Moving: Week 5

It's crunch time. The movers and the renters will be arriving next week. The kids are bored, bickering like crazy, and watching too much tv. The house is in absolute chaos as we sort and separate everything we own: stuff going to Italy and stuff going to storage. And in the midst of all of this I decided we needed to paint and re-upholster all of the furniture I have been picking up on the side of the road or at garage sales. Why didn't I do this sooner? Since Noah's eyes are healing so well and since he is going a little bonkers at home I was able to sign him up for camp around the corner from our house. He will start today and I think that will be a very good thing. Camille will be spending some time with our neighbor who recently went through babysitter training and that will also be a good thing. Just too crazy for them and for me to have them in this pit of chaos and expect them to behave and be happy. What was I thinking? Note to self for future moves: sign the kids up for summer camp before and during moving week and no more surgeries right before moving.

Update: July 8th
Thank you, friends. It is stressful but just a few more days and this stage will all be done...that's my mantra this week!

Happy to report we were all much happier at the end of yesterday. Noah was made camper of the day on his very first day of camp. Camille is counting down to when she can "babysit" the girl next door...she seems to think she is the babysitter! My mom and I have been making progress. Just gotta keep going. Have I mentioned yet that I am a packrat and it is a good thing we move every three years? I can't imagine what this would be like if we had lived in one place for 20 years. Oh wait, actually I can. I have several good family examples of what that would be like. Another reason to work through this painful stage of moving. Ok, back to sorting, seperating, and dreaming of Sicily.

Travel Photo Friday: Sunrise, Sunset

Navarre Beach, Florida 2009
More of Photo Friday here.

Mama, Yoga, and Country Western Tunes

"Kick me in the head and pour urine on top": that's the country western title that came to me at 4 am as I was stewing over a very sleepless night. I am in a country music phase right now. Something about the summer heat makes me crave the old style country music that I fell in love with during that summer spent working on the ranch. Listening to the country legends radio station on my way to yoga this morning I had to laugh at myself. I am a weird little mix of things/interests. Sometimes it really hits the spot to hear those twangy sounds.Sometimes melancholy, sometimes funny (like this one from this morning),sometimes just plain comforting and sentimental. I guess all of the recent country music is having a strange impact on my brain because when I stomped around the house this morning in the wee hours, I fluctuated between coming up with country western song titles and wanting to give my children a taste of what they gave me all night: urine, bruises, and sleep deprivation. At some point both kids were in bed with us, both had accidents, Camille did a lot of kicking, and by the morning Adam and I somehow ended up sharing Noah's twin bed. I know bed wetting is not the typical material for a song, but seems like more mamas should be writing country western tunes. I think there is a good market for it. Perhaps there already is and I don't know about it because I spend too much time listening and loving Johnny Cash. I am trying to be empathetic. I know this is a rough time especially for the kids, but sleep deprivation is not helping any of us. Thank goodness for my mama, yoga, and country western music...that combo sounds like it could be a country song in the making, too.