Let the hotel living commence.
CROSS COUNTRY PCS WHILE PREGNANT (26 Weeks)
Sunday, December 8, 2013
The last 48 hours have come, and gone in what feels like just seconds. The movers came on Friday morning, and ever since then, we have been super productive with getting our things unpacked. So far, I've unpacked my new office/Cooper's room. We set up our guest bedroom and we've set up Ava's room completely. We finished organizing the living room last night (had to adjust our furniture), and the kitchen is almost done too! Friday night, we stayed up late to set up the Christmas tree! It was one of the first things I did that made this place feel like home. It feels so good to get our stuff out of boxes. It wasn't even a full four days, but It was driving me crazy not to be able to get what I needed, when I needed it. Also, I would definitely recommend using movers to assist with your needs while moving. I know I said this before, but I mean it. It cost us a whopping, $300 to have piece of mind, and piece of mind is priceless! We didn't have to worry about lifting a finger. We used local companies each way, and I will only use local movers, for future moves.
We took the u-haul to the weigh station on Friday and we weighed in over 5,000 lbs for our things! I felt great about that. All of the moving incentives we were given, were based off of 5,000 lbs. If we had come in any less than that, we'd be owing the Army money. Looks like they'll owe us a bit more now. Even now that the hard part is over with this DITY move, I still wouldn't change my mind about moving ourselves.There was actually only one moment where I'd wished we didn't do this move, and that was when Justin cracked the u-haul mirror!
Before I go any further, let me just say, I never knew Texas was a cold state. Oh my word.. It's like in the 20's here. We have ice on our car, we have icicles people! I can't believe it. We have frost on the roof, on the grass.. it's just freezing! Okay, so back to Justin, he decided to get an ice scraper so he could get all the ice off the windows... Well the u-haul's mirror cracked in the process. I was freaking out! Justin had denied the insurance coverage for the u-haul (against my judgment), which meant we were liable for any type of damage. Luckily, when we returned the u-haul, the rep was super understanding. She said, "It's not your fault that windows ice over, and as a result they crack." Yeah, we lucked out there. We didn't have to pay anything extra on the u-haul, and I was ELATED about that.
I have been so impressed with my baby. She has been up later than normal (one night), she had to adjust to eating in her car seat (while in the u-haul), and she had to adjust to eating in her bumbo (Thursday night). We've had to haul her around in that car seat non stop since we left Georgia, and she has been an absolute trooper about it. I think the day we arrived in TX, we had a moment where I tried to put Bug back in her seat, and she wasn't having it. I didn't blame her, If I had sat in a cars eat for all those hours, I'd want a break too. Since arriving in Texas, Princess A has been sitting up all by herself for a good chunk of time. She refuses to sit back anymore, even while in her car seat. I love seeing her grow up. It's a beautiful experience, and I'm glad both Justin and I are witness to this.
Alright, it's Sunday, so you know what that means, right? FOOTBALL in Howland home, all day! Enjoy your Sunday all! Make it a great day.
♥- Leilani
Please ignore my tinsel on the bottom. This is Cooper's first Christmas tree Christmas (that was a mouthful) and he doesn't know how to feel about the glittery tinsel.
Before I go any further, let me just say, I never knew Texas was a cold state. Oh my word.. It's like in the 20's here. We have ice on our car, we have icicles people! I can't believe it. We have frost on the roof, on the grass.. it's just freezing! Okay, so back to Justin, he decided to get an ice scraper so he could get all the ice off the windows... Well the u-haul's mirror cracked in the process. I was freaking out! Justin had denied the insurance coverage for the u-haul (against my judgment), which meant we were liable for any type of damage. Luckily, when we returned the u-haul, the rep was super understanding. She said, "It's not your fault that windows ice over, and as a result they crack." Yeah, we lucked out there. We didn't have to pay anything extra on the u-haul, and I was ELATED about that.
I have been so impressed with my baby. She has been up later than normal (one night), she had to adjust to eating in her car seat (while in the u-haul), and she had to adjust to eating in her bumbo (Thursday night). We've had to haul her around in that car seat non stop since we left Georgia, and she has been an absolute trooper about it. I think the day we arrived in TX, we had a moment where I tried to put Bug back in her seat, and she wasn't having it. I didn't blame her, If I had sat in a cars eat for all those hours, I'd want a break too. Since arriving in Texas, Princess A has been sitting up all by herself for a good chunk of time. She refuses to sit back anymore, even while in her car seat. I love seeing her grow up. It's a beautiful experience, and I'm glad both Justin and I are witness to this.
Alright, it's Sunday, so you know what that means, right? FOOTBALL in Howland home, all day! Enjoy your Sunday all! Make it a great day.
♥- Leilani
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
I can't believe I have the energy to write this right now. Wow! While my memory is fresh, here goes nothing. I woke up at 7 a.m. this morning, as did Ava bug and Justin. We didn't start the day off with breakfast or chit chat, we just got right to business. Justin took apart our bed, and we finished organizing and packing several things before the movers got here. We ended up getting breakfast, and picking up the u-haul at like 930 a.m. and immediately came home afterward. I finished our final loads of laundry, tended to bug, and started taping and writing on our things. I guess that took about three hours or so because at around 1230 p.m. the movers came. The next two hours were kind of a blur. I got visitors from my good friend, Victoria, and my new parent support program rep, Christa.
We got a 26 foot truck.. which we originally thought was going to be too big. It was perfect! Next time around we could go a little smaller though. The movers were able to pack Justin's motorcycle safely, and I think that was his biggest worry. Oh, for anyone moving locally, or even a PCS I strongly suggest finding a local business company to assist with your move. For over two hours, with four workers, we paid $150.00. In the grand scheme of things we saved over 100.00. I was thoroughly pleased with their work. I think that's one thing I'll be missing about Georgia, that Southern hospitality.
At around 2:30 p.m. the movers left, and we were surrounded by bare walls, and an empty home. I was able to nurse Ava without all the chaos of moving, and Justin and I were able to have a real conversation. We were able to get lunch in, and run a couple errands before it was time to get the dolly for our car. I think Justin and I have been more nervous about driving the u-haul with a dolly, more than anything else pertaining to this move. The truck is huge, and with the car on the dolly, it's just so long. Since this is our first DITY move, I think we did overall pretty well. There are a few things I would change the next time though.
Things I loved that we did
♥- Leilani
We got a 26 foot truck.. which we originally thought was going to be too big. It was perfect! Next time around we could go a little smaller though. The movers were able to pack Justin's motorcycle safely, and I think that was his biggest worry. Oh, for anyone moving locally, or even a PCS I strongly suggest finding a local business company to assist with your move. For over two hours, with four workers, we paid $150.00. In the grand scheme of things we saved over 100.00. I was thoroughly pleased with their work. I think that's one thing I'll be missing about Georgia, that Southern hospitality.
At around 2:30 p.m. the movers left, and we were surrounded by bare walls, and an empty home. I was able to nurse Ava without all the chaos of moving, and Justin and I were able to have a real conversation. We were able to get lunch in, and run a couple errands before it was time to get the dolly for our car. I think Justin and I have been more nervous about driving the u-haul with a dolly, more than anything else pertaining to this move. The truck is huge, and with the car on the dolly, it's just so long. Since this is our first DITY move, I think we did overall pretty well. There are a few things I would change the next time though.
Things I loved that we did
- waited until the finance funds hit to arrange dates for moving
- packing before we even knew which day we were moving
- finding a home in the area where the next duty station is located
Things I hate that we did
- procrastinated organizing and taping all the boxes we had
- not doing laundry prior to moving day
- not allowing enough time to say goodbye to all my friends I made in Georgia
Since we pretty much can't drive anywhere with our car being hooked up to the dolly, we ended our night with dinner at my neighbor/friend's home. I was finally able to have a salmon night with her, and given the rushed, tiring, fast paced day, dinner turned out okay. I've got to say Ava was a trooper all the way up until the end of the night. It was past her bedtime when we had dinner, and she was ready to nurse and KO. We were able to say goodbye to a few more of our friends here in Georgia this evening, and that was nice. I know I didn't get to see everywhere, and I feel terrible about that.
As soon as we got home, we got Ava ready for bed. Tonight, she pooped in her bath! It was legit, hard poo. It was so gross! I was in a rush to get her rinsed off and out of the tub. I didn't double check to make sure Justin adjusted the water (I already assumed that he did) so I went to stick Ava's foot underneath it, and the water was hot. I felt SO SO SO bad. She fussed a bit, but no major tears. I immediately stuck her little foot under cold water after that. On top of an already stressful, and tiring day, I did that. I beat myself up over it, and consoled bug until she fell asleep.
So that was our day. Justin knocked out as soon as he got a free moment. I had to wake him up, just so he could wash the filth off from today. I'm really proud of how well I've stayed up on my school work, and my home life. I never thought I'd be able to balance so much at one time, but I have! Oh wow, it's almost midnight and I am still awake! I'm going to be writing a little something each day about our experience with our first DITY move, and our second road trip with Ava! Happy Wednesday all!
♥- Leilani
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