home is where my family is

Aside from the kids missing their friends, and my frustration with the fact that every (every!) store has a different layout than it did 90 minutes away from here, we have made a relatively smooth transition.  During my whirlwind day of house hunting, this house had a peaceful vibe to it, even more so now that we're settling in.  Our yard is about half the size as it was before, but as you can see, it's been nicely landscaped.  It's fenced in, and Colette hasn't figured out an escape route yet. 

The previous owners had a raised-bed garden, and we (especially Amelia) are loving the flowers and vegetables.  We'll make some changes next year, but right now there are zinnias, morning glories, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, jalepenos, cayenne peppers, and green bell peppers.

the new kid at school (part 2)

Preschool finally started Tuesday morning.  (We found the perfect hair bow over the weekend at the craft fair.)  Amelia found this outfit at Gram's Target, and had to have it for the first day of school.  It'd been in my room for safekeeping.  I had brand-new sneakers put away.  She didn't like them at first, but she decided if she had to wear sneakers, these would do.

She broke her backpack the end of July, but since I paid $3 for it and it lasted for two years, I really couldn't complain. She picked it out before she picked out the outfit.  I love that it's dark blue and hopefully won't get too dirty!

With, ta-da!, a matching lunch box, because Amelia's class eats lunch at school four of the five days each week!

I have to walk her in/out, which is new to me, and it's fairly chaotic since it's such a big preschool.  Amelia hangs up her backpack, puts her lunch box on the floor, uses hand sanitizer, and goes into the classroom without a backwards glance at me.

We all loved our old preschool, but since we had to leave, this is a darn good replacement.  Her teachers are so nice, and the curriculum in outstanding.  I am excited about what Amelia has on her calendar for the rest of the month!

small town festival

Last weekend there was a festival in our little downtown area, where all the profits went to support local charities.  We spent a little bit of every day there.  There were food vendors along the main street, carnival rides in the park, and a craft fair around Seth's school.  Friday night was an all-you-can-ride night. 

Naturally the lines got long, and the kids twisted Nathan's arm to ride one or two more Saturday morning after the parade.

On Monday, we went back to town, and Nathan took the kids back to the rides while I wandered through the crafts.  Nathan went with the kids on the Tempest and was wishing he hadn't.  Right before it closed down Monday, we headed back to buy a clock, and Seth had just enough tickets left for me to ride the Paratrooper with him.  It looked like a ferris wheel at a 45 degree angle.  It felt like it was hanging on by one bolt, and each time we reached the top, I was convinced we were going to go airborne and crash somewhere in the vicinity of the elementary school.  Once back on solid ground, the heat/motion sickness got to me, and I took a short nap on the comfy carpet in the family room.  Somebody is going to have to go with us to the fair next time, because our kids are way more adventurous than we are.

b-o-r-i-n-g

That's how Amelia's week was while Seth was in school.  We went to the Y, we ran errands, we played babies, but Amelia watched a lot more TV than she normally would to pass the time.  I took this picture on Thursday before our new couches were delivered.  Nathan and I had moved the old couches out, but left the cushions in there so the kids could make a fort.  Amelia lounged, a lot:

Seth didn't have homework all last week, and after the first day, they would run upstairs and play in Seth's room.  Eventually they'd ask to play outside, and more days than not Nathane would find us socializing in someone's driveway when he came home.

meanwhile at home...

Now, what to do for two girls while the boys are off at school/work?  At open house I volunteered to help in the classroom in whatever capacity was needed.  Tentative plans were made involving book sorting sometime in the near future.  On the first day of school, the teacher asked if I would mind cutting these out:

No problem! (Nathan told her she had struck the jackpot.)

When we got home, Amelia wanted to make Seth cupcakes as a surprise.  She did everything except crack the eggs and put the cupcakes in/out of the oven.

 She was so proud of them:

And her tired brother shot her down as soon as he got home.  He's not big on sweets anyways, and he wasn't kind in his refusal.  First time I've sided with Amelia in one of their spats in a long time.  I made sure Nathan ate a cupcake as soon as he got home.  They were good...chocolate in the middle!

We went to the Y and ran a couple errands, but boy, was the house quiet without Seth around!  Amelia was miserable without him!

the new kid in school (part 1)

None of us had any time to be nervous Monday morning, we had to get out the door to get to school!  We have to leave about 30 minutes earlier than we used to.  We did have time to snap a couple pictures before we left:

 Amelia didn't want to be in any pictures, but she did take one for us:

Seth settled right into his desk, and didn't seem at all phased that we didn't stay:

He was tired when he got home (it's almost an hour longer school day),  but by the time Nathan got home, he was ready to tell us every little thing about second grade!  He loves it so far!

on 2 wheels!

Sunday morning we headed to the greenway...Nathan played a round of solo frisbee golf and the kids rode bikes.  Our old neighborhood wasn't a good place to learn how to ride a bike, and Seth had himself pretty psyched out about it.  But there are lots of kids riding bikes in our new neighborhood, and Seth wanted to learn.  So after a couple false starts and some reassurance that it wasn't supposed to be perfect the first day, we now have another bike rider in our house!

By the time we met up with Nathan, he was going quite far on his own, and starting himself when he did stop.  Amelia was tearing up the greenway on her training wheels, and I think it's safe to say she won't be seven when we take hers off.  We were so proud of Seth for conquering his fears so quickly, and it was a great confidence booster the day before school started!  Since then, every day he has had his bike out, even if it's only for a quick trip up a couple mailboxes and back.

bye bye boxes

In what may be a world record, we had every box unpacked by Saturday morning, and I met a friend from church who is moving in September and gave her all our boxes.  Paying it forward!  And then took a quick loop around the outlet mall, because I could.  While I was gone, Nathan took the kids to play frisbee golf, and by the sounds of it, they all had a blast.

That afternoon we bought new couches, which wasn't as painful as you would think because we had done our research ahead of time.  Our trip to Costco made up for it.  The kids were tired/hungry/whiney, and can I just ask why not one store in this town can be set up the same way as it was in Clemmons?  Sheesh.  The kids were appeased with snacks and we went home and ate a fancy dinner of hot dogs.  Woo-hoo.  Everyone got a good night's sleep, because boy, did we need it.  Grump-city!

Friday Y day

Friday morning we went to the Y, because the kids wanted to check out their respective areas.  Seth's room has games galore, a rock wall, a bounce house, 3 wii, and fitness equipment.  Amelia's room is split into ages, and she is in the oldest group, which has a structured daily schedule like a preschool, so I guess you could technically plan your workout around what your kid likes best.  I had a horrific run.  In retrospect, I guess it's a bad idea to test out new music and new shoes on a new-to-you treadmill at a new-to-you YMCA while your kids are in new-to-them childcare and after a month of no cardio (but have I mentioned how strong the guys thought I was during moving?).  My subsequent runs have gone better.

That afternoon, the kids BEGGED to check out the Y pool.  They had to take a swim test when we arrived. Seth passed with flying colors and has free reign of the pool.  Amelia could not float on her back long enough to earn the first level of independence.  She was TICKED that I had to be in the water with her, even in the shallow end (and I wasn't too happy about it either, since that meant I had to get in the way-too-cold-for-late-August water).  We ended up snuggling on a pool chaise watching Seth go down the water slides a bunch of times.  

The week was fun, but we're still exploring!

legos and learning

Thursday morning the kids and I checked out a new lego play area for open play.  I have a punch card for four hours for each of them, but I didn't want it to be too much of a good thing, so we only stayed for one hour.  Seth had a blast playing creationary, and Amelia built a house and a family out of duplos.  I spent most of my time with Amelia, but would walk over to Seth when he told me he was ready for me to guess his creation.

We had some down time at home because a big event awaited us, open house at Seth's new school.  Seth was so brave.  He was shaking like a leaf, but he went right up to his new teacher and said, "My name is Seth and I am new."  She has been great with him (and me) so far, so we're looking forward to a really good year.  We picked up our car line pass, signed up for the PTO, bought a school t-shirt, and found out where all the specials are held.  Seth put on a good front, but he wasn't nearly as comfortable as I would have liked him to be, and I was a worried momma all weekend about how the first day of school was going to go.

day in town

Wednesday we drove to uptown and arrived at Imaginon (the children's library) just in time for storytime, which was just as good as when we went in April.  It was one of the last weeks of the castle display, so I wanted the kids to check it out.  For a free exhibit, it was pretty darn cool.  The kids could see all aspects of castle life, dress up, play games, and of course, have puppet shows!

We finished up at the library and walked to meet Nathan for lunch.  We went to the condo, watched an episode of Phineas and Ferb, and spent way too long in Walmart on our way home.  The kids love playing in our new driveway, it's their favorite way to spend the afternoon.  Next thing we knew, Nathan was home, and we were halfway through our first week!

it pays to shop ahead!

Tuesday morning Nathan's parents stopped by to see the house, and the kids and I were DELIGHTED to have visitors.  After lunch we checked out a place called Space Kidets, which had one room of big inflatables and a free arcade room.  I had bought a LS deal for the place weeks ago, so it was a fun free afternoon!  Seth discovered pinball, and he thought it was the greatest arcade game ever!

exploring the greenway

I woke up with Nathan every morning last week, but the kids enjoyed their last week of summer and slept in as late as they wanted to every day.  After the first massive trip to the grocery store (which was followed each day by a quick trip to get one or two things), we decided to go to the playground.  It had rained in the morning, and we had the playground to ourselves.  The kids decided they wanted to check out the greenway.  I have no idea how far we walked, but including the playground, we were at the park over two hours.  We saw lots of flowers, birds, caterpillars, dogs, and a lizard.  My favorite part of our walk is when the kids stopped on this little bridge and decided to play "poohsticks". 

Sunday's adventure

Sunday morning, we moved all the boxes in the bonus room into the storage areas and went for a walk around the block, which led us to a trail and a pond we didn't know about in the middle of our neighborhood.  We checked out the closest pizza joint for lunch, and then told the kids we were going into town to get Nathan's stuff out of the condo, which we did, but then we walked a block and went to Discovery Place.  Seth has been asking to go for MONTHS.  (Years, really.)  It's a science museum with IMAX, and right now their feature exhibit is NatGeo's Crittercam.  It was really cool.  I think Amelia might have been able to play in the water room all day!

let the exploring begin!

Saturday mornning we took Gram and Pops to explore our cute little downtown.  We checked out the ancient hardware store, which had everything under the sun, including chickens...

 ...then we went and saw the puppies that were up for adoption, and then we checked out the farmer's market.  We bought a bag of peaches, some banana bread (which Nathan said isn't as good as mine), and some local honey.

After my parents left with plans to stop at their Cheesecake Factory, we were like, "Hey!  We can go to the Cheesecake Factory now, too!"  And we did:

Saturday night, there was a free screening of the Lorax at a local park.  We staked out seats, and then played on the playground, and spent a small fortune on slushees...next time we'll run to the gas station across the street!

I have lived in this state for 19 years now, and have not been mosquito food in all that time.  The ones here look different (white spots on legs), and they like me!  Lemongrass spray is my new best friend!

more moving

Thursday morning Nathan and I drove back to Clemmons to get the stuff that didn't fit in the first load and to meet the movers who were moving a handful of too big things for us.  And I should note, I will forever regret not documenting the moving of our washer and dryer the weekend before.  Our laundry room had been upstairs before, and we sold both the washer and dryer.  Taking them down the stairs was terrifying.  We sold the dryer to our neighbors three houses down, and I really wish I had taken a picture of Nathan rolling it down the street on a hand truck!

Anyways, when I got on the road my tire light came on.  I stopped at two different gas stations and couldn't find air, and I was about to meet the morning commute, so I decided to take my chances.  When I got to the house, Nathan was already loading the truck and the movers had just arrived.  The movers were on their way before lunch, and I think Nathan hit the road around 12:30.  I stayed until about 3pm cleaning.  I had swore I wasn't going to do it, because the new owners have been a PITA, but three things kept floating through my head.  1-the golden rule, 2-I am leaving it better than I found it, 3-the house we bought was clean.  And let's face it, it would have been against my character to have left if messy.  So I hope they enjoyed coming to a clean house at walk through, and frankly, I hope I never have to think about them again.

I think Nathan had the truck unloaded before I even hit Charlotte city limits, but there was a lot of organizing still to do.  While we had been gone, my parents went to the grocery store, so we had lasagna for dinner, which was so nice after so many meals on the go.  It was another late night, but slowly things like dressers and bookshelves all made their way upstairs.

Friday we worked the morning away, and around noon I received a text (don't ask) saying closing in Clemmons was done.  Unfortunately, a problem was found during the washer/dryer installation here, and we had to have a plumber come that afternoon.  The problem started out simple and turned into something bigger, but I let Nathan handle it.  I have had my fair share of handymen to deal with in the past six months.  Friday night Mom cooked again, and the evening was spent much as the past 36 hours had been, unpacking.

Saturday morning I barely had time to pour a cup of coffee before Nathan was ready to start working on the garage.  Not many people can say they could park both cars in the garage less than 48 hours after the moving truck left, but we can!

Sunday morning we put all the storage items in the attic, and since then it's just been organizing as the mood strikes us.  Today I met a friend and gave her EVERY box we had used for the move! We are officially here, and we plan to stay (at least for a while!).

DIY moving

Nathan's new job didn't come with relocation assistance, and we weren't going to ask any of the family muscle to take off work to help us move.  Last winter, Staples had had 100% cash back on the purchase of bankers boxes, so I had 30 of those.  Nathan's parents gave us all the rubber tubs they had used for their move.  I borrowed some of my parents' plastic bins on our last visit.  And the icing on the cake was my neighbor gave me all the boxes from their move 5 years ago that they had carefully stored in their garage rafters.  The only money I spent on supplies was for two rolls of packaging tape.  We rented a 22 foot truck.  It was HUGE:

Our friend, Greg, came over to help, and with his amazing loading skills, we were able to get all the major furniture and most of the boxes in the back of the truck in four hours.  By the time the kids and I arrived at our new house, Nathan had all the lawn equipment and garage stuff put away, and he was ready for me to help move other stuff.  We moved some stuff in the house, but the weather started looking iffy, so non-essentials got staged in the garage.  My parents arrived around 5, and Dad and Seth jumped right in to help us unload, with Seth being in charge of the hydraulic lift on the back of the truck.  We took a break around 6:45 when it started to storm, and this was all we had left:

We had dinner and Seth put us right back to work unloading the truck.  I thought for sure we'd end up sleeping on mattresses on the floor that night, but around 8:30 Nathan and Dad started working on bed assembly, and by golly, we all slept in beds with clean sheets!

Kids, house. House, kids.

Looking back at my recap, I don't want to gloss over last week too much.  Last Monday, Nathan headed down to Charlotte as he had for the 24 previous weeks at 5:45 am.  At 9, I took the kids to Kim's and waited rather impatiently for the amount of the cashier's check I needed to get.  In the meantime I ran errands, removed a stain from the basement carpet, filled a couple holes in drywall, and painted the back door.  With check in hand, I picked up the kids and headed to Charlotte for the night.  Tuesday morning Nathan's mom came to watch the kids while we went to the walk-through and closing.  Bless the previous owners.  The house was practically spotless and I didn't have to spend the rest of the day cleaning.  They also left us a note saying that they were planning to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a campground in the mountains, and that made us feel even better than we already did.  Nathan and I drove straight from closing and unloaded the van, which was loaded to the brim with linens and toys, you know, the essentials.  Then Nathan went back to work and the kids and I headed to the house after lunch. 

Seth and Colette loved everything about the house from the start. Amelia immediately hated her bedroom, the walls are a not-so-nice yellowish-orange, and it is the only bedroom with one closet.  However, last week I let them each pick out one "new house" toy, and within 15 minutes of me setting up her Barbie pool on the deck, my little girl was singing like she hasn't done in weeks.  

We had brought another full carload with us, so I unloaded that while the kids played.  We then went out to buy a washer and dryer.  I had everything put away around 5, and I made the mistake of laying down on the plush carpet in the family room.  I didn't get up until Nathan pulled in the driveway.

The kids gave Nathan a tour of the house, and then we headed back up to Clemmons for the night.  We still had a couple big days ahead of us!

the last playdate

While we loaded the moving truck, Evelyn and Kim graciously offered to watch the kids, which gave me two less things people to worry about and made it so my parents could meet us down here, rather than going out of their way to help us in Clemmons as well.  I dropped the kids off around 8:30 and pretty much had to drag them Amelia kicking and screaming into the van around 1:30.  Don't worry, Clemmons friends.  We will be back to visit, I promise!

six month recap

Six months ago today, as we were driving to Great Wolf Lodge, Nathan got a job offer at a bank in uptown Charlotte.  We have known a career change was more than likely at some point for about four years.  About a year ago, we knew that the change would be happening in about six months.  February 27 Nathan started his new job, two days before his old job was scheduled to end.  (Whew.)  His parents have graciously let him stay in their condo during the week for the past six months.  (THANK YOU!)  The house went on the market the first week of March, and as soon as I got the house ready, BAM, the kids were sick for seventeen straight days.  We have our fair share of bad days, but for the most part, I think we all did the best we could given the circumstances.  When you're used to daddy working from home every afternoon, having him gone from the time you wake up on Monday morning until suppertime on Friday is a shock to the system.  Some days it took a village, and my sincerest thanks to all the moms (and dads!) who helped me with the kids this spring so I could work, or be at the other child's event, or do something selfish like get my hair cut!  I don't know if I'll be able to pay you back, but I promise to pay it forward if I can.  Selling the house has been no fun, but today we CLOSED on the house and on that chapter of our life.  It hasn't been fun living in limbo.  We couldn't even really plan our weekends ahead of time, let alone our fall!  The weekend after the 4th of July, our house went under contract, and later that week I came down here house hunting.  I looked at seven houses one day and showed Nathan my top three that night.  Luckily, my favorite was his favorite, too.  By the time I had picked up the kids at my parents' house the next day, we were under contract for a home outside Charlotte, which we closed on Tuesday.  Yes, that is fast.  It helps when one of you knows the ins and outs of the mortgage industry, and the other one of you is doggedly determined to do whatever it takes to get the house ready so your family can be back together again. A big thanks to Kim, Grandma Sarah, Evelyn, Greg, and my parents for all their help this week.  Having our kids in good hands as we ran up and down I-77 this week has helped so much.  (And thanks Greg for helping us load the truck so well that we only had to make two trips!)

Amelia's first dentist appt

Thursday Amelia had her first dentist appointment.  Our practice had opened a pediatric branch, and we switched to that one because our regular dentist (who we loved) retired, and Seth has never really gotten along with the new hygienist.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to go to a place where they were trained to deal with kids.  Seth and Amelia were next to each other, and Amelia took half the time because she didn't complain once (unlike the kid in the other chair).  No cavities for her, though he warned me she may need orthodontics.  Seth's mouth is a mess of loose baby teeth, new adult teeth, new molars, and a tiny cavity we'll have to deal with next time.  One more thing checked off the list!

a meeting with the Minnesotans

Lisa and Michael made their first road trip south, and we went to my parents' house for a couple days to visit.  The first night we had a family favorite, Mexican build-ups (think taco salad with a whole lot of ingredients in the meat sauce).  It was a nice evening, and we ate dinner on the deck.  We had a kids' table:

The pups are now two year olds, and not nearly as wild as the last time we saw them.  They are a little big for Seth's taste, but he did like running through their commands with them.  Amelia loved the girls, and they were very tolerant of her:

Thursday Seth earned some spending money by picking up pine cones in my parents' backyard.  He then had to make a trip to the nearest Target to spend said spending money. That night we all went to the Durham Bulls game.  Amelia still has Uncle Michael wrapped around her little finger:

  The three amigos!

Uncle B's buddy!

I think we made it to the end of the eighth inning.  I had some very tired kids on the ride home Friday. T-minus 10 months and several days until our next get-together, not that any of us are counting.

1000th post!

I do have a grand announcement, but it's not going to coincide with this 1000th post.  In the meantime, here is a hint.  These flowers were part of my birthday present,

 and these were for our 11th anniversary:

how Amelia sees me

I had a quiet birthday this year, none of the wild pool parties of years' past.  We did some housework, watched some Olympics, and went out to dinner at the Village Tavern.  Once again we told the kids we were sneaking them in as grown ups, and on the ride to the restaurant it didn't seem like Amelia was going to play the part.  I gave her my phone at dinner and she took a bunch of blurry pictures, but here is one of the birthday girl:

Yes, I cut about half my hair off the week before.  After a summer of chlorine and ponytails, it was time.  I love my hair shorter, and am so glad I'm not married to a caveman that thinks girls are supposed to have long hair!

gold!

Nathan and I LOVE the Olympics.  NBC has been on our TV pretty much non-stop since the games began.  We even resorted to watching live streaming of the swimming because we wanted to see all the events, and not accidentally see the results online before the races were shown in prime time.  The kids are really into it, considering their ages.  Seth enjoys watching any sport, trying to figure out the rules, and he loves all the random factoids and medal counts announced by the commentators.  No shock here, but Amelia's favorite is the gymnastics, followed by the swimming.  Seth knows the names of a lot of the male swimmers, and he may have a little bit of a crush on Missy Franklin.  Amelia knows Michael Phelps is the one in the shower commercial, and Ryan Lochte "swims across the ocean", but her absolute favorite thing about the Olympics is a video the US swim team made.  As I type this, she has about 80% of the lyrics memorized, and about 85% of the swimmers' moves memorized.  It's really cute to watch her sing and dance along with it, but it is one annoying song to get stuck in your head.

As amazing as it was to watch Michael Phelps win 8 goals in Beijing, I liked the kid a lot better this time.  If you don't want to still be swimming when you're 30, then don't (though I think you could).  It wasn't Lochte vs. Phelps here, it was Team USA!  And now that swimming is done, maybe we can go to bed a little earlier this week...