Once we got settled in our new house, we decided it was time to meet the neighbors. So one night after dinner we went out, armed with invitations to our house-warming party, to meet the other families on the cul-de-sac with us. We figured five households was a good start, and a decent number of people to invite to the party.
Everyone was very nice and welcoming, though four of the five houses belong to older couples. All of their kids were in their twenties and out of the house, except for the one high school senior (youngest of five). And then there's one oddball family with middle-school aged kids. Of the five families we met, two were planing to be out of town, but three said they'd drop by the party. That had been about what we'd been expecting, and it was nice to start meeting people and learning names.
We also learned about various social events. There's a semi-regular Wine Wednesday, a regular guys night every Thursday, a monthly ladies night out, and a bunch of parties throughout the year. Everyone kept telling us about the epic Halloween party; I'm eager to see how it stacks up against our Halloween party. One of the neighbors said she'd make sure we got on the various neighborhood email lists, and we thanked her.
By the time we got home, we had a couple of emails detailing the upcoming regularly scheduled events and introducing us to the neighborhood. Our friendly neighbor had also taken it upon herself to extend the invitation to our house warming party to the entire neighborhood, some 40-odd houses. So far only one of those households has RSVPed, so we don't really have any idea what to expect come Saturday.
On the bright side, we did get to attend a few events and start meeting more neighbors. The Wine Wednesday is hosted by one of the other pregnant couples. There were a lot of people there, too many for me to remember names. But I met both of the other pregnant ladies in the neighborhood, and they seem nice which is heartening. Both families already have toddlers, and there seem to be a lot of younger children around in general.
I'm actually glad we moved into such a welcoming, social neighborhood. Our housewarming party could get a bit insane, and we may actually run out of food for the first time in our hosting history. But it will be good to start socializing with people. According to everyone we've talked to, this is a neighborhood that likes to party hard. The people our age have told us they have a hard time keeping up with the empty-nesters, which makes sense. Hopefully it also means that Kevin and I will fit right in.
And now to hope that a reasonable number of people choose to attend the housewarming party this Saturday. It'll be good to meet more people; I just hate not knowing how many, exactly, are coming.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Baby Registry
Once we got settled in the new house, it was time to start focusing on the next big change in our lives: the baby. We've sort of been ignoring the whole thing up to this point, figuring we'll deal with all the details once we got in the new hosue. And now that we're finally thinking about the kid, it seems like it's all happening way too fast. It doesn't help that there is an overwhelming amount of stuff to think about.
The biggest casualty of this whole procrastination has been the childbirth class. By the time we got around to signing up for one, there was only on possible date before my due date. A six-hour Saturday class on a day that Kevin only has a 50/50 chance of being in town. Luckily, this is the age of the internet. We found an online course that we can do at our own pace in our own time. Now we just have to remember to do it.
The other big thing is the baby registry. We had to pick out everything from a crib and a stroller to bottles and a thermometer. It ended up taking a couple of weeks to research everything and figure out what we wanted and what we felt like we actually needed. The store recommended an absurd number of blankets. After we put them all on, we ended up taking about half back off. We figure that if we really end up needing them, we can buy them after the kid shows up. And at the recommendation of the store, we didn't end up putting any clothes or toys on the registry at all. Apparently people just buy what they want in those categories, and we can always go back and fill in what we need when the due date gets closer.
It's nice to have this all taken care of. Now we just need to wait and see what people want to gift us and what we'll have to buy ourselves. Hopefully we manage the timing well enough that we have everything by the time the kid actually gets here. That could be the trickiest part of the whole thing. Maybe we shouldn't have waited so long to get our act together.
Monday, August 15, 2016
First House Guests
Less than two weeks after we moved in to the new house, we hosted our first out-of-town guests. I had a family reunion up in Harrisburg, which is about a two hour drive from where we live. We've known about it for months, probably since last year. And from the beginning the plan had been for my dad to fly out and stay with us so we could all go up together. That got a bit shaky once we started looking for a new house. But luckily the timing worked out, so they got to see the new place on the same trip as the reunion.
Actually, the timing probably could have been a bit better. While the impending guests did give us motivation to unpack pretty quickly, the trip also coincided with a rough patch in my pregnancy. I was only getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep while our company was here. It left me short-temperered and irritable, which meant I was a less-than-gracious hostess. It can be hard to socialize when all you want to do is lay on the couch and watch TV.
Regardless, we ended up having a nice visit. The reunion was at a heritage picnic. There was live music and a whole lot of food. I didn't really know any of the people there beyond my immediate family, but my dad had a lot of fun reconnecting with his cousins and meeting their kids (and their kids). I had fun sitting in the shade and eating lamb sandwiches.
It was nice to see family, and it's good to know that our guest room works. I just hope I'm in a better mood the next time we have visitors. Although considering I'll have an infant at that point, it doesn't seem too likely. At least I have an understanding family.
Actually, the timing probably could have been a bit better. While the impending guests did give us motivation to unpack pretty quickly, the trip also coincided with a rough patch in my pregnancy. I was only getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep while our company was here. It left me short-temperered and irritable, which meant I was a less-than-gracious hostess. It can be hard to socialize when all you want to do is lay on the couch and watch TV.
Regardless, we ended up having a nice visit. The reunion was at a heritage picnic. There was live music and a whole lot of food. I didn't really know any of the people there beyond my immediate family, but my dad had a lot of fun reconnecting with his cousins and meeting their kids (and their kids). I had fun sitting in the shade and eating lamb sandwiches.
It was nice to see family, and it's good to know that our guest room works. I just hope I'm in a better mood the next time we have visitors. Although considering I'll have an infant at that point, it doesn't seem too likely. At least I have an understanding family.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Aching Back
My rash has thankfully cleared up. At this point I think it was a heat rash, exacerbated by the fact that we were moving. Lifting things, even light things, in hot, humid weather is no good. But shortly after we were settled in the new house (and with the liberal use of cortizone) it cleared up and I'm back to the more typical summer itchiness caused by a million mosquitos.
However, that means it's time for the next pregnancy symptom to rear it's ugly head: lower back pain.
I'd been anticipating this one. I've struggled with back pain since I injured myself in a dance class in high school. I'd done a good job, in recent years, of building up those muscles. But with the pregnancy I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was laid low with an aching back.
What I didn't expect was the cause of the aching back. It turns out that I'm actually mostly fine when I'm sitting or standing. If my back does start hurting at work, a five minute walk will clear it up. If I've been standing for too long, it's easy enough to sit down for a while. I quickly learned not to go barefoot on hardwood floors, since that makes my back hurt more quickly. And I rediscovered the joys of epsom salt baths.
No, what took me by surprise is my inability to lie down for more than three hours. This is probably true of any position, actually. I'm constantly fidgeting and moving around to get more comfortable. But it's especially noticeable when you're trying to sleep for a typical 8 hours and you find yourself physically incapable of lying down.
It took a lot of trial and error and 3 AM internet research, but I've finally figured out something that seems to be working. I start the night off with a pillow between my legs, curled up as close as I can manage to the fetal position. I hate curling up like that to sleep, especially with this bowling-ball shaped thing in my middle. But it does allow me to get a few precious hours in the bed on my right side while my cell phone/alarm clock charges. Sometime between 1 and 4 in the morning I'll wake up with the aching back and tight hamstrings. That's when I move to the couch in the living room. It's lumpy in the right places to support my back, and it allows me to stretch out completely, but it does require me to sleep on my left side (head near the table with the precious water and hated alarm clock).
Nothing is 100% comfortable, but between these two positions, I'm managing to eke out a solid 7 hours of sleep on a good night. There are still plenty of nights when I'm only getting 3 or 4 hours, whether because of hot flashes or stress or Kevin stealing my pillow. To be fair, the ball position leads to me taking up more than half the bed, so it's not that surprising when I wake up with him crowding my space.
It took a couple of weeks to hit this rhythm that's allowing me maximum sleep. Seven hours still isn't quite enough, and I can feel myself dragging come Thursday or Friday. But there were a few weeks there when I was starting to distrust my ability to drive and was wondering if I might have to stop working a lot sooner than I'd intended. When I alternated between being a zombie, and being a cranky, grumpy, crying mess. I've found another equilibrium finally, and I'm hoping it lasts for a while.
However, that means it's time for the next pregnancy symptom to rear it's ugly head: lower back pain.
I'd been anticipating this one. I've struggled with back pain since I injured myself in a dance class in high school. I'd done a good job, in recent years, of building up those muscles. But with the pregnancy I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was laid low with an aching back.
What I didn't expect was the cause of the aching back. It turns out that I'm actually mostly fine when I'm sitting or standing. If my back does start hurting at work, a five minute walk will clear it up. If I've been standing for too long, it's easy enough to sit down for a while. I quickly learned not to go barefoot on hardwood floors, since that makes my back hurt more quickly. And I rediscovered the joys of epsom salt baths.
No, what took me by surprise is my inability to lie down for more than three hours. This is probably true of any position, actually. I'm constantly fidgeting and moving around to get more comfortable. But it's especially noticeable when you're trying to sleep for a typical 8 hours and you find yourself physically incapable of lying down.
It took a lot of trial and error and 3 AM internet research, but I've finally figured out something that seems to be working. I start the night off with a pillow between my legs, curled up as close as I can manage to the fetal position. I hate curling up like that to sleep, especially with this bowling-ball shaped thing in my middle. But it does allow me to get a few precious hours in the bed on my right side while my cell phone/alarm clock charges. Sometime between 1 and 4 in the morning I'll wake up with the aching back and tight hamstrings. That's when I move to the couch in the living room. It's lumpy in the right places to support my back, and it allows me to stretch out completely, but it does require me to sleep on my left side (head near the table with the precious water and hated alarm clock).
Nothing is 100% comfortable, but between these two positions, I'm managing to eke out a solid 7 hours of sleep on a good night. There are still plenty of nights when I'm only getting 3 or 4 hours, whether because of hot flashes or stress or Kevin stealing my pillow. To be fair, the ball position leads to me taking up more than half the bed, so it's not that surprising when I wake up with him crowding my space.
It took a couple of weeks to hit this rhythm that's allowing me maximum sleep. Seven hours still isn't quite enough, and I can feel myself dragging come Thursday or Friday. But there were a few weeks there when I was starting to distrust my ability to drive and was wondering if I might have to stop working a lot sooner than I'd intended. When I alternated between being a zombie, and being a cranky, grumpy, crying mess. I've found another equilibrium finally, and I'm hoping it lasts for a while.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Moving
We had a full week between closing on the house and officially moving into it. We set it up this way mostly so we would have a full weekend to get settled. Instead of having the movers move everything on Saturday followed by a rush of unpacking on Sunday, we took things a little slower. Kevin took Friday off to be around while the movers came, and we had both Saturday and Sunday to get settled in the new house. Which is especially important since I'm currently out of PTO in anticipation of my maternity leave.
It also meant that we were able to use that gap week to start moving over the things we could move over. We did our entire kitchen this way, bringing plates and glasses slowly so we wouldn't worry about them breaking. We brought games and DVDs and clothes. As we decided that we wouldn't need things until after we moved, we took them to the new house. By the time the movers showed up on Friday, all that was left was furniture, cleaning supplies (which stayed behind another day) and a single suitcase with last minute clothes and toiletries.
It's actually a good thing we were able to get so much moved on our own, even if I spent the week in a haze of exhaustion. The movers had a hard time fitting the rest of our stuff in their truck. Which actually surprised me, because I don't think we have an inordinate amount of stuff for the size house we had. But it all fit in the end, so I suppose it doesn't really matter.
The other upside of moving things piecemeal is that the house was already almost put together by the time we officially moved in. Clothes were in closets, linens were folded, the kitchen was all set up. It didn't take us long at all to go through the remaining boxes and do a few loads of laundry and dishes. By the time we'd been in the house a week, the only thing left to do was hang pictures. And if we still need to hang those pictures nearly a month after we moved in, well, we made good progress for a while at least. The finishing touches will happen this weekend, or at least before our housewarming next weekend.
It's so nice to be settled in the new house. There are a few things that are already driving me bananas - the dishwasher is tiny and the kitchen in general is a bit shoddy. But for the most part I love it. My books are all out in common spaces now instead of hidden away in my office. Kevin has his own office, so I can use the living room without disturbing him. I'm even getting used to the longer commute. Now all we need to do is sell the townhouse and everything will be settled.
It also meant that we were able to use that gap week to start moving over the things we could move over. We did our entire kitchen this way, bringing plates and glasses slowly so we wouldn't worry about them breaking. We brought games and DVDs and clothes. As we decided that we wouldn't need things until after we moved, we took them to the new house. By the time the movers showed up on Friday, all that was left was furniture, cleaning supplies (which stayed behind another day) and a single suitcase with last minute clothes and toiletries.
It's actually a good thing we were able to get so much moved on our own, even if I spent the week in a haze of exhaustion. The movers had a hard time fitting the rest of our stuff in their truck. Which actually surprised me, because I don't think we have an inordinate amount of stuff for the size house we had. But it all fit in the end, so I suppose it doesn't really matter.
The other upside of moving things piecemeal is that the house was already almost put together by the time we officially moved in. Clothes were in closets, linens were folded, the kitchen was all set up. It didn't take us long at all to go through the remaining boxes and do a few loads of laundry and dishes. By the time we'd been in the house a week, the only thing left to do was hang pictures. And if we still need to hang those pictures nearly a month after we moved in, well, we made good progress for a while at least. The finishing touches will happen this weekend, or at least before our housewarming next weekend.
It's so nice to be settled in the new house. There are a few things that are already driving me bananas - the dishwasher is tiny and the kitchen in general is a bit shoddy. But for the most part I love it. My books are all out in common spaces now instead of hidden away in my office. Kevin has his own office, so I can use the living room without disturbing him. I'm even getting used to the longer commute. Now all we need to do is sell the townhouse and everything will be settled.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Thirty
I spent my thirtieth birthday moving into a new house and gestating my first kid. Which is pretty much exactly how I've been wanting to celebrate my thirtieth birthday for several years now. Well, maybe not the actively moving part. But it's nice to be looking forward to so much positive change during a milestone birthday. Also, I'm hoping that the round numbers will make it easier for me to remember my own and my kids' age in the decades to come.
We got the keys to our new house the day before my birthday, so we had planned to spend the day taking over things we didn't want to bother the official movers with. Things that were fragile or too hard to pack. We also took Kina over to the new house, since we had to get her out of the old house for a few showings.
The air conditioner was out at the new house, which killed some of our plans. We got a load of stuff moved over, but it was ultimately too hot (and I was too pregnant) for us to do too much. It was a good start, though.
In the evening, Kevin and I went out for a nice steak dinner, as we always do to celebrate birthdays. I almost ate too much, but managed to keep from feeling like I was going to explode. And I celebrated with a glass of wine, which I once again managed to nurse for about an hour. I'm really going to have to figure out how to hold on to that skill in the future.
All in all, it was a pretty low-key day. But, as I said, it's exactly what I wanted for my thirtieth. I'm really looking forward to the coming year, which promises to be both excellent and busy. And given that I'm posting this nearly three weeks after my birthday, you can tell that the business has already started.
We got the keys to our new house the day before my birthday, so we had planned to spend the day taking over things we didn't want to bother the official movers with. Things that were fragile or too hard to pack. We also took Kina over to the new house, since we had to get her out of the old house for a few showings.
The air conditioner was out at the new house, which killed some of our plans. We got a load of stuff moved over, but it was ultimately too hot (and I was too pregnant) for us to do too much. It was a good start, though.
In the evening, Kevin and I went out for a nice steak dinner, as we always do to celebrate birthdays. I almost ate too much, but managed to keep from feeling like I was going to explode. And I celebrated with a glass of wine, which I once again managed to nurse for about an hour. I'm really going to have to figure out how to hold on to that skill in the future.
All in all, it was a pretty low-key day. But, as I said, it's exactly what I wanted for my thirtieth. I'm really looking forward to the coming year, which promises to be both excellent and busy. And given that I'm posting this nearly three weeks after my birthday, you can tell that the business has already started.
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