The Days Before Dada...

We spent the first night (Tuesday) unpacking the car and unpacking most of the boxes.  You know me... can't go to sleep with luggage or boxes still packed!  The kids quickly found their toys and other things that could be even more fun than real toys!

 Oma slept with Therese the first night... something that Little T had been talking about doing for weeks before our trip.  Thankfully, David didn't sleep on my face that night.  He was very good and I THINK we slept in... Yeah, we did, because we didn't make it to 7:30 Mass. Oma and the kids checked out the breakfast bar, and then we headed outside to see the lay of the land!

Both kids quickly found their favorite spots - Therese: the playgrounds and David: any open area to run around in... as long as someone's finger was close by to grab, if desired.

Our first family picture in Georgia.  I was a bit excited about it all...having my own place, seeing my long-lost husband, etc.   I don't think I'd showered in over 72 hours by this point!  Yikes!  It's too bad that personal hygiene is my first thing to go out the window under stress!  I should work on that!

Next, we went to the office to officially check in (since we arrived after hours) and clarify a few things.  I had a list of things that they had promised would be in the apartment, but weren't there.  They took the list and went shopping that afternoon for them!  I paid rent and got to know the office staff.  They really are helpful and very nice.

This picture is of Therese in front of the office by the pretty pansies.

And here we are checking out the "main pool", which is right behind the office.  It is REALLY nice, but as I noted before... not so family friendly concerning the crowd that hangs out there.

For lunch Oma took us out to McDonalds, which is just a few blocks from our front gate.  And WOW did this place have a play place!  I think this is the first experience David had of going down slides by himself on his stomach and HE IS A FAN!

After filling our stomachs, we headed to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and other necessaries.  We unfortunately got home too late for naps, but fortunately, we have built in distractions outside for cranky kids...

So... we quick had our supper (thanks, Dad, for the pork loin - we have already put a significant dent in our supply!) and then got everything we needed for a walk around the pond.  Specifically... one puppy dog backpack and one puppy purse, which Therese had just gotten from Khristeen Librandi (Allie's new mom).

We met and greeted the ducks!

We tried out the swings by the pond... they work great!

And we met our first puppies at the Bark Park!

As the sun began to set, we finished out lap around the pond...

 As did the ducks and geese...

 We stopped at the gazebo for a family photo...

And on the wooden bridge to do the same. Then we hit the sack - This was the first night the kids slept in the same bed together. They did pretty well.

This is what my kids looked like until about 9am on Thursday morning!  I don't know if it was their bodies getting used to the new climate, or the new pollen in the air, or catching up after the long car ride, but they were comatose... they are actually sleeping in this picture, even though I had been carrying them around, yelling at them, pinching them, etc.  I had even gotten Therese dressed as you can see.  Still... their little bodies wouldn't do anything but sleep!

 They finally did wake-up, Thank God, and we got Oma off to her airport shuttle service, which was only a few blocks from Hamilton Station (our apartment complex) - but we got majorly lost on the way there... the GPS has NOT been my best friend since we arrived in Columbus! Then we returned for a day of fun... lots of running around in the Georgia springtime!

And Chasing Ducks!

 We had a Blue Heron? Sighting in the pond!  I at first thought it was a fake bird in the water... but then it started to walk away!

I tried to tire them out real good by evening so that the next morning they would be tired enough to take a morning nap before we left to go see... Dada!

Our Apartment!

The view from our door, which you enter from the outside (not a hallway). The first corner you see on the left is our official time out corner, the second opening is the entrance to the master bedroom. You can see the back of a stool straight ahead - that is the breakfast bar.  The lower right is a glimpse of our "shoe bin" that greets you as you enter.

A closer look at the living room.  The curtains are in front of our sliding glass doors out to our patio. The kitchen is to my right and the master bedroom is to my left.  When we arrived they had classy center pieces on the coffee table and the dining room table.  They were quickly put on top of the fridge to keep them from being in many pieces.  Luckily, most everything else has proven to be fairly child safe. 

Looking at the living room from the dining area.   It is Sunday this day, so Therese is watching her "Jesus" movie.  This, actually, may be just moments before (or the actual moment before) my laptop bit the dust - David's hand is currently checking it out!

A view at the wall-sized mirror that is next to the dining room table.  The kitchen is to my right.  The kid's bedroom and the guest bath is to my left.

A view of the kitchen through the breakfast bar opening.  All dishes were there when we arrived, minus a few, but I just asked for them and they got them.  The only thing I think I will need to purchase still is a wine and can opener.  All I got so far was a broom, a cutting board, and some hot pads... pretty much everything else I either brought or was here.

A view at the kitchen from the side.  The laundry room is behind me, and the pantry is to my right. There is also a convection oven/toaster on the counter that you can't see... I love it!

The laundry room - possibly my favorite room by far! It is also our storage room for everything, including art supplies, paper products, and bags, backpacks, etc. 

The guest/kids' bathroom.  The door on the right is the utility closet.  There is a door behind me as well as a door in front of the toilet that enters in to the kids' room.  The master bath is much smaller, but does not have "public" access.  Both are full baths (shower, bath, sink and toilet).

The kids' room.  This view is from their front door.  I just put the guard rail on the left for David and rolled the comforter down the middle to create a boundary between them.  It is actually working well.  There is a double chest of drawers on the wall on the left that holds all their folded clothes and toys in the bottom drawers.  There are two closets with sliding doors on the right in the little hallway that goes to the bathroom door.  I actually only have their hanging clothes in there, and their legos, which didn't fit in the drawers.  

The master bedroom.  Yes... it is a king and it is very comfortable.  There is a large chest of drawers on the right wall (and another huge flat screen TV with cable) and the bathroom and closet is to the left.  This picture is taken from the doorway.

This is my little chapel area at the apartment.   I didn't bring much, but it works!  Oh... and I also brought one of the "Little Sister" stools that I made this winter.

My walk-in closet!  Yeah... pretty nice.  You can tell how large it is by the full size ironing board that fits in with more than a foot to spare!  

Our patio.  The sliding doors really keep the noise down amazingly well.  You can see how close the parking lot is to our front door.  And it is never over full, or even near it.  The furthest I have had to part away is the 3rd closest spot to the apartment! The kids love to play on the patio (they feel like they can yell there), and when you have the doors open, you can hear the ice cream truck drive through the parking lots almost every week day afternoon!  No, dad, we haven't waved it down yet!

The view through our patio window (or screen to be specific).  You can see on the right how close the nearest playground is... just down the hill.  And you can't see - it is just behind the wall - the swing set, which is right on top of the hill... even closer!

Another view from our patio window shows you "our" little pond that is right next to the above-shown playground.  It has a built in fountain in the middle, and is actually quite nice.  This, unlike the large pond, is not a fishing pond.  It is just for aesthetic purposes.

And here is a close-up look at the playground by our house.  The other one, which you'll see soon, is a little better for short legs, like David's, but they enjoy this one just fine as well.  Oh... just FYI - the building in the back right is a laundromat for those who don't have in-apartment laundry.  It also has a car wash and vacuuming station attached to the back.  And we get to the large pond just by walking across the parking lot and between the buildings in the background.

Here is a view of the big pond that I've spoken of.  You can see one of the two built in fountains on the left and the second you can barely see (just a speck of whiteness) a little right of center.  The path you see in the foreground goes all the way around the pond, a wooden bridge being the only part that is not pavement and not open to the water's edge. The second playground is just behind me in this picture.  I don't know an exact, but everyone I've spoken with guesses that the path is about a mile long.

The second (and preferred) playground.  The large pond is JUST to my right (you can see the walking path on the upper right).  The fence in the upper left is a "bark park"  - and both kids love to pet the puppies through the fence and learn their names.  You can glimpse behind the playground the smaller of the two pools within the complex.  I have heard from numerous parents, though, that this is the place for families with kids to swim - it gets more direct sunlight so the water is warmer, and school-age kids seem to hang out at the larger pool (which actually consists of three tiered pools of different sizes) and they can be a little bothersome, to say the least.
Sorry I didn't get a picture of our building.  It looks a bit like the buildings you see in these pictures, but our is a little less modern-looking, and is only 2 stories high.  The entire building contains only 8 apartments, and so far  everyone has been super respectful, quiet, and great neighbors!

Well, I think I'm going to call it a night.  I'm just (re)starting the Lord of the Rings, and I really want read a good chunk of that before my bed time comes.  The kids refused to nap today, so they actually went to bed early (okay, not early, but on time, which is a lot earlier than they have been crashing on a regular day)!  Yay... a bit of mommy time!

I love you all so much!
-Maria

The Trip Down

 Well... I guess I'll start the story where we left the Verly's... leaving Marshall with Therese screaming out the back window for her Grandma Barbie and a grey and white cat frantically trying to claw her way out of a cardboard box atop "stuff" in the front passenger seat.

The trip started out a bit hectic, but it actually went quite smoothly (I think... not the best memory in this here noggin!).  I'm pretty sure we drove straight on through the heavy fog and got to the party just perfectly late for the ultimate gift to be opened immediately and enjoyed by all.

Allie - whom, I believe, they were going to attempt to now call Mia - was amazing great with everyone, and got comment after comment on being the friendliest cat anyone had ever met!  Surprise.. Surprise!  They loved her, and it was a fun party... Therese really enjoys Connor and Carter... the two boys her and David's ages.

 Due to talk of icy roads, we decided it would be best for us to leave a day (or at least an afternoon) early.  Mom (Gail) worked until around 1pm on Monday, so I had everything packed and we headed out around 2pm.

Here is a picture of Opah with the kids Sunday night.  He left for work too early to see them Monday morning, so they said their goodbyes early.

The kids, overall, were super great on the trip.  We definitely had our share of melt-downs and hatred sessions towards seat belts, and I most certainly could not have done it by myself, but they WERE really good!

We drove about 10 hours the first day... pulling in to a hotel at about 1am... somewhere in Illinois.  The kids were already in their PJ's - we had transitioned them at the last gas station and had them run amuck in the parking lot for 10 minutes to get nice and tired.

Therese got her long-awaited snuggle with Oma and I had the privilege of having my son literally sleep on my face all night long!  It was a bit awkward when I woke up at times... but I actually slept surprisingly well!

We actually slept in, the kids got to do their favorite thing... brush their teeth!, and had a continental breakfast there before heading off again at about 9am, if I remember correctly.

I thought this day would be worse, because the kids would be awake for the vast majority of the drive, but they were actually better.

They slept more than I expected, and their wonderful Oma became very adept at popping Chex into little one's mouths without barely needing to look!

As you can see in this picture... they kids had a reason to throw a tantrum the entire way if they wanted to... they were jammed in their as tight as can be!  Luckily... they didn't see the dire straights they were in, and we didn't break down on the freeway due to the weight!

We, of course, took running-around-the-parking-lot breaks to wear them out and keep us going, but the trip went really slick!

Just as a quick note:  it was really neat on the ride, because we basically saw the seasons pass in fast-forward!  We left winter in northern Illinois, then we drove through early spring, and then later spring, and when we got to Kentucky and Tennessee, and finally Georgia, it was almost early summer!  The changes in the leaves, and the flowers, were really neat to see.  And, of course, the thermometer kept rising.  As I mentioned earlier, it has actually been a bit brisk here lately, but the days we were driving were hot ones.

Our last meal on the road was the long-awaited (by Little T in the back seat) "Old McDonalds with a Play Place" just passed Nashville (I think?).  The kids had a great time and some great chicken nuggets, and we were set for the last leg of the journey... but we forgot to get gas, so luckily they hadn't fallen asleep yet, so we had one last final stop... another run-around, and we were off.

Amazingly... we only used the GPS the entire time, and it never once lost satelite reception.  Since then, here in Columbus, I've lost it several times, but the GPS angels were with us on the trip... we didn't take one wrong turn or miss one turn the whole way!

 Oh... I had to get a picture of this for Bumpa... you aren't the only grandparent who spoils their grandkids... notice the large ice cream mustache on the little Boomerang!

I guess there was a reason that they weren't sleeping yet when we needed to stop for gas later!

So... we pulled in to our apartment complex around 7:30 pm Tuesday night.  Another 10 hours of driving later.  Our apartment was a bit of a trick to find in the twilight hours, but we found it, unlocked and ready to be lived in.  But... that story is for another day, because it is quarter to midnight here, and my son is screaming for me from his room.

Love, Maria

I Got My Computer Back... But Please Be Patient!

The computer place didn't charge me anything, Deo Gratias!, because they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.  (Oh... if you didn't hear, Davie-Boomer decided it would be interesting to see what a laptop does when it is dropped from a coffee table on to a very hard floor... upside down!  Ummm... it stops working!  Who woulda thunk?)  So... it is working now, but they warned me not to put too much hope in it for long... yikes!  So... I've spent the last few hours fully backing it up on our extra hard drive, and now I feel OK to send a note out.

I'll try to get you all caught up with our happening... in chronological order, if possible, just for the ease of recalling things... and for your reading pleasure.  We've had tons of fun, so I have a lot of posts to make... but I really want to not spend my next few days glued to the computer... so it may take time for me to catch up.  Sorry... but I just wanted to warn you.

Chances are that Joe will not get this weekend off, though, so maybe I will be caught up by the beginning of next week.  Hopefully not, though!

-Maria

Our Move to Georgia: Part 1!

Since I know that you will all enjoy some pictures along with the tale, and I haven't uploaded my pics yet - they are currently "syncing" to the web - I'll just make a quick installment now with the basics.

The kids and I are now officially residents of Columbus, Georgia.  We are living in an AWESOME apartment complex/community, and so far are loving it.  We go for a 30-45 minute walk around our fishing pond every evening before bath time to say hi to the 2 families of ducks, geese and the blue heron that live in the pond.  The walk, of course, can not be finished without a swing on at least one of the two swing sets / playgrounds that we pass by on the walk.  I pondered turning on our heat the other morning, because it was a bit chilly - nearly 45 degrees!  AND... we got to see daddy for just under 48 hours!  We just dropped him off 2 hours ago back at his barracks.

Joe is now officially a SENIOR Officer Candidate (OC) - just to warn you, I will probably begin to more and more write in the military short hand, but I will try to always write it out in the long hand at least the first time I refer to it.  They had a very nice ceremony on base, and the kids and I were able to meet many of his fellow OCs and a few of their wives.  The second ceremony of the day was where the OCs were able to choose their "branch" - what their specific "job" in the army will be (at least for the immediate future).  Joe was in the first half of the class, which had been ranked based on physical and intellectual standards, so he had a pretty good selection of branches to choose from.  He chose to brand Military Police (MP).  We are both very content with this decision, though it was a bit of a surprise to both of us - we had been talking much more about infantry/armor recently.

We don't know all that much about what this will mean for our future, other than the fact that his next level of training will take place at the wonderful Fort Leonard Wood, MO... Woo Hoo!

Well... I'll hopefully write more tonight and get you some pictures of us and our place.

Love,
Maria, Button, and Boomer.

Some Pics of Joe at OCS!

Joe waiting to go in for his water tests.  He passed on the first try for each test! 

 Joe and the Student Council.  He was appointed as a "writer" or "reader" or something to do with editing letters that will be going home to families.  He says that he was elected because of his JD.

 My Favorite!  This is from his Platoon's site on Facebook.  If you want to find it, just type in "006" in the top search box in Facebook and click on the "2nd Platoon Blackhearts" option.  His SFC is very awesome and helpful!

 This is from the 5 mile ruck march they went on yesterday morning.  He said it was fine - no problems.

This is actually the earliest picture.  It is from the first weekend when they all went to the National Infantry Museum.  This is the bus ride back to Fort.
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I didn't know if you guys had seen these - I know that Facebook can be a bit (or a lot) overwhelming, and uploading all the pictures they have on his Company and Platoon sites can take quite a while, so I thought you may enjoy seeing these here.

We are doing well, and getting REALLY excited for Georgia!  The kids spend a couple hours every day downstairs with me going through all our boxes, finding things that we need to bring.  David didn't sleep as well today as he did yesterday, but still pretty good for being new to a bed.  He just woke up again, so hopefully now he is down for the night!

Love, Maria

Davey's First Nap in a Big Boy Bed!

  Well, today was a big day for David!  I've been really struggling with the thought of bringing along a Pack-N-Play to Georgia.  It just seemed like everything about it would just cause difficulties in our little apartment. (i.e. - it takes up a large amount of space, it isn't easy to break down or put up, so it wouldn't be practical to put it away during non-sleeping hours, etc.)  So, I decided that if I wanted David to be sleeping outside of a crib while we are in Georgia, it would be best to start training him for that now, instead of having my first weekend with Joe be one of David screaming all night and afternoon and refusing to let us sleep!

So, I broke down the crib before his afternoon nap time today.  I told Therese that she had to be a good big sister and show David how she stays in bed after mom puts her down, and not play with David if he gets up and walks around.  I was in luck, and Therese was in an agreeable mood for this today, and she did a great job.  At nap time it probably took a bit over half an hour to get him to hit the sack, but when he did (as you can see) I creaked open the door and found him like this - very sweetly sleeping on his bed, and even on his pillow!

Night time was even easier.  He was definitely more scared because of the combination of the dark and the lack of "protection" of the crip bars, but he was down (this time even under his blankets!) within less than 10 minutes!  Therese accidentally woke him up a half an hour later when she had to go potty, but he once again went to bed with just the slightest fight - I didn't even have to reenter the room!

I know... I'm not getting my hopes too far up.  Today very possibly could have been a fluke of luck that it went to well.  But, it sure would make our living arrangements in GA much easier if both of them are sleeping on mats on the floor that can easily by put away during the day to make more space.  We'll see!

Love, Maria