Our month of March has been filled with moving madness! We have been packing and unpacking all month long, getting arranged in a new place. Having two toddlers around has made things go more slow than I would like. But that's just the stage of life we are in! They've been great as they've adjusted to a new place to live, I am grateful they have taken it in stride.
This has been our 3rd move in 3 years. It will be another 3 years till we move again since we signed a 3 year rental contract. Whew! We are excited about that. I feel such a difference as I settle in and get comfortable.
On Saturday, March 7th Jeff rented a U-Haul truck and called some good buddies to come over and help us move.
Rosalyn was up early and jumping on our covered mattress. :)
It took a few weeks of preparation, but when the time came to move we had everything boxed up and ready to go. If I've learned anything in 3 moves it's this: be completely ready before anyone gets there to help you move. Everything just goes so fast and you won't have time to finish up any last items. It was like that again this time and we were glad we were ready!
My Mom and Claire came that morning and took the girls to a park nearby so they wouldn't be around and get in the way. That was so helpful! And the girls had a great time.
The guys moved everything so fast! They packed the truck so well, I was amazed at how perfectly everything was placed in the truck - a giant Tetrus game!
Our new house is only 4 miles away from our condo, which made this move super convenient. The guys moved fast and we were all complete in 2.5 hours from start to finish. Then our work began of unpacking!
First family pic on our front stairs!
We made a few trips back to our condo the following week to do some cleaning and get all of our pictures off the walls. It was nice to have a week overlap to get everything complete. Although it is also nice to get it all over with in one day so you can focus on your new place. Either way, you are tired. :)
The girls went straight to work in the basement playroom...they enjoy playing in the big sofa box and helping me unpack the toys. :)
They loved the big back yard and have been so cute exploring all over.
We have already given the girls a lesson on not picking all the flowers. ha. That was the first thing they did! It's confusing to them when I'm weeding and they aren't able to pull stuff out of the ground too. :)
This is the best way to store toddlers so they stay fresh:
There were lots of empty boxes to play in as we unpacked!
We are loving our new place. It has been such a wonderful place to live so far and we are thrilled with our choice and how it worked out. We are mostly unpacked, but still settling in. I haven't done much decorating yet. I don't think you really feel comfortable in your home until things are hung on the walls. And we are still adjusting to where things are located and which light switch turns on which light. :)
Moving into a home has brought a lot of changes. Some of these changes are familiar since we've already been homeowners. And some are brand-new with the addition of children in a home.
Everyone would say (including myself!) that having a larger home means more to clean. But I have felt the opposite this month. Maybe it's because our home feels empty (don't worry, I'll be doing lots of shopping these next few months!) but it is easier to clean. In the condo, everything was right there and if things were out of place it felt so chaotic. But now the messes are spread out so that we don't notice them as much. There are so many cabinets and storage spaces...everything is hidden and makes it easy to clean. Everything has a place now and those places are spread out.
That being said, I have discovered that it is easy to lose things in a house. Like my children. I can't keep track of what room they are always in all the time. And my phone. And my keys. And my shoes....
Garbage has become a whole new issue to deal with. The Waste Management company was slow in getting our trash cans delivered when we ordered, so we had a trash backup of 2.5 weeks. I miss being able to take my trash to a dumpster and clearing out trash whenever convenient. Now we have to pack in as much trash as we can in our trash can on the curb on a once a week basis. I forgot what that was like. Not really a problem, but an adjustment.
Jeff's been figuring out his new commute. He works only 6.7 miles away from our home. But it has taken him 45 mins to an hour sometimes to get home! Geez, Seattle traffic. On average it's been about 35 minutes. Not horrible, but nothing like 15 minutes before we moved!
Both of the girls have become more physical since we've moved here. Don't get me wrong, they are both very busy, active girls. But even more so now. Brielle is climbing and jumping off of anything. Rosalyn has learned to run and jump since we lived here. More space to move their bodies! I like this picture of Rosalyn mid-jump:
They will run around inside the house for no reason at all. They just start to chase each other and go all over!
They love playing outside and I love that I can go outside with them without having to pack them up in the car.
This house requires a lot of yard work. It is a beautiful yard with lots of pretty plants. The original owner was a master gardener for the City of Bellevue...so it is beautifully landscaped. The problem with that is that it requires a lot of upkeep. We are still figuring out how to do it all.
It's been a busy month, but we are so happy to be here. Great memories and experiences are to come!
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