progress

Moving began today! It was so great to start moving boxes and furniture into our new house!

The cats aren’t quite sure, just yet, what to think but they will adjust just fine and I think they will love it here. I already do. Tomorrow will be more of the same; packing up last minute things, sweating in the humidity and hauling endless loads of stuff into the new place. Just to think about the endless months of waiting are finally coming to an end. This was the first domino in the series. That is SO exciting!

up and at ’em

Awake early this morning – actually slept all through the night!  (I sound like a baby)  I haven’t done that in I don’t know HOW long!  Hopped up and made the bed, folded a load of laundry, started another load, put away clean dishes (thank you, Coach!) and sorted through some clothes of Munchkin’s that she’s outgrown. 

So thankful for a good night’s sleep.  It’s amazing how different the morning looks when approached after a solid 7 hours of sleep! 

Really motivated to get a lot of packing done this weekend.  We have several areas almost finished. 

• The kitchen is just lacking the pantry, every day dishes and pots and pans to be finished.
• Munchkin’s room is almost finished but for one small box of toys, her clothes (still need to finish sorting) and some misc. books and things
• Our room is just lacking the rest of the closet (that’s going to be a big task), our photo albums and my antique books

Areas that haven’t been touched yet:

• China Cabinet
• Bird Cabinet
• Bathrooms
• Misc. Decorations – throughout the house

We still have a lot to do.  The China cabinet will take several hours because there are so many pieces and they have to be individually wrapped and I need to get more paper.  I’ve thought about going through that stuff and getting rid of what I won’t actually use but most of the knick-nacks were my grandparents and I don’t think I should give them away.  *sigh*  It’s hard to know what to do there. 

Munchkin will be home in 17 days!  I am SO happy and I can’t wait to have her home again.  I know she’s had a good time and this is an important part of her summer but it is SO great when she comes home. 

I think, instead of trying to buy a bed right away for her, we’ll use the bed she has without the long legs (she’ll go from a very tall bed to a very short bed) and do something fun with fabric to make a little canopy/tent with her lights – it’ll be her very own little space. 

We have a list running of things we need/want for the new house.  The chairs we bought last year at IKEA haven’t fared well and several of them need to be repaired and we’ve put new ones on our list of things to buy (eventually). 

The Stowaway is pretty much set – we have her crib, bedding and stroller and we’re going to re-use Munchkin’s changing table/dresser.  I will probably use bins in the closet for clothes and keep as much stuff hung up as possible.  That seems to be easier for Munchkin to manage, rather than stuffing folding clothes into her drawers.  *grin*

I’ve gone through all Munchkin’s toys and gotten rid/donated LOTS of stuff.  It will be so much easier for her to manage.  She still has barbies; just not 50 of them and all the little pieces that go with them.  She still has baby doll stuff; it’s just organized.  She has all her teacher stuff; it’s just been organized.  I think she will be very happy with what we’ve done.

The best (and only really good) part about moving is the ability to really cull your stuff of clutter, things that don’t fit, books we won’t read again and stuff we just don’t want/can’t use.  I’m even doing it in the kitchen.  I have some great metal mixing bowls but I never use them because they are too big for the dishwasher and they don’t fit in any of the cabinets.  I don’t think I’ve used them since we moved into this apartment.  So they are going.  I would love to get rid of my square dishes (very asian) but Coach likes the deep cereal bowls.  *laugh*  I’m going to thin out my coffee cup collection – do I really need 30 miscellaneous mugs?

Well, it’s just about 8am and I am going to get my bowl of cereal then go ahead and go in to the office.  Have a great day!!!

yes we CAN!

TXU found the house!  We’ve scheduled electricity!  Now we can move!  Today, I’ll get the lease and let Coach go down to the City and set up the water account and the two critical items will be done.  Yes, yes, we’ll schedule Time Warner Cable but seriously, folks, these people are clueless.  Yesterday, they told me I couldn’t move service from one zip code to another without starting a whole new account and that we would get a credit but we’d lose the rest of the MLS Direct Kick package we bought. 

Does this sound like good business practice to anybody?  This entire summer, TWC has been irritating us with their sloppy billing errors, multiple mixed messages about our service and, in general, the poor quality of service.  And then to tell me I can’t move two miles away from this apartment in 76504 to a house in 76502 (in the same city) without basically starting all over again – just about takes the cake. 

I told the gal on the phone yesterday DirectTV was looking better and better.  (not that I really want satellite, mind you, but I’m just about at the end of my patience with our current set-up.)

In other news…

Wait, there isn’t other news – we’re in full moving mode.  I’ll spare you today. 

Work is good.  The great thing about summer is that I can pretty much focus on one task at a time.  It’s such a nice change from the hectic pace of the school year when 20 things are happening or due at once. 

I’m working on the website today and getting some letters out and order thank you notes for our new donors.  I might go in a little early so I can get started.  After cereal, of course, Oscar…  No, sweet kitty, I won’t forget your milk.

uneasy

Woke up this morning with an uneasy feeling; like time is running out and I still don’t have all the stuff I know I need to do done. 

Have I mentioned I hate moving?  Oh, the packing and unpacking is tedious and exhausting but that’s not the moving part.  It’s all the formalities: deposits, leases, documents, details, details, details….  (and you know how much I love details)

transferring services like electricity and cable has proven to be more impossible than it should have to be because the house is brand new.  TXU can’t see the house because they don’t have the meter in the system.  Even though Oncor has been out to install the permanent meter now, TXU’s website still couldn’t find the address. 

This probably wouldn’t be an issue but for the fact that the house is going to be ready earlier and we are going to try to move a week sooner than originally planned.  This is wonderful news because I’ve been getting antsy to get out of this awful, cramped, chaotic MESS of an apartment – the sooner I get out of here, the better.

I hate mess.  Oh, I’ll never go back to the frantic clean-freak I was but not having enough space to keep things straight is maddening.  (aside – that frantic clean freak business wasn’t really me anyway; it was a manifestation of terrible anxiety) I can’t stand stuff just put somewhere because there is nowhere else to put it.  Or stuff that “temporarily” locates somewhere that comes to live there on a permanent basis.  Unfortunately, one of the perils of late pregnancy is that drain of energy that leaves you feeling somewhere between an overcooked spaghetti noodle and wilted lettuce.  Combine that with the energy-sucking feeling that happens every time you walk into a cluttered apartment and ‘VOILA’ you have a perfect recipe for general disquiet. 

But I digress.  I will call all the utilities today and try to figure out what we need to do to get stuff up and running next week because moving with no electricity is NOT going to be fun.  I’m certain once I get the utilities squared away, I will feel all better about everything.

Speaking of electricity, our electric bill jumped $50 during the month of June.  Maybe I need Starbucks this morning.

just checking!

Braxton-Hicks aren’t new in this pregnancy (33 weeks) but Sunday they took a definitely more enthusiastic tone and threw in a little pelvic pressure and the ability to take my breath away. 

When they continued yesterday morning, I decided it couldn’t hurt to call and talk to the OB nurse.  Of course, she recommended I come in and get checked.  Two hours and half a roll of paper later, nothing is happening and they are, after all, just B-H. 

Surely as I sit here, though, had I NOT gone in, it would be true labor and then we’d have a real crisis. 

I know it’s better safe than sorry and I’m glad nothing is happening (I’m ready to meet this little critter but not this week) but sheesh, it’s like taking your car in when it’s making a horrible noise but dang it if it will make that noise when you get it to the mechanic… 

On the up-side, we did get to hear our little soccer star’s beautiful heartbeat and, when they hooked her up to the fetal monitor, we were treated to the sounds of her rambunctious movement – something to go with the alien-esque contortions of my stomach! 

——–

On another note, the house is set to be ready a little earlier than we’d originally thought so we are going to start moving in NEXT week!  I’m SO excited!  I’m so ready to get things settled and set up for the Stowaway and I really wanted to have Munchkin’s stuff all set up for her too when she comes home.  I wasn’t really happy about things still being in semi-transition when Munchkin comes home but didn’t think we really had a lot of options because of the timing of the new house.  PIctures to come – as soon as we can get inside the house to take pictures, I’ll post them!

——–

One more thing – I still can’t post many details but suffice it to say something for which we’ve been praying seems to be on the verge of happening.  My brother and I have been so concerned about Mom’s health this last year (couple of years actually) and even her doctor has warned her about the amount of stress she lives with.  It seems like there may be another option for her that will still allow her to use her gift (teaching children about life through theatre) and not be subjected to the same set of circumstances that has put her in the hospital two years in a row.  But enough on that now. 

Since I came home early yesterday to rest after the excitement of the morning (well, not exciting per se, more like the “omgosh, could I be in labor NOW?!?!” reaction and subsequent exhaustion), I’m going in early today.  Later, gators! *grin*

Saturday!

So much ambition, so little motivation. I woke up this morning, thinking, “today would be a great day to finish packing Munchkin’s room.” That was an hour ago, and I’m still sitting at the computer. *sigh*

I am going to do it today – no messing around. Well, I’m going to eat breakfast first and then put on some kind of clothing and get Coach to get boxes out of the car….

Ok, I guess I have a few things to do before I can get started.

Wish me luck!

clock watching

I start my new schedule at work today: 10am-3pm.  It’s a little odd, considering I’ve never worked half-time before.  It will take a little adjusting to until I have children at home again. 

With Munchkin in Jersey for the summer and the Stowaway still in the slow cooker, I don’t really have anything to do first thing in the morning.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I am NOT complaining!  Au contraire, I think it will be really nice to have a few extra hours to get around and straighten things up and work on the endless packing project before we move.  And then, to have the afternoons to spend with Coach, who is enjoying his summer by recording every scrap of futbol he can find on television.

I made my official Moving To Do list this week and I’m going to tape it to the front door so everytime we go past it, we’ll see what’s left to be done.  It will keep me on track and give Coach some things to do during his day when I’m at work.  *wink*

I feel rather helpless knowing I’m so pregnant and can’t really pick up heavy stuff, or do a lot of, well, ANYTHING.  The logistics of doing a lot of bending are just absurd at this point.  It’s not that I can’t see my shoes, I just can’t reach them.  Not without huffing and puffing and feeling like, surely, I’m folding the Stowaway in half which, I’m sure, she doesn’t appreciate one iota.

I’m FINISHED with all my scrapbooking endeavors for a while – our engagement, bridal and wedding albums should be delivered today and I ordered the Disney album last night so it should be here late next week.  I am so excited to see the albums!  I am really enjoying learning about digital scrapbooking and plan to do a lot more of it. 

Now that we have a good family camera again, I can get picaboo and smilebox transferred over to the house computer.  My next project is to do another album for Munchkin and then, in September, I’ll do our family pictures Andrea Crosswhite will come down and take.  She’s our “family photographer.”  She took Coach and my engagement, bridal and wedding pictures so we thought she’d be perfect to take pictures of our family – from now on. 

Well, my friends, I’m going to enjoy the last 30 minutes of morning before I need to start getting ready for work by making a cup of coffee and taking all the artwork off the walls.  You know, that’s my least favorite part of moving.  Bare walls are lonely walls to me.  That, and packing away my books.  Not being able to see all the wonderful spines and be reminded of the stories whenever I pass by is a little sad.  *laugh*  I’m a dork.  Yes, I know. 

Have a happy day!

ps. if you’ve joined us from fb, please leave me a reply and say, “howdy!”

It rained yesterday!

Oh, the rain was lovely.  It came down the better part of the afternoon and it was terrific.  Everything cooled down, the air was clear and it made for a lovely evening, watching a bunch of grown men play soccer out at Korompai. 

Better them than me, I say.  That ground looked hard. 

The Stowaway was kind enough not to wake me up at 3:30 this morning.  I did wake up at 5 but that was for other reasons and I went back to sleep until the alarm at 6:30.

I miss Munchkin today.  I was thinking about her this morning as I was waiting to fall back asleep.  I know she’s having a good time but I’m ready for August already.  (for more than one reason!)

Packing is … well, I made a list.  Does that count for progress?  Seriously, I just come home and die at the end of the day.  I straightened at the living room and kitchen last night and felt like I’d accomplished something but nobody but me could probably see any difference at all – it’s still a mess.

I may have to take a few personal days to pack the house in peace and relative quiet because it’s not going to happen after I’ve been at work all day and the weekends just aren’t enough time. 

*sigh*

At least we have a long weekend coming up.  I may celebrate the 4th of July by sealing boxes.

So tired of sneezing!

Something blew in a few days ago and I’ve been sneezing and congested ever since.  It’s AWFUL.  Half the folks in my office are hacking and coughing.  UGH. 

Thank goodness for

In other news, it’s FRIDAY and I’ve managed to blog almost every day this week.  That’s quite an accomplishment after such a long dry spell.  I think, like my friend Sarah, fb and twitter have taken over my life and I can only think in 140 characters at a time. 

We have our 4D sonogram TOMORROW!  I am so excited, I can hardly sit still.  Knowing that tomorrow afternoon, we’ll see our little someone’s face just takes my breath away. 

I hope she’s in an accomodating mood and we get to see good pictures.  She’s usually pretty active in the afternoons so that’ll be even better! 

I know I need to do more packing and finish boxing up Munchkin’s room.  Maybe I’ll do some of that tonight.  I’ve taken most everything off her walls and I’ll get Dad to take her bed apart. 

Working on moving utilities but the house is so new, nobody can find the address…  URGH.