The eagerly anticipated drive to Pennsylvania finally arrived last Saturday. Due to inexplicable FOG in West Texas in MAY, hubby's parents (our other driving duo) arrived late, and so did the start of our trek. If you are from Houston, or are currently living there, you might be familiar with the Gulf Frwy/610 intersection. After a missed exit, because I called him to see where he was, hubby got stuck on on-ramps, off-ramps, and U-turns in a truck that accelerates slower than a snail. Needless to say, our drive started off on the wrong foot, and then we stubbed our toe.
Finally in the car, we hit I-10 and hoped our butts wouldn't hurt long before they went numb.
Southern Louisiana is just not pleasant and I am glad I don't have to live there. I decided on that stretch of highway that I needed to look up the difference between swamp and marsh. We headed north and saw our first night's hotel get farther and farther away. Near delirium around 1 am, we pass Chunky, MS (a place hubby said it might be nice to retire) we saw a sign, 30 miles. The longest 30 miles of my life.
After not nearly enough sleep, we were up again on Sunday for the longest day of driving, oh great, with red rimmed eyes and not enough coffee. Hubby and I drove in the truck, or rather bounced our way along the highway. Once out of Texas we enjoyed the views of hills and trees. Unfortunately, our truck nearly had a heart attack at every incline, and we might as well have been pushing for all the progress we made. I did my best to avoid the faces of those passing us.
Somewhere in Alabama we pass Eutaw, and I thought of my friends from Utah. We also stopped at a very peaceful and beautiful rest stop. I shooed us out of there as quickly as possible, no time to admire nature when you still have 10 hours to go! Some time later, we made a driver switch and hubby and I took over the car with the children (who were so good during the drive!)* and headed out ahead of the truck to check in at the next hotel. I had the last leg of driving, since dear old hubby had bounced along in the truck for 8 hours. An hour or two before our last night stop on the road we passed Hungry Mother State Park, and of course it made me hungry.
You know you've been in the car too long when a 7 hour day makes you feel relieved and you start saying things like, "So short!", "We'll be there in no time." I felt every minute of that 7 hours. We finally pull up to my mom's house, stretch our legs, start to relax and then look at the packed truck. It made me want to throw up.
Three days post drive and things are better. The kids are sleeping through the night and have adjusted to east coast time. The truck is unloaded and returned. We finally got all the pieces to our bed, with only three trips to the storage unit. I still can't find the kids' cups, bowls, and plates, and I have high hopes of unpacking before we pack for graduation in three weeks. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. We made it without any car trouble, we are all healthy, and I saw 44 state license plates on the road!
*I felt bad for baby girl, I couldn't even explain to her that the drive would end. Day after day we strapped her in. At least E knew we were going somewhere! I expressed concern over L sleeping all day and not at night. I had nothing to worry about. She took her two naps, was awake in between, had a normal bedtime in the car and made the switch to the hotel like it was all normal. God's grace is so good!
07 May 2009
24 April 2009
08 April 2009
05 April 2009
Words, finally!
I felt guilty not posting anything, so I was posting one liners and random pictures. Now I feel guilty for posting such lame things, although L is pretty cute!
Since finding out where residency matched we have been busy waiting for the paperwork to make it through the mail, listing the house, cleaning the house, preparing to move, saying goodbyes, traveling the state, etc.
Most people ask where we matched and if we are happy. We're going to Delaware and since it was on our rank list as #1 we are very excited! After hearing we are going to Delaware, the jist of the most popular follow-up question is "Delaware, they have programs there?" Really people, Texas is "The Lone Star" state and Delaware is "The FIRST State," you should learn more about it!
In regards to the house, it has been listed less than a month with a high volume of showings, so I remain guardedly optimistic that it will sell any day now. Our realtor is great and is probably tired of me calling her. For the past couple of weeks I was starting to feel like we were living in our car. I tried to be out of the house as much as we could stand in case she called about a showing. Two kids means lots of messes all over the house that I just couldn't clean up for a showing in twenty minutes! We plan to spend time at the lake so the house can stay abnormally clean and we can live normally.
Having a house on the market means our two car garage is now a one car garage/storage unit for all the clutter that is not appealling to home buyers. I already forget what is in most of the boxes out there. Perhaps we don't really need any of it! I was almost getting used to the abnormal cleanliness of our house. Normal people, even home buyers, live with a modicum of dirt, so why do we have to vacuum our baseboards?! Well, my wonderful husband did that, and I hope everyone notices!
The kids are doing well. Things stabalized around the house, as far as cleaning and painting, so E settled back into a routine. Once we start the major packing we might have a tough couple of weeks. L is happy if she is on your hip, which makes mommy and daddy tired. We had a few break through nights of full sleep, then her two hour timer kicked in. I'm hoping it was a bellyache because after five dirty diapers in one day, I hope she sleeps better tonight!
Since finding out where residency matched we have been busy waiting for the paperwork to make it through the mail, listing the house, cleaning the house, preparing to move, saying goodbyes, traveling the state, etc.
Most people ask where we matched and if we are happy. We're going to Delaware and since it was on our rank list as #1 we are very excited! After hearing we are going to Delaware, the jist of the most popular follow-up question is "Delaware, they have programs there?" Really people, Texas is "The Lone Star" state and Delaware is "The FIRST State," you should learn more about it!
In regards to the house, it has been listed less than a month with a high volume of showings, so I remain guardedly optimistic that it will sell any day now. Our realtor is great and is probably tired of me calling her. For the past couple of weeks I was starting to feel like we were living in our car. I tried to be out of the house as much as we could stand in case she called about a showing. Two kids means lots of messes all over the house that I just couldn't clean up for a showing in twenty minutes! We plan to spend time at the lake so the house can stay abnormally clean and we can live normally.
Having a house on the market means our two car garage is now a one car garage/storage unit for all the clutter that is not appealling to home buyers. I already forget what is in most of the boxes out there. Perhaps we don't really need any of it! I was almost getting used to the abnormal cleanliness of our house. Normal people, even home buyers, live with a modicum of dirt, so why do we have to vacuum our baseboards?! Well, my wonderful husband did that, and I hope everyone notices!
The kids are doing well. Things stabalized around the house, as far as cleaning and painting, so E settled back into a routine. Once we start the major packing we might have a tough couple of weeks. L is happy if she is on your hip, which makes mommy and daddy tired. We had a few break through nights of full sleep, then her two hour timer kicked in. I'm hoping it was a bellyache because after five dirty diapers in one day, I hope she sleeps better tonight!
21 March 2009
19 March 2009
It's Match Day!
Today is the day we find out where J will be headed for residency! 4 years of med school went by so fast!
17 March 2009
09 March 2009
Shades
E just got into wearing sunglasses and keeping them on more than a second. It took a while to realize that the sun was shining in his eyes and that the sunglasses were helpful. He cracks me up, and wanted to try mine on too. If left to his own devices, he puts them on upside down.
LJ wanted a turn too, so while E was playing in Chick-Fil-A, she borrowed his sunglasses.
LJ wanted a turn too, so while E was playing in Chick-Fil-A, she borrowed his sunglasses.
01 March 2009
Ice cream
TCBY was a fun birthday treat for Gran while they were here.
E got rainbow cream:
He had no idea what he looked like until I took him to the bathroom for a hose down. He looked in the mirror and said, "I have ice cream all over me!" He's so observant. He was slightly blue the rest of the day, but the smile never left his face. While we were there he sold three more rainbow cream waffle cones to kids that came in and saw his face! Afterwards we went on a walk and found grapefruit and lime trees for sale with actual fruit on them, the neatest fabric store, a great place for model trains, and a man walking on stilts. E just loved it.
E got rainbow cream:
He had no idea what he looked like until I took him to the bathroom for a hose down. He looked in the mirror and said, "I have ice cream all over me!" He's so observant. He was slightly blue the rest of the day, but the smile never left his face. While we were there he sold three more rainbow cream waffle cones to kids that came in and saw his face! Afterwards we went on a walk and found grapefruit and lime trees for sale with actual fruit on them, the neatest fabric store, a great place for model trains, and a man walking on stilts. E just loved it.
Dress up
L got a fancy dress in the mail from her Nana (great-grandma) when she was just a wee tot and just recently had a chance to wear it.
She wore her fancy dress with white ruffley bloomers to her first tea party!
She wore her fancy dress with white ruffley bloomers to her first tea party!
08 February 2009
Sneeple
It always takes us a day or two to figure out what new song he learned in Sunday school. This was one a little easier and sometimes he gets all the hand motions!
Look at that girl eat!
01 February 2009
31 January 2009
Tank
He's afraid of:
clothes when they hang in the doorway,
ironing boards,
starving to death,
umbrellas,
Eli,
fireworks,
thunder,
haircuts,
baths,
the vet,
and
HIMSELF.
A recent run in with a friend left Tank on the losing end. At first, we didn't think it was that bad, but today when I tried to clean it...all sorts of goo came out. I took him to the vet, which was amazingly open on Saturday, and they said words like sedation, stitches, drainage tubes, and he might be goofy when I pick him up. I left him at the vet and watched him creep away with wobbly knees (Tank, not me) to the back.
Upon my return, our goofy dog skitted and tiptoed his way out, seemingly afraid of more things, like the door opening, the nurse and the big front desk.. If he wasn't so pitiful, I would have laughed. Bright purple stiches on his shaved eyebrow on woozy legs. That and the fact he is Tank. To top it all off, he gets to wear an Elizabethan collar.
Picture this:
This is why Tank is now afraid of himself:
>
He tries to dodge left then dodge right then dodge left again to get away from it. Currently, he is afraid to move. He's going to have a long 10 days.
clothes when they hang in the doorway,
ironing boards,
starving to death,
umbrellas,
Eli,
fireworks,
thunder,
haircuts,
baths,
the vet,
and
HIMSELF.
A recent run in with a friend left Tank on the losing end. At first, we didn't think it was that bad, but today when I tried to clean it...all sorts of goo came out. I took him to the vet, which was amazingly open on Saturday, and they said words like sedation, stitches, drainage tubes, and he might be goofy when I pick him up. I left him at the vet and watched him creep away with wobbly knees (Tank, not me) to the back.
Upon my return, our goofy dog skitted and tiptoed his way out, seemingly afraid of more things, like the door opening, the nurse and the big front desk.. If he wasn't so pitiful, I would have laughed. Bright purple stiches on his shaved eyebrow on woozy legs. That and the fact he is Tank. To top it all off, he gets to wear an Elizabethan collar.
Picture this:
This is why Tank is now afraid of himself:
>
He tries to dodge left then dodge right then dodge left again to get away from it. Currently, he is afraid to move. He's going to have a long 10 days.
07 January 2009
Phone Etiquette
Maybe we Skype too much! E has only a vague idea of how to handle the phone.
Here are the basics:
1. Hold the phone to your ear.
2. Talk into the right end of the phone.
3. Avoid banging so as to hear the other party on the line.
So far, all we have is "holding the phone in the general area of the ear". He also likes to show Gran and Grammy (who are very patient with him) what he is playing with when he talks to them. I think the record for comprehension by a grandmother is 3-5 words. Excellent!
Here are the basics:
1. Hold the phone to your ear.
2. Talk into the right end of the phone.
3. Avoid banging so as to hear the other party on the line.
So far, all we have is "holding the phone in the general area of the ear". He also likes to show Gran and Grammy (who are very patient with him) what he is playing with when he talks to them. I think the record for comprehension by a grandmother is 3-5 words. Excellent!
02 January 2009
Happy New Year!
We spent the first day of the New Year on the road. We have been on the road so long, I am forgetting what home looks like. Soon though, soon.
We almost have car travel down to a science. E settles in with a ba-zillion movies, snacks, blankets, books, and of course George. We always have to pull over soon after leaving to fix the blanket in the window to block the sun. He doesn't even mind that he can't hear the movie really well and then mommy and daddy have a book on tape going in the front. What a trooper!
L is still really good about sleeping most of the trip, which does cause some problems if we travel late in the day with a really late bedtime, but our travels yesterday were at a perfect time. Both kids slept great last night! I was the one up and down all night making sure the kids and dogs didn't wake each other up since we were all in one room.
We almost have car travel down to a science. E settles in with a ba-zillion movies, snacks, blankets, books, and of course George. We always have to pull over soon after leaving to fix the blanket in the window to block the sun. He doesn't even mind that he can't hear the movie really well and then mommy and daddy have a book on tape going in the front. What a trooper!
L is still really good about sleeping most of the trip, which does cause some problems if we travel late in the day with a really late bedtime, but our travels yesterday were at a perfect time. Both kids slept great last night! I was the one up and down all night making sure the kids and dogs didn't wake each other up since we were all in one room.
28 December 2008
26 December 2008
It's good to be the oldest
Since E has caught on to the meaning behind presents, he received more of them then the little cousins. M slept through the whole thing, but at 4 weeks can you blame her? These two gifts were from his Auntie and he loooved them! The first is a picture of his trademark "I love Thomas the Tank Engine so much and I can't believe how many different places I can see his face and it makes me sooo excited" face. It's a Thomas rolling suitcase.
This is an action shot of E smashing the red foam baseball off the T with only a little assistance from Granpa.
This is an action shot of E smashing the red foam baseball off the T with only a little assistance from Granpa.
