And....We're back!

Hello, again, dear Reader. Oh, how I've missed you! My family and I are now in our second week of living in our new home and absolutely loving it! We managed to get a phone line and Internet access last week, but due to traveling back to the old house over the weekend for various reasons, I have not been able to catch up on my "Internet time" until today. Our satellite dish was hooked up just this afternoon, and hubby is enjoying our leap into the new century by using the pause and fast forward functions on live TV. I am so looking forward to the DVR function! No more missed programs! I feel like we've been out of the loop when it comes to quality TV due to the Writers' Strike, and soon, the possible Screen Actors' Strike. Of course, I'm so out of the loop that the Actors' Strike may not even exist, and I'm too lazy right now to research that. Anyway, we are settled in the new house and feeling very comfortable with all of the extra breathing room. Most of the boxes are unpacked, and most of the rooms are pretty well furnished the way we would like. We will need to buy more furniture in the near future for our formal living room (we actually have one, now!), our game and TV rooms in the basement, and our sun room (since the patio furniture is staying on the patio, this time). I love to shop, so I can't wait for all of that to happen. Our son and our cat are both enjoying the multitude of short staircases throughout the house. It's a split quad level, and each staircase is only about seven or eight steps high. I don't have to worry about V walking up and down the stairs, because he became so used to them at the old house. He also discovered he has his own room. He isn't sleeping on his own, yet, but we're in the process of procuring a toddler bed from some friends of ours. Hopefully, its short height and novelty will be incentives for him to sleep in his own bed. The house is still somewhat of a mess with boxes and items strewn about waiting to be opened and put away, but we have lots of time to put everything in its place. I'm really loving my new kitchen. It has so many cupboards and cabinets, and it is so well organized. Plus, I have a pantry for dry foods! I discovered that I have just enough room for all of my cooking appliances and utensils, which makes life very easy for me, now. In fact, B and I made our favorite egg rolls last week, and we had enough room to cook together without losing work space. The central island really is handy! We've started getting used to our new town and will be driving around more to get a feel for things. Tomorrow, we may even get a family membership to the local Y. I'm so looking forward to getting into an exercise routine again, and possibly, getting V into some toddler programs. The whole moving experience was made easier and less stressful by hiring a moving company to pack up what was left to pack, load it, deliver it, and unload it for us. Of course, moving wasn't without it's perils and mishaps (read: a sick toddler in the backseat of a very quickly moving vehicle in the middle of a torrential downpour). However, everyone made it safe and sound, and we have oodles of time to unpack and move and change things around as we see fit. There was so little stress this time around (for the most part) that we drove back to our old house this past weekend and spent time at a game convention in Ohio called the Origins Game Fair. Really, though, we were there because B needed to take his final written medical board exam and say goodbye to his colleagues. And, we love our new house so much, that we're turning around a leaving for a week long vacation in Myrtle Beach this Friday night! All kidding aside, though, we really enjoy living here, so far, and are excited about showing off our house and new neighborhood to family and friends. Look for your open house invitation in the mail, soon!
Best to all,
Amanda