Whassup, bro?

I'm telling you, I didn't realize how much I'd enjoy having Izzy home more often.  She goes to school half days, which seems silly after half a year of all day, every day.  Either way, I'll take it.  The kid is hysterical.  In this sequence of pictures, she was telling me a story. It goes like this:

 "Hey, Mom! Is Stormy black and bwown?" (That's the neighbors dog.)
"Ummm, yeah. " (He's not.  He's grey and black.  But, whatev.  I lie when I'm lazy.)
"Oh, because his bwothew just walked by.  And I think Stowmy was looking out his window.  And he's all 'whassup, bwo?' "
And she proceeds to demonstrate, over and over.  Adding the hand motions.
And the best part? She's teaching little sister to be just like her.  Happy sigh.  Even down to her clothes.  If you can't tell, Izzy wears her favorites until they are almost to small.  And little sister just wears any of Izzy's clothes. We don't care.  It's how we roll.  After five kids, some battles are hardly worth it.  She went to the gym today with two different leopard prints together.  And just like Izz, the shirt was smallish.  Who even cares?  Little sister has pizzazz.

AVCD's

 Kaija, Kaija, Kaija.  She is either on or off.  Happy or mad.  Funny & sweet, or really not fun. 

Today she tells me, "Mom!  I know my A-V-C-D's.
A, v, c, d, x, i, a... a, v, c, d, x, i, a!"

Wow, baby girl!  You will blow away the competition in Kindergarten. 

 Not two minutes later, she asked me if I was going to let her use our jacuzzi today or not.  When I told her I didn't know, she told me, "My bum is weally diwty, Mom."  Well... then... who can say no?

Gosh, I love those little paycheck moments.  

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.) 

Up, up, and away!

HEY! Do you remember me?  I used to post here from time to time?

Well, I guess I deserved that.

Although, I was hoping that I wasn't completely forgettable.  Sorry.  Life got busy there for a moment.  And.  I have run out of room on this blog.  (photo wise)  I have tried to post- but no can do when pictures are involved.  SO.  I'm trying to figure that all out.  I almost did my usual deleting old posts, (No, I don't usually delete them because I don't want to upgrade.  I do it for other reasons, silly.) but I started reading them and couldn't.  I want to turn it into a book.  A diary of sorts.  For my own memories.  How quickly I forgot how difficult life was two years ago.  I actually cried when I read about it. So, bear with me here.  I will figure it out.  All in due time.

On to what I really want to talk about.

We found out that we are moving out east, close to Washington DC.  (Temporarily) While I feel like I might spontaneously combust from the excitement, I am so humbled.  Humbled that God actually thinks that I deserve this. This much happiness.  This much adventure.  This many blessings.  This life.   I've told you before, and I'll tell you again: I'm part Gypsy.  I really am.  This moving around stuff satisfies something inside of me that nothing else could.  *happy sigh* I'm counting my blessings right now.  I realize that in life you have ups, and you have downs.  You can't appreciate the ups, without the downs. And while we are on a wild high right now,  I'm not going to take it for granted.  Life has reminded me of this in the last few months.  Likewise, it has inspired me to embrace opportunities and the blessings they bring.  Even if they might be seemingly unconventional to others.

An opportunity like this is not without downfalls, it is true.  Such as, leaving behind the people we have come to know and love in this area.  On the flip side,  it also ushers in numerous possibilities that we wouldn't otherwise have. We've considered it from all angles and feel that it is the right choice for our family.  It's not about anybody, but us.

So, here's to a crazy short packing notice with Christmas thrown in the mix! As you might guess, I'll be showing my face here even less (if that is possible) for a while.

Enjoy the holiday season if I don't get back here soon.  MUAH!