Stupid Internet

Still not totally up and running over in this corner of cyberspace. The router that the internet people gave us didn't work so they had to come back out and get us a new router. Finally got that on Tuesday. Now our wireless internet won't work. This means the only place I can access the internet is in the corner of my basement. It isn't exactly kid friendly down here at the moment so it isn't like I can just pop on for a second like I am used to doing. Paying bills, reading blogs, emailing people is now all restricted to the hours when the kiddos are sleeping until this gets straightened out.

So yeah, we moved. First off, thank you thank you thank you to every last one of you who helped out in any way with our relocation. I do plan to send out a little more personal thank you that just posting on my blog about it but first I have to figure out where we packed our thank you notes and stamps. Last Wednesday Greg's dad came down to help load boxes onto the UHaul. We weren't going to get the truck until Thursday but decided we would get it a day early to help relieve stress and have the peace of mind that it would all get done. Then Thursday the movers showed up an hour early. They were quick and will definitely get two thumbs up from me on their quality of service. When they showed up, I grabbed the kids and made a run for the backyard. Several people showed up to help out but at that point, our best bet was just to stay out of the way. I had been all stressed out thinking we wouldn't have anyone to help on Thursday to get the place packed up and then we ended up all just sitting around bored. After the movers left, we still had a few more things to pack up and some cleaning to do so we got to work on that. The kids had a good time riding their little riding toys around the empty house and we even were able to get them to take a nap (Marcus in his inflatable bed and Will in the pack 'n play). All our friends and family left around 3:00 and Greg, Marcus, Will, the pooch, and I walked around the house and said goodbye to all the empty rooms.
(Will saying bye-bye.)

I almost got teary eyed but it quickly passed. I guess I just always knew that that wouldn't be our forever house and I was really ready (and excited!) about what lay ahead.

I took some before and after shots of the house as we moved out. The before shots are from Wednesday morning. The after shots were from Thursday afternoon. Yep, we were busy.

Living Room



More Living Room



Game Room



More Game Room



Storage Room



We left Greg's car at the house. I drove the kids and the dog down to my parents' in the Jeep and Greg was driving the UHaul. He had to stop to get gas and was kinda stuck in the lot of the gas station, trying to figure out how to maneuver the big truck. Some older guy was watching him and Greg made some kind of "I don't know what to do" gesture towards the man. Then he realized the man was Mike Lang, the Pittsburgh Penguins announcer.

After we all arrived at my parents', we all went out to meet up with my friends Abbie and Jason who had helped us move (and sat around in the backyard with us all morning waiting for the movers to leave). Then it was back to my parents' for a shower and to go to bed. It was a little odd sleeping in my childhood bedroom with Greg, my two kids, and the pooch all crammed in there too.

Up early and back to Pittsburgh on Thursday. The kids were staying with my parents while Greg and I did the house selling/buying thing. First we closed on our old house. Everything went smooth on our side but the buyer was given some misinformation. Apparently everything was straightened out but we left when our stuff was done. We had to pick up Greg's car at the house formerly owned by us and then drive down to the house soon to be owned by us. Greg and I needed to do our final walk through of the house prior to the closing. We arrived at the new house before anyone else and wondered around the yard. Here is our first picture together at our new house.

Don't I just look so darling under our willow tree?

After walking around the lot for a few minutes, Greg and I settled onto the steps of our porch to wait for our agent, the selling agent, and the previous owner of the house to arrive. We saw a car pull down the street/driveway and were trying to figure out who it was. Four people got out. Two went to the other house on our street and two headed towards us. I almost got a case of the giggles when I realized it was two Jehovah's Witnesses. We didn't even own the house yet and they already found us! Shortly after they left, everyone we were expecting showed up. We did a quick walk through of the house. Our agent brought lunch for everyone so we stood around the kitchen island and ate. It was really strange. I was thinking how I was eating in my new house, but it wasn't my house, it was the woman who was standing over there's house, but not...

Off to the second closing where Greg and I signed our lives away so we could live here. Then back to my parents' to pick up the UHaul and then back to the house to start unloading. Everyone arrived at once - friends, relatives, the movers. I was feeling like I wasn't doing much of anything. Abbie and I hung out in the kitchen and unpacked while everyone else (relatives, friends, movers) huffed and puffed by us carrying heavy things. There wasn't much else I could do though. Everyone who walked into the house asked me where to put stuff so I had to be available, yet out of the way. I was feeling a little overwhelmed because I didn't have a clue where to put have the stuff. The movers would be standing there holding a giant couch and I was thinking, "I don't KNOW where to put it!! I don't KNOW where it will fit!!" Somehow we did get everything to fit, nothing substantial put away, and I ran off to my parents' to fetch my kids.

I had been talking about the new house for quite some time, trying to get them ready for it. We pulled up and Marcus started yelling, "NEW HOUSE!!" Out of the car they went and into the new house they climbed.

Everything was new and fun for the first two days. That made getting a little bit unpacked pretty easy. The kids just ran around and wore themselves out. The weather was nice enough that we just left the door to the deck open and they were in and out.

Saturday we went to Lola's birthday party. I was planning on moving my car around to the back of the house earlier in the day but when I tried to start it, nothing. I didn't have a clue who to call and didn't even have a phone book to try to figure it out. Couldn't get my car fixed until Monday anyway so that was a huge inconvenience. It was just the starter, still under warranty, and in and out once I got it there. I am just thankful that the started waited to go until after all our running around was pretty much over. Lola's party was fun. We didn't get to stay long though. Great food and the kids even got to pet some animals like a rabbit and a snake.

I guess that is about it. Just still trying to settle in. I keep forgetting when I leave my little world here at our new house, that I am back in my hometown. I haven't really lived here for 11 years and the town has changed a lot. I don't know where anything is. Here are a couple shots of the new house but I am trying to hold off until the place resembles something other than a box storage facility.

Great Room (Family/Dining/Kitchen)


Kids' Room (the only room that looks half decent at this point). We are planning on redecorating at some point but for now the original paint theme goes well. There is a built in bunk in the room that we left in but are currently not using.




Awesome attic, it runs the whole length of the house, has stairs to walk up to, and I can stand up in the middle. (Greg is too tall to stand upright there.)


View of the house from our front hillside