Kool-Aid Man Dies in Apartment

I don't even have words to express how I feel about the most recent events so let me just tell you what happened.

The day after our move Seth had to go into work (next time we do this he is getting at least one gap day to take care of business). That night Stella decided to pull another teething all nighter (she has now cut three out of the four jaw nuggets). So we were up with her from 3:30-6. We decided to take shifts with her. When Seth got up he was feeling tired and sick but who wouldn't with that schedule. He goes to work and starts to feel pretty crummy. By 11:00 he came home and was almost unrecognizable; his walk was different, his countenance was off, his face was green. He went straight to bed.

This left me with the task of taking care of child and everything left to finish up. I had to check out of our apartment (we hired a cleaning lady, best money I ever spent) and run a ton of errands. It was a day I needed a well husband. Seth slept the entire day.

Saturday (our last day in DC) Seth was still sick. He woke up at 5:30 with that feeling. I gave him red Gatorade and made him some toast and somehow that was the straw that broke the camel's back. He ran to the bathroom and while in mid-run realized he wouldn't make it. Being the polite person Seth is, he covered his mouth and created what can only be described as a crime scene that involved the Kool-Aid man. From the ceiling to the floor, every wall in the hall/bathroom area of our temporary apartment was covered with sick. I came in to help out and almost joined Seth in the vomitorium. It was horrendous. Red Gatorade covered the house, it was bloodier than the Phantasm quintilogy.

Seth was mostly on the mend after that and then Sunday we flew to LA. We are still here today and tomorrow we continue our journey to Manila via Tokyo. Sorry there are no pics, once we get to post we will have more of our things sorted and I will be able to find the darn cord to the camera.

Wish us luck!

Done?

Today was the final day of our move.  As the moving van drove off I had tears in my eyes, not from the loss of my material possessions but the knowledge that I would not have to deal with this for at least a few months until it arrived on the other side of the world.  

After the move I broke down and hired some cleaning professionals.  It is worth every penny.

And now for Seth's thoughts:

I've always wanted to have all of my possessions handled by strange men in short shorts, then sorted, placed into containers taped within an inch of their existence, hefted down 30 or so stairs, and finally lifted into a crate bound for the Eastern Hemisphere. My dream came true and I watched it happen over the past few days. I can die a happy man.

Surprisingly, watching people move you is about as tiring as actually doing it yourself. My muscles ache and my eyelids droop. The effort it takes to type this post is almost too much to beaasdlfnzus...................................

(note to readers: Seth fell asleep whilst typing this blog entry. That's how tired he is.)

Moving and Shaking

Today was such a horrendous experience I cringe to think of how frequently moving will happen in my life.  The move itself really was not that bad.  As predicted the movers came and measured everything, packed everything, took inventory.  With the exception of the hour and fifteen minute lunch break they were very professional.  What was not okay was Stella getting really sick.  We took her to a neighbor to sleep and be watched.  She only slept for about an hour and woke up.  I went over to give her some lunch but everything was refused.  She was really clingy and was begging to nurse (we are pretty much done with this but I am waiting until the 17 hour flight before a full wean happens), she never asks to nurse during the day.  I held her for a while and then she wanted to play.  

About 30 seconds after I put her down she came to me with that look that all mothers recognize, the 'I am going to throw up' look.  Sure enough vomit all over me, all over my neighbors couch and oatmeal colored rug.  It was a disaster.  She has a low fever, around 99 degrees.

I had to go home and take care of her and myself.  She has yet to eat a bite of food and I am terrified she has the ever-so-common hand, mouth, foot bug that is going around.  This really is not the time to have her get sick.  

Tomorrow we have another day of moving,  I am hoping they can finish quickly since there isn't much left.  Wish us luck.

Gremlins in Our Travel Preparations

I swear Seth and I are jinxed right now. In our frantic attempt to organize and prepare we are just getting hit with careless mistakes that never happen in a normal life time.

Here are a few examples:

Sold our car, in our attempt to carefully fill out the title, we messed up. Fortunately the DMV accepted a fax and all was well.

In a rare down time moment Seth and Stella were splashing in the pool. Just then Seth's phone started ringing, in the pool. It has yet to resurrect.

I decided to turn our change we have been collecting for the past year into cold hard cash. I didn't realize how heavy change can be and while holding my baby and two huge bags of money I tripped and the contents of $150 of change flew all over the parking lot. I tried to pick it up and people walked by me with my child in tow and just laughed as I tried to pick up the pennies. After about ten minutes a lady with her seven-year-old son stopped to help.

Once I got into the bank we put the money into the machine. Stella was delighted. It took about 30 minutes for the money to be eaten. In that entire time I never saw a sign that told me that Chevy Chase bank had changed their policy so that non-customers have to pay 10%. I used to be a customer but as far as I can tell Chevy Chase only takes money. The lady told me the news and I lost it. I started tearing up something about serving our country, dropping money, sick baby (oh yeah, did I mention Stella was up last night from 2:30-5:00 straight). They made me wait with a now squirmy tired child for about 15 minutes so I could be lectured by the manager about some new sticker they put up. I hope this comes up on a google search because Chevy Chase bank is the terrible. Coinmach in the grocercy store only charges 8.9% why would a bank charge more? After my tears they let me keep my $15 but my dignity was stolen.

The Walk

Stella put on my shoes and was able to strut around the house. I think she walks better in those shoes than I do.

The move is happening. It is the weirdest move I have ever done. We can't actually pack anything or it won't be insured. As a result we have mounds throughout our house. Mounds of things that will be going into either storage, air freight, or boat. As I go through all of this stuff it is amazing how instantly I feel attached to something I haven't seen in years. I have been giving away and donating a lot of things but my hands have had to be pried off certain shoes I haven't worn in years and clothes that I don't ever wear anymore. The most horrifying finding is how many toiletries I have collected. I have a huge bagful of pedicure items. Not just one foot cream but three foot creams! I have used foot cream once in the past two years and that was when I was bored out of my brains on bed rest waiting for Stella to make he debut. Other horrifying findings: six different bottles of Victoria Secret lotion. Who needs this stuff and why can't we throw it away? I feel like it is the kind of stuff that you just keep giving and no one actually is able to use and entire bottle of it. I don't know about you but last I checked my scales were well hidden and not in need of some chemical concoction that is apparently the secret of Queen Victoria and her naughtiness.

Since our house is mounds of stuff we moved out into a furnished temporary house. They didn't have any two bedrooms so I put my baby in the walk-in closet. It seems to be working out well. It is dark and cozy and so far she has slept through the night so we are happy campers.

Wish us luck. I have felt like we are on The Amazing Race, as if there are cameras waiting to watch me breakdown under all the stress. No game show but we will be traveling the world, child in tow. Isn't that more dramatic than a race around the world for a million dollars?

5-7-9

It is happening, we are really moving to Manila.  We now have visas, passports, move dates.  I have been too busy to let myself get emotional but after four years here I am going to miss a lot of people.  

Here are some random thoughts about the move:

5--the number of bathrooms in our new Manila place.  Seriously, I could use a different bathroom every time and not hit the same one twice in a day (if I limited my fluids).  Admittedly they are not all full baths and one is the maid's quarters bath (yeah, maids quarters!?) but compared to my 1945 Victoria Secret pink and black delight I use now...I am ready for multiple bathrooms

7--The number of days it will take us from the time we move to actually get to Manila.  No we are not going by boat but you might think so with all of the stops we are making on the way.

9--The number of bags we are bringing.  We each are taking two bags 2 x 3= 6 PLUS Stella's Pack n Play, Stroller, and Car Seat. Grand total of=9 BAGS!!! I have no idea how we are going to get all of that to the hotel in Tokyo or even to the airport in DC but here is to life (imagine things with multiple children, my hat goes off to you folks).   

Dependents Day Round Two

I had some time to reflect on last year's events. Last year we went to Iwo Jima with our friends Tim and Christianne. We were hoping Laila would come as a result of our walking. No such luck and Stella, a month old that day, had to wait two more weeks for her friend to come.

Last year we were worried she would be freaked out by the noise. This year I worried about the same thing but instead of being freaked out she squealed with delight and added to the noise with her own claps and cheers. Last year she was a really heavy one month old baby, this year she is even heavier but runs around and I don't have to carry her every where. Last year I wondered if she was crying because she was hungry or needed changing or something else, this year she points to whatever it is that she wants and says, "get, get."

In some ways I feel like the person who really has shown her independence is Stella. So happy Independence Day my little 13 month old darling. We love you kid!