Visiting

 

 

 

 

 

Movers

After 3 weeks of "camping", our moving truck arrived ready to be unloaded. Grandpa & Uncle A drove up to help with the move 

(and pick up a table we've been holding for them), and the men worked through the heat advisories to get all our belongings unpacked.

Some of our things are being kept in storage for now, and we had the truck parked at the unit for ease of unloading. 

Thus, Grandpa's van became a sudo moving truck, transporting pieces to our home. 

A day & a half later, we have an empty truck and a no-longer-empty living space.

"Camping"

Armed with an air matress, play pen, and a few kitchen essentials, we've been "camping" in our new apartment for the last seven days. It seems that a paperwork hiccup is keeping our moving truck in Mississippi for the next few weeks, so we're making due (and thriving!) with what we have on hand. 

• Good News: our home is nearly void of anything RJ can't play with, in, on, or under
  (so long as we keep the bathroom door closed) - all the 'dangerous' items are in the moving truck.
• Bad News: aside from three bar stools (furnished with the apartment), we have no furniture whatsoever,
  which gets a little interesting (and uncomfortable) at times as my get-up-off-the-floor speed steadily decreases.

We're expecting to be able to move the truck mid-August, giving us just enough time to get unpacked and settled before Baby Boy decides he's ready to emerge. For now, we're eating off of plastic plates and enjoying the extra space to play in.

The Greens

As of today, we've officially been accepted for rental at a new apartment complex nearby. We were originally hoping for base housing, but Husby's orders don't provide us that 'luxury', so we're on the other options. Just south of the base is a nice, new-ish town which is home to a nice, new-ish apartment complex on a golf course, and we've chosen to make it our home for the next year or so. We've rented a two-bedroom, one-bath unit on the first floor, which just happens to be handicap-friendly (meaning it comes with a few minor changes to accomidate a wheelchair). While this isn't something we need, it may come in handy with small boys around (lower counter tops, easier shower/tub access, etc). Our lease begins July 5th, so our holiday weekend will be followed by lots of moving and unpacking.

Kansas, cont.

People are nice here!

This may seem like an obvious, unnecessary statement, but I assure you, we've lived in a few places where the population is anything but "nice". It's incredibly refreshing to feel welcome in a new place!

Kansas

We're beginning to settle into our new home here in Kansas, enough so that we were able to send Grandma home this afternoon. We'll be staying in the Temporary Living Facility (TLF) on-base for now until our housing eligibility can be determined. For now, home is a one-bedroom apartment-style hotel room, complete with kitchen and living room with fold-out couch. Sleeping arrangements are going to be rather interesting, since we haven't had much luck sleeping in the same room with RJ in the past. We can't leave him out in the living room - Husby would wake him when he gets ready for work early in the morning. So for now, Husby and I are sleeping on the fold-out - giving RJ the bedroom - but my pregnant body may not be able to handle that for very long ...

Finishing the Drive

While we've enjoyed our time in Texas (and all the snuggles that come along with time at Grandma's house), we've left it all behind in favor or reaching our new home, Kansas. Grandma was kind enough to drive up with us, providing company for me as I drove as well as an extra pair of hands to help with RJ while we were on the road. Still a little under the weather, he was not entirely thrilled about being stuck in his seat for 6 hours, making our arrival that much more of a relief for all of us.

On the Road, Again

Since Husby went on ahead this morning, Grandpa volunteered to fly in and drive with us back to Grandma's house. We picked him up from the airport, had a quick lunch, and hit the road at about noon. RJ was a wonderful traveler, with toys and drinks and snacks available to him whenever he needed, and we managed to get more than halfway through the drive this afternoon and evening. We're stopped for the night in Shreveport, Louisiana, leaving only about 3 hours of travel to finish the trip tomorrow morning. We're almost there!

Family Day

Husby will be leaving for Kansas early tomorrow morning, and we'll head to Texas as soon as our house inspection is finished. RJ and I will be staying with family for the week, with Husby joining us again for my sister's high school graduation on Saturday. We're planning for a 5-day separation, and spending some quality time together as a family today.

Final Preparations

The house is empty, the truck is loaded, and the cleaning is being finished today. We're almost ready to leave Mississippi! New adventure, here we come!

Moving Excitements

Our goal tonight was to finish packing the truck. Fortunately, so glitches in the plan have allowed us a few extra days in our moving process, and we were able to call it quits a little early. Tomorrow, it will get done, but we need to extra rest tonight.

In order to pay for the move, the military provides us with a credit card which they pay off with funds set aside for us. Having used this card many times before, including our trip here in November, we didn't anticipate any craziness this time around. That was our first mistake. 

The Air Force is transitioning from one type of card to a 'bettter' one, and it seems we've been caught in the middle. Our new card had been mailed out. Instead of waiting until we activated the new one, however, our existing card has been canceled in anticipation. Since New Card is being sent to our home of record, which happens to be in Texas, we're without any form of payment for all the things we've set up - not to mention, gas and food for the trip.

Luckily, I was able to talk with some helpful ladies today, and a NEW New Card is being sent directly to us here in Mississippi. Thankfully, there are still some brains left in this government bureaucracy, or I'm not sure how were would have handled things.

"Home"

We're 'home' in Mississippi again, but no longer staying in our house. Temporary Housing has been provided for us while we're in the process of moving, and we couldn't be happier to be back with Daddy. The moving truck is being packed, and we're readying ourselves to leave this place behind in favor of a new adventure.

Packing

12 bins packed with Husby's help - we've done nothing but sort through and organize our life for the past two days, and we finally able to get quite a bit packed away in preparation for the move. Next time, I'm hiring someone to do this for me.

Dishes

This morning, I unloaded the dishwasher - which we've been raiding for clean dishes for over a day now. The next load sits in and around the sink, but I haven't loaded it. 4.27 minutes of work and it would be done, but I just can't manage to do it. I can't even blame the toddler - he's been so good today that I could have easily gotten it done at any point. No, instead I continue to procrastinate. On my list of things needing to be done, load the dishwasher is far from the top. Things like secure moving truck rental and cancel internet service are found just below pack entire house and grow a person. Since I'm barely managing the first two without loosing my mind breath, I'm taking the rest of the list in stride. The dishes will, in fact, get loaded at some point. Just not right now.