Jack ‘n Tracie

We’re HOME!

Friday:
After posting here about getting the keys and going over there alone, Ralph and Denise came over and we loaded up Ralph’s wagoneer with a bunch of boxes and took our first load over to the new house. They oooh’d and aaaah’d over the house. Ralph was funny… like a child in an amusement part running from one thing to the next. We made plans to meet the next day to do as much moving as we could. Our goal was to sleep in our new home Saturday night.

Saturday:
I still hadn’t been able to locate us a moving truck, so Ralph and Denise with their wagoneer, my mother with her mini-van, and my brother with his truck all met at our apartment Saturday morning. It was an incredibly hot day: somewhere between 96-101 degrees! We bought two cases of bottled water, juice boxes, and snacks to keep us going. At some point, we took a detour to the furniture store to pick up a new couch and loveseat. There was no way I was taking our piece of crap couch with us to this new place. We found a perfect set (a pretty dark teal green leather couch with cloth covering in a pretty pattern on the seat cushions) and took that to the new place. We worked on the move till dark (10:00 PM or later) and met our goal of sleeping in our new home Saturday night. Even though it was a new place and a new beginning, most of us slept like logs. It was an exhausting day!

Sunday:
My mother and brother weren’t able to help us move this day so we met Ralph and Denise at the apartment in the AM. My brother let us keep his truck though, thankfully! We got there a bit late and they had already loaded up more boxes and done a ton of stuff before we got there. We decided that we were NOT going to work through the heat of the day this time. We took one or two (I can’t remember now) loads over to the new house then stayed at the new house for several hours unpacking and hanging out to rest.

After we set up the couch and loveseat in the living room, it looked silly. The living room was way too big for just one couch and loveseat. There was a matching chair that went with this set but we didn’t get that the day before. So we decided to go back and get that plus an end table and coffee table. We picked that up in my brother’s truck while everyone else stayed in the house where it was much cooler. The additions looked MUCH better when we got them set up in the living room.

Katherine had woke up this day not feeling well and complained that her allergies were really bothering her. Through out the day she just wanted to sleep so we let her. She was sneezing a lot and her eyes were red and dry. Poor thing was miserable. But even after taking her meds, she was still very tired and out of it. By late afternoon it dawned on us that it wasn’t just her allergies, the child was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration! So we got her some Gatoraid and water and watched her like a hawk. At first she protested saying the water/Gatoraid made her feel queasy so I told her the alternative: Drink the fluids or go to the ER for an IV. She drank and perked right up. We felt awful that it didn’t occur to us that she was sick from the heat. All of us saw her drink tons of water and when she kept complaining it was her allergies, we just didn’t realize. Fortunately by the next day she was back to her old self.

We did a couple more loads after it cooled down then called it a night.

Monday:
The morning started off almost exactly like Sunday morning did. Us being a half hour late and arriving at the apartment to find that Ralph and Denise already hard at work. I gotta say, without these two I have NO idea what we would’ve done! They were instrumental in getting us moved.

This day is kind of a blur for me. I know we moved the last of our stuff and probably did some unpacking but I just don’t remember. I think by then, all of us were beyond tired and sore. I know we worked hard and got the last of our stuff moved!

Tuesday:
Box heaven! We had to stick close to the house because our cable was going to be hooked up. Originally we were going to go back to the apartment to clean it and get it off our backs but we decided not to since we had several days before we needed to turn the keys in. So we stayed here and unpacked. I remember the day flying by and hitting the bed exhausted once again.

Wednesday:
Jack had to go back to work. I started in on the laundry. Let me tell you about the laundry. I was behind on this chore at the old apartment. But I did several loads before we moved. I didn’t put it away knowing we were moving… My lovely Cody thought it would be fun to make one giant pile out of all of it so by the time we moved, I had no clue what was clean or dirty anymore. PLUS, the clean stuff from my kids’ dressers drawers got mixed in too! I decided to just wash it all. So between load after load of laundry (basically every stitch of clothing we owned minus what was hanging in our closets) I unpacked boxes and arranged things. Another sound sleep that night.

Thursday:
Same as Wednesday. Only I had to pick up the pace for the 4th of July party we were having the next day! Chuck came down from Seattle and spent the night here. He took us out in his new car and we did some shopping for more items we needed for the party including a TON of fire works!

Friday:
Jack and I had a busy morning getting more stuff put away. I finished the final loads of laundry and got it all put away. Will arrived around noon and we hung out with him and Chuck and the kids in between putting this or that away. We just kinda puttered around doing… stuff, lol. By 4-5 PM everyone was here for the party so we broke out the food and got the BBQ going and partied! At one point, I looked around and saw all the people in my house: my mother and step father, my brother and his family, Jason and his family, Will, Ryder and Sue, just everyone…. and they all FIT! As in, there was plenty of room for everyone and THEN some. It was a very neat feeling to see everyone enjoying themselves in our new home. I shared my thoughts with Jack and we just kinda sighed a happy sigh as we looked around.

When it was dark we did the fire works and everyone complimented us saying it was the best home show they’ve seen. Our new neighborhood was quite festive so there were fireworks going off all over. It was fun!

Saturday:
A lazy day. Even on this “lazy day” Jack and I managed to get some work done including our first trip to Lowe’s for stuff we needed for the house. Just little things though. One thing I did fine was the perfect border to put in my kitchen. It needed color and I found the most adorable pattern with strawberries on it. Exactly what I wanted.

Sunday:
The day we need to turn in the keys to the apartment and we still hadn’t cleaned it yet… lol. So that’s what we did yesterday. It wasn’t so bad… we only lived there 1.5 years. The upstairs wasn’t bad at all. The rug in the living room was probably the worst. It was the one area that everyone always hung out! When you use your living room as the play room, den, living room, and family room all in one, ALL the time, you can imagine the wear on it. Once we cleaned it up though, it didn’t look bad at all. We left the apartment for the last time last night, cleaner than it was when we moved in. We dropped off the keys then came home to rest. Now to get our deposit refunded, and we’ll never look back at that place. Interestingly enough, two more people are moving out of there.

Today:
I have NO idea what to do. There are still plenty of boxes to unpack but I’m beat and soooo sore from the solid week of moving, unpacking, laundry, cleaning, etc. I think I’ll take it easy and hang out with my kids today.

Speaking of my kids, they were wonderful for the move. They helped a LOT and were angels. Well, most of them anyway…. lol! Kayla had a major attitude and ended up going home to her mother’s. Cody was being a very independant 2 year old so I ended up begging my sister to watch him overnight last Saturday. It was just too much to try to do all the moving with him taking off in every direction. More about that later.

P.S. Cathy, we missed you. I hope you’re feeling ok. *hugs*