Packing Days 2-8

Things are going well. We have the entire storage room ready. That was Andy's task. He was almost done before he left and I finished up. Our back room doesn't have much stuff, but what it does have is almost done. I've been working on the kitchen all this week. It's taken a long time, but I'm at a point now where we will need everything for the next week that's left behind. I've done all our books, which was a huge task. I'm now working on the front closet and random end table drawers.

I can honestly say I am way ahead of where I thought I would be by today. Samuel's stuff still has not been touched, and it won't be until the very last minute, thanks to some tips from Jill. She just accomplished a big move from NC to NE with two small kids. Here are her tips. I thought you all could benefit from them!

1). Try not to show your own stress and possible anxiety about moving. The kiddos totally pick up on it. Kayla was so "chill" about the whole moving process. I think that was largely due to us not making a big deal out of it, not stressing (in front of her...I was totally freaking out!!), and telling her what to expect in NE: grandparents, zoo, parks, new friends...whatever. We even looked at pics of Lincoln online so she could see where we were heading. (I know you'll do this, but be honest with Samuel about what is happening and explain how things are going to go, always ending with something like, "and then, we'll live in Charlottesville together...and," you get the picture. Seems to help them know everything is going to be ok.)

2). Make arrangements (if possible) for Samuel to be ANYWHERE except at your house the day you pack up the truck (Joseph is small enough that he won't care). The kids and I were already in NE for this last move, but when we moved for renovations last August, we went to the Aquarium in a hurry because Kayla was freaked out by strange people taking our stuff out the door into a truck. :-) I think it's just scary and confusing for them to see their "safe place" disappear.

3). The moving "experts" always say to pack one box with all the important stuff and know where that box is at all times. We kind of had a variation of that. We had a clear Rubbermaid tub packed with the kids' bedding, favorites (books, toys, snacks), a few bath toys...whatever is both important to them and helps you out. I had Kayla decorate some construction paper and we put that on the inside "walls" of the tub so we could always find it. (We had other clear tubs so the artwork helped it stick out.) I could have done the same thing with a box and had her decorate it, but I don't like putting bedding in boxes...it gets that box-y smell...I'm weird about that, I guess.

4). At the new location, unpack their room first, or as close to first as you can. Helps with the adjustment, I think.

5). Use a completely different colored marking pen for boxes with toys or just general kids stuff. REALLY helps with getting things in the right room and finding stuff.

Tony's tip for husbands and wives: Husband, make sure your wife is not around while packing the van. :-) Honestly, I never thought I'd agree with that, but after this last move, I do. The kids and I flew out here ahead of Tony and his brother, who stayed back and packed the U-Haul. I was sure they'd screw something up, something would get broken, etc, etc...but everything turned out fine. Nothing broke, the truck was packed well, and they had fun bonding over the giant task. He also said, "If you don't know what you're doing when packing a U-Haul, then find someone who does and bribe them to help you." Ha!

Thanks Jill for all of that. I hope many other will benefit from these tips as well.

Andy comes home tomorrow and we could not be more thrilled. We miss him terrible. Samuel I think wins the award though of missing him the most. That kid is lost without his Dada. We just could not be more thankful that he'll only have to be gone for these two weeks instead of the alternative, which would have been a year. God is so good!