On the Road Again

I love my Braeden. He was so excited for this move to Iowa and "going to a new house". I know that the stress wore on all of us and we are trying to get things back to normal as soon as possible for Braeden. The night before the move we heard Braeden over the baby monitor.. in Miles' room. We heard some whispering and some rustling. We heard Braeden telling Miles that "tomorrow we are moving to a new house in Iowa state". Then we heard crying. Braeden had gone in, turned on the light and wanted to share his excitement with his sleeping little brother. We loaded the van with everything that we needed for a week.. not sure when our stuff would be arriving in Iowa. Yes I needed my tree and my plant.... but due to space, my tree ended up in a new home with our neighbor.

These two guys were awesome. The two of them arrived at 8am and they packed and moved everything themselves. I told them that there was no way that everything was going to fit on the truck. All day, they kept telling me it would fit.



Do you see? They barely got the door shut. But wait... what is that sitting on the driveway? Our queen size box spring? They smiled at me and shrugged their shoulders. They then wrapped it in shrink wrap, then a tarp, then shrink wrap again and they tied it right on the back of the moving van and assured me that it would be fine.

Finally at 9pm, the moving van pulled out of the driveway and we were happy to put our weary selves in our own van. Our plan was to get in about 3 hours of driving and make it to Cleveland, Ohio. We did not make it down our street before both kids were in meltdown mode. 7 miles later we checked ourselves in to the Staybridge Suites. We figured it would be better for our sanity if we all got a good nights sleep. The next morning, we took our time, had breakfast, and headed out. My mom, who thought we were somewhere in Ohio, called my cell about 10am and asked where we were. I replied "Buffalo, driving through Dunkin Donuts". "Buffalo ????"


We had a great drive that day. Both kids were great in the car, Braeden watched a couple of movies on the DVD player. Have minivan, will travel. It is great to be able to slip into the back to take care of the boys all the while maintaining our cruising speed.

While cruising down the freeway wishing that we had not already turned our EZpass, we came upon a moving van with a mattress flying in the wind.... just kidding. But, it was our moving van and it was good to know that our box spring had not ended up in the middle of highway 80/90. That evening we hit some major storms somewhere in northern Indiana.. my first thought? I sure hope we don't have a water bed when we get to Iowa.

The rain was coming down so hard that all traffic was at a crawl and the only thing we could see were the emergency flashers on vehicles ahead of us. The wind was blowing debris across the road and I was sure that any minute I could change my name to Dorothy. I could click my flip flops together and say "Sean, we are not in Indiana anymore". The sky lit up above us and the van shook with every thunder. We made it out of the storm and rested for the night in Merrilville, just south of Gary, Indiana.

We had to get an early start the next morning so that we could get to Strawberry Point by 1. We had about a 5-6 hour drive. A drive through for breakfast and coffee and we hit the road again, first and only big city on the route, Chicago.

Driving through the Chicago area made me sweat. It could be our next place of residence. It is huge and the freeways with the trains in the middle are intimidating. I know that we would not live in the city but it is still nerve wracking. We originally had a breakfast date with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Suzie who live just west of the City, but our early departure soured those plans. Raincheck.

Once we hit the rolling hills of western Illinois it was like we were in a whole new world. Lush green countryside, fields of corn. Old towns with large brick buildings and American flags. We were excited when we came upon the Mighty Mississippi... over the river we went and entered Dubuqe Iowa. No turning back now!!

I could not believe that I was loving the views of our new state. It was not what I expected. Heading west from Dubuque took us into bluffs where the rock faces went straight up and the ridges were covered in trees. Then that took us to rolling hills where every space of open land was planted with corn and on every hilltop stood a house shadowed by a red barn.


At the base of those rolling hills we entered into Strawberry Point.

(I missed the sign as we drove by)

Home Sweet Home.

Taking out the Trash

Over the past few years I have thought of myself as a recycler. I took my bottles and cans to the recycle machines and I put my milk jugs and cereal boxes in the recycle bin. In Strawberry, I have to take recycling to a whole different level. The town is trying to cut down on the amount of trash that the residents put out at the curb. We are allowed ONE 33 gallon trash can or bag. (In NY we filled a 55 gallon can easily) For each additional bag, you must purchase a tag at town hall for $1.50. We do have unlimited recycling. Everything with a little triangle now goes in the green bin... now I just need a composter.

The Dirty "F" Word

No not that word. I am talking about the word "FILTH". I really wanted to take a picture but my camera would not look. It thought it was too dirty.

"Filth" was my first experience in Strawberry Point, Iowa.

Can I vent for a minute please?

The Filth is not in the town of Strawberry Point itself, but the house. Now, let me explain our housing situation. Sean's company asked him to take this job in Iowa because they needed someone with his leadership experience. It is a one to one and a half year position. They offered to find us a house and pay the rent, or we could find a house and they would consider what of that they would pay. Rental housing is hard to find around here. The company found us a house in Oelwein, which is where Abraxis is, but we decided against it. The main reason being that that town has had a meth problem. I called a realtor and he found this house for us. The pictures online looked awesome. Farmhouse with a front and back porch. The right number of bedrooms, 3 car garage and Air Conditioning. When Sean was here in Iowa for work he walked through the house. He ran in and ran out.... just wanting to make sure that the house would work for us. The company signed the lease for us and we were set.

We drove into town last Saturday, the movers showed up an hour later. I walked into the house and it reeked like dog and urine. Every inch of this house was filthy and I just cried. Just walking through the house turned our feet black. I did not have time to get the house clean before the movers started bringing things in. I did not want anything of mine to touch any part of this house. I could not unpack anything in the kitchen because of food remnants, dirt and dog hair. I could not put anything in Braeden's room because of the smell of urine. There was dog hair on every surface. The amount of hair under the stove looked like 3 dead rats. The back of the dryer was solid hair... I still need to get behind the fridge. A thousand dollars in cleaning supplies, a carpet shampooer, vacuum, steam mop, a scrub brush and bruised knees, the stink of dog is just about gone. It took days to get the floors clean. I found that the bottom stair was where a dog lifted his leg one too many times. There is still dog hair. I think there will always be dog hair.

One week later and things are under control now. My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clean, drove here all the way from California to help us out. They saved me since Sean had to work on Monday. My dad has spent a lot of time with the boys so that my mom and I can clean, unpack and do a little painting. They are always there when we need them :) Thanks M & D.

I promise that the next blogs will be on a happier note. Strawberry Point Iowa is an interesting place... from the small town to the neighbors to the grocery store and the farmers market. I am excited for the blogs to come.

On the Move

I guess I can call myself a Calicogeorkian.

California. When someone asks "Where are you from"? My answer is "well, we just moved from (enter state) but I am from California". You can't beat the endless days of sunshine, that is what I really miss the most. I am sure that my skin is thanking me for leaving for it has had it's share. California will always be home.

Colorado. Loved living there. Camping, hiking, running... it doesn't get any better than in the mountains of Colorado. It was my first taste of winter. I was so afraid I was going to freeze so I bought a massive down jacket from Cabella's... Can you say Michelin Man? Best memories of Colorado: meeting my best friend Melissa, building our first house, snow that fell like glitter, the view of Pikes Peak every day, being in the best shape of my life and a near head on collision with an Antelope.. while running. Two things I learned living there: if you slow down for a yellow light you will be rear ended and if you don't lift your wiper blades off your windshield, they will freeze. And if you try to lift them off, you will be buying new ones.

Georgia. Hmmmmm, what can I say about Georgia. Hot, humid, cockroaches, piss ants, did I say cockroaches? Living in Georgia was an experience, an experience that everyone should have. It was a little lonely since Sean was gone for most of the two years that we lived there but I tried to enjoy myself. I had fun working with the 'locals' and learning the lingo of the south. "Mash" the button, push the "buggy", put some "bulled" (boiled) peanuts in an ice cold can of RC cola. When we left there I was able to work a mean Georgia accent. We lived in a historic home on Fort Benning called a White Elephant. I planted a flower garden, I learned to decorate cakes, I heard the bugle calls when the flag was lowered at the end of the day, I could see the guys with their parachutes jumping from the towers at Airborne school. And best of all, I lived by the muddy Chattahoochee River made famous by Alan Jackson. Did I say humid?

New York. Beautiful... in the summer. We have visited Niagara Falls. We lived on an island in the middle of the Niagara River where we had a view of Canada. That was our flipper house... we will never do that again. We have had the experience to see Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, watch boats go through the Locks at the Erie Canal, see the gorge at Letchworth State Park. The winters here are way to long for us. It turns cold in October and lasts until June. The sun is non-existent. Those rare winter days that we did have sun, myself and the house plants would soak up every last ray. To sum up our time in New York: I have become proficient at shovelling snow, I have become an expert at driving in the snow and I have become a disliker of snow. The best discovery: White Pizza. My realization? A girl from California does not belong in Buffalo NY.

This Thursday the packers and movers come.

Hi ho hi ho, it's off to Iowa we go.

Strawberry Point Iowa. Home of the World's largest Strawberry.

Population in 2008 was 1,247.

I doubt it has changed much.

Coffee

Roswell Park Cancer Institute sold these mugs for $100 last December. When you purchase a mug, you get FREE Coffee refills anytime through December 31, 2010.

This mug was a gift to us and now I will pass that gift onto someone else, but you have to live here in Western New York.

If you would like to have this mug, leave me a comment. Tell me how you like to drink your coffee. I will randomly select a winner on Friday the 11th :)

Happy Coffee Drinking!!

You live where?

This is a sunrise picture taken out my back door. Just on the other side of the fence is Greg's U-Pick Berry Farm. Blueberries and Strawberries.

When I tell old friends that we live in New York, they automatically think New York City. We are far from the city, we are in Western New York (for a few more weeks anyway). Home of the Buffalo Wing and Niagara Falls. We are currently in a little hamlet called Clarence Center, population of about 2,000 people. Clarence Center has an intersection called "The Corners". Most of the buildings and homes around that corner date in the early 1800's. I love it! I couldn't leave without taking a few pictures.

It may be a little strange but I love old cemeteries.
Especially when American Flags show their glory over the final resting place of a Veteran.


I tried not to get too attached when we moved here since we knew we would not be here long. 5 years at the most. This weekend it will be 4 years. I find myself a little misty eyed when I am reminded that we are actually leaving. I have met a boatload of women that I call my friends. I joined Buffalo Mothers Group when Braeden was just 10 weeks old. Being a new mom in a new town, they were there for me. Through the poopy diapers, rashes and the "why won't my kid eat" issues. The memories that I have formed here will last a lifetime.

Our time here has been a whirlwind. Sean left the Army. We moved here from Georgia to an apartment in June 2006, Braeden was born Nov 2006, Bought a house April 2007 and ripped it apart. Worked on that house from April 07 to October 2009. That October Miles was born. Sold the house in two days but had months of issues with the buyer. Moved to the current duplex in December, just before Christmas. Since we have been in NY, I have packed and unpacked a total of 7 times. Two of those times I was pregnant. Sean has held 3 job titles (which is a good thing). We have traveled to Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia... I think I'm forgetting one or two. We have been to Niagara Falls at least 7 times. It is a beautiful sight to see!

So now we are waiting (patiently) for the company to finalize housing for us in Iowa. Then we are excitingly off to our new adventure!

Ouchie!

Would you like some carrots and spring veggies with that bruise?

I know, you can hardly see it but it is there... above his right eye.

If you squint a little you can see that it is turning purple.

It just happened, Miles' first boo boo.

He was sitting at the sliding glass door watching Braeden out the screen.

He went forward and hit the track with his forehead.

My Poor Baby.