Ahhh...silence

I am sitting here, listening to the radio, drinking a Coke, and relaxing. I was able to take a long shower (I know, a waste of water, but it had been a couple of days) and will be able to dry my hair (a luxury when you have two kids). All of this without the help of two little ones. My wonderful husband did the Saturday morning family Gymboree excursion by himself to give me a little break. He is awesome.

Yesterday was rough and he didn't get home until 7:30 or so. By the time he got home I was sitting on the floor in our room, in the dark, nursing an extremely grumpy baby, and trying to explain through clenched teeth the merits of an "inside voice" to an extremely high-strung 3yo.

Bless the poor guy, James ordered pizza on his way home and shooed me out the door after dinner so I could run an errand and get some space. He did this despite the fact that he had worked until 7pm, had left the house very early that morning to finish the presentation he had to give in front of the leaders of his company, and had de-briefed after the presentation with the president of the company. He had just a little on his mind, but saw my needs and gave me a break. What can I say, he is pretty cool and he is all mine!

Trouble!

Who would think that this face could be trouble? He is definitely trouble! Into everything, bangs on everything, chews on EVERYTHING! Even the new leather couch...seriously, everything.
Katherine got into things, but Jack takes it to a whole new level. He loves cords and electronics more than any child I have ever met! He is trouble and knows it. When he is heading for something he shouldn't be, we say "no sir" in a stern voice, and he turns around, flashes the biggest grin ever, then keeps going even faster than before!
Lord help us when he is walking!
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Sunny days!

Apparently we are going to the beach...ance the temp is above 35F.
We are getting into more of a routine (although that clearly doesn't mandate getting dressed before lunch).
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Strange

Things just feel strange. I am surprised how hard this move is for me since I moved so much growing up. Maybe because it is my first move with kids, maybe it is because we were so settled and connected in Cincinnati, I don't know.
I am trying to think of it as an adventure, but it is hard. I sit here typing and my eyes are welling up and my throat it tight. It is an adventure and it really is a good move for our family. It is great for James, thus great for our family. That doesn't make it any less difficult.
I'm going to throw the kids in the car and go explore. Maybe I'll feel more at home once I am more familiar with my surroundings.
Thankfully the kids haven't seemed to be that affected, especially Jack. Look how happy he is!
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We made it!

We left after a frenzy of packing, cleaning, and organizing. Some of our dearest friends pitched in to make it happen. It was chaotic, but a farewell befitting our great neighborhood and friends in Cincinnati. We cried, laughed, hugged, packed, and chased a gaggle of kids around, but got everything done in the end.
We took two days to make the drive, but the weather was good. Not as cold in Kansas City as it was when we left Cincinnati.
Hopefully we can spend tonight and tomorrow settling in before James has to go back to work on Tuesday.
I miss everyone in Cincinnati terribly, but am finally feeling glimmers of excitement as we explore our new surroundings and recognize places we used to go when we lived here almost 9 years ago.
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First snack in Kansas City.

We just drove in, got the keys to the new place and the kids are snacking while we settle on strategy for moving stuff in.
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