Moving in

While moving can be not so exciting, I have to say this is the most exciting move I've ever done. I just drove across the country, signed a lease, and now I'm moving into my new apartment without having seen it prior to today. How exciting! I did have someone check the place out in person before we signed or even agreed to rent the place. And I did see lots of pictures of it. But it's still weird to just move in to somewhere I don't really know that well. Also, fun fact, this is the second time I've moved this pregnancy. I also moved twice while I was pregnant with Ivan and none at all when I was pregnant with Charlotte. Must be a boy thing.

I asked for lots of help. I don't normally ask for help, but this time I did. How else was I gonna get our entire storage unit emptied and into my house without someone, at least one person, to help me. One of the teachers I worked for, my favorite teacher and now Ivan and Charlotte's adopted grandpa, offered his muscle and the use of his trailer. Thank goodness, now I didn't have to shell out extra money for a moving truck and have to drive the dang thing across town. Michael put out a call for help too. I managed to have about a dozen people tell me they would be there to help me. So ten o'clock rolls around and here I am at the storage unit unloading all by myself. Zeph, my old boss, showed up a couple minutes later and we immediately started unloading. Twenty minutes later someone else shows up. Then my phone is buzzing off the hook (can I say that?) from people who can't find the storage unit or they're asking if I still need help or whatever. Finally I got about 4 people there to help me. That's not twelve. We loaded the trailer and took it back to my place. It was then that I decided to slow down. The contractions were a little distracting and I didn't want to fall down the stairs with a box in my hand. So I had people unloaded and played traffic director. I also started unpacking.

And this is how we moved the furniture in. Turns out it's too sharp of a corner to get the couches, bed, and dressers in through the door. After a little elbow grease, the windows came out and we found out why it didn't have a screen in it. Thank goodness for strong men. 

I had the most help for that first load. Then people started to dwindle. I had a second wave of volunteers show up, just 2 more people, but it was just what I needed. The second load from the trailer was much smaller and didn't take as long to unload. I got pizza for everyone and most people left. I had a couple people stay and some more show up late, back to 4 helpers now. So I put them to work distracting the kids and helping me set up my bed and put the big furniture in its place. We also put together the kids beds and a couple toys that had been taken apart for moving. Then that was all that could be done by other people. It was now all up to me to get the rest of the boxes unpacked. Luckily that would only take me a couple more days.

I had long debated how I would handle this move. We will only be living here for about 8 or 9 months before Michael graduates from college. Then, hopefully, we'll be off to bigger and better places with a job offer for Michael. That means moving again. And in a short amount of time. I had thought I would just take out the essentials and keep most of the stuff packed away to make things easier for the next move. Turns out I didn't actually pack that way and it meant a lot more work now. And I've been living on the bare essentials for 4 months and it really sucks! So I unpacked everything. I even unpacked all Michael's stuff, stuff that wouldn't be used for another month and a half.