... to Virginia.
Maybe if I say it enough times, it will start to feel real.
The contract is for a year, but it may go longer. So we're treating this as a *move*, which means packing everything. Likely selling the house (we wanted to sell it as soon as we could afford to, anyway. We don't fit in it comfortably any more).
Does anyone have advice for me on how to pack up the house, while trying to keep the chaos level low ... oh, and with my husband out of town for the whole packing time ... oh, and how about this homeschooling thing? Oh, and toddlers/preschoolers. The toddler that wants to spend 20 out of every 24 hours nursing.
Help me. Please?
Posted by Steph at October 14, 2003 01:50 PMI've BTDT and will email you tonight, k?
Posted by: Joanne, Happy HSer on October 14, 2003 01:53 PMAlaska just did this. Her blog is a great read, too : D
http://www.upsaid.com/alaska/ is her Blog.
Posted by: Elizabeth McKeeman on October 14, 2003 06:47 PMI've moved with a 4 yo and a 18 month old. But not while homeschooling. You'll cope. I don't have much in the way of tangible advice, except 2 things:
1)try Flylady - she might have some good articles about how to move and stay sane.
2) there are 2 ways to pack - a little each day for a long time, or a lot at once. Your personality and your kids (and your schedule!) will determine which works best.
Congrats on the move! It's always an adventure.
Posted by: Sarah on October 14, 2003 07:52 PMThanks, guys! Elizabeth, I do read (and love) Alaska's blog, though I've not been reading blogs for the last couple of weeks. It hadn't dawned on me that she had just *done* this, because in my head I still don't know that I'm doing it, lol.
Sarah, Flylady has already helped me immensely, and I'm already labeling and color-coding boxes ;-) Today my kids packed boxes. I hadn't thought of them doing that. Unfortunately they tend to pack and tape the boxes up *before* I have seen what they put in them! Must constrain their enthusiasm a wee little bit. And, thanks largely to Flylady, I am throwing out or giving away as much as I am packing. What a nice thing!
Posted by: Stephanie on October 14, 2003 10:07 PMSteph- we unloaded over 1,700 POUNDS of "stuff" by decluttering before our move this summer. FLYlady was a wonderful help. I wasn't nursing, but was out-to-here-pregnant, which put me out of commission for about as much of the moving as would having a nursling. The little-bit-at-a-time approach really helped me keep my sanity.
Schooling will most likely get way-laid to some extent. What kept me from feeling completely overwhelmed was to focus on the reading, reading, reading. Not only did it continue to allow us to work on things, but it reminded me to stop and smell the binding occasionally, kwim?
You can do it! It's going to be a wonderful adventure for you! When do you leave? And does your echinacea plant need a home? ;-)
Dy
Posted by: Dy on October 15, 2003 12:17 AMHuh? I thought packing was homeschooling..grins.. sorting by shape and size? patterns, how about lessons in determine mass and volume? I know we haven't formally met yet..but huggs.. I've moved far too many times in my 8 years of marriage, and we are contemplating one last move as I write this.
How soon is the move?
Posted by: Nancie on October 16, 2003 03:08 PM