Moving

We moved into our new house the 3rd week in August.  My hope of being in before school didn't happen, but it was out of our control.  It was as hard as I remember from doing it 6 months ago.  The first part went really quickly that was all our stuff that was already in totes that we hadn't used while we were at my parents.  We said we were going to hire someone to help move and then someone to clean as well, but we were optimistic we could do it on our own.  Looking back, and when we do this again I for sure want to hire a couple people to help for a day.  My dad did help us for part of a Saturday with the really heavy things, but that was all the help we got.  And boy was it exhausting.  I realized that even though I was capable of helping Jer move everything, it made so I couldn't be putting away and getting us settled during the process.  So after hours and days of moving, I felt like I had the insurmountable task of getting us quickly ready to live there.  And even that wouldn't be so bad if it was just Jer and I, but I felt like with the kids and all their activities and stuff it was a long process.  It was honestly pretty overwhelming at times for me.  I wasn't even sure I wanted to live here because it didn't feel like home at all.  Not to mention we had been working on the basement for weeks prior and were hopeful we could have it done by the time we officially moved in.  Unfortunately like everything it wasn't ready so we continued to work on that while we were moving in.  I don't have many before pictures but I do have the finished  product.  We are planning on doing a vacation rental in the basement and be able to also have a place for family to stay when they visit.  I planned on moving over a couple, maybe even 3 weeks, but Jer was anxious and before I knew it we made the leap and moved over most our essentials sooner than I expected.  That created the issue of sort of living in 2 houses but it was nice to finally feel like it was our home.  I feel like we have been doing projects and organizing for forever and we actually still aren't quite out of my parent's house.  Mostly, but we still have a few odds and ends and to do a big clean.  Hopefully we can focus on finishing that up this weekend...a month later!  I have been really trying to organize and sort as we move in and not jut put things anywhere.  We have gotten rid of a lot of stuff and will continue to do so.  Moving also made me realize we have so much "stuff."  It has made me refocus efforts to buy less and get rid of things we just really don't use or need.  It has felt really good to be a little more conscience of the things I buy.  Hopefully this can become and life long habit.  I'm sure I'm missing things but here are the pictures of our move.

The kids were so helpful at first, but like us they tired out!

I'm not big on eating out and processed food, but I had to let go of the guilt and live like we were on the road for a while.  It felt so good to do my first big grocery shopping trip and start eating more fresh food again.

Our first night at the new house was a little crazy and since we didn't have the crib set up we decided to try letting Chambers sleep in a big boy bed.  I was pretty nervous about how this would go, but unlike a lot of things the last few weeks, it has been great.  We haven't had one issue!  I still have the portable crib in my closet for naps, but at night he is going strong.  I guess I officially don't have a baby anymore! Sniff, sniff.

Didn't get a lot of shots of the actual move, but here's just a glimpse of what we were dealing with!

On a positive note, here are some pictures of the finished basement.  It felt so good to cross something off our list!  I'll do the before pictures first.  We spent a whole Saturday drilling out cement that was inches under the soil in the entire planter box I was so excited to plant, and another Saturday doing the pallet wall in the main area.

The updated photos!!!!!  So far we have rented it every weekend since we put it online, so we are excited that it's working out and hoping we can really save some money.  We rent it out for $100 on weekends and $90 during the week.  And a little more on holidays.  We also want to put some money into some upgrades in the part of the house we actually live in!

AHHHHHHHHH!

So much has happened the last few weeks and I'm so behind I'm not even sure where to start.  I really need to get to our moving adventure and new house, but here is a random post to get me somewhat caught up before I get tot that!  So here's pictures of the last few weeks before we moved from my parents house.

This particular morning, Chambers came in with a ton of pokies from a cactus I had to pick out for a while.  Cardon was so cute with him.  And then no more than 20 minutes later Cardon came in crying because he had fallen into a cactus.  I'm thinking we won't plant cactus in our new house.

Cardon working on his preschool program "Upstart" on the computer.  It is teaching him to read now so sometimes he gets a little frustrated, but mostly he enjoys doing it every day.

This picture doesn't do it justice but we spent a few somewhat cooler night enjoying being outside.  Obviously it is still hot enough to justify wearing only underwear!  Cardon was picking me some flowers on this evening.

I love it when my kids play with my hair.

This is what Chambers looks like when he is mad at me and trying to pout.

This day I purposely let Chambers unload all the movies so I could get some other stuff done.

Another morning, the kids headed outside to play and Truman came back crying (which is a rare occurrence ) and said he had been stung by a scorpion.  It got pretty red and swollen and he said it stung a lot, but he felt better pretty soon after.

I am constantly finding these notes.  Whenever I get upset with the kids (which I'll admit is a little too often) I usually find a note of apology.  They at least make me smile, even if I'm still a little upset.

This is what happens when I try to lay down for a minute.  The kids feel the need to lay down with me!

Chambers first poop on the potty.   Planting that potty training seed, and hopefully before too long I won't be changing diapers.

The screen is always a magnet for the kids.

Enjoying my last run before we move.  I sure will miss being so close to this trail.  I will have to come visit when things calm down a bit.

I ran to the store and when I got back Prentice had gotten Chambers all dressed up.

Truman has loved scouts this year.  His scout leaders have been so good for him and he looks forward to going every week.

Truman ran for student council and unfortunately didn't make it but I'm proud of his hard work and creativity on his poster and speech.