I'm here!

We made it. Finally. You would not believe what's been going on. Oh, I was reading something in my last post and I needed to clarify. I stated that I couldn't use the ramp on the big truck but didn't say why. It drizzled all day. I tried going up the ramp once and about halfway up, had to hold the dolly steady while I slid back down. Needed a video camera for that one.

So, let's see. What a mess. The worst move I've had. We were told during John's relocation meeting that we would have movers pack and load on the 25th and 26th. Well, the day before they were supposed to get there, I still hadn't heard from them. No walk through. No interview. So I had John go by TMO (the military office that handles moving people). They said oh, here's the phone number of your mover. But don't call them for half an hour because we need to fax over paperwork. THEY HADN'T SCHEDULED US!! So I called the guy and asked if he wanted to do a walkthrough and he said they didn't have time and the packers would be there the next day. So the next morning, we moved everything we didn't want them to pack into Nicky's room, set up the babies in the playpen, established Nicky with some videos and waited. And waited. And waited.

I called and the guy said, oh, traffic, they're on their way. An hour later, I called again and he said he'd see what was going on. So he calls back and says, well, we're going to have to pack and load you in one day. Okay. That's doable if they get there at a decent hour. So we head to Chuck E Cheese to spend the tokens and tickets we've accumulated over the last two years. They have a chicken ciabatta sandwich which, if you leave off the mayo, and get fruit on the side, is a reasonable lunch. Nicky was pretty happy because Mommy got on a roll on the drop-in-the-coins-and-see-if-anything-falls game and won almost a thousand tickets. So the other kids watched in open mouthed awe as Nicky picked out a 5000 ticket Matchbox set.

Friday comes. Once again, we move everything into Nicky's room. And we wait. And wait. I call again. Oh, traffic, they're on their way. They finally show up at 11:00! One man and two women in a 16' truck. We live in a three story townhouse and have about 10,000 pounds left. They were expecting a 4000 pound job. At 6:00, another team with another truck shows up. Then they go and bring another truck. At 11:30pm, they moved the remaining items into the garage because we had cleaners coming the next morning. John stayed in town to outprocess but me, grandma, and the kids headed out. So indoor camping for a few days.

Our food delivery came on Wednesday. Unfortunately, our furniture with the spare freezer didn't arrive until Thursday. So I had to make a lot of room in the kitchen freezer. Not as much as I would have, however, if the cooler hadn't had a serious warpcore breach. One side of my cooler was basically broken off. Not good in the Carolina summer. My dinners were fine as they were on the other side. The lunches were totally thawed and at room temp. So those had to get tossed and I got a credit for those. Once again, the customer service department at DTG demonstrating their client-centric attitude. I love those people.

Anyway, waiting around for furniture on Thursday until 11. Maybe it's just because I get up at 5 but 11 is late. My day is half over by then! All of our things arrived, which is a plus. Not in one piece, which is a minus. Our solid pecan bedroom set which has been in the family for over 50 years is majorly gouged along with scratches in basically all the other furniture. Two wooden DVD storage units had the bottoms ripped off, and then the nails tacked down! Tall lamp and wooden uniform stand both snapped in half. Finally found the crib hardware in a box of hangers so the babies can get back to a normal schedule. And my washing machine no longer works. I had to trek to the laundromat early Sunday morning. Sigh.

Oh, and we get to do it again in two years.

Anyway, we haven't had a chance to try the frozen as my parents are still here. Mom forgot to do a final weigh before they packed the scale and I haven't found that yet. But she said it's obvious to her that her energy level is a lot lower not eating DTG.

Lots to do but it's so nice here. Nicky seems to be developing allergies but he loves being able to run in the backyard and go to his sandbox whenever he wants. After I get the ants out of it in the morning. I've sprayed with vinegar which helps but I've never seen so many ants. They're everywhere. Which makes the plethora of orbweaver and wolf spiders very happy.

So I'll let you know how the first frozen meal goes. Trying to decide if I want to thaw them in the fridge first or just put them in the oven or microwave frozen. I must say that so far, I like the convenience of frozen. Now, we'll see how they taste!