One of the adventures that comes with moving is getting used to a whole new grocery store.  Earlier this week, we stopped in at Price Chopper to sign up for their rewards program and pick up some groceries.  Who knew a quick trip to the store could be so entertaining.

Diet Foods and Candy in the same aisle – someone has a sense of humor.

Perky Jerky.  The first performance enhancing meat snack.  It’s caffeinated beef jerky and contains the same amount of caffeine as two energy drinks.  No, we did not purchase the Perky Jerky – we just took its picture and moved on down the aisle to where we found these gems.

Dave was powerless to resist.

We’re getting there, slow and steady, but we are getting there.  It was a bit overwhelming at first with all of the mislabeled, poorly packed boxes.  Plus, for some reason I had the mindset that I needed to get everything unpacked right away.  Adam is in the expert care of Aunt Stacy and my parents and I just felt like it all needed to be done NOW, before the two foot terror officially moved in.

This go, go, go mindset was not only unrealistic (we need to get closets in place still), but also unnecessary.  Plus, as I’m sure Dave will attest to, it made me miserable and cranky.  So I’m trying to relax.  The kitchen is 97% in order (we’ll be finishing that tonight), the little dude’s toys are waiting for him in the family room, and his crib is all set up (just need to wash his blankets).  We have beds to sleep in (the air mattresses have been officially retired) and the furniture is all in the rooms it belongs in.

So we’re in pretty good shape.  I just need to keep reminding myself that it will all eventually get done and it should be a fun process.  We’re moving in to our first real home and we should enjoy this experience.  If it takes a week or two to get all of the boxes unpacked, that’s fine.  If people come over to see our new place and there are a few cardboard boxes and totes piled up that’s okay too.  The world won’t stop spinning if I take an hour or two to relax on the couch with my husband and watch TV.  And really, it’s something we both need.  These past couple of months have been a whirlwind and it’s good for both of us to have a little bit of downtime.

We’re in the midst of unpacking.  By my calculations we should have everything out of boxes and put away two months before it’s time to move again.  That’s just a guess though.

The unpacking is not going well.  Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.  Basically the crew that packed up our things in Virgina was Horrible (with a capital “h”, but you’re reading this, so you already knew that).

Here are some of the highlights:

– A box labeled “Kitchen”, it contents included an afghan, some shoes, and darts.

– Food items packed in the same box as household cleaner and two garbage cans (needless to say we threw a lot out).

– Adam’s baby seat was packed inside of our large outdoor trash can (thankfully it’s made of a material I’ll be able to easily disinfect, but still, it’s a baby item – in a trash can?!?).

– They packed 50 lbs worth of weights in the bottom of a box and then added books on top of it – brilliant.  The poor guy that had to carry it off of the truck just about fell over.

– A box labeled “stuffed animals” contained the contents of Dave’s desk.

Most of the boxes were used in at least one other move (sometimes two or three) so the boxes have other family’s names on them and content descriptions – not at all helpful to me.   We couldn’t even have them put the boxes in the right room when they were unloading.  It’s making unpacking very difficult since we have no idea what to expect inside each box.

That doesn’t even touch on the things we’ve found that are broken due to poor packing.  It’s been a pretty upsetting and stressful time for me.  I am fully aware that they are just “things” and not at all important in the grand scheme of things.  But, they’re our things and to see items we care about ruined for no other reason that the negligence of “professional” movers is really disheartening.

That box says, “Nice L/R (living room) Shade, Do Not Crush”.  I don’t even want to think about what the box would look like if it didn’t have that warning on it.

The day after we closed on the house we had the flooring guys come over to take measurements.  They took a peek under the existing carpet and realized that the floor beneath it was made of particle board.  This wouldn’t have been a problem if we were planning on recarpeting the upper level, however they can’t nail hardwood floors in to particle board, it has to be plywood.

So Dave was in charge of tearing out the particle board on the entire upper level (minus the kitchen and two bathrooms).  That I think was the first unexpected project that was added to the already lengthy “Honey-Do” list.  The pile of debris shown in the photo below was from just one of the bedrooms.

It wasn’t long after this photo was taken that we started looking around on the internet for a place to rent a dumpster.  We called bright and early Monday morning, and two hours later this was in our driveway.

So here’s the first before and after comparison for you – see if you can spot the difference between these two photos.

Did you find it?  That would be 2.04 tons of fun.  The dumpster turned out to be a really good idea.

I think I’ll start off by listing some of the house-wide changes that have taken place in the last two weeks.  That will keep me from having to repeat myself on a room-by-room basis (though it might happen anyway, I like to talk and I’m pretty excited about how nice everything looks).

The previous owners had a very eclectic collection of switch-plates and outlet covers.  There were plain metal and plastic covers (in white and various shades of beige), there were decorative wooden covers in several designs, there were also some fancier silver and brushed nickel plates.  Some rooms even boasted a mix of covers.  It was truly a treat for the eyes and an electrician’s nightmare.

However this beauty was easily the pièce de résistance (and Dave’s favorite).

I think it needs to find a new home in the garage.  We’ve already replaced it with a nice, boring, white rectangular plate that matches all the others.  All of the outlets are being changed as well to tamper resistant ones (have to keep our curious little guy safe).  They are so tamper resistant that I can’t use them.  I’m sure I’ll get used to them, but Dave had to plug my laptop and phone charger in for me.

We have repainted almost all of the rooms in the house.  The three bathrooms are the only ones that still need to be done.  Before we started though we noticed something odd about the ceilings.  In most of the rooms the ceiling was painted the same color as the walls.  We had green ceilings and blue ones, there were off white ones and I think even a purple one.  The kitchen and the laundry room were the only two rooms that actually had white ceilings.  So with the help of a paint sprayer, my wonderful, fantastic, amazing (get the idea?) father-in-law repainted them white (he painted the insides of the closets too).  His reward –  our extreme gratitude, the satisfaction that comes from a job well done, and really sore arms.  The end result was awesome though – the rooms look so much brighter and nicer.

It really is incredible how much of a difference paint and proper lighting make.  The rooms look so fresh and new now.  The family room in particular was really dark and dated.  It is probably the room that saw the biggest transformation.  Even something as simple (and inexpensive) as cleaning the recessed lights and putting in the proper wattage of light-bulbs made a huge change in the appearance of the room.

Another design element that contributed to the dark feeling in the family room was the dark brown mini-blinds on the windows.  We’ve taken those down (along with the light blue ones and dark green ones in the upstairs bedrooms) and will be replacing them with plain white ones.  So if anyone has a hankering for some fun colored blinds let me know, I can help you out.

I should probably state here that I’m not really trying to mock the previous owners’ tastes (too much).  They took wonderful care of this house and we’re very thankful for that.  The pride they had in the house was evident the moment we first walked in the door.  We really didn’t have to do anything to the house if we didn’t want to – it was in great shape and we could have just moved right in.  The changes we’ve made were mostly cosmetic and have really made this house feel like our home.

Two semi-inflated (or deflated – depending on if you’re a glass is half full or half empty type of person) air mattresses resting on top of one another, do not make for a good night’s sleep.

Yep, we have two air mattress with leaks.  One is 5 years old and we knew it had a hole in it.  The other was just a month old and did not have a hole in it – at least not until Dave made it his mission to bounce me off of it.  He tried (unsuccessfully) several times to jump on the air mattress, hoping the force would result in my being catapulted off of the other side.

So last night we blew up both mattresses and stacked them on top of each other – thinking that might help keep us off of the floor.  I am pretty sure the bounced on one is completely flat right now.  It was a very squishy bed.  It’s a good thing I’m not prone to sea sickness.

Thankfully the movers are delivering our things this morning (they should be here before 8).  I wonder if I can convince them to bring my bed in first and then, very quietly, unload the rest of the truck while I go back to sleep…

I know I’ve been negligent when it comes to talking about a pretty big recent event.

Don’t worry, I’ve been taking pictures and will be putting together before and after comparison shots of the rooms.  It doesn’t even look like the same place we closed on two weeks ago.  Thank you again to my awesome father-in-law for everything!  We definitely couldn’t have done it without you.

This was our big gift to Adam for his first birthday.  Dave put it together last night and the little man absolutely loves it.

The pole in the back has a handle so that we can push the car while he “drives”.  It’s a pretty neat little car – the gas cap comes off, the door opens, it even has a radio, turn signals, and a horn.

I am betting we’ll be putting a lot of miles on this thing.  He didn’t want to get out of it last night.

Happy Birthday Adam – don’t expect the same treatment when you turn 16.

Dear Adam,

It took me forever to decide what I wanted to do after high school.   I knew I’d be going to college, but had no idea what to major in.  I thought about being a math teacher, a veterinarian, a journalist, a nurse…  I considered just about every profession out there and nothing seemed to fit.  The only thing I knew for certain that I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom.

I’ve always known I wanted to have children someday.  It was never a question for me.  When I found out I was pregnant with you I prayed each day for a healthy and happy baby.  That was all I asked for.  It didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl, or what color your hair or eyes were.  I just wanted a healthy, happy child.  Those prayers must have been heard, because I got exactly what I ordered.

You are by far the happiest baby I’ve ever met.  That’s not just a proud parent bragging either, everyone that sees you has the same opinion.  I have had so many different people (friends, relatives, strangers) comment on what a happy baby you are.  A lot of time they ask if you’re always in such a good mood and truthfully you really are.  Your daddy and I have been so blessed by you.

I only have one complaint – you’re growing too darn fast.  It seems like every time I turn around you’re learning something new or passing another milestone.  It doesn’t seem possible to me that you’re turning a year old today.  The past 365 days have gone so quickly.  Yet at the same time, it feels like you’ve always been here.  So while part of me is thinking, “I can’t believe my baby is one”, there’s another part that can’t believe it’s only been a year since we first met you.

And so here we are on your very first birthday, and I find myself thanking you for the gift you have given me.  You made me a mommy, and that is by far the most amazing present I have ever received.  I am so honored that I get to parent such an incredible little boy.  Being your mother is easily the best thing I have ever done.

Happy Birthday Adam.  Thank you, not only for being you, but also for making me, me.  I love you so much more than I will ever be able to express with words.

Love,

Mommy

Adam is really loving the little pool we set up for him.  He especially likes it when Aunt Stacy gets in there with him.  She’s teaching him all sorts of fun things – like how to blow bubbles in the water and how to kick and splash.

He’s a big fan of the splashing.