200th Post!

Wow, who knew that in less than a year I could write 200 posts?! I'd do something cool or funny or unique for my 200th, but we're just finishing moving, and I don't have the energy.

So, the past week has been a time for me to accept a LOT of service from others. I have been the recipient of such generous people. I've had people take my kids, so I could focus on what needed to be done. I've had people at the old house help with packing and moving stuff from 1 house to the other. Saturday morning a bunch of men from Church showed up to move the boxes we'd packed from 1 house to the other. We'd hired movers for the furniture, but had a garage full of boxes that transferred in under an hour. We were invited to eat dinner with friends. I had ladies from Church today come and spend hours and elbow grease to do the final cleaning. AMAZING! Even the missionaries from Church pitched in. They happened to be in our neighborhood right when we were throwing the last of the "stuff" into our cars in preparation to turn in our keys, and they were pressed into service. Personally, I think they must have been inspired to be there at that particular moment in time.

I think that the "most awesomest service" award must go, hands down, to my friends Carmen and James. They kept our kids Sunday-Tuesday. They fed our family each night during that time. They made sure that Hannah's homework assignment got done. They packed. They built a bed. They cleaned. They AMAZED me! And I'm the one who's supposed to be serving Carmen!


Me going on and on about how wonderful Carmen and James have been does in NO way negate the service that others have given. Because there are many others who deserve a big thanks.

Another thing that Carmen introduced me to: Magic Erasers. Yes, I've known about them, but I did NOT know how many ways they could help. Soap scum in the shower--who knew? Greasy build-up on the stove--oh yeah! Cleaning grout and caulking--yep, that too! SO Many uses! In fact, as I was looking for a photo (which I could not figure out how to capture using Robert's computer), I ran across THIS website's blog post all about the Magic Eraser. You've got to check it out! This could revolutionize your life!

As for the new house, I'm going to like it. Unfortunately for us, the new house was not clean upon move-in. I'm not saying that the carpet needed to be vacuumed (because I think that actually WAS clean), but everything else left lots to be desired. Kitchen floor grout--supposed to be white. Not even close. Windowsills--dirty. Cupboard shelves and drawers--dirty. Refrigerator--shelves and bins needed cleaning. Toilets--had rings from sitting with the blue stuff in the bowls (the house HAS been vacant since Thanksgiving). Many doorknobs are loose. Bread board--came complete with crumbs from last time. Grout is missing from my shower. The shower doors are not secured in the kids' bathroom. Mold is growing around the tops of the bathroom sinks. The metal blinds in my bathroom (window in the shower) have something growing on them--or they're stained with something. Getting the picture? Oh, but the icing on the cake: there was WATER in the kitchen sink--leftover from the last time it was mopped (lovely ring around the sink when we drained it). The final straw is that we got 4 keys (2 each of 2 keys) and 1 set of keys doesn't go to anything we've found. We don't have a key that works the glass door at the front door. So, what is the property management company doing to earn their monthly fee? Did they TRY the keys out ahead of time? The property manager was here the day before we got our keys--did he look around the inside?

The house itself I'm going to like. I like the way we've arranged the furniture. In spite of the lack of storage (seriously, regular WOMEN should be consulted about such matters when blueprints are drawn), I think the house will work nicely. There's a loft upstairs which will serve nicely as a playroom/gameroom for the kids. The view from our master bedroom window includes the playground at the kids' school. The neighborhood is very quiet, and the neighbors are very nice. And the back yard? HUGE! Living on a cul-de-sac will also be a nice change. I'm looking forward to it being a little easier to ride bikes and scooters outside.

Just don't expect things to be "normal" for about a month. I figure it will take that long to find everything important. We need to do a serious purging too. But WOW am I thankful that Robert has the type of job where we don't have to move all the time. And I have new empathy for the military wives. Moving bites. Our previous home owners apologized several times for "making" us move--it was bad for both of us. Moving is never easy and probably never comes at a convenient time. It's a TON of work. But it's not all bad. I got to know some really nice people better. My house will be better organized, and we have a chance to "start over" in a new place.

So, I wonder how long it will take to get the next 200 posts written?