And the next chapter begins...

Well, we're here!!! It has been a CRAZY week... here's how it went:

Tuesday: We packed the truck, and got the house compeltely cleaned and emptied out for the renters! This was done with the help of our AMAZING small group! How blessed we have been to be a part of such a loving, supportive group these past 3 years in KY. They happily helped load our truck (to the BRIM - NO WAY we would have fit everything if it weren't for the creative packing of these guys... ropes, bungee cords, and walls of boxes and furniture with every nook and cranny of our 26 foot truck was packed! WOW!) And the girls helped steam carpets, vacuume, pack last minute things, do the bathrooms, oven, kitchen cleaning, take out trash, etc, etc. We can't thank them enough for being such a blessing to us throughout the past 3 years - we have learned so much from them and have felt so loved. We are praying that we can find a church here that has small groups and that we can get involved quickly.

Wednesday: We got up about 4am and left the house by 5:30, headed to DuBois (where my parents live). We arrived about 2:30 in the afternoon after a long day of traveling (it took Gary about an hour to get used to driving the huge truck and car carrier, but he did GREAT!) After eating a quick, late lunch, some friends of my parents came over to help us for the evening (my parents already had plans to be at a church conference before knowing we were moving). We had 2 locations to unpack and unload: my parents house and the storage unit. This took several hours... we worked from about 3:30 until 8ish with the help of these friends (and their parents watched the kids for a while too, which was super helpful as well!) Gary and I were up long after that though, repacking the truck! Once about half of the truck was unloaded in storage (between outdoor toys/furniture/equipment, several large peices of hand-me-down furniture we had, and tons of my school stuff and random other junk that we didn't need to bring but weren't ready to part with) we realized that the truck couldn't travel all the way to Virginia the way it was! Everything would fall over since there was a tightly packed wall of stuff - it needed to be repacked so that things wouldn't shift and fall all over the place. Gary and I were up until about midnight repacking the truck.

Thursday: We got up around 7:00 and were out the door by 8:30 to head to our new home! We arrived around 2:30 (traveling is a lot tougher with a truuck, car carrier, antsy toddler, and a newborn - but overall, I'd say they did great!) and had to sign the lease and get our keys. Then the unloading began! We worked most of the day, getting everything except a few boxes and the mattresses unloaded. We decided to quit around 8:30ish because we were all sore, tired, and ready to relax. Alex slept on the crib mattress and Gary and I slept on the couch. A few favorite moments from this day:

*While figuring out how to fit the couch through the door into the apartment, I run in and give Nathan his passy while Gary thinks. All the sudden Gary starts yelling - "UH OH!!! HURRY!!" I come running out and he's like "sprinklers are turning on, what do we do???" and I say "GO!!!" and we pick it up as fast as we can and start cramming it as quickly as possible through the door - this was HILARIOUS! We were laughing so hard and Alex thought it was great! BUT it didn't get wet or anything :) I guess under pressure, it was a pretty quick job! haha!

*Alex LOVED helping unload the truck! He had a BLAST... he thought he was such a big helper, bringing in one small item at a time (box of tissues, ball, cleaning supplies, wipes, etc) and stacking them on the coffee table. We'd tell him what a big helper he was and he'd say so proudly, "yeah, I am" with just the biggest grin. As he'd come in with his "large load" he'd say "excuse me!" to get us out of his way - too cute! He also "helped" us with backing up the truck by waving his arms to show when to start and stop. He was such a trooper - unloading never got old for him either, he was working hard all day in the heat and finished with Gary the next morning too!

Friday: Gary did a dry run of the public transportation system in the morning... so we got up early and he caught a 6:45ish train downtown, then caught the subway to his work building (he got all the kinks worked out!) Problem with the train is that it only runs one way in the morning and the other way in the afternoon. So, the kids and I drove downtown to pick him up. It was a little tricky meeting up downtown since we don't really know our way around, but it worked out :) We finished unloading the truck in the morning and the Verizon people came to set up our cable/internet. I had my first grocery store run and then in the evening we went out for a celebration dinner and to run a few errands.

Saturday-Sunday: We spent these days putting together furniture, unpacking, organizing, running errands and getting Gary ready for work.

Monday-Tuesday: Gary started his new job! He's enjoying it and everything is going well!! He's pretty much just dealt with HR stuff and started some training so far. The best thing that we've discovered so far is that he can choose his own hours and work 9 hr days(and one 8 hr day) and then get a 3 day weekend every other weekend! So he'll be working 7:30-5:00 and then get every other Monday off! The train/subway commute takes a little over an hour, so he leaves here a little after 6:00 to catch a 6:15 train in the morning and get to work by 7:30... and he'll be home by 6:30ish (since he can't catch the train until 5:25). Even though it seems like a long day, it's 'not really much different from what he was doing in Cincinnati... he left for work at 7:00 and got home at 6:30 for his job there. Also, he'll eventually probably try a couple of different modes of transportation... he can take a bus from the mall, which he's been told is about a 45 minute commute or he can try "slugging" where he carpools with other people going downtown and they can ride in the HOV lanes, which may also be a little quicker.

I've been unpacking like crazy and as of Tuesday night had NO BOXES left!!! We still have the crib and bedframe to put together and another shelf, so Gary will help with those things this weekend. We also have things to put on the wall of course, and some other things that still need organized, but we're starting to feel much more settled!

So... it's been a CRAZY week, but we are loving our new apartment!!! We actually feel like we have plenty of space and it really doesn't seem THAT small.

The boys aren't really in the same room yet... we ended up putting Nathan's pack and play in the extra bathroom/laundry room as we were unpacking so that he could sleep and be out of the way... and it's stayed there ever since! LOL. It's a little in the way of the laundry and storage area, and you can't really use that bathroom, but for now it's working and keeping him out of our room and gives Alex his own place to nap/sleep since they aren't really on the same schedule at all yet. We'll slowly ease him into the other room I think over the next weeks. And Alex actually LOVES the idea that him and Nathan are sharing a room :)

Alex has been so cute about the "new house" He was so excited the whole trip and would ask frequenlty when we stopped if we were at the new house yet. When we got here he was just giddy with excitement - he'd be giggling and say "I'm SO happy mommy!" ADORABLE! He still asks when we leave the apartment when we're going back to the "new house"... I wonder how long he'll say that! I've been so happy with his transition here, he's doing great!

Keep praying for our transition and stay tuned for pics of the apartment! :)

And we're off!!

Today's the big day, we're loading the truck tonight!! Let's hope this rain stops or at least slows down! Please pray for safe travels and that everything runs smoothly over the next few days. Pray for our transition and for the kids' transitions as we make the move and settle in. We're feeling many emotions right now: sad to leave our friends and home behind, nervous about travel plans and everything falling into place, stressed about getting everything done these next few days and getting Gary ready to start work next week, and mostly excited to set off on this new adventure together!

2 Month Update!

We went for Nathaniel's 2 month check up today! Can't believe he is already 2 months old!! At the same time though, we've adjusted as a family to having him here and I can hardly remember what it was like without him! Nathan is such a part of our family already! Time is weird like that...

Anyway, here are his 2 month stats:

*Weight is now in the 40th percentile at 11.2 lbs - definitely a growing boy and GREAT eater!! (He's quick too, it only takes him about 10-15 minutes total to nurse!)

*His height is also in the 40th percentile at 22.5 inches long

We also had some concerns with a couple of things we'd noticed. First, we thought he had a tooth in the back (which would be really early and a strange place to get a first tooth). Turns out though, it wasn't a tooth at all, it was a totally normal cyst. The doctor wasn't concerned at all about it and said babies get them all the time on their gums.

Our second concern was the flatness of his head on the right side. The doctor was pretty concerned about how his head is looking... she said it's a cosmetic thing but that it's pretty early for his head to already be that flat. She wanted to refer us to a specialist to get it checked out and maybe start physical therapy. Since we're moving though, we'll have to find a pediatrician to see us right away and refer us somewhere near where we live. I'll probably try and call some places before we even leave so we can hopefully get in right away. In the meantime, she showed us some neck stretches to do with him and gave us some ideas of how to try and shape his head naturally (most of which we've already been doing - laying him so that he looks left and such)

Other than that, she was very happy with his growth and overall health. She was also very surprised with how social and smiley he is! He is "talking" and cooing a lot and smiles all the time! He has also started giggling! SO cute!

Here are some more things we've gotten to know about Nathan and a little update about what he's doing now:

*He started rolling over a couple of days ago at 8 1/2 weeks!! He has done it at least 3 or 4 times a day since :)

*As long as he's in a fairly good mood, he enjoys his tummy time and is getting really strong! He's doing a great job looking around, even from his tummy position :)

*He continues to look up to Alex - he loves to watch him and gets so excited when Alex pays attention to him. This is my favorite! :)

*He's sleeping about 7 hours at night now and then eats and sleeps for 3 or 4 more hours (on a typical night.... sometimes he doesn't do quite that well ;) ) He's going to bed around 8:30 and is up around 6:30ish

*He loves his play gym and bouncy seat best

*Nathan does not enjoy waiting in his car seat... once we're in the car and moving, he's usually happy or falls asleep though

*He still loves his passy! He goes right to sleep with it most of the time. We don't really give it to him much other than sleep times unless we're out somewhere.

Boxes everywhere!

These last couple of weeks have been filled with LOTS of packing, planning, and cleaning! We've checked a lot of random things off of our to-do list, but still have a lot to do (some stuff that can't really be done until the move gets a little closer - we're now only 10 days away from the day we load the truck!) Everything is a little harder when you have a newborn and a two year old though (and Gary is still working his job here through next Friday). I've been trying to involve Alex a lot in the packing and cleaning. He loves to help! He has spent time "labeling" boxes, along with pulling things out and putting things in boxes (which makes packing tricky)! I think he is starting to get antsy and confused though. He'll tell you we're moving to a new house and seems to understand somewhat what is going on. He's been really acting up the last few days though - I think he's just craving attentioin and wondering when we're actually going to go to this "new house".

Anyway, since I love lists, here is an update on what we're doing in list form :) :

*The house is officially rented out! (What an answered prayer!) This family found us on Craig's list and everything has been falling into place perfectly, including the timing! (Their moving truck will come pretty much right after ours leaves!) This has lifted a HUGE burden off of us!

*We've decided to get a storage unit where my parents live (4.5 hrs from DC) rather than storing stuff here or in DC. It's much cheaper and will be more convenient, since we will probably be at my parents' hosue more than we will be back in Cincinnati. (And storage in DC was about 3 times as expensive!)

*A lot of things will go to my parents' house as well... so this is taking a lot of coordinating! I'm trying to make sure to label boxes well and have started piles of boxes for each location around the hosue... since we will have 3 stops on the way to drop stuff off, we want to make sure that our boxes are loaded in the truck in order :)

*I've been doing a lot of visiting with friends... it has been a little surreal knowing that it will be the last time I see people for a while (even if they are older friends that I don't see too often anyway... it's different knowing that they are not too far away!)

*We sold a bunch of our downstairs furniture on craigslist. It was all stuff we got for pretty cheap when we were first married and stuff we weren't really huge fans of anyway... so we figured it'd be less to store and such :) It wasn't really going to fit in our new apartment (we need a smaller kitchen table). Alex was very concerned though about where we were going to eat. We set up a card table in the kitchen and have been eating out on the deck a lot lately :)

*We packed up all of my school stuff... this took a couple of days with my parents' help. Since I had to pack everything up to move to the new school that I would have been at, we had to basically unpack everything and separate my stuff from school stuff from trash and repack it all in personal boxes. When we packed it up, we just put everything in boxes and didn't really organize/go through anything... so this was a big job!

*My parents came for 3 days to help with stuff... we got our china packed along with lots of other random things and my mom helped with lots of cleaning (blinds, windows, vents, light fixtures, baseboards, etc.) My dad helped cover up nail holes in the walls and replace light bulbs and such... and we had lots of extra help with the kids of course, so i could get things done as well :) OH and we got to go on a dinner/movie date... which was much needed and so much fun! (even if i did fall asleep for about 1/3 of the movie from sheer exhaustion! haha)

*Gary's parents and brother/sister-in-law will be in town this weekend to knock some more things off the list - fixing up the deck, moving boxes/furniture, cleaning more random things for the renters, more packing, taking care of kids, etc!

So, I feel like things are really coming together... mostly I'm just ready to go ahead and make this move and start settling into our new home/routine! We're feeling tired and things are stressful around here - I think we're all just ready for the next step... just a week and a half until the big move begins!

Our next adventure...

We have big news and big changes happening in the Friske house! Gary had an interview about six weeks ago for a job that he applied for back when he was unemployed - a position working for the VA in Washington D.C. Two weeks later, he got a call offering him the job (this was about two weeks ago now). They agreed to let him have a week to make the decision, so we traveled to D.C. two weekends ago for an extended, 4-day weekend to check it out and look for a place to live and see whether or not we wanted to accept the job. We made a list of the pros and cons, prayed about our decision, talked a lot with family and friends, explored the area, and officially made the decision a week ago to accept the position and move to D.C.! We are so excited!! This will be a huge change for us in many, many ways.

Here are a few details about what's going on right now and what our plans are:

*We are scheduled to move in just 3 weeks, and Gary starts his new job on July 20th!

*He'll be working right across from Washington Square in D.C. - you can actually see the White House from his building!

*We have a 2-bedroom, 1,000 square foot apartment that we will be moving to (cost of living is, of course MUCH higher in D.C. and we will be paying slightly MORE for this apartment than we do for our home here - CRAZY!)

*The apartment is in Woodbridge, VA - about 20-25 minutes from downtown D.C. This was the best area that we found to get affordable housing that is still in a family-friendly complex and where we felt it was safe and clean.

*Gary plans to use public transportation to get to work, and will probably spend AT LEAST an hour each way commuting. (Although, he is used to a long commute, since he is an hour away now...) However, the long commute seemed like a better decision than living somewhere closer in an area that didn't seem as safe (for what we could afford closer, the housing was not real nice at all)

*We are in the process of renting out our home here in KY. We're also busy getting things done (cleaning, fixing things up, etc.) for our new tennants.

*I officially resigned from my position in Norwood today, and am excited to stay home with our boys this next year!

*I am busy packing and labeling boxes - some to stay here in storage, some to go to our new apartment, and some to be stored at my parents' house in PA (like I said, we will have less than half of the space we do now, so it's taking some creative packing!)

We are so excited for this next adventure! It is a bit scary, and definitely seems crazy, but we really feel that this is a good decision for our family and that God has been opening many doors to us over the past month, making this an easy decision for us. We are thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to see what it brings!

1 Month Update! (better late than never, right?)

I know, this is waaaay overdue - I started this post about 2 weeks ago when Nathan was one month old, then life got CRAZY and I never finished it -oops! So, we had his one month check-up about 2 weeks ago... here are his one month stats (even though he'll be two months old sooon!):

*He weighs 9 lbs and is 20.5 inches long (both in the 25th percentile - along with his head size which I can't remember the numbers on)



*He is still eating every 3 hours or so (although sometimes I feed him at 2.5 hours and other times he'll go a little over 3 hrs to get on schedule throughout the day for a 10 pm bedtime!)



*Nathan is still going to bed at 10:00 (nursing for the last time at 9:30) and getting up between 1:30 and 3:30 at some point to eat. He is good about going right back to sleep and usually gets up again between 4:30 and 5:30. I've been nursing him, putting him back down, and getting him up to eat around 7 or 7:30 for the day. If I'm lucky, he sleeps straight from 3ish until 7ish though :) But... that's not been too often lately.



*He is smiling real smiles now :) Amazing!



*His head is getting strong - on his belly he can lift it a little over 45 degrees now!

*Alex is still enjoying being big brother and taking care of "his" baby :)

Memorial Day Weekend!

This was a crazy weekend at the Friske house! I came down sick with mastitis on Thursday evening and it was AWFUL! I can't remember when I've been so sick! Even though it's an infection from breastfeeding, it's MUCH more than that... fever, chills, headache, nausea, lightheadedness - basically feels like a bad case of the flu. Gary offered to stay home Friday, but being at a new job I really didn't want him to use up his sick days/vacation and I figured it'd be fine. We pretty much sat on the couch ALL day... Alex was a trooper, watching movies and shows and being pretty good all considering. He was cute about it too because he'd tell me I needed to rest and sleep and he'd ask if I needed to "hold him" or if I needed daddy to hold me. I ended up getting an antibiotic and was on the mend by Saturday morning.

Gary's parents and brother/sister-in-law were in town visiting this weekend! We enjoyed lots of good family time - brunch, movies, grilling, conversation, board games, playing with the kids, church, food, and packing! Yes, packing! They were kind enough to help me pack up my classroom on Saturday morning (but I'll get to that). But first, a couple of pics from the weekend:

So a couple of weeks ago I found out my new placement for next year is kindergarten at a new building (Norwood View). I'm not super excited about being back in kindergarten... I've really enjoyed first grade and teaching reading. Kindergarten is just so different! The kids are such babies and so needy - no independence at all! At least I have experience in K though, so it's not something totally new. I also will have to work with a new team of teachers though - in five years of teaching this will be my FOURTH team of teachers to work with! I was also told I'd need to pack my room up since I'll be moving to View - my THIRD building in five years! It really kind of stinks being the low one on the todem pole! I was given June 2nd as a date to be packed up by - and school didn't let out until May 29th - so that gave me 5 days to pack up (3 of them over the weekend). Seeing as there is no way I could do all that work with a 2 year old and 1 month old in tow, it meant I'd have to get it done with Gary's help over the weekend! So Gary's family got dragged in as well - they were super helpful though and it really went pretty quick with so many hands. It is AMAZING though how much stuff I've accumulated over the past four years... here's the final count:

*36 boxes provided by the school (we filled every provided box!)
*2 small bookshelves (since I'm only moving the ones fully intact :) )
*6 personal boxes
*4 crates full
*6 large plastic tubs
*1 box fan
*1 pocket chart stand
*1 rug
*2 chart paper boxes

I'd say that is A LOT of stuff! It seriously stresses me out to think of UNPACKING it all later this summer - uggh!

So we didn't really get a chance to do any "Memorial Day" festivities on Monday since we were busy finishing up the packing - no parades, parks, or grill outs for us this year. But that's ok, we had a great weekend with family and got a lot done :)