On a typical year, as I have done for the past few summers, I take a week off to stay home with my boys and make my best attempt at showing them how great a summer in Westerville can be. I did the same this past week, only with two major changes. I now have a third baby boy in tow, and on the first day of this vacation, we moved into our new home. Needless to say, many of our normal traditions were tossed out the window as we scrambled to unpack boxes and set up shop so we could eat and sleep.
Sunday, July 3
After a rush of moving from my parents' basement, getting into the house, having our buyers back out of the condo purchase, then getting back in contract within hours of relisting, enjoying our first housewarming gift with my brother & his wife (Woodford Reserve), wading through boxes, finding parts for beds, priming and painting the boys' room to cover up pink and lime green (!), I took a breath, and headed off for Toledo Ohio to fetch my kin. In typical style, I lied to them all the way home, telling them they'd have to live with pink paint and that I wasn't sure where they'd be sleeping. They were pretty elated when they saw it was all set up. Sam walked all through the house taking a picture of each new room. After all the work, it made me so happy to see that they liked it. Ray went out into the backyard and did a few sprints with plenty of room to spare. A big reason for the move was to get them some more space, and to get into a neighborhood where they could let loose. It filled my heart to see them get to enjoy it all so quickly.Monday, July 4
This was a pretty big shopping day. After 3 days in the new place, we had determined quite a few items in need of procurement. I went electric on a lawnmower, so far so good. No gas. We dragged the boys to Target. We bought a bunch of boring house items, but the boys were more than thrilled with the folding papasans that helped complete their rec room. Since they still had to share a bedroom, we made it a priority to set up a place where they could spread out and play without being on top of one another. We also picked up a store-bought fireworks set for the evening. Asparagus, strawberries, and brats on the back patio satisfied my need for a break from pizza. We didn't have the Westerville fireworks extravaganza in our front yard any longer, but it was more than adequate to enjoy family, sparklers, smoke bombs, and a few neighborhood patriots who shot off some impressive fireworks of their own.
Tuesday, July 5
Costco day. It had been over a month that we made a real shopping trip, so I loaded up all three boys and headed out. We were rolling two carts deep: one for the baby/toilet paper, one for the food. The boys were a great help, we finished in an hour and capped the trip with a slice of pizza. Home we went so I could keep unpacking. The boys were becoming increasingly vocal about wanting to finish their rec room (I can't blame them, Disney Infinity awaits). That evening we shuffled some furniture around the house to get them set up, and after they very cutely and efficiently arranged their own toys, they were up and running! Between that, and their new bedroom, they were in hog heaven.Wednesday, July 6
It was hot and muggy: a wonderful Ohio summer mainstay. I was able to try out the new mower, but was generally irritable as I was working outside. I broke the monotony by telling the boys to go out in the backyard and clean up their mess from earlier. But the mess was actually a bucket of water balloons, and by cleaning, I meant throwing them. I blasted them both at point blank, only to then tell them they'd be dead if they hit me back as I walked away. It was surreal to see them run around in the yard playing the same way I did when I was a kid. Visions such as these make all the work worth it.
Thursday, July 7
We probably did something this day, but all I remember is cardboard boxes and plastic totes. I did, however, get some good Puffin Rock time in with Jules that afternoon :)
Friday, July 8
After spending most of the week trying to unpack while caring for an 8 month old and keep track of two boys, I decided it was time to get out and do something fun. Jules went to Nana's house for the day, and I took the kiddos out for some minor adventure. I decided to treat myself to a drum-kit makeover and spent an hour or so toying around at the music stores. Afterward, we hit up the Westerville batting cages and knocked some balls around. I am really bad at baseball. Much to my delight, I asked the boys if they like Chipotle, and they said they did! We had a great lunch together, then came back to the house to set up my music room. Having a room for playing has been a dream of mine, and with this new house it is becoming a reality. With my amps set up, and guitars hung, we settled in for some frozen pizzas and watched Ant-man to round out the evening.Saturday, July 9
Saturday, I took the day to have some "me" time, as my brother and a buddy were coming down to play music. I spent the morning getting the house ready-ish to host, which mainly involved taking boxes out of rooms and putting them into others. By 4p, the first official jam session was happening. I've had all the stuff for years, but couldn't play in a condo with shared walls. We were able to turn up and really have a good time. It's a really nice stress release every now and again to let it rip. When the boys got back from the pool, we had pizza (again) and everyone listened to some records and played frisbee outside. To cap off the night, my brother had a fire on his patio. It was nice to only have to walk 3 doors down to enjoy it, as well as to stumble my way back to go to bed.
Sunday, July 10
Last day off. I can't believe how fast it went, or that we had lived in the house for over a week. It felt like one endless day of unpacking, and it still wasn't finished. In between getting stuff done, the boys and I went for a wonderful bike ride over to a local park. We connect to a bike path, and it's going to be great having access to so many places with it. The local fire station has a water shack for bikers which is a nice touch. When we came back, it was amazing to see Ray, and then Sam be older brothers to Jules. Ray has a natural way of playing with him, and Sam really stepped up and helped me watch him while I finished clearing out the garage. We went for a walk around the neighborhood and talked about life; Sam has a bright future ahead of him. After dinner, we had a wet and wild backyard bonanza which basically consisted of Jules in a blow-up pool and they boys smashing water balloons. Bunch-o-balloons are an amazing time-saving invention, but I think it robs these kids of the appreciation I had for a water balloon when I was young. They went through about 60 of them in under 10 minutes.
Monday, July 11
Well, back to work and reality after a week long working honeymoon at the Casa di Mara. My mom treated the boys to a trip to the Lego Store at Easton, as well as the AMC dine-in theatre to see Secret Life of Pets. I was entirely jealous. For the evening, we had a Harry Potter night. The Sorcerer's Stone is far longer than I expected: nearly 3 hours! We snuggled up on the couch and shared a magical viewing session, that is until I fell asleep during the movie.Tuesday, July 12
My mom took all three kiddos to the Zoo. I imagine they saw many animals or varying shapes and sizes. We received our request-to-remedy for the condo, so I took Sam with me to do some minor work. He read the instructions for Stratego on the way there and back. He's also becoming a pretty adept helper. When we got back, I played my first match of Stratego with Sam. It was a throwback to a time I played my neighbor on his back porch when I was a kid. Ray watched as Dad destroyed his son, and walked away to let the boys duke it out themselves. They played several more times during the week.
Wednesday, July 13
The boys had a water balloon fight at Grandma Vicki's. At home, Ray wanted to do his geode kit. There wasn't much to it, he put on the glasses and smacked them with a hammer. The results were pretty however. We plan to decorate the headstone at Gigi's grave with them soon. When I was a kid, I found buckets full of flint, and used it to decorate my Grandfathers' stones. The boys know this story well and are eager to continue the tradition to pay their respects.Thursday, July 14
Paw Paw, Grammy, Danica all arrived in town in the afternoon to spend the weekend with us. It was the boys' last night with me as they would be picked up while I was at work on Friday. I didn't see them much, as having a cousin in the house makes for a good opportunity to play hard. We enjoyed a big family meal (skillet brats, don't count 'em out), and I rounded out the evening by doing "our favorite thing" of the staycation. It was good to reminisce, as I saw that amidst all the unpacking, we did manage to have a good time.
Saturday, July 16
I skipped a day, but it wasn't until after Eliz' dad left that I felt the void of an empty house. Jules was terribly constipated and having a terrible time, and it hit me that after two weeks the boys weren't with us full time. It was quiet. It felt off, like my soul was hungry. Typical ending I suppose, but I love you boys more than you know. Thank you for breaking-in our new home with so much energy and love.
PS- Jules finally pooped that night. Crapsplosion. After such a terrible 30 hours, it gave me such relief to see him back to his normal self.
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