Christmas Cuties

Since we had just arrived in Texas at the end of November, we stayed out west for Christmas. Luckily, most of my relatives live out here so we had a home away from home. My Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Herb live in Oklahoma City so the kids and I packed up the car and drove north for a week with family. Michael joined us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but left first thing the following morning. Herb and Cynthia were so wonderful to us and made us feel like we belonged! 

I don't think I have a single picture of Michael and I during Christmas time. Carmen peed on my lap during the beautiful Christmas Eve service so I spent most of it chasing her up and down the hallway trying to dry off the huge pee spot on my leggings. So it's better we have no pictures. 

Carmen and Brooks were as cute as ever despite Carmen throwing her big matching hair bow on the ground whenever she could. I just love them. 

Michael got to Oklahoma around 11:00pm on Christmas Eve and set up 

Carmen's princess castle in true daddy fashion.

There are few things better in life then watching your sweet little one on Christmas morning.

Of course we missed our parents and siblings but it was still a wonderful, new and exciting Christmas celebration. And I still can't believe how big Texas and Oklahoma really are.

Reflections so far

I like the city of Corpus Christi for the most part. The scenery is gorgeous, the coast is unbeatable in January, the palm trees are such a joy to look at. But I'm not a big fan of much else. The downtown area is pretty small and deserted - could be because it's off-season for this beach town - and there are many parts of town that just don't seem very safe to drive through. It has some lovely stretches of gorgeous mansions and the end of town where we live has some pretty modern shopping areas. I'm finding that modern shopping areas comfort me. I'm more of a city girl than I realized.

The kids and I spend  a lot of alone time together. We don't see Michael very much at all. I miss him terribly but I know it's all for a great reason and it won't be like this forever! We've moved Carmen's bedtime to 9pm so that Michael can see her for 30mins or so when he gets home. He'll help with bath time and read her books and tuck her in bed. It's hard, I'm not trying to deny that. I've prayed a lot for patience and gentleness because there are some moments in my day where Carmen is really testing my nerves.  I miss adult interaction and the ability to go see our friends whenever we need to.

Sometimes in our gypsy lifestyle I begin to miss the little luxury of decorating your children's rooms. Carmen and Brooks won't miss it at all. But when I'm laying down on Carmen's bed at nap time and looking around the big, stark room, I feel sad that she doesn't have color on her walls. I never got to make a fun "first big girl" bed for her. No comforters and matching pillows and sheets. I'll never really have a true nursery for Brooks. I won't get to use his darling crib and bedding, his matching artwork (that'll be in his room forever though), nothing that truly screams "I have a precious little baby and here's his nursery to show for it!" I'm aware that these are superficial things in life and don't have meaning, but I do really enjoy them. I suppose it's just another small sacrifice.

I don't have a blender so I can't make the initial baby foods that I started Carmen on. Brooks is so ready to try foods but I want to make them myself. I don't really have a solution. We don't have pictures up around our house, the walls are empty. No pretty little portraits of our family. Because we want to live and travel lightly, there isn't much for me to focus on outside of the babies. I brought a book and my Bible. And we have our computer. Other than that, there are no projects to set my mind to, no crafts to make, no jobs to complete. It is mostly refreshing and freeing, but sometimes I get the bug to create something.

There's also no real place to call home. We don't have that house back in Bristow anymore to ground us. Our families are still around and have their homes, we do feel welcomed and at home there, but it's different. Being together as a family of 4 is home, but I still get that feeling once in a while like I'm floating and miss feeling gravity. It'll come, but in the day to day I'm living, I really feel it's absence.

And I just plain miss our friends. I think everyone understands that. Last month on the 30th, we were leaving town to move to Corpus and had just about finished packing our car when I had another kidney stone attack. I tried to tough it out on my own and not take meds that would affect Brooks' but I had to and then I had to get to the hospital. It was horrible and I spent the entire day there. If it wasn't for our precious Farris family in San Angelo, it would have been miserable for all. They took the babies, bought Brooks some formula and a bottle and she kept the children all day. And she is nine months pregnant and has her own 2 boys. Wonderwoman. But it made us value our family and friends even more. What if this happens again and we have nobody? It's just a hard part of this lifestyle. These are just some of my reflections so far and hopefully gives you a realistic glimpse into our reality. More to come....

Apartment in Corpus

I have really come to love the housing here in Corpus Christi. It's everything that excited me about living in a smaller home than our old townhome. I love being on only ONE floor! You can do so many small tasks without ever having to take an eye off your children. I can hear Carmen from every room in the house. I try and always keep an eye on her, but she's fast and moves like a ninja. I bet the folks downstairs wouldn't call her a ninja, maybe more like an elephant ballerina. 

I like being able to let Brooks try and nap in his own bed because I can always hear him and peak on him. No stairs to climb or carry things to and from! 

Downside is that we are on the second floor so there is one flight of stairs to conquer outside. I cannot figure out the best way to bring groceries or two sleeping babies in the house yet?! Someone is always left alone either in the car or in the apartment - only for a quick moment as I sprint back down the stairs, but it's still awful. How else can I do it? Also, there is one floor above us and when we moved in, the family had 9 children staying with them. No lie. It was the loudest thing we had ever heard. And they didn't walk, they only jumped and ran everywhere they went. Michael had to go up there one night at like 12:45am and just check it out. Carmen gets scared of their stampedes. 

So here's the view from the entry way:

This is the sunroom that serves as the play area and computer space:

Kitchen/Laundry Closet

(btw, laundry is SO easy and so wonderful being on the same level as everything.

 I may never want a multi-story home again!) 

Looking back at the entrance:

Kids' hallway

Carmen's bathroom

Third bedroom that would normally be Brooks'

Carmen's Room

 

Carmen's huge bed, she'll be spoiled by the end of this journey and never want any size smaller than a queen.

 Master Bath, there is a large walk-in closet in the back.

 This apartment is huge and has huge closets in every room.

 Master bedroom (with tiny boy on bed)

Assignment #2

Happy New Year!!!

Don't look for us in San Angelo, TX anymore! We moved to the coastal city of Corpus Christi, TX.

Yep, there are palm trees everywhere down here. I am in love! 

We just arrived on Tuesday, December 31st so we haven't even spent a full week here yet. 

Michael is very busy with this store assignment so Carmen, Brooks and I have been on our own to get to know this new city. We've found 4 parks already, lots of open beaches to run around on, and I've got a list of toddler friendly activities to hopefully begin this next week. 

Our apartment is awesome this time and I'll work on getting pictures and details of that up in the next few days. We're a block from the water but it's not visible from our side of the complex. It's also not the beach area that I'd go visit. We still have to get in our car to do that. I'll post more soon, but for now it's SUNDAY and Michael is home for a much needed day of relaxation! 

Passing Days

We've had good days and less good days here in San Angelo. The challenges have been due mostly to the fact that we visited the doctor 4 times in the first two weeks here. Carmen had a really high fever and cough which ended up being an ear infection. Plus she's had a big old cold since before Thanksgiving. Poor girl doesn't know life without the taste of snot anymore. Then she got what we thought was Pinkeye, it cleared up the day after we took her to the doctor for it. I came down with a random case of mastitis - flu symptoms and all. And then we moved here just in time to need to find a pediatrician to give Brooks his 4 month vaccines. Oh and yesterday I could barely walk with some sort of ankle sprain. No memory of falling/bruising/hurting my ankle. It was bizarre - and swollen and crippling and painful. But life doesn't stop for mommies with gimpy legs. We're ok now though! But if you wonder why your Christmas present doesn't make it to you on time, then that's why! 

Other than that...oh wait. Carmen had a good two weeks of "let's show mommy and daddy what life with the terrible twos looks like." She screamed every night for about an hour and woke up just about every 2 hours. We chalked it up to, well being 2, and the big move, new home, sickness, and then the cold turkey switch from sleeping in a crib to her own queen bed in an unfamiliar room. I had a couple grocery trips where she SCREAMED her way through the store. It was awful and I was in tears by the end of it. Folks helped me to my car and loaded the bags for me. People here are just so darn helpful. I've have more women stop and help me here than ever before. People are often holding the carseat, putting Carmen in the shopping cart for me, taking my bags, holding my diaper bag. Apparently I give off the appearance of having my hands full. I do. And I've been humbled and gladly accept all the help I am offered. 

She's getting back to her sweet self now and we're able to enjoy the town a little more. Here is one playground we found that she likes:

We've been loving the Christmas movies on the tv these days. (See how long her hair is getting!)

Our Christmas Tree! I handmade one of these last year and was so pleased with it. I forgot to bring it with us. I hated buying this darn perfect one at Michaels. It mocks me. 

Eggemeyer's General Store! We have spent hours in here! It's an old-timey general store on historic Concho Avenue that has gifts and goodies galore! Many Christmas presents were purchased here. The is also where we've been getting our freshly ground coffee. They have about 20 flavors to choose from.

Here's the sick sweetpea, sleeping on me.

It may be hard to see but below is the courthouse with "Merry Christmas" lights hung on it and a large nativity scene in the front lawn. I love Texas. 

We stop by the store whenever we are out and about (everything is SO close here, unlike northern Virginia.) Here's Carmen helping out with the sandwich buns:

We've been introduced to some absolutely wonderful people here. Ashley (the other IM wife - she's the greatest!) has many mom friends from the church here and they meet up for playdates weekly. BUT...at McDonalds since our store is drive-thru only. This was the first time I've been in a McD's in years! I felt like I was cheating on Chick-fil-A. I documented Carmen getting her first Happy Meal. She didn't love it but she did love the toy. Chick-fil-A is hands down a better place to be ;) 

Here's another fabulous park with a giant, toddler friendly playground:

And here are Ashley's boys that I've simply fallen in love with! They are cute, cute, cute! We will miss them when we move on. 

San Angelo Apartment

Chick-fil-A is very good to us and takes care of locating, renting, and setting up our housing at each assignment. If an apartment is not ready in time for your arrival, you'll get placed in a hotel until it's available. When you are living in a hotel, you get a daily food stipend. We had that Saturday-Wednesday the first week. San Angelo is a bit smaller then most towns so there is a shortage of corporate housing available. We can't be too choosy. The places they find for us are fully furnished, similar to beach vacation rentals, so we basically travel with our clothes, a few toys, and maybe a box of personal items such as books - or in my case - more baby items.  Here's a glimpse of where we're staying now. And you'll get the full effect because I didn't tidy up anything for these pictures. Living messy like this just has to happen sometimes (like when you battle 3 types of sicknesses in one week!)

Walking in the front door

  

Dinning/living 

 

Extra office space

 

View into the kitchen

Kitchen. I try not to spend too much time in here...

 

 Second floor master

Shared bathroom

Carmen's Room

The cutest part of the house

So there it is! I'll spare you a picture of the outside of the complex, I don't want you to worry about us. :) From pictures, you might think this is a great place - and in some aspects it is. But once you actually start living in the space, it is not my cup of tea. These units were built in the 60s and when we moved into this place it was filthy. Michael and I spent the whole night deep cleaning it. It was like someone didn't even try to clean it for new tenants. I can't let my babies live in dirt like that. So Michael rented a steam cleaner and cleaned all the carpets, upholstery and stairs while I dusted, vacuumed, mopped twice to get the black residue off our feet, deep cleaned the moldy, hairy bathroom, etc. I hated it. This should not be our normal experience with the company, but because there's nowhere to relocate us, we need to make the best of it. It's gotten better this past week and I'm grateful to not be in a hotel any longer.

Chick-fil-A provides Michael with his own rental car at every location so we sold his car before moving here. He also gets perks like cell phone coverage, a company iPad, home visits (for all of us!), and some other helpful things. It's a really great opportunity for him! We'll find out around Christmas if we're staying here another month or if we're leaving. And if we're staying here, we'll also find out if we're staying in this apartment another month or moving. It can always change. Can't get too comfortable yet. We're heading up to Oklahoma for Christmas to be with family so we're really excited for that! We'll miss our mommies and daddies and siblings a ton this year though, hopefully we won't have to do this more than 1 or 2 Christmases! 

San Angelo

We've only been here a week now and are finding our way around town and learning where to go/where not to go. The store Michael is working at is a Drive-Thru Only. Seems crazy but it's one of the busiest stores in the whole country. You wouldn't believe how long these lines get! 

You can walk up to a front window to order and take it over to the covered patio. Carmen sure loves running around and chasing the birds. The store itself is pretty old and they are planning on building a brand new one next year - with a full service indoor restaurant. Too bad we'll miss that! 

See the cars in the background wrapped around the store?

The first 4 nights we stayed in a hotel. We didn't have a kitchen so we ate out for every meal (boy do you get sick of that quickly!). Here's Carmen having a pizza party with mommy in the hotel room while daddy's working late.

Living in the hotel room meant nap times for everyone when Carmen had to sleep. I didn't complain.

And here is how she passed many, many an hour the first week. I'm a little sad to admit it, but hey, she's really good at iPad puzzles and games now. And it won't be the norm. Just maybe every time we move.

Texas loves itself. Here's our morning waffle at the hotel breakfast bar. Texas.

Some of the best parts of San Angelo so far:
- Everything is a drive-thru! No kidding. These folks love a drive-thru and I for one am SO grateful! Subway, Little Caesar's, Ice cream shops, all Starbucks, other coffee shops, BBQ, tortilla factories - all have a drive-thru. Mom-with-Babies-Heaven

- It was 60-85 degrees the first week we were here. Then all of a sudden we had an ice storm and it was in the 20s BUT I hear these temperature swings are common which means more warmth coming our way.

- The stars are huge and bright and gorgeous out here!

- Tex Mex. I had a meal of 3 tacos, rice, beans and homemade tortillas for $3 and some change.

- Everyone really does drive a pick-up truck. Or a Tahoe. My SUV is all of a sudden really small.

- Most all people are friendly, nice and helpful. They were too in VA but not this friendly. People here aren't so self-absorbed in whatever errand they are running and they ain't in no hurry to get on with it.

- Sweet Tea is standard.

- There are some good churches to choose from!

Some of the not-so-best parts of San Angelo:
- It's in the middle of nowhere. 1 hour to the closest small town. 3 Hours to anywhere remotely resembling Northern Virginia.

- It's windy and gets really cold, really fast.

- There's not much "shopping" to choose from - which is hard at Christmas time. There is a Target, a Walmart and a small excuse of a mall but that's it.

- There's always a shortage of water here.

- It's so small. Texas small.

More to come on our living arrangements!