Warning... this is long... sorry, but we've been disconnected from the internet for over a week and this is my first chance to update everyone. Skim if you're in a hurry :) Pics of the new house are at the bottom.
We have arrived... but not without many adventures along the way!
The Packing & Loading
Bright and early on the morning of Monday, September 22nd (one day after Dave's 29th birthday), the moving crew came to pack up the house. We definitely were not ready for them to swoop in and take over all floors of our Dearborn house. We had barely gotten the kids dressed and fed and they were taking apart our kitchen table and trying to throw the dirty dishes into boxes. We finally got our heads on straight, dropped the kids off at my parents' house for the day and got to work guiding the packers. It took them all day to put our life into boxes and they kept on commenting on how much stuff we had crammed into our tiny house (guess the massive garage sale and charity donation didn't make much of a dent). In the end, we had nearly 150 boxes, not to mention the items that didn't fit in boxes.
On Tuesday, another crew came to load the truck. This was just about the saddest day of our lives. There were a lot of tears and it was so hard to see our house empty. This was the place where we started our marriage, had our 2 kids and created countless memories (ok, enough crying). But in the end, we knew that there was an exciting new adventure waiting for us in New Orleans. At 7pm, the moving truck pulled away and we said goodbye to our neighbors and went to dinner with our families before departing for the evening in Dayton, Ohio.
The LONG Drive
It's 1060 miles from Dearborn, MI to Mandeville, LA. 1060 miles with 2 kids, a dog, and a station wagon with a car top carrier is a LONG drive! We started out about 9:30 Tuesday night and stopped in Dayton for the night. The kids and the dog slept the whole way there, so that was an easy start. The next morning we woke up and got ready to go grab breakfast in the hotel lobby before hitting the road for Huntsville, AL. As we left the room, Zoe started screaming in her dog crate and creating quite a ruckess. And so the tone for the trip is set... learn to cater all rest stops and meals around the dog. I think we should have flown, but that's another story!
The drive on Wednesday to Hunstville went pretty smoothly. We did about 8 hours of travel in about 10 hours. Not bad considering quick potty breaks took 45 minutes each and we had to eat all of our meals in the car since the dog just wasn't having it when we tried to leave her for 5 minutes. Speaking of potty breaks, this was an awfully poopy trip... Abi had a dirty diaper in the car and we stopped at a gas station to change her. It wasn't very clean, so we changed her in the car. I put her on Dave's lap and proceded to change her. As soon as I got her diaper off, she looked at Dave and while her eyes were saying, "I'm sorry," she pooped right in his lap. Oops.
Before we left, Dave invested in dual screen DVD players for the car. These were our saving grace and quite possibly the best purchase we ever made. Joey and Abi were entranced by movie after movie and were quiet for most of the drive.
The following day we finished our drive, but not without adventure. The poopy trip continued when Joey stepped in dog poop before we left the hotel (why don't people clean up after their dogs?!). We didn't actually notice the poop on his shoe until about an hour into the trip. I thought I smelled something, but we were in the country so I thought nothing of it. Then I heard, "Mommy, clean me up." I knew I hadn't given Joey a messy snack or anything and to my horror, when I looked back at him, I saw dog poop smeared all over his hands, arms, legs, face. Yuck!
Finally got that cleaned up and we reached Mississippi. Dave and I were getting bored and decided to play the alphabet game. If you've ever been to Mississippi, you know that there is NOTHING for miles. We spend 1 1/2 hours looking for a word that started with the letter "Y."
We eventually reached New Orleans and it was only about 5:30, so we decided to go to Enterprise's airport brach, where Dave had parked his company car before coming home for the move. When we got there, we couldn't find his car so he went inside and inquired about his car. Guess they were running short on cars one day and decided to rent out his company car. His suits that he'd left in the trunk were removed and haphazardly thrown in an office. He was mad! So they set him up in a Malibu with the promise to retrieve his car ASAP.
Around 7pm, we finally got to the hotel. NEVER again will I make that drive! Whew!
Preparing For Our New Home
On Friday, Dave went to work for a half day while the kids and I hung out in the hotel. I spent the morning setting up the utilities for the new house. Fun, fun. After lunch, we got in the car and headed for the Northshore and the new house! We had our walk-thru and met the sellers (they were still moving out when we got there). And then we went and closed on the house. On Saturday, we set the kids up in the family room with the DVD player and set to work cleaning the house. The house was really in move-in condition, so all we did was clean the floors and the bathrooms. It's a much bigger house than the Dearborn house though, and hence takes a lot longer to clean. So we cleaned until we dropped, drove back to the Southshore for the night and then did the whole thing all over again on Sunday.
Moving In
The moving van came on Monday... oh, more adventures. First of all, our street comes to a T with the street that's perpendicular to us and then it dead-ends. So the moving truck couldn't get down the street. Our house is only 2 houses from the corner, so the truck parked at the corner and walked our stuff down the street into the house. But before they gave up on pulling onto our street, they nearly drove the semi into the ditch and tried to pull the stop sign out of the ground (FYI, it doesn't move). It was chaos, but all of our stuff was in the house by 3pm and the crew started to unpack the boxes. Joey decided to be a handy man and helped one of the movers (Trey) put all of the beds together. Thank God for Trey... he kept Joey entertained all day. Unpacking services were good to a degree. We got a lot put away in those few hours, but finally had to tell the movers to stop unpacking when they started throwing kitchen utensils and spices on the floor. Since then, we spent the rest of the week steadily unpacking and organizing. Nothing is hung on the walls yet and there are still a few boxes in the garage to go through, but we're getting there.
The Neighborhood
We seem to have nice neighbors here. Several people stopped by on moving day to introduce themselves and offer to run errands for us. There's a young couple next door with a 2 year old daughter that have been especially wonderful to us. They brought us a pie and a couple of evenings later, we had them over to share the pie. Joey enjoys playing with their daughter, Emma (they argued a lot, but that makes toddlers happy). They've been especially helpful with info on the area and they're having a fish fry for the neighborhood (in our honor) this Friday. There's nothing like Southern hospitality!
The Grocery Stores
Yes, they have Piggly Wiggly here (I know you all wanted to know that). From what we understand, there's one in the next town, but it's tiny and kinda gross. Basically, we have Rouses (a Louisiana chain) and Winn-Dixie. I did my shopping at Rouses last week and let me tell you, it was just about the best experience of my life. No matter where we live in the future, I will fly to NOLA to shop at Rouses. First, the store is very clean and updated with more than half of the store dedicated to fresh produce, meats, bakery, etc. Then, the staff is beyond polite. For those of you who shop at the Allen Park Meijer, have you ever encountered they woman that is ALWAYS stocking the cheese case? She is constantly in the way, doesn't move when you're trying to look for something and has actually told me to "MOVE!" if I took more than 10 seconds to select my cheese. Not at Rouses! I was walking down the frozen food section and there was a stock cart in the aisle I was walking down. It wasn't in my way, but an employee came swooping in from 3 aisles down (their low freezers and he could see me coming) and moved the cart. Then I got to checkout and they, get this, unload your cart for you! I've never experienced that in my life. They'll walk you to your car too and load your groceries in the car. I had to take full advantage of this b/c Abi got fussy and wanted to be held, so the bag boy (yes, they still have those) pushed the groceries to the car in one cart and the cashier pushes Joey in another cart and put him in the car for me. Don't you want to shop there too?!
Furniture
Moving is expensive! With more rooms, comes more furniture. On Saturday, we went shopping for furniture and got a sleeper sofa and chair for the family room and a dining room set and china cabinet for the dining room. Then on Sunday, we went out a got barstools for the breakfast bar. There's still more to buy, but we have to pace ourselves... just needed the essentials so you all have a place to crash when you come visit us... hint, hint.
Church
There are basically 2 Catholic churches in Mandeville and they're both very large. Last Sunday we went to Mary, Queen of Peace. It was a very nice church, but this weekend, they were opening a new church they had built (don't know what was wrong with the old one). We liked it and liked the Priest and Deacon. This weekend we went to Our Lady of the Lake, which is HUGE! It's not a big church, but they have 17,000 parishoners. The 10:30 Mass is so heavily attended, that they hold it in the school gym and don't seem to have plans to move it back to the church building. Don't know how we feel about that. We did like the Priest and Deacon there too. So for now, we'll switch on and off between churches and Mass times to find something that suits us and then make a decision on which church to join. Both churches are very active, so we can't lose either way.
Joey
Joey's doing pretty well. He's had a few temper tantrums along the way, but toddlers are so resilient! He loves the new house and his swings in the backyard. He's discovered the joy of twisting on the swing and letting himself untwist again. He found some of Dave's old model cars and has been having fun with those... moving brings out all kinds of things you forgot you had. He loves the little girl next door and he was making friends at church the last couple of Sundays. I think he'll be alright :) I'm pretty sure he misses everyone though and I don't think he quite gets that we're so far away.
Abi
She's crazy! Her middle name is no longer Therese, but Trouble. She's trying to walk and while she doesn't take more than a step or 2, her balance is amazing and it's only a matter of time. She has been babbling non-stop and as always, is happy-go-lucky. I have to sweep and vacuum the floors every day (which I've discovered, this is a huge house) since she loves to eat every piece of lint or fuzz that happens to be lying around (and when moving, lint is plentiful). She caught a cold last week (probably from the hotels), so we've been battling a yucky nose.
Zoe
She seems to like the house (and loves the carpet in the bedrooms and hall even more). Definitely likes the backyard. There are 3 dogs next door and there's a small gap in the fence where 2 of the neighbors' dogs stick their noses through, one on top of the other. Other than barking the the backyard, she's been pretty quiet, which is a relief after her constantly barking at the park through the last 5 years.
Lizards & Lovebugs
They're our new friends and they're definitely plentiful down here. While Dave was at work and we were in the hotel, I took the kids lizard hunting. Joey wanted to know all about the lizards' houses and families :)
The Weather
HOT! It's in the mid-80s here. The locals think it's cool and are wearing long sleeves and jeans. We're in tank tops. I definitely miss fall!
Overall
Overall, we seem to be settling in well. We finally have internet and we have our home phone back, so we feel more connected now. Dave is falling into a groove at work and we have some social functions with work coming up, so I'll be able to meet people there. Joey starts school Tuesday morning and we're praying that goes well for him. We miss everyone at home and we miss the Dearborn house, but we're adjusting and we know we'll see everyone at Thanksgiving. Well, it's getting late and I should get to bed. I'll keep updating this blog with info on the kids and the house (sorry this one was so God aweful long!).
Love, Kristen
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