Ok, so I know EVERYONE who has ever moved from one house to another has probably said "I'm never moving again." Therefore, I will simply say, I am not going to move again for a very long time!
We finally closed on our house and were able to move out of that wretched apartment we were living in for the past two months. The move was not easy, there was so much up in the air in terms of when we would close, when we could move in, etc. The fact that we had to move two times made everything twice as difficult, which I did not expect. We had to do 2 different changes of address, we had to clean both our house when we moved out, and now an apartment, and we had to cancel all of our utilities only to turn around and sign up for them all over again.
In addition, because we were moving into a newly-constructed house, it has presented it's own challenges... including buying blinds for all the windows, learning how to properly water fresh sod, convincing the post office that our address really DOES exist, trying to find out why there are no phone or internet providers that will service our area, and the unique problem of how to deal with frog overpopulation in our yard (thanks to our pond).
Monday I have an ultrasound that will allow Eric and I to confirm once and for all, whether little Baby K is going to be a boy or a girl (although I know already). It really helps put things into perspective....why we moved in the first place. We want this to be a new start for our new family. A chance to truly settle in, make friends with our neighbors, be comfortable in the environment and raise our family. We loved our old house and have so many fantastic memories of our time there. But this new house is a chance for us to grow and evolve, without the nagging "need" for something more.
I can't wait to enjoy this house for a very, very long time. We continue to be so blessed.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Apartment-Hell
We had a great life in our first house for 3 years, and when we decided to pack up and live in temporary housing - a lot of very basic conveniences that I would have never thought of, suddenly disappeared. I never really thought we were living in luxury before, but going from a house back into a tiny 2-BR apartment for two months has been the most humbling experience I've had in a while. Building a house has been amazing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We are very blessed. However, with that said, I think next time I'd choose to live at a hotel where I could at least get a free breakfast and housekeeping each day rather than the POS apartment we have had to rent (for lack of better options).
I apologize in advance to all of my friends and family who have had to listen to me bitch and moan about our apartment for the last month and a half, but sadly it has to be said or I'm going to lose my sanity. And yes, I am being a whiner....I blame it on the pregnancy hormones.
So without further delay, here are the top 10 things I hate about apartment living vs. our house:
10) The lovely one-finger greeting by other apartment dwellers when trying to leave the complex on the virtually one-lane drive in and out.
9) The lack of cleanliness around the complex - nothing better than garbage blowing around when the dumpster hasn't been emptied in 10 days.
8) The utter absence of sunlight and space in our apartment that makes me feel like I'm living in a beer can (but without the beer).
7) The horrendous screeching noise we hear in the apartment when any neighbor decides to shower.
6) Such a complete lack of space in each room that the dogs have to back up like a dump truck in order to move out of our way.
5) Boxes piled 8 high in every room of the house with things that we didn't "think" we'd need. Thank God I found my underwear and pillow!
4) The fact that everything I touch is on the verge of breaking - loose door knobs, leaking sink, squeaky drawers, etc.
3) The nearly 2-mile walk from the parking lot into the apartment, following the daily cussing ritual that there are no parking spots left.
2) The tiny fridge that can barely hold a gallon of milk and tub of butter; and you have to remove 3 items in order to get the one in back, out.
And the number one reason I hate living in an apartment.....
1) It's not our home.
Now that I have that out of my system, I am pleased to announce that we are a mere 3 weeks away from moving into the most beautiful house I could ever imagine. It seems surreal, and will definitely feel like we are living the high-life compared to our current residence! All the more grateful we'll be!
I apologize in advance to all of my friends and family who have had to listen to me bitch and moan about our apartment for the last month and a half, but sadly it has to be said or I'm going to lose my sanity. And yes, I am being a whiner....I blame it on the pregnancy hormones.
So without further delay, here are the top 10 things I hate about apartment living vs. our house:
10) The lovely one-finger greeting by other apartment dwellers when trying to leave the complex on the virtually one-lane drive in and out.
9) The lack of cleanliness around the complex - nothing better than garbage blowing around when the dumpster hasn't been emptied in 10 days.
8) The utter absence of sunlight and space in our apartment that makes me feel like I'm living in a beer can (but without the beer).
7) The horrendous screeching noise we hear in the apartment when any neighbor decides to shower.
6) Such a complete lack of space in each room that the dogs have to back up like a dump truck in order to move out of our way.
5) Boxes piled 8 high in every room of the house with things that we didn't "think" we'd need. Thank God I found my underwear and pillow!
4) The fact that everything I touch is on the verge of breaking - loose door knobs, leaking sink, squeaky drawers, etc.
3) The nearly 2-mile walk from the parking lot into the apartment, following the daily cussing ritual that there are no parking spots left.
2) The tiny fridge that can barely hold a gallon of milk and tub of butter; and you have to remove 3 items in order to get the one in back, out.
And the number one reason I hate living in an apartment.....
1) It's not our home.
Now that I have that out of my system, I am pleased to announce that we are a mere 3 weeks away from moving into the most beautiful house I could ever imagine. It seems surreal, and will definitely feel like we are living the high-life compared to our current residence! All the more grateful we'll be!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Me & My 'Pot Belly'
I have to say first off, I do love being pregnant. I’ve been SO lucky to have so far avoided “driving the porcelin bus” (as my family calls it) every morning, and have hopefully spared my husband my devil-like mood swings on most days. Yet, I am not so naïve to neglect to realize I’m only 11.5 weeks in and things have the potential and near-guarantee of getting increasingly miserable each week.
To "help" me on my journey, there are a billion pregnancy books out there. I’ve been sucked into the phenomena enough to buy one of them, thankfully I got it for $5 at the 2nd hand store. The book takes a humorous approach to the alien-like transition your body and mind will go through in the 10 months of pregnancy – yes, it actually is 10. I’m not sure if is successful at being humorous (maybe for certain topics) but it is successful at depressing me to the point of wanting a drink… and scaring the buhjesus out of me while they were at it. Obviously I shouldn’t have read ahead in the book to find out how it ends.
But my only initial complaint for the moment is what one of the pregnancy books affectionately referred to as my “pot belly”. Yes – that’s right. This whole scam of pregnant women being beautiful, glowing and voluptuous is not only a crock to those who are or have to live with a pregnant woman – but even the books themselves call B.S. on such a thing! Literally, at the stage I am at in my pregnancy, apparently it is common for women to have a pot belly. Gee - what an affectionate way to refer to the miracle growing inside of me. Despite the fact that every day about 2pm I try to sneak into the bathroom and take a nap on the toilet, and that my hormones have me raging and laughing within a matter of minutes, let’s go ahead and insult the newly-pregnant women and her body while we are at it!
Long story short, every day I get to wake up and drag this pot belly to the closet to find out what clothes I can squeeze into without looking like an overfed 2-year-old toddler. I have to say, this in-between stage between the suspicious whispers of “she has had a few too many doughnuts” or “is she pregnant” tend to do some damage to your self-esteem on top of everything else you are learning how to deal with.
Now with that said, in the end it is totally worth it. The few glimpses I’ve been blessed to have of this baby via ultrasound have brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my soul. I am anxious to move past the pot belly, and begin to see and feel the baby growing. I realize I’ll likely eat the words above 6 months from now, but right now I am looking forward to an awesome future of getting to know “baby K”.
To "help" me on my journey, there are a billion pregnancy books out there. I’ve been sucked into the phenomena enough to buy one of them, thankfully I got it for $5 at the 2nd hand store. The book takes a humorous approach to the alien-like transition your body and mind will go through in the 10 months of pregnancy – yes, it actually is 10. I’m not sure if is successful at being humorous (maybe for certain topics) but it is successful at depressing me to the point of wanting a drink… and scaring the buhjesus out of me while they were at it. Obviously I shouldn’t have read ahead in the book to find out how it ends.
But my only initial complaint for the moment is what one of the pregnancy books affectionately referred to as my “pot belly”. Yes – that’s right. This whole scam of pregnant women being beautiful, glowing and voluptuous is not only a crock to those who are or have to live with a pregnant woman – but even the books themselves call B.S. on such a thing! Literally, at the stage I am at in my pregnancy, apparently it is common for women to have a pot belly. Gee - what an affectionate way to refer to the miracle growing inside of me. Despite the fact that every day about 2pm I try to sneak into the bathroom and take a nap on the toilet, and that my hormones have me raging and laughing within a matter of minutes, let’s go ahead and insult the newly-pregnant women and her body while we are at it!
Long story short, every day I get to wake up and drag this pot belly to the closet to find out what clothes I can squeeze into without looking like an overfed 2-year-old toddler. I have to say, this in-between stage between the suspicious whispers of “she has had a few too many doughnuts” or “is she pregnant” tend to do some damage to your self-esteem on top of everything else you are learning how to deal with.
Now with that said, in the end it is totally worth it. The few glimpses I’ve been blessed to have of this baby via ultrasound have brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my soul. I am anxious to move past the pot belly, and begin to see and feel the baby growing. I realize I’ll likely eat the words above 6 months from now, but right now I am looking forward to an awesome future of getting to know “baby K”.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Need More Patience
pa·tience (noun): good-natured tolerance of delay.
Patience is a virtue – one that I have not been blessed with. Fortunately, I can blame this one on my dad. As much as I love him, he is one of the most impatient people I know (other than me). Patience requires us to “wait calmly for something to happen without complaining.” Wow – sound virtually impossible to me.
But I acknowledge that patience is something I could use a little more of these days. Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT complaining, but I am overly-anxious for things to happen. For instance, Eric and I are now living in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment that is the worst I’ve endured since college. Each day drags along while we “patiently” wait for our new house to be finished. We go out once each week to see what progress they have made, to which each time we go I’m disappointed that they didn’t get more done! Thank God I married a man who keeps me grounded and deals calmly with my impatience on a daily basis. Basically, the construction of our new house is progressing normally, but it can’t come soon enough for me!
Another aspect of life right now that requires patience is my pregnancy. I am 10 weeks, and being a first-time mom and someone who has waited years for this, I am impatient with the progress. I can’t wait to feel the baby move, I can’t wait to find out the sex and pick a name, I can’t wait to buy cute clothes and design a nursery…and I can’t wait to meet this beautiful miracle baby. Again, I make progress every day but it just can’t happen quickly enough for someone impatient like me. Despite my own desires, I realize that the greatest things in life are worth waiting for – and this is definitely no exception.
But to help counteract my impatience, I have begun to find something to look forward to each and every day. I hope it helps keep me more grounded and focused on the joy of the immediate future. I love my life and look forward to every single day that I get to share with my friends and family. I may struggle with being impatient with some of the more exciting and monumental things in my life, but every day has its own blessings, and I’m not too impatient to realize that.
Patience is a virtue – one that I have not been blessed with. Fortunately, I can blame this one on my dad. As much as I love him, he is one of the most impatient people I know (other than me). Patience requires us to “wait calmly for something to happen without complaining.” Wow – sound virtually impossible to me.
But I acknowledge that patience is something I could use a little more of these days. Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT complaining, but I am overly-anxious for things to happen. For instance, Eric and I are now living in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment that is the worst I’ve endured since college. Each day drags along while we “patiently” wait for our new house to be finished. We go out once each week to see what progress they have made, to which each time we go I’m disappointed that they didn’t get more done! Thank God I married a man who keeps me grounded and deals calmly with my impatience on a daily basis. Basically, the construction of our new house is progressing normally, but it can’t come soon enough for me!
Another aspect of life right now that requires patience is my pregnancy. I am 10 weeks, and being a first-time mom and someone who has waited years for this, I am impatient with the progress. I can’t wait to feel the baby move, I can’t wait to find out the sex and pick a name, I can’t wait to buy cute clothes and design a nursery…and I can’t wait to meet this beautiful miracle baby. Again, I make progress every day but it just can’t happen quickly enough for someone impatient like me. Despite my own desires, I realize that the greatest things in life are worth waiting for – and this is definitely no exception.
But to help counteract my impatience, I have begun to find something to look forward to each and every day. I hope it helps keep me more grounded and focused on the joy of the immediate future. I love my life and look forward to every single day that I get to share with my friends and family. I may struggle with being impatient with some of the more exciting and monumental things in my life, but every day has its own blessings, and I’m not too impatient to realize that.
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