New House, Same Stuff

December was an absolute blur. We celebrated with friends at a wedding, had our house packed up, dealt with the cleaning of the Drum house, drove back to OK, had 5 Christmas gatherings, bought a car, signed another rent lease, and closed out 2013. 

Our move was an amazingly smooth process that resulted in very few fears of moving in what could be as soon as 5 months away. We had nothing broken, only a small hole put in our couch, and one missing flower pot. All things considered, that is a win. 

The move though, involved what we hope will be our final drive from New York to Oklahoma. Traveling in the snowy part of the country in winter is absolutely insane. I despise driving in snow. DESPISE! We drove for a day and a half in the snow, with frozen windshield wiper fluid, on over salted (not a complaint!) roads. Ross and I were in separate vehicles so we would call and tell each other when we couldn't see at all anymore and find a gas station to clean our windshields. It was not enjoyable or stress free. I am thankful that Lindsay rode back with me(even though it was SUPER difficult to keep the fact that she was getting engaged the next week a secret! YAY!!!) to help with Levi and keep me calmer when things were a bit too stressful for my taste. Seriously, our family is pretty awesome.

Levi did not do so hot with the move. He was pretty upset when everything was removed from the Drum house and we were occupied with cleaning for inspection. We then placed him in the car for 25+ hours. He turned into a VERY angry little boy with an extremely short fuse. It was not an easy transition for him or us and it made for two stressed parents. Ross hadn't been home since his return from Afghanistan and was really looking forward to being around the extended family and having some reconnect time, but with a temperamental toddler that didn't seem to be in the cards for us. Fa la la la la…

We were able to squeeze family pictures in with Ross's family a couple days before Christmas. It has snowed/iced two days before and a bitter cold front came through that morning, but we powered through and ended up with some memories :)
You can tell it was a bit chilly! Our coats were just out of view of the pictures :)


The day after Christmas, Ross and I came to Lawton to view a rent house and put our deposit down. We aren't good searchers for these things, but we stumbled into a house that will work just fine for the duration of our time here at Fort Sill, however long that may be. After putting the deposit down and feeling like we had time to spare without Levi dictating our day, we decided to go check out cars. My Gumby car had definitely been showing signs of needing to be passed along, so we did just that. We found a great "mom-mobile" for Levi and I to drive around. We keep upping our big kid purchases and it's kind of exciting :)

In early January, Ross headed to Lawton to sign in and get things moving on the house. Levi and I stayed behind at my parents and eventually caught the flu. It was not really the best thing when our household goods were being delivered that day, but it ended up okay. Ross was able to take care of everything for me and had us 80% unpacked before I even got here. We have settled into the newest place and are feeling quite comfortable. 

We cannot get too comfortable though because this course is only a five month course. Ross will graduate on July 23 and we could quite possibly be moving that next week. To where, we won't know for another 30-45 days from now. We have our preferences, but the army doesn't care much about preferences most of the time. Ross's ideas of what he would like to do change often and I feel like Fort Drum prepped me for just about anywhere, so wherever they tell us to go will be okay. 

And as for Levi and his hatred of the move, as soon as he came in to the new house and saw his toys, we got our normal-crazy, wild toddler back. Although, he is now having terrible 2's peek through… Goodness, Little Man.



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