Birthdays, Moving Days, oh Happy Day!

It's Monday morning of the week we will close on the sale of our new home. It's also my Dad's 69th birthday , yay! I'll raise a big ol' mug of strong coffee to you!

Speaking of birthdays, Roman was invited to his first North Carolina friend birthday party, he has made a buddy in class that also goes to the neighborhood pool a lot and they have seemed to click. They get a long very well, and the boys parents are nice and it's melts my heart to see him playing and smiling and being a silly boy, I think he grows tired of playing with baby brother and the parents!

Other than attending the birthday party we spent the majority of the weekend packing up and organizing for the move. The boys liked unpacking the boxes, so I quickly learned to go ahead and seal the boxes up as soon as it was stuffed. We have a simple, yet, labor intensive plan to load - unload a 17' Uhaul on Saturday with as much stuff as we can, leaving behind heavy cumbersome and otherwise 2- strong man items such as the washer/ dryer, the freezer, beds, tables, outdoor stuff etc. A local moving company will show up next Monday and finish up for us for an arm and a leg = hourly rate.

We just started the first "track out" from school, a 3 week break from the year round schedule. At first, as the break was looming I was dreading it, I though oh my gosh we just started now I have to keep him busy again??? But as the track out was looming, so was was his exhaustion, the rigors of 1st grade, plus the heat and early start time to catch the bus, I think really caught up with him, he was starving when he walked in the door and one day he even fell asleep at 4:00 on the loveseat! So now, I am grateful for the break for Roman, but I am also equally grateful for the prolific track out camp selection in Wake Forest. Today Roman is going to take a Tennis / Swim camp offered in our neighborhood and he will be kept company with another buddy from his class.

After I drop Roman off to camp I get to meet our angel of an agent at the new house for a final walk thru, I can't wait!!

Life's Right for the Ades at Wrightsville Beach, NC

With our 8 year wedding anniversary as an excuse to "getaway" we got our land locked tails over to the coast last weekend- it's was astonishing!

We left early afternoon on Friday and made it to the bustling town of Wilmington, and the surf lovers mecca of Wrightsville Beach. After checking into our hotel we quickly made our way to a seafood resaurant on the marina, I indulged in a long over due summer mojito, and we watched boats come in and out. Aaron spied his dream yacht, we ventured to guess it was about $600k - ouch!

After dinner we drove straightaway to the shore, and the boys ( all three of them) could hardly contain their excitement and had to dive right in street clothes and all.




The warm watered waves knocked Roman around much to his absolute delight, and he begged us to bury him in the sand, Aaron happily obliged.

Saturday was all about fun in the sun, sand and surf. We played and swam till we ran out of provisions and energy. We took refuge from mid afternoon heat in our hotel room.



Saturday evening we walked along Cape Fear River and spied the Battleship US North Carolina from across river where planned to visit the next day.



Sunday we took a water taxi over to the Battleship.The boys hung in there pretty well, yet rising temps + humidity, + non air condiioned ships quarters made for a sweltering battleship visit. The ship is enormous and we probably only really took in about a third of it.
I found it very fascinating and wouldn't mind going back some time, Ryan might need another looksee when he gets a bit older too, he found it a lot to take in for a little guy.

We hope to get back out to the coast again this month while Roman takes his first "track out" school break. We have a growing list of places to visit along the shore, I'd say the beach made a lasting impression on the boys.

Fur Sales and Family Time

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

What a weekend for the Ades famaily here in the new homeland of Wake Forest, NC

Here's the recap, with lots of pictures to prove it :

Friday night set the tone with a "Dive in Movie" hosted at our neighborhood pool, at sunset they showed Gnomeo & Juliet, the kids floated:


while parents unwinded poolside with beverages of choice.



Saturday was suppose to be our "up and at-em day", we had plans to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie and to go to the State Farmers Market held in Raleigh. But long naps, car issues and big projects "got in the way", or did they?

While Ryan took one of his epic naps, (no doubt to get caught up on the sleep he missed staying up late at the pool) Roman and Aaron decided to fashion themselves a lemonade stand out of the left over moving boxes we had laying around. I was given a list and headed to the grocery store:

I came home with the following:




With receipt in hand we discussed such lofty terms as initial investment, capital expenses and angel investors. We rounded up to $10 in initial expenses and had him calculate how many cups of .50c lemonade he'd have to sell to make that back. We also gave him a locking cash box and made sure he had plenty of coinage to make change. The left brain and right brain were engaged to the max.

Roman sketched out design ideas:


He originally envisioned a Rocket Lemonade Stand, but once they got looking at the shape of the boxes, a castle emerged.

Then the real engineering began:




We finally called it a day and treated ourselves to a dinner out at a local restaurant, Shuckers, super family friendly experience, live music on the patio and a nearby Italian Ice place for refreshing dessert rounded out the day perfectly.

Sunday morning rolled around and it was back to business:

They tested out and perfected the lemonade recipe, a job not taken lightly let me tell you, we debated sweetness over tartness for a good half hour. They mixed the country time mix, with fresh squeezed lemons, sugar and water till the right mix was decided upon. Watching Ryan suck a lemon never gets old, wish I had a picture of his face.




Later Roman Finalizes the signage:


Ryan offered as much help as a toddler in diapers could.



and finally... he is open for business right in the heat of the day no less!



2 customers in 2 hours prompted the need for signage at the entrance of the neighborhood and on the corner of our street.


The signs worked! He sold out pretty quickly, just in nick of time, for who should so brazenly roll in:




.....corporate competition capturing potential customers attention, if not also a hefty portion of Roman earnings, he bought an over priced lemon-lime slushy.


And no, we never pointed out his spelling errors, nor did we get to the movie theater or the farmers market, I'm not even sure we went further than a one mile radius from our home, but for this family on the go, we may have finally started to settle in, to life.

"Bye Bye, best bubby"

Roman's first day of first grade was on Monday - a momentous, celebratory and exciting event, no?

Well, yes and no. Somehow the day began and ended in tears. First mine, then his.

Leading me to wonder - why?
It's fairly easy to figure out a mamas tears on her kiddos first day of school, no matter the grade. Starting a new grade in school has "birthday" qualities, it represents new beginnings, milestones, new tasks to undertake, people to meet, there are fears, imagined or actual, memories of ones own first days. I told Roman how I met one of my best friends on the bus in first grade. I also remember getting separated from another friend in first grade class for what could have only have been described as excessive silliness.

After getting Roman to his new class with a hug and kiss from his baby brother, who left saying
" Bye Bye, best bubby"
Ryan and I slowly made our way down the very long hall with kids and parents rushing to and fro. I overhead a husband ask his wife "and how's mom doing" I knew the tone, he was making sure she wasn't going to spew snot and ears before the send off. Something Aaron would ask me had he been able to be there. Not just a few minutes later, as we were leaving the building I heard a mom tell her toddler, "well, it's just me and you now", something I would, and was actually about to say to Ryan.

That's about when I started to loose it, so I text Aaron, with a "call me" plea and just waited till I could talk to him. I longed for my old crew of mamas in CO to commiserate with......I imagine the first grade start day at Romans old school ....who was still home with a toddler, who was finally "free" ( as if), who had business plans and resumes in hand ready to get to it? Who just got some freaking FREE time to finally CLEAN the FREAKING out of the _________ OF THE __________?

But I don' t really have anyone here to commiserate with, and back in CO everyone is still on break anyways, so I text my uber busy husband at 8am and he talked me down from my under caffeinated ledge, and we talked about what we always talk about when it comes to Romans education, which is staying involved, keeping him engaged, and busy with extracurricular activity's which will ultimately help him to make new friends. I do plan to volunteer in class and join PTO activities as they sprout up. Bu it takes time, and I'm still new to the school too, it's not just Roman who is a NKOB!

After an uneventful day in Mama- Ryan land ;the gym, ( great kids play room for Ryan to play in while I exercise ) a visit to the grocery store, a long nap- for him, not me, ( I'm not a napper) I was anxious to find out about Romans day and we greeted him off the bus with otter pops and squeals of joy from Ryan.

Later we waited for Aaron to get home and Roman recounted his day, yes the teacher is nice, yes he liked it, yes , yes, yes. All good.

By bed time we were riding him to get in pajamas ( a usual battle) and when I checked in on him he was huddled in a corner crying. Crying hard, big tears and when I asked him what was wrong he said he was sad. "Just sad" he said. We pressed a bit and he started in on "I'm lonely" "I have no friends in class" "I miss my old friends and school".I lost it and had to go to another room- superdad had to take over, talk the kid down and get him to go to sleep.


I think the reality of the move finally set in for him.

Aaron and I discussed it and realized he is having feelings he has never had before, the types of feelings some kids don't have till way later in life, if at all, and we have to let him have those feelings in addition to helping him process them. We can only tell him " it takes time" or the fall back of, "don't worry". But my inside voice asks "how cognizant is a 6 year old of those statements"?

God only knows I feel lonely. I have no friends. I don't even have a favorite checker a the grocery store yet. I feel like we are somewhat of a holding pattern in a short term rental is not helping, but it does give us something to look forward to. And I will admit I have been a little hesitate to reach out around me and feel like an interloper of sorts, we moved into a house that, according to the neighbors has always been a rental and is on the brink of foreclosure / short sale. They surely see our garage filled to the max with boxes and know we are not here to stay. That and the fact that we are set back from the road, with an fairly awesome long driveway for the kids to play on, but is not great for neighborly banter.

But still feel so guilty, so bad for little guy, who instead of ultimately laying down in celebration of his first day is riddled with sadness. I want him to know I feel the same but want to feel different, that I know things will get easier.

Yes, It takes time and as my friend Deana pointed out in an encouraging e-mail "You'll find your niche. Better to find it in your own hood anyway".


It takes time. We don't worry.

Are Otter Pops Addicting or what?

Sadly our first day of summer was spent mostly indoors. Thanks to oppressive heat, humidity and a near by fire that settled smoke onto the town, likening the atmosphere to sitting a sauna next to a guy smoking a thick cigar.

And its not really the heat, and It's not really the humiity, its both combined and the fact that it makes us reclusive, not just us, but the neighbors too, whom I would have hoped would be akin to this madness. It's hard to get around, even going from one air conditioned space to the next is painful, when the only thing to transport you ina hot car. We are new to this area and need to get out! The kids are bouncing off the walls and furniture, I feel like I have caged monkeys. Neighbors kinda make an appearance around 7 or 8, and then they swoop their kids back inside for bed time routine, or TV I can't figure it out. We tried to step out last evening around 5, it was just too hot to play. Later we tried again around 7:30 and it was a more tolerable. Roman hopped on his razor scooter and Ryan scooted along on on mini train. As Roman zipped back and forth and up and down the street, I felt like I just wanted to tip over and die, but I pulled myself together, took one for the team and let he boys get some outside play time. I move slower in these parts, like a slug or an 80 year old woman., or an 80 year old slug.

So on this second day of summer, in the south, this mama on the go, needs to start thinking in reverse, or opposite of the cold Colorado winters. Instead of bundling up and dressing in layers to get out in the elements and dashing back in for a hot chocolate, we will dress as scantly clad as possible, carry iced water and tea, we will frequent the pool, relish small breezes, and dash back indoors for an otter pop or 2 or 3.

osum

That's "awesome" to those who can't a decipher phonetic typing by a 6 year old.

We made it Wake Forest, NC !

Been here as a family for a total of 4 1/2 days and what a whirl wind it has been. After closing the sale on our home in Colorado, overseeing the packers and the truck loaders ( two entirely different beasts unto themselves) and spending 2 lonely days down at the in laws, I threw my seasoned traveling children on a one way - 2 stop flight to the Raleigh airport only to be greeted by a relaxed and oh so happy husband who took both boys up and into his arms in reunion. Roman could not talk fast enough to catch daddy up on all his news.

DAD!IfinishedKindergarten-andlostaTooth-and-hadagoingawayParty!!!!!!!

My Father in law Jon was there to greet us at our rental home, my car safely delivered, beer fully stocked in the fridge and a his calm relaxed happy + helpful demeanor.

Since receiving shipment of our household move on Tues:
partially unpacking in an attempt to make a cozy home- think, basic furniture, clothes, toys, food, technology. and are essentially living in a sea of boxes.

Made an offer on a home- with an anticipated closing date on Aug 15

Registered Roman for school- he started July 11th as a first grader in a year round elementary school

Visited the local YMCA- nice place!

Caught fireflies, collected sticks, and helped repair a neighborhood creek bridge that was washed out in a recent storm.

Roman typed out his first e-mail to a BFF back in CO, I believe he sums it up best with
"i have a riley good house for rent it has a forest buy it firefly's are thare and osum sticks and a cool shool your frnd roman "

He's No Fool

Happy 39th Birthday Aaron!!!!

We met just past his 29th birthday and I threw him his 30th birthday party.... so I guess it's fair to say we have know each other 10 years at this point! ...wow the time Is a flyin'!

Here's to you!

We love you Aaron, Happy Birthday!!!!

Best dad ever, so patient, caring and energetic! You've got 2 boys that love you more than legos, cars, and mac- n -cheese, you are the spark that keeps the family going, we are lost without you!

We love you, you are amazing!

xoxoxoxoxox!!!!