The Night Before the Big Day

Tomorrow is Ben's first day at Schell Games!! We are so excited. We might even be a little nauseous about it.

Today was spent putting books away,

and hanging things on the walls. Ben's suggestions got goofier and goofier as time went on. I've made a new art piece about it.

I call it "How to Tell When Your Spouse is Bored with Hanging Things on Walls."

We've spent the last couple days close to home, only wandering out a bit to get things like screws and nails and groceries. Yesterday evening I took the kids out to run around our yard. I figured I could easily enough play with the kidlets for a bit and then scoot them back inside without anyone seeing me in my exhausted and unshowered state. Let me tell you, I WAS MISTAKEN.

Apparently this is an area where people do this thing called "being neighbors" and OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT but I wish I'd had a cup of coffee and a bath before I'd stepped outside.

So, I got to make some stilted conversation with what felt like at least 50 people but was probably just 3. My memory of the whole thing is pretty fuzzy. Like I said, I was exhausted. I remember no names, maybe not even faces. My only clear memory is the moment I realized that I was suddenly the uptight mom. I was unprepared for the fact that all the kids play together up and down the street and I kept trying to (fruitlessly) keep my kids within "snatching from danger" distance.

I'm not sure I've ever been the uptight mom before. I didn't like it. 

I guess we'll be doing this "neighbors" thing now too! It's all the rage.

Playing Catch Up

IT LIIIIIIIIVES!

The wi-fi, I mean.

Keeping Our Relationship Interesting

We have been unpacking all day and it is ever so slowly starting to feel like a home in here. I'm still only going to give you one picture though because I like to keep the mystery alive.

Also because we still haven't set up our internet and we've almost maxed out our data plan on our phones.

On a related note, Ben and I are going to write another novel together. It's called What the Eff: The Case of the Missing Modem. There is no solution to the mystery just page upon page of relentless searching and frustration. Also the characters will max out their phones' data plans.

To make up for the suckitude of that plot I will now share a bonus image of two blondes going for a scenic drive while sipping coffee.

D'awwww.

Until next time!

Moving Day, Part 2

Nnnngh.

Too tired. Can't word. Here's a cute picture.

See you tomorrow.

Moving Day, Part 1

Today Ben and my dad drove the truck up to Pittsburgh, got the keys to the townhouse, and then did all the hard work of unpacking the truck.

Then dad immediately turned around and made the long trek back to Woodbridge since he has work in the morning. Yowch. Talk about a labor of love!

Ben is now spending his first night in the house by himself and before you feel too bad for him I just want to remind you that he gets to sleep in so it's still up for debate who got the better end of this arrangement.

Just kidding though because while these guys were working to the point of exhaustion and then working some more I was doing some arduous page turning. 

Tomorrow the kids and I head up to our new home! And it looks like my mom will even get to come with us and stay for a day or two. Huzzah!

Until next time!

XoxOoXx

Good News, Everyone!

We got the house!! We are sitting in my parents' basement, signing papers, and I've got this weird Déjà Vu feeling...

Schell Games

I got to see where Ben is going to be working! I got to meet some people, was given a tour, and then we were taken out to lunch. Everything was fantastic. Fan.Tas.Tic.

And the whole office is lit up by these huge windows that face the Monongahela River and Pittsburgh Skyline. 

I am very excited for Ben and for the longevity of our stay here.

We put in the application for the townhouse but haven't heard back yet (and so probably won't until tomorrow). We weren't able to see the apartment in Aspinwall like we were hoping, so at this point we are without a back-up plan since we have to move in (somewhere, anywhere) on Wednesday.

Tonight we are heading back to the DC area to get our three oldest kiddos and the moving truck that we left parked at my parents. 

Will we get the one place we've found that is move-in ready? Will we be doing some absurdly creative thinking for where to put all our stuff while we continue to hunt? Will we even physically be capable of moving all that stuff out of our truck without any help?

TUNE IN NEXT TIME!

Not Exactly a Day of Rest

Ben and I weren't expecting to be shown any properties today because it is a Sunday but much to our delight we were able to get ahold of the owners/managers of three properties who were available.

The first place we saw was right on the edge of a high crime area of the city, but the house itself was well kept and was right at the top of a hill and had a great view of the city.

Except it turned out that we had the wrong address and the house we were actually being shown was a run down half of a duplex with no yard.

Thankfully the owner had a second property he was able to show us which was slightly more promising, but I do mean slightly. It is on our "maybe" list...at the very, very bottom.

Then we drove for a good bit to a suburb south of Pittsburgh. The houses were old but well maintained. We were shown a property that had four bedrooms and a nice sized yard (Sadly, no pictures). It didn't smell so great but we were willing to make it work. Then, at the very end of our viewing it came out that no pets were allowed. *facepalm*

At that point I was feeling pretty discouraged. We did still love the townhouse end unit from the previous day...

...but had really been hoping to have at least a couple options to choose from. We realized we needed a mental break so we went and explored the city a bit. We also got our official citizenship cards.

And OH MY WORD a grocery store with free babysitting?!?? Has anyone ever heard of something so wonderful? I thought I was going to be seriously missing Publix but thankfully Giant Eagle is just as awesome (dare I say more awesome?).

After that Ben and I just trawled around the neighborhoods we want to live in, looking for realty signs, talking to people who lived there, and calling as many realtors as we could. 

Okay, I lied. Only Ben did the calling and talking. I just stewed quietly in social anxiety and tried not to look completely freaked out by talking to strangers.

We've decided to go ahead and apply for the townhouse. Tomorrow our only concrete plans are to be shown an apartment in a neighborhood we love (Aspinwall) and to go visit Ben's new workplace.

Never before has anywhere Ben's worked expressed an interest in meeting me and showing me around. What a hopeful sign that this is a place we will want to stay!

Despite the discouraging day of house hunting I am still loving this city more and more. I can't wait to really call it home!

House Hunting is Hard

I'm writing from a hotel couch that is so comfortable I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make the three foot walk over to the bed. In fact, Ben is right next to me, completely sound asleep. We had a pretty long day driving all over Pittsburgh looking, looking, and looking some more. 

We found one property that we like (pictured on the right) but it's at the top of our budget while also being the farthest we would want Ben to have to commute to/from work. We are interested in it but also want to look around a little more since there are places that both cost less and are within walking distance from his work.

The good news is we are really getting to know the city and we love it! 

 

It still doesn't feel real that this will be our new home city! It has a lot of our favorite things, including great Thai food, which is what we grabbed for dinner before crashing on the hotel couch.

Boris can make some mean Thai curry. Thanks for the recommendation, Brenda! Now to wake the beast and make the arduous trek to bed.

Until next time!

View from a place that isn't good for kids

Won't be living here but at least we got to see the view!

Here We Go

I wanted to start this blog with eloquent words but as it turns out I have none available. They must have gotten packed up with all our stuff. Hopefully I'll find them later!

We have successfully moved out of Gainesville thanks entirely to the overwhelming number of people who helped us. (Thank you all! Again and again!)

Now our next step is to find a place in Pittsburgh to move into, and to that end Ben and I have a weekend of house hunting ahead of us. But for right now I am going to do as much damage as possible to a rack of ribs. Turns out looking at properties makes one ravenous.

Until next time!