Only a few more hours till PAYDAY...AHEM...I mean till our STUFF arrives!!!

Tomorrow is the big day. We get paid! I mean...*ahem* our stuff gets here!! 8am, bright and early, we should be moving in furniture, boxes, small children (wait...those came WITH us, right?!)....actually I dont have to do anything but be bossy. So that's pretty darn easy for me, ain't it. My job: tell everyone where to put everything. This is like Shelley Heaven here, people. Seriously!

So I don't really have much else to say about yesterday or really today. Lots more shopping and blah blah blah. We DID get our washer and dryer, so I did three loads of laundry. But then we were disappointed in Costco...they have Cheerios, Corn Flakes, and Fiber One in bulk, but NO COUNT CHOCULA?!?! What is wrong with the world?!?!*hits head against wall*

So, since there's nothing really to say except how awesome Chipotle burritos are, here are a few pictures of the smallest love of my life.

That's right people, he has poofy hair. What a ham. Greg says he had poofy hair, and when he conditions his hair, it IS rather poofy..

Today I got my craft desk. YAAAY!! $20 on Craigslist!  Granted, it DID have tons of stickers on it, and his house smelled like weed...

So we brought it home, I got off MOST of the stickers, and since 99% of them were the clear plastic kind, they came off easy with no tearing or residue. I scrubbed the thing with bleach, and pondered if one of the drawers had something killed in it. I decided that would be the trash drawer. It actually cleaned up pretty nicely. It smells like wet wood right now because of all the scrubbing I did, but that will go away. I opened the window and turned on the fan cause the guest room reeked of bleach. It fits perfectly in the space it's supposed to go, it's super sturdy and solid, and it has a light in the hutch.

There, see? It hardly even looks like the same desk, all clean and purdy like that. I just need to goo-be-gone one little spot on the top drawer.

I guess thats it for now. Time to curl up with the laundry (gag) and then cross stitch. WOO. If you don't see me for a few days, it's cause my STUFF is coming tomorrow.

First Days in the New House

I know I'm new to this blogging thing, so I apologize for the very sad lack of informative pictures of my fist house project. I'll just have to describe what I did and you'll just have to use your imagination.

The first night was pretty nice. We got here around 5pm. I went to the home store to see if they had a bathroom set I liked for the kids bathroom, but sadly, no luck for me. I went to the Country Store, a big convenience store and got FIVE Bath and Body Works soaps for $15 total...that made me super duper happy!! I went to the Commissary and discovered the biggest grocery store I've ever seen....complete with a bakery and deli (Yuma doesnt have those at their commissary), and of course at low prices and tax free! I got some food for the next few days, not knowing when I can expect my kitchen stuff and having to get only things that I can make with the pot and skillet that I brought.

The next morning we went to get our FIRST washer and dryer. YAY!! It should be delivered today, at any minute. Then Greg took the kids while I went to Bed Bath and Beyond. Good heavens, I got stuff for two bathrooms and threw in a steam mop. It was fun till I got to the register. Then I hit up Target to get little things that I knew were cheaper there. On my way there, I discovered a Joanns and Michaels. I decided I was definately going to LOVE it here.

I went home and Greg wanted to go to a local arcade called Boomers. So I let him and Celeste go while I took Caleb to Michaels for my first house project. I needed something for that blasted kitchen wall above the stove...the wall comes flush with the cabinets so there's no way I can put anything there on top.

I decided to make the letters of FAMILY on their on canvases to hang on that wide wall. I got six 8x8" canvases, wooden letters, three sheets each of two different coordinating scrapbook papers, two sheets of paper for the letters, mod podge, stensils, fragile crackle, and burnt umber acrilic paint. I tore the papers in half, then randomly mod podged two on one canvas. I've never worked with mod podge, but I decided after figuring out the best way not to get air bubbles in there, that I generally enjoy this kind of craft. I painted the stensils on and the sides with the burnt umber. I did the same for the letters, but instead of stensiling, I lightly sponged on the paint on the sides. I put fragil crackle on everything before gluing the letters on and hanging them. The whole thing took two days, between drying things, painting things, playing with my kids, using my steam mop (which i LOOOOVE), etc.

That is how it turned out. I got some kitchen towles to match it (and the whole time made sure I matched the rugs that will be going in there when we get our stuff). Anyways, here's the kitchen as of last night.

Today we get our washer and dryer, so I get to do loads of laundry and sort out this huge mess upstairs. The downstairs is very clean, tidy and steam mopped. The upstairs has clothes and trash scattered everywhere, mainly because we dont have trash cans or laundry baskets. Oh well. We're going to get the movie Tangled today, with the digital copy. Boo-ya.

The Big Move

So far, this has been the best move I've ever had. The first dayof the move, two men came to our house to pack everything in boxes. What was my job? Take care of the kids. That's less work than I do on a daily basis. During nap time, I just worked on my cross stitch while these guys packed everything in boxes. I watched them wrap everything in 3 sheets of moving paper before putting them in boxes, even a slipper!! By around 2pm, most of the house had been packed, and the men called the company asking if we could move the pick up date to the next day. After calling three different people, it was a go and the move was rescheduled for Friday the 25.
Meanwhile, poor Maxx Cat got ringworm on his ear, so I took him to the vet, where they gave him a lime sulfur bath. Not only was he bright yellow afterwards, but he smelled like rotten eggs and cat pee (not because he peed on himself, but because that's just what the bath smells like). What a joyous event. He stunk up the bathroom that first day, but over the next few days the smell eventually got better.
Friday was moving day. The same two packers came at 7:45am, with the driver and the biggest moving truck I have ever seen. One of the packers told me it is a 42ft truck, and it's not even the biggest!! They'll load a few people's houses into the truck before driving it to San Diego.We only filled a third of it at the most. They got done at around noon, and our house was soo empty..and strange.

Melanie came over to help clean the house. I seriously have the best cousin EVER. Not only did she come help clean, but she made it FUN. Greg was MIA the whole time...as soon as the cleaning began, he had...uuhh, errands...to run. Yeah. But he DID have to repair nail holes and paint them. I got to go on a date with my cousin and kids to Applebees (romantic, eh?), and then Melanie volunteered to take Celeste and Caleb home while Greg and I finished cleaning. three hours later......Greg got the kids at 10pm.
We stayed in a hotel that night, and borrowed Melanies playpen for Caleb. The next morning we went to Melanie's house to say goodbye. Super sad!! Celeste found a kindred spirit in her son Nathan, since both of them were super affectionate. He would brush her hair out of her face, she would hug and snuggle him, it was sweet.

Then the kids brought out the sleeping bag cause Greg spins them really fast in it. Of course, anone who knows Greg knows that children naturally flock around him. This was no exception.

Greg is UNDERNEATH the pile of kids. Of course, Jane was, as always, all over Caleb most of the time. That little girl needs a sister, I swear.

After saying goodbye and promising to visit, we headed off to the uhaul to get the trailer for Gregs car. We loaded up the truck...a trailer, car, four people, a dog, a cat, and a truck bed full of household items (clothes, cleaning products, anything the movers didnt take, cooler for fridge and freezer things, etc), locked all the doors, put all the keys in the house for Uncle Larry (who has his own keys), put the garage door openers on the counter, and Greg shut the garage door making sure to jump over the sensor and we were off to our new adventure in San Diego (part 2).

Our New Home

It is the last third of the month of March. In the year 2011, we have DRIVEN to Oregon and back, Phoenix and back, Vegas and back, Phoenix and back, Tombstone and back, Vegan and back, Phoenix and back, and now our newest adventure: San Diego and back. It was a fast overnight visit, with the sole purpose of looking at our new house, checking in, and beginning my insane planning project.

I didn't call Greg and tell him we got there safely. I just sent him this picture:

We walked down the street one house away to the wonderful park at the end of the culdesac. It was so beautiful, on a hill covered in GREEN GRASS with a view of the ocean.

Our house was amazing, I couldn't believe how amazing the house was.

It is huge inside, with a nice open floorplan. I guess the only thing I'm not TOO fond of is the fact that it's a WHITE kitchen;  cabinets, floor, countertops...UG.  But it IS a bigger kitchen than we've ever had, with a pantry and everything.
We spent the day filling out the paperwork on the house, noting any imperfection we could. Then we went to the large appliance store to check out washers and dryers. After five years of marriage, we're getting our own washer and dryer. Then we realized we needed to find a futon NOW cause it was about 6pm and most furniture stores close at 7pm. We finally settled on a futon from Walmart, that was very much like the one I got in college, used as our first couch, and gave away to a friend years ago. The most ironic part was that we were looking for a futon store, and none were in sight, but today when we stopped by Best Buy, we discovered a futon store right next door, five miles away from base. Oh well. Cheap futon from Walmart is fine for our guest room that no one will ever visit.
This morning we cleaned up, packed up, and I got to spend a few minutes meeting our new neighbors. There are so many kids running around our culdesac, Celeste just jumped onto a random tricycle and started rising it around the culdesac. Celeste was actually kind of tired by the time we started our drive home.

Then we saw these super weird clouds that looked like fish.

We got home and went to work, getting everything off the walls and windows, doing 5 loads of laundry, dishes, packed some clothing, cleaned out the bathroom, got four full garbage bags of trash to throw away, it was pretty riddiculous. I think there are only a few more things to do around here, but I'm off to bed. We'll get up at 6:30am tomorrow for the movers and get anything else done.
As for now, goodnight!

This Day is NOT My Day

Today was the last day before we begin the move. Since I'm dragging the kids to SD tomorrow to take a look at the house and begin planning where everything goes (OK......by 'begin', I'm pretending I haven't been staring at the floor plan for hours every day for the past month), I decided I would take care of the car before the movers came to survey the house. Before I even got out the door this morning, I had to change Caleb's clothes three times. I knew it was going to be a super awesome day when the kitten had a dingleberry that fell on the floor in fron of my 8 month old son, who's curiosity is even more powerful than his sense of smell apparently. Luckily, the cat poo did NOT end up in his mouth. I just had to scrub his hands and change him. Fun times.
The first errand on my list was redeeming a free mini detailing on my car from the dealership. I figured it would take maybe 15min tops and I might as well use it while we're still here. Apparently a mini detailing includes detailing the inside, outside, and engine, and takes an hour-ish. I was holding a squirming fussing, screaming, teething, tired, hungry baby, and realized I even managed to walk out the door without his food. Awesome! He screamed at me for an entire 55min before finally falling asleep in my arms only to be woken up 5min later cause the car was ready. Celeste was another challenge entirely. I think that girl has ants in her pants because even though she was watching TV, she kept dancing/running/skipping around the entire room and talking nonstop. The only good thing about the entire trip was that we were the only ones in the waiting area the whole time except an old man who was there for about 15min. I decided to go home before attempting to get the tires changed. I needed a break!!
We got home at around noon, and my friend Connie came over to collect the blanket I made for her son. I told her about my horrible day and felt better laughing about it with her. At 1pm, a man from the moving company came to our house to survey our things and make a list of what we have and what they need to bring. It's so nice having someone come pack all our things for us. The guy was really nice and funny and told me all sorts of stories about other homes.
Caleb took a great nap, and while he was sleeping, Greg kept calling and sending me pictures of the new house. He got the keys today!

So the entire hectic crazy day, I kept getting pictures of different aspects of the house, like my new kitchen.

So I went on with life as usual. Took the grumpy kids to Discount Tires to get *shock* new tires for my car. I knew it would be a lot of money, so I had tried to convince Greg to get two at a time per pay check to spread out the expense, but he apparently thought it would only be about $100. Yea....per tire! So Now grumpy kids and I were at the tire store. But here's a picture of the dining/family room!

I was a little concerned about spacing, since we have a nice large table with matching china hutch, and nice entertainment center and couch and chair and large bookcase for the DVDs, but I decided if we get rid of the coffee table (which we dont need and have been thinking of getting rid of anyways), we can put the sofa perpendicular to the stairs to separate the rooms, and the TV against the far wall. But on the plus side, the kids have an amazing view in their room. Celeste will be soooooooo thrilled.

I can't wait to see it tomorrow! We're going to get a futon, a washer and dryer, and maybe look at some other furniture tomorrow for my formal living room. :)
After the tire store, I stopped by the grocery store to grab some brownies (dont judge, I had a rough day!). After eating delicious SUPER HEALTHY soup, I had a brownie. Or two.  And now I finally got the grumpy kids in bed and it's time for me to have a love affair with the recliner, Netflix, and cross stitch. Not for too long, I have to get an early start tomorrow so I can see this freakin house!
Cheers!

New Start

We are moving this week. Tonight is my last night as a Yuma resident.

Three years ago, the Marine Corps moved us to Yuma Arizona. Greg's uncle let us rent his house, about ten miles away from the base.

Our time here has been amazing; being close to our family in Phoenix, and being close to San Diego for vacations. We made lots of friends, we've gone through a ten month deployment, I found the perfect job, we got a dog, lost a cat, had another baby, lost a father, lost a grandfather, and got another cat.

Three years have been good to us, and now it is time for a new beginning. Tomorrow I will be taking our children, Celeste (4yrs) and Caleb (8mo) to San Diego to join Daddy at Camp Pendleton. Over the next week, we will be going back and forth between Yuma and San Diego, but this time next week, this house will be cleaned, repaired, and keys handed back to our Uncle.
Thus begins the Hill Family Adventures in San Diego Part II.