It feels like home to me

My blogging withdrawals have reached an all time high. Now it’s time to feed the blogging monster…..good thing I’ve been saving up some yummy blogs while we’ve been without internet access. There is a lot to talk about, but let’s start there. NO INTERNET IS LIKE NO FOOD (to me). I’m telling you I felt lost and full of thoughts and stories that needed to be put into words. I started the dreaded process of what I will refer to as the “automated nightmare.” In other words, calling to get internet and cable transferred. Two things I’ve learned: AT&T doesn’t know the meaning of customer service and the people on automated systems should talk a lot faster. By the time they ask if I want to have the menu in Spanish I’m already so over the whole process. After spending 80 minutes on hold with AT&T they casually informed me that I would have internet on the 17^th of August which was eight days after I called.  What kind of organization takes eight days to come out to a house and flip a switch on a box. Just tell me where it is and I’ll save us both some time and frustration. K? Thanks. ;) Well, I’ll tell you what kind of organization….the same kind of organization that takes an extra week to turn on your internet and then provides you no information about when they will do the job they said they would do. While I’ve been cut off from the world wide web and loathing AT&T, I’ve still been writing. Here’s a bit of what’s been going on….

We moved. In two days. Almost by ourselves (Steven, Nanny and Papa were wonderful and did lend a hand for some heavy stuff that I was too wimpy to handle). It really was a blur that went by very fast and I’m thankful for that.  The last time I wrote was Friday night when we had moved a few things to the new place. Aunt Katie had helped watch Hallie in hopes that carrying her around would encourage labor. Well it was a GREAT idea because it did just that. Carmen was here the very next day! We woke up Saturday morning with plans to clean and move. Hallie was going to go to Nanny’s so that I could get some work done. On our way over we got a call saying that they were headed to Enid because Katie had gone into labor. We activitated Plan B at that point and Riley took Hallie to the farm to get the trailer while I cleaned the house top to bottom.  I finished just in time before they returned. We headed back to the cave to load up the cars and trailer. This is where the moving became a bit challenging. Hallie Grace was not in the mood to take a nap while we packed…of course she wanted in on the action. Let me also add that when I say “pack”, I’m not talking about boxes. Nope, we did it up redneck style and threw everything in trash bags. Seriously though, why waste time and space with boxes when you can just throw stuff in a bag and drive five minutes to the new place and carry the bags in. You ought to try it sometime. ;) What got tricky was packing knives in a trash bag. Yes, I did that. I make no apologies. I was in a hurry ;)

So after a Saturday full of manual labor we were thrilled to say goodbye to the work for a night of family fun at Aunt Deedee's surprise party. Sunday was more moving and oh yeah….meeting baby CARMEN! Sunday afternoon after our trip to Enid to meet Carmen, we continued the moving process all the while juggling the baby. My favorite thing in the world is packing, loading and unloading a car with a crazy child running around. So much fun I’d recommend it to all who enjoy a good challenge. Whoa! By the end of the day we collapsed on the bed and were asleep before our heads hit the pillow. Monday morning was just like any other….off to work. We came home to the reality of having an actual house. The good and the bad. Let’s start with the good. It was amazing to step out of bed and have room to move around. Light was spilling in through the windows and the sun was saying “hello and good morning!” Feeding Hallie in the kitchen was a much more pleasant experience with room to move around and again having light to see what I’m doing. Hallie was in an awesome mood as she waddled from room to room in her diaper. I soon discovered the inconveniences of this place though: shower wasn’t working, no dishwasher, fridge won’t fit, wrong dryer hookup, etc. We are coming up with a solution to these issues one by one while I attempt to be patient. At this point we have every amenity addressed except for the refridgerator...I guess we can't expect much with it since it is a loaner and about thirty years old. ;) I feel like I'm back in college using a dorm sized fridge...hey, at least it's an excuse to not have to cook.

Hallie Grace has been battling some bad allergies and a runny nose thanks to all of these particles of dust floating around. Nah, actually she was boggery before we moved but the dust did make it worse. Her mom and dad didn’t fare well with the dust either but it must’ve settled because the sniffles have all but disappeared. What hasn’t retreated is her horrible diaper rash. Sweet girl is in pain! L Desitin has been our best friend lately. Despite the nagging problem on her behind she offered to work and was a huge help with the moving and unpacking process. I’m really not sure what I would have done without her invaluable help……

• She made sure we had plenty of toilet paper available...

"We're all set mom"

•  She tested to make sure the extension cords were long enough....

"Gonna need one more..."

• She used her telekinetic powers to try to make the broom move...

"Why don't you just sweep already!"

• She supplied water for the parched....

"There's plenty here to drink and play in"

• She sorted plastic containers and made sure they all had matching lids....

"Turns out we're missing a few"

• And finally she brought me daddy's dirty laundry to put in the basket...

The Laundry Ghost of Hallie

The absolute BEST part of moving….we are at the running trails. Absolutely no excuse not to work out. Not only do I have a room for the treadmill now but all I have to do is step out the door and there are the trails. Hallie and I have been pulling two-a-day workouts to take advantage of the warm temps while we can got on bike rides in the morning. When my human alarm clock starts screaming or chatting I immediately go grab her and we head off on the bike to fit in a morning workout. Little miss is usually content riding in the morning air but you can usually tell when she has reached her the point when she realizes she is starving. At that point we pedal back to the house as fast as we can before she gets too cranky. The evening is spent out on the bike or in the jogging stroller since we convinced daddy to fill up the flat tire that had been holding us back for the past month. I am one event short of training for a triathlon with a baby….I’m guessing that my swimming skills would not pair well with carrying a baby on my back. I’m picturing this now and laughing inside. ;) Riley has also been bitten by the motivation bug and has been frequenting the gym or the running trails daily. The cave was a breeding ground for laziness, I’m tellin’ ya!

I’ve been typing this blog for over two weeks now….just adding little by little. The best part is I’m writing from my favorite big brown chair. Oh big brown chair, how I’ve missed you. And Emmi has as well. The girl has taken up residence on her long-time perching spot on top of big brown chair. It feels like home to her as well. Speaking of furniture, I am just thrilled to be sitting on something besides a kitchen table chair. For the past seven months I have been doing my “relaxing” of an evening sitting in a kitchen table chair at our makeshift desk. We had a loveseat for awhile before we donated our furniture to a college student in need (aka Aunt Ky ;))…however, I was not a fan of the loveseat and never used it. Then when it went away and there was nothing to sit on I wondered why I hadn’t taken advantage of it. Yes, we could have gone out and bought an inexpensive couch but I was not a fan of that idea. I kept thinking “I can tough this out until we sell our house and buy new furniture.” That plan was stupid it turns out. Ya know how something annoying tends to just become routine and normal once you get used to it? Needless to say, big brown chair and I have some catching up to do.

But it’s been kinda hard to set aside down time lately as we’ve been busy busy getting everything unpacked and set up how we want it. Riley is in heaven in his man cave. The dang garage has a ceiling fan and it’s very own bathroom with shower in it. For goodness sake, did the man who built this house dislike his wife that much??? Lol. He would sleep out there if I let him…sometimes I catch him just wandering around looking at everything just to be in the man cave. He even has a new man project to work on.....

The farm truck and it's new owner

Whatever keeps him smiling and happy!!! Hallie even lends a hand every now and then…..

"Need any help pops? I'm pretty handy"

We are planning on christening the backyard with a summer cookout soon! Grilling out steaks, relaxing on the patio and watching Hal frolic in the backyard. Oh yeah, and she had her own way of breaking in the backyard...

"Is it raining or something?"

…..yep, it feels like home to me.