Coming Up For Air

April?!?  April since I last updated this blog?!?

I can't possibly begin to detail the events of the last five months.  So in short format - since April and sweet Jack turning four, the Party has:

• finished up spring baseball season with a base hit for Anna and a hit (not quite making it to base) for James
• saw Anna in her spring musical performance of 'The Rocking Tale of Snow White' which was a t-total hoot
• visited James' art show and oohed and aahed over the kids' artistic pieces
• finished second grade and kindergarten with flying colors, surviving an ENTIRE school year sans Deonne in town for more than an errant weekend or two a month
• fired a real estate agent; hired a new one; staged our home; and dealt with several more months of constant picking up and cleaning
• FINALLY sold a house
• rented a house
• watched as three people worked over a day and a half to pack up each and every item in our home - catalog it - and pack it away in a gigantic moving truck
• said tearful good-byes to family and friends-who-are-like-family, and felt our hearts breaking as we drove away from our family home on Overcreek Road - the place where all three Party Kids took their first steps, suffered umpteen illnesses, shared uncountable giggles, celebrated birthdays and baptisms, holidays, and every days
• listened to two cats howl like banshees in their cage as they traveled from South Carolina to Virginia
• survived living in our temporary home in the Residence Inn for 30 DAYS (2 adults + 3 kids + 2 geriatric cats = insanity)
• watched gobs of movies (both old and new as we took full advantage of the dollar movies at the Fairfax theatre)
• gobbled up gallons of ice cream and frozen yogurt - as we toiled away the summer with lots of treats
• saw the Capital Fireworks on the 4th of July from the banks of the Potomac River
• visited the national mall on numerous occasions, and hung out at our favorite museums - the Air and Space Museum (both on the Mall and at Washington Dulles)
• enrolled three kids in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (our new church's VBS) where the Party Children were sorted into their houses (Hufflepuff for the boys and Ravenclaw for Anna) and spent a week engrossed in the world of Harry Potter
• learned to swim (James) and swim well (Anna + James) thanks to a month at a hotel with a pool + a summer membership at the local pool for hours upon hours of swimming
• partook of a Washington Nationals game where we saw the Nats hit a Grand Slam and furthered the Party Kids' love of baseball
• introduced the kids to Star Wars
• fully understood the meaning of moving when the moving company unloaded box after box after box in our new home - then left - with us living like Hoarders for weeks while we tried to sort through and figure out where to put all of our crap beloved items
• enrolled two Party Kids in the Fairfax County Public School System - including Anna in the Advanced Academics Program which she more than qualified for
• enrolled one Party Kid in the church Pre-School at Holy Comforter - where we'll be attending
• became sick and tired of each other as we lived in such close quarters all summer with not a lot of opportunities to make friends
• met our new neighbors upon moving in and finally felt welcomed in this new place after months of feeling alone and a bit discouraged
• learned how to live together as a Party of Five vs. a Party of Four - which sadly was an adjustment after a year of being apart
• learned to appreciate the art of full-time stay at home moms - which has been (and continues to be a steep learning curve for this mama who has ALWAYS worked outside the home and still isn't quite used to all day - all mommy access)
• shipped two kids off to their first days at school - complete with riding the bus - THE BUS - meaning less harried mornings by dropping the simple yet oh-so-difficult task of strapping three kids with three backpacks into the car for the day (THANK GOD)
• made this place a home

The kids and I decided that song "home" was our theme song for the summer.  We're in a new place, somewhat the same yet so different, trying to find our way, and doing our best to make it a home.

We're getting there - are sorting through the last of the boxes and settling our house - figuring out the best places to get pizza and ice cream - and most importantly - becoming friends with the people we find ourselves living among.

We miss our South Carolina life - we miss our family and our friends - DESPERATELY - but we're still excited about this place and the opportunities it holds for us.