Okay everyone...that is right. We are no longer the occupants of a hotel. Woohoo! Let me say that again...WOOHOOOOOOOO.
Last Thursday (which was also hubby and my anniversary, happy anniversary) we were able to move into our home. After 5 days of travel, 30 days of living in a hotel, countless fast food meals, hours of pool time, wearing the same clothes every week, and lost sanity-we are IN.
Even moving in had to be exciting though. We found out that we could move in on Thursday but were told that it would be a week before the moving company could deliver our stuff. Eeek! After some magic, the company was able to deliver our things Friday.
So we still moved in Thursday and just camped out in our new home.
The previous home owners (still nearby) were so gloriously wonderful and lent us sleeping bags, air mattresses, card table, and chairs.
We were so excited to camp in our new home. We even decided to buy a frozen pizza and "cook" our own dinner.
Good in theory until Hubby and I had to carefully and strategically pry the pizzas off the oven racks (since we forgot we didn't have pizza pans) with a plastic disposal knife (again forgot we had no utensils), our bare hands (oops no pot holders) and onto a cake stand I just happened to purchase a couple of days before (because we had no trays...of course...sensing a pattern?)
It was quite a site. It was a miracle we didn't loose the pizza, our fingerprints, or our eyebrows.
Our first meal in our new home was just lovely.
Who doesn't love pizza cooked from your very own oven??
So know we are in. Technically we have been in for 5 days. Most all the boxes are unpacked. Most all the stuff has found a place somewhere. Rooms are starting to feel like our own. We went grocery shopping. We have made dinner. I have washed laundry. We have been welcomed.
Basically we are settling in.
Soon I promise pictures of our home. I hope to have some projects show up...most will probably be home related since I have some new areas to decorate. I even have some recipes now that I have a kitchen back.
Okay all of my lovely friends...I do hope you are all still out there.
We are still in a hotel...you getting tired of hearing that? I am sure getting
tired of saying it! My access to a computer is seriously limited and by the time I do have
access I am wiped out from the adventures of hotel living with three active
Little Monsters Men. So yes, friends, thanks for being patient.
Hopefully we will be seeing the inside of our house within a week and a half, then
hopefully the blogging will start to pick up.
Fingers crossed anyway..
On to the moving recap..
Okay so here is a fast, brief, sweet and too the point recap of our 5 day drive cross-country...
Day 1: Drove just a mere 3 hours Indy...crying only for the first 30 minutes. Got to Indy. Ate. Crashed in our beds.
Day 2: Drove 8 hours (give or take an hour...you know bathroom breaks and all) to Kansas City. Boys loved earning vouchers. We played pop-a-matic I spy. There may have been some candy eating, video gaming and movie watching.
There was only napping by Middle.
This was the day we learned to have an appreciation for rest stops. Nothing like taking a little break from sitting in the car.
We got to KC...tired and sick of the car.
Stopped by some famous bbq place. It was packed with tons of ladies from a jewelry conference so we got our brisket to go. Stayed at the nicest Residence Inn I have ever been too. Played in the pool. Slept peacefully in separate bedrooms.
Day 3: Had what we thought would be a short drive ahead of us. Just a mere 6 hours. Then we hit a highway detour. Do you know how fun it is when you have a whole highway shut down. Super dooper fun. Our little detour took us an extra 1 1/2. We tried super hard to not complain because the shut down was due to some really bad flooding. Some farms were completely covered. It was really sad.
Vouchers still a hit. Pop-o-matic all popped.
We went to North Platte (Nebraska for those who don't know). We had a some what cranky evening. Everyone was in bed around 8. BUT there was a happy shiny moment. This hotel had little toys for each of the kids. They loved them, but the best gift was Middle's. He got these awesome glasses/straw.
We were all in bed pretty early this day.
Day 4: Another short day. We refer to this as our sanity day. Just 4 hours to Laramie. We took our time getting on the road. We made it there by lunch time.
Laramie was probably our most fun road trip day. We swam in the pool. We ate a cute quaint downtown restaurant. That is where I had a pretty normal sized salad in one pretty HUGE bowl. Salad was so yummy, already have taken notes on how to recreate it.
We walked around.
We saw trains...I mean super close up. There was this walking bridge that went right over a train yard. We walked all the kids up it just for fun. Then a train was coming our way. Some nice people let us stand in front of them since, as they said "this was the best view to see the train".
Then the train came. Boy were we not prepared for just how close and how loud that train was. Little Men all jumped spastically, covered there ears, and found a parent to cling to...okay I was already clinging to them. Setting aside the absolute terror...it really was awesome.
In fact, Hubby and Middle went back up to wait for another train...they literally were coming every ten minutes. The other less brave ones went off the bridge to watch a little further away.
Here is a video of that:
Day 5: Today, our last day, was another of a a whopper of a day. But we could see the end. We knew this was the last day. The excitement carried our weary nerves.
Everyone did so well in fact, that we only made one stop. A rest area called Little America. We stopped for about 1 1/2. We had lunch and posed with a dinosaur.
After Little America, we pushed straight through to Idaho. We rolled in tired, me sitting in the back with Middle who got a bloody nose, Littlest friendly reminding us he wanted down, and Oldest taking all our surroundings in.
We checked in to our hotel (which of course would later turn into our temporary home).
Then we went swimming.
So in a nutshell...that was our move across country.
Captivating, right?
We made it. Whew. One adventure down...hundreds more to go.
We are STILL in a hotel. Funny how the best laid plans can drastically change on a person!
We had thought we would be in our new home several weeks now...instead our
temporary home has been a hotel. I miss cleaning my own home...CRAZY, right? I miss
my bed. I miss the rest of my wardrobe. I miss cooking my own meals. I miss decorating, sewing,
and all things creative. Oh well.
Here is a post I started before we moved. It has just been sitting in my edit box. Thought I
would throw it out today. I do have another moving post for you...but I keep losing motivation
to edit pictures and download them...SO lazy. So today you get this little post.
Nothing fancy...but we did have fun with this project so I am sharing it today.
THANK YOU everyone for your kind words and thoughts!!!
Okay on with the post....
My kids get bored. Say what? Yours do too! Say it isn't so.
My kids bet bored EVEN when I there is outdoors, swimming, running, reading, friends, eating...they still just get bored.
I think hearing "mom, I am bored" over and over again is my payback for spending glorious sunny and perfect summer days as a kid saying the same whine repeatedly.
So the other day days ago I came across an idea to freeze Kool-Aid into ice cube trays. Then once the sugary goodness is done freezing, you can add the ice cubes into any clear sprite type beverage.
My Little Men LOVED the whole process. They loved that they actually got to see Kool-Aide...a rare occurrence in our house. They loved making colorful, tasty ice cubes. They loved getting to drink soda. They loved watching the colorful cubes start to melt and change the soda colors. AND they loved how yummy the Surprise Soda was.
All you need to do to make your own Soda Surprise is make a couple flavors of Kool-aid. Freeze some into ice cube trays (which I had to buy because I didn't own any...ice makers are killing off ice cube trays). Once they are frozen, let your kids each pick out two-three cubes...try different colors. Put the cubes into a see through cup of sprite, 7-up, fresca...and watch the magic. The cubes will start to dissovle and they will turn the clear liquid a rainbow of colors.
SUPER fun. A perfect activity for a hot summer day.
Two weeks have passed since this ginormous truck was packed...and I do have to add NOT by us. Glory be to have movers. What a luxury for which I was unbelievably grateful.
We have been out of Ohio for two weeks now. Living in hotels for two weeks now. Two weeks of living from a suitcase. After two weeks of traveling, living in hotels, and gaining my barrings I am finally posting a recap of our travels.
Today I am sharing a little of our last day in Ohio. The packing, the loading, the cleaning, the good-byes, the sweating, and the crying. The closing of one era of our lives and the starting of another.
The movers came on one day to pack our whole house up. Then they came the next day to load up the giant truck. I felt SO bad for them because it had to be one of the worst heat/humidity days that we had seen all summer. There was so much stuff and they had to haul it out of the house and into the truck all day.
Once the rooms were cleared, we cleaned a little. Middle LOVES to vacuum, so he got to help me.
We took time from cleaning and getting ready to say good bye to friends. We said good bye to friends...
There may have been crying...sorry to the few of you who had to say good-bye twice. I just couldn't seem to let some of you go.
Did I mention that the day we moved was hotter then the hubs of Hades? Well it was. I mean look at my poor children's heads...
Yup...eww gross that is all sweat...we won't mention that the absence of pictures of me at this point is the only thing saving you from seeing my 13-year-old-boy stank sweat through my shirt nastiness.
After one long hot, slightly depressing day, the truck was packed.
The boys not-quite-excitedly watched all our belongings drive away.
Shorty after the truck drove away, there were tears. Oldest cried for a good 20 minutes...which in turn made me almost cry. I didn't...I mean I had to put on a brave face for my Little Mister.
About an hour after the truck drove away, we packed up our luggage, the boys, and all our travel provisions in the minivan. Hubby and I stood one last time in our first home. We hugged each other, cried, and then laughed at our gooey sentimental selves.
Then we got in the car, said a family prayer, and then started our cross-country drive towards our new home.
Stay tuned for more Moving Recap...yeah I know you are sitting on the edge of your seats.
Today's Project: Road Trip comes from an idea I saw a long time ago, forgot about, and then thanks to the world ofpinterest, found again. Bet you guys didn't know I like that site, huh???
Ohdeedoh is a delightfully addicting site. This idea came from over there and you can find the original post HERE.
My Little Men love bubble wrap...what kid doesn't! That is why I knew this would be a perfect idea for our long car trip. I just knew I had to make my own version of this travel game. I call mine Pop-O-Matic I Spy.
There are two hard parts of making this game. ONE-thinking up that many things to spy. Two-drawing said things tiny enough to fit behind each bubble and also lining it up. Oohhh I had such a brain cramp trying to come up with enough things to spy. Then actually drawing them...eh-hem...the horse/dog/coyote creature I drew which Oldest was quick to point out did not look like the intended horse it was supposed to be.
After drawing one sheet, I decided I was going to copy it so that each boy could have their own. I also made a much easier Alphabet I Spy.
Once you have your picture sheets, all you need is a sheet of large bubble wrap cut to fit your picture sheet. Attach the bubble wrap with double stick tape.
Then start the fun. They will pop away any time they see any picture on their sheet. Super fun!
Since I am so nice and I now know how much time making one of these sheets takes, I am making the ones I made available to you to download. I only ask one thing...
...NO COMMENTS snidely referring to the ineptitude of my drawing...especially directed at my horse/dog/coyote creation...i mean he has feelings too...
On the Road again, I can't wait to get OFF the road again...
I am pretty sure that is how the song was supposed to go, I'm just sayin'.
In light of our current cross-country move, and for the fact that I will be without a computer during said cross-country move, I decided to do another Project Series this week.
The theme this week is Project: Road Trip.
I am going to be sharing little projects that I have done in preparation for our oh-so-long journey across the United States. Since I am most worried about my sanity the comfort of my Little Men, the projects I am sharing are geared towards traveling with children.
Today I am sharing with you Happy Camper Vouchers. I read many different ideas of rewarding kids during a long trip, vouchers were by far my most favorite idea.
I decided to call mine "Happy Camper" vouchers. I designed them using all the free tools from picnik. Here are some of the vouchers I made.
I printed every voucher twice, since I am using this mostly for the older two. Once they were printed out, I cut them out. I put them in two different large mailing envelopes...one for each Little Man.
During the trip they will get to pull out a voucher when they have had prolonged good behavior, or if they do something really out of the ordinary, or show kindness to each other. Depending on what the voucher says, they will get to do one of many things. Either get a new toy, a book, cash, a treat at the gas station, to pick the movie, gum...you get the idea.
Prior to the trip, my boys were really excited about these. They knew some of the things they might get and others were a surprise.
I am excited for them to earn these on our big trip.
I even made a blank one for you guys. Just download it to your computer. Then you can go into picnik and insert your own rewards.
Good luck on any trip you might have before Summer is done.
Happy Trails to you, until we meet again...
Okay so I will be back tomorrow with another Project: Road Trip post.
One of the hardest things about moving is leaving behind all of your friends. My friends, our family friends, my children's friends...it stinks. I get a mini panic attack at the thought of leaving them.
We have amazing friends and I really, really want to stay in contact with them. We all hope that, right?
In my desire to keep in contact, I had this idea to leave our friends with our new address and a fun reminder to keep in contact.
I really wanted to play on the "an elephant never forgets" thing. So I bought some peanuts, cellophane snack bags, and white card stock.
Next I attempted to make my own elephant graphic...so didn't work. Then I found this sweet elephant graphic from a link to a baby shower on Tip Junkie. You can find the original downloadable images from Alpa Mom here.
Once I found the elephant graphic I added in the phrase I wanted in coordinating colors. I also printed our new address, email address, and the blog address on the other side. I put some peanuts into the bags, folded over the top and then stapled the cards in place.
This project was an easy labor of love. When they were all done, I put them all in a basket. I took that basket to a little get together our friends threw for us to say good-bye. As I hugged and said "thank you" and "good-bye", I gave them these and made ever single person promise to keep in contact.
Today was the last day of school. The last day of school is so bittersweet. Excitement for the Summer and a break from a schedule is looked forward too for sure, but the end of another year makes me so nostalgic. This year was especially bittersweet because it was Oldest Little Man's last day at this school. His very first school. Halls we are familiar with, teachers who know us. Friends. Yep, it was a bittersweet day for sure.
I hauled all the my Little Men to the school so that I could personally say thank you to Teacher and so that I could get a snapshot. Oldest's teacher this year was exactly the teacher I had hoped for. She was so sweet. She had a SUPER tough class this year with several tough kids. I know it must have been so stressful for her. She handled it very well. Oldest still thrived and learned and was a reading maniac.
When it was time for me to leave his teacher let me know that she told him one second grade teacher in Idaho is going to be a very lucky teacher. I agree of course, but it is nice to know that during a tough school year for this sweet teacher Oldest was a bright shining moment in often tough days.
Now we move onto the Summer. This is not going to be our typical Summer. Selling, moving, buying, packing, and saying good-bye are all on our agenda. In the middle of all this hopefully we will still find time to be lazy, swim, read, play, picnic, be with friends, bbq, and enjoy what is left of our last Summer here in Ohio.
Yup, we are moving. In just a few short months we will be Idahoans.
We are SUPER excited to get back out West. Most of our family lives out there and it will be nice to be closer to them.
OF COURSE we are sad to leave all of our family and super friends here in the great Ohio. We are sad to leave many things....but I can't think about that now, it is too soon to blubber. Instead I will focus on spending time with my friends, keeping my house clean so that it sells, and finding a new house in Idaho.
Idaho is completely new to me. Never really been there. I like their potatoes. I've driven through Boise once when I was 14. So of course I will take any advice from those of you who are seasoned Idahoans.
Now we just need to sell this house. I will take any happy thoughts and/or prayers. Feel free to find a fuzzy dandelion and blow us a wish or two. If you find yourself not knowing what to wish for when blowing out your birthday candles...you know besides world peace, you can shoot those our ways too. If you so desire to put in effect every single good luck charm you own in our behalf I will forever count you as a friend.
Can you tell I am stressed about selling our home?
It has been a lovely home. I just really want someone to find it, love it as we have, and fill it with new sweet memories.
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