Oh what a night!!!

So my final night in State Center was spent on the floor in our basement. Fred stayed up longer than me. What's new? And woke me a little before 2 AM to tell me that tornadoes had been sighted not far from us and did we want to go downstairs. Hell yeah! I grabbed shoes and important bags and took one trip down. then Fred and I roused the boys and threw their mattresses downstairs. We all settled in and then Fred checked the radar on his laptop one more time. the storm had passed. AMEN!

We decided that we would just finish our night on the basement floor so we cuddled and slept as best we could. About 5 minutes later the hall light went out and it was REALLY dark in the back, unfinished room in the basement. Great for sleeping.

Fred had luckily set an alarm on his cell phone so we were able to get up and moving before the movers got here this AM. They have now removed every chair and couch and I am sitting on the edge of my bed that may go soon. We have no TV's, the modem from Partnercom gets picked up at 10AM and it is going to be a LONG day.

Please say a prayer for us that we travel safely and get a good nights sleep tonight. Fred did say that if we drove 2 hours tonight that we could sleep in tomorrow. I think he read my mind or maybe my blog?

Off to look busy...

Today's sounds of progress

That would be the silent scream and the HUGE sign that I let loose tonight. So today did not go quite as well as yesterday. The sewing machine was dropped from about 10 feet high, the thud thud thud of a tote sliding down the stairs was heard mid-afternoon. The hushed Spanish whispers were spreading throughout the house. Who knows what was being said. As Fred walked the house tonight and he found 3-5 more boxes of miscellaneous stuff... we are less than impressed. There are 25 empty hangers in my otherwise empty closet. Did they think we were leaving those for the new owners, kind of like the attached ones in hotels? They took my broiler pan but failed to pack my two Pampered Chef baking stones. 90% of the kitchen cabinets were empty but why not 100%? These are the questions that race in my head as I prepare to sleep for the last night in State Center.

Let's just add insult to injury of the day that I believe that the movers pack Bob the Monkey, Nic's nightly friend since the precious age of 6 months, when we bought him on clearance at the This End Up store in Knoxville. The only solace to Nic is that if Bob cannot be found in the house he MUST be in a box. It will be a scavenger hunt at the other end, that may prove helpful in getting his room unpacked, to find Bob and hear about his great adventures inside a box for 7 days.

Will has suffered no such loss but has been dealing with belly pain and anxiety most of the evening. I literally sat on the floor in the 1/2 bath for more than 30 minutes coaching him through an excruciating expulsion. It was exhausting for us both. The good news is that it was fruitful, not fruity scented of course, and he will sleep better tonight.

Fred is on a quest to organize what little is left, bless his heart, he can not control it. He just NEEDS order. Don't we wish everyone did. The scary thing is that as he makes order appear from chaos he is whistling.

Let's wrap this up on a VERY happy note! I BIG thank you goes out to Vicki and Andrea, my co-workers and more importantly FRIENDS who helped me with the boys yesterday and today. The thought of the boys sitting here and watching this happen bit by bit is so unappealing. The chaos that is moving is hard to sit back and watch even for me.

OK worker bee is making me feel way lazy. Gotta go help and hopefully get to bed before midnight. I can not take much more of this. We are so getting a late check-out for Friday morning! He can leave early but I am SLEEPING!

I am going to sleep well tonight!

I am exhausted! It was a long full day but the good news is that nothing and no one got broken.

I was worried for a bit about Nicholas but he seems better now. He was complaining of chest pains while he and I were out running errands in M-town. I called first nurse, think after hours ask a nurse, and she suggested we go to the ER. He was really calm and way too rational when I told him her suggestion. Ever my son he said, "Can we wait till tomorrow and go to the doctor if I still hurt? The doctor would be cheaper than the ER right? " I assured him that he was worth whatever it costs and that I would take him to the ER if he wanted. He said he'd rather wait and so we are. He seems much better 3 hours later and I am going to call the episode an anxiety attack. I will certainly monitor him tonight and tomorrow but I believe that there is no imminent danger.

We enjoyed our final Bailey's pizza tonight and it was yummy. Fred and I have loaded our cars with most of what we are hauling outside of the computer and our clothes of course. As I mentioned the movers did a great job for us today and will finish packing tomorrow. They may start to load us into the truck but do not think that we will leave IA until Thursday. We'll know more tomorrow. There are little things here and there that need to be packed then they have to number and inventory each box. That may take awhile. I think the boys are going over to another friend's house tomorrow so that should help make their day better. Is it hard to entertain yourself without even a ball to toss around. I did find a baseball glove in the clubhouse though. Glad I spotted that!

OK, I am ready to SLEEP! Look for more progress reports tomorrow! G-night!

The sounds of progress...

The sounds of cardboard boxes, ripping tape and birds chirping. Those are the sounds of progress. The three amigos are here packing and the boys went to Vicki's to play. I made my drops throughout town for delivering Stampin' Up stuff, cleaning products and some clothes for the people who live in Parkersburg and were devastated by the tornado just over a week ago. I dropped some vases off at the Remarkable Rose to be used again and I picked up lunch for the crew. I took a van load of goodies to Vicki so that she can pass it along to the Clemons Lutheran School Garage Sale and I also blessed her with the remaining contents of my freezer. That's what she gets for taking the boys off my hands for the afternoon.

They have taken all of the cushions off my couch and all of the stuff in the basement is packed. I think we could be out of here by tomorrow afternoon. That is one full day ahead of schedule, just means an extra night on the road. Not ideal but hey, what are you gonna do? Off to find something to keep me busy. Not a ton for me to do today, just supervising, I am not very good at that. Good thing Fred is here to help.

The day is here!

We are up, have been for a couple of hours, and waiting for the semi to arrive. We had some nasty rain this AM but I think it has cleared out for now.

Fred and I got busy last night working in the garage. We emptied the small engine items of gas etc. We hosed down the lawn tractor, we loaded my can with more stuff to donate and finished up the freezer defrost.

I crashed at 11:45 with a TERRIBLE migraine, not that any migraine is not terrible, I felt as if I might get pukey so I felt it best to sleep. Fred on the other hand did some other stuff around the house, including packing for himself, and some work related stuff and best I can tell he came to bed at 4:30 AM. Not sure how he can be standing upright this morning but he is and for that I am thankful.

OK, off to move around some more boxes and determine what fridge and freezer stuff I am giving to Vicki today. The boys are going over there this afternoon to play and get away from the chaos. I only wish they could take Pete with them. He is going a little crazy because we have the suitcases out and he thinks we are going somewhere exciting today. He may whine for the next 48 hours. Yikes! Better find some earplugs.

Yes, I've been busy

So far I have...
Talked to Josh re. pre-funding. All $ should be there 24hrs. before close.
e-mailed with Morgan re. prefunding. It is all good.
Talked to Jennifer
Packed for myself for 7 days
Packed for Will for 7 days
Packed for Nic for 7 days
Washed the mutt
Found more fluids
Removed a couple of things from the walls upstairs
Called Kay and left a message about home warranty info
Fed myself and the boys lunch
Defrosted steak for dinner
Backed up to CD all photos from 2007 and 2008 from upstairs computer
Showered
Cleaned the shower
Talked to dad re. ring to Hoffmeisters.
Defrosted the outside freezer.
Watched one episode of Oprah
Baked and Angel Food cake to utilize some Cool Whip from defrosted freezer.

Good Morning...

Well we survived the weekend. Fred and I put a major dent on the storage area in the basement. We purged and sorted and repacked some stuff that we wanted kept together. We probably did more than we needed or should have. Fred was wondering aloud if other people did so much prep before they moved. We surmised that they probably did not. We are a little anal around here. In the best way of course.

In addition to putting in some major time in the basement we also managed to get to Ames, IA to enjoy a final meal at Hickory Park. We bought a new ladder at Sam's and bought a new DS game for the LONG trip at the end of the week. Will selected Price Caspian which was on sale for $29.99 and included a $10 Target Gift Card. What a bargain hunter my boy. Nic couldn't settle on a new title but I am sure he will before we leave Iowa.

The boys and I also managed to go to mass for the last time in IA. Fred stayed home to rest after our busy day in Ames. He had been to the Dr. Sat AM to confirm my diagnosis that he has a nasty sinus infection. The Physician's Assistant also gave him a prescription, something that I could not do, and sent him on his way. He is so much better today. Thank the Lord for better living through pharmaceuticals.

So the plan for the day is ambitious. I have to pack three people for 7 days of livin'. I have to wash the dog, wash the boys, do the laundry, pack the rest of the fluids, call the title co., call the mortgage guy, call our TX realtor, defrost the freezer and cook dinner. I had better get busy huh?