stuff

there's nothing like seeing most of what you own in boxes.
how did i ever collect so much stuff?
i really consider myself an anti-hoarder, i clean out stuff all the time.
too much stuff makes me claustrophobic, i have to get rid of it.
but there are still a lot of boxes, it surprises me.
how do we still have all this stuff after i've sent so much of it to good will?
i'm worried about moving to a home that doesn't have a ton of storage.
this home has more storage than anything else.
it's going to be an adjustment.
but also a lovely excuse to get rid of so much crap.
the walls are all naked now, it's very strange.
it's not my house any more.
boxes are stacking up in every room.
and i'm just so ready to start moving them!
i couldn't have done this without rich, he has worked like a mule getting us ready.
we close tomorrow, which means, i'm still worried something could go wrong.
i'm worried about adjusting to a new ward.
i hope there are kids for my kids
i worry too much, i know, but this is a big deal, so "smooth" would be nice.
so far, mostly smooth, so i will keep my fingers crossed.
and i promise, after we unpack and settle in,
i will be a better blogger.
spring has been a crazy whirlwind of goodness
so right off the bat i'll have tons of material for posting.
i can't wait!


smooth....smooth....smooth

something is different

there are whiskers in my bathroom sink
the crossword puzzle is all filled in
ethan isn't attached to my hip
the teenagers aren't complaining about needing a math tutor
the sink is always empty of dishes
neatly packed boxes are stacking up quickly in the garage
a little black sports car is constantly parked in the drive way
i am cooking real dinners again
i am not sitting alone at track meets, lacrosse games, dance recitals, school plays or choir concerts.
i am a happier mom

it all leads me to one conclusion:
toy story 3 is FINALLY done and i have my husband back!
can i get a hallelujah amen people?
and how about celebratory blizzards? yes please.

we are a happy family once again.

and he has four weeks off.
which is good for me - help with the move, bad for him - help with the move. not a super exciting way to spend your comp time, but it's better than a 100+ hour work week right?
the person that will be the saddest when he returns to work in three weeks - ethan, because he finally has someone to hang out with during the day besides me.

and if you want to see what he was up to during all that time, check out this little video.


ya, that's my nerd.
and please, go buy a copy for your family!

do-over

four years ago when rich and i moved from our last home, we did so with the intent to add a little bit of space, especially for the soon-to-be teenagers in the house. so we bought our current home, and even then, we sort of knew it wasn't quite the right fit for us, but hey, it was the ONLY house available in our tiny town with teenager space and we thought, with a little remodeling, we could make it work. that, and when something's right, you just have to go with it. and besides, it's a GREAT house.

for the last four years, we have repainted, remodeled, re-floored and even repaired every inch of this lipstick house hoping to make it more our own, more workable for our family. and a few months ago, we sort of came to the conclusion, albeit a surprising one, that it was time to call a mulligan. you know, mulligan is just a fancy golfing way to say, "do-over". i think we actually knew this years ago, but we've loved the ward and neighbors so much, that we tried hard to make it work.

so, we put our house on the market and in three weeks, it SOLD. for full price. what the? in this market? i was prepared to have it listed for a long time. i keep thinking this is a dream and i'm going to wake up and cry for a month. but it's not, and we have to move soon, so onto making a list of priorities for the next house.

something funny about teenager space. once i had it, almost immediately i was saying to myself, "where did everybody go"? i missed having everyone around.  with that, we decided that square footage wasn't as important as number of bedrooms and the right kind of layout, one with a big open gathering space in the middle of the house. and we found it, in the next tiny town over. smaller, but newer, and with a bit of teenager space, but also with a big open main floor, for gathering. and nothing, and i mean nothing, has to be repainted. at least for now.

so that's our big news. hopefully i didn't just jinx the process. if everything goes smoothly (please let everything go smoothly), we will be moving the first week of june. i gotta go pack!

when i wasn't looking

it's been a big month, lots to talk about, and lots to post.
big news post coming soon.
but until then....some funny surprises on my camera courtesy of allie.

it's nice to know they have fun together even when i'm not looking.
what a ham!