Hotel Homeschooling
We've now spent about four weeks in an extended stay hotel while homeschooling the kids, and while Steven is working long hours (sometimes back in Corpus Christi). CRAZY. I love hotels. I love our hometown here. I love my kids. I love being near our family again. But I am SO ready to be settled with a real home here again. The kids' behavior has been less than stellar. One day this week both boys had major meltdowns during two different times of the day when we were leaving the hotel. There was screaming, crying, and fits in the hotel lobby. I'm sure they will be glad to see us go!
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House drama
I've been looking at houses since late spring, and we've been looking seriously at houses the past six weeks since we listed our home. We looked at nearly 20 houses and our realtor was so very patient and accommodating, even meeting us for the last one we saw at nearly 9pm! But our Corpus home still hasn't sold, and we didn't find anything
we really loved in our price range in the area where we most want to live. So it just made sense to move back into our old home here.
The tenants in the house were able to secure a new rental in a few days and were out just a week later! So now we are in the middle of a move and our belongings should be arriving here tomorrow. I can still hardly believe it. I'm praying that once we move and the house is cleared out and price lowered a bit, we will sell the other house quickly and will be able to focus on this home and our life here.
~~3~~
Moving back home
We are moving back into our very first house, the one we bought from our dear friends and the place we brought home both boys from the hospital and shared many family memories in the five years we lived there. Aside from my childhood home (where many of my vivid dreams still occur), this is the place where I've lived the longest! The home and the area hold so much sentimental value for us, along with the proximity to our family and many close friends. The location with easy access to the highway and all the wonderful perks of suburbia (shopping, parks, events, etc) is really the best for so many reasons.
~~3~~
Moving back home
We are moving back into our very first house, the one we bought from our dear friends and the place we brought home both boys from the hospital and shared many family memories in the five years we lived there. Aside from my childhood home (where many of my vivid dreams still occur), this is the place where I've lived the longest! The home and the area hold so much sentimental value for us, along with the proximity to our family and many close friends. The location with easy access to the highway and all the wonderful perks of suburbia (shopping, parks, events, etc) is really the best for so many reasons.
BUT there is one part that's going to be hard for me. I was very spoiled with a large updated home in Corpus Christi. There were only a couple things in the house that I even thought about changing. Now, moving back into our old home (built in the 1970s) is a whole different situation. There isn't one thing in the interior of the house that I don't want to change! There are major issues that need repair like foundation, mold, roof, windows, and so many cosmetic issues too. I am thrilled to be back in the area that is "home" to me, and I'm so grateful that we kept this house, but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work ahead of us.
~~4~~
Painting
~~4~~
Painting
And so, one step at a time. We've had the carpets professionally cleaned and have started repainting rooms. When we moved into the house in January 2007, I was so excited to have our own house that I went wild with the paint. When we left, there was a different crazy color in almost every room, including a burnt orange (unintentional...wanted tan but went by a paint chip), fluorescent yellow, lavender and baby blue (there when we moved in), muted green/blue, and even a deep dark blue color. The tenants painted most of the main living areas white again, but it's a white with a mauve tint and doesn't fit with my style or furnishings.
So I'm choosing new paint colors in hopes that painting the walls and trim will freshen things up a little bit! We've had some sweet homeschooled teens doing the painting and I'm so grateful for that help! The boys go absolutely wild the second we walk in the door and there's no way I could be painting with them underfoot!
~~5~~
House blog?
I've never really wanted to be a fixer-upper person. We're not very good at house repairs or updates. But maybe this is what the next few years is going to look like for us, and maybe this blog will be changing a bit to reflect that. I haven't had the time or mental capacity to write nice reflections like I did years ago, and maybe it would be fun for this blog to be something more than a family photo album. I think I have varied readers from different places around the world (when I look at my stats a few times a year), and I know I love a good house-fixing story! It's funny to me that posting a question about anything house related on Facebook brings friends out of the woodwork to comment. And I'm just the same way. Making our homes a pretty place is something I think most women connect with. I'll start with sharing about the painting soon!
~~6~~
New routines
I'm longing for routine again that doesn't include a hotel television to occupy kids for hours each day. I will miss the free breakfasts I don't have to cook and I'll really miss the daily housekeeping! This hotel even offers free dinner Monday through Thursday nights. Just as when we left our rental cabin after Katie was born, I know I'll always hold a special place in my heart for this little place that was our home away from home for a few weeks...Homewood Suites! I definitely recommend it for larger families while traveling. Our room has a kitchenette, living area with pull-out sofa, and a separate bedroom (King or two Queen beds; we've had both). The two TVs have helped us survive! And we definitely enjoyed the pool and hot tub in September!
~~5~~
House blog?
I've never really wanted to be a fixer-upper person. We're not very good at house repairs or updates. But maybe this is what the next few years is going to look like for us, and maybe this blog will be changing a bit to reflect that. I haven't had the time or mental capacity to write nice reflections like I did years ago, and maybe it would be fun for this blog to be something more than a family photo album. I think I have varied readers from different places around the world (when I look at my stats a few times a year), and I know I love a good house-fixing story! It's funny to me that posting a question about anything house related on Facebook brings friends out of the woodwork to comment. And I'm just the same way. Making our homes a pretty place is something I think most women connect with. I'll start with sharing about the painting soon!
~~6~~
New routines
I'm longing for routine again that doesn't include a hotel television to occupy kids for hours each day. I will miss the free breakfasts I don't have to cook and I'll really miss the daily housekeeping! This hotel even offers free dinner Monday through Thursday nights. Just as when we left our rental cabin after Katie was born, I know I'll always hold a special place in my heart for this little place that was our home away from home for a few weeks...Homewood Suites! I definitely recommend it for larger families while traveling. Our room has a kitchenette, living area with pull-out sofa, and a separate bedroom (King or two Queen beds; we've had both). The two TVs have helped us survive! And we definitely enjoyed the pool and hot tub in September!
Okay, so back to routines. I'm loving our Mother of Divine Grace homeschool curriculum but it's definitely a new level of work and commitment. I think we will take a day (or a week) to regroup next week and then work on new routines in our new home. Our life will be a bit more complicated here with different activities and a long commute for Steven, but I am determined to keep focused on the simplicity we had in our Corpus life. I am getting so much better at saying NO these days!
~~7~~
Moving man
One thing I'm very thankful for tonight as I sit in a quiet hotel room is that Steven agreed to handle the move on his own. I made most of the phone calls and coordinated helpers to pack up a lot of the house a few weeks ago. But he's doing some rough work in directing packers and movers and saying goodbye to the house without us, except on FaceTime! It just didn't make sense for me to drive a second car with all five kids and all our luggage down there for a couple nights when we'd likely just be in the way.
Maybe we will go back before the house sells, but I definitely hope to go back sometime in the next few months to say goodbye to our friends. It was a slow transition, but it still feels weird to not have said goodbye to our church and homeschool community there. I'm quite sure we will be making some summer road trips for beach and bay visits next year!
And so, one more day of hotel life awaits before we are finally home again. Life is good! Have a great weekend, friends!
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