Experiences

Logan's still adjusting.  It doesn't help when he's hardly gone to school.  Besides the late start and early release, he had a "stomach ache" on Friday.  He may have.  It's hard to know.  If he is anything like me, it is just stress related.  I carry everything in my belly.  Then, yesterday, there was no school.  It rained.  So, obviously, there wasn't school.  To be fair, it was slightly legit.  It was freezing rain in parts of the county.  A two hour delay would suffice.  But, who am I to judge?

Anyway.  When in Rome...
Since we are so close to the ocean, I gave mussels a try.  Sort of an ewww! factor, but good.  I have to say, I am going to eat as much seafood as possible when I am out here.  MMMmmmmm.  I knew you wanted to know all this.  You are welcome.

That, pictured above, is a Civil War battle ground.  It was kind of cool to stand in a place with so much history. (It's actually where Stonewall Jackson got his nickname.)  Gotta admit, my favorite part about it was that there were running paths going through and around it.  To go there is one thing. But, to run at a Civil War battle ground?  Ooooh!  I have to.  It was just added to my bucket list.

TTFN!

Snowy white winters that melt into spring...

Proof.  We got snow. Enough to cause a two hour late start. 

And then early release the next day. (Quit laughing, MN and MI.) 

 That girl between Kai and Haley is the neighbor girl.  She is really sweet.

She made Haley's transition so much easier.  Her and Haley play almost every day.

In our past three houses, we have hit the jackpot in the neighbor department. 

See?  No more lazy eye for Izz.  Woot, woot.  

 And for Kristy, a picture of Tyson.  Isn't he gorgeous?

Right here he is trying to bully the neighbor's dog. 

The dog is something along the lines of a Shitzu. 

Whatever, Tyson.  Go pick on someone your own size. 

These are a few of my favorite things.

We rented this house sight unseen.  Which really could have been a disaster.  However, we did rent it through somebody that works for the same organization that ZZtop works for.  So, we had a little faith. And I was really excited to find that it had a similar layout to the houses I've been attracted to in the past.  If you recall, I've been house hunting more than I have been vehicle shopping.  Or so it seems.

I'll share a few of my favorite aspects of this house.

A huge window that I can look out of as I wash my dishes.  And granite countertops.

 I do, however, really miss my cupboards in MI.  Ooooh, they work well for me.

 I love that the kitchen and the living room are so open to each other.  It's dreamy.

 I, however, am not a fan of built-ins.  They demand to be cluttered.  Why do people want a wall of clutter? I don't understand it.  We have a stipulation in our lease agreement about the number of nail holes we can have.  So, therefore, we chose to forgo any picture hanging.  As you can see in the picture above.  Which is a bummer.  Because, I totally packed wall hangers.  Not things like vases, that sit on flat surfaces.  Shoot.  Eighteen months of white, bare walls.  Ack!

 Oh, well.  The backyard makes up for it.  The fenced in back yard.  With an acre.  In this highly populated area!  And, look!  I have a covered porch on a bi-level deck.

So, it all evens out.  If you want to see anything else, I guess you just have to come to visit.
*insert big grin*

Apollo has landed!

Where was I, again?  Oh, yes.  Simply making a bit of a life change.  Whew.  Done.  Mostly.  Let's be honest, there is always an adjustment period when you have kids.  Without kids, too.  But, when you are only a couple weeks into, kids are always the focus.  Do you even acknowledge your own feelings at this point?  Probably not.  Either that, or this was a really great choice for myself.  

This move has been very telling for me.  Here's what I've learned so far:

*Moving the day after somebody has surgery (even minor) isn't super awesome and comes highly unrecommended.  It's just too much emotional stress, for one. 

*It's even more highly unrecommended to move across a few states when you have a stomach bug.  Especially if you have to drive.  I could get into the logistics of it all for you, but I don't want to relive it.  And I think you can guess why, anyway. 

*Even though you think you can predict which kid will have the hardest time adjusting, you can't.  Don't even try.  (Logan this time.  Yes, Logan.  Shocking, I know.  But, his friends in Michigan are really great.  Him and I butt heads a lot, but agree wholeheartedly on this.)

*A very big benefit of moving around is learning what works for you in a house, and what doesn't.  Layout, number of rooms, sizes of rooms, etc.  Oh, I'm collecting and stashing.  

*I'm not as big of a chicken as I thought.  Really.  I'm not.  It shocks me, more than anyone.

*Everyone should have a dog.  We had a really strange incident and my dog has been on high alert ever since.  I love him even more for it.  

*Virginia is odd.  It doesn't have a "center of town".  Rather, it has houses, houses, houses, and then a few businesses.  Then houses, houses, houses, and then a few businesses.  Very odd. 

*It also requires you to move heaven and earth before you enroll kids in school. 

*But, after weeks of kids out of school, a mother is properly motivated.  We could move the Milky Way at that point.  

*Moving is expensive, no matter how much you pack up.  Those smalls equal something really big.  (Condiments and such that do not get packed up when the mom is off at the hospital one day, then fighting off nausea the next.)  Oy. And I'm not even fully restocked yet. Oy. 

*There is nothing like having friends that you can shoot a text out to, "Hey, girls.  This mom needs to feel like something other than a mom today.  Coffee at eight?" Miss you, my friends.  All of you.  

*Not just my coffee girls.  All of you.  The friends I meet for lunch.  The friends that stop and chat after church.  The play date friends.  The friends I text with random questions.  All of you. 

*I really, really, really love this social media world we live in.  It makes it a small world, after all.  

*Coming from somebody with some moving experience, it makes moving easier. 

*That's all I can think of. 

TTFN! (ta-ta for now, according to Tigger.  I think.)