I know I mentioned having three shipments for our stuff. First up is unaccompanied baggage, then household goods and finally storage. Of course there is the matter of shipping the car too, so I guess really there are 4 shipments.We moved to our current house two years ago and I thought when we moved we did a really great job of weeding out stuff we didn't want. Two years later, i look at our things now and think, where did all the stuff come from?
First are the endless shelves of books. My husband likes to read, ALOT. And he doesn't like to get rid of any books he's read. I know it's his personal goal in life to amass a rather extraordinary library, but geesh, I just don't understand his attachment to all these books. (I do know there are some he hasn't read but he keeps for show only, he likes to appear to be well-read. ). Now I on the other, yes I might keep a couple favorite authors like Nicholas Sparks or Sophie Kinsella, but for me, some of these books have got to go! I don't plan on re-reading them anytime soon, and frankly, the Kindle is a wonderful device I never thought I'd like, but I do. So with the Kindle on my mind, why keep these paperbacks? Time to start weeding them out like thorns on a rosebush.
I decided I will treat the books like my shipment and break it into three groups: the must definitely keep because i might read again or looks good for posterity pile, the what was i thinking and that book must certainly be pawned off on a friend pile, and the must keep but don't mind not seeing it for three years pile. That last pile would be my collection of Nancy Drews from the 1930s and some old Christmas books, although now that I think of it, why do I need those Christmas books. There is, after all, always Google or Pinterest for a great craft idea. Hmm, ok that makes a fourth pile of donations. Yes, that seems to work.
There, sorted now for some boxes or bags, which I seem not to lack. All those wonderful recyclable shopping bags are finally going to see the light of day again. That's good, because I need to get rid of those too. After my books have been tackled, it's time for the kids' books too. Last night my husband pulled out a few books and asked if I wanted to keep them for the grand kids someday. I know I must have given him a look of death or something because he looked at me and replied, "yeah ok, I see, never mind that thought." Woohoo, small victory. I may break him of his pack-rat ideas sooner than I thought. The kids have a varied range of books lately. Mostly they are the at the same reading level, which is convenient, but ask them to share and well, any mother of two girls would certainly understand that would be the start of world war three. Luckily the older kid has "lent" some of her books to her younger sister. It's a nice gesture for sure, however, I think it's so the older kid doesn't have to actually READ those books now. I'm pretty sure she has some motive there for being kind to her younger sister.
As I look at some of the titles of these kid books, Click Clack Moo and Bear Snores On, I am reminded of simpler times when knowing how to rhyme was a must and a bedtime story was always requested. Alas, those days are gone, for the most part. The older kid has no interest in a bedtime story unless it involves some random Pokemon character of her choosing and the younger kid, well she'd rather read YOU the book instead of the other way around. Cute yes, but she insists on reading the longest book possible in one sitting just so she can stay up a little later. I'm on to her tricks, daddy however is not. Hey, what can I say, I like my quiet time before bed too.
With the books separated into their piles I now see another mountain of stuff to clean. It really is an endless cycle. I suppose it should get my attention prior to the kids coming home from school because once they see the pile of books I'm giving away, I know they'll make a beeline for the pile and pull out all their favorites, even though they don't read those books or haven't read them in years. I find it's best, as every mother would agree with me, to get rid of the stuff while the kids are at school. This foolproof method results in lower overall arguments in said household, and I am all over that!! So off to organize and shelve those piles.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
You're moving to Italy
If your husband came home from work one day and told you that he got his first choice of duty assignments to Italy, you'd be excited, right? I was, and then the reality of the whole move and duration of time finally set in. A 3 year assignment, overseas, new schools, new friends, new cell phone, a whole new lifestyle. I mean this isn't like moving to another city in another state, been there, done that several times already. I'm a military wife after all. But this is different, it's OVERSEAS, a whole new country, a whole new continent with new values, lives, culture, peeople, etc. If you sit and think about it for awhile, the opportunities are endless, the cultural aspect is fantastic and the kids will really flourish. It's a wonderful adventure. But, the excitement slowly loses out to the overwhelming daunting task of getting there.
This blog is more about the gearing up to get to Italy and the trials and tribulations every military family endures during the move. Once we get settled there, in 2 months or so, I hope the blog will grow with all these new adventures to embark upon in Italy. First things first, we have to get there.
This adventure started about a year ago when my husband found the job he wanted and went for it. He's in the Army and a Major to boot. We've lived in Florida, Maryland, West Virginia, Nebraska and Maryland again. We've visited many places with our two girls, Morgan (9) and Sydney (6). I like to think are resilient like any military child should be. Heck, I think to I'm resilient too, but i know moves aren't easy for everyone. When my husband told me where were going to italy, i was super excited but you know, as a military family, you never get too excited until the official orders are in hand, and even that can change with the needs of the military. Then our official orders came through and I was even more excited. Of course, shortly after that, i began to realize how much stuff we need to do to prepare for this move.
Let's start with the movers. We scheduled this event so it would coordinate with the kids getting out of school for summer break. I kept telling my husband there were three shipments and he kept looking at me like I had a third eye growing between my forehead. Us Army wives talk, so we get the low-down from each other and what to expect. I knew about the 3 moves but couldn't quite explain it right to the hubster until he finally sat down to schedule it.
Here's the schedule and the new terminology. First we have the unaccompanied baggage. They will be here first to collect the items we will need immediately when we get over there. Seeing how we'll be living in temporary housing for about a month, I'm curious what we should include in this shipment. My guess would be clothes (aside from the ones we are packing up in the suitcases for our 2 week go visit the family adventure), sheets (maybe), and I guess dishes and cookware. I am not sure.Shoot, I'd like a cruise like that, but I digress.
My husband had all this planned out and tentatively scheduled 1 1/2 months ago. Apparently yesterday, all the info was finally put in the computer since the government bids for movers was finally approved. Wouldn't you know I get a phone call about the shipment and a problem with the scheduled dates? This lady called and told me that her moving folks were booked and couldn't do the dates we scheduled and asked if we could do it the week before. Totally taken off guard, I replied "And which shipment are you?" She told me they were the big shipment. Then I told her, "Um no, i don't think this would work because then she would take everything and we'd have nothing in the house for a week." As much as I like hotels, I don't want to stay in lodging any longer than need be. I told her I would call her back after I spoke with my husband. After two failed attempts at calling him, I texted him to call me immediately due to moving snafus. No sooner did I send that text then than the same lady called me back to tell me everything would indeed work out for the week we planned and not to worry. Yippee, crisis averted. (Migraine too for that matter, it would have been mess to fix all the moving stuff.)
This blog is more about the gearing up to get to Italy and the trials and tribulations every military family endures during the move. Once we get settled there, in 2 months or so, I hope the blog will grow with all these new adventures to embark upon in Italy. First things first, we have to get there.
This adventure started about a year ago when my husband found the job he wanted and went for it. He's in the Army and a Major to boot. We've lived in Florida, Maryland, West Virginia, Nebraska and Maryland again. We've visited many places with our two girls, Morgan (9) and Sydney (6). I like to think are resilient like any military child should be. Heck, I think to I'm resilient too, but i know moves aren't easy for everyone. When my husband told me where were going to italy, i was super excited but you know, as a military family, you never get too excited until the official orders are in hand, and even that can change with the needs of the military. Then our official orders came through and I was even more excited. Of course, shortly after that, i began to realize how much stuff we need to do to prepare for this move.
Let's start with the movers. We scheduled this event so it would coordinate with the kids getting out of school for summer break. I kept telling my husband there were three shipments and he kept looking at me like I had a third eye growing between my forehead. Us Army wives talk, so we get the low-down from each other and what to expect. I knew about the 3 moves but couldn't quite explain it right to the hubster until he finally sat down to schedule it.
Here's the schedule and the new terminology. First we have the unaccompanied baggage. They will be here first to collect the items we will need immediately when we get over there. Seeing how we'll be living in temporary housing for about a month, I'm curious what we should include in this shipment. My guess would be clothes (aside from the ones we are packing up in the suitcases for our 2 week go visit the family adventure), sheets (maybe), and I guess dishes and cookware. I am not sure.Shoot, I'd like a cruise like that, but I digress.
My husband had all this planned out and tentatively scheduled 1 1/2 months ago. Apparently yesterday, all the info was finally put in the computer since the government bids for movers was finally approved. Wouldn't you know I get a phone call about the shipment and a problem with the scheduled dates? This lady called and told me that her moving folks were booked and couldn't do the dates we scheduled and asked if we could do it the week before. Totally taken off guard, I replied "And which shipment are you?" She told me they were the big shipment. Then I told her, "Um no, i don't think this would work because then she would take everything and we'd have nothing in the house for a week." As much as I like hotels, I don't want to stay in lodging any longer than need be. I told her I would call her back after I spoke with my husband. After two failed attempts at calling him, I texted him to call me immediately due to moving snafus. No sooner did I send that text then than the same lady called me back to tell me everything would indeed work out for the week we planned and not to worry. Yippee, crisis averted. (Migraine too for that matter, it would have been mess to fix all the moving stuff.)
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