home, sweet home

I don't even know where to start. I guess the first thing to say is, "whew!". Moving is not fun, and we do not plan on doing it again anytime soon. In fact if we never do it again I will be happy. The move itself went great though. I think we had the best moving crew in history. Although it was a very long and tiring day, it went quite smooth with no major problems. All of our stuff arrived at our new house unharmed and in one piece. Well not really, most things had to be put back together again. (Another big pain associated with moving!). I have already thanked all of our amazing friends and family that helped us through that day, but I need to say one more big THANK YOU! You really helped to make the whole event much easier.

We have officially been in our new house one week and we love it! I took last week off of work so that I could unpack all of our stuff. The idea of living out of boxes made me crazy. After working non stop each day I was able to get the majority of our stuff put away. What a relief! I would take a break from time to time and hit a few stores to grab things for the new house. (That is the part I like.) I failed to take any pictures on moving day or the chaos of our house after all of the boxes were put in their appropriate rooms. But if you could have seen what things looked like the day after we moved, compared to what they looked like one week later you would be shocked. I know I was.

Olivia has adjusted to her new house amazingly well. I figured that she would, because she adapts to new situations very quickly, but I thought she would be confused for awhile and may not sleep well the first few nights in her new bedroom. Well I was wrong! This kid never ceases to amaze me. She has been sleeping great from the very first night and she loves to announce "Livie's new house!" when we pull into our driveway. Now Olivia's babysitter is next door to where we used to live. The first few days she asked why there were different people at her house, but since then she hasn't given her old house another look. We tried our best to explain the situation to her and I think she really understands. She now refers to each house as her "old house" and "new house". As always Olivia has been very busy with school, tap class and spending time with her grandparents, which is another reason the move has not had much of an effect on her. We took Olivia to her old house the day after we moved so she could see her room for the last time. She was very confused by the fact that the house was completely empty, but she was immediately fascinated with the fact that her voice echoed in each empty room. I had to take a few final pictures so we could remind her of her amazing first bedroom.

Now that we have a bigger house we are finding that we need more stuff to fill it up. Todd and I have been buying a few small pieces of furniture to fill in spaces here and there. Last week Todd was putting together an end table and Olivia decided that she wanted to help her daddy. She said, "daddy, I use screwdriver". So Todd handed her a screwdriver and she attempted to help him with the table. It was such a cute moment. She is so interested in everything these days and always wants to try things on her own. Being in Montessori school has really brought out her independence. She has always been independent but now I think she thinks she is ready to move out on her own!

After a very long and exhausting week Todd and I were able to get away and celebrate our 4 year anniversary which was last week. Last year my Mom gave us a gift certificate she won at a silent auction to a little bed and breakfast in Berne, Indiana called The Schug House. We thought this would be the perfect time to use it. I was dying to get away from all of the boxes and just relax in a quiet little town. The B&B was amazing! The house was so old and historic. It was also very private and quaint. Aside from being the furniture capital of Indiana, Berne does not have a great deal to offer in the way of dining or entertainment. We decided to drive into Decatur to try Marko's, which was highly recommended to us. We had a wonderful dinner and returned to the B&B for a full night's sleep. The next morning the innkeeper served us a very nice breakfast and we were able to talk with him about the house and it's history. It was the perfect getaway and I am so glad we went. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to get away from life's daily stresses and just enjoy some peace and quiet. Plus, how cute is this place?

So the past week has been a whirlwind, but we are slowly getting settled and falling into a routine at our wonderful new house. The next step is decorating. I am dying to get the rooms painted and designed. I know it will take awhile, but I have the whole winter ahead of me. The next thing we have to get ready for is Olivia's 2nd birthday. In a few short weeks we will be celebrating this milestone and throwing our very first party at the new house. Yikes! I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that our daughter is turning two! I have much more to update everyone on but I must put an end to this post. Now that we are settled I hope to fall back into a regular blogging routine. Thanks again, to everyone who helped us move and to those who have helped us get settled. We could not have done it without you. It is a nice feeling to be able to say "home, sweet home". Plus, the view is great!