Tag: momma’s review

It’s Real Now… When Did That Happen?

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Has it seriously only been three days since we found out Dan got the job? Just three days? How is it possible that we’re leaving for Dream State in just 11 short days – ELEVEN – and that we’ll be arriving at our new apartment, our new home, in two weeks? Right now I’m feeling all overwhelmed, scared, excited, impatient, over and under burdened with things to do, reminiscent of all the things I love about here that I’m going to miss, filled with relief about all the things I will not miss… I’m a mess basically.

The good news, is that I’m almost a healthy mess. I am hoping tomorrow morning I will wake up and be cured of this… thing, this sore throat with general fatigue and not enough other symptoms to feel justified in whining, not that it’s stopped me from whining, but still. It’s not much fun celebrating in between coughing and then cringing in pain because oh my it hurts! Or the constant ringing of the telephone from friends and family who’ve just learned the good news, or my wonderful father who has been so much help in planning, but he worries and thinks at least as much as I do and thus calls me with each new idea. Which wouldn’t really bother me except… the sore throat. Luckily I’ve been able to get Dan to command some of those conversations and you know, as much as it hurts, I love that people are calling. I’m going to miss everyone a lot.

We hired a moving company and submitted a budgetary estimate to Dream Company (if they say, “Heck no that’s too much,”  that darling father of mine says he’ll loan us whatever is not being covered in the meantime. Love him!). We have been cleaning and de-cluttering and reserving hotel stays and mapping our route for the road trip out there. I’ve been bugging all you dear readers for your best moving tips and then sharing all of them with my husband. I’ve been scheduling posts for my blog and Mommas Review manically so that when things really pick up and I can’t sit down to write, things will still get put up. I’ve been sitting in this apartment, looking at the walls and the pictures, and the normalcy and trying to imagine and wrap my mind around the idea that in less than two weeks I won’t live here anymore. Un. Real.

The moving company is coming next Saturday morning to pack our things (one week!) and then loading the truck and leaving on Tuesday morning, with us following shortly behind them, planning to meet up on the other end that Friday (two weeks!). Next week will be more cleaning and running errands, getting our medical records and anything else I can think of, hoping and praying that I haven’t forgotten anything. I wish I knew my actual new address and that I could change my address now – but obviously we aren’t there yet so that doesn’t make sense and as they probably haven’t even gotten our deposit yet (it’s en route as we speak) we don’t have an official new mailing address. I can’t wait to see it though, to see those new letters and numbers that will make up my home. I can’t wait to discover what will be our new favorite grocery stores and pizza places and walking paths. I can’t wait to visit the nearest local libraries and enter the local Target like I belong there.

I’m nervous, too. Will we make new friends? We’re nice enough people but we’re also home bodies. Will Dan become friends with his coworkers? Will we make friends with our neighbors even though we never made friends with any of the neighbors here in the two years we’ve lived in this apartment? Will I join a local playgroup or make friends with fellow preschool moms? Are the preschools nice? How much do they cost? I really wish their websites listed stuff like that. Details, people – they are important. I hope we make new friends. And keep the old, silver and gold and all. I hope that I like my new doctor, whoever they will be and that BB’s delivery goes as smoothly as possible. That whole thing is still kind of way off in my mind. That’s July – I’m still trying to get through May. The idea that in less than three months I’ll be a mother of two in a strange new place… yeah we’ll deal with that when we get there.

Did I mention the kids are going to share a room (once BB is sleeping through the night anyway) and that the third bedroom in our new place is going to be a play room? I’m super excited about that. I hope it all works as magically perfectly well as it does in my mind right now. I know he’ll probably still make a mess of the apartment, but the idea that at some point all the stuff will be in another room with a door I can shut? That’s awesome. Anyway, I’m drinking some decaf and trying to amuse myself and be productive but keep my mind off things until Dan’s done watching the new Bond movie with his guy friend. I think it’s nice that he had a friend over now while we’re still here. I’m also tired. And might go to bed before he leaves, cause I’m super exciting like that. But not until the decaf is gone…

Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 4th

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Outside My Window: It’s been nice and cool and cloudy. The heat wave seems to be over and I’m content as I can still get by with my summer-ish wardrobe and maybe a light sweater. We’ve had a bit of rain but nothing remarkable.

I am hearing: Curious George on tv – we’re headed to my grandma’s for dinner soon but MM insists he finishes watching his show before his diaper change, after which we will leave.

I am thinking: Too many things at once – my brain is still pretty muddled with all the same things, trying to plan the upcoming weeks but pretty much completely unable to.

I am hoping: that Dream Company gets back to Dan soon! So far nothing, although we did hear from his old boss that they contacted him for a reference this past Friday, so we know they are still doing something and hopefully we hear soon. Not that I’m getting impatient or anything. 😛

From The Kitchen
Monday: dinner at my grandmas
Tuesday: Spaghetti with mozzarella stuffed meatballs – yum!
Wednesday: Hot Dogs & Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Thursday: Hamburger Night
Friday: Chicken something or other

This menu is staring to look awfully repetitive but the price has been working well for us, so it will do for now. I look forward to being able to expand our menus even just a little bit…

I’m now reading: Lioness Rampant, the last book in the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce. I started reading Influence a couple of nights ago, only to realize it was absolutely nothing like what I thought it would be – you know, a memoir. It’s actually a coffee table book style collection of interviews with 20 famous-ish people who have “influenced” the Olsen twins. I really didn’t care for it at all and had no interest in the 20 people they interviewed so I abandoned it. I hope they do a real memoir someday, although I guess I’d expect that kind of book to come much later in their lives, which is fine.

I am creating: Nothing at the moment – I did take some pictures for my review of the Amazon Kindle 2 and shot the video for this week’s In My Opinion video meme (click the link for this week’s questions if you want to play along), so that’s sort of creative… I guess.

Around the house: We’ve been cleaning up clutter mostly, it’s been nice to see a lot of old junk go but we have a lot more left to do!

One of my favorite things: We’ve been teaching MM to spell a bit. Still very early on in the process but it’s been really cute. We got a book from Frecklebox (to review for Mommas Review) that has his name splashed all over it and we’ve been loving using that to help him learn to spell his name and dude it works and he loves it!

A few plans for the rest of the week: That totally depends on when Dream Company gets back to us and what they say. If it’s a yes, we’ll be calling moving companies and packing, etc. If it’s a no, hubby has a couple companies lined up to apply to via recommendations from some friends. Oh and tv of course, because you know I run my life by the tv schedule.

A Picture Thought: Here’s a cute picture of MM eating dinner with one of his new favorite bedtime / all the time stuffed animals – a little stuffed Westie that follows him everywhere, even to the breakfast table apparently. Picture captured by daddy.

Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 20

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I almost never do this meme but my thoughts and life are so all over the place I thought this might help me to get all the miscellaneousness out into blog form. Plus Jean does it, so clearly it’s cool.

Outside My Window: Spring has finally sprung. Warmer weather has prevailed for the most part, although the wind has kept today pretty cool despite supposedly high temperatures. And it’s only supposed to get warmer from here on out. The trees are also starting to bud which is good to see, after this winter’s ice storms I was a bit worried as to how many trees would actually survive but the cycle of life seems to be carrying on okay.

I am hearing: Sweet silence. The boy is napping and Dan is working on a presentation because…

I am thinking: HURRAY! Dream Company is flying out Dan and I for an in person interview. We’ll be getting there the day before the interview to “sight-see” around the area. We’re planning to go apartment hunting and look at the five places I’ve narrowed my list down to thanks to internet searching. Assuming that they can give him a yes or no answer by the time he leaves the interview, we may be able to put down a deposit before we fly home. ::fingers crossed::

I am hoping: That Dream Company gets back to us tonight with flight plans. I’d love to be able to start planning for that ASAP. I already have my doctor’s written seal of approval to fly and as soon as I have dates I can arrange child care for MM and set up some appointments to look at apartments while we’re there. I’m not jumping the gun on this, I don’t think. I want to have anything planned that I can in the event that they are smart and hire him.

From The Kitchen – This whole menu is subject to change if we find ourselves traveling really soon.
Monday: We’re having dinner at my grandma’s tonight – yay for not cooking!
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese – my husband is very excited, he loved this dish the last time I made it. I’m excited to have him home to sauté the onions for me.
Wednesday: Cheesy Chicken & Vegetables thing – I’m trying to make mac & cheese look healthy basically
Thursday: Burger night – I’ll be putting BBQ sauce and sweet pickle relish on mine – oh and cheese obviously
Friday: I’ll have the hubs make pepperoni pizza

I am reading: The Host by Stephenie Meyer – finally, I know. I’m about 200 pages in and mostly loving it. It’s long dude, but the story is very riveting and I’m definitely in it for the long haul. I’m occasionally loathing half the main “character,” Melenie. Sure I feel sorry for her, but sometimes her dumbness just annoys me. And I’m pretty curious to see how their little love triangle could possibly work out, although right now them surviving seems to be top priority over any love connections that might work out. I’m liking it, it’d be easier if I weren’t always exhausted by the time I sat down to read at night.

I am creating: A cookbook – I’m reviewing the bookmaking website blurb.com for Momma’s Review and making a book of all of our favorite family recipes. It’s been quite a task gathering all those recipes, since they are currently all over the place in various forms of “organization” but I love their software so far and all the control they give you creatively. I look forward to seeing / using the final product.

Around the house: I’m trying to get laundry done but more people seem to be home during the week than normal and the laundry room “schedule” seems to be  a bit crazy. I got one load in and I’ll try again tomorrow, unfortunately I wasn’t able to battle for my territory since I had other things to do today, too. Oh well. In the meantime, I’m now looking around the apartment, picturing everything in boxes, which it might be soon if we get this job. I wonder how quickly we’ll be able to move…

One of my favorite things: Having that sweet husband of mine home to help with cooking and playing with the boy. Also getting to visit family a lot more often than usual, trying to squeeze it all in now while we can in case this Really Does Happen.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Look for a new pair of maternity pants – preferably something non-denim and inexpensive; Get Dan’s hair cut for the interview, likely start packing for the flight soon & all that jazz that I mentioned above.

A Picture Thought: How cute are my boys in this adorable shot? I don’t think I’ve posted this one yet, but my appologies if I have. Pregnant brain and all.

Spreading Some Bloggy Love

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My old swap buddy Meg @ Faith & Gasoline just gave me the Kreativ Blogger award! She’s such a sweetie and today seemed like the perfect day to spread a little bloggy love, so now I’m going to pass it on to some of you, my loyal and faithful readers! But first – the rules:

  1. List seven of the things I love.
  2. Present the Kreativ Blogger award to seven other bloggers.

Seven Things I Looooooove Are:

  1. My Family – this is all inclusive, because, duh obviously I love my husband, my son, my not-yet-born little BB, my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles – it would get tedious to list them all, but a crime to leave any out – so they’re all getting grouped together right here! Hope they like being all squished together-like!
  2. Getting Great Stuff For Free – like this cool Itzbeen Baby Care Timer that I reviewed @ Momma’s Review today. I can’t wait till little BB is born so I can put this to excellent use! Being a review blogger is pretty much the most awesome thing I’ve ever done and working for my bestie Ange is pretty fantastic. I’ll be reviewing a lot of other great stuff soon, so if you haven’t bookmarked Momma’s Review yet you really should!
  3. The book I’m reading! – I’ve had excellent book luck so far this year and Waiting For Birdy by Catherine Newman is no exception. Get this guys – it’s a memoir by a woman who wrote a column at babycenter.com about finding out she was pregnant with her second child (when her first child, a son, was about 2 1/2) and all those weird second time around, “Do I really want this?” stuff as well as typical mommy worries, potty training, etc. It’s like reading about my life by someone way better at writing than me. Spooky but awesome. You can read some great teasers for this book here.
  4. Breyer’s Double Fudge Brownie Fat Free Ice Cream – this stuff is delicious – like swoon worthy and only has 110 calories in a one cup serving. It’s unreal. We switched to frozen yogurt for awhile to cut down on calories and were pretty happy with that decision – then in walked this ice cream and BAM are we hooked. It’s like guilt free heaven.
  5. Cuddling With MM – he’s growing up so fast, learning new things every day and gaining independence by leaps and bounds. He annoys the heck out of me (especially when he strips down naked and pees all over his bed) but man I love just sitting down and cuddling with him – and I love it when he asks me to cuddle – he really is the best!
  6. Whole Foods – I had never been to a Whole Foods before and wasn’t really sure what the hype was. I mean, isn’t Trader Joe’s good enough? And while I love me some TJ, now that I’ve been to a Whole Foods, I get the hype. They are nice – it’s kind of like going to the Gourmet Grocery Store except stuff is still very reasonably priced. I just wish our closest location were a little bit closer and not quite in quite so ghetto a neighborhood. Our location does story time with milk and cookies on Tuesdays and seriously if they weren’t where they are, I’d be loving the idea of taking MM there for that!
  7. Yogi Chai Tea – I’ve been a pretty huge Tazo fan for awhile and still love their teas (especially the frappucino style you can get at Starbucks) but I recently tried Yogi Tea’s chai for the first time (I found it at our Whole Foods) and oh my lord, it is heavenly. It has a little bit lighter of a flavor but still so delicious and the aroma is just out of this world. By far the best cuppa tea I’ve ever had.

Wasn’t that fun? I think even managed to sneak in some blogging about things I’ve been doing lately, etc. that would have been too ittle for a blog post of their own – it’s like a “random stuff” post with a purpose – not to mention how nice it is to think about all the awesome stuff in our lives, instead of just our gripes and complaints (sore back, sprained foot, my car’s check enginge light is on, my son strips down naked and pees all over his bed…) so it seems fititng that I end this with something else that makes me superly happy and filled to tbe brim with love – YOU! Here’s a special little shout out to seven of my readers who make me smile constantly:

  1. Krystyn @ Really Are You Serious
  2. Scrap Girl @ Serendipity
  3. Sue @ My Musings
  4. Ange @ Red Knows How
  5. Jen @ Stuff Jen Says
  6. Nancy @ Life With My Boys
  7. Jean @ Working Momma 247