A Quick Trip to Phoenix This Weekend and Other Updates

Trip to Phoenix:

We leave tomorrow for a house-hunting trip to Phoenix. Jonathan, Christian and I were all flying out together. But then Jonathan decided to drive his car and our weekend belongings to Phoenix so he can leave his car at my sister's house and thereby leaving us just one car to drive out when moving day arrives.

So Jonathan will pick us up at the airport tomorrow afternoon and then we'll all fly back home together on Sunday.

I'm a bit anxious about the whole thing. I don't care for Jonathan making that 8 hour drive alone. But he's a trooper ... I'm sure he'll be just fine (and probalby enjoy the break from packing!)

And whenever we've flown with Christian, its been the two of us, so we can tag-team. So I'm weighting the pros and cons of the Baby Bjorn carrier and the stroller.

And Christian is much more active than he was the last time we flew. So ... we'll see how it goes. I'm hoping he'll take snooze on the hour-long flight.

Progress on the House:

At last, it would appear our roof is fixed. We were told the roof was on the verge of being "catasrophic." So we're fortunate that the major problem was resolved, and the persistent leak that we've had in the entryway has finally been found after three years. WHEW!

We got a Wagner Paint Crew sprayer so we could get the painting done more quickly. So Jonathan has a new toy. Its really intended for outdoor use, so that means we have to cover everything. We had to hang plastic sheets from the living room ceiling so as to contain the spray. Had to cover all windows, the kiva fireplace, doorbell, knobs, etc. I do mean everything. So setting up was time consuming, and cleaning up the spayer is time consuming. But it saves Jonathan's back ... and looks great!

We ordered more rock for the yard. It could still use A LOT more ... but at least the most visible areas look nice and uniform for "curb appeal."

Jonathan has been working hard to get things packed up and moved into the Pod. He's truly amazing! He keeps going, and going, and going!

Christian

Christian is crawling all over the place! His latest favorite activity is to push a soft red cube toys out in front of himself, and then follow it. He's able to flip the cube around, so it then moves any-which-way, and he follows after it. Its so amusing to watch! I'll have to try getting a video.

I like to see the way he connects things in his mind. For example, yesterday I was holding him and I grabbed a cup of water for myself. Immediately, Christian reached for it and put it to his mouth and started driking. Previously, any drinks of water in a cup have come to him when he's in his high chair. So I was impressed to see him make the connection that the cup is for drinkiing water ... no matter where he's sitting.

Jennifer

In the Thick of Things

For me, the total excitement of moving lasted about 24 hours. Then reality sank in: We have to pack up a 2,000 sf house, get it into beautiful order for selling, find a rental home that'll take the dog … all in the next few days. I have a perpetual headache and stomach ache.

Here's how we're progressing:

We got some landscaping done on Friday. It looks better than it did, but our money didn't get us as far as the landscaper said it would. I was very disappointed and feel a bit taken.

Jonathan dedicated a lot of time to packing this weekend. I did what I could … but there is much to do, and a baby that needs tending to.

Jonathan painted our TV room so as to remove the cool metallic yellow border and stenciling we did when our goal was to transform into an old fashioned movie theatre look.

We now have a Pod (www.pods.com) sitting in our driveway. It’s a fabulous way to get things packed up and moved!

Things are looking good for a rental house we'd like to get. It’s a house in a newer master planned community that is just about as close to Palo Verde as we can get. Check it out: http://www.tartesso.com. Trouble is, the housing market crashed hard in Phoenix and this new community isn't progressing quickly when it comes to services (Wal*Mart, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.). So, we could no longer make a "quick trip" to store. The existing community is pretty far-removed from most services. I've always lived a "city life," so it’s a bizarre concept that I can't get a store in 5 – 10 minutes. It will be a huge adjustment for me. But my priority with our living arrangements is to have Jonathan as close to work as possible.

And lastly, I've made the big decision to have my beloved ivory sofa taken to the dump. I think it would be a fabulous sofa to re-cover, but the reality is that we'd probably never do it and getting rid of it makes one less HUGE thing to move.

Jonathan is also getting rid of shelves and some other bigger items. Most go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. I typically protest, but Jonathan sweetens the situation by promising me a trip to IKEA to get new replacements. And I'm always up for a trip to IKEA!

Stay tuned for more updates!