Where the f*&#$ did I pack the Q-Tips??

Paul and I have settled into a disturbing late night routine in the boudoir. We fall into bed, exhausted from all things MOVING related. Then, one of us flips around in the bed and we each rub the other’s feet, while making noises that sound embarrassingly sexual in nature. To hell with sex, man. Mutual foot rubbing is where it’s at.

Sad, isn’t it?

I’m so tired. Dude. I can’t even put into words how exhausted I am! Between having the kids all home and living in this mass chaos, I am worn OUT.

But! We’re here! Lots of our friends showed up bright and early one week ago, just two days after Christmas, and ended up moving FOUR huge truckloads of our stuff. It’s not all set up yet, but we’re getting there. On Sunday, our fridge arrived early, which I was thrilled about. The kids and I immediately made a huge trip to Wal-Mart to fill it up. (Funny aside: Kayley noticed and pointed out that the Wal-Mart by our new house has far fewer cameras spread much further apart than the Wal-Mart in our old ‘hood. I was not surprised by this.)

Paul and Mike worked like dogs putting in a 2nd water heater, as the existing 45-gallon water heater was way undersized for a 5-bathroom house. Besides doing all that, they ran a gas line to the kitchen so I could have a gas stove, which I’ve always wanted! They finished it up at about 11 p.m. Tuesday night, and Paul repaired the kitchen floor about 5 minutes before the delivery guys arrived with the stove on Wednesday morning. It’s gorgeous! Paul’s installed our new microwave over the stove since this picture was taken, so it looks even nicer. All we’re waiting for now is the new dishwasher, which should arrive on Monday.

Unfortunately, we still have a ton of stuff left in our old house. It’s all (for the most part) been moved to the front formal living room, so we can have a big Craigslist sale and get rid of it all. Mostly baby furniture and toys and a few housewares we just had to part out. This house has much less storage than the old house, since the basement is completely finished, so we don’t have anywhere to PUT anything. And honestly - Paul is such a ridiculous packrat, it’s just what we need!! His friends were teasing him on move day that he needed an intervention. As we sat around taking a pizza break, someone said, “Paul, we’re all here today because we care about you.” Someone else said, “Let me read my letter first!” and someone else said, “Now, there’s a roll-off dumpster coming, and all you need to do is admit that you need help!” Ha! It was a funny moment - straight out of that intervention show. Obviously, we’ve all watched too much reality TV!

My kids are enjoying the new house. We have a small park right next to us - the entrance is on the other side of our next-door-neighbor’s driveway. We’ve been over there once. And yesterday, the weather was gorgeous, so we checked out a bigger park just a few streets away. It was really nice! Great equipment, lots of room to run, and a beautiful view of the mountains. I’m loving this area. The kids are really driving me up the wall, though. Their room/playroom/toys are just barely unpacked, and it’s total chaos right now. They’re bored to death. And did I mention they’re moving schools? They go to year round school, and with the switch of schools, they switched to a different “track” that doesn’t go back until JANUARY 27TH. Ack!! It’s good in that it gives them lots of time to get used to the house before school starts, but it SUCKS FOR ME! I’m having a hard time unpacking with everyone underfoot, whining and fighting. Lord, send better weather, PLEASE. The 65 degree temps yesterday rocked; The 27 degree temps today aren’t so wonderful. I don’t care if it is January!

Kayley’s LOVING her room, but she’s loving her own bathroom even more. She has it all unpacked and decorated pretty, while her room still looks like a pit. Silly girl. I’m going to lean on her to get it done this weekend before school starts Monday.

Anyway - that’s it from here. I’d post more pics, but I can’t find my camera cord. Soon!

Just a quick little checkin here, to let you know we’re MOVING TO OUR NEW HOUSE tomorrow (12/27) and I may not reappear on this blog for a little while. Our internet’s getting turned on over there next week, but I don’t anticipate having a bunch of time to steal away and blog surf. Hey, y’never know, though. If Paul disappears for a few hours and I feel like I’ve earned a nice little break from unpacking boxes, I’ll say hello. Check my Flickr page - I’ll try to update from my phone when I can. So, see ya soon! Bye bye, old house. You’ve served us well.

(note…this is the NINTH consecutive YEAR I’ve posted this on my blog on Christmas Eve…I couldn’t break tradition!)

TWENTY WAYS TO CONFUSE SANTA CLAUS

1. Instead of milk and cookies, leave him a salad, and a note explaining that you think he could stand to lose a few pounds.
2. While he’s in the house, go find his sleigh and write him a speeding ticket.
3. Leave him a note, explaining that you’ve gone away for the holidays. Ask if he would mind watering your plants.
4. While he’s in the house, replace all his reindeer with exact replicas. Then wait and see what happens when he tries to get them to fly.
5. Keep an angry bull in your living room. If you think a bull goes crazy when he sees a little red cape, wait until he sees that big, red Santa suit!
6. Build an army of mean-looking snowmen on the roof, holding signs that say “We hate Christmas,” and “Go away Santa.”
7. Leave a note by the telephone, telling Santa that Mrs. Claus called and wanted to remind him to pick up some milk and a loaf of bread on his way home.
8. Throw a surprise party for Santa when he comes down the chimney. Refuse to let him leave until the strippers arrive.
9. While he’s in the house, find the sleigh and sit in it. As soon as he comes back and sees you, tell him that he shouldn’t have missed that last payment, and take off.
10. Leave a plate filled with cookies and a glass of milk out, with a note that says, “For The Tooth Fairy. :)” Leave another plate out with half a stale cookie and a few drops of skim milk in a dirty glass with a note that says, “For Santa. :(”
11. Take everything out of your house as if it’s just been robbed. When Santa arrives, show up dressed like a policeman and say, “Well, well. They always return to the scene of the crime.”
12. Leave out a copy of your Christmas list with last-minute changes and corrections.
13. While he’s in the house, cover the top of the chimney with barbed wire.
14. Leave lots of hunting trophies and guns out where Santa’s sure to see them. Go outside, yell, “Ooh! Look! A deer! And he’s got a red nose!” and fire a gun.
15. Leave Santa a note, explaining that you’ve moved. Include a map with unclear and hard-to-read directions to your new house.
16. Set a bear trap at the bottom of the chimney. Wait for Santa to get caught in it, and then explain that you’re sorry, but from a distance, he looked like a bear.
17. Leave out a Santa suit, with a dry-cleaning bill.
18. Paint “hoof-prints” all over your face and clothes. While he’s in the house, go out on the roof. When he comes back up, act like you’ve been “trampled.” Threaten to sue.
19. Instead of ornaments, decorate your tree with Easter eggs.
20. Dress up like the Easter Bunny. Wait for Santa to come and then say, “This neighborhood ain’t big enough for the both of us.”