It's About Time!

There, I said it for all of you! Sorry it's taken me so long to give an update but we've been busy. Prepare yourself, the next couple of entries might be kind of long-winded :) I'll start with Friday the 26th.

This was a completely CRAZY day! The mover's arrived at 8 am (right on time) and began moving stuff out of our house. They were SO impressed that we had packed so much and put most of the boxes out in the garage for them. This was the first time that we have moved that we have hired a company to help us. It is definitely easier than doing it all yourself! We still had a lot of stuff to pack up as they were moving things out to the truck. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated.

By around noon it looked as though they were almost finished up. Almost everything had been moved out of the house except the beds and couches. I ran into town and grabbed some lunch for everyone, once we finished eating though things just seemed to slow down - ALOT! I'm not sure what really happened but all of a sudden it was 3:30 and they still were not done. (Originally the driver/owner of the truck had said they should be done by 2 or 3 without a problem.) This is the point where I began to stress a little, mainly because of the fact that we had a going away dinner party that was scheduled to start at 6:30 that evening (at a restaurant about an hour away from our home).

Shortly after the panic set in our wonderful neighbor's came over to help us out. They began cleaning, packing, and just helping out where ever they were needed. Basically just being the great neighbor's that we have had for the past 4 years.

We did the final walk-through with the moving company around 5 pm. Once they left we raced around and did the final stuff - getting the truck loaded, checking the house over once more, and getting the car loaded on the trailer. (We towed the car behind the truck for a good portion of the trip.)

We left the house shortly after 6 pm and got to the restaurant a little after 7. Thankfully we weren't the last ones to our own party :)

The party was wonderful! It was so great to see so many of our friends, especially the ones we had not seen in a while. That is the hardest part about moving - you realize a lot of the great things as you're leaving. The party did have some bad parts though, well only one really - NONE of my former co-workers from the bank came. I could not believe it, I wanted to cry. I was so pissed that night after the party.

That night we stayed in a hotel - more to come tomorrow!

*I have been reading my regular blogs - I just haven't had time to comment :)

Bye For Now

We're taking a quick break from packing. I don't think my back has EVER ached so much. We used the hot tub for the last time last night - too bad no one has bought it yet since the cash would come in very handy right now! Our TV, internet and phone will be shut off tomorrow so I'm blogging for the last time until probably Monday or Tuesday. Have a great couple of days everyone and I'll be back in blog land soon!

*Sidenote - my blog will be under construction while we are driving halfway across the country. Our server will be in the back of our car so none of my graphics or videos (except the Friday Funnies) will work until we get that hooked up at my Mom & Dad's. Sorry for the ugly blog until then.

Stress Is Good, Right???

Here is the countdown:
-Moving company is coming Friday morning to pick our stuff up.
-Hopefully moving company does not take very long so that we are able to vacuum one last time and shampoo the carpets.
-We planned a dinner party to say goodbye to our friends Friday night at 6:30 at a restaurant about an hour away.
-We are hoping to rent a hotel room down by the restaurant, that way we will not have to drive back to the house and sleep on the floor. (That will be wet from the shampooing (is that a word??))
-We have plans every night this week except Thursday night.
-We still have a lot of packing to do.
-Having family call or friends ask how the packing going is NOT helping my stress level.
-I keep reminding myself 4 more days, 4 more days and this stress will be gone - permanently!

Who Could Ask For Anything More?

Thursday was a great day! Thank you for the birthday wishes, now was it really that hard to leave me a message? I met some "lurkers" and I really hope now that you've left a comment you continue to do that again and again (and again)!! I hate to admit it but I only packed two boxes that day, but hey, it was my birthday so I should get that day off right?? Hahaha

So what did I do Thursday since it was not spent packing? Well, I had lunch with two wonderful friends. I got together with Holy and Christina and had a great time getting to see them again. As I was driving home I was so sad because it is the last time I'll see Holy until July. I'll get to see Christina once more (we're having a going away party next Friday), but after that I won't see her until July either. Wait, I take that back. If everything works out we are hoping to come back here in March when Mike officially graduates. Hopefully we can get our schedules to align so that we could get together then.

Before lunch I stopped at the bank where I used to work to see my old co-workers. It was great to see them too.

Once Mike got home from work we went out to dinner at our favorite teriyaki restaurant. Then he took me to a movie. We saw Pursuit of Happyness - it was so good and of course I cried at the end.

Thanks once again for the birthday wishes. Friday was Mike's last day of work so now the packing can really begin! An open house will be going on at our home tomorrow - hopefully some prospective buyers will stop by.

*Picture - balloons waiting for me in ND*

Delurker Day

It's my birthday so do me a favor mmmmkay??

**Lurkers and frequent commenters alike (and I'm talking to you too family)**

Leave me a birthday wish, I'd like to see how many people actually read this little site.

Another Rambler

Guess you will all get another bulleted list - that is in no particular order :)

-the packing is going well. We had our neighbor's up for the Seahawks game and they did some shopping here :) We had a huge pile of stuff we wanted to sell and they bought a couple of things. Anyone else want some stuff??? We've got X-box games very, very cheap!! Hahaha

-My birthday is coming up on Thursday (the 18th) - I haven't even had that much time to think about it. I don't think we're doing anything that day (except packing). Oh well, maybe we'll have some time to celebrate it when we get to ND.

-Speaking of ND, for those of you concerned (Austin) about updating once we get there - No need to worry! Since we'll be staying with my parent's, I will have full access to the internet so I'll be updating regularly (probably more than I am now).

-Our realtor came up on Sunday and took pictures so our house is on the market as of today. Some really good news-the asking price we thought we would ask is about 25k lower than what he was thinking:) That makes me SO happy!

-Our intial plan once we get to ND is this: we are going to stay with my parent's until our house sells out here (hopefully no longer than a couple of months). Once our house sells we'll probably rent an apartment, townhouse, duplex until the summer. I don't feel comfortable buying a house in the winter. If everything goes according to plan, we hope to be homeowner's once again by late summer.

-On an ironic note: Mike has been applying for jobs in ND since November and it took a little while for companies to express interest in hiring him. Now that he accepted a job back there 3 companies called him today to set up interviews with him. Why didn't this happen a month ago?? Hahaha

-My last post was my 100th one since moving over to Blogger. I can't believe I've posted that many entries. What's more amazing is the fact that you all still read my rambling :) I love it!!

Friday Funny (a little late)

This video was taken while we were in ND - Logan is playing the piano at Mike's Mom's house. I love how dramatic he plays don't you?

Almost Done!!

I am proud to report that the kitchen is almost completely packed! One of my lovely neighbor's came up this morning and helped me pack up the kitchen. Isn't it amazing all the crap that can fit into cupboards?? I have so many glasses to get rid of. My counter top is now covered in glasses and other kitchen "things" that I will be donating or trying to give away.

I met with a realtor yesterday, the same one who helped us find this house 4 1/2 years ago. He thinks we should have no problem selling the house. Hopefully he'll be coming up on Sunday afternoon to take pictures and the house will be put on the market by Monday.

Speaking of house selling - our neighbor's across the street have expressed a BIG interest in buying our home. That would make things SO much easier - not to mention we could give them a good deal since we wouldn't have to worry about commission costs. AND our other neighbor, Jayne, called her sister to tell her about the house. It would be wonderful if we would have a contract before we moved!

Sorry again for the rambling, unorganized post - hope you all have a great weekend!!

BTW - Logan is being spoiled rotten! I talked to my Aunt this morning (who was watching him) and she took him shopping. He got quite a few new clothes and of course some toys. I don't think he'll want to come back to us :)

Day One With No Logan

Day one is almost over without Logan. It's been strange. I woke up this morning and was surprised that he wasn't awake yet. Then I remembered he's not here. All through today there were certain instances that I would think of him or think I heard him. There were even times that I looked at the baby monitor downstairs to see if it was moving to indicate he was crying in his crib. I have a feeling this is going to be a very strange 3 weeks.

Mike sent his letter of resignation today - his official last day of work is January 19th. One day after my birthday. Speaking of my birthday, today while I was on the phone with my Mom she mentioned that Logan will not spend my birthday with me. That made my day - thanks Mom.

I talked to my neighbor's tonight who watched Pooh Bear while we were gone - they are not happy that we are moving. They are pissed though that Logan is not here. But they understand that packing will go much smoother without him "helping".

Speaking of packing - we have about 10-12 boxes packed so far. There's your progress report Taylor!!

There is a realtor coming to the house tomorrow (weather permitting). Hopefully our house will be listed within the next couple of days.

I think that's all the updates for now. Sorry for the non-flowing post :)

3 Weeks and 2 Days

That is how long we have to pack everything, get the house listed to sell and be back in ND so Mike can begin his new job :) :) :)

He starts on February 1st!! He had a follow-up interview this morning and they gave him the news then. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers - it worked!

The really, really, really hard part of all of this (other than leaving behind our dear friends)? Logan will not be coming back to Washington with us. Instead he will be getting spoiled by Grandpa, Grandmas, and many Aunts and Uncles. I think I will have the hardest time tonight with this when we say goodbye at the airport. The most I've ever been apart from him is for one night - in 17 months!

That's all I've got for now. Now excuse me while I go and do a happy dance!!

Almost Ready

We fly out tomorrow - wish us luck! Logan & I went to the store today and I bought him some little cars for the trip. He also received some Winnie the Pooh books for Christmas that we haven't read yet so we'll be taking some of those. AND Mike is going to download Cars so that we can watch that on the plane. I've also got snacks packed so hopefully all of this will keep Logie entertained :)

Of course, yesterday morning I woke up with a sore throat and it's still here. I picked up some Tylenol sore throat tablets so hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow. ALSO yesterday afternoon I got an ingrown hair on my tummy - right where the waistband of my pants sit. Have you ever had one of those?? Oh my goodness are they painful!! I've had them before on my arm but it never hurt like this. I've put a band aid on it so again hopefully this will be gone by tomorrow.

OK enough about that stuff :) I'm not taking my laptop with since Mike will have his so I probably won't be around until Tuesday or Wednesday. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and please continue to send the good thoughts our way!!

Hi There Again!

Things are back to normal around here - Mike is back at work, the weather has turned rainy again, and I'm back to blogging. Logan is still sick but is feeling much better today, although right
now he is refusing to nap.

I was hoping to begin putting away the Christmas decorations while he napped but it doesn't look like that will be happening. I just hope I can get it done before we fly out on Saturday. Speaking of the flight I need some ideas to keep Logan entertained. The last time we flew he was 10 months old and it was not fun (which is why we haven't flown since). I am hoping to go to Target or somewhere similar and find some new things for him to play with on the plane. Any suggestions would be wonderful!

I have begun to cross-stitch again which is taking up some of my blogging time but it has been so therapeutic for me. I love doing that and most of the time am happy with the finished product! Hahaha

Some other Logan news: he's begun to say more words. It's so cute to watch him try to sound things out :) He received a stuffed moose for Christmas and I began to call him "moosey" - Logan can now say "moosey" perfectly. He emphasizes on the "sey" part so it comes out as "mooSEEEEEYYY". He also points to his new tractor and says "tra", "tra". And today I'm wearing a Tigger sweatshirt, when I went in to get him this morning he pointed to my shirt. I said, "that's Tigger" and he said "tidder". I guess it's just a matter of time before he's really talking!

Updates

Where to start, where to start - guess for now you'll get the bulleted list.

-Logan & I went to the park for the last time of the year on the 22nd. It was a beautiful day out and we had so much fun. I can still remember the very first time we went - Logan was too small to even go in the toddler swing! Time goes by much too fast.

-On the 23rd we went down to Bellevue to view the Garden d'Lights. It is amazing what can be done with Christmas lights!

-We had a nice, quiet Christmas at home. Christmas Eve we opened our gifts and had a very yummy prime rib dinner. It was our first time making it but it turned out great! We all got some great gifts including Logan who got a ride-on tractor from my Mom & Dad. He's enjoyed running into Pooh Bear and pushing the horn constantly.

-Mike also is officially done with college! He finished his last work on Christmas Eve - I am so proud of him! Some parts have been a struggle, but in the end it was worth it.

-Christmas morning Santa stopped by and I received a lovely silver watch with 4 diamonds. I must have been good :) Christmas Day we had our neighbor's up for dinner. Mike made knoefla soup - it of course turned out great. Although it makes me question why he doesn't cook more often. Logan had a blast showing off his dancing skills and Shar helped him add a little something to it - he now waves his hands in the air and attempts to snap his fingers.

-Tuesday Mike went back to work but has been off now the rest of the week. I cannot wait until they either hire him full-time or he finds another job - preferably back in ND!

-Speaking of ND, we will all be flying back there next weekend. Mike has an interview that Monday. We'll be there Saturday through Tuesday so it will be a pretty quick trip but it will be nice to see everyone. Mike will also find out while we're back if they'll offer him the job so no waiting game this time around.

-I did some major after Christmas shopping and I got some pretty good deals. Of course I went to Bath & Body works, got some perfume at Victoria's Secret, and found some nice Christmas stuff at Target, Jo-Ann's, Yankee candle, Ben Franklin, and Coast to Coast.

-New Year's was spent tending to a sick child. Logan had a fever, runny nose, cough, and major drooling. I think he's getting in some teeth. We've been keeping him dosed up on Motrin and Dimetapp and for the most part it's working. He did wake up 3 times but it could have been much worse. He also managed to be awake at midnight so he helped us ring in a new year.

-New Year's Day Logan was feeling well enough that we were able to go to our neighbor's house for a lovely dinner.

I think that's about it for now. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!