It started as 4 under 4

We are in! Home sweet home. What a crazy busy first few days. So busy moving our stuff YET AGAIN this year—moved from our Sisters house to the storage unit (June), me to the hospital (July), Jon and kids to my mom’s (August), to the NICU/Ronald McDonald house and Jon to our rental in LO (September), and now here, to Glen (February). I don’t ever ever want to move again. Seriously.

We’ve been in since Saturday night. We actually camped the first night because Sam had a fit Friday night when we dropped some stuff off and didn’t stay the night. So Saturda we blew up the beds and camped. Fun.

Sunday, we moved. Ten helpers and two giant trips with the moving truck. We’ve unloaded tons of boxes. It’s like Christmas all over again. We shuffled furniture back and forth. I know Jon hates being married to me when I am in the “what would that couch look like over there” mode. Already many trips and dollars to Home Depot already. 

In week one, we have enjoyed many firsts: our first fire (which did smoke out the house), our first bottle of wine (from our realtor no less), my kids first bath (which was cold because we couldn’t figure out how to work the faucet—Alice literally was blue and shivering at the end) and the first series of WWF matches with kids on our new floors. Life is good.

I cannot even tell you how different life feels with Glen compared to our rental (the “White House”). Again, maybe the ownership piece is kicking in so we like this better because it’s ours. But I don’t think it’s only that. I cannot even tell you how perfect the layout of this house is for our family. We are all on one floor (with the exception of the loft which is basically just storage space for now), laundry right by kitchen, I can see the kids in the playroom when I wash dishes, and my kitchen is bigger than a postage stamp. 

And I may be imagining it but I SWEAR, my kids are happier here. They have room to run, to play sweet games of hide-and-seek, and because it’s all on one level their parents are constantly close by, which they like. Scratch that, LOVE. Stairs are so overrated. I love me a rambler.

My mother-in-law also reminded me that kids are little barometers of their parents, and so I think it’s quite possible that they are happier because I am happier. I already feel like such a better mom here. I know where my stuff is because I am putting things away in the places that make sense to me. Suddenly life is a little smoother because I am master of my domain and I am freed up to be, well, fun! Space you like seems like it’s not a big deal, but it is. 

When we were moving on Sunday I was packing some stuff with my brother-in-law Tim and I suddenly had a flashback. It was one year ago exactly that I found out I was pregnant with #3. Tim and his wife Kelsey had come over to snow-shoe with us and I took the test, only to be positive. We were stunned. I remember laughing with them while on our trek. “How are we going to do snow-shoe trips with three kids?”

Little did I know. I could not have fathomed where I would be one year late—moving into a new house. Excuse me? But somehow it feels very full circle. Lots happened and I am sure lots will continue to happen, but hopefully big life things will slow a bit. For the first time since looking at that positive pregnancy test, for the first time in a year, I feel like I have some of control of my life.

I know I don’t, but feels like I do, and that’s fine. I’ll take it.