Home, Sweet Home

The move is finished!  Moving day was well....moving day.  It actually went pretty smoothly and I have to chalk that up to my Mom.  Mom stayed with the movers while we went to the closing and came to the new house as well to help get settled.  And she even came back the next day with my Dad to help some more!  So I owe her (and him) huge thanks.  Thank you!!

So we're in, and getting settled.  A lot to unpack, and this upcoming weekend will bring even more.  We've rented a truck and my brother is going to help empty the storage unit.  It's slowly starting to feel like home.

No move is without hiccups.  The first was the central air in the new house, it would turn on and then short out.  Since we're having a heat wave it was first on the list of things to deal with, pronto.  A lot of money later, it's running just fine and the nest of mice that moved in over the winter has been dealt with swiftly.  (Nevermind the details, you don't want 'em.)  No home phone or internet over the weekend felt kind of like living in the stone age.  I came home to that fixed today as well, and enjoyed my first Pinterest frenzy in ages!  New house--new ideas.  :)

Also, Sean has decided that although he likes sharing a room with his brother, he wants no part of sleeping in the bottom bunk of the bunk beds.  He has instead chosen to sleep on a little "Thomas" cot on the floor.  Change is hard for little guys:  new house, first "big kid bed".....so if this is the only issue we're having is that he won't sleep in it, that's a-ok.  At least he's sleeping in the room, and he'll get there at his own pace.  The boys LOVE having an upstairs/downstairs to run around and explore, not to mention unboxing all of the toys that have been packed up for months.

So the future is quite happy.  And once we get rid of the "past" (i.e. get the other house sold) life will be even better.

"It's All Over...There Isn't Any More...."

Last day of kindergarten!  It's a bittersweet week, with the last day of school for Will today and moving on Friday.  With hindsight being 20/20 and all, it's not how I would've planned it.  But hey, something about best laid plans and all that.

Will's kind of sad today but was happy to snap a couple of pictures to see how much he's grown from the picture that I took on the first day.  Let's compare, shall we?

Wow.  You don't realize just how much a kid grows in a school year because you see them every day.  But I'd say that looking at these two photos the growth is irrefutable. 

And what would the last day of school be without a little portrait of Mom and kiddos?  Probably the last picture to be taken in this particular kitchen.

  So really, a mixed bag of emotions this week.  Excitement of summer and a new house, sad to leave school and the house that we've been living in for the past 11 years.  These two kiddos have never lived anywhere else.  But we'll get through the week and there's lots of memories to be made in the new house.  After all, we've pretty much decided we're going to live there forever.  :)

Show Us Your Spirit!!

Ah....Spirit Week.  AKA the week that gives me heartburn.

I forgot that this week (starting on Tuesday and not Monday, natch) is Spirit Week at Will's school and that Friday is Field Day.  Did he bring home a notice?  Yes.  Did I affix it to the front of the refrigerator?  Yes.  Did I forget anyway?  Yes, yes. 

We were of course running later this morning than usual, and I finally managed to get the kids' raincoats on them and were jogging out the door. As soon as our feet hit the front porch I saw the girl across the street in a Bruins outfit. It struck me as odd, because she's normally in pink or purple and ruffled/bows/bedazzled. Then it hit me.....crap! It's spirit week and today is "Favorite Team Day." So I tell the boys to stay on the porch while I run back into the house. Searching frantically, I locate Will's soccer jersey from last fall and said "Here! Change into this when you get to school!" Whew. Crisis averted. Could've been worse, tomorrow is "Wacky Wednesday." That would've been tough to pull off at zero hour.


I'd like to blame this on the upcoming move next week or the fact that I haven't been sleeping well.  But I know all too well that when it comes to Spirit Week I always manage to have it sneak up on me.  (Sneaky spirit week....)  I know that it's fun for the kids, but it's stressful on the parents.  Coming up with an outfit to match each day's "theme" is a bit maddening.  Normally I hate this kind of thing.  But I'm bending over backwards because I know the end of the year is upon us and not only is he finishing up kindergarten, his friends are moving on to first grade while he's starting over in a new town and a new school.  He's feeling a bit sad and wishing that he was staying at the same school with his buddies next year.  And I'll of course do anything to cheer him up.    So stay tuned....tomorrow is "Wacky Wednesday" and tonight Will and I will come up with a "wacky" plan!

Turnaround

To all of you out there that were crossing fingers and toes, saying prayers and sending basic well-wishes our way?  Thank you, it's paid off!

The house was shown several times last week, and someone wants to buy it!  AND the bonus is that they don't seem, ahem, psychotic.  Or demanding.  It's a couple that wants to get out of an apartment and into their first house.  And they're really excited about buying ours. 

We're excited too.  It certainly takes a lot of stress out of the air, knowing that someone is going to buy the house.  One way or another, we were going to move to the new house in less than three weeks.  This makes it a whole lot easier.  So again I say....thank you for all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes.  It's meant a lot.

Just Right

At the end of the workday yesterday I found myself with a little time to kill.  There were showings going on at my house so I obviously couldn't go home.  They really frown upon the owner showing up while someone is trying to get someone to buy your house.  

Anyway, I stopped at the library in our new town.  Actually, this town isn't really new, I've been working there for over a year.  And I've been to the library many times.  The first time I saw this library I kind of snickered at its size.  Felt superior that MY town's library was bigger.  Then I spent some time there, and felt bad for judging it by the size of the building.  The children's room was full of great books, a pet area with birds and the boys' favorite, a train table!!  The library staff is helpful and friendly (having engaged with one of them about knitting books, I found out that she is the one that orders knitting books for the library.  And she knits mittens for Old Sturbridge Village, out of vintage knitting patterns on very tiny needles.)  And it's arranged in such a easy way, things are a snap to find.

So I found a chair and took out my knitting project., a shawl.  As I knit two rows, my eyes scanned over the titles in the aisle where I had chosen to sit.  And I realized that I was in the cookbook section.  I adore cookbooks, I really do.  After my two (long)  rows were completed, I decided that even though I couldn't cook a whole lot at home right now, I hadn't just browsed and brought home books for the fun of it in a long time.  So I brought home a nice big stack, of books for me, the kids, and cooking.  It feels delightful to bring home books again.  Really, it is these simple pleasures that are so enjoyable, who knew the act of bringing home library books would bring me such joy.  For the first time in a few weeks, the boys had new stories at bedtime and they were thrilled.  

So I will never judge a library by its size ever again.  This place isn't too big or too small, it's just right.