"Man Bag"

No, I'm not referring to a "man-purse" (or "murse" if you will), "shoulder bag", or any other coined term for a man bag. What I AM referring to is the way that a diaper bag is packed for Liam and myself when I'm headed out with him.

Yesterday was my first day off with Liam at the new house. We had some errands to run so I packed things up for him and me in his diaper bag. Home Depot and Kroger were on the list. We needed stuff for the house in more ways then one! So what I included in the diaper bag was a little more than the usual diapers and wipes....

oh yeah - Speaker cable and makeup accesories. Why do makeup accesories qualify as "man bag" material? Because I'd be lost in the makeup aisle at Kroger trying to figure out what new replacements my wife needs in her collection which is why the loving wife that I have sent me with the "empties" so I'd know exactly what I was looking for :-) Like I said... Man Bag!

I've succesfully set up our home theater sound system with my father-in-law save for the fact for some reason we can't get sound from our DVD player. bummer. MAJOR bummer. Oh well, we'll get there eventually.

In the mean time, I did get new locks installed on all of our doors today. Little by little we're making this place our home.

G

Boxing Match

So, the only bad thing about getting down the basics set for moving in (you know.... clothes, food, and a place to sleep... oh yeah, and internet) is that it TOTALLY strips away the motivation and need to get everything else unpacked.

I'm a guy.

I could probably leave boxes sitting around for weeks as long as I have a working kitchen. (So, I'm not your everyday fella). That being said, we're trying to maintain momentum and keep unpacking things. A co-worker at work (is that redundant?) told me that it takes 2-3 months to get unpacked and settled. I scoffed at the notion. Or choked. No, no... we'll go with scoffed. Because in my head my response was rather flippant.

At any rate, after dealing with stock and inventory in retail (going on almost 2 years experience here...) I can blow through unpacking boxes at a rather quick rate.

What's the challenge then you say? Why the hold up you ask?

Life.

Pure and simple. Life, the every day exactitudes of existence; the eating, sleeping, clothes-washing, bill-paying responsibilities of the norm; is what keeps it all from happening at once.

What I do like about this new place is how we've had the ability to purge a LOT from our old house and there is a lot that we want for this new house in terms of organization and neatness.

It's nice to have a fresh start and a blank pallete :-)

G

Move-In Day!

Tomorrow will be when we officially move in to our new home! We had the movers move our stuff on April 22nd, but we haven't actually begun living there yet... this all changes in less than 24 hrs.

So... our family will be in transition... again. BUT, with this single transition comes a world of promise. No more commuting for an hour both ways to go to work, to check on the house, to move, etc. No more having to live out of boxes (well, eventually!) or suitcases, or closet space - it's been a VERY long time since we've been able to say that.

Melissa, Liam, and I have kinda developed our own sort of "routine" while living with her parents. As irregular as it could be it still had its "usuals," ya know? So, while we are anxious to get into our new house and excited about it too, there's a lot of emotion with "uprooting" again.

Melissa and I have probably taken for granted that there has always been another hand on deck while living with her parents. So although I can speak for Mel, I for one am a little nervous of flying more solo with childcare. But I'm also looking forward to how I'll be able to bond with my son more. For the most part I feel like I've been absent a lot over the past 6 months while having to tend to all this house stuff. Kinda makes my heart break a little, but I realize that its only been for a season and I am not in the least an absentee parent. I make the most of every chance I get with him.

The other day on my "lunch" break I came home and Mel and Liam were sitting outside at her parents place. I made a sandwich and ate out there while enjoying their company. I have to say this was probably one of my highlights for 2011 so far. Its hard to describe, but that instance was very special to me. Maybe because in that moment it was nice to just be a family and nothing else interposing on that. It was cool to see my son be in wonder of all the things around him. It was nice to sit back and laugh with Melissa. One of the biggest highlights of our new home is the extended covered patio. I look forward to many, many more times of just relaxing outside together... as a family in our new home :-)

G