Today's appointment was...loooong. Almost two hours! We had an ultrasound to check fluid levels and see how Jonah was growing. We got some more cute pics, and the u/s tech said that my fluid levels were on the lower side. She asked about my water intake (which I'm trying so hard to keep up, it just seems like I'm thirsty ALL the time anyway) and physical activity. She said that I would probably just need to take it easy and maybe get to the pool every once in awhile. She said the doctor would talk to me about it during his portion.
So we saw the doc and talked about the fluid. He said that 5 is acceptable, and that I was at a 6.5. He wasn't that concerned about it because Jonah had gained more than a pound in the past two weeks (woo!) putting him at 5 pounds 11 ounces. The u/s tech had also said something about my placenta looking "old" which concerned me...those things only last so long, you know!...but my OB wasn't concerned about it. He said that as long as Jonah was growing and thriving the placenta was doing it's job. He ordered a NST (non-stress test) for today and once a week for the rest of the pregnancy. He also told me a warm bath twice a day for 15 minutes would help relax my uterus. Our tub at the apartment is kind of shallow, but the rec center has a great "family whirlpool" meaning the temp is kept much lower than normal so the kids can get in. I do believe I will be visiting the rec center again soon! I'm not on bedrest, but he did say to be more of a couch potato. Easier said than done when you're the one who makes things happen around the house, but I've taken it easy today. I cancelled my more active Mommy Meetups but hopefully will still get to be social.
So while it was a bit disconcerting, everything is fine, and there's nothing to worry about. My NST was good today, and will most likely be fine next week too. Fluid levels are still good for now, and will be checked weekly. Jonah is still growing well and there is no cause for alarm. It did give me a bit of a fright, though, for a minute.
Other things are more stressful than usual, but I don't particularly care to talk about them here. Keep us in your prayers...it's going to be a hard few weeks, I have no doubt.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday Funday!
Last night, Levi and I did some more research on local churches. I found a couple I wanted to visit and handed the laptop over to Levi. Once he saw that Lee Strobel was going to be at Cherry Hills Community Church, he said, "Hey, let's try this one." Deal.
The church, like every thing else we could ever want or need, is mere minutes away from where we live. Seriously, we made four turns to get there. It's a gorgeous facility, and I was impressed just driving up! We checked out the visitor's center, and took our seats in the balcony. Oliver will usually sit through the music portion, and he was enthralled by the lights and the choir! I never realized at NorthPointe, but I really REALLY missed having a choir. Something about all those voices raised to the Lord in praise? Gets me every time. Very moving! The music was also the perfect volume...someone at NorthPointe once quipped that the best place to hear NP's music was from your front yard down the road. Ha! Oliver was great during the music portion, but after that, we decided to try the nursery.
Now, Levi and I aren't big "drop-your-kid-off-and-leave" kind of folks. We rarely took Oliver back to the nursery at NorthPointe, but I really wanted to sit and listen to the sermon toddler-free. So we signed Oliver up, got him situated, and went back to the sermon. My little man...he didn't even cry! In fact, I'm pretty sure he didn't even notice we were gone until we came back. And though I wanted to (so very much) check on him halfway through the sermon, I held out and he was fine. Whew! Heh, when we got back to pick him up, Levi said, "Did you have fun, buddy?" and Oliver said, "Coo-coo!" They gave him a graham cracker. A "cookie". =D It was like he was saying, "Guys, they gave me a cookie...how could I NOT have a good time?!" Adorable. I'm happy to say that I feel comfortable enough to try dropping him off at the beginning of the service next week!
After just one service, I can tell this is a place I want to get to know more about. There are so many activities for the whole family...it just felt like a really good fit. The sermon was scripturally sound, and that made me feel better. Some of the places we checked out online played fast and loose with scripture, and we're not into that. I'm super excited that Lee Strobel will be visiting the church, even though we already know his athiest to believer story (since we own several of his books). I didn't know Lee Strobel lived in Colorado! Oh, by the way, during the service, I noticed that you could see the mountains in the background while the Pastor was preaching. Have I mentioned how much I love it in Colorado? I love it so much.
Hope your Sunday is as great as mine has been so far! Hoping to get some lunch soon and there is a great possibility that a nap is in our future. =D I love Sundays!
The church, like every thing else we could ever want or need, is mere minutes away from where we live. Seriously, we made four turns to get there. It's a gorgeous facility, and I was impressed just driving up! We checked out the visitor's center, and took our seats in the balcony. Oliver will usually sit through the music portion, and he was enthralled by the lights and the choir! I never realized at NorthPointe, but I really REALLY missed having a choir. Something about all those voices raised to the Lord in praise? Gets me every time. Very moving! The music was also the perfect volume...someone at NorthPointe once quipped that the best place to hear NP's music was from your front yard down the road. Ha! Oliver was great during the music portion, but after that, we decided to try the nursery.
Now, Levi and I aren't big "drop-your-kid-off-and-leave" kind of folks. We rarely took Oliver back to the nursery at NorthPointe, but I really wanted to sit and listen to the sermon toddler-free. So we signed Oliver up, got him situated, and went back to the sermon. My little man...he didn't even cry! In fact, I'm pretty sure he didn't even notice we were gone until we came back. And though I wanted to (so very much) check on him halfway through the sermon, I held out and he was fine. Whew! Heh, when we got back to pick him up, Levi said, "Did you have fun, buddy?" and Oliver said, "Coo-coo!" They gave him a graham cracker. A "cookie". =D It was like he was saying, "Guys, they gave me a cookie...how could I NOT have a good time?!" Adorable. I'm happy to say that I feel comfortable enough to try dropping him off at the beginning of the service next week!
After just one service, I can tell this is a place I want to get to know more about. There are so many activities for the whole family...it just felt like a really good fit. The sermon was scripturally sound, and that made me feel better. Some of the places we checked out online played fast and loose with scripture, and we're not into that. I'm super excited that Lee Strobel will be visiting the church, even though we already know his athiest to believer story (since we own several of his books). I didn't know Lee Strobel lived in Colorado! Oh, by the way, during the service, I noticed that you could see the mountains in the background while the Pastor was preaching. Have I mentioned how much I love it in Colorado? I love it so much.
Hope your Sunday is as great as mine has been so far! Hoping to get some lunch soon and there is a great possibility that a nap is in our future. =D I love Sundays!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Day of Win!
Today was...well, interesting. There were many blessings, and I wanted to share them with you!
This morning we were supposed to go pick up our moving money check from Levi's work at 10am. So I got up early and got ready, thinking that after I showered and such I could unpack some more boxes. Someone wanted to pick some up later today, and I wanted to get rid of as many as I could in one fell swoop. Anyway, I was right in the middle of my second box at about 9am, when I got a call from the driver who was delivering our vehicles. By some amazing happenstance, he got here A WHOLE DAY EARLY!! I was unprepared! I had to go get some sort of certified funds for the poor man, and he was 3.5 miles from my house. I quickly left the house to try to procure the elusive certified funds.
See, we banked with Bank of America in Georgia. Which is all well and good...there are tons of BoA atm machines in Colorado! However, there are no branch locations. Anywhere. This is not good when you need a large amount of cash or certified funds, which can usually only be purchased with cash unless you bank with the establishment providing the certified funds. OH NOES! What do I do?! The man will be here any minute and I NEED MAH CARZ 4REALZ. We were planning on heading to the local Chase bank and opening an account with our moving check, but that wasn't happening until after the driver left. Oy!
So I went over to the Chase bank and told them my predicament. The man told me, as I suspected, that even if I wrote a check from my BoA account to the Chase bank, it would take three days to process. I told him that we were planning on opening an account there later today anyway, but that I could write a check for a fairly large amount to open the account, and asked if he would give me a check for the certified funds that I needed right then. What a sweetheart...he offered to do just that! Hooray! Problem solved. Kyle and Ann are my new heroes. Woo!
So!! We have our cars. YAAAY! Meaning we didn't have to extend our rental for the third time. DOUBLE YAAAY! After we dealt with the driver who was awesome, we left to go pick up our check. Only while we were en-route, we discovered while the check had been written, there was some mistake with it. So instead of receiving it as a bonus in a separate check, we would just receive it on our paycheck next week. Whatev...direct deposit ftw! So!! We have our cars AND soon we'll have the moving money. SUPER YAAAY!
Then we returned the rental car, which was quick and painless. We got to drive through Downtown Denver, which was nice. It's so different from Atlanta. Smaller. Neater. More laid back. Levi dropped me off at the 16th Street Mall, which is a neat little pedestrian mall in downtown Denver. We met up with an old friend of mine for lunch. Missy and I went to Middle School together, I'm fairly certain! We tried to remember, and I could remember us hanging out freshman year, but I'm pretty sure it was before that. She is one of the kindest people I know, and has remained sweet as pie through the years! Even though it had been several years (probably close to ten, at least!) since we saw each other, conversation was easy and we had a great lunch at Mellow Mushroom...coincidentally an Atlanta based business! What can I say...you can take the girls out of Georgia...
Which, speaking of, the waiter told me that he'd been to The Vortex in Atlanta, which everyone knows has the best burgers on Earth. ONLY HE SAID THERE WAS A BETTER BURGER IN COLORADO! *GASP* It's from a place called The Cherry Cricket, which apparently has been featured on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" burgers episode. I'm excited to try it someday...I see a date night in our future!
After all the running around, I tried to take a nap when we got home. I'm having a lot of difficulty at night falling asleep. Jonah either has the hiccups, or I can't get the pillow situated to support my belly, or I get comfy and then my shoulder falls asleep and I have to roll over and then start the whole comfy-making process again. Can you guess how nap time goes for me? Yeah, about the same. I managed to get about forty minutes of rest, which is better than none I suppose. We did some MORE running around, as our cars were filthy...so we got Levi's car washed, picked up his prescription, and went to Target. We couldn't find the seat protector for the Pilot, so we had to get a new one (we'll find the other I'm sure, and can use it in Levi's car), and I also broke my awesome rear facing car seat mirror, so we had to pick up another one of those. Also, I have a mommy play date next week at the rec center to take the kids swimming, but I can't for the LIFE of me find my maternity swimsuit! I found every other suit I own, but not my adorable $30 maternity suit that I only got to wear twice ever last time, and I am so so sad! At any rate, I was able to find a top in an XL that will work with a bottom I already own. It's not an *ideal* fit, but it IS a super cute top and I can wear it post baby, too. Cute!
So after running all day, we ordered in Chinese for supper and caught up on Community. Whew! Such a busy day. I'm planning on hitting the sack early tonight, but what an amazing day. Even with the speed bumps we encountered, it was still a great day! God is good. =)
This morning we were supposed to go pick up our moving money check from Levi's work at 10am. So I got up early and got ready, thinking that after I showered and such I could unpack some more boxes. Someone wanted to pick some up later today, and I wanted to get rid of as many as I could in one fell swoop. Anyway, I was right in the middle of my second box at about 9am, when I got a call from the driver who was delivering our vehicles. By some amazing happenstance, he got here A WHOLE DAY EARLY!! I was unprepared! I had to go get some sort of certified funds for the poor man, and he was 3.5 miles from my house. I quickly left the house to try to procure the elusive certified funds.
See, we banked with Bank of America in Georgia. Which is all well and good...there are tons of BoA atm machines in Colorado! However, there are no branch locations. Anywhere. This is not good when you need a large amount of cash or certified funds, which can usually only be purchased with cash unless you bank with the establishment providing the certified funds. OH NOES! What do I do?! The man will be here any minute and I NEED MAH CARZ 4REALZ. We were planning on heading to the local Chase bank and opening an account with our moving check, but that wasn't happening until after the driver left. Oy!
So I went over to the Chase bank and told them my predicament. The man told me, as I suspected, that even if I wrote a check from my BoA account to the Chase bank, it would take three days to process. I told him that we were planning on opening an account there later today anyway, but that I could write a check for a fairly large amount to open the account, and asked if he would give me a check for the certified funds that I needed right then. What a sweetheart...he offered to do just that! Hooray! Problem solved. Kyle and Ann are my new heroes. Woo!
So!! We have our cars. YAAAY! Meaning we didn't have to extend our rental for the third time. DOUBLE YAAAY! After we dealt with the driver who was awesome, we left to go pick up our check. Only while we were en-route, we discovered while the check had been written, there was some mistake with it. So instead of receiving it as a bonus in a separate check, we would just receive it on our paycheck next week. Whatev...direct deposit ftw! So!! We have our cars AND soon we'll have the moving money. SUPER YAAAY!
Then we returned the rental car, which was quick and painless. We got to drive through Downtown Denver, which was nice. It's so different from Atlanta. Smaller. Neater. More laid back. Levi dropped me off at the 16th Street Mall, which is a neat little pedestrian mall in downtown Denver. We met up with an old friend of mine for lunch. Missy and I went to Middle School together, I'm fairly certain! We tried to remember, and I could remember us hanging out freshman year, but I'm pretty sure it was before that. She is one of the kindest people I know, and has remained sweet as pie through the years! Even though it had been several years (probably close to ten, at least!) since we saw each other, conversation was easy and we had a great lunch at Mellow Mushroom...coincidentally an Atlanta based business! What can I say...you can take the girls out of Georgia...
Which, speaking of, the waiter told me that he'd been to The Vortex in Atlanta, which everyone knows has the best burgers on Earth. ONLY HE SAID THERE WAS A BETTER BURGER IN COLORADO! *GASP* It's from a place called The Cherry Cricket, which apparently has been featured on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" burgers episode. I'm excited to try it someday...I see a date night in our future!
After all the running around, I tried to take a nap when we got home. I'm having a lot of difficulty at night falling asleep. Jonah either has the hiccups, or I can't get the pillow situated to support my belly, or I get comfy and then my shoulder falls asleep and I have to roll over and then start the whole comfy-making process again. Can you guess how nap time goes for me? Yeah, about the same. I managed to get about forty minutes of rest, which is better than none I suppose. We did some MORE running around, as our cars were filthy...so we got Levi's car washed, picked up his prescription, and went to Target. We couldn't find the seat protector for the Pilot, so we had to get a new one (we'll find the other I'm sure, and can use it in Levi's car), and I also broke my awesome rear facing car seat mirror, so we had to pick up another one of those. Also, I have a mommy play date next week at the rec center to take the kids swimming, but I can't for the LIFE of me find my maternity swimsuit! I found every other suit I own, but not my adorable $30 maternity suit that I only got to wear twice ever last time, and I am so so sad! At any rate, I was able to find a top in an XL that will work with a bottom I already own. It's not an *ideal* fit, but it IS a super cute top and I can wear it post baby, too. Cute!
So after running all day, we ordered in Chinese for supper and caught up on Community. Whew! Such a busy day. I'm planning on hitting the sack early tonight, but what an amazing day. Even with the speed bumps we encountered, it was still a great day! God is good. =)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Reasons to Celebrate!
So, the vehicle situation has been handled. Praise God! The cars were picked up yesterday, and they ought to be here some time between Saturday and Monday, the 26th-28th. We only rented the car until Friday (because the first driver was to have our vehicles to us at the latest on Friday, but that didn't pan out), so we'll extend the rental one last time when we get a call from the driver letting us know about his estimated drop off date.
In other exciting news, Levi has gotten a promotion at work! He went from being the Lead Programmer to the Director of Research and Core Technology Development! I'm so proud of him.
I've joined a Mommy group on Meetup.com and had my first Mommy outing last week! We went to story time at the library, and lemme tell you...it was the LONGEST thirty minutes of my life! Oliver has gotten so wiggly and squirmy and wants to do things his own way (hello, almost two!) and it's hard for his pregnant Mommy to keep up with him. Afterwards, we went to McDonald's for lunch (I got Oliver a fruit cup at Einstein Bros. on the way) and I got to know the other ladies a little better. One turned out to be from the town we attended church in back in Georgia! Another was half Korean, like me! I had such a great time, and I can't wait til our next outing. There are several throughout the week, but with Oliver being such a handful (and some of them falling during nap time), I'm pretty choosy about which ones I'll attend. Next week, though, is a Meetup at a nearby rec center and we're taking the kids swimming! I'm excited to see how Oliver does (he hasn't been swimming since he was a year old when we went to Florida), I'm excited to meet some new folks, and I'm also excited to finally get to wear my adorable maternity swimsuit again! If...I can find it. I have to go through some more boxes and see what I can do about that...lol.
In other exciting news, Levi has gotten a promotion at work! He went from being the Lead Programmer to the Director of Research and Core Technology Development! I'm so proud of him.
I've joined a Mommy group on Meetup.com and had my first Mommy outing last week! We went to story time at the library, and lemme tell you...it was the LONGEST thirty minutes of my life! Oliver has gotten so wiggly and squirmy and wants to do things his own way (hello, almost two!) and it's hard for his pregnant Mommy to keep up with him. Afterwards, we went to McDonald's for lunch (I got Oliver a fruit cup at Einstein Bros. on the way) and I got to know the other ladies a little better. One turned out to be from the town we attended church in back in Georgia! Another was half Korean, like me! I had such a great time, and I can't wait til our next outing. There are several throughout the week, but with Oliver being such a handful (and some of them falling during nap time), I'm pretty choosy about which ones I'll attend. Next week, though, is a Meetup at a nearby rec center and we're taking the kids swimming! I'm excited to see how Oliver does (he hasn't been swimming since he was a year old when we went to Florida), I'm excited to meet some new folks, and I'm also excited to finally get to wear my adorable maternity swimsuit again! If...I can find it. I have to go through some more boxes and see what I can do about that...lol.
Next on the agenda is getting things in order to get the Georgia house ready for rental, getting our new driver's licenses and the info to get our cars registered and get new tags, finding a new church, and finishing up the nursery. Whew. I'm exhausted just typing it!
Levi's co-workers have also decided to throw me a baby shower, which is so so touching! Since I'm having another boy within two years of having my first, I have almost everything I need, but it's nice that folks want to celebrate this pregnancy as well. I'm nervous because I don't know these ladies very well, but hopefully we'll have a good time. I'm so excited!
My sister in law has been evacuated from the base at Atsugi, Japan, which is just one more thing to celebrate! She was having a hard time being there alone as her husband was out on a boat, and he has since been sent to Guam. He seems to be having a great time there based on his Facebook posts, but I know they hate being apart. For now, she is staying with her parents in Louisiana, which means she'll be coming out when Jonah is born, so she'll get to meet her new nephew! Last time around, she waited weeks and weeks for Oliver to be born...lol!
So as you can see, we're super blessed! It helps me feel like we made the right decision in coming out here. I feel more and more comfortable here every day!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Settling in.
Moving has gone well. Unpacking is slow because this lady is EXHAUSTED from being super pregnant. I am happy to report that boxes are getting unpacked gradually, but we are still dodging boxes daily. Oh well. We'll get around to it eventually. =)
Today, I was working on boxes in Jonah's room and decided to get the crib pieces unwrapped. I noticed a small sliver of wood that had broken off, and kept unwrapping. It wasn't until I completely unwrapped it that I noticed one of the spindles had been pushed out of the track and the sliver of wood was actually going to be more trouble than I initially thought. Sad! We were lucky though, because the crib has been our only casualty thus far in the entire move. AND it was a crib that was given to us...it had been used for 15 years before we got it two years ago! It was well loved.
I managed to find a very nice crib and changing table for less than $100 on Craigslist, though, and the sellers were even willing to deliver! This is a big plus as our vehicles haven't made it from Georgia yet (I'll explain), so we have nothing but the rental, a Chrysler 300, to get around in. She was even willing to deliver today! Excellent transaction. Thanks, Craigslist!
So, the cars. We hired this company called Direct Express Auto Transport to ship our cars. They were rated an A+ by the BBB and were by far the cheapest I found online, so I figured they were solid. They said they'd pick up the cars in 1-7 days from our specified date, which was March 3. Well, on March 11, we still had not heard from them. When we called to inquire, they said, "90% of the time, the vehicles are picked up between 1-7 days from the specified date." Levi was furious! He asked, "So it could be 1-7 days....or a month?" She repeated that it was 1-7 days 90% of the time. We decided to give them 14 days, and if they hadn't picked up the cars by then, we would go with another company.
Guess what? We had to go with another company. This time we chose National Transport LLC. The price was about $500 more, but at this point...who really cares? We already spent almost that much on the three weeks we've had to rent the car. Anyway, they promised to pick up the cars in 1-2 days, and they are scheduled to pick them up tomorrow. It will take between 5-6 days for them to arrive, and I can't wait! I miss my Pilot.
ALSO! We packed stuff in the cars. Important stuff. Like Oliver's wagon. Why is his wagon so important, you ask? Well, we live at the back of the apartment complex, and our apartment is on the back side of the building. Meaning when we park, we have a bit of a ways to walk just to get to the front door. Meaning when I make a Sam's run (or buy a crib on Craigslist!), we (read: Levi! Ha.) have to walk quite a ways home! I can not WAIT to have that wagon. Grocery shopping will be much easier on this old pregnant lady!
I've also met my new OB AND Oliver and Jonah's new pediatrician. I love them both! Levi had a doctor's appointment as well to get a new script for his blood pressure meds, and he wasn't crazy about her. We'll be shopping around a bit more on a family doctor. More importantly, we've scheduled the date that we will meet our little Jonah man! April 26th at 12:30pm! I'm not thrilled about waiting all day long for surgery (because I can't eat...grumpy me!), but we scheduled it that way because Levi's parents and his siblings will be in town, but only until the 30th. This way, they will get to see Jonah more often before they leave town, as our other option was to deliver on the 28th. My parents (probably just my Mom, actually) will come after they leave. I'm excited to have my Mom come out! She's never been to Colorado before, and she has a friend nearby. And she'll cook me delicious Korean food. =D
Things are settling in nicely. I have to say I love it here more and more every day! I feel super blessed to be here, even without my friends and family (Well, we do have some family here! Amazing, awesome family!), because I feel like it's bringing my own little family closer together. We have spent so much time being together as a family these past two weeks and it has really benefited our relationships. Levi and I have taken Oliver to the playground as often as we can, done our shopping as a family, and spent almost every evening together. It's a nice change from the rut I think we were in while we were in Georgia. It's a breath of fresh, mountain air, that's for sure!
And speaking of settling in, it's way past my bed time! More to come!
Today, I was working on boxes in Jonah's room and decided to get the crib pieces unwrapped. I noticed a small sliver of wood that had broken off, and kept unwrapping. It wasn't until I completely unwrapped it that I noticed one of the spindles had been pushed out of the track and the sliver of wood was actually going to be more trouble than I initially thought. Sad! We were lucky though, because the crib has been our only casualty thus far in the entire move. AND it was a crib that was given to us...it had been used for 15 years before we got it two years ago! It was well loved.
I managed to find a very nice crib and changing table for less than $100 on Craigslist, though, and the sellers were even willing to deliver! This is a big plus as our vehicles haven't made it from Georgia yet (I'll explain), so we have nothing but the rental, a Chrysler 300, to get around in. She was even willing to deliver today! Excellent transaction. Thanks, Craigslist!
So, the cars. We hired this company called Direct Express Auto Transport to ship our cars. They were rated an A+ by the BBB and were by far the cheapest I found online, so I figured they were solid. They said they'd pick up the cars in 1-7 days from our specified date, which was March 3. Well, on March 11, we still had not heard from them. When we called to inquire, they said, "90% of the time, the vehicles are picked up between 1-7 days from the specified date." Levi was furious! He asked, "So it could be 1-7 days....or a month?" She repeated that it was 1-7 days 90% of the time. We decided to give them 14 days, and if they hadn't picked up the cars by then, we would go with another company.
Guess what? We had to go with another company. This time we chose National Transport LLC. The price was about $500 more, but at this point...who really cares? We already spent almost that much on the three weeks we've had to rent the car. Anyway, they promised to pick up the cars in 1-2 days, and they are scheduled to pick them up tomorrow. It will take between 5-6 days for them to arrive, and I can't wait! I miss my Pilot.
ALSO! We packed stuff in the cars. Important stuff. Like Oliver's wagon. Why is his wagon so important, you ask? Well, we live at the back of the apartment complex, and our apartment is on the back side of the building. Meaning when we park, we have a bit of a ways to walk just to get to the front door. Meaning when I make a Sam's run (or buy a crib on Craigslist!), we (read: Levi! Ha.) have to walk quite a ways home! I can not WAIT to have that wagon. Grocery shopping will be much easier on this old pregnant lady!
I've also met my new OB AND Oliver and Jonah's new pediatrician. I love them both! Levi had a doctor's appointment as well to get a new script for his blood pressure meds, and he wasn't crazy about her. We'll be shopping around a bit more on a family doctor. More importantly, we've scheduled the date that we will meet our little Jonah man! April 26th at 12:30pm! I'm not thrilled about waiting all day long for surgery (because I can't eat...grumpy me!), but we scheduled it that way because Levi's parents and his siblings will be in town, but only until the 30th. This way, they will get to see Jonah more often before they leave town, as our other option was to deliver on the 28th. My parents (probably just my Mom, actually) will come after they leave. I'm excited to have my Mom come out! She's never been to Colorado before, and she has a friend nearby. And she'll cook me delicious Korean food. =D
Things are settling in nicely. I have to say I love it here more and more every day! I feel super blessed to be here, even without my friends and family (Well, we do have some family here! Amazing, awesome family!), because I feel like it's bringing my own little family closer together. We have spent so much time being together as a family these past two weeks and it has really benefited our relationships. Levi and I have taken Oliver to the playground as often as we can, done our shopping as a family, and spent almost every evening together. It's a nice change from the rut I think we were in while we were in Georgia. It's a breath of fresh, mountain air, that's for sure!
And speaking of settling in, it's way past my bed time! More to come!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Moving day, take two!
So, after arriving in Colorado and hating our new place, we basically lived with Levi's Aunt and Uncle for the past six days. This morning, however, we get the keys to our new place! Word cannot express how excited I am to sleep in my own bed today.
Aunt Jan and Uncle Allan have been the best hosts ever. It has been so laid back here! We have shopped and cooked and just hung out...so much fun. I am so glad that even though we're "moving out", they are just down the road. Love it!
So the timeline for today is as follows. We'll sign the final paperwork and take possession of the apartment. We can unload everything from the car (SO. MUCH. STUFF.) and then hang out awhile. I won't be around with the movers come, so we'll have to decide then where some of the bigger stuff will go, like which desk goes where, and where we will put the freezer. The trailer comes sometime between 9-1, and the movers come sometime between 12-1. I have an appointment to see little Jonah man at 1, but I have to get there a little early to get my paperwork done, so I may be there for some of the unloading, but not much.
I'm excited to see the new place. They are putting in new carpet this morning, so I'm probably going to have to vaccum immediately, which is fine. And then after the movers leave, I'll have to vaccum again since they will be traipsing around my home with their shoes on. Maybe they'll be Asian movers? lol
I'll be sure to post pics later! Hooray, it's moving day! For real this time!
Aunt Jan and Uncle Allan have been the best hosts ever. It has been so laid back here! We have shopped and cooked and just hung out...so much fun. I am so glad that even though we're "moving out", they are just down the road. Love it!
So the timeline for today is as follows. We'll sign the final paperwork and take possession of the apartment. We can unload everything from the car (SO. MUCH. STUFF.) and then hang out awhile. I won't be around with the movers come, so we'll have to decide then where some of the bigger stuff will go, like which desk goes where, and where we will put the freezer. The trailer comes sometime between 9-1, and the movers come sometime between 12-1. I have an appointment to see little Jonah man at 1, but I have to get there a little early to get my paperwork done, so I may be there for some of the unloading, but not much.
I'm excited to see the new place. They are putting in new carpet this morning, so I'm probably going to have to vaccum immediately, which is fine. And then after the movers leave, I'll have to vaccum again since they will be traipsing around my home with their shoes on. Maybe they'll be Asian movers? lol
I'll be sure to post pics later! Hooray, it's moving day! For real this time!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Adventures in Moving Cross Country!
We are now officially Coloradans!
We had a nice flight out on Thursday. Oliver traveled like an old pro though this was his first time in an airport and on an airplane. He is a great car seat traveler, and I think that helped...first class seats are the perfect size for his car seat! Levi and Oliver both sat in first class and I sat in coach to save a bit of money, though looking back it would have been worth the extra money to have a bit more room. Also, poor guy next to me had to get up every dang fifteen minutes for me to use the restroom! Oh well.
We were able to see Levi's dad, who was flying OUT of Denver the day we flew in, for a little while before he had to go catch his flight. It was nice for him to be able to see Oliver, as he rarely gets any one on one time with him. He flies in and out of Denver often for his job, so I am thinking he will be seeing a lot more of the little boy. I'm glad...like I said, he never gets alone time with him!
After picking up our rental car (our vehicles haven't even left GA yet...they should be on their way within the week, I think), we headed over to see the apartment. We chose the community because of it's proximity to Levi's office (two miles!), and also because they offered a 30 day guarantee...if you aren't fully satisfied with the apartment, you can break your lease in the first thirty days and just pay for the days you stayed (and all the other fees that come with renting an apartment at first). So we had a bit of a hiccup...we hated the apartment. A lot. It was super noisy due to a shared hall that was enclosed...I could hear clacking of shoes and it was super annoying. There were also some issues with the apartment not being clean, despite the fact that we "took ownership" of the apartment on Feb. 25, but didn't arrive until Mar. 3...it's not like they didn't have time, right? There were also some other things that Levi felt indicated a lack of attention to detail on management's part, and he felt really uncomfortable with that. The apartment was also painted this weird pink/beige color throughout (I know, I know, it's just paint, but really? Pink?) and the weirdest thing of all? The bedrooms didn't have light fixtures. Apparently it's a Colorado thing...I guess they like lamps?
Anyway, we are fortunate enough to have family in Colorado, and they were kind enough to offer us beds for however long we needed. Friday, we spent the day looking at other housing options, and found a really nice complex a bit further away (not much, I think it's about six miles from Levi's office) that we really liked. It's a different sort of set up...it's like they built a three story apartment building, and then on the ends, they extended the first floor apartments and built three bedroom houses on the end. None of the bedrooms share a wall with the other apartments and there are no upstairs neighbors AND you're on the ground floor, meaning it's quieter than most of the other apartments. Plus, our unit will back to open area...even less noise! Basically it's all the ease of apartment living...no lawn, less to clean, etc. with none of the peskiness...mostly the noise. Score.
The new apartment is managed by the same company as the sucky one, so we were able to transfer our applications and such and avoid paying that fee again, which was nice. We aren't able to move in until Wednesday (which, coincidentally, is the day of my first OB appointment in Colorado), but Levi's Aunt and Uncle have sort of adopted the three of us until we are able to move. It is super sweet of them, and they are treating us just like their own children! We are super blessed to have them here to help us out during this stressful time. God is so good to have given us family members like these. <3
We had to do some juggling with our stuff coming, as we were supposed to have the movers come and move our stuff in to the sucky apartment today. However, we were able to cancel and have our stuff stored at the Denver terminal for no cost...I just have to call and schedule the unloaders to come on the 9th. Easy peasy! The cars will still be delivered to the sucky apartment, which isn't a big deal...we'll just go pick them up when they get here. Although, now that I think about it I may be able to change the address on that as well since the new apartment is pretty close to the old one. That's a task for another day.
So! So far it has been an adventure, but we are doing okay. I am pleased that we found a place to live with NO meltdowns from me! It's amazing, but I feel much more relaxed here. There aren't any pressures...even with the housing situation, because Levi's Aunt and Uncle made it abundantly clear that we were welcome to stay as long as we needed to! It's so so generous of them, especially since we basically gave them no notice at all that we were coming because we had planned on staying in the apartment for the two nights before our stuff got there. The only hard part has been keeping Oliver entertained. We had some toys with us, but we have also been in the car a lot the past two days, so he has been kind of whiny and such. He did get to play on the playground today, and we are definitely taking him to one tomorrow, so he did get to run around, which was nice. I know he is super OVER sleeping in the pack n play, so I can't wait to get him in his regular crib next week. We'll all sleep better! Until then, I am enjoying this time with our family and trying to iron out all the details as we go. Next on my tackle list is to find out about driver's license changes and car tags and emissions testing and what have you. Monday will be a busy running around day for me, I think! I also have to find a family practice and a pediatrician, but I think I will wait until after my OB appointment and get recommendations from the folks there. I figure the medical community knows the medical community better than anyone. =)
Okay, it's waaaaay past my bedtime. Night!
We had a nice flight out on Thursday. Oliver traveled like an old pro though this was his first time in an airport and on an airplane. He is a great car seat traveler, and I think that helped...first class seats are the perfect size for his car seat! Levi and Oliver both sat in first class and I sat in coach to save a bit of money, though looking back it would have been worth the extra money to have a bit more room. Also, poor guy next to me had to get up every dang fifteen minutes for me to use the restroom! Oh well.
We were able to see Levi's dad, who was flying OUT of Denver the day we flew in, for a little while before he had to go catch his flight. It was nice for him to be able to see Oliver, as he rarely gets any one on one time with him. He flies in and out of Denver often for his job, so I am thinking he will be seeing a lot more of the little boy. I'm glad...like I said, he never gets alone time with him!
After picking up our rental car (our vehicles haven't even left GA yet...they should be on their way within the week, I think), we headed over to see the apartment. We chose the community because of it's proximity to Levi's office (two miles!), and also because they offered a 30 day guarantee...if you aren't fully satisfied with the apartment, you can break your lease in the first thirty days and just pay for the days you stayed (and all the other fees that come with renting an apartment at first). So we had a bit of a hiccup...we hated the apartment. A lot. It was super noisy due to a shared hall that was enclosed...I could hear clacking of shoes and it was super annoying. There were also some issues with the apartment not being clean, despite the fact that we "took ownership" of the apartment on Feb. 25, but didn't arrive until Mar. 3...it's not like they didn't have time, right? There were also some other things that Levi felt indicated a lack of attention to detail on management's part, and he felt really uncomfortable with that. The apartment was also painted this weird pink/beige color throughout (I know, I know, it's just paint, but really? Pink?) and the weirdest thing of all? The bedrooms didn't have light fixtures. Apparently it's a Colorado thing...I guess they like lamps?
Anyway, we are fortunate enough to have family in Colorado, and they were kind enough to offer us beds for however long we needed. Friday, we spent the day looking at other housing options, and found a really nice complex a bit further away (not much, I think it's about six miles from Levi's office) that we really liked. It's a different sort of set up...it's like they built a three story apartment building, and then on the ends, they extended the first floor apartments and built three bedroom houses on the end. None of the bedrooms share a wall with the other apartments and there are no upstairs neighbors AND you're on the ground floor, meaning it's quieter than most of the other apartments. Plus, our unit will back to open area...even less noise! Basically it's all the ease of apartment living...no lawn, less to clean, etc. with none of the peskiness...mostly the noise. Score.
The new apartment is managed by the same company as the sucky one, so we were able to transfer our applications and such and avoid paying that fee again, which was nice. We aren't able to move in until Wednesday (which, coincidentally, is the day of my first OB appointment in Colorado), but Levi's Aunt and Uncle have sort of adopted the three of us until we are able to move. It is super sweet of them, and they are treating us just like their own children! We are super blessed to have them here to help us out during this stressful time. God is so good to have given us family members like these. <3
We had to do some juggling with our stuff coming, as we were supposed to have the movers come and move our stuff in to the sucky apartment today. However, we were able to cancel and have our stuff stored at the Denver terminal for no cost...I just have to call and schedule the unloaders to come on the 9th. Easy peasy! The cars will still be delivered to the sucky apartment, which isn't a big deal...we'll just go pick them up when they get here. Although, now that I think about it I may be able to change the address on that as well since the new apartment is pretty close to the old one. That's a task for another day.
So! So far it has been an adventure, but we are doing okay. I am pleased that we found a place to live with NO meltdowns from me! It's amazing, but I feel much more relaxed here. There aren't any pressures...even with the housing situation, because Levi's Aunt and Uncle made it abundantly clear that we were welcome to stay as long as we needed to! It's so so generous of them, especially since we basically gave them no notice at all that we were coming because we had planned on staying in the apartment for the two nights before our stuff got there. The only hard part has been keeping Oliver entertained. We had some toys with us, but we have also been in the car a lot the past two days, so he has been kind of whiny and such. He did get to play on the playground today, and we are definitely taking him to one tomorrow, so he did get to run around, which was nice. I know he is super OVER sleeping in the pack n play, so I can't wait to get him in his regular crib next week. We'll all sleep better! Until then, I am enjoying this time with our family and trying to iron out all the details as we go. Next on my tackle list is to find out about driver's license changes and car tags and emissions testing and what have you. Monday will be a busy running around day for me, I think! I also have to find a family practice and a pediatrician, but I think I will wait until after my OB appointment and get recommendations from the folks there. I figure the medical community knows the medical community better than anyone. =)
Okay, it's waaaaay past my bedtime. Night!
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