Monday, July 27, 2009

Half-Packed

We made a packing plan, and it's really going well. So far we've just worked on one room a day, and packed up everything in that room except the big furniture and essentials. We've packed up all the drawers, shelves and closets in the dining room, living room, bathroom and our bedroom! Tomorrow we're working on our craziest room, the office/nursery.

In case you didn't see it on facebook, here's our packing helper:

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Moving Plans

First, The Abilene Story:

I moved to Abilene in August 2001. My family and I parked at Gardner dorm, carried clothes, a pink ironing board and other assorted dorm stuff up to the third floor, and I met my roommate and best friend, Hannah. I loved my freshman year at ACU.

I married my husband in Abilene in August 2004. We got married August 7 at Minter Lane Church of Christ. Friends and family from across the state came to watch a tall and short couple tie the knot and a crazy groomsman knock over my little cousin to catch the garter.

Curtis and I lived in four different rent houses in our 79601 zip code (except for the three months we lived in Montevideo, Uruguay) while we both finished school and made plans for our family. Curtis worked at Radio Shack, grounds-keeping at ACU, and as a high school math teacher at Wylie ISD. I volunteered at the zoo for one semester and worked in the study abroad office at ACU.

In August 2006 we adopted Tommy, our first greyhound. Our first night together I sat in bed and stared hard at his black chest to make sure he was still breathing. We didn't have a fence so Curtis and I took him outside for all his potty breaks; middle of the night, before work, lunch break, after work, and before bed. The 10 pm walk was my favorite because Curtis and I did it together, even on snow days. Tommy turned 7 last week. He's a beautiful and sweet dog.

Of course this summer we had our baby, William, and became a stack of three nametags at church. It's been a blur of sleeping and not sleeping, visiting family and having family visit us. We thought it would be a long summer since neither of us would be working, a long summer to rest and get ready to move, but it was fast.


The Plans:

We're packing up this house, ending with a flurry of packing on Thursday the 30th, and we're loading up a U-Haul Friday morning. We'll unpack at our new house, figure out where the nearest HEB is, and get ready for Curtis's graduate school adventure.

Monday, July 6, 2009

100%

In the weeks after I delivered, it was easy to use numbers to explain how I was feeling. For example, on a scale of 1-10, my pain could be a 5. Or "I'm feeling about 80% today." But recently I've had a few people ask me, "So, are you 100% now?"

That question really throws me for a loop. 100%? I don't know what 100% means anymore. If it means that I feel like I felt before I had William, then I will never be 100%. For one, my belly button and other body parts have forever changed and there's no going back. But maybe more importantly, I have changed. I have a different life now, and there's definitely no going back.

A few months ago a "100%" day might mean that I wake up, feel rested, feel successful at work, check a few things off the household to do list, eat dinner with Curtis and watch a good TV show. But now that wouldn't be a "100% successful day."

I've thought that maybe 100% means how I feel emotionally, whether or not I feel confident and successful in my body and in my mothering. No, that can't be it. Then no one would ask people if they felt 100%. Sheesh.

100% pain free? I don't know. maybe? usually?

100% happy? not usually.

Does anyone else feel 100%??? Probably not.

Or maybe 100% can just mean that I'm doing ok. The people in my house are eating and sleeping and generally happy. Yes, we're 100% people and 100% family.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Oooh...

The blog is getting cooler. On the right sidebar, you'll notice our new feature: twitter updates! I think this will be fun.