So its been a while since I've had the time, energy and available internet connection to update the blog, so there's lots of ground to cover. We'll start with the tip of the iceberg... MOVING DAY!
As confident as I was that we had packing under control in our apartment, I was sadly mistaken. Brian and I were up until 11pm the night before moving day, frantically shoving things in boxes. And to make matters worse, Brian had gotten a call that the moving truck we were supposed to pick up on Wednesday morning was broken down on the side of the road and wouldn't be ready at the scheduled time. This was a huge issue since we were supposed to pick up the truck at 8am and the movers were supposed to come load the truck starting between 9 and 10am. After lots of prayers and calls back and forth between Brian and the moving truck company, they found a truck of the right size that had been sitting for 2 days in a Boston suburb waiting for the scheduled customer to pick it up. Who knows what was happening with that person, but it was the answer to our prayers since they were able to drive it in and we got to pick it up on time! We were also so very grateful that "our" truck didn't wait one more day before breaking down and strand Brian on the side of the road somewhere between Boston and Tennessee!
The rest of moving day morning was a frantic blur - Sarah was so distraught, but I was on overdrive trying to get all our last minute stuff together and just couldn't stop to hold and cuddle her like she needed, though I promised her I would cuddle her on the T
and in the airport
and on the plane. Then, way too soon, it was time for us to head to the airport and I reluctantly left Brian to deal with everything left in the apartment. God was so good to us in our travels - the T came right away, a nice gentleman carried my suitcase up the stairs for me, the train wasn't crowded and we all got seats, an easy transfer to the red line at Park Street, a Silver Line bus headed to the airport was waiting for us at the South Station Terminal, and we had a smooth check-in at the airport. I had given us 90 minutes to make it to the airport, and it had taken less then an hour!
With our extra time, we had a leisurely lunch before going through security. I had ordered an extra sandwich from Cutty's the day before so the three of us had yummy leftovers to share at the airport.
Security was a breeze, with Sarah wanting to take her crocs off and send them through the x-ray machine even though kids aren't required to do so. Then we scored a row of seats right by the windows where we hung out until it was time to board the plane. The kids played very nicely with their toys...
...and they also kept watch out the window, impatient for our airplane to arrive.
Our airplane was running a little late but eventually we got on and settled. Sarah was thrilled that for the first time she had a seat to herself on the plane!
The kids took turns sitting in the window seat. And of course the drink service was a big hit with both of them.
After drinks and snack time I produced a container of silly putty for each kid, neither of whom had played with it before. Combined with the Duplo Thomas and Percy engines, who were our constant companions during the trip, both kids were easily entertained throughout the remainder of the flight.
Thankfully the first plane ride went smoothly... that is until we were sitting in Charlotte waiting to deplane and Sarah completely lost it and started throwing a tantrum. I was so grateful that all of our closest friends only had to endure my screaming child for a few minutes before we was able to escape the close confines of the plane.
I hurried the kids through the Charlotte airport and we were all thrilled with how many escalators and walk-a-vators (what we call moving sidewalks) we were able to ride between our two gates. We also ended up with a few minutes to spare, so Sarah implored me to rest in some of the rocking chairs placed around the airport. She sat for a minute then commanded me to sit so she could give me a vigorous rocking!
We got to our second gate with time to spare, but the trouble really started when we got onto the plane and tried to figure out a seating arrangement. The plane had two seats on each side of the aisle, and I had chosen two on one side and the aisle set next to it as our assigned seats. Sarah wanted desperately to sit with me but it was Nathan's turn to sit by the window... thankfully two different people offered to switch seats around with me, so we ended up with Sarah and me on one side, and Nathan in the window seat with a sweet lady in between. Sarah spent most of the plane ride sprawled across her seat and my lap, holding her stuffed animal and sucking her thumb (which is usually strictly regulated to her bed, but I figured this was an ideal time to make an exception to our rule.) Nathan ended up falling asleep on the short flight, even with violent head bobbing that I was sure would wake him up but didn't. He also slept through two overhead announcements and only opened his eyes right before we landed in Knoxville.
Overall (thank you God!) we had a smooth, easy trip to Knoxville. But the drama wasn't quite over - in fact it was ME who burst into tears at the first sight of the assembled grandparents. I think I may have worried everyone (kids included) with my sobbing, but later Gran assured me that she had done the same thing multiple times at the end of a long trip with James and me.
Sarah jumped right into Gran's arms, and after Nathan was reassured that I was ok, he was more then ready for Nana to
break her back hold him as well. Everyone piled into cars and headed for Gran and Pawpaw's new house, where the kids headed straight to investigate the secret room under the stairs (quickly dubbed The Secret Hiding Place) and we topped off a yummy dinner with ice cream cones for our treat. The funny thing is that the kids love ice cream cones and I had told them that we would be having them more after we move to Knoxville (especially with Sarah's messy tendencies, I prefer them to be outside treats), but I hadn't mentioned it to Gran - she just knew!
Treats were quickly followed by bedtime.
Whew, I was so grateful for the day to be over, but a restless night still followed for me since I kept waking up and thinking about Brian driving from Boston. Thankfully he made it here safely, though I'll save more details for another post.
This post brought to you by GRANDPARENT'S DAY, a newly created but already much beloved tradition combining quality time between grandparents and grandchildren with quality alone time for Mommy. Highly recommended (where available) for the sanity and productivity of mothers everywhere!
