993 Miles Later

Driving through the night is rough. We planned on switching halfway through but Mr. Go, in classic Mr. Go fashion, decided to do it all himself. I slept a few unrestful hours, but Babs woke up every time we stopped for gas and cried for a while. Being crammed in the car with a dog on each side probably wasn't very comfortable for a girl who likes to do acrobatics in her crib as she sleeps.

As much as I hate moving, and as stressful as it was trying to pack everything we'd need for 6 months into a car, I really enjoyed unpacking into our house in just a few hours. No boxes, no messy packing materials, just toss our duffels in our bedroom, set up the Pack N Play and we were in. I look forward to going even lighter on our next move.

Downsizing

Going from a 2,000 sq foot bi-level to a 1,200 sq foot single level home has been fantastic. I loved my CO home, but this little square house is easy to clean and keep track of things in. And Mr. Go wants to go even smaller next time.

ProTip: If you have less space, you will (theoretically) accumulate less stuff.

this is pretty much it

After getting some sleep, the first priority was getting a refrigerator. Eating out for every meal was hard on a family that went out to eat probably twice a year. (I'll be sweating vegetable oil for days yet.) Craigslisting a fridge proved impossible, so we splurged on the cheapest fridge Home Depot could sell us. A $298 Vissani top freezer that was actually a pretty good deal (and it fit in our Subaru!).

awww it's so cute

I'm about to sound really pretentious, but I've been living with side-by-side fridge/freezers for the past 5 years and this little thing looks like a Hobbit fridge. But it keeps our food cold and really, that's all we need it to do. The slimming down of our possessions continues.

We've now been in our new home for a week and a day and we're coming to realize some of our packing mistakes.

We should have brought more toys for Babs. (Or we need to get better at thrifting working toys for her.) Had to go to Target and buy her something that made obnoxious noises and flashy lights to keep her occupied. The girl who could enjoy a whisk and a tupperware for an hour is suddenly quite demanding. She seemed to be doing so well with all this change--I'd never seen her take such long naps as she did the first 4 days here--but it might just be catching up with her.

We should've been traveling with emergency tools. Like a hammer, saw and wrench. These things come in handy. We've needed them since we got here and had to pick them up at garage sales and pawn shops.

On the bright side, I haven't wished I had packed something else from my closet yet. Maybe more underwear, since we just this morning got a washer that we're hopeful will work. (More on the dangers of Craigslist later.)

The big win of this week was that we didn't have to Facetime with Mr. Go at night and catch up on our days. We got to have dinner together and he got to kiss Babs' fat little cheeks goodnight. So whatever else we go through, it'll be worth it and we'll make the best of it because honestly, our goal for this venture is already achieved:

Be Together.