. Huge closet!
Uh, bathroom. Nothing extraordinary. Apartment has only one bathroom. It's bigger than our current bathroom and I think I'll have to put some shelves above the toilet for shelf space.

So there you have it. Home sweet home. There is no yard, but that's okay because it's Montana and there's plenty of outdoors. The apartment is actually above a store/boutique and the landlords are super nice. The apartment is a block away from the grade school, 4 blocks away from the high school. It's in walking distance of everything I could possibly need to include the grocery store, bank, and post office. I'm really excited.

Emotional understandings

My husband shared a little Sasha story with me that I wanted to write down.
She was watching the movie Toy Story 2. There's a part where Woody has a bad dream that he loses his arm and is thrown away and is very sad. Well, Sasha watched this part of the movie with dismay, and started crying. My husband comforted her and asked her if she was crying because she was sad, and she said yes. She said said the movie made her sad. Fortunately the bad dream part of the movie ended, and he was able to show her that it was all just a bad dream, that Woody was okay. She seemed reassured by this.
She has been really well at reading emotions on people too. Her grandma was having a bad day, then to top it off, she spilled a glass of tea all over the floor. Sasha saw that her grandma was very frustrated and tried to make her feel better. "It's okay Grandma", Sasha said as she hugged her grandma's leg.

These little stories reminded me of an interesting article I read the other day. It was some study that researchers did on toddler social skills and emotional understanding. I found it hilarious that the researchers made the kids watch scenes from the tv show The Office.

Working and Waiting

One very long month down, and one very long month to go. We are definitely making the move to Montana in early June. A lot of preparation has gone into this so far, and there is still a ton of preparation to go.
Jon and Sasha have been out there for the last month. We all miss each other terribly, but we all believe it is for the greater good. The environment has been so incredibly healthy for my husband and for Sasha. They are thriving and happy out there. In contrast to the environment in the city, where my husband's physical and mental health were deteriorating. They spent the last three years holed up inside a small apartment, and it was really taking a toll on them both. But now they're free and taking advantage of the great outdoors, and the great family support system set up out in Montana.
And a few pictures above. On Mother's day, Sasha helped everyone relay the bricks on the deck at my in-law's house. Sasha was a very helpful observer. And yes, my husband has put on some weight out there, thank goodness! :)