Moving day

I figured that things weren't quite crazy enough with the holidays and all so we decided that we would move right in the middle of it all!  I mean, why not, right?!  Over the next few days we will move into our home.  I am so excited for so many reasons.  Can anyone say "kitchen"?  Yes, that's at the top of the list.  I'm ready, as are the girls, for them to have their own bedrooms again.  Sierra is ready to have a quiet place to do her homework rather than one big room where everything is going on around her.  And let's discuss the place where I can banish the kids to finished basement.  Sigh.  Yes.  It's going to be good.  And it's going to be the LAST time that we move (at least until kiddos are out of the house).  I realize I said this before, but the next time I pack up a house someone may end up locking my up in an insane asylum.  I don't use this word lightly, but I HATE the process.  I know that most people feel this way.  We've just done it way too often lately.  Cadence has been home with us for 3 years and 3 months.  This will be the 5th house she has lived in since she's been in the US.  Excessive moving.  Thank God that child transitions easily! 

Our new home isn't on a lot of land, it doesn't have a two story living room or a double sided fireplace (all of the "must haves" for our last home).  It is in a fun, safe place for my kids to play.  We are surrounded by some of the most welcoming people that I have met.  I'm finally feeling like this area is "home" and very soon we will be in our own home.  And most importantly it will have my family.  I am feeling very blessed.  Okay, I'll feel VERY blessed once the packing/unpacking is done, but it's on the horizon!

Denial by cookies!

We are supposed to move into our new home in 5 days.  I've been asking Santa to send the  packing fairy to our house early but to no avail.  When I think about packing my right eyelid would start to twitch.  So, I've moved to the land of Denial for now.  I decided it was time to bake.

 

 

The supplies

The results

 

I intended to double everything but after the doubling the chai eggnog cookies and salted chocolate caramel pretzel bark I decided single batches of the rest would due.  I used almost everything that I bought.  That's a LOT of butter!  I'm not sure why I made so much.  It was a good distraction and possibly to make up for the fact that we have a little four foot tree and exactly 3 Christmas decorations up.  If baking wasn't it's usual cathartic experience for me then I was just going to eat my way through the depressing state of our apartment.

Luckily though, the baking got done even in our tiny kitchen and I feel a little merrier.  Needless to say the kid's teachers will be getting plenty of treats to start their break!

Hotel creeps

Brad had a conference at the Greenbrier resort and my parents were kind enough to watch the girls for a few days so that I could tag along for a mini-getaway with him.  It had previously been used as a hospital during WWII and then became a hotel in the 1940's.  I don't believe they've redecorated since then.  Seriously.  Check out the pictures!  It's a neat experience though... feels like you're thrown back a century or so.  The service is fabulous and all of the food is to die for.  And it was just Brad and me!  Our first getaway in a few years was much needed time to focus on us.

The only problem is that I have trouble sleeping in these type of hotels.  The first one that we ever went to was the Homestead resort in 2007.  We went on a Wednesday and it was fairly empty.  I commented to Brad as we walked down the long, deserted, lush hallway that I felt like I was in "The Shining".  I probably psyched myself out a bit as I taunted "Redrum, redrum". Anyway, we got to our room and saw that there was a door inside, as if there was an adjoining room.  There was only a deadbolt though, no knob to actually get into the room.  We looked out in the hallway where the adjoining room would have been.  There was a door there, but again, only a lock. No knob, no room number.  It did looked like it had been painted over, not used in a long time.  

We had a fabulous dinner that night and basically a relaxing time.  That night, though, I had a dream.  I dreamt that there was a little boy standing in front of the door to the adjoining room.  He was dressed in 1920's period clothing and was definitely a ghostly presence.  When I awoke I was so shaken that I couldn't get back to sleep for a while.  Now, this isn't unusual for me.  I have strange dreams all of the time.  Not necessarily dreams about ghosts but dreams that I cannot tell if they are real or not.  Dreams that leave me feeling as if I have truly experienced them.  It happens so often that by the morning I didn't even mention it to Brad.  He doesn't usually have similar dreams and he doesn't believe in ghosts or spirits.

We checked out and had just gotten into the car.  Brad told me that he had a hard time getting to sleep.  When I asked him why he said that he kept feeling like he heard children laughing on the other side of the adjoining door. C-R-E-E-P-Y.

And that... is why I don't sleep well in old, historic hotels!

Cadence's dance recital

I'm determined to get caught up on 2013 before it ends!  Cadence performed in her first dance recital back in May.  She was going to stop taking dance in December but then saw their outfits for the recital and decided to stick it out.  She knows that you have to sacrifice for cute clothes sometimes!  She was in class with three of her best buds, so she had fun.  Cadence did great at the performance.  "Great" for me means that she walked onto the stage and stayed the whole time.  Cadence even danced too!

 

Showing off her outfit

Lila Kate, Cadence, and Blair

 

What a cutie!