Moving In

And then we landed at this place, where the view from my back porch is a pond across the way.

 

And Alida and I agreed that this shower curtain is lovely.

Neither of us being floral pattern sorts, I think we were both surprised.

And we have an eat in kitchen again instead of keeping this table in the basement.

The dog's bed, that will need to move.

 

The master bedroom is ridiculous, as all new master bedrooms are.

 

This is apparently a problem no matter where you live. 

I have a pantry!

Our American Flag has a covered front porch home!

 



We will do just fine here, we're sure.

 

The children and dog will likely never leave this room. Although it has already been rearranged, as we figured out on day one that the television backs up to Nick's bedroom wall in this configuration.  I was talking with Nick and all I could hear was Ben yelling at a video game through the wall. 

 

Nicholas was already staking out where to lay on the floor in the first five minutes.

 

And children, dog, cat, and parents are all in the same space again. And for the first time since 2013, four children are not sharing one bathroom.  We will now be able to discover who really is incapable of using the toothpaste they put on their toothbrush instead of just spitting a glob into the sink and refusing to rinse it down.

Bean Bag Toss Thing

A few years back, I downloaded some plans to make a cornhole set for our house, and my dad helped me construct it during a trip to their place one summer.  We love it, never more than when we are at my folks, but love it none-the-less. 

 

At the end of the huge moves, there is a reckoning with the lead mover and the inventory sheets.  This generally comes at the end of a very long, very hot, very physical day.  The lead mover helping us move in our things in North Carolina was distressed when he had to hunt up the "Bean Bag Toss Thing" in our garage.  He couldn't figure out what he was even looking for and came and asked me.  When we identified the Cornhole boards, he nearly lost his cool. "Bean Bag Toss Thing?!  Who are these people?"

Then There Was All of the Driving

Somewhere very near the Mississippi River crossing, the recent Midwest flooding was hard to miss.

 

As in I had to just drive right through it.

Then There Was the Actual Moving

The cat was not really amused when we got in the car and drove west for our east coast move.

The children didn't mind so much when I ordered two trays of 40 Chicken minis the next morning as we started day 2.  The folks at the restaurant tried to dissuade our order, but we were undeterred.

There was not one left over.

Disgusting Discoveries

That Christmas tree on the top there--that was a beautiful red tree.

The additional grey-green, that's mold.  This whole bin went in the trash.

 

Turns out that when the pipes burst in January and the basement flooded, the crew that was hired to clean didn't do such a great job. There were several of these sorts of items discovered, which helped us further with our overall de-cluttering plan.  Except sometimes, you didn't really consider a thing clutter. 

 

No one cares for your things as well as you do.

Packing and Unpacking

The movers somehow managed to drag packing and loading in Chicago out over four entire days. Every move has some sort of foolishness.  Since the movers were essentially finished with packing on day 1 of 4, we sat around in emptiness for many days.

 

Nicholas didn't seem to even notice.

Then there is unpacking on the other end, where you find all sorts of surprises.

Refurbishing

We took the opportunity of this move to clean out and donate or trash a remarkable amount of items we've collected in 22 years.  Half of our library went to Good Will, and the man who met me there visibly rolled his eyes and went to retrieve a larger bin when I opened the full minivan trunk. Resurrecting a coffee table that had seen too many manicures and had been used as a chair resulting in broken supports was a win for the new kids' living area, however. 

 

The bed from my childhood that has alternated white to black and back too many time to count

 

The desk from grandma airplane that fits perfectly in Alida's new room, stained grey to match the refreshed black bed.

 

And everyone helped in some way to sand and repaint a lamp that has been part of my life from the beginning.

 

No longer pink.

And while everyone in my family popped an eyebrow when I said I was going to paint those flowers black, it turned out pretty cool.

 

Nightlight feature turned on, it was even requested by more than one child in the new house.

And so it was, one snowy April day...

That Patric looked at the weather and said, I better get going.  It looks like you are going to get some snow...

 

So Jack made an attempt at getting comfortable for the drive to the new house.

 

And we settled in the week after Easter, to watch it snow.

 

And they made it home.  And we can't wait to join.