Crazy how fast everything is going. I felt like we had tons of time before we moved and I am now sitting at the airport. We just checked in nine pieces of luggage and Abe and Adeline are tKing chloe for a last potty breAk and fresh air before we check her. Poor thing is going to be in her kennel like 12 hours or so. We are pretty pathetic looking. Even without our nine checked bags and Chloe, we still have four carry ons, two car seats and a double stroller we are bringing on. The girls have had a lot of cabin fever the past few days from being in such a small little place, but they are great sports. If it weren't for Adelines crazy positive attitude, I would be a wreck! There was a lady at the park today and Adeline said, " we are moving to Germany today,". The lady said, " I know! You told me that yesterday and that it is going to take 80 hours!". She is so silly. She has been great so far at the airport and is extremely worried about Chloe.
The past 5 days (wel more thN that) have been a complete whirlwind. Our friend rob came in to town and snuggled up with us in our one bedroom plus a pull out couch "hotel". I feel bad because we were a bit boring, but it was really fun seeing him and spending some time together. The girls love rob! On saturday my friend Katy and I went out to a yummy lunch at UNO and then went shopping all day long at some great outlets about an hour away. I am so bummed I hadn't discovered it earlier! I loved just being able to spend the entire day with her without our kids. She has been the most amazing friend ever.
A big big bummer is that Adelines best friend Mary got really sick on Saturday and was also sick Sunday and Monday. Pretty bad timing since these are their last days together. Before we left today we let them play at the park for awhile though and I just made sure to keep sanitizing my kids. Those two girls are the cutest things ever together...like little soul mates. When Norah saw William today, she was so excited. She ran up and kissed him and then a couple minutes later went up behind him and gave him a huge hug..so Mach that they both fell over. Oh I am going to miss those guys. The other night while eating dinner I was super emotional and just kept crying. Last night And today though I have been holding up pretty well. I think mostly since this is all so surreal. So, here were are saying goodbye to USA. Off to the next chapter of our lives.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Going away party, Hello TLF, Goodbye Car & Field Trip
Abe invited me and the girls to an award ceremony they were having for him on Tuesday. He let me know that it was nothing really, but that his office was making a bigger deal out of it than it was. The girls and I showed up and the entire room was filled with people front to back that work in Abe's office. The "ceremony" was pretty quick and the did make a big deal about Abe's accomplishments and the medal he received. I was glad that we went and could be a part of it.
On Wednesday before Abe's going away lunch, people from work asked Abe to bring us to the office on our way to the restaraunt. One of the guys that he works with had everyone gather around and "spot lighted" Abe a little bit. He made him homemade Lederhosen and made him put them on and wear them. It was just a funny little tribute they put together for him.
Lunch with Abe's work was really fun. There were about 30 people that showed up to support him. The girls had a lot of fun and a girl that Abe works with even brought them some stuffed animals. I knew that everyone really liked Abe, but this really made me realize how much they value him and will miss him. He made such an impact and I am really proud of him. They were all really generous and bought all our meals, and even gave us a wad of cash. It was all way more than I would have ever expected.
Things have continued to be a little bit insane and somehow we are surviving it all thus far :) Yesterday (Wednesday) we checked into the TLF on base, which is temporary housing and is like a hotel. I was at my friend Katy's house when Abe brought the girls over to check in and he said he was a little down. Adeline apparently was really excited and was running around and thought everything was so neat. She really has been remarkably positive about all the change we are going through. That lifted Abe's spirits... and mine when he told me about it. I am so lucky to have such a great friend that let us stay with her for EIGHT nights. It was so comfortable staying over there and really fun since I am going to miss her so much. We got to be "roommates" for a week :) She insisted that we stay until we left, but that is a long time to have people staying in your house. Being able to stay with them a good chunk though has definitely helped break up the time we do have to stay in the TLF. It has a kitchenette, a small table to sit at, a couch that can pull out into a bed, and then one bedroom. It is not ideal for a family of 4, especially when Norah has to sleep in our room!
cute picture of the girls and William when we were at Katy's house
I couldn't resist taking this picture of Mary, Adeline and Kaden having a little tea party/snack on the porch
Abe left at 4am this morning to drive down to New Jersey to drop off our car at the port. I was thinking we wouldn't see our car for at least 3 months, so I was happy to hear that they said the 3rd week of November we should be expecting it. 5 weeks would be way better than 8-12! Hopefully they are accurate. After he dropped the car off, he took a taxi to the airport and flew back to Boston. Goodbye car, I will miss you! Now we just need to figure out what to do with our second car since it still hasn't sold yet!!
Today Adeline had a class field trip and I volunteered to go along. She has been asking about it for weeks and woke up super early this morning because she was so excited. It was Adeline's first time riding on a school bus and she thought that was pretty neat. As the bus was driving off base, they didn't stop like they were supposed to so the guards could move some barriers that make up a little obstacle course to get out. The bus couldn't quite make the obstacles and ran one of the barriers over. After a big bump and a loud bang, the tire did turn out to be flat. We had to transport all the kids onto a second bus that was following us and had to cram in. The kids got to feed some animals, go on a little "cow" ride, hay ride, go in a corn maze and then get a pumpkin. My back is killing me after bending down to help little kids all morning!
These are some random pictures from last couple of weeks that I wanted to post. I took the next couple of pictures on the day that the movers came to pack our first (express) shipment. They were playing so well together and were making me laugh. They were watching a movie and I found them like this hugging each other watching it.
My friends and I took all our kids to a "flu shot night" at the pediatrics office that we go to. We promised all the girls ice cream after their shots.
On Wednesday before Abe's going away lunch, people from work asked Abe to bring us to the office on our way to the restaraunt. One of the guys that he works with had everyone gather around and "spot lighted" Abe a little bit. He made him homemade Lederhosen and made him put them on and wear them. It was just a funny little tribute they put together for him.
Lunch with Abe's work was really fun. There were about 30 people that showed up to support him. The girls had a lot of fun and a girl that Abe works with even brought them some stuffed animals. I knew that everyone really liked Abe, but this really made me realize how much they value him and will miss him. He made such an impact and I am really proud of him. They were all really generous and bought all our meals, and even gave us a wad of cash. It was all way more than I would have ever expected.
Things have continued to be a little bit insane and somehow we are surviving it all thus far :) Yesterday (Wednesday) we checked into the TLF on base, which is temporary housing and is like a hotel. I was at my friend Katy's house when Abe brought the girls over to check in and he said he was a little down. Adeline apparently was really excited and was running around and thought everything was so neat. She really has been remarkably positive about all the change we are going through. That lifted Abe's spirits... and mine when he told me about it. I am so lucky to have such a great friend that let us stay with her for EIGHT nights. It was so comfortable staying over there and really fun since I am going to miss her so much. We got to be "roommates" for a week :) She insisted that we stay until we left, but that is a long time to have people staying in your house. Being able to stay with them a good chunk though has definitely helped break up the time we do have to stay in the TLF. It has a kitchenette, a small table to sit at, a couch that can pull out into a bed, and then one bedroom. It is not ideal for a family of 4, especially when Norah has to sleep in our room!
cute picture of the girls and William when we were at Katy's house
I couldn't resist taking this picture of Mary, Adeline and Kaden having a little tea party/snack on the porch
Abe left at 4am this morning to drive down to New Jersey to drop off our car at the port. I was thinking we wouldn't see our car for at least 3 months, so I was happy to hear that they said the 3rd week of November we should be expecting it. 5 weeks would be way better than 8-12! Hopefully they are accurate. After he dropped the car off, he took a taxi to the airport and flew back to Boston. Goodbye car, I will miss you! Now we just need to figure out what to do with our second car since it still hasn't sold yet!!
Today Adeline had a class field trip and I volunteered to go along. She has been asking about it for weeks and woke up super early this morning because she was so excited. It was Adeline's first time riding on a school bus and she thought that was pretty neat. As the bus was driving off base, they didn't stop like they were supposed to so the guards could move some barriers that make up a little obstacle course to get out. The bus couldn't quite make the obstacles and ran one of the barriers over. After a big bump and a loud bang, the tire did turn out to be flat. We had to transport all the kids onto a second bus that was following us and had to cram in. The kids got to feed some animals, go on a little "cow" ride, hay ride, go in a corn maze and then get a pumpkin. My back is killing me after bending down to help little kids all morning!
These are some random pictures from last couple of weeks that I wanted to post. I took the next couple of pictures on the day that the movers came to pack our first (express) shipment. They were playing so well together and were making me laugh. They were watching a movie and I found them like this hugging each other watching it.
My friends and I took all our kids to a "flu shot night" at the pediatrics office that we go to. We promised all the girls ice cream after their shots.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Homeless
Before I go in to depth about our absolutely crazy week, we had a visitor last weekend! My cousin Tori flew in from DC to make a quick visit. I was a little bummed because it was supposed to rain all weekend, but it ended up being reasonably nice outside. We went and walked down Newbury Street and went out to lunch, drove through Boston University, went into Concord and walked around, went to the North Bridge in Concord, and then on Saturday night went to Harvard Square for Sushi and ice cream while Abe watched the girls. It was so much fun having her and just about the easiest guest you could ask for. My girls also had such a good time with her and were sad when she left. Thanks for the visit Tori!!
This week has been INSANE. The moving company came on Monday to start packing and moving our stuff. They ended up running out of paper and some boxes, so weren't able to get too much done and had to leave early. On Tuesday they came back to finish up the job. It was so unorganized and crazy. Instead of packing up each room and then moving, they would randomly pack things and then move them out to the crates. They packed my entire kitchen up, but would leave one drawer full of stuff, and then other kitchen items out. Why not pack them with the rest of the kitchen stuff? I guess that would be too easy. An inspector on base stopped by and instructed the company that they weren't allowed to use 2 of the 6 crates they brought due to a bunch of mold. GREAT! They ended up bringing a moving truck and throwing a bunch of our stuff in there once they filled the 4 useable crates. They were even throwing random items into the back of the moving truck by themselves and untagged. When it started getting late in the evening, the moving truck had to leave since the lights didn't work. They still had more boxes and furniture (and random items they didn't pack up), so they had to pack them into one of the moldy crates they were not supposed to use. They told me that the next day they would take all the stuff they put in the moving truck and in the moldy crate and pack them into other crates. They didn't end up leaving until about 8:30pm. Apparently once they did pack all our stuff in the crates, they ended up with 11. I have no idea what they packed into those crates, because we only saw 5 of them actually be packed and they did not have 6 more crates worth of stuff. It will be really interesting to see what we end up seeing again and what condition it will be in. They pretty much only wrapped everything in paper; even our nice wood furniture.
Wednesday and Thursday pretty much consisted of priming and cleaning my house. I spent about 10 hours there on Wednesday and about 4.5 hours yesterday. I was so sick of that house!! Abe even walked in while I was cleaning and said, " I am so glad we don't live here anymore!" It's funny because we really do not like our house at all. We had neighbors on both sides of us and they were both so LOUD. It doesn't help that they were old and all wood floors. I hated hearing one of our neighbors dogs start barking at 6am EVERYDAY!
On Tuesday night we "moved in" to my friend Katy's house. I am so lucky to have found such a good friend here. I don't know what I am going to do without her! She practically watched my kids all week during this craziness and is totally fine with us all crashing at her house. Adeline is absolutely loving it. Before she went to bed last night she said, "I always want to go to Mary's house and play with her everyday. Now I get to play with her ALL DAY LONG!!". She hasn't been sad about leaving our house at all. She was a little mad when the movers were there. She got to come home a couple times during the commotion and she kept saying, "I'm just so mad about this!", or "Germany is NOT fun!". She was having issues with them packing up some of her stuff. Once all our stuff was gone, Norah was running from room to room saying, "Where did mommy's bed go?" "Where did Norah's bed go?" "Where did Adeline's bed go?"
Last night we got sitters for our kids and went out for Hibachi and got some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. It was such a nice reward for such a crazy, emotional week. We loved being able to spend more time with Katy and Jason too by going on a double date. Only problem was that I ate so much food that I felt super sick all night because my belly hurt so bad. It even hurt a little bit when I woke up this morning.
We have about 11 more days left and we will be on our way to Germany. Things have been so insane that I really can't wrap my head around it all. For my own sanity I have just been focusing day to day :)
This week has been INSANE. The moving company came on Monday to start packing and moving our stuff. They ended up running out of paper and some boxes, so weren't able to get too much done and had to leave early. On Tuesday they came back to finish up the job. It was so unorganized and crazy. Instead of packing up each room and then moving, they would randomly pack things and then move them out to the crates. They packed my entire kitchen up, but would leave one drawer full of stuff, and then other kitchen items out. Why not pack them with the rest of the kitchen stuff? I guess that would be too easy. An inspector on base stopped by and instructed the company that they weren't allowed to use 2 of the 6 crates they brought due to a bunch of mold. GREAT! They ended up bringing a moving truck and throwing a bunch of our stuff in there once they filled the 4 useable crates. They were even throwing random items into the back of the moving truck by themselves and untagged. When it started getting late in the evening, the moving truck had to leave since the lights didn't work. They still had more boxes and furniture (and random items they didn't pack up), so they had to pack them into one of the moldy crates they were not supposed to use. They told me that the next day they would take all the stuff they put in the moving truck and in the moldy crate and pack them into other crates. They didn't end up leaving until about 8:30pm. Apparently once they did pack all our stuff in the crates, they ended up with 11. I have no idea what they packed into those crates, because we only saw 5 of them actually be packed and they did not have 6 more crates worth of stuff. It will be really interesting to see what we end up seeing again and what condition it will be in. They pretty much only wrapped everything in paper; even our nice wood furniture.
Wednesday and Thursday pretty much consisted of priming and cleaning my house. I spent about 10 hours there on Wednesday and about 4.5 hours yesterday. I was so sick of that house!! Abe even walked in while I was cleaning and said, " I am so glad we don't live here anymore!" It's funny because we really do not like our house at all. We had neighbors on both sides of us and they were both so LOUD. It doesn't help that they were old and all wood floors. I hated hearing one of our neighbors dogs start barking at 6am EVERYDAY!
On Tuesday night we "moved in" to my friend Katy's house. I am so lucky to have found such a good friend here. I don't know what I am going to do without her! She practically watched my kids all week during this craziness and is totally fine with us all crashing at her house. Adeline is absolutely loving it. Before she went to bed last night she said, "I always want to go to Mary's house and play with her everyday. Now I get to play with her ALL DAY LONG!!". She hasn't been sad about leaving our house at all. She was a little mad when the movers were there. She got to come home a couple times during the commotion and she kept saying, "I'm just so mad about this!", or "Germany is NOT fun!". She was having issues with them packing up some of her stuff. Once all our stuff was gone, Norah was running from room to room saying, "Where did mommy's bed go?" "Where did Norah's bed go?" "Where did Adeline's bed go?"
Last night we got sitters for our kids and went out for Hibachi and got some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. It was such a nice reward for such a crazy, emotional week. We loved being able to spend more time with Katy and Jason too by going on a double date. Only problem was that I ate so much food that I felt super sick all night because my belly hurt so bad. It even hurt a little bit when I woke up this morning.
We have about 11 more days left and we will be on our way to Germany. Things have been so insane that I really can't wrap my head around it all. For my own sanity I have just been focusing day to day :)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Starting to lose it...
Starting to lose it, in every which way. I had to get a root canal and it has been the longest, most dreadful process to me. I HATE the dentist. Anyway, I had an appointment next week to get a mold for my crown and they called me last minute today to see if I could come in since they had a cancellation. I had Abe get off work a little early and headed in. I was waiting for 45 minutes and finally asked if they were behind or something. After all, they had called ME to come in. She said they were behind because there was a little "emergency" the dentist was working on. Immediately I burst into tears. Why? Because apparently I am a wreck and I made a complete full of myself. The dentist even came out to talk to me and was wondering if we could reschedule for tomorrow. She was wondering if I was just nervous for the procedure. Um, no. I have SO MUCH TO DO! I am trying to get ready for our move to Germany, Adeline is at home with the Chicken Pox (which means me at home ALL WEEK and can't get anything done) and I also have to sell my car. I am about as big as I normally am when I am ready to deliver... and I am only 23 weeks! So on and so forth. Anyway, I COULD NOT HOLD IT TOGETHER! I left the office in tears for pretty much no reason. I really hope I can start pulling my emotions together. On top of that, Norah woke up from her nap today with a bump on her head. Is it chicken pox? A bug bite? I guess we will find out in the morning :)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Weekend in Vermont & Chicken "Pops"
One place that we have been meaning to venture to, but hadn't made it there was Vermont. On Friday morning after preschool we packed the kids in the car and drove up to Ricker Pond in Vermont. It really hasn't been too cold here, except this last weekend. I thought the girls would most likely just need a sweatshirt and last minute I ended up packing winter coats, hats & gloves. I was so glad that we did. It was FREEZING COLD!! We decided to rent a little cabin to minimize the hassle of bringing the tent and to hopefully taper off the sounds of our little kids at night so we didn't bug our neighbors. The cabin had a little bunk and a futon and we brought our sleeping bags and blankets. The cabin definitely wasn't any warmer than outside. We just walked around the campground, the pond and then cooked our tin foil dinners by the fire for dinner. For dessert we had the usual smores, which Adeline enjoyed (when it wasn't on her coat, hair, fingers or face :). When it was time for bed, we had no choice but to all fall asleep at the same time. We were all piled in next to each other to stay warm and Norah would not be quiet. The would burst out singing "Twinkle twinkle little star", but sing it in the melody and say, "Twinkle Adeline Twinkle Adeline......". This is one of Adeline's pet peeves when Norah does this and she knows it... that's why she does it! After Norah would do that over and over again Adeline would yell, "TURN YOUR VOICE OFF NORAH!!". Then Norah would be quiet and start singing again. Once she stopped singing, she would make loud noises with her mouth. After all the bickering from Adeline because she was annoyed and tired, she finally fell asleep and so did Abe. So I was stuck with Norah being loud and playing with my face. Probably after almost 2 hours she finally fell asleep. Little stinker.
Enjoying smores
Making bagels for breakfast
Eating breakfast out by the pond in the sun so we could warm up a little bit
After warming up and eating breakfast we packed up and went on a hike up to Owl's head that over looked Kittery Pond. Adeline is such an energizer bunny and wad running up the trail the entire time. she LOVES hiking. When we were done with that hike, she wanted to go on another one.
Instead of heading right home, we took a detour and went to the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. We went on the tour, although they weren't in production because it was over the weekend. At the end of the tour they even gave us generous size samples of the flavor of the day.
On our way home from the factory, we drove right through Sharon Vermont, which happens to be the birth place of Joseph Smith. Abe insisted on stopping since we were practically driving right through it. Norah had barely fallen asleep for her nap (really late nap), so Adeline and Abe went and looked around for a little bit. The girls were going CRAZY on the way home because it felt like it had taken us about 10 hours (not really but that's what it felt like). All in all we had a blast and it was so pretty in Vermont!!
The next morning Adeline ran into our room and said "I have so many itchy bug bites all over!" Abe had looked at her face and she was right, they were all over. He warned me not to say anything when I looked at her face since there were so many. At first we were trying to figure out if she really got bit since we hadn't, or if a spider had eaten her alive in her bed or something. We lifted up her shirt and saw a lot more on her back and knew it most likely wasn't bites. Abe took Adeline to the doctor while Norah and I were at church (since I was supposed to teach) and they diagnosed her with Chicken Pox. Adeline has the WORST LUCK with vaccinations. They just don't seem to work on her. Last year RotaVirus and this year chicken pox. Luckily since she is vaccinated, she has a mild case. She has about 10 on her face, 10 on her back and then a handful on her arms and legs... none on her belly. She has still felt really good despite her spots, but is getting stir crazy and sad that she can't go to school or anywhere for that matter. They are starting to crust over, so hopefully she can be around other kids soon. Such a bummer she has to miss so much school when she hardly has any left. I feel so bad for her. She really is a trooper. Adeline will tell you she has CHICKEN POPS. Let's just hope Norah doesn't get them right before we are supposed to be going to Germany!!
On a side note, the movers called me last night and informed me that they are super busy next week and they wanted to come this morning to get a start on the packing. I informed them that we are not ready, but they can pack our basement and little things and we don't need. Also that anyone that comes in my house should be immune to chicken pox so they don't get them. They showed up and my house was a bomb with the such short notice and they were wanting to pack everything. Since I am not going to see my stuff for 3 months, I would at least like to go through my stuff to separate what I want to bring with me!! It turned out fine, but was really frustrating and stressful for me. I really am not ready to move yet... and especially for them to start packing us a week earlier than expected!
Random picture but I had to document it. Adeline had to answer, "I am sorry when..." at church. She had been poking Norah the entire time in sacrament and bugging her. When I saw her response after church I thought it was pretty funny.
Enjoying smores
Making bagels for breakfast
Eating breakfast out by the pond in the sun so we could warm up a little bit
After warming up and eating breakfast we packed up and went on a hike up to Owl's head that over looked Kittery Pond. Adeline is such an energizer bunny and wad running up the trail the entire time. she LOVES hiking. When we were done with that hike, she wanted to go on another one.
Instead of heading right home, we took a detour and went to the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. We went on the tour, although they weren't in production because it was over the weekend. At the end of the tour they even gave us generous size samples of the flavor of the day.
On our way home from the factory, we drove right through Sharon Vermont, which happens to be the birth place of Joseph Smith. Abe insisted on stopping since we were practically driving right through it. Norah had barely fallen asleep for her nap (really late nap), so Adeline and Abe went and looked around for a little bit. The girls were going CRAZY on the way home because it felt like it had taken us about 10 hours (not really but that's what it felt like). All in all we had a blast and it was so pretty in Vermont!!
The next morning Adeline ran into our room and said "I have so many itchy bug bites all over!" Abe had looked at her face and she was right, they were all over. He warned me not to say anything when I looked at her face since there were so many. At first we were trying to figure out if she really got bit since we hadn't, or if a spider had eaten her alive in her bed or something. We lifted up her shirt and saw a lot more on her back and knew it most likely wasn't bites. Abe took Adeline to the doctor while Norah and I were at church (since I was supposed to teach) and they diagnosed her with Chicken Pox. Adeline has the WORST LUCK with vaccinations. They just don't seem to work on her. Last year RotaVirus and this year chicken pox. Luckily since she is vaccinated, she has a mild case. She has about 10 on her face, 10 on her back and then a handful on her arms and legs... none on her belly. She has still felt really good despite her spots, but is getting stir crazy and sad that she can't go to school or anywhere for that matter. They are starting to crust over, so hopefully she can be around other kids soon. Such a bummer she has to miss so much school when she hardly has any left. I feel so bad for her. She really is a trooper. Adeline will tell you she has CHICKEN POPS. Let's just hope Norah doesn't get them right before we are supposed to be going to Germany!!
On a side note, the movers called me last night and informed me that they are super busy next week and they wanted to come this morning to get a start on the packing. I informed them that we are not ready, but they can pack our basement and little things and we don't need. Also that anyone that comes in my house should be immune to chicken pox so they don't get them. They showed up and my house was a bomb with the such short notice and they were wanting to pack everything. Since I am not going to see my stuff for 3 months, I would at least like to go through my stuff to separate what I want to bring with me!! It turned out fine, but was really frustrating and stressful for me. I really am not ready to move yet... and especially for them to start packing us a week earlier than expected!
Random picture but I had to document it. Adeline had to answer, "I am sorry when..." at church. She had been poking Norah the entire time in sacrament and bugging her. When I saw her response after church I thought it was pretty funny.
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