The Other Reason We're Moving Out

Baby #5

Due the last week of August or the first week of September, 2011.

14.4 weeks in and we've already chosen full names for the baby boy or girl, who will be a gender surprise.

Big Changes

So, after much preparation and renovation and innovation and just plain work put in to stay in our current home for at least another year, we have decided to move out. Very soon.

First, Nick was offered a higher-up job at work. The job was located in Las Vegas. We both felt like Las Vegas was not the place for us to be. We like Dallas, we have friends here, and I don't like Las Vegas for more than a week, tops. So Nick politely declined the offer. That all took place in the fall.

Immediately after Nick rejected the job offer, his company went through some big changes. They switched headquarters, set up some new locations, and a lot of new jobs became available. Nick was, once again, offered a new job, except this time it was his dream job. His words, not mine. This time, we seriously considered it, and requested all the details. The job was located in southern California, a place that both Nick and I love, but we always found it to be too expensive for us to permanently live. The job involved a once-weekly travel schedule, where Nick would need to fly out on a Wednesday morning, most likely to the east coast or ohio, although possibly to Texas, he would attend meetings and dinners and make sure everything was functioning correctly, and then he would fly back on Thursday afternoon and be home just in time for dinner.

We found out that the job was very secure, and had huge promotion possibilities, and that the pay was great. Then, in a very complicated and (for us) lucky situation, we learned that the company would provide a house for us to live in. We had until March 1st to decide.

We had a lot of late-night conversations and a few really big arguments. We've known since we first moved here that we didn't want to raise our kids here, that's why we never bought a house. While the school system is excellent, it was never my favourite place. And we were going to move in a year anyway. We have many friends here, but we have many friends in many places, so why tie ourselves down because of others? In the end, we were leaning towards taking it.

The Company flew our family, all six of us, out to LA for a week to see the house, and the area, to check out schools, and get a feel for what it would be like to live there. We all loved it. We took the kids to Disneyland and I'm pretty sure they would have been happy spending eternity on the Dumbo ride.

On the morning we were leaving I did my own thing, killed a few hours while Nick took the kids to the beach on his own, and then we flew home. And we decided to take it. Take the job, take the opportunity that is being handed to Nick on a silver platter. Amidst all these stories of people being fired and laid off, somehow we got lucky.

So for all the reasons you see above, and many, many more, we are moving. Moving across the country, away from family and friends, towards new opportunities.

Play/Guest/Work Room Update!

So when we left off here the playrooms was empty of any playthings. It had the bed and a workspace and a chalkboard and a bookshelf, new hardwood floor, and nice light but appealingly bright blue walls. There was nothing on the walls, floor, there wasn't even a light fixture!

We put in a big silver fan for the hot summer days to come (we do have a/c but sometimes a fan is nice too), we put in track lighting so it's nice and bright in certain areas, and we bought this big baby, to put over what I decided would be our reading area. Suffice to say, our ceiling was done being decorated.

I really wasn't sure where to go after that, so I didn't pay any attention to the room until after the first week of January. Then I found an amazing purple floral area rug that wasn't exceptionally feminine (Theo...) but still brought a bit of a delicate feel to the room. We bought it and threw it down and it was like a switch got flipped on because from then on I was all about finishing the playroom.

We found an adorable wooden table with four chairs for 50 bucks, took it home and painted it white, and now it's one of my very favourite things in the house. We decided we weren't done with the ceiling after all, and we ended up hanging four long canopies from the ceiling. Most of the time the kids don't care about playing with them, but once in awhile we'll let them hang and all of a sudden we've got four little circus tents or houses or stages (because obviously that's what they're for). Viv is too little to play in hers much yet, but when she gets older she'll have her fun too.

We decided to be very careful in selecting toys for the kids, so we bought a Lego bench that serves as both a Lego building platform and a Lego storage center, and a puppet theatre. We bought a bunch of fabric puppets and the kids love them. We bought some wooden cars and other Eco-friendly toys, and we found cheap and very comfortable love seat on wheels that we put in one corner. We bought a cheap TV on sale in January that we hung on the wall so every once in awhile I roll the sofa into the center of the room and stick a movie in the TV and the kids don't have to watch TV in the living room, plus that was our guests can watch TV in bed and we can watch TV if we're using the workstation, even though that's counter-productive.

For Christmas my mom made the kids about 8 (probably more) cushions for their little huts that hang from the ceiling, and we threw in a bunch of old throw and fleece blankets so it's a cozy room.

It doesn't have very many toys in it at all, but the kids have lots to do. We're at a stage now where the older kids can play together as well as entertain the younger ones, and we've got stations set up so that sharing isn't a big issue. There's a huge chalkboard, an art table for colouring or painting or doing homework or playing cards. A puppet station, a bunch of fabric tents to make houses or shops. And of course they can put on little plays all the time too. The big kids can read. There's tons to do in there, mostly involving the use of their imagination, and I think that's better than a bunch of noisy, flashing, battery operated junk. We have a tonne of puzzles for the kids to set, and board games galore. If there's really nothing to do, they can always watch a movie.

So overall it turned out great, I love that the playroom is a place where I don't have to watch the kids every single minute, guests will enjoy it, and Nick and I can work in it. It's everything we hoped it would be, and if the last few days are any proof, the kids love it.

I didn't want to write this but oh, here it is

Nick and I flew internationally with four children yesterday. For the second time. We took a trip to a family reunion, it was pleasant. The family, not the flying. If you were flying anywhere near eastern United States yesterday, I am sorry.

It started at 7am yesterday morning, when I woke up to find our plane delayed. Already. Our plane was supposed to leave at noon. So I let the kids sleep a bit longer and we eventually woke them up and got them ready to leave with only one minor incident over a fluffy purple tutu. Okay, check, Four kids, 6 suitcases, 7 carry ons, Nick. Good. Oh, and a purple tutu. Can't forget that.

So we drive an hour to the airport, and of course the big kids fall asleep and the baby poops and the toddler stays awake and chats the entire way. We get inside, drag 486534066902 bags and four children to the self-check in thing, check in, and then begin waiting in line.

After 20 minutes and nothing gained I send Nick to go take the oldest three for a smoothie on the other side of the airport, and thankfully they go quietly and our line begins to move and I check the weight of 486534066902 suitcases, check four car seats, and Nick comes back and shows his i.d. and the kids are all present and for a few minutes it was not chaotic at all.

We say goodbye to family and rush the kids to drink the last of their smoothies. After another round of goodbyes we corralled the kids around the stroller, got Viv in her car seat, car seat on the stroller, put Pippa in her seat with much annoyance over the fact that I'm sorry, the purple tutu may not travel with us, and got Sera and Theo to hold Nick's hands. Once all the bags were loaded onto out bus we made our way into, you guessed it, the first line. It was short, we were through it and into another line in no time. Border. After an excruciating amount of time spent trying to keep my energetic children from getting refused entry to their birth country, we made it through the border and into the security line. We had to remove each child's shoes, jackets, backpacks, and the stroller was a whole other deal. After a minor issue where we were told Vivian would have to walk through the metal detector (she can't walk on her own), we made it to the other side.

Each kid threw a tantrum while we hurriedly redressed them and shoved their backpacks on/stuffed them into the stroller. They all had to go to the bathroom so we had a long stop there to change the baby and get everyone set for the flight, and then... nothing. Our flight was delayed, and the international terminal had nothing to do if you're a normal traveller, never mind a family of 6, most of whom are under 6.

I didn't want to open up any electronics yet, lest they die during flight, so I took the kids to a section of chairs where no one was sitting and I let them run wild. I gave up. They played tag and rolled all over the floor but I did not care. Nick and I just watched, hoping they'd tire themselves out eventually. The did. And we reloaded everyone and then boarded out plane. Our tiny, tiny plane. Two seats on either side. I sat with Viv to nurse her, Nick sat with Pippa to control her, and the big kids had two seats behind Nick and Pippa. They munched snacks while everyone got on the plane, and I only had to shush them twice. Let's skip the next 45 minutes, because it involved tears, while they deiced the plane, and we'll just say take-off went well. The big kids were all excited about flying! on a plane! in the air! so high! up! up! up! and Viv nursed and Pippa sat in her car seat and drank some juice and watched the ground a lot.

The flight was really good, Viv fell asleep and Pippa fell asleep so Nick and I talked to Theo and Sera and it didn't seem like very long until we were landing. I gave the big kids some chewy candy and two water bottles and nursed Viv, Nick and Philippa played patty-cake. I'm pretty sure she had no idea we were landing. Everyone who left the plane smiled at the kids and they waved and grinned back and it was cute and they were little angels and Nick and I had a proud parenting moment. On a plane! I know!

Then we got the stroller and put the car seats on them and I put Viv in the ring sling and Pippa was on Nick's hip sling and I put the big kids in the stroller and we RAN from terminal C to terminal G because our plane was supposed to be leaving NOW. So of course we got there and the plane was an hour delayed. And then it ended up being three hours delayed and my god this entry is long so we'll just say many flights were cancelled and our flight was only delayed but the kids had nothing to do and then they ate McDonald's for dinner and we finally boarded our plane and there were tears and crying babies and sleeping big kids and it was just horrible. So we landed in a lightning storm and it took 2 hours to drive the 45 minute drive home because it was pouring rain and at 2am I walked into our place and Theo fell asleep on elevator floor and I finally got to lock our door and turn off the lights at 2:30 am.

So we all slept until noon today, except the baby woke up to eat at 8, but she went right back down. And now my kids are playing silent tag because I told them to be quieter, and I'm a zombie.

Viv Update

My sweet babiest girl is 9 months old! After four babies I've decided that I enjoy them a whole lot more after the six month mark, so I'm very glad we're in the funnest stage right now, babies are just so darn cute at this age!

Viv babe. She can babble a whole lot of random gibberish. She can crawl faster than Pippa can walk, she cruises around (very slowly) while holding onto things (hands, the couch, the dog) and she can stand up without assistance for a few seconds, longer if we distract her, thereby causing her to forget that she's standing. Yesterday she actually finished her dinner without falling asleep in it, a first, and she has also mastered patty cake with her siblings. The child sleeps more than all my other children ever have, but that's another post entirely.

Viv calls me Mee and Nick Dee, because Pippa has taken to whining Mummyyy and Daddyyy recently, and Viv picks up on the last syllables. She calls Pippa "Ipp-uh" with the "uh" part just an exhale, but it's an improvement on "Lip", which is what she originally called Pippa after she heard me call Pippa by her whole name. Viv has one two-syllable word down, Theo. She calls Sera "Sra" or just "Ra".

Basically, she's adorable and we are so in love with her.

Recap #70637 of the holidays

You = SO EXCITED.

These are the holidays I need to make the most of, because every child of mine who is old enough to care about Santa Claus, believes in Santa Claus. So we went all out, ashes from the chimney on the floor and all that jazz. They bought it, it was swell.

In the teens of December I went through the kids playroom and bedrooms and organized their toys. A pile for garbage, a pile for goodwill/salvation army, a pile for friends. I was able to kick out about half the toys, and it felt so good.

The kids got 6 gifts each, I believe, 1 from both sets of grandparents, 1 from me, one from Nick, one from Santa, and one from their godparents. Still, with 4 kids, one of whom will not rip her wrapping paper, and another who is 8 months old, it took us awhile to open everything. Surprisingly, no tantrums were thrown.

Nick and I were dog piled at 6am, by children who I suspect were up at 4, and we started opening gifts around 7. With a break for a proper breakfast at 8, we didn't finish unwrapping gifts until noon, at which point I fed the kids some of the test turkey I'd made a few days earlier, and mashed potatoes. Heavy stuff. They were all asleep by 1. I had a few hours to get the house cleaned up and set out the kids outfits, and when they woke up at 3 I was ready to throw them in the shower. Literally, I put the three oldest ones in my shower with the radio on, and I gave the baby a sponge bath. Because I cannot have my children running around on Christmas with turkey in their neck folds.

We put the kids in their Christmas best, threw on their pretty shoes, and put all but Viv in the playroom. Viv got to chill in her highchair for a bit as Nick and I got the dishes ready. And then I blinked and it was 4 and my house had 38 friends and relatives in it and I didn't have to watch my children because everyone else was absolutely enamoured with them.

Viv took a nap at 6, in various persons arms, and woke up at 9 ready to party. She was up until 12:45, when she fell asleep on my sleeping dad. Pippa played until 10, then attached herself to Nick, leaning on him and being affectionate and adorable in general before he gave in and took her upstairs. She fell asleep before he made it to the top step, and didn't wake up while he changed her into her pj's or put her to bed. Sera fell asleep playing Hide&Seek, we thought she was asleep in her bed until we went to turn off the lights and go upstairs after the party ended, and she rolled out from underneath the tree. Surprise! Theo walked around to everyone in the house and gave goodnight wishes before putting himself to bed at 10:20. Good boy.

As for Nick and I, we said goodnight to the last visitor at 2am, and he cleaned until 3 while I showed our overnight guests their rooms and sofas. I'm pretty sure I went to bed at 4. The kids slept until noon, except Viv, who woke up for a bottle at 8 and was entertained by my MIL until she fell asleep at 10.

Basically, Christmas 2010 rocked our socks off. And we are tired.

2011 resolutions, just to get motivated

• Blog here at least once every two weeks.
• Become a regular commenter on blogs I enjoy following.
• Take my running up a few notches. Do a 5k and a 10k.
• Lose those pesky extra pounds by V's birthday.
• Be punctual. This is a major issue.
• Go to sleep at a decent hour, no more staying up late.