Gone Today

Dear Jen,

I found a benefit to a baby that wakes up before the reasonable hour of 6:00 every morning: leisure time on moving day! I have to wait for this computer to charge anyway--it's only at 20% right now, so I've got a while. Technically I don't have to be anywhere near the computer for it to accomplish this, but who understands technical jargon these days?

Alright so now that I am mov-ING, I feel I can reflect over the past month and say a few things I have learned about moving with two small children, one under the age of one. First thing is that it is different than moving with just one child just over the age of one.

Very different.

Bet you're shocked.

Here are the main differences: the baby chases you around all day long getting into dirt and generally undoing everything you do; the toddler doesn't take naps; I am more tired--especially from waking up before the reasonable hour of 6:00. It's one of the disadvantages of that lifestyle.

So in conclusion, packing and cleaning is much more challenging with my current life. But I picked up a few notes to make next time smoother:

1. Don't clean mirrors before moving day! Silly silly silly.
2. Don't clean windows either!
3. Don't really waste your time cleaning anything children touch. Just plan for the time at the end.
4. Don't send your husband off to construct the set of a play for people he'll never see again starting four weeks before your big move.
5. Don't remove toys designated for the thrift store from the top of the closet in front of your toddler--unless your plan is to spend the rest of your packing days retrieving them from their scattered locations around the house and stuffing them to the middle of bags of junk to avoid this fiasco twice in a row while said toddler has turned her back for a quick second.
6. Don't leave toilet paper on the floor. Well, that's really just advice for general with-baby living. So maybe the advice should be: don't forget that babies don't get less mischievous just because you're too busy to put the toilet paper not on the floor.
7. Don't sell all your tables and shelves if it can be avoided. Seriously, I'm sick of trying to find places for my toilet paper. Alright I don't actually display my toilet paper in my dining room. But you know what I mean.
7. Don't plan a goodbye party the night before you leave. Just kidding! Actually DO that, because it means your husband is left to complete all the final loose ends while you sit on cushioned benches eating chicken wings talking to the laydays until the servers stop serving you anything--including that third iced tea. You know? I mean you paid $3 for it. You tell them all about it, Jen.

Alright so I had a thought on my insomnia night t'udder dye (practicing maritime speak): what do you think about kid nicknames? All the cool bloggers are doing it! I thought of some too! Ev; Zed; McG; MC. Ok fine you can pick your own. Let me know, friend.

Ok [maybe] see you in Kamloops [stalker] friend JC (is that coincidental or are you just THAT holy?)