Settling into life in our new place!

So we've been in our new house for almost 4 weeks and getting settled right in! I included some pictures below in case anyone is interested (sorry for the bedroom pics, I was too lazy to clean all the rooms and put away the clothes!). We still have to finish up a project in the family room (the first room in the pictures) where there is a gap between the bookshelves. Brian needs to cut up some plywood for shelves up top and we are gluing some Lego baseplates onto a piece of plywood and making a Lego table for the kids there as well. It's nice to be so close to done, I feel like it's been forever since I've just been able to relax and enjoy my home!

We spent last Saturday at Remlinger Farms! We went last year and the kids really liked it so we went again. This year, Nathan was more interested in some different rides, and we convinced Adam to come on the big train ride with us! Yay! Better than last year, when he did not participate in a single ride. Next year, I am aiming for ONE other ride for him! Other than that one outing, I feel like we haven't gotten out too much in the last few weeks. A few trips to the park, a trip to a beach, some trips to the gym (okay that doesn't really count as an outing!). I've been preparing to get my kids back into school and I think we are pretty close to ready! Nathan has a backpack and he is ready to start preschool on Wednesday! I also signed him up for indoor soccer starting next week, so we are getting ready to get right into the swing of things:). We took Lynsey to a different gymnastics center on Wednesday and I loved it, but she thought the other place she tried once last Spring was more fun (Brian had lots of reservations about that place). So what to do! Be the tiger mom and tell her she needs to go to the place where she is the most likely to improve her skills or let her go to the place that she thought was the most "fun" (we're not sure at all this "fun" would continue, it was very dependent on her teacher showing off and who knows which teacher she will get). The bottom line is if she refuses to go to the place we like then it's just not going to happen, so we need to seriously work on our negotiating skills to convince her that she will enjoy this new place just as much. She was the only kid there on her trial class, so I do think she would have more fun if there were a few more kids (which there will be starting next week). We'll see what happens!

What else is new with us . . . not a whole lot! I am searching for how to best use my time when Nathan is in preschool, and I have submitted my form volunteering myself to Lynsey's school PTSA. I am hoping to get involved a bit there, and also perhaps finding a morning Bible Study somewhere (if I don't find one, I might start one!). I'm sure that when it comes right down to it, three free mornings a week will get filled up quickly, but I do want to make sure I'm using that time wisely. I know I'm looking forward to being able to do errands kid-free - I might actually do some clothes shopping in the mall again! I have been buying pretty well all the kids clothes on line the last few years, which is fine, but it will be nice to have the flexibility to also be able to browse some stores again!

New house! Vegas! Busy busy!

Whew! It's been a crazy few weeks! I am pretty far behind now, must get caught up! The moving process was a bit of a blur, I can't even believe we survived it. Moving is very unenjoyable, to put it mildly. We had movers so that was helpful, but even with 4 guys working for like 8 hours, it was still sooo much work for us! We had to move quite a bit of stuff over in our van still (apparently we are fast approaching becoming a two-moving-truck family, which is just insane!). We have also been working to clear out the old house, and even though we hired cleaners, there was still a lot to do there! We moved last Monday, and Brian's parents were coming on Friday, so last week we frantically unpacked and organized to get things ready for them. I haven't posted any pictures of the finished house yet, maybe on the next post (no pictures on the wall yet, that was not a priority last week!). Brian's parents arrived Friday afternoon and we were able to breathe again and relax.

Saturday morning? Off to the airport! Our two night trip to Vegas was here, yay! We had a great time! We spent some time with our friends, Andy, Kristy, Elisse and Kelly, as well as a lot of time by ourselves just relaxing, walking around, maybe doing a little gambling:-/. We did not walk away with any winnings, but there were times when we were up for a brief time! That was fun:). On Saturday night we saw Cirque du Soliel Ka at the MGM Grand with our friends, which was really fun. I think I enjoyed our other Cirque show that we watched here more, but the stage was fantastic and it was really entertaining. Oh and get this - I rode the New York New York roller coaster! I have not been on a roller coaster in many, many years, and now I know why. I told myself many times on the ride that I would not die, but I didn't believe it! Yikes, I am too old for that stuff! Brian still likes it, so he will be the one to take those rides with our kids as they get older! Sunday we had a delicious breakfast, relaxed by the pool, had an early dinner at this cool restaurant that really made you feel like you were in Venice (and the food was fantastic!!), and then we were off to see the Blue Man Group! What a fun show! Very entertaining! We hung out with our friends again after, found a $5 Blackjack table and had some fun there. Saw the Bellagio fountains, did a lot of walking. Monday we did some more relaxing and walking around before it was time to head to the airport. A great getaway! The kids had done pretty well for Brian's parents, although Nathan was a bit of a stinker. He is becoming a bit harder to manage these days! He was such an easy two year old, but definitely as he gets older and more independent he is becoming a bit more of a handful. He was a bit low on sleep too, because he had a three hour nap on Tuesday (which he still fought like crazy, but clearly needed!).

Now I guess we try to settle into normal life again! Tonight we do the walk-thru on our other house, hopefully the landlords are okay with the condition of the house. It's very clean and Brian did try and do as much paint touchups as possible, but the walls desperately need a new coat of paint. When I scrubbed too hard trying to wash them, the paint came off on my rag! Terrible paint. But, I know the landlords are going to try and get away without spending a penny before any new tenants come in, so I just hope that the touch ups are good enough for them. It will be such a relief to give the keys back and just be in this house, not having to think about moving or any other housing issues. Seriously what will I do with my time?? How long have I been consumed with one housing issue after another?? Let's just say I am seriously looking forward to NOT stressing about houses for a while!!