What I've learned

I hate moving.

Brace yourselves...

I don't really care about Diet Dr. Pepper anymore. I don't know what happened. Out of nowhere I'm just more interested in plain old Diet Coke (or Coke Zero, preferably). Thus ending years of an obsession. I know. I don't know what to tell you. The end of an era.

Also, I'm becoming fragile under the stress. I was getting worried about Carly not having any parents, and living with Spencer. Was iCarly another show where the parents are mysteriously absent, or does she really not have parents? Today I caught the tail end of an episode the girls were watching where Carly is going to have to go live with Grandpa instead. Of course, in the end, Grandpa sees that Spencer is a good caregiver and Carly is allowed to live with him. And I got misty. Watching iCarly. On Nickelodeon.

I'm an accident waiting to happen.

I'm starting to feel like I attract accidents. There was the near accident with the school bus. And now the accidents have come out in full force.

This weekend we went down to our new place to scope it out. Great news! I only need to eliminate a basement-worth of stuff!! Anyway, I discovered I had boatloads of work to do on Sunday afternoon, so we hightailed it for home instead of staying til morning. Cue the longest trip ever. First off, with two small children a 4 1/2 hour drive is no longer 4 1/2 hours. We need potty breaks. Snacks. Dinner. And then, I came up on this. Some guy felt the need to u-turn through the median (you know, right in front of the sign that says not to), and clipped a tanker full of gasoline. Nine hours later I rolled through, and it was just opening up. I still had to sit and wait for over an hour to drive a mile.

I was totally with the people leaving comments on the article about how he should be cited and what an idiot, etc. Then I found out he was 87 and from Missouri. Now all I can think about is my great uncle. At one point when he was older he ended up going the wrong way on a freeway in the Twin Cities. He hopped the median to get back the right way, ended up on the shoulder and stopped his car. If I remember correctly, the police had to drive him home he was so shaken. And I think that was the last time he drove. Maybe this guy was an idiot -- I don't really know. And maybe he missed his exit and got so scared and flustered he had to turn around RIGHT NOW.

Today I was on my way to the bigger Lake Wobegon, and I witnessed a 3-car accident on the highway. Three cars were in front of me, and a car attempted to turn across our lane. While the first two cars were in it. As it started to turn I automatically took my foot off the gas because I could see it was going to be an accident and I would need to pull over. Glass flew, cars spun, plastic chunks of car scattered about the road. I called 911, but stayed in the car because I had Natalie with me and there were other people already stopping and helping. I stayed and waited til they had most of the people out, and I could catch the attention of a Sheriff's deputy near the edge to leave my name & number. Word on the street (small town -- I'm Facebook friends with the aunt of one of the drivers) is that everyone is okay.

I'm done with all these accidents and reminders of the brevity of life now, thank you.

And now I have some packing to do.

My house doesn't like me anymore.

We have lived in this house for 8 years. I think our house is trying to kick me out.

A few weeks ago I went to take a shower, and when I reached down to fix the bath mat I hit my head on the towel bar. So badly that I wonder if I had a mild concussion. I felt weird all day.

Yesterday I was moving some boxes for Goodwill out to the van and hit my hand on the door frame. I hit it in just the right spot close to my wrist and it literally felt like the bones in my hand separated and then popped back together.

Today I stepped into the shower (the shower which hadn't injured me in 8 years until a few weeks ago), and hit my shoulder on the soap holder thing. So hard my whole arm still hurts, two hours later. And I have a red puffy line across my shoulder.

This isn't really my house's fault, but this morning the city office called to let me know they're turning off the water for an undetermined amount of time while they fix a water main leak in our neighborhood.

I get it, House. And I'm working on it. But if you don't get your Housey act together, no one will buy you.

Meow

A couple of weeks ago we headed to La Crosse to check out the housing situation. We stayed at a very cute north woodsy hotel. The girls had a night of Pool FUN! Then we spent an entire day driving about with the realtor looking at houses. To celebrate the girls being precious angels all day (really -- it had to have been divine intervention -- the realtor couldn't stop talking about how wonderful they were), we took them out for a stuffed animal that night. There was much excitement over the new furry friends.

So much excitement, that when we got home and unpacked the next day, I realized Meow Meow was not with us. After digging through all of our stuff and scouring the van, the only place he could be was back at the hotel. Four and a half hours away. Meow Meow. The one Ella has slept with almost every night since she was a tiny tiny baby. And I felt like a horrible mother. I always make sure we have the irreplaceables with us. Meow Meow is always on the list. And I didn't this time. I may have cried, but I'm not saying for sure.

Ella was concerned that Meow Meow was gone forever. But I assured her I would call the hotel. It took a couple of days to get a hold of someone in housekeeping. When I did, she was very nice. "Oh I understand! My 16 yr old daughter still has her blankie sitting on her bed." There are times in your life when you are sensible. And there are times in your life where it all goes out the window. I gave a random person in housekeeping my credit card info to mail Meow Meow back at whatever mystery cost it took. Lecture me later, people, it's MEOW MEOW.

And here he is, back where he belongs.
Welcome home, dearest Meow Meow, welcome home.

(Oh, and if you need a hotel in La Crosse, I have one I can recommend. She even called a couple days later to make sure Meow Meow had made it home safely.)

Zithromax, I love you

Here, for all the world to see, I pledge my love to Zithromax.

A month or so ago Natalie had a bladder infection. She started out on sulfa-something-or-another. Then we switched to Zithromax because she wasn't getting better and BAM. All good.

Yesterday Ella was fine. Last night she mentioned something about her head hurting. Overnight she cooked up quite a fever, and said her throat hurt. This morning, she still looked pretty tough and her throat hurt something awful. She was whispering. ELLA. WHISPERING. Ella. Honestly, I'm not sure I've ever heard her talk so quietly. And that's how I knew it was serious.

Thankfully, we have same day Saturday morning appointments here in Lake Wobegon, so we didn't have to use the ER. She had the throat culture right away -- poor thing. Sure enough it came up positive for strep. And then the doctor described her throat as "angry."

She looks tough today. Not hungry. Throat hurts. Tired. But Zithromax, I know you will come through. By tomorrow she'll be bouncing off the walls. And back to her normal volume.

I like cheese.

Cheddar, provolone, havarti, muenster, mozzarella, farmers, gouda, blue, feta... I love cheese. So we're moving to Wisconsin.

Ok, that's not exactly how it happened, but it's a lovely bonus.

Captain America got himself a new job in a new company, and we are loading up & moving to La Crosse. We'd never been there til last November, when we went for a wedding. As we drove down through the bluffs to cross the Mississippi river, our jaws dropped. There was just a bit of burgundy color left on some of the trees, and it was possibly one of the most beautiful things I'd seen.

Now, less than a year later, we're going to live there. It's exciting & intimidating to be moving. We are not nomads in any way. I've lived 28 of 31 years here in Lake Wobegon. We've lived here together for 10 years, almost exactly. We've lived in this house for eight years. That's some serious roots. We are going from our little Lake Wobegon, population 2500, to an area of 80,000 or more.

But we have asked for neon signs that this is the right thing, and we have received them over and over again. Only God could have orchestrated these details in this way. It's such a relief to be able to do this with confidence. We've built a life here. Our families, friends, church, the school -- it will all be hard to leave. Have I mentioned I love Facebook? And email? And blogging? It's also interesting to wonder what's next and really not have a clue.

I'll keep you posted on the ride. So far all I know is Captain America starts the new job July 7. We can't get into our duplex til July 10. Our house is on the market and who knows how long that will take. So, yeah. I'm not really sure yet. But I am oddly not worried about it.

Hey, there visitors from 5 Minutes for Faith! I am so excited to have a devotion published there today. I've been on a bit of a hiatus from my blog while all of this went down, but now I'm excited to share the journey! Thanks for stopping by!

Remember me?

So, we're moving to Wisconsin. How's that for random?

I'll have more later, but in the meantime I need to sell a house, find a place to live, and keep up with my regular work which is rather plentiful these days.

Oh, and I have a 6 yr old. She'd tell you all about it. Like she did to the Fed Ex guy today. All about how old she is, what we're doing today, in what order, we're moving, where, etc. Maybe she should get her own blog.

The zoo purge

Over the weekend I had the girls gather up all of their stuffed animals. I mean every last fuzzy little one.
No wonder floor sightings in their room had become so rare. There are no pillows on this couch. Only stuffed animals. No dolls. No other toys. Only stuffed animals. And two little girls.

I went through all of them, and pulled out the ones that were "special." The zebra Captain America bought for Ella at the Bellagio before she was born, etc. Precious Meow-Meow, Ella's sleeping companion. Natalie's VISA (Very Important Stuffed Animal) Curious George.

That yielded one small laundry basketful. Then we let each girl go through them and choose 10 a piece, very carefully. There was much trading going on. Finally, we loaded up almost 3 garbage bags full of stuffed animals.

I'm not one to throw things away. They'll probably go to Goodwill, unless you can tell me something else to do with them.

I'm ready, I'm ready

So last week we had the Big Kindergarten Graduation. So cute. They marched in wearing their graduation caps with crayon tassel, and said what they want to be when they grow up. Ella said she wants to be an explorer. Which doesn't surprise me. They sang some songs.

I was doing great by the way. Ella had her entourage (parents, sister, two sets of grandparents, one uncle and two aunts). She kept looking up at all of us and waving. All the time.

And then they sang the first grader song. (You know the Fast Food song? "A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut"? It's set to that, if you'd like to sing in your head)

A first grader A first grader Can't wait, Can't wait To be a first grader A first grader A first grader Can't wait, Can't wait To be a first grader I'm ready, I'm ready Can't wait, Can't wait To be a first grader

I'm not sure what happens after that. Because I had stopped listening with the "I'm ready, I'm ready." I realized I had blinked and her entire kindergarten year had just flown by. She's not only going to be a first grader, she's completely ready to be one. It was SO fast.

They moved their crayon tassels, and then paraded around through the aisles before heading back to their classrooms. Ella, of course, waved the whole way. To everyone.


Here is a picture of Ella and I outside both of our kindergarten rooms.

I give you...Ella, First Grader.