We're Hoooome!!

Good morning.  How are you this fine Monday morning?  We are doing great.  We're enjoying our second morning in our new home, and I couldn't be happier!  The move itself was full of ups and downs, which I think is to be expected.  I thought I would give you a brief overview of what happened.

We got back to our house in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, and discovered that the yard was extremely out of control.  Travis and our teen spent most of that day working on the yard, while I spent it packing up the inside stuff.  Friday was busy, busy, busy.  We had most of the loading to do, and still some packing.  Thank goodness I had already packed up most of the house, or it would have taken us a few more days to get it all done.  There were only a few minor disasters.  I ripped open my pinkie finger on a loose staple on the love seat, bashed my hand on the door while moving boxes and dropped my phone in the toilet.  (after I just cleaned it! Thank goodness for that). So, if you were following along the Facebook page or on twitter, that's why there was sudden radio silence. 

Saturday was spent in the vehicles coming down to our new house.  It was a longer than expected trip, but we finally got our new house around 4:30 am, Sunday.  We crashed hard for a few hours then got started unloading.  One of Travis's friends came to lend a hand, and words cannot express how thankful I am that he came down here to help.  The boys have their rooms almost set up, the kitchen is half unpacked, and I'm looking forward to taking some time to set things up.

My Mom and Dad are heading down here today, and I really can't wait to see them and show off our new home.  When things are a little less crazy I'll do up a post with pics of the new place.  And my oh my, there are going to be oodles of organizing projects that i can share with you.  I cannot wait!

For now, I'm going to finish my coffee before diving into the cleaning and unpacking.   I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  And I wish you a fantastic week!

Back at the House!

Well, we made it back up to the house last night.  It was a long trip, but we're here!  If you follow along on Twitter (@ScatterSquirrel) or Facebook ( Scattered Squirrel ) then you're already up to date on what's going on. 

We came home to a jungle in the yard.  A slightly major hitch in our time line.  We were hoping to spend the morning packing, the afternoon and evening loading and then hit the road tomorrow morning.  Instead it was all hands on deck to help tidy up the yard, and I've been working away in the house.  But, we have the truck now, and I'm getting ready to kick it all into high gear to get as much done today as I can.  I'm updating the twitter and Facebook page when I take a break, and when possible I'm throwing some crappy pics from my phone up as well.

Did you catch that part about getting back to the house?  I have a whole other post coming about what's been happening these past few months.  Now that Moving Day is upon us, I thought I would let you all in on the secret, we haven't been at home for quite some time.  That's why updates on house stuff suddenly stopped. It's part of the reason posts have been so few and far between.  It's also why I talk about packing and loading as though they are happening on the same day ... because they are!  I promise, when I can sit down at the computer and type it all up, I will share all the whys, whats, and hows.  For now, I'm using my phone and it's not so much fun, and i really should get back to packing.

Have you ever done a quick move?  Any tips, tricks, advice, or what not to dos that you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear them!

Getting Ready for Tomorrow

I'm just finishing up the preparations for tomorrow, and thought I would run a quick test of blogging from my phone.  Hopefully I'll be able to pop on here and keep everyone updated with a few posts as the move progresses.  We'll see how busy this moving stuff keeps me. 

I hope you all are having a good night!  Sweet dreams!

More Back to School, and a Free Printable

I feel as though there is so much to do and so little time, and there really aren't enough hours in a day.  My life also seems to be full of cliches lately too!  It really is getting hectic.  I had all sorts of things on my to do list that I haven't gotten to yet.  Things I wanted done before the boys start school, that may just have to wait until after, because tomorrow we begin the move.  There is so much to share about this; challenges that we're facing that I didn't exactly forsee when we started this journey, memories that will last a life time, insights into how to make the best of the situations life throws you into.... so much and more it seems.

For now though, it's getting rather late, and tomorrow is the first of some very long days to come.  I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to get back on and blog.  Everything hinges on how long it takes us to get a little settled into our new home.  On top of packing, loading, traveling, unloading, unpacking, and settling in, there is still the matter of getting the boys all ready for school.  I'm trying to be very mindful about events outside the move.  I don't want it to take away from mile stones and special days.  Liam is starting school for the very first time!  How exciting is that?!?!  Our teen is entering his last year of middle school, equally exciting in my mind!  And his birthday is at the beginning of September.  I want these special moments to shine in their own light, not be overshadowed by moving and getting set up.

To help me stay on track, and make sure I don't forget anything, even the simplest thing like, First Day of School pictures, I created a check list.  This way I can stay on top of everything without having to worry about it.  As I was writing it up, I got to thinking about how nice it will be to have the list already done up for future years.  While I'm sure every summer won't be quite as hectic as this one, it's nice to have a list of what you need to do in the month or so leading up to the start of the new school year.  AND that got me thinking that perhaps, some of you might like a copy of your own.  So, I took my handwritten list and turned it into a printable to share with all of you.  (I took pity on your eyesight, and typed it up, no having to try to decipher my handwriting)  Here she is, in all her simplicity!

Mom's Back to School Checklist

Just a simple checklist, with some pretty generic to-do's on it.  Things that would translate year after year.  As with all my other printables here on the blog, just click the link in the caption to download.  If you have any problems downloading the file, please send me an email, the address is on the right side bar.  I will gladly send you a copy.  

I hope you find this helpful in the next few weeks.  For now I'm signing off, but I will be back as soon as I can.  I'm super excited to share some pictures of our new home.  It's been a long 4 months, and I can hardly believe that the end is FINALLY in sight!  I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer!

Do you find it easier to plan for things with a checklist?  Do you have any special back to school preparations or traditions?  I'd love to hear about them!

Operation Move! Full Stream Ahead!!

I disappeared again!  I know, I know, I know, but we set ourselves a very strict deadline for Operation Move, and I'm here with an update!  Remember waaaaay back when, when I first posted this?  Well guess what .....

I cannot believe it is finally happening.... it feels like forever since we first started this journey.  (almost 4 months now!)  And this time, when I say moving, I mean we're actually doing the move!  The truck is booked, the papers and all that other fun stuff are signed and taken care of, and our new home is awaiting us.  How did we get to this point?  Well, earlier this week Travis and I took the boys on day trip to our new home town.  (This planner was a total life saver) After weeks of virtual house hunting, we had our list narrowed down and we were ready to start actually looking at the homes.  Ummm... you know what they say about the best laid plans right?  Well, we got into town, and phoned all the people who had said to call when got to town to set up viewing times.... NO-ONE called us back.  Seriously, no joke here, we drove all the way there, and no-one we had previously spoken too was available, and not one of them returned our calls.  Part of the problem is that the rental market moves pretty quick down there, but still a call to say they'd already rented it would have been nice.

While killing time, waiting for the call backs that never came, we decided to drive by some of the houses and get a feel for the neighbourhoods.  The last place we drove by was on a nice quiet cul-da-sac, great family friendly neighborhood, good schools close by within walking distance.... it was great.  It was almost 4 pm at this point, and still no call backs.  As we drove by this last house, 4 doors down I noticed a "for rent" sign on the lawn.  We took a chance, gave the number a call, they met us at the house later that evening, and as quick as that we had ourselves a home!  All that work, stress, endless hours on the internet searching the rental ads, endless calls to landlords, property management companies, and in the end, it was one simple little sign that we wouldn't have seen if we hadn't had time to kill.  Isn't it strange how life works out some times?

The house itself is perfect for us.  A little on the older side, but a nice sized yard.  Enough room to spread out, and find quiet time, but still small enough that I'm not spending a ton of time keeping it clean.  I will most definitely be posting some pics after we get this move done.

When is this happening?  Well, next week!  As I mentioned above, we've got the trucked booked, time off arranged, and next weekend we'll be unpacking and setting up our new home!  I am so excited about this. No more living in separate towns, no more long commutes for Travis, the boys will have some time to get settled and familiarize themselves with the new neighborhood before school starts.  We'll have time to get them registered for school, and I should have time to get some of our systems of organization back up and running.  Oh, I can't wait for that part either!  I'm eager to organize and play around with our new set up.  It's going to be a busy few weeks, but I really can't wait.

So, please forgive me if I'm not around again!  I haven't forgotten this little ole blog of mine, I've just been a little busy with life.  I have a few more days of down time before the move begins in earnest, and I'm hoping to take that time to get a little more prepared for the upcoming school year.  So, stay tuned for a couple more printables popping up on here between now and Wednesday!

Anyone else ever have things work out in the most unexpected of ways?  Anyone ever had their "plans" back fire on them?