Monday, August 25, 2014

A whirlwind of change

I know it has been awhile since I last blogged! Things have been so busy this summer and of course, we had to save the most excitement and busyness for the end. We are moving! A couple of months ago we decided that the housing market was excellent and decided just to browse houses and see what we could find. Eventually, we found one that we loved and made an offer and less than 3 days later, they accepted the offer, my house was show ready and people were walking in and out of my home from 9am-9pm!

Lets start there...have you ever tried to sell your home and have it staged and then live in it on top of that? We did for a brief period when we lived in Georgetown. But we ended up moving to Dallas about 2 weeks after we had staged our home and so the home was "empty" for the most part with the exception of furniture and so on. We had and still do have our two dogs, so we vacuumed a lot but that was about it. Now? 2 kids, 2 dogs and one tired mommy later, we sold our home. This is after we lived in our car for like 3 days. It was too hot to go outside and we had periods where we could be home even if they were small. We did a lot of park time and went to the grandparents house a lot too while people browsed our house. Our kids went to bed late, their schedules completely out of whack and me, exhausted from keeping the house close to spotless while still living in it with a 3 1/2 yr old and a 21 month old!

After only 3 days on the market our house was sold and that drama ended. Our kids though, I have to brag...were excellent. They embraced the chaos and the changes with us. I decided that if we were going to do this and they were going to have to accept it, that we better include them early on. So, we talked daily about how we were moving into a bigger house with 2 playrooms and how we were going to paint their rooms different colors and they could choose (our son chose blue and to decorate with superheros and our daughter chose a turquoise), and we even let them pick out there own duck tape so that we could mark their boxes with them (he chose batman tape and she chose rainbow tape). They haven't complained or argued. They helped me pack boxes (and still are) and are excited about the changes.

Now, we are 3 days out from having to be out. About 7 days out from being in the new house and almost packed. We are so excited about the new house. We are looking forward to more room and space for everyone. My husband will have his office and a media room now the "man cave", I will have the spare room to make it into whatever I want to (guest room, craft room, a room for me and my drums...hey, maybe I'll put my computer and a bean bag up there and retreat at night and on weekends to stream netflix...kid free!!! LOL), and the kids get a downstairs play room (that is not our living room which is our current issue) and an upstairs landing/gameroom/playroom.

My husband always says that our kids do so well because I do well with them. Maybe this is true, so lets explore it for a second. It could be that my kids are just champions and good sports, but they really have been great these last few weeks. I have included them like I said earlier in everything I am doing such as holding the box while I tape it, picking out the tape and making sure I tape it well, and being so understanding when I am packing up their toys knowing that "we can play with these in the big house, right, Mommy?!" Right, you are X man. I have been patient with them in the midst of all this too. I am not saying that there were not days when they were both tired because of the 3 nights in a row they went to bed late or wanted mommy to just sit down and play and stop for a few minutes. In each scenario, I did just that. I held them when they needed cuddles and were tired, I stopped packing despite the work that needed to be done and I played on the floor with them. I listened to them when they needed me to listen and pay attention. As a result, I got these great children, who knew that when mommy had her tape and marker in hand, that I needed some time to "work", and they let me have it.

I cannot stress enough to new parents or veteran parents, how much of a difference it makes during chaotic times, to listen and to react to what our kids are saying. I know there are things to do around the house that NEED to be done and I know that I still have more boxes to pack, but when your kids have been so understanding and flexible with all the change, its nice and only fitting to listen to them too. I also started packing the day after we got an offer. I wanted to pack every day some or a lot so that when push came to shove (which will be in about a day and a half) and there is a meltdown from one or both of my kids, I can stop (and afford to stop) and pay attention, listen and solve the problem. I planned time for my kids in the midst of the chaos and I am so glad I did. In short, I am not saying I am super mom....no mom can do everything...but we can do a little of everything daily or weekly or whatever the time frame allows. Honestly, I think I just have the best "lets go with the flow" kind of kids. Anyway, until next time....when I will have pictures of the house and let you know how everyone is dealing with the changes of sleeping in new rooms and living in a new house. Oh and did I mention in the middle of all this, my son starts preschool? Yeah...so more on that next time. Until then...