southern living

Our friends in Massachusetts had a wonderful send-off for us (and our kids) before we left. At that time, my friend Sue suggested that I start a blog to keep our many far-away friends up to speed on our changing lives. While I laughed it off at the time (something about moving 850 miles away the week after Thanksgiving with two little kids while pregnant... a blog seemed tough to maintain), I found myself often thinking of what I would write in my blog (while unpacking boxes or playing with the boys). Clearly there is a huge difference between contemplation of blog-worthy items and the execution of creating the blog, but I have decided to give it my best shot.

So since we last saw you all:
I was sadder than I thought I'd be when we left our lovely home in MA the day before Thanksgiving and went to our vacation house in NH to spend the holiday with some friends. I guess it really hit me that we were leaving our lives and starting anew (something I didn't give thought to when dealing with movers and cleaning the house and taking care of the kids). We had a great Thanksgiving holiday with old and dear friends before we set off for the warmer climate of our new home. In just a few days we travelled across ten states, stayed at 4 different places, moved 18,000 pounds of belongings, and ate more take out than I ever imagined. The boys did great. Seriously. Andy and I were pretty surprised at how good they were through the trip. I think our plan of doing fun things in the morning and driving in the afternoon saved us. After all, they got to go to the aquarium in Baltimore with their Tetka (Aunt Nena), play with their friends Jack and Abbey in Raleigh, and swim at least once per day at the various hotel pools. Does it get any better than that?

Our move was as uneventful as we had hoped; the close went seamlessly, the movers were great, our belongings are all present and in good condition. In the almost three weeks (already!) that we have been in the house we have primed and painted Devin's room (before the move he insisted that the hot-pink room was not his, so we knew that was a change that needed to happen quickly), unpacked and settled all the common areas of the house, met our pediatrician (twice), joined the gym, met my obstetrician, spent hundreds at Target and Lowes and have started meeting new friends. The boys are settling into preschool and are really enjoying themselves. Devin's teachers say that he seems so comfortable there that he is no different than the kids that they have had since September. Alex loves everything about school; his teacher, the activities that they do, his friends (although my fears about him being a preschool bruiser weren't unfounded), and especially eating lunch at school. =) I am enjoying my two kid-free mornings each week, but have been extremely busy acting as Santa's helper and tackling house projects that are best completed without the help of little hands. Andy has been at his new job for two weeks now and is enjoying the new role (although he is still figuring out what that role is). Overall I would say that we are pretty happy here. I am sometimes overwhelmed at the amount of work that we have ahead of us in the house and I don't think I will move at Christmas time again if I can avoid it, but things are going well.
Love to all!