wait, what? it's already thursday?!?!!

Life is happening way too fast for me these days. I feel like I'm in some sort of time warp where I'm stuck in one place (this house; surrounded by boxes and packing paper and trying to fit one houseful of stuff into a whole different house) while life is happening at lightning speed around me and I can't keep up because I'm stuck in this pause of trying to get our life unpacked.

It's been an odd job because while we have not technically downsized housewise, our stuff needs to be rearranged as if we have... it's just very different space and but a fraction of the storage we had before (closets included) and it's a bit of a puzzle to figure it all out.
I'm planning a little big virtual moving sale on Craigslist very soon... getting an extra fridge, washer & dryer, microwave, pantry, coffee table, rocking chair, shelves, Little Tykes slides and cozy coupes out of here ASAP will probably help with my sanity. Seriously.

Because the biggest problem is, I don't have the room to spread out and unpack and organize. We went from a three car garage and an entire basement to use as overflow, room to spread out and get things organized while getting them in their place... here we have none of that "extra" space and our family room, playroom and bedrooms are all smaller than before. What was in one room doesn't necessarily work in that room here, and so on and so forth. So we have to wade thru all of this stuff, living amongst all this stuff, while we figure out what goes where and what works and what doesn't and I'm kind of ready to have our home back.

The other problem is, Ryan has essentially been gone since day one of unpacking.
We got our stuff delivered and moved in and Ryan had to go to work the next day as he'd been gone for a week and a half... then he left town for three days... then he came home and worked a 12 hr day... then finally the next day he came home from work early, mid afternoon... but it was to deal with our car issues... and then he came home at noon yesterday... but it was to take a two hour nap because he was sick. So this is going on day eight of me trying to figure out this house stuff without him. Trying to make this house feel like our home. Which, to some may seem normal to have it be all the wife's job... but in this marriage and in the six moves we've made, we've always done this together. It's always been such a team effort, we've always worked on this house thing together, so it's a challenge for me to be solo. Not just for the physical work, but the decisions on what to put where and how to organize things, or just to keep the kids entertained... previous moves have been very much both of us. So this time has been different for me. Poor Sawyer has had his fill of tv and video games. I've moved the piano, the 50"tv sitting on top of our thousand pound coffee table-makeshift-tv stand, moved our gigantic three piece sectional couch a few times, moved several pieces of furniture from room to room and moved and unpacked dozens and dozens of boxes in the last three days. By. My. Self.
I can only imagine just coming home from work and magically having the kitchen all unpacked and in the cupboards and organized. Or leaving in the morning with a family room full of boxes with a sectional couch shoved to one side of the room in front of the fireplace and coming home to an arranged family room void of all but one box in the corner and complete with things hanging on the wall. Or to come home to the kids clothes already put away. Or toys unpacked and on shelves.
Must be nice.

Meanwhile, life goes on.
At a crazy pace.

Last weekend Kasey and Evan came to stay with us while Ryan and his boys went to Knoxville for an Oregon football game. We had boys in from Portland and a few down from STL and they had a great time (with a great U of O win!). Kasey came to keep me and the kids company and help unpack while the boys were off playing. Problem was, Kasey and I somehow managed to come down with colds at the exact same time... so while we made quite a bit of progress considering, we -I, at least- were on the miserable side and completely wiped out.
Luckily, it only lasted a day or two for me... Saturday was the worst and by Monday I was completely over it. Gotta love those fast moving colds!! Moms don't have time for anything more. Especially moms in the middle of moving.

Oh, and I can't forget the best news.... (and that's completely sarcastic, btw)
Did I mention Ryan was out of town for three days?
Then I guess it won't surprise you to hear that our car broke down. Yes, seriously. And broke down for real, like I had to call the one single person I know in Nashville and have them come pick me up. Miracle of miracles, I was alone (Kasey was home with all the kids) and it died in an apartment parking lot (I was picking up a dresser from a craigslist ad) and not on the side of the road. So while I debated calling a tow truck, our motor club, etc, I was at least able to call a friend and she saved me. Of course I was on the complete other side of town and neither of us know Nashville, so it was a bit of a wild goose chase to get her to find me, but at least I made it home (three hours later). And then my 4Runner sat in an apartment parking lot for three days before we finally dealt with it on Tuesday.
So now we're car shopping. Because buying a new house isn't enough for one month... we wanted to top it off with a new car too. :/

So that's been our last week since I blogged. Fun, fun.
I am completely loving our house though. Even though it's got odd quirks and no storage and I can't figure the best ways to arrange furniture... I can see that once we get settled in and figured out and decorated, I am going to really love this house. I can't wait for y'all to see it! And come stay with us...
We know we have room, since we housed seven random people at various times this past weekend. With moving boxes adorning every room and space to spare!
Come! Visit!!