Posts Tagged With: moving house

finding a comfy writing space

Posted on November 1, 2021 by robynbird

I haven’t been writing.
It’s been over a month since y’all got anything other than a tune for Tuesday, and that’s because I oftentimes plan them out in advance.

I had sort of decided I haven’t been writing because I’m spending my time and energy in the final throws of getting us settled. I’m also spending a great deal of my time and energy at school.

But the other day, I realized something outside the boundaries of my time and energy. I haven’t found a place in our new home where I feel comfortable to write.

The loft is a gorgeous light-filled room in which I made for myself a library and creative space.
I’m not one to sit at a desk and write.
In the past I’ve sat curled up in a big club chair with my laptop. I no longer write that way because of the negative impact my neck and shoulder from reaching across my body to use the keyboard on the arm of the chair.
So, I don’t like to sit at the desk, and I can’t really be in my chair the way I like. This means I’m not actually using my computer much at all.

Before I finished setting up my nest in the loft, I used my computer at the kitchen island. To be perfectly honest, I rather loved writing in the kitchen.
The practical aspect of that is my computer can’t always be on the island. And I never found a convenient place to keep it when I wasn’t using it.

Since I finished getting (mostly) settled in the loft, I moved my computer up there.
Literally only touched it to move it.

Perhaps this gorgeous space made for creating doesn’t fit the way I like to write?
Perhaps I haven’t tried it on enough to see how it fits?
I finally unpacked everything and nearly have it set up the way I want.
I need to actually live in the space instead of always being in it unpacking and getting settled.

Whichever way it shakes out, the island is always there in the kitchen waiting for me…

Categories: around the house, me | Tags: blog writer, comfort, comfort zone, creative space, getting settled, learning from life, making a home, moving house, unpacking, writer, writing | 4 Comments

creating a home in the house we built

Posted on August 18, 2021 by robynbird

Whoa!
We’ve lived here two weeks and five days.
The kitchen was a shit-show.
Oh, who am I kidding, the whole damn house was a shit-show!

How it started.

and

How it’s going.

Sunset bubbly on the roof!

I’ve been working so hard and feeling super overwhelmed. But I’m creating a home and that takes hard work and a great deal of patience.
I’ve got loads of hard work in me. I seem to be a bit short on patience…
I’m eager to feel settled here in our beautiful ’empty nest’!

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, creating a home, empty nest, feeling settled, getting back to normal, getting settled, moving, moving house, new home, unpacking | 4 Comments

one week out

Posted on July 22, 2021 by robynbird

This is where I stand when it comes to packing.

This is our dining room. Everything in here will be handled by the movers. This is in addition to the furniture. And the handful of wardrobe boxes up in our bedroom.

I’ve packed most everything that may not be necessary in the next week. This includes pantry staples and the majority of daily use dishes. The dishwasher was two thirds of the way full yesterday, so I just packed everything that wasn’t in there hoping for success in the next week.
Of course, all these kitchen things are simply in shopping bags in the front room. So, they’re easily accessible if we have some sort of ‘kitchen-things emergency’.

This is what will go our cars.
It didn’t start out looking like too much…but then I did the kitchen.
I finally ran out of boxes. I was able to get all the dishes/glassware into boxes for the movers, but not the foodstuffs and other things.
I’m not concerned, because Thing 1 made the plan I know will work.
And with two trips in my vehicle and one each in YBW’s and Thing 1’s, we’ll have that front room cleaned out in no time!

I look at the rooms in this house and realize, it’s not all that much that needs to move.
We’ve got this.
I did all the organizing.
We did the majority of the work.
One week from today will be the last time we sleep in this house.
We’re ready.

Categories: around the house | Tags: dude I got mad skills, list lady, lists, mad skills, making a list, moving, moving house, organization skills, organize, packing, preparation | 3 Comments

all that compounded smartness

Posted on July 14, 2021 by robynbird

I felt anxious Monday.
Literal low-level thrumming in my body.
This list is enormous!
Three weeks sounds like a long time, but it’s not.
How will I get this done?
How will I be ready for the movers?

My logical brain knew all that was straight up bullshit.
My logical brain knew I’d planned everything out to the nth degree.
My logical brain knew I was prepared.

But my feels were actively attempting to run the show.
That physical vibration was convincing as hell.

To thwart the feels, I over-functioned my ass off.
So much so that I crossed off everything for the week of July 11-17 on my moving list that very day.
But that wasn’t good enough.
I had to do stuff scheduled for the following week too.
I had to get more done.
On Monday.
Of the second week.

This is where I was when I went to bed Monday night.
Monday July 12.

What you don’t see crossed off are two things I actually started working on.
pack bathroom and linen closet
pack clothes

I was chatting with Thing 1 about how I was feeling. She was loving and encouraging. But I simply couldn’t shake the feels.
She was quite clear that I shouldn’t overwhelm myself right before the finish line.
(it’s like she knows me)
I assured her I knew it wasn’t real. That logically I was even more on target than my prep work suggested I be. But I sure as hell felt a way about it.

We talked later in the day when I finally stopped and sat down.
In this conversation I was finally able to verbalize what I was feeling anxious about. I wasn’t sure how to pack all the random things so the movers would take them. I didn’t want to waste boxes I might need for dishes on laundry room things, etc.
It was then I began to realize my panic wasn’t only about being ready on time, it was also about being properly packed so the movers could be successful.
Thing 1 was like, “Uh…Momma. You can put stuff in your car and take it over there.”
(but actually kinder than that sounds)

Her words created an instantaneous shift in me.
My body was still even though my brain was thrumming – with realization!
I didn’t have to pack up anything awkward. I could simply put it in the car.
Y’all! My girl saved the day!
I often tease her that she’s smarter than me. She doesn’t see it that way. She calls it ‘compounded smartness’. That she’s as smart as she is because I’m as smart as I am and she simply built upon it.
(something like that, I think she explains it better)
Either way, she saved the day.

The container we packed in March is being delivered Wednesday of that last week and being unloaded first thing Thursday morning.
Thing 1 offered to meet me at this house after they’re finished at the new house. We’ll each load up a vehicle and take it to the new house.
Then anything that doesn’t really go into a proper box, or anything we’ll need straight away will be there ready for us.
YBW is staying at the new house because the smart home guys will be there working their magic. So he’ll pack up his car the night before instead of coming back home with me.
Those three loads will carry all the awkward things, and the movers can do the rest.

I’m still properly planned.
I’m ahead of schedule.
I’m perfectly still inside.
Like some sort of organizational ninja, this move won’t even see me coming.

This is an excellent example of why we must talk about feeling a way. Just because our logical and emotional selves are at odds, doesn’t mean there isn’t a solution.
In my case, the solution was someone looking at it from a different perspective.
Someone who knows and loves me, and had the patience to listen even though she knew I wasn’t making any kind of sense.
Grown children know what’s up.
It’s all that compounded smartness.

Categories: on being a mom | Tags: ability to help, all the feels, anxious, dude I got mad skills, help, kindness, list lady, lists, love, mad skills, making a list, mothers and daughters, moving, moving house, organization, organization skills, organize, packing, patience, preparation, Thing 1 | 7 Comments

a color coded list for the end game

Posted on July 8, 2021 by robynbird

We’re now twenty days out from closing on the new house. Twenty-two days until we lock the door to this house behind us for the last time.
I created a color coded list broken down by week to ensure we’re ready to roll when the time comes.
.blue for me
.red for YBW
.purple for both

This week is already proving to be successful. I’ve crossed off the majority of my list.
Go me!
Yesterday was particularly productive, not only did I pack six boxes, I packaged and shipped Thing 2’s birthday box. Played Chinese checkers with Meredith and Beau for three hours, video chatted with Baby K, and made a quick Target run.

I have some larger items that won’t fit into any of the boxes I have, so I’ll make another quick Target run this morning for some bigger bins.

I’ve got the new car insurance sorted, but having trouble finding appropriate home owners insurance. After working on insurance for two days straight, I’m ready to get that checked off my list too.

This is the end game, y’all.
I’m ready!

Categories: around the house | Tags: dude I got mad skills, list lady, lists, mad skills, making a list, moving, moving house, organization skills, organize, packing, preparation | 13 Comments

under contract

Posted on May 19, 2021 by robynbird

Three days active.
Over forty showings.
Six offers.
Our house is under contract!

Forty five thousand over asking.
Inspection waived.
Appraisal waived.
Mid-June closing.
Free rent back until end of July.

I’m still more relieved than excited, but excitement is on the horizon!

Categories: around the house | Tags: excited, excitement, moving house, real estate, real estate market, relief, under contract | Leave a comment

we’re ready

Posted on April 29, 2021 by robynbird

We’ve finally finished getting this house prepped for sale.
YBW and I looked at each other and asked why we waited so long. There’s no real way to know, but it’s done now and that’s all that matters.

New hardwood floors on the main living level where everything but the entry and kitchen were always carpeted.

family room

These new stained-to-match stair treads are ridiculously beautiful.

LVP upstairs in all the bedrooms is even better than we imagined.

Baby K’s room

dressing area of main bedrrom

House goes live on the MLS May fourteenth and we’re ready!

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, home improvement, house, moving, moving house, project, remodel, YBW | 6 Comments

Birdie water is best water, or pros and cons of Baby K living at her own house

Posted on April 8, 2021 by robynbird

Thing 1, Husband N, and Baby K came to have dinner with us yesterday.
After hugs and kisses, the first thing that kid did was grab my water and chug it.
Apparently Birdie water is best water.

This lead to a bit of a joke that I’d make a pro and con list about Baby K living at her own house. Throughout the evening, each of the adults would randomly say “Pro” or “Con” and what began as an off the cuff remark became a reality.
Yep, I made a list.

Let me say this before I share it with y’all, my heart has disappointment that I don’t get to see my grandbaby every single day. But, there is a completely new kind of joy in seeing her.
A perfect example: last night, she and I played a game in which she ‘put me to bed’. She placed a pillow on the floor and gently pushed me and said, “Go to sleep.” When I laid my head on the pillow she squatted down and kissed me. Then I pretended to snore. My signal to wake was her tickling my foot. I giggled dramatically and sat up, saying “You tickled my foot to wake me up!”
She laughed and the game started all over again.
At one point her gentle pushes to get me to lie on the pillow became rough and then she was pushing my on my face. I told her, “I don’t like when you push so hard on my face. I will play with you, but please stop pushing me.”
She stopped and looked at me then went around me to point at the pillow and said, “Go to sleep!”
We had an accord.
A bit later I shifted the way my body was ‘sleeping’. I rolled onto my belly and bent my knees, touching my feet together then I fake snored my ass off.
Apparently me moving my body changed the game because she began walking around me going, “Hmm.”
Then she pulled my feet apart and began to climb up my back starting at my bottom. She did this several times, ‘falling’ off me at different places and in different ways.
Her giggles were off the charts, and she was mad as hell when her mommy told her it was time to go home.

Because I didn’t spend the entire day with her I had so much more energy to really play with her!
That is worth every single minute of us living in two different houses. Well, that and the fact that the drive is now forty-five minutes instead of eleven hours.

Here’s my pro and con list.
PROS
things that can be left out and remain safe:
drinks
remotes
reading glasses
pens
notebooks
bookmarks remain in books
(for the most part) everything remains tidy
reading more
doing less laundry
lack of flying food and dishes
folded laundry remains folded
more energy for play

CONS
not hearing toddler feet running down the hall
lack of random hugs and kisses
not having legit excuse for watching a shit-ton of Disney
hearing her say, “Papa”
watching YBW’s face when she says, “Papa”
not playing
not reading to her
not rocking with her before bed
not snuggling
not hearing new words as they come
not watching new skills as they develop
she has to leave to go home
I have to leave to go home

Truth be told, there is more good, more joy, and more opportunity for a new and different sort of closeness because my daughter and her family live in their own house, but I sure do miss receiving random kisses throughout my days.

Categories: me | Tags: Baby K, Birdie and Baby K, family, life, love, making a list, moving house, multigenerational family, multigenerational home, new home, pros and cons, toddler life | 8 Comments

adapting here and adapting there

Posted on April 7, 2021 by robynbird

Thing 1, Husband N, Baby K, and their two dogs officially began living in their new house April first. (no foolin’)
YBW took the day off work. We loaded up four vehicles with the last of their things, and off we went.

Baby K has a big girl bed with the most amazing (to her) Moana duvet cover! She’s so tiny in that full size bed, but it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.
In the few days they’ve been there, Thing 1 and Husband N are getting settled in their room, and setting up work space for Husband N who only goes into the office two days a week.
Thing 1 built a kitchen table and chairs and a small storage island too.

After being at the house, YBW and I went out Easter Sunday for a visit.
Baby K came out of her house squealing and shouting, PAPA! BEEEE! (for Birdie) and running to hug us. That did YBW’s heart good, he’s missed his little granddaughter.

That girl had such fun hunting for eggs for the first time out in her brand new yard.

Her mommy found eggs big enough to hold Bluey characters, Moana and Frozen stickers, and even toddler-safe nail polish

color: Berry Sweet

It was so beautiful outside, we just had to sit on the porch and check out her loot! She’s holding her Bluey and singing to her.

After her egg hunt, she sat snuggled in her Papa’s lap before letting him take her to bed for her nap.
They’re coming to our house Wednesday afternoon and staying for dinner. If y’all could have seen the grin on my husband’s face!

My Momma heart is chock full of joy for my girl setting up her home.
I honestly think unpacking and getting settled is harder and more stressful than actually moving all your things. They’re making it work. Husband N goes through a space and cleans it well before Thing 1 begins to unpack. They’re working together to create their home in that precious little house.
My Birdie heart is chock full of joy that my grandbaby is so excited to see me that she runs into my arms when I arrive at her new house.

I thought I would feel so sad when they moved. I don’t really.
I mean, I miss seeing them every day, but I know they’re just a forty-five minute drive away. And when I see them in their new space, creating a home that works for them, I feel pride and joy.
When I’m home and I don’t hear a little voice saying, “Papa!” as she runs down the hall, I’m not sad like I expected, I’m grateful we had that time. Of course, when I’ve got a drink on the table and she doesn’t come over and snag it and chug it down as fast as she can then run away, I’m super happy she’s at her house.

We’re adapting here.
They’re adapting there.
It is as it is.
It is as is should be.
And I am content in my grateful life.

Categories: me | Tags: Baby K, building a life together, Easter, Easter egg hunt, family, grateful, grateful life, gratitude, home, joy, love, love my life, moving house, new home, Thing 1, YBW | 8 Comments

meant to be

Posted on February 25, 2021 by robynbird

How precious is this house?

This adorable house is the reason we couldn’t go to our home site Sunday morning.
This adorable house will soon be home to Thing 1, Husband N, and Baby K!

YBW, Baby K, and I met Thing 1 and Husband N there Sunday morning while the inspector was there.
In the car, Baby K sang to us the whole time. She also kept saying, “Mama” (pronounced Meh-MEH) at random intervals. We told her Mommy and Daddy were at the new house and we were on our way to see them.

That girl was so excited to be in the new house!
She didn’t even really understand that it’s going to be hers.
Of course she was excited to see her parents, but mostly she was excited to explore.
We successfully stayed out of the inspector’s way while still investigating every nook and cranny. And believe me y’all, that attic space has its share of nooks and crannies!

When we said goodbye and left the house, we drove through the neighborhood a bit. It’s just as precious as the house they’re buying.
There’s an elementary school around the corner with the best damn sledding hill you’ve ever seen!

Thing 1 loved this house the moment she saw it. She spoke of it’s character. She spoke of it’s feeling of comfort. She spoke of it’s potential.
She knew this was meant to be her home.
She knew it welcomed her with open arms.

My momma (and Birdie) heart was anxious until I saw it. Until I walked through it.
It has such charm and character.
It has a warm and gentle welcoming feel about it.
It was truly meant to be the home of my daughter and her family.

I hugged my girl and told her, “You can live here.”
She hugged me tighter.
She and I both know she can damn well live wherever she likes. She and I both know she’s an adult and makes her own decisions. She and I both know I do my best to respect her life choices.
But she and I both know that it matters a great deal that we had that moment. That we both know we’re comfortable in that house that will become her home. That as joyful as she is, she has my full support to contribute to that joy.
I’m not sure I’m explaining it right, but we understand what it means and that’s all we really need.

They’re scheduled to go to closing the end of March.
I’m so excited for them!