The thing is, I had honestly forgotten how to log in to the blog. No joke. We've kind of had this wild swirl of activity in the last 7 months. Undefineable ups and downs. Serious downs with some peaks really. Then the computer crashed- which is the high tech version of your dog eating your homework. And here we are. Good news, apparently my resurrected computer and my new start page from google really want me to blog because it puts it front and center and somehow I'm already logged in- which is probably a security problem.
So let's start for today. I've had this stomach ick for about 3 months. And its the burping, I'll save you the details but I could make high school boys fully loaded with carbonated drinks blush. I sound awful. So I've been flipping through my head and my diet and my diet isn't great. I just need to do better. The months of highs and lows have been months of highs and lows in the diet too. I cook a ton but I'm baking more than I'm stir frying. Meatless Mondays have become "I'll remember that next week." I have started green smoothies and I think that has staved off worse problems. I'm going to try to buckle down a little this week, buy some brocolli and tempeh and make a stirfry with rice.
We've also been kicking over every rock we can find for a visa. Now, folks, visas for us are like kryptonite, we can't touch them but they strip the life right out of us. I'm praying for some serious long term victory in the visa department but I'm clinging to hope. Its never good to be skin of teeth on hope.
Oh and we moved. We moved about 10 times in the last 7 months to be exact- no kidding. Several of the moves were shuttling between hotel rooms. The next 6 months looks to be more of the same, less hotel rooms hopefully. But probably a whole house move.
So welcome back to disconnected blog chatter, I've missed you.
Living with a kind husband and 2 bewitching smaller people. Remembering everyday what it is to be blessed beyond measure.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Thursday, March 12, 2009
yellow bunny rabbit
Tonight we were talking about how @ has admitted a new member to the circle of "guys". Woobie/aka Green Blanket, Doggy, and Peno are the "guys" (stuffed animals) that feature most prominently in @'s life. But of the late he has allowed in little green bunny rabbit. And tonight he asked if he had always had green bunny. I explained about yellow bunny rabbit and told him the story of yellow bunny rabbit.
Yellow Bunny rabbit was sent to us in Africa by my sister Jennifer. Jennifer is very good at holidays and gift giving, she remembers them and does them WELL. She's that person. So my sister sent our 8 month old child an easter basket complete with the annoying green grass, which Jennifer says is the best part (this was before she had kids). And @ didn't make much of it, he's 8 months old. He did latch onto the yellow bunny rabbit finally, but the rest of the uber-stimulating, learning toys were not so much a thing. He liked to pet and chew yellow bunny rabbit.
That December we were asked to leave and he had made an attachment to the rabbit and it came everywhere. So when we went to say final goodbyes to my dear sister Ab, yellow bunny rabbit came along. At some point in the flurry of what was a very quick trip, yellow bunny rabbit didn't make it in to the car. This happens to everyone and its normally not a big deal, you swing back by or pick it up next time. Problem is that we are flying out of the country in 5 hours and I will probably never see this person again on this earth. And you are throwing your 18month old into a world of flux and the least you could do is provide him the stability of the yellow bunny rabbit. So my friend knows we need this bunny and I don't even know its gone. She travels out to the airport at 10p.m. to bring the boy's yellow bunny rabbit. And we cry and say goodbye again...awful.
We get back to the states at christmas and are living with the grandparents and my sister says why don't you come down and stay at my house for a while. She's still living in her post Katrina apt and her house is sitting empty. A good excuse to have someone in the house, bring down some of her belongings she had left in IL and we could see her a little. And we could avoid the question of what next for a few weeks. So we're off to New Orleans. We load up the huge boat of a Crown Vic we've borrowed (thanks to my very extended adopted family) and yellow bunny rabbit is in tow.
During our time there we do some shopping. We have a few pieces of winter clothes and @ has very little. So one day we are out at the K-Mart. New Orleans is having lots of sales tax holidays to help people afford to buy stuff, particularly home remodeling stuff, post-katrina. And we're thinking we could buy this stuff in IL or we could help the local NOLA economy and buy there. So we're shopping. We get out to the car and there is no yellow bunny rabbit. Its a windy day, we start scouring the parking lot. Then we go back in the store and somehow try to convey to part-time, post-traumatic stress NOLA K-Mart employee that WE MUST FIND THE YELLOW BUNNY RABBIT! And so I'm trying to convey the urgency of I lost my home and I can never return and all I need to feel ok is for my kid to have this yellow bunny rabbit. K-mart guy= not getting it. So after searching the store, the parking lot and begging the guy to look one more time in lost and found, yellow bunny rabbit has returned to her home in NOLA.
The rest of the night I'm sick at heart. How could I have lost this yellow bunny rabbit and now we have nothing left. Not even the bunny rabbit. And I commenced boohooing all over again.
I didn't share that last bit with @, nor the frantic un-ravelled mom I was. But tender hearted @ did ask about "where is yellow bunny rabbit now?" And we talked about how maybe some other kid has him and its ok to loose a "guy" sometimes, we have others and the old ones are special memories... Very unconvincing explanation, I'm sure. So after the story, which I didn't intend to be a tragic reminder of loosing his toy, he suggested "we put up signs on all the trees so that if someone finds yellow bunny rabbit they could return him. " All the trees between here and NOLA... another explanation for another night.
remind me to tell you sometime how he came by green blanket...
Yellow Bunny rabbit was sent to us in Africa by my sister Jennifer. Jennifer is very good at holidays and gift giving, she remembers them and does them WELL. She's that person. So my sister sent our 8 month old child an easter basket complete with the annoying green grass, which Jennifer says is the best part (this was before she had kids). And @ didn't make much of it, he's 8 months old. He did latch onto the yellow bunny rabbit finally, but the rest of the uber-stimulating, learning toys were not so much a thing. He liked to pet and chew yellow bunny rabbit.
That December we were asked to leave and he had made an attachment to the rabbit and it came everywhere. So when we went to say final goodbyes to my dear sister Ab, yellow bunny rabbit came along. At some point in the flurry of what was a very quick trip, yellow bunny rabbit didn't make it in to the car. This happens to everyone and its normally not a big deal, you swing back by or pick it up next time. Problem is that we are flying out of the country in 5 hours and I will probably never see this person again on this earth. And you are throwing your 18month old into a world of flux and the least you could do is provide him the stability of the yellow bunny rabbit. So my friend knows we need this bunny and I don't even know its gone. She travels out to the airport at 10p.m. to bring the boy's yellow bunny rabbit. And we cry and say goodbye again...awful.
We get back to the states at christmas and are living with the grandparents and my sister says why don't you come down and stay at my house for a while. She's still living in her post Katrina apt and her house is sitting empty. A good excuse to have someone in the house, bring down some of her belongings she had left in IL and we could see her a little. And we could avoid the question of what next for a few weeks. So we're off to New Orleans. We load up the huge boat of a Crown Vic we've borrowed (thanks to my very extended adopted family) and yellow bunny rabbit is in tow.
During our time there we do some shopping. We have a few pieces of winter clothes and @ has very little. So one day we are out at the K-Mart. New Orleans is having lots of sales tax holidays to help people afford to buy stuff, particularly home remodeling stuff, post-katrina. And we're thinking we could buy this stuff in IL or we could help the local NOLA economy and buy there. So we're shopping. We get out to the car and there is no yellow bunny rabbit. Its a windy day, we start scouring the parking lot. Then we go back in the store and somehow try to convey to part-time, post-traumatic stress NOLA K-Mart employee that WE MUST FIND THE YELLOW BUNNY RABBIT! And so I'm trying to convey the urgency of I lost my home and I can never return and all I need to feel ok is for my kid to have this yellow bunny rabbit. K-mart guy= not getting it. So after searching the store, the parking lot and begging the guy to look one more time in lost and found, yellow bunny rabbit has returned to her home in NOLA.
The rest of the night I'm sick at heart. How could I have lost this yellow bunny rabbit and now we have nothing left. Not even the bunny rabbit. And I commenced boohooing all over again.
I didn't share that last bit with @, nor the frantic un-ravelled mom I was. But tender hearted @ did ask about "where is yellow bunny rabbit now?" And we talked about how maybe some other kid has him and its ok to loose a "guy" sometimes, we have others and the old ones are special memories... Very unconvincing explanation, I'm sure. So after the story, which I didn't intend to be a tragic reminder of loosing his toy, he suggested "we put up signs on all the trees so that if someone finds yellow bunny rabbit they could return him. " All the trees between here and NOLA... another explanation for another night.
remind me to tell you sometime how he came by green blanket...
Saturday, March 01, 2008
So its March
I remember thinking back in January how excited I was for March to come because by that point we'd be in some fashion "settled". And I was so right! So its March today and we really are settled . We've been accomplishing our task lists. The huge wall moving, stair renovation work is finished (and looks GREAT). @'s room can now be cleaned up by himself. When I sweep, there isn't cement dust or sawdust. This week I went into town and bought and AC unit for @'s bedroom and arranged the installation and service of our current AC units all by myself. That would be a huge language task that I did on my own. Feeling cool about that. Jonathan installed a new door on our service bathroom, still needs a handle but it shuts, which is a significant improvement. He installed a new light for us in the project room. I went out today and bought new lights for the bathroom. Jonathan cleaned the trap on the bathroom sink which actually turned into replumbing the sink. I bought a few rugs for our bedrooms. Yeah, we're in a good spot.
Last week I was able to finally buy a table to use as a desk and I unpacked the scrapbook supplies and my offfice supplies. I was able to catch up on some bookkeeping (YES)! Yeah, I have an office now and can find stuff.
Next week, hoping to get the bathroom lights installed and the door knob on the bathroom door. Hoping to have counter made for the kitchen this week. Meal prep off a bookshelf is just about to make me crazy. The ledge is just wide enought for things to fall off. I've explored around town some and now have fabric for sheets (we had to buy beds and the sheets we had don't actually fit the beds we bought) and need to find someone to hem them up.
Still on the prowl for somethings but for the most part we are past the necessity stage. Getting the kitchen sink installed helped and stairs instead of a glorified ladder.
That is where I have been
Last week I was able to finally buy a table to use as a desk and I unpacked the scrapbook supplies and my offfice supplies. I was able to catch up on some bookkeeping (YES)! Yeah, I have an office now and can find stuff.
Next week, hoping to get the bathroom lights installed and the door knob on the bathroom door. Hoping to have counter made for the kitchen this week. Meal prep off a bookshelf is just about to make me crazy. The ledge is just wide enought for things to fall off. I've explored around town some and now have fabric for sheets (we had to buy beds and the sheets we had don't actually fit the beds we bought) and need to find someone to hem them up.
Still on the prowl for somethings but for the most part we are past the necessity stage. Getting the kitchen sink installed helped and stairs instead of a glorified ladder.
That is where I have been
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
some things
First night in the new house. @ is happily tucked into a new bed. It isn't too hot I don't think.
Things we're doing today:
- sweeping and mopping a hundred times. Kitchen work isn't done.
- putting away clothes.
- washing clothes loving the washing machine.
- moving furniture all over.
- hooked up the internet.
- new shower put into the bathroom.
- washing dishes in my new sink. so happy.
- playing with @. Discovering new old toys.
- making beds and tearing off the plastic.
- cleaning out drawers and cabinets.
Tomorrow:
- clean out suitcases to pack for singapore.
- sweep and mop a hundred times.
- move in the kitchen, they should be mostly done by mid day.
- unload/ load fridge.
- read stove instructions
- call the water dispenser repair guy.
- measure for counters
- clean up the grown ups bedroom
- sweep and mop upstairs , first time
- hang clocks! this is a big deal.
- maybe make lunch or dinner in our own house with our own appliances.
I'm sure there is some other stuff.
Things we're doing today:
- sweeping and mopping a hundred times. Kitchen work isn't done.
- putting away clothes.
- washing clothes loving the washing machine.
- moving furniture all over.
- hooked up the internet.
- new shower put into the bathroom.
- washing dishes in my new sink. so happy.
- playing with @. Discovering new old toys.
- making beds and tearing off the plastic.
- cleaning out drawers and cabinets.
Tomorrow:
- clean out suitcases to pack for singapore.
- sweep and mop a hundred times.
- move in the kitchen, they should be mostly done by mid day.
- unload/ load fridge.
- read stove instructions
- call the water dispenser repair guy.
- measure for counters
- clean up the grown ups bedroom
- sweep and mop upstairs , first time
- hang clocks! this is a big deal.
- maybe make lunch or dinner in our own house with our own appliances.
I'm sure there is some other stuff.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
moved in
Has that been the title of a post before? I suspect so. But we are. We closed out the house yesterday by 9:30 and had all of our belongings in the new house by 12:30. That is with an hour and a half of drive time. I call that impressive. It really was an easy move. Houseworker stayed an cleaned out the house for about 30 minutes after we left.
So of course it wasn't necessarily without the moving road bumps. When we first moved into the house in March 07, we showed up about 5:30p.m. (late flights the night before), flipped on the lights, and the lights didn't come on. Seems the guy who was guarding the house between tenants hadn't paid the bills. So we went on to a hotel for the night and the landlord straightened it out first thing in the morning. Well as we are moving out we had another utility speed bump. A few weeks ago we had had a few days without water so we had been extra careful this last week. Good thing because Thursday proved to be our last day of water, but of course no one told us that. Friday morning we woke up and the main tank was empty which surprised us because that tank normally fills in the night. No huge deal we have a second tank. Well as we are sitting at breakfast, a huge water truck from the water company shows up and pulls down the alley street. So Jonathan goes out and asks, it seems that a water pipe has burst and they are here to fill buckets for the neighborhood. So Jonathan and I begin filling our house cisterns and helping neighbors with buckets. Granted we are moving out the next morning but we are also needing to clean house and we haven't had a bath. Turns out to be a real blessing because one of the ladies we helped ended up buying our extra tank and we were able to help her move it down and fill it with water. So yeah, that house had a few utility problems.
As for our new house, the guys aren't done with my kitchen. We're hoping Wednesday but no promises. A little miffed (they've had 3 weeks on not that big of a job) but the house is such a blessing that I'm willing to look past it. We're working on getting things in there places while still having the fridge and stove in the living room. In better news, this new washing machine I bought is heaven. I did 4 loads today (no water meant rationing, which means no clothes washing for 5 days) and she is such a pleasure of a machine. Something I haven't said for a while.
Happy Feet is almost over, so its bed time.
So of course it wasn't necessarily without the moving road bumps. When we first moved into the house in March 07, we showed up about 5:30p.m. (late flights the night before), flipped on the lights, and the lights didn't come on. Seems the guy who was guarding the house between tenants hadn't paid the bills. So we went on to a hotel for the night and the landlord straightened it out first thing in the morning. Well as we are moving out we had another utility speed bump. A few weeks ago we had had a few days without water so we had been extra careful this last week. Good thing because Thursday proved to be our last day of water, but of course no one told us that. Friday morning we woke up and the main tank was empty which surprised us because that tank normally fills in the night. No huge deal we have a second tank. Well as we are sitting at breakfast, a huge water truck from the water company shows up and pulls down the alley street. So Jonathan goes out and asks, it seems that a water pipe has burst and they are here to fill buckets for the neighborhood. So Jonathan and I begin filling our house cisterns and helping neighbors with buckets. Granted we are moving out the next morning but we are also needing to clean house and we haven't had a bath. Turns out to be a real blessing because one of the ladies we helped ended up buying our extra tank and we were able to help her move it down and fill it with water. So yeah, that house had a few utility problems.
As for our new house, the guys aren't done with my kitchen. We're hoping Wednesday but no promises. A little miffed (they've had 3 weeks on not that big of a job) but the house is such a blessing that I'm willing to look past it. We're working on getting things in there places while still having the fridge and stove in the living room. In better news, this new washing machine I bought is heaven. I did 4 loads today (no water meant rationing, which means no clothes washing for 5 days) and she is such a pleasure of a machine. Something I haven't said for a while.
Happy Feet is almost over, so its bed time.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
stuff I don't want to touch
2 Days before moving and we are really in good moving shape. Mostly today I need to try to keep down my gag response to touching stuff I don't want to touch. There are always the papers the random bits of string, the half crayon/ pencil, the broken thing that you've been avoiding touching because really it needs to be tossed but there could be a use to them...maybe...so maybe I should keep them. The thought of maybe I could need this is a real bother to me. The attempt at not being wasteful is a real burden. So I have these piles of things I don't want to touch. And then the boxes of stuff we still need but there is no organization to the box it is going in. I hate that. So they are just boxes of stuff, you can't write "office" or "kitchen" on the box because the stuff comes from all over. Hate that too.
This morning I got a notice from our bank of an ATM transaction that was posted yesterday. We didn't draw money yesterday. So this is either a late posting transaction, which happens... oh that's write you had a holiday on monday, oh I hope that is it. But it could also be bank fraud, which we've been waiting to happen. Credit card/ Bank Fraud is rampant here and its happened to lots of people we know here. Just kind of a fact of life. But because of Martin Luther King Jr. I will take a little hope.
@ woke last night and I put him back to bed as usual. An extra hug, kiss and prayer and the boy said "Tonight I dream of SLOP". He can quote all kinds of G rated movies. Charlotte's Web is a the current favorite.
This morning I got a notice from our bank of an ATM transaction that was posted yesterday. We didn't draw money yesterday. So this is either a late posting transaction, which happens... oh that's write you had a holiday on monday, oh I hope that is it. But it could also be bank fraud, which we've been waiting to happen. Credit card/ Bank Fraud is rampant here and its happened to lots of people we know here. Just kind of a fact of life. But because of Martin Luther King Jr. I will take a little hope.
@ woke last night and I put him back to bed as usual. An extra hug, kiss and prayer and the boy said "Tonight I dream of SLOP". He can quote all kinds of G rated movies. Charlotte's Web is a the current favorite.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
all you need is lots more stuff...
So we're moving into this new house and have this kitchen that is being renovated ( a wall's being knocked out at my command, to me that's renovation) so I've been thinking through what I want my kitchen to be like. And I really fancy IKEA. Combine these two things with my pending trip to Singapore and yes, I've spent my afternoon flipping through the IKEA Singapore website and coveting. More coveting than flipping because I have a slow internet connection. Now I know it isn't possible for us to bring home all of that stuff. But maybe a pan for my new stove or a rug for the Large Empty Room or.... Yeah, so that is how I've spent my hot afternoon.
But now a 3 yr. old is calling me back to reality. A 3 yr. old who woke up this morning asking if we would pack doggie for the move to the city. And his clothes. And his toys. Yeah, someone is feeling a little insecure.
But maybe we could buy that at the IKEA too...
But now a 3 yr. old is calling me back to reality. A 3 yr. old who woke up this morning asking if we would pack doggie for the move to the city. And his clothes. And his toys. Yeah, someone is feeling a little insecure.
But maybe we could buy that at the IKEA too...
Monday, February 26, 2007
maybe a victory
Today we went to the airport with 6 bags to check weight and for the first time in all of our travels we would have been cleared to fly as is. No excess baggage, there are 3 passengers so we get 6 free. We have one bag that is at 76lbs and because everything else was so far under (55 and 61 lbs) we probably would have been allowed to skate with the 76. Problem is we get home and double check with united that international luggage allottment is still 70 lbs or 30 kgs and it looks like united has come down to 50lbs/ bag. Our ticket information still looks like it reads 70lbs but we may still need to do some thinking. Resisting the temptation to worry. I'll talk to United tomorrow.
So proud of the work that we have gotten done though. We've never been this far ahead of the game or felt so good about it.
Bath time is over.
So proud of the work that we have gotten done though. We've never been this far ahead of the game or felt so good about it.
Bath time is over.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
To Do List
1 week and counting before we leave and here's a little to do list I've got going:
- visit great grandma, and the grudes
- return company car, rent shorter term car
- sort @'s toys for packing
- pack 6 bags
- store the rest of the stuff we're not taking but would like too
- pack 2 boxes for potential shipping at a later date
- buy Aleve (and probably a bunch of other stuff)
- make preliminary trip to airport, check luggage weight
- decide on travel clothes and pack carry ons- @'s is always the question
- clean up basement, vacuum, restore house to proper order
- travel reading decisions, thinking magazines, books just never pan out
- goodwill stop? already made 3 large trips.
- trip to mattoon/ charleston for signatures (a jonathan thing but something I feel involved in)
That is all I can come up with at the moment but the list does alternately expand and shrink. Check us out over at Not so daily, got more pictures up.
Oh, this is exciting Adobe Photoshop 5.0, got it, loaded it, excited about 1 more step toward digiscrapping. I think digiscrapping will be more in my future as not so much scrap stuff is coming with us.
- visit great grandma, and the grudes
- return company car, rent shorter term car
- sort @'s toys for packing
- pack 6 bags
- store the rest of the stuff we're not taking but would like too
- pack 2 boxes for potential shipping at a later date
- buy Aleve (and probably a bunch of other stuff)
- make preliminary trip to airport, check luggage weight
- decide on travel clothes and pack carry ons- @'s is always the question
- clean up basement, vacuum, restore house to proper order
- travel reading decisions, thinking magazines, books just never pan out
- goodwill stop? already made 3 large trips.
- trip to mattoon/ charleston for signatures (a jonathan thing but something I feel involved in)
That is all I can come up with at the moment but the list does alternately expand and shrink. Check us out over at Not so daily, got more pictures up.
Oh, this is exciting Adobe Photoshop 5.0, got it, loaded it, excited about 1 more step toward digiscrapping. I think digiscrapping will be more in my future as not so much scrap stuff is coming with us.
Friday, February 16, 2007
moved
So except for about 1/2 a van load of stuff still at my mom's, we're out of the Charleston Apt. Surprisingly we were out on time. Cleaner than we found it too. Thursday made a big trip to Blm and moved things into the basement. Starting to go through some of that today.
The real let down of the move was that the thrift shops in Mattoon Charleston have some picky hours of accepting donations. So instead of taking things to thrift I ended up needing to make extra loads to my moms. I think we'll end up bringing everything to Goodwill here in Blm. Sad because I really wanted to be able to give those thing aways easily and quickly. Thrift in Mattoon Charleston won't take clothes at all. Really discouraging to find that throwing things away would be a hundred times easier than giving it away.
Good news today was that visas arrived by early UPS driver and plane tickets arrived in afternoon post. Glad that we have that motivation to get things packed away and packed up. Looking at somethings with new eyes too now that they are out of the apt. Put the coffee pot in the thrift pile. Its a nice pot still but it was free and at some point I need to make some reductions. What are the odds that I'm not buying another coffee pot the next time we are in the states? Next time maybe an espresso maker.
The real let down of the move was that the thrift shops in Mattoon Charleston have some picky hours of accepting donations. So instead of taking things to thrift I ended up needing to make extra loads to my moms. I think we'll end up bringing everything to Goodwill here in Blm. Sad because I really wanted to be able to give those thing aways easily and quickly. Thrift in Mattoon Charleston won't take clothes at all. Really discouraging to find that throwing things away would be a hundred times easier than giving it away.
Good news today was that visas arrived by early UPS driver and plane tickets arrived in afternoon post. Glad that we have that motivation to get things packed away and packed up. Looking at somethings with new eyes too now that they are out of the apt. Put the coffee pot in the thrift pile. Its a nice pot still but it was free and at some point I need to make some reductions. What are the odds that I'm not buying another coffee pot the next time we are in the states? Next time maybe an espresso maker.
Friday, February 09, 2007
3 weeks of dr. visits
A couple of fridays ago we went into the health dept to get vaccinations, which ended in shots for the boys. Last friday we went to the dr. with a red weapy eye and an ear infection, @ walked away with 2 Rx. Today we went to the dr. with a fever and an ear infection, @ got 2 shots of antibiotic and a new Rx. Thought about having the dr. look at Jonathan and I but I'm pretty sure we've got matching chest colds. Yuck.
Moving isn't that much fun but it really isn't fun to be sick and move. Although in all honesty this is a pretty easy move given that most of the stuff we can ID already as my mom's house, Jon's folks house, moving with us. And if we have a question we've both decided that it goes to thrift. I'm parting with things a little easier this time around. I've made my peace with use it, give it away or toss it because no one really wants that either.
How do you like my new blogger? They pushed me into the switch because you all know I wasn't doing it on my own.
Moving isn't that much fun but it really isn't fun to be sick and move. Although in all honesty this is a pretty easy move given that most of the stuff we can ID already as my mom's house, Jon's folks house, moving with us. And if we have a question we've both decided that it goes to thrift. I'm parting with things a little easier this time around. I've made my peace with use it, give it away or toss it because no one really wants that either.
How do you like my new blogger? They pushed me into the switch because you all know I wasn't doing it on my own.
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