PerryBuilt Family

When I was a kid I went back and forth between my parents houses because they were divorced. I had gone every other day (I usually get a pitiful look from people when I say that, but it was awesome, what kid doesn't want to see both parents everyday?) And, I don't remember feeling disconnected with my space until I was 8 and started going every other week. Every week I would get home and even if my room wasn't dirty I would clean. I was reacquainting myself with the space. In a big world where still many things are out of my control; cleaning, is a simple task where I can feel satisfied and some what accomplished. Here's a link to an article about sanity and cleanliness. (I'm still on the hunt for a better one out there which I will share with you when I find one, but when I google psychology and cleanliness I get the biblical verse about cleanliness and godliness, which isn't what I was trying to share with my readers). In my new home, though it has been a slo...

The first few pictures I hung in my house, I used the help of my handy dandy talented contractor husband who, has all the right tools and does math easily in his head to hang pictures at the right height and can easily match the height or divide up the space perfectly. Having two kids, the project got interrupted, of course. But, there is something about moving, I don't feel quite settled until I see my artwork or families and friends faces on the walls surrounding me. It's how I mark my territory, or something. So, if you walked into my home, you would know my style, and immediately what I love. And, what I love, which as you will see in the next few pictures are my kids! My husband did complain that we need either different people on our walls and or more artwork. I agree, we spent a pretty penny on getting professional pictures taken of our kids as infants and that time was really the last time I updated what was in my frames. I told him, we will get the frames u...

I should not be writing my blog today, but I need a little brain break and I would rather be thinking about all these things than work and bills. Spring is such a wonderful time of year! Living in California, it is the short time of the year where everything growing under the trees is actually green without a sprinkler, and it does not last long. The trees start to blossom and the sun gets warmer, yet the mornings are still crisp and clean. We just moved into a new place with lots of garden beds. Last Friday, my kids (and the neighbors, Thank you, by the way), dug up some poorly placed garden boxes right outside our front door and moved them to the side of the house where all the rest of the garden boxes live. It has been a few years since I have actually had a vegetable garden, so we will see how it goes, but I have high hopes and have actually started my veggies by seed. I know I must be crazy. I have followed this website where you put in your zipcode and it tells you wha...

The flu shot is something, as a mother of two, I debate about every year. However, I never remember getting the flu shot annually when I was a kid.  So has the flu gotten worse? Has the shot gotten better? Or, are the pharmaceutical companies distributing the shot playing off of our fears?  They even have the insurance companies offering free shots to limit medical expenses as a result of the virus. It is a very personal decision and I am not sure I have the answer. Nor do I criticize or condone the administration of it. I was pregnant with my second child when there was a big H1N1 scare a few years ago. I had to get through the peak of flu season right in my last trimester.  No one wants to put their child at risk or themselves when your body needs to be ready for labor.  And, boy did I get sick that second pregnancy. My daughter was in preschool and I worked there one day a week, so having us both involved there really increased our susceptibility. I was told aft...

I believe that socializing your child as early on as possible is the best gift you can give them. This means more than play dates and siblings. I chose to take my children to a co-op when they were only toddlers (before preschool age).  I don't know that most toddler parents know that this option exists.  My son started at 17 months. My daughter started at 24 months and most parents I feel don't look for preschools until their kids are closer to age 3.  This was great because it gave me parenting skills along with skills to manage interactions among other young children and strengthened my comfort level and confidence in being with other kids.  It gave my children the experience of what is acceptable play, encouraged independence and confidence in their abilities.  In short, they blossomed, or actually, we collectively blossomed. In this post, I am going to outline the expectations and rewards of being involved  in a co-op. It can be a little scary ...

We first started this harrowing process of buying a home  nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains, over  a year ago.  Finally, with the wonderful help of our  realtor  and lender , w e found success two days after Christmas. What a wonderful gift.  Although, if you had asked me,  I wondered if we would ever close the deal. We  had been so close to closing before,  but  it had been  delayed  over and over again,  that I could  not believe it until the keys were placed in  my  hand! My husband was a champion at making all the hard decisions about sticking with it and not backing out, given all the disclosed problems that a house built in the forties would have. He is a gifted  contractor and has the knowledge to make these tough decisions, because he knows what the work is going to be like to fix them.  Not to mention, the house was bank owned and had been sitting vacant without any regular maint...