Almost

We've almost finished the big move but before we showcase our new living quarters, a few things I will miss:

Saturday and Sunday mornings usually end up right here.

And sometimes they include hugs...

But most of the time they end like this... maybe Benicio will be a dentist when he grows up. Or a welder.

Soon...

... we will be using this yard to it's full potential and that Welsh Corgy better watch where it poops.


This tree, which abuts our room, looks the best during the winter-time and makes for a great view outside our window.


But first there is work to be done... as you can see from the pic below, the carpets were a breeze. I am welcoming the challenge of moving our stuff into 1808 and with the countdown at 12 days, I've been getting prepared by lifting 40 lb. boys over my head on the regular.

I also think Beni and Jules are going to appreciate the time with Balla and Papa, especially if it includes cookie-making/eating.

BENICIO!

A Huge Step

The transformation from blah back room storage/craft area/work out dept. to bright and lovely living space/back room storage/craft area/work out dept. has begun. Today we started the daunting task of painting half the retangular room lemon drop yellow and tearing up the old carpet. I painted. J ripped up the carpet. We're a good team once we put our big heads together and get to work.


J started at one end, I started at the other.

We listened to hot 92 jams, you know, a little "PYT" while hard at work.
And we were quite pleased and amazed at the work we accomplished today. Although, I think I have asbestos up my nose, but it's all good:)

Now all we have to do is move in (arghh), decorate (yay), and live (sigh).

To Keep or Not to Keep

Ever since we made the decision to move, I've been dealing with the question do we keep this or should we get rid of it? Even though our house we live in now is on the small side, we have an amazing collection of "stuff". Having kids means more stuff, having hobbies means more stuff, having 2 garages means, yeah you guessed it, MORE FREAKIN STUFF!!! We don't have lots of storage in the current house which was a good thing, but it seems like the garage became the storage, which we have yet to tackle. Of course we've decided on the what to save and let go of with the big items, like furniture, but the smaller things seems to be the bigger headache.


And some people like me have a weird attachment to say magazines that have great ideas/recipes/home decorating tips and I just can't throw/give away. We also have lots of books since J likes to read and I like to flip through books for some inspiration and read occasionally. I'm just venting by the way, packing as fun as it sounds is a little tricky. So my struggle continues as I unearth items I forgot I had and remember back in the day when it was easy to move, when I had 2 duffle bags worth of stuff, those were the days:)

Step 1: Packing

In addition to packing up at our current residence, we have the overwhelming task of cleaning out my parents back room (where Alisa and I will be sleeping for the next 10-12 months). The below picture is the view if looking southward. Among all this "stuff" is, in my eyes, a pretty nice space for a bedroom. The first task will be clearing out the room (which my mother has already began, god bless that woman... for all her faults the lady knows how to clean out a room). I will then attempt to pull out the carpet, leaving a concrete floor which I think will be giving the place a nice industrial look.

I'm looking forward to the entire process and I think the act of turning this room into a livable space will be something that not only takes up all my sparetime but will also be the preoccupation needed to ignore the idea of my family now living with my parents. I keep reminding myself that if we were in Italy this move would be very commonplace. Unfortunately, we are not in Italy (I'm not even Italian but we are Mexican and I hear this is very popular among my peeps as well) and I've really gotten used to living under my own family rules. Obviously it's time to suck it up, get used to the fact that my law ain't the law and remind myself that we are doing this in order to have a house of our own. I'm grateful for my parents being so accomodating, grateful that my wife has been supportive of this decision and grateful that my boys are the rugged little dudes that they are and are able to live just about anywhere (seriously, they're like the brothers in Slumdog Millionaire in looks and in resourcefulness). Now back to the task at hand.

The above picture is a northward view of the other half of the room (yes, that is a chimney in the upper-right hand corner... and those are moose-horns left by the prior owner of this house - my parents bought this place in 1986). We have a lot of work ahead of us and only 20 days left to complete the moving process. As a natural procastinator, I welcome the challenge.