**Typed two nights ago**
Every time we move I always think the next one will be less hurried and rushed. That was not the case this time. In fact, I think our move to Germany was the most calm. We were not allowed to live off post, so we really just had to pick an apartment that we could live with. It took about 45 mins, and we had a home. It seems much more chaotic when you have choices. While I love being able to pick where and what I want to live in, sometimes I wish it were as easy as our last move.
I realized I haven't blogged since the plane, so I will start at that point. We landed late (for us having been up for almost 24 hours) on Tuesday night, and went right to bed. Usually jet lag isn't much of an issue, but this trip had more issues than normal. We had planned on moving Samuel to a twin bed once we got here (he was still in his crib because he sleeps like a crazy person, he didn't climb out, and I just hadn't got around to it). I really didn't want to buy one more piece of furniture that had the possibility to be destroyed. Needless to say, he has now figured out how to get in and out of the pack n play. We will be moving him very soon (as soon as our bed we ordered arrives).
The next day, thanks to the help of grandparents, hubby and I set off to find a place to live. We knew we needed to move quick since Genevieve needed to get into school as soon as possible. We had made an appointment before we left Europe to look at a couple of places. We headed to the first and really liked it. Of course we wanted to make sure it was the right choice, so we told them we wanted to look at a couple more places. He let us know that 5 other people were coming to look at it too. We had about an hour before the next person showed up. We went to see the others, and we knew we weren't going to find anything we liked better. So we rushed it back to the office and got the lease signed before the next showing.
We wondered if we rushed into the decision due to the pressure of someone else being able to take it. I wondered that really until last night. We all finally made it back to the house, and we were able to settle in a bit. The kids have been telling me all day that they like out new home better than the last one. When you ask them why, it's always the same answer, the backyard. The school Genevieve is going to attend seems great. She was very excited she was going to be in the purple pod. She got even more excited when she learned that her teacher had gone to Germany this summer on vacation. She asked me at home if she could talk to her in German then. I told her she could try and see if she knew any.
I'm really missing my stuff right about now though. Everyone that I visit with ask if I am settled or settling in. While we are, it just won't be home until I can get my stuff. As my best friend commented today, my style right now is cheap garage sale. I know that you can buy some pretty amazing things that way, but that's not the style I'm going for. That said, I'm very thankful for the stuff we do have. It does make living a whole lot easier until then.
So, about the place. We gained about 650 sq ft from our last place. I'm so bad with spacial recognition anyway, but it's been really bad here. I keep wondering if things are really going to fit or not. I really don't know why they wouldn't with the extra space. Our bedroom is much larger as well as both of the kid's rooms. Our living room is a decent size, but smaller than what we had. The dining room is attached to the kitchen. This is the area I have concerns about. I worry that it is too small for our table. My hubby who has named himself "master packer" due to his great skills of making it fit, says there is no question about it. It will fit. The kitchen is HUGE. I always hated our kitchen in Germany. It was narrow and small. This one is nice and open, and has room for a few people to work in it. There is a lot of cabinets, and I don't think I'll even use them all.
Anyway, we still don't have internet for a few days, so this won't be posted tonight. Gotta love those parts of moving. They will start charging gas, water, and electric right away. You want to get your cable up and running, wait a week. At least we get 2 months free. :)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
It's All Business
Today's the day!! We are officially no longer residents of Germany. As I type we are all seated in business class. We have been on a roller coaster for this whole reservation since we booked it. We were very excited to find that we could use my hubby's frequent flyer miles to "buy" upgrades for our flight. We thought we had enough, but we were 1200 miles (not even a quarter of a flight to the US) short for the whole family. Thank goodness a guy in his office offered to transfer miles so we would have enough.
After the company changing the plane, a few seat issues, and waiting until the very last second, we were all upgraded. I have never been able to fly first or business class. We aren't even an hour into our flight and we have had 3 drink services, a hot snack, ordered our meals (a lot of choices), and are now about to be served our starter for lunch. What a big difference!
Now that lunch is over, the kids are calm, and I have a chance to put my feet up. I think I will take advantage of these reclining seats and take a quick nap or watch a movie. All I have to say is a HUGE thank you to my hubby for cashing in his miles on us. It made my amazing time in Germany come to a not so bad end. There were still tears, but at least I was able to cry in the comfort of business class. :)
After the company changing the plane, a few seat issues, and waiting until the very last second, we were all upgraded. I have never been able to fly first or business class. We aren't even an hour into our flight and we have had 3 drink services, a hot snack, ordered our meals (a lot of choices), and are now about to be served our starter for lunch. What a big difference!
Now that lunch is over, the kids are calm, and I have a chance to put my feet up. I think I will take advantage of these reclining seats and take a quick nap or watch a movie. All I have to say is a HUGE thank you to my hubby for cashing in his miles on us. It made my amazing time in Germany come to a not so bad end. There were still tears, but at least I was able to cry in the comfort of business class. :)
Friday, September 2, 2011
Done Son!
Over the past few weeks, it's been one thing after another. Our lives have been in upheaval for awhile too. At first the kids thought it was really cool to have all their stuff packed up and sent to the boat. Not so much anymore. They are crying about their stuff being gone. While they know it's on the boat making its way to our new home, they don't actually understand.
After the stuff, our van went. That was just as hard for them. Again they know it's on the big boat, but why do we really have to send the van on a boat? Isn't that really silly? Well to a 5 and 3 year old it is.
Yesterday was the big day. We spent all last week packing, deep cleaning, clearing out stuff, and cleaning more. It was a really hard week with a lot of hard work. It was hard to know that the kids didn't understand why we couldn't just do things like normal. They didn't understand why we were so busy and stressed. Well if you aren't in the military, buckle up while I explain clearing housing.
When we lived in Oklahoma, we kept asking the landlord did we need to do this or that. They were a little surprised when we asked if we needed to wash out the garage and storage shed. They were even mor surprised when we asked about planting new grass in the bare areas. They were shocked when both they and the Army (we were in government leased housing so technically it was the Army renting the house) showed up and they took an hour to do the finally walk through. The man from the company said if it would have been up to him, we would have been finished in 10 mins. This was an easy clearing.
We had heard horror stories of clearing here. We have wood floors, and they are very quick to charge for just about anything on them. One of hubby's co-workers cleared the day before us, and it took him over 2 hours to get finished. My hubby and I prepared ourselves for the worst.
We were terrified when he showed up 30 mins early. We were finishing up mopping. We told him to please hold on and we'd be done soon. He went in the kitchen and I tried to answer questions for him. Much to our surprise, it took all of 10 mins and we were done. I told hubby to run out the door before he changed his mind. I'm happy to report we made it out of housing without charges. We were hoping to leave here with some sort of savings in our account. :p
Now we are at the hotel just waiting for our flight. I'm so glad that some friends of ours gave us a bottle of wine. I'm going to drink it tonight. Just a few more days and we are back to the US. it's hard to believe that the 3 years have gone so quickly. Now let's do it all again in reverse. :)
After the stuff, our van went. That was just as hard for them. Again they know it's on the big boat, but why do we really have to send the van on a boat? Isn't that really silly? Well to a 5 and 3 year old it is.
Yesterday was the big day. We spent all last week packing, deep cleaning, clearing out stuff, and cleaning more. It was a really hard week with a lot of hard work. It was hard to know that the kids didn't understand why we couldn't just do things like normal. They didn't understand why we were so busy and stressed. Well if you aren't in the military, buckle up while I explain clearing housing.
When we lived in Oklahoma, we kept asking the landlord did we need to do this or that. They were a little surprised when we asked if we needed to wash out the garage and storage shed. They were even mor surprised when we asked about planting new grass in the bare areas. They were shocked when both they and the Army (we were in government leased housing so technically it was the Army renting the house) showed up and they took an hour to do the finally walk through. The man from the company said if it would have been up to him, we would have been finished in 10 mins. This was an easy clearing.
We had heard horror stories of clearing here. We have wood floors, and they are very quick to charge for just about anything on them. One of hubby's co-workers cleared the day before us, and it took him over 2 hours to get finished. My hubby and I prepared ourselves for the worst.
We were terrified when he showed up 30 mins early. We were finishing up mopping. We told him to please hold on and we'd be done soon. He went in the kitchen and I tried to answer questions for him. Much to our surprise, it took all of 10 mins and we were done. I told hubby to run out the door before he changed his mind. I'm happy to report we made it out of housing without charges. We were hoping to leave here with some sort of savings in our account. :p
Now we are at the hotel just waiting for our flight. I'm so glad that some friends of ours gave us a bottle of wine. I'm going to drink it tonight. Just a few more days and we are back to the US. it's hard to believe that the 3 years have gone so quickly. Now let's do it all again in reverse. :)
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