Back In The South Again

Well we've moved back to Tennessee. We have unpacked and are getting settled into our new home. The garage is the next big thing to tackle but every time we step in their we just throw up our hands and walk away. We may just wait on that one room until the spring when we don't have so much going on. Gabe's room is still pink much to his dismay but I hope to take care of this soon. I have been waiting until most everything else is unpacked and put away. I may see if Matt would like to visit his family for the weekend with the kids so that I can paint in peace. But that will have to wait too.

The kids have been in school almost two weeks now and seem to be adjusting just fine. Only occasionally do I hear that the kids miss their friends, and this is usually from Abby. There are not many girls in her new class. Gabe is enjoying his class and comes home almost everyday with dirty knees from playing football during recess. This is good to see. There are a lot of kids in our new neighborhood who are the same age as ours and they have enjoyed playing with their new neighbors.

I have joined a new MOPS group here and have enjoyed it so far. I was so involved in our previous one and knew so many people it's odd being the outsider again. I am trying to get involved here as well but am also trying to take it slow. Elizabeth and I went to the park and painted pumpkins with the MOPS group this morning. And Elizabeth made a friend. I am hoping that I will bond with a few of these women like I did in my previous MOPS group. I just loved that group and miss them all so much.

This past weekend we attended the Homecoming Festivities at my husband's and my Alma Mater, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Which on a side note now serves more undergrads than the other better known universities in Tennessee. We got up bright and early in order to watch the parade, tailgate with friends from out college days, thanks to facebook bringing us all together this year and then headed home to become very disappointed in the VOLS loss to BAMA. We later used a babysitter with a friend and headed out to Matt's old stomping grounds for a party and much reminiscing. All in all it was a great weekend.

I will be posting pictures soon.

Slacker is Back

I've be a HUGE slacker lately but with good reason... We've been dealing with colds, house showings, house hunting, school, and various other activities that are keeping me busy. I have also lost my computer to either a virus or a bad video card, I have taken Matt's computer hostage long enough to make this post. Matt hasn't been able to check out my computer simply because he has been in and out of town so much that it's hard to remember when he's coming and going. But thankfully he will be here until we move next week. Can you believe it? Next Week. Yep, that's it...next week. Part of me just can't wait and then I'm also not ready. I love this town and all the people I have come to know and love. I will miss them very much. But then there is also the part of me that is really looking forward to being in our new home, making new friends, and being that much closer to family. Matt even mentioned that he could go to Chattanooga for the weekend and go fishing with my dad anytime he felt like it without it being a be ordeal. And that's a huge change for him there was once upon a time when a two hour drive was too far for a weekend. I guess he's finally realized it could be a whole lot worse. Tonight I will be getting together with some friends to visit. Next week I am hoping to go out to breakfast with some more and then go out to dinner as well. It's going to be hard next couple of weeks but I am ready to start. So there's my update. I'll post some picture of things we've been doing later and of our new house. Take care!!

Decisions

Matt and I will be making a lot of decisions this weekend and in the next several weeks as we progress through our relocation to the Nashville Area. It's been more painful than I thought it would be to get our house on the market. Who knew that relocation could be such a pain in the neck, and not only to us but the realtors as well? There are so many procedures, rules and regulations that hold everyone back that it seems to take forever. Tomorrow Matt and I must make our decision on which realtor we choose to list our house with. I thought this was going to be a simple decision but I have found that it's not. Both are very competent women and know what they are doing. One seems to have a bigger go get 'em attitude while the other seems to have wisdom and years behind her. So Matt and I will be discussing this as we travel to Nashville tomorrow.

Our next major decision lies with where we should live. Matt and I both went to school and bought our first home in Murfreesboro and to move back there kinda feels like coming home to me. But driving past the exits the past couple of years I have noticed how much the area has grown. I was told this afternoon that Murfreesboro now has 100,000 people living there and that traffic is horrible. And after living in this wonderful small town with no rush hour to speak of and very little traffic we aren't sure about moving back to that area. So we are beginning to consider a couple of other areas in our search. And this is one more decision.

We are also going to have to make decisions on a house, schools, neighborhoods and everything that goes with hunting for a house. In it's own way all of this is exciting and fun but there is also the stress involved in it all. I am beginning to feel it wearing on me just a little. I will be glad when the first of our major decisions has been made and then we can move on to the next. It's exciting and scary at the same time. We will get through it and move on. I guess I would feel differently if I had moved around a lot as a child but I lived in the same house from the time I was 3 years old until college. So it's hard but I am ready to take on the challenge. Wish us luck!

Lots Of Changes Happening

Wow!! A lot has been happening in our lives lately. Shortly after we returned from our Tennessee vacation visiting with extended family Matt was asked to interview for a job in HR department (Human Resources). The funniest thing is he had just finished emailing me to let me know he intended to apply for the job.

Well, he has interviewed and and gotten the job. So now the fun has begun for us to prepare the house for market and to move to Tennessee. This has mixed feelings for me as I have settled in, made friends and had a very active life volunteering and being active in the community, in short I am happy here.

But, on the flip side, I am so excited for Matt to be moving into a job that he really wants and has wanted since graduatng from MTSU 12 years ago. I am also excited that we will be closer to our families, two hours from mine and three from Matt's. Our kids will be able to see their grandparents more than a handful of times a year and that is priceless. The grandparents will be able to see their grandkids grow up and maybe even attend a special event or two. So as I clean-up the house and we make repairs that we had been putting off for later I am looking forward to settling into our new home, wherever it might be.

I do have to say it is exciting for us as we look for houses. We have been exploring housing options on the internet since he started interviewing. And now Matt has moved to my way of thinking and we will be visiting Murfreesboro soon to look with a realtor because we are both tired of looking online and want to see what is out there in person.

In the meantime the kids have started school and are loving it. And my activities are moving continuing on as normal as can be. I do hope that our move does not disrupt the kids too much but they are young and should be just fine. Both Gabe and Abby are not shy and are just as excited as Matt to be moving closer to their grandparents, though I do think it has more to do with being closer to the cousins they love than the grandparents (shh), but don't tell them that.

I met with our choices of realtors yesterday and this morning. Now I am waiting on them to get all their paperwork into the relocation agency so that our house will be on the market. Hey, I even received flowers from one of them today. I called my husband and let him know that someone was sending me flowers. I just wish I could convey his tone of voice when he asked, "Who?" It was priceless.

So I will keep everyone informed of our moving situation as they occur. Right now I want things to get a move on so that the count down can begin. Wish us luck for an awesome offer on our house so that we can get moved and settled (sigh) though I will miss all my friends (sniff...sniff).

Tuesday's Tips for Summer Survival- GORP

Tuesday's Tips for Summer Survival (TTSS) is a weekly carnival to help mamas survive the long summer days started by Carey over at Life in the Carpool Lane. The goal is to share kid-friendly tips so we can end up on the other side of this summer with what little sanity we had when we started. Be sure to head over and see everyone else's tips to survive the summer.

My tip for this week is making GORP. My kids love to help me in the kitchen. Many times I am just trying to get "it"done. I try to make myself take the time to enjoy my kids enjoying the kitchen by letting them participate in making a kid friendly treat. This week we made GORP for snack. It's a great treat and you can add many of the regular "snacks" you have on hand. And the best part is that the kids can help. My kids love picking out their favorite snacks to add to the mix. And you don't have to measure out the snacks you add the amount that looks good to you. Here's what we used...

Gabriel adding his choice of nuts to the mix.

Abby adding her choice of dried fruit.

Elizabeth adding her choice Goldfish.

Add here what ours looked like once we finished adding all our ingredients. Put the GORP into an airtight container and enjoy.

Photo Shoot

While visiting my parents a couple of weeks ago I tried to get some good pictures of the kids. My mother has a wonderful backyard water feature with 3 tiers of waterfalls ending in a pond. The landscaping around it lent a beautiful backdrop for my pictures. The only thing I needed were my children and their cooperation. I had lots of fun taking the pictures and think I got some pretty decent ones. Especially with my point and shoot camera. I probably should have borrowed my sisters DSL camera. Anyway, here are several of the best pictures I took and then some fun ones as well.

Gabriel was the most cooperative of the whole bunch. He did not want to put his feet in the water because he said it was too cold. So he looks to me like he is ready to jump off the rock and into the water.

I think this one is really a good one. I just wish she had been looking at the camera instead of Matt.

Out of all the pictures I took of Elizabeth there are none with her smiling. She was distracted by everything around her...

The branches on the Hemlock.

The flower in her hands.

Her daddy trying to get her to smile. So she shows him her flower.

Making silly faces when we did to try to get her to smile.

Blowing a kiss to daddy when he did.

And here I managed to bring all three together for some pretty good pictures.

And one last picture of Abby in Mimi's rock garden.