100% Moved Out, 80% Moved In

I'm not sure if we moved the absolute dumbest way possible, or if moving always sucks this bad.

I'm pretty sure it's the former, because 9 times out of 10, I'm sure people don't make multiple trips when they're moving.

We got the keys to our new place on January 15th.  I didn't want to take any days off of work during the move, so Lance would take a few boxes of items up here on his way to work, since it's about 10 minutes away from his work.  We did that for a few days, but then on the weekend we decided to try to get the rest of it with a big moving truck.  The moving truck got most of the big items, but there was still a ton of random stuff left behind.

I don't know... it seemed like no matter how much we threw away, sold, donated, and packed, there was still more and more stuff showing up all over the house.  I'm still stressed just thinking about it.  But anyway, yesterday Lance finally made the final trip from Provo to Midvale with the final items that needed to be moved.

We left the house in a bit of a dirty state...  But I'm not going to drive to Provo to clean a house we didn't make money on.  Mean? Probably. But whatever.

Every day I've been unpacking box after box, getting things organized, just in time for the next load of boxes to show up in the entryway.

He's the kitchen when I finished with a few boxes:

And here's the rest of the kitchen that isn't so nicely organized:

Bah humbug.  I have a feeling that it will be unorganized and chaotic for... ever.

Lily is completely weaned from nursing.  It was too hard for me to balance a bottle and nursing.  I thought it would be easy, but it really wasn't.  So, she only has formula now.  It's nice... I can lay her down on the couch or the floor with a bottle and keep doing what I'm doing, instead of having to stop and sit with her.  My jeans are looser, so that's nice. I have no idea where my scale is, but, I'm not really worried about that right now.

She thinks she needs to stand up all the time.  My baby... is getting so big. :(

We see this a lot more often than we ever have in the past, but it's been a welcome change.

She "helped" us pack boxes by grabbing things out of them and throwing them all around.  What a good helper!

Roller Coaster

I went back and read a lot of older posts from the past year...  I'm such a roller coaster.

Next time I have a baby, could someone come and take my scale away?  I was obsessed with my weight!  I'm still not where I want to be, but I'm not so depressed about it anymore.  I wish I had focused more on how freakin' adorable Lily was those first few months.  She is so much fun now!  Now that I think about it... she wasn't always fun.  It' was hard to enjoy her cuteness when she cried all the time.  But now she laughs and smiles all the time!  She is such a sweet heart.

She used to take a bit of time to pull herself on to her feet.  Now she crawls over, and pulls herself up like it's nothing.

I don't want her to grow up.  I just want her to be my little baby, who loves me, forever.

Lily lost a pound between her 6 month and 9 month appointments.  Dr. Arnold was very concerned.  I was shocked, since she eats a ton!  He said it was due to my milk production decreasing, and what little milk I was making was more like skim instead of the heavy cream it was when she was younger.  The solution?  Formula.  So, I failed my formula-free goal, but I'm proud of the effort I put into breastfeeding for nine months.  Honestly,  I won't work as hard at it with future babies.  Formula sure is nice!  Except that it smells funny, and I never know how big of a bottle to make... seems like it's always too much milk, or not enough milk.  Whatevs.  Two more months and she'll be able to have cow's milk... but I'm not sure I want to give her cow's milk.

I heard that humans are the only mammals that continue to drink milk after their infancy.  Personally, I don't appreciate the effect that cow's milk has on my body, so I tend to avoid drinking it.  I'm not sure what the alternatives are for babies/toddlers are though.  Anyone know?  I love coconut, almond, rice and soy milk!  But alas, Lance does not.  So, half gallon of 1%, half gallon of Silk?  I dunno.

I've been reading the Doctrine and Covenants lately.  The First Presidency message this month is about how the D&C will help us learn how to better receive spiritual inspiration. I liked the sound of that.

Lance and I were both feeling certain impressions, and we were surprised that the other was feeling the same way when we told each other.  Vague, I know.  But, these impressions were/are asking us to do some fairly scary and difficult things.  So when I read the First Presidency message about receiving and understanding answers to prayers, I had to try it out more faithfully than I have in the past.  I've been reading multiple sections in the D&C every night, and these impressions are growing stronger and stronger, and they are making more and more sense.  I honestly have felt like some scriptures are speaking to me directly, and echoing the impressions I've had.  Occasionally, I'll forget my fears and feel nothing but excitement!  However, I'm still scared. And I'm still praying to know if it's right and if it's true, and if we must do what we are feeling.  So far, all signs point to yes.

I'm afraid to share the specifics, just now.  But in time I'm sure I'll spill the beans.

San Moritz

Lance and I spent all of Saturday driving around the Sandy area looking at different apartments, town homes, condos, and rental homes.  It was a long day, but we succeeded!  We found the perfect place to call home for the next bit.  It is the San Moritz Apartments in Midvale.

We'll be moving over the course of the next two weeks.

Some of my favorite things about this particular place are:

• It feels like a condo.  There is a club house, which our town home never had.  I'm looking forward to getting in the hot tub, in the snow.

• Granite countertops

• Space above the cabinets. I don't know why I'm attracted to this, but, I am.

• Two closets in the master bedroom: A smallish one for Lance and a giant one for me.  Just kidding, Lance has more clothes than I do. (I'm not joking!)

• A fireplace!

And the best part of all?  It's 5 minutes from Lance's work.  That will be SO nice!

It's two bedrooms, instead of the three that our townhome has, so we'll be getting rid of a lot of stuff.  It feels good to downsize.

We've never rented before... but I'm super excited!

Sold Our House!

We had a great Christmas, and a wonderful trip out to see my parents in North Carolina.  We had such a great time, we didn't want to leave!

Lily loved all the attention, and I liked not having to watch her constantly.  :)

Lily on the flight from SLC to Chicago.  She was an angel!

Lily was so good on the flights to North Carolina!  The flights coming back were a nightmare.  I think I got cocky, and I paid for it.

We finally got approved for a short sale on our house, and they accepted the offer that was put in forever ago. So... now that we're home, we're cleaning up and throwing items away to get ready for a big move.  Lots of piles right now: keep, sell, donate, throw away.

We don't know to where we are moving. We don't know when.  We haven't closed yet on the sale, and the buyers are being extremely flexible, giving us as much time as we need.  We want to get out of here fast, but we want to make sure we will be in the right place at the right time.