Weekend Update

[trp4life]

• One week until our movers come!

• Our house is in total disarray and we cranked out the packing this weekend. I must say, I am very pleased with Ryan's performance this time around. He did most of the packing while I did the organizing, purging, selling on craigslist, etc.  I had to look the other way while he was packing because he can't take my tips and I can't take watching all my stuff surely going to its demise, but this is all about letting go and letting others help so it won't be pretty or perfect, but it'll be a whole lot easier!
• Jimmy went to Grandma's for the weekend to give us a chance to pack. He was happy as a lark in his new 'big boy bed' there with new Cars bedding and Cars decals on the wall, plus new Cars from Grandma (spoiled much?!). They baked cookies together and he didn't miss us at all.
• I should get a second job selling stuff on Craigslist. Damn. It is so fun and feels great to get rid of so much stuff. I think I'm addicted now. Our neighbor laughed at us because of all the people coming and going and asked if we're keeping anything. We're also donating a ton so it feels good to get a little cash from the attic and also pay things forward too.
• We went up and visited the new place. Our landlords are so nice and gave us the keys early so we can drop a few things off here and there while they are cleaning and prepping it for us. They repainted a few of the accent walls that we didn't love, which is so nice. I'm glad we decided to go for it. Every time we go up there it just feels right. It'll be tight, but so much better in other ways that count. Jimmy LOVES the yard and playground set out back. As it is, the day we move in the community is having an Easter Egg Hunt for the community right across the street from us in the park. The family-fun starts ASAP. I'm so excited to actually have a dining room again and a little peninsula for entertaining. I'm picturing our first house warming party already! While we were up at our place we decided to swing by our friend's house to drop something off and see how close it is from our new place. They invited us in for a glass of wine...we were talking and laughing hysterically in minutes. Stayed a little longer than we thought. We were so happy on our way home thinking about how easy it'll be to just do stuff like that from now on with them.
• We are enormously relieved that we are actually getting a tax return this year. We had been so worried about it because of the big debacle last year where we owed so much, so this is a huge weight off our shoulders. We should do the Dave Ramsay thing and use it to pay off some credit card debt, but gah, I really want to use it to buy Jimmy/JJ the bunk bed set I fell in love with that is crazy expensive because it is such nice quality. I had no idea kids furniture was so expensive! Now I understand why almost everything in our house is from Ikea and probably always will be.
• As we were driving around our new 'hood, we realized we will be so close to our old clinic where we went through the IVF process for Jimmy. We're thinking we might give it a try again this summer and just see what happens.  The kids are getting older and will probably be with us less and less especially now that Ryan is moving to a different school. I sold almost all the baby stuff on Craigslist. It was rough, but my new thinking is that I'll clear it out and start with a fresh slate. If things work out, I'm sure I can get what we need used to try to save costs. If it doesn't work out, then we won't have that there as a sad reminder. Feels refreshing and hopeful.
• Work continues to be super emotional and depressing/draining most days. Too much to get into, but I'm just trying to stay focused on being hopeful about dusting off my resume and starting a full blown job search. We are also moving closer (VERY close) to 3 small colleges/universities where I might be able to apply for some faculty positions. None are quite the right fit for me since only one of the 3 schools has a school psych program and they don't have any faculty openings coming up, but there are some elementary and special ed Assistant Professor or Adjunct positions for which I might be a good candidate.  We'll see. Ryan also thinks that there is a possibility I might be able to stay home for a bit when he gets his new position next year and the raise that comes with it. I won't be so sure until I actually see the first paycheck, but the thought does sound really really nice.
• As soon as we move in....Jimmy turns 3 ON Easter and the inlaws come to town....woooooohoooo  :)   Not sure how it'll all get done but somehow it always does.