I'm Alive!

For all five of my avid blog readers... I'M ALIVE!

We survived the move, but it wasn't without some hiccups [more on that later].  But before I get into some randomness from our world, I need to start with a HUGE THANK YOU to the many friends and family members who helped us get through the past week and a half!! Moving across states is no easy feat - add in a two-year-old and a week of homelessness between closings, and that no easy feat becomes one for the crazies.  However, we survived because of some amazing friends and family who helped watch CK, helped pack, helped load up the truck, helped drive the trucks/cars/trailers, gave us a place to stay between the old house and the new, helped us unload the truck, helped unpack boxes, helped set up the new house -- needless to say, we could not have taken this huge leap of faith without YOU.  You know who you are, all of you... we love you so much, and will not forget how huge of a role you played in helping us start a new chapter of our lives.

Now, on to my randomness, because my life is too crazy right now to compose anything coherent.

~Y'all, the aforementioned hiccups?  Let me summarize... (1) CK ended up getting pretty sick the day of the move, so we made a quick visit to the doctor to find out she had bronchiolitis and needed an inhaler; (2) The movers who loaded the truck did a terrible job, which resulted in us running out of room and T and my brother-in-law having to drive to get an extra trailer at 10:00pm and not finishing the moving out process until almost 2:00am.  Seriously, when we unloaded the truck, there were so many spaces that should've been filled had the movers been more experienced; (3) The old house was supposed to close last Monday, but because the buyers' loan paperwork came through late, we went to bed Monday night without the close being complete.  Luckily late Tuesday morning brought a done deal! (4) The company screwed up on our new refrigerator order, and we still don't have it and aren't supposed to get it until the end of next week! (5) Our new old minivan (I'll explain later) was being worked on during our stay in Charlotte.  Well, the part they needed got delayed... twice.  Long story short, I ended up taking the van without it getting fixed.  (6) And the hiccup that takes the cake?  Our new house ALMOST BURNED DOWN an hour before closing.  As in, the attic furnace was about to go up in flames, the upstairs was filled with smoke, and the fire department had to be called.  Luckily our realtor had stopped by the house on the way to the closing - I don't even want to think how things would've been different had he not...

~But y'all, we are officially in our new house and I-am-in-love.  It is even better than I remembered.  So much more space than we had before, and it already feels like home.  CK, who was a complete disaster last week while we bounced around family members' houses, has been almost giddy since we got here.  I kept worrying she'd say, "I want to go home!"  But I think she totally gets that this is home, and she couldn't be happier.

~And while the new house already feels like home, it is a MESS!!!!  There are still more boxes packed up than unpacked, but I'm trying to be thoughtful in my unpacking strategy.  Since I'm not working right now, I decided to use this time to do a reorganization/purge while I unpack.  I've thrown away countless trash bags full of unnecessary stuff and have three huge boxes ready to take to Goodwill.  I've actually enjoyed the process so far and am trying not to feel rushed or overwhelmed.

~I am, however, overwhelmed with how I want to set up the rooms and decorate!  I'm terrible at having a vision for home decor, no matter how many times I scour Pinterest.

~Andplusalso, we had a contractor come out on Saturday to get a quote for some of the changes we want to make - I can't wait to get things going to put our fingerprint on the house!

~Ok, enough about the house - for now.  Guys, I know everyone is posting pictures on Instagram of their dashboard temperature gauges... because it is ridiculously cold outside!!  This morning when T left for work, it was negative 1.  I don't do cold.  Throw a negative into the mix and I only open the door to let Bailey in and out.  These ridiculous temperatures are making exploring my new town impossible!  CK and I are getting a little stir crazy... but I have to admit that we're loving staying in our pajamas all day.

~Did anyone watch the national championship last night?!  What a game!  I was so excited to see FSU come out on top.

~And speaking of football, did you also watch the Orange Bowl?  GO TIGERS!!!

~Have I ever mentioned how much I wish I liked to cook and was motivated to learn how?

~We had a great New Year's celebration with my sister and her family in Charlotte!  She hosted a fun get together at her house, and we managed to stay awake to see the ball drop.  T and I were more than happy to bid 2013 adieu.

~T and I just started the last season of Dexter!!  I am dying to watch how it all ends, but at the same time, I don't want to finish it - I'll miss watching it every night!

~CK has grown up so much over the past couple weeks.  She amazes me everyday, and I am SO grateful to have the next few months to soak up her little personality!

~We recently got some repeat loss testing results back that were a little unsettling.  I'm anxious to get my new doctor (who is in Atlanta) to translate it all for us and help us make sense of where to go from here.  We have an appointment tomorrow morning to hopefully make a plan to move forward.

~I am so ready for my hair to be long again!

~CK is OBSESSED with bandaids.  I am not exaggerating, y'all.  We use them as bribery for any and everything, and have four different boxes in her bathroom - Hello Kitty, Doc McStuffins, Disney Princesses, and Cars.  At any given time she has at least two bandaids on her body.

~Speaking of my wild little girl, she's awake!  Off to unpack some more boxes!!