Stormy winds

There's a tropical storm twirling off the Atlantic coast, a few hundred miles from here. Even with the distance, we're feeling the effects. The day has been overcast, with fast-moving clouds, strong winds, and occassional spits of rain. A. got rained on the other day during a downpour when we were leaving Target, and once today when we were visiting a house. It's her first exposure to rain, and she really wasn't sure what to think of it.

We spent the day looking at rental houses. JJ's been sick since our flights out here, so he's had a miserable time. We looked at 5 houses, spread out all over the area and in a big range of rent prices. We found one that has a great monthly price but is fairly generic. Money-wise, it's a great bet, but the place isn't exciting. Then there's the Lake Katherine house, which is just as great in person as in the pictures. I'm trying to negotiate a reasonable price -- still more than we'd hoped to spend, but it's maintainable for a limited time. It's just a great house, and I'm really hoping we can get it.

That dreaded day

All things considered, it went well. A. was a little trooper, sleeping easily on the plane and making friends with all the other passengers. The cats freaked out to various degrees, and there was some drama because we had to remove them from their carriers at security and HAND CARRY THEM through the metal detector. Maneuvering all of the bags and life forms we had was very, very tricky and I never want to do it again.

Today was a recovery day, which is good because JJ's feeling pretty sick. A. and I drove around for me to get a feel for the area (and for her to get a nap). The cats are adjusting at their own rates (Gandalf is living under the bed, Chaos is all over the place and making friends with the dog), but they seem to be doing very well.

It hasn't quite hit me yet that we've moved because other than the cats, so far it's very much like a visit with my parents. I think tomorrow, when we visit rental houses, reality will start sinking in.

I'm just so glad the move-day is over forever.

Greetings from hot and humid Florida

Everyone survived. Humans' sanity mostly intact, have yet to check on the cats. More details after we've recovered.

Dread

The packers have come and gone (more on that later) and the movers have come and gone (more on that later, too). Now comes the day that I've dreaded for as long as we've thought about moving - for years - getting all of the lifeforms (two adults, three cats, and a baby) on a flight across the country.

Denial

Denial is the only reason I can imagine that we thought we were anywhere near ready. I'm in a more than mild state of panic right now. A. goes to bed in 60-90 minutes, so only quiet things after that. And the packers show up between 8 and 10am tomorrow.

Wrapping up

Still no major day-to-day changes. But they've got to start tomorrow, because we found out yesterday that instead of being packed and moved on the same day (Saturday), the packers are coming Friday and the movers on Saturday. So tomorrow we'll have to sort out what we're taking with us and what's going in the CRV, clean out the fridge, and make sure everything's in the right place so that it gets packed in an appropriate box.

We tested a dose of sedative on our very jumpy, formerly stray cat. It didn't seem to do a thing. This flight's going to be a blast, I can tell.

Residence-wise, we decided that we'd really like a 7-month lease in a house. I've been busily contacting various rental agents, but I'm having a bit of trouble finding a place that will go for 7 months. They all want a year. It seems silly to me -- the market is swamped with rentals, why not go for the sure thing for at least a while? Sure, you'll have to find another tenant sooner, but in the meantime you've got us, and there's no guarantee someone else will come along any time soon.

I'm surprise I'm not more worried, moving across the country with no firm place to live. This is the sort of thing that, pre-baby, would have kept me up at night.

Now is the perfect time to panic

We're a week away from finding ourselves in Florida. I'm certain there's more that we need to do than I've thought of. I've started a list -- multiple lists, actually; no one should be surprised by that. I started the list because I was sure there was more to do than I could remember at any given time, but instead, it's showing me that there really isn't.

That's assuming I've really thought of everything. It's hard to be sure that I have, because I don't have a lot of free moments to ponder the move and go over upcoming events in my head. A.'s been extremely demanding lately, reminding us of the time immediately after she was born. Not only is she demanding both of our attention during the day, but sleep is as bad as it's ever been.

We're trying all of the folk remedies for reflux, to little avail. She seems to be trending worse. Do we call our pediatric GI doc for help, even though we'll only be here another week? Or do we wait and try to establish a relationship with a doc in Florida?

I'd like to have a pH probe done; that watches acid levels for 24 hours and is the best way of proving reflux. If she does have reflux, I honestly don't know what else can be done for her. But if she doesn't, that's a significant finding and means we have to go down a completely different path. Her symptoms point to reflux, but it's not definitive.

I never imagined we'd still be dealing with this at 6 months. I haven't slept more than 2 hours at a time in weeks, more than 3 hours in a row in months, and more than 5 hours at a stretch in... I can't even remember how long. No wonder my days all have a fuzzy edge about them.

Cupola-cupola-cupola

JJ and I have decided that we probably can't take another apartment complex, and we'd like more than a few expensive months to scout the area. So we're now leaning toward renting a house for 7-12 months. Luckily, there's a lot of options. I've been scouting various property management websites and craigslist and I'm happy with what I see.

Our favorite we call cupola house. I tried to talk to the agent today, but couldn't get an answer and didn't get a call back.

All wasn't lost, though. A. found the term "cupola" very amusing, and we had a good giggle-fest about it.

No decision

JJ and I haven't made any decision on the lease. In fact, I'd say we're actively avoiding making a decision. I'm not pushing it, because I think JJ needs a few more days distance from leaving his job. I'm a bit ahead of him there; I've had 4 more days to mourn.

The apartment looks no closer to a move. We're only a week and a half away, and I really can't believe that from our day-to-day actions. Little has changed. We're making slow progress on our big list, but other than things being crossed off, I have little to show for it.

I got thrown into a bit of a tizzy because a house that I've lusted after for months just had a $10,000 price drop. I started thinking crazy thoughts about flying to Florida to look at the house, intending that we would buy it and avoid renting at all. But that's really not a reasonable action -- the whole point of renting is to at least give us a chance to get familiar with the area. We'd throw that out the window to buy a house we'd barely seen and that's missing a lot of the things on my house-list. The reason I love the house is the yard. Amazing -- over an acre, waterfront, tons of huge oak trees. But there's no formal dining room in the house, and (according to my parents' advance scouting trip) it doesn't have the greatest layout for family living.

I really shouldn't be expected to make all of these life-altering decisions when A. is still waking me up every hour or two at night. I'm really not thinking terribly straight.

It begins

The auto transport company picked up our Civic today. It's the first piece of our belongings to head to Florida. The die is cast. Now everything starts clicking into place, one thing following another following another, until we find ourselves in a land of 90-degree October days and non-transplanted palm trees.

JJ's last shift was Sunday night, so we're both shiftless lay-abouts at the moment. From two incomes to homeless jobless bums in two quick weeks. Luckily, that situation will resolve itself within another week. We'll have to make a quick call before our belongings arrive -- a 3-month lease in yet another apartment complex and an immediate house search, or a year-old lease in a rental house that gives ourselves an out in case Florida isn't for us, but means even longer until we're settled.

We're both still too absorbed in leaving our jobs to make a rational decision here, so we're letting it percolate in the back of our minds, taking up valuable cycles.

Scratch 'n' dent

Although A. gave us a bit of a scare this morning with a terrible screaming fit after we changed her Ace wrap, the PA at CHO pediatric orthopedics gave her a clean bill of health. Since we got home she's been rolling around and grabbing at things as usual, so it looks like everything's going to be fine from here on out.

Boo-boo baby

This morning, while A. and JJ were having play-quietly-while-mommy-sleeps-in time, A. rolled badly on her shoulder. I woke up to her crying.

The x-rays looked negative at the initial read, but we have to go see an orthopedist with CHO tomorrow. In the meantime, A.'s on Tylenol and has her arm wrapped to her side. She's pretty fussy, but we can still get occasional giggles out of her.

Poor girl. She's taking after her accident-prone mom already.

It was good

If you've got to have a last day, that's the way to do it. I got to see pretty much everyone, express my thanks or appreciation, and reflect on how fabulous it all was.

It's not a place I walk away from lightly.

Last day at work

I'm all verklempt already, and I haven't even gone into work yet....

A. rolls over

I apologize for the terrible quality.

Preparations

We're only 3 weeks away from the move. Although we've made great progress on the many, many lists that I compulsively keep, it doesn't feel like we're that close.

Our apartment definitely doesn't look like we're that close. The place is in its normal, post-baby disarray. I've made a few small strides, like cleaning out the cabinets and sorting old clothing, but that's all out-of-sight things. The piles of clutter and baby stuff in the living areas make it look like this will never happen.

It's been so helpful to have my parents at the other end of this journey. They've been advance scouts for us, helping us with information about the area as well as the actual move logistics. Making things fall into place has been hard enough, I can't imagine moving to an area where we didn't have local support.

Big changes

This blog is intended to chronicle a major change for my family. After nearly 7 years living a continent away from what I still consider my home, we're moving back to the East Coast.

It's a time of mixed feelings. This move will bring us closer to our families, allow us to buy a house, and give me the opportunity to be a full-time mom to our daughter, A. But it also means leaving fabulous jobs for both my husband and I, as well as leaving the area which, although I never came to see as my home, we've spent most of our lives together in.

We fly out in 3 and a half weeks. There's a pile of move logistics that have to be arranged, ends to tie up, and people to see one last time. But I'm spending most of my time trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I'm leaving my job.

It was my first job out of college; I did a not-insignificant amount of growing up while there. It shaped me to a great extent. I've defined myself by my job for many years, because I'm so proud of the company I work for, the work I do, and the people I work with. Losing that big part of my identity is going to take a toll.

Stay-at-home-mom is great, but do diapers and nap times and baby talk compare to down servers and tight deadlines and losing yourself in code? What else will I find to fill that hole?

Well, I've always wanted to try kayaking....