Because I can't always respond to your convos or eMails individually, I thank you all for your concern -- we're doing great -- just so busy! Sorry for my lack of blog posts, tweets, etc. I've been thinking about you guys and wanting to open up my Etsy shop again, but I'm just not ready to do so yet. On top of the ridiculous CPSIA nonsense-law, there is also the custom orders for monster shirts, monster jeans, and my other handmade super coolness that I'm currently working on which have been keeping me super busy!! And I have more orders in the works for the coming weeks. So if you're awaiting your order - thanks again for your patience. There have been unexpected delays, and you are so awesome for understanding. As always, my customers ROCK.
Other than sewing, our awesome little monster kiddos keep us on our toes daily, and we've also recently moved to a new home. Oh, you didn't know? Yes, yes! We've moved! It all happened so fast, really. In the event you haven't heard from me personally...I'm updating you right here, right now. So keep reading my blog and stay in the loop! haha.
Fair warning...this blog post is all over the place. It's fun stuff though...so read on. :)
Here's what's been going on around here lately:
In February I blogged about one super long week when we took a sudden road trip from FL to NC for a job interview which the Hubbs Joe had scheduled. Since then, there has been a continuos whirlwind of events for us!
First of all, my amazing uber-geek Hubbs Joe got the job!! Woohoo!! We could not be happier.
We've wanted to move out of Florida for what seemed like forever, but was actually more like a year and a half. No offense to any of you Florida-lovers, but visiting there and living there full time are two vastly different things. Besides, this New Yorker missed the seasonal changes, a cool summer breeze, and tall trees amongst other things that Florida just could not give me. Most importantly, we wanted to raise our babies with access to the outdoors...without having to worry about scary alligators or poisonous frogs in our backyard or at the playground! *mega-creepy!!* Think I'm kidding here? Take a look at this video from abcnews.com where an alligator creepily crawls out from underneath a car at a car dealership. Yep, just an average Orlando day!
Anyway...so where was I? Oh yes...the fab and geeky new job. So they wanted the awesome Hubbs Joe to begin working in his new job in Research Triangle Park (RTP) in 30 days.
*zoikes!* We had to hustle!
That meant we had only two short weeks to hire movers and find a house in North Carolina! We hit the ground running. Joe was still working full time so it
meant I was the one who would be searching for a house and movers during the day, and we'd be discussing our options in the evenings when Joe got home. All of that while taking care of Joey, Lily, and Aleethea...and also starting to pack. Crazy, yes?
My mom immediately flew down from PA to help with the kiddos, cooking, cleaning, and packing. Huge help!
So my hunt for a house began. I knew it would be much more difficult and involved to find a house than a mover, so I wanted to be sure we first had a house, prior to finding a mover.
The very first house I inquired about directly with the owner - it was absolutely beautiful, but it didn't have a garage or a fenced-yard. So, we skipped it and moved on.
Then over the course of the next week, we looked at hundreds of houses online, spoke to several different realtors who were all working at finding and showing us homes in the Raleigh-Durham-RTP area. I spoke with the realtors via eMail and web portals, and oohed and ahhed over so many different houses. Some seemed so perfect for us - until we actually saw the neighborhood. Thank goodness for Google Maps. What a fantastic and immensely helpful tool that was for us to decide upon a house! Not that the neighborhoods we viewed weren't nice, but they just weren't exactly what we were looking for. We actually didn't even want to live within a community, because we wanted more of a country setting, with houses that each looked different, some old, some new, etc. A nice mixture is what we desired. And a short commute for the Hubbs Joe.
Doesn't sound like we were asking much, right? Then again...we only had a couple of weeks to find a house, so in all actuality...I was being reeeeeally picky. And rightfully so, for our family. :)
After a week long roller-coaster of house-hunting, viewing properties and neighborhoods, and taking virtual tours of dozens and dozens of houses, we actually ended up selecting the very first house I inquired about. Yes, the one without the garage. haha. Funny how things work out. The reason why there is no garage is because there is a lovely little creek which runs through the backyard, and the county would not allow the builder to build a garage and disrupt the creek. We couldn't ask for a better reason to not have a garage. Oh, and the fence is being built next month. :)
OK so once we signed the paperwork for the house, we breathed a sigh of relief for a few seconds...and then my search for a moving company began.
We had one week until moving day.
When I was twenty years old, I was an office manager for a moving company in Middle Village NY. (I had the funniest, and best bosses, Cheryl and Steve.) Anyway, so with that experience I began the process by jotting down our inventory of furniture in every room, the amount of hanging frames, an approximate amount of boxes, located some moving companies, requested packing estimates and also got online and on-site estimates for us. Whew! We also had my SUV to be moved, which may require a car-carrier, or would be moved inside of a larger truck.
As for boxes, I was sure to let the moving companies know that we would not be purchasing boxes from them because we had our own boxes. In the interest of time and money, we were getting recycled boxes from the local U-haul store. Moving companies sometimes charge almost double for their boxes, and sometimes they are not recycled. The only problem with using our own boxes was that we also needed packing services, and some moving companies will insist that if they are packing, then they must supply the boxes. Issue #1.
Anyway so after some estimates, we were on our way to select a mover. The downside to all of the moving companies I spoke to was that they were long-distance movers which meant they frequently moved people interstate via super big tractor trailer trucks. That also meant they would pick up other household goods along the way, and therefore deliver other household goods along the way too. So our items would not be going directly from FL to NC, but instead would probably arrive in approximately 5 to 7 days. This, we did not like so much. Issue #2.
I had initially wanted to go with a bigger company, because there would most likely be no issue with whether or not they had an active moving license, a US D.O.T. (Department of Transportation) number for an interstate move, and probably a really good record with Consumer Affairs and the B.B.B. (Better Business Bureau). Because those are the starting points which you should research prior to getting an estimate from or hiring any moving company.
Also, the bigger companies are reluctant to offer a not-to-exceed cost, which was issue #3.
So there we were, with a huge decision to make and some issues in the way...when along comes the Hubbs Joe who just happened to find a local moving company in Orlando who would be able to pack for us using our own boxes, they'd drive our items directly to NC with the exception of an overnight break - since the law states the drivers/movers cannot work for more than 12 hours straight, their moving credentials checked out, and they'd also give us a not-to-exceed cost.
So we went with the movers the Hubbs Joe found that day, All My Sons. And everything went smoothly.
So much for my moving company experience and research!!! If I had eaten a fortune cookie that day it would've read: "Your work in 90's very long time ago. Means poopoo now. Husband lucky."
Early morning on Thursday March 12th, we dropped our furry-baby Aleethea off at a Doggie Spa in Orlando for the day where she would swim and play for the day.
Later that morning, All My Sons showed up with two moving trucks...
and four awesome movers and packers:
The guys were busy for 7 hours of packing and loading!!
Joey had lots of fun watching all the furniture and boxes being carried away, and just being a part of all the excitement. Why was he having so much fun? Isn't moving supposed to be stressful for a toddler/pre-school-aged child? It could be...but it wasn't...because the week prior I had bought these books for Joey and so we had already read these books to him over and over again.
The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain, and Moving House by Anne Civardi, Michelle Bates, and Stephen Cartwright. I also picked up a guide for the Hubbs Joe and I entitled Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family's Transition to a New Home by Lori Collins Burgan, which is loaded with helpful moving and transition tips which apply to kids of various ages.
I highly recommend each of those books, they taught Joey many things about moving, and he repeatedly asked us to read them to him.
In addition to the books we read to him, Joey was also kept informed of every aspect of our move, and why we were moving. We shared all of our plans with him from day one. He was always in the loop so there were no surprises, and therefore no anxiety about the move. Just adventures for him to look forward to! He helped me pack boxes, he looked at houses online with me, and he even packed up his own toys without being told to do so!! I had wanted to leave his toys for very last, so as to not rush him into anything...but before I knew it - all his stuff was in a box! It was really cute. (I was sure to keep just a few toys out for him, for the last few days prior to our move.)
That evening, after the movers did their thing - since our house was completely empty and my mom's flight wasn't until the next morning, we said farewell to the house our babies were born in, picked up Aleethea from the Doggie Spa, ordered a pizza, and stayed the night in a dog-friendly hotel.
The next morning, Friday March 13th, we wished my mom a happy flight home and then set out on a 12 hour drive. This was the third 12-hour drive we'd taken within one month!
Good-bye Orlando!!
And hello to our new home, and our new life in Durham, North Carolina!!
Where we are still unpacking, of course. But somedays I just pretend to not see the boxes. I am a firm believer that some days, denial is good for the soul. haha! Especially when these kiddos have more fun playing in the packing paper:
Where our 10 month old baby girl Lily - who is still off the charts in height - has begun to stand up on her own:
We happily put on jackets last month on 40 degree days or colder:
When frost was welcomed on my other baby, my tough little 4WD SUV:
Where the morning sun shines brightly thru the kitchen window...
and onto my baby girl's face:
...where I put a new little plant to celebrate:
...where Lily has found herself - haha:
...and she is more and more more of a sweet monster every day. Here she is in a monster shirt I made for her big brother Joey two years ago!:
OK so here's an oldie but goodie...I just had to find that picture of Joey...so here's Joey wearing the very same monster shirt above, when he was 15 months old:
And here is a super cutesie new "Wild Blue Safari Binky Blankie" all finished up for a very patient Staci's nephew baby Miller:
I hope he loves his new binky blanket a.k.a. security blanket! I absolutely love the way it turned out - and it is so super plush!:
And so our adventures within our new city have already begun:
(Wood giraffe and hedgehog teether handmade from wonderful artisians on Etsy.)
...where Joey loves loves loves to ride his trike indoors on the wood flooring:
...where new clubhouses are claimed:
...where lunches and dinners are being enjoyed on the back porch. Gosh we LOVE eating outside!:
...where the view and these trees are so very tall and amazing:
...where Joey loves his new view from his playroom (in his Road Trip Ankle Biters lounge set):
...where new lounge pants are being designed and sewn - these are my newest "Pink Elephants Ankle Biters":
...and where we're not sure what will bloom out front -- any guesses?:
...but there has already been growth - Joey is not only growing out of his size 3T monster jeans (and needs me to make him yet another pair!) but he can also now peddle his tricycle uphill:
while Lily enjoys making the most adorable faces in the sunlight:
...and...as of this weekend...Joey has started to use the potty!! Woohooooooo!!! To follow are our potty-chronicles.
Amazing what can happen when you entice an almost 3 year old, bright and early on a Saturday morning with this:
Me: "Joey, if you go use the potty right now like a big boy, and if you go pee-pee in the potty and not in your diaper, then Mama will let you paint some Easter eggs right there in the bathroom!!"
Joey: "yaaay yaaayyy yaaayyyyy!!!! come on Mama!!!" (as he ran down the hall and into the bathroom)
The next thing I knew...the kiddo used the potty! And of course...we had to take a picture:
We are so proud of him. And he was very proud of his accomplishment too!! We sat there and he painted an Easter egg, right there while on the potty. It was beautiful. haha.
A while later, when I thought it should be potty time again, I gave him another bribe. I mean, an incentive. I told Joey if he wanted to go use the potty again...that he could go right now to the potty if he wanted to...and when he was done he could eat one of the super yummy cookies his Yiayia (Grandma) sent him for Easter. And so...off and running we again went down the hall, and to the potty. Hooray for Yiayia's cookies!! :D
We read "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish", the 1960 Dr. Seuss classic while we sat there.
Oh! And what was a great starter for the "action"? (if you know what I mean) The key to begin it all, right after my son sat down on the potty...was the little cup of water I kept next to the potty, which I told Joey to "put his hands into and splash a little bit for good luck". And that's when it started.
So how did potty-training a.k.a. potty-bribing go the remainder of the weekend?
Great on Saturday, with some accidents of course throughout the day...but they were all opportunities for learning, and now he knows that he doesn't like the feeling of the wetness. Which is so important! So he ultimately used the potty several times yesterday. Today, Easter Sunday, not so much. But we know it'll probably take two steps backward in order to go one step forward. And that's just fine by us. It's all good.
Big things are happening around here. Little by little.
Thanks for checking in on us. We miss you. :)
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