I Don't Even Know Where to Begin. . .

What a gloriously splendiferous week.

I am pooped.  We're all pooped.

This moving is serious biz y'all. But you already knew that, right?  It has been so long [7 years] since our last move I had forgotten what all this entails.

But? It's ALL good. No. Good isn't enough. It is all GREAT. Better than great.

As I said it has been GLORIOUSLY SPLENDIFOROUS. :) [Evidently splendiferous is a real word. No red squiggly line underneath that one. Wow Spellcheck. Who knew?]

Anyhoodle - in an effort to save time and my sanity [trying to remember everything I want to tell you] I will just write a list of everything that has happened this week. Okay? Okay.

• The house is perfect.  I didn't think I could love a house like I love this one.  The family agrees.  I don't think I have ever seen Steven happier than I have this past week.  I swear I think he is pinching himself because he can't believe our good fortune that this is OUR home.  Wallene is completely and utterly in love with everything here in Orange.  It is such a relief knowing we did the right thing moving here.
• Speaking of Wallene - our child is amazing. Truly. I know you guys think I brag an inordinate amount about her, but the person she is and the things she does amaze me.   Her 16th birthday was this past Wednesday.  The second day in her new school.  Here we are 100 miles from her old friends, in a town where she has no new friends [yet] and her parents were scraping the bottom of their savings account to come up with a little something to make her birthday memorable. We had the usual Birthday Girl's choice for dinner and a homemade cake, with two very small presents [and by small - I mean not 16th birthday girl worthy] and I spent a lot of time in our bedroom crying for our baby because I just felt as tho' I had let her down, y'know? Through it all she smiled and laughed and told us that it was a great birthday. Perfect for her. Not one complaint uttered, or tear shed [on her part anyway]. No blame that we had taken her from her real home or her old friends. None of the screaming tantrums that everyone warns you about when your kid is a teenager. Just happy, happy. [Personally? I get tired of people "warning" me about what my kids are going to do when they hit a certain age.  Perhaps your kids did it, and you use it as an excuse, but mine? We'll just wait and see what MY kids do. All kids and parents are different - so I'll thank you to keep your warnings to yourself. And this is not directed to a single Tadpole or even an Anonymous reader - these are just real life friends and acquaintances that have been doing this since I popped the first kid out, okay? Don't email  me thinking I am talking about you. I'm not. giggle] Okay, so where was I?  Oh, Wallene, so yes. She had what she considered a great birthday. And I love her so much more for it.
• School is going really well for her too. She loves her new school.  Best part of my day is seeing her walk up the road to our house and then sitting on the front porch listening to her go on and on about her new friends and classes, etc.  We have discovered that Band Kids are the same all over. Kind, funny [my gawd Tadpoles these kids are FUNNY] and willing to embrace a newcomer like an old friend. Whew. So we dodged a bullet on thinking she was going to be lonely and friendless. On her third day of school she stayed after with a group of kids to just hang out and help with Marching Band practice.  Our only fail in moving here was we missed Marching Band Camp by 4 days, so she has to wait until next year to march.  No worries - they treat her like one of the team anyway [YAY!] and she is in Symphonic Band with them during classes.
• One final Wallene story and then I will get back to the house. She got her learner's permit on Saturday. Yep! My baby is driving now. She is so cute too. I have been letting her drive Ozcarz [I heard that collective gasp gang. hee] and she is so tense, thinking she is going to wreck him.  I keep telling her she won't and if she did we have awesome insurance so stop worrying.  She'll loosen up in time and I can already tell she loves driving [like her Momma] and will be really good at it soon.
• The house!  Have I mentioned how great this house is?  IT IS.  Steven said it reminded him of his childhood home and I had to agree. It reminds me of mine too.  It was built in the early 80s so it isn't all "open floor plan", high ceilings and bumpouts. It's just a simple brick rambler built on a basement [a HUGE basement mind you, to which we have taken to having wheelchair/roller chair races around the perimeter - too fun!]  The house is plain and simple, but still there is a sense of coziness about it.  The most amazing thing is all of our furniture looks as tho' it was made for this house. It fits wonderfully. I can't even begin to describe it, it just IS.
• Funny story about our first day here - Steven went north to meet the moving van while I went to the new house to wait and clean up a few things.  On my way to the house I had to go potty. The closer I got, the more I had to go. I zipped into the driveway, unlocked the door to our new, entirely empty home and dashed inside. Since I came in through the backdoor I had to go through a few rooms and a hallway to get to the bathroom. The house being so new [and it really isn't that big] I couldn't remember how to get there. I think I managed to visit every room in my quest to find it.  I did, obviously - but never having used the facilities in this home I didn't realize that these toilets were original to the house and therefore quite a bit lower than the new models most of us of used to now.  Guess what happened when I went to sit down where I am used to the seat being? Yep, missed it by a mile and cracked my tailbone on the way down. [Not literally, I am fine, but it was a gorgeous bruise for a few days. hee] I think my neighbors heard the bang when I hit it was so loud.
• This house didn't come with a washer or dryer. Not a big deal because there is a nice Laundromat in town and I can also go to the country house and use theirs, but. . .we actually found the deal of the year on Saturday. We didn't think we would be able to afford a set until after Christmas, but God is smiling on us because the set we found is practically brand new [I don't think they were ever used] without a ding or dent on them. All for the low, low price of $225. Can you believe that? I have been skippyhappydancing for two days over this.  I know, I know the weird stuff that excites me, but it does. And as an added Skippy bonus, just who do you think helped Steven unload the washer? Me! Yes, me! And while he was hooking it up Wallene and I dragged the dryer out of the van and put it in the basement next to the washer. Ta-Da. I can now do laundry in our own home. Yippeee!
• The lawn. Wow. Let me just say that our neighbors take lawn care very serious out here. It is a matter of pride to have a well mowed and maintained lawn.  Which is wonderful and makes our neighborhood extra specially pretty, but we were townhouse dwellers for years. We haven't had to mow a lawn in a decade, let alone even own a lawn mower. Not a problem. My very generous and beloved in laws told us to use the one at the country house. Wonderful, except we have a big yard. Big. Almost an acre. Everyone, and I mean everyone, here owns a lawn tractor.  We will have to be content with mowing our lawn with the push mower for now.  And to be honest Tadpoles, it does not suck.  Between the three of us we managed to mow it in a little over 3 hours.  And yes, that does say "the THREE of us" as in Yes, yours truly helped mow the lawn. I grew up mowing our lawn every week for years and I actually like mowing.  Steven and Wallene didn't want me to do it, and I admit to not being the biggest contributor to the entirety that was cut, but I did my share and by rotating we all got to take a break when we needed. It was pretty awesome Tadpoles. Preeeeeettty awesome. [Pain? What pain? HA!]

I guess that is all for now. I have to get Wallene up for school. Oh, speaking of the school - it is only 1 minute by car from here. So cool.  Walking to school takes 20 minutes and is really hilly, so I drive her in the morning [there is a school bus too, but the route is so circuitous that it is an HOUR long bus ride. ha. no.] and she walks home in the afternoon. Except I may start picking her up so she can practice driving the whole 1 minute home. ::grin::

Okay, gotta' scoot. I hope y'all have a wonderful week and everything is shiny, happy in your pond too.

We'll see ya' on the flipside! xo Janine