Road Trip Day 4 (a couple days late)

Whoo!  So sorry to not have posted but I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Let me give you a quick rundown of what our fourth and final day of travel was like:

1. 5:54am (mountain time): CJ wakes up, so Chris and I wake up in our hotel in Denver, CO.
2. Around 6:15am: Chris and CJ go down for breakfast while I get cleaned up.
3. Around 7am: I go down for breakfast and the CJ hand-off takes place so Chris can pack up the room and get ready for travel.  I attempt to make a Belgian waffle while CJ alternates sitting at a table and running down a hall.  Finally, I give up and take the waffle upstairs to try to eat while CJ can run around the room.
4. Around 7:30am: Chris and CJ head downstairs to try to load the car while I attempt to smuggle the cats out one by one... before Chris even gets down the hall, he warns me that the cleaning service is a couple doors down.
5. Around 7:40am: I try to bring Baby Girl down covered with my jacket.  I think I'm being stealthy going past staff to the stairs but the realize after passing several people - Baby Girl's tail is down by my leg... *sigh*
6. Around 7:45am: I give up being too stealthy and grab Houdini, cover him with my jacket and hoof it to the car.
7. Around 7:50am: I am looking for Cassie... she is wedged between the headboard and the wall, but fortunately just close enough for me to pull the nightstand out, lay on the ground and barely reach her scruff to yank her hissing and growling from her "safe" spot.
8. Around 8am: I have completely given up being stealthy and just make for the door.
9. Around 8:05am: We are headed to Walmart and Starbucks for cold medicine and coffee, respectively.  We look back and CJ is passed out cold from lack of sleep.
10. Around 8:15am: We are on the road!

So that was our morning.  Our intention was to hit the road early and make it all the way from Denver to Frisco... gas and go's the whole way.  Most of our family wanted us to stop in Oklahoma City to recharge our batteries and not push ourselves.  Chris and I just couldn't do that... three hours from home was too close to call it quits, so we pushed through.

And then... 32 miles from the Texas border on I-35 southbound at close to 9pm (central time), we spot a sign.  A construction sign.  A sign that reads expect stops... I'm pretty sure Chris and I just felt our hearts drop.  We spent the next 45 minutes stuck in traffic until finally it freed up.  They had closed the southbound lanes completely closed so traffic was being routed down to one lane in each direction... it was U-G-L-Y!!!  It was smooth sailing from there.  If anyone was outside when we crossed into Texas, you may have heard a loud "Whoohoo!!!"  That was us.

We finally made it to my parents' house around 11pm, I think.  We were beyond delirious but so happy.

CJ was a real trooper through all of this.  He still isn't quite back to himself - his schedule is so off and he's pretty much refusing sleep at this point.  I'm sure that will get better as we get settled.  Chris and I are looking for an apartment (or even better - a house) for rent and know that once we're settled with all our stuff back, the cats, CJ, Chris and I will finally feel at home.

So keep us in your prayers - that we find a great place to live and jobs (quickly).  I know we can use it!

And I know CJ isn't a native Texan, but we got him here as quick as we could!  A short four years and fourteen days after Chris and I moved... we were back in Texas.  Not that anyone is counting, of course.

Road Trip Day 3

Let me sum today up rather quickly...

1. Driving through Wyoming may have been the most monotonous thing I've ever done in the world.  Cheyenne was just the icing on a poo-poo cake.  I drove from Ogden, UT this morning to just outside Cheyenne before Chris took over.
2. We are staying in Denver to get a good night sleep and see what we can accomplish tomorrow.
3. CJ has just about had it with the car I think - he has had two big meltdowns today - the worst one as we pulled up to the hotel and Chris ran in to check us in.  I think it lasted the better part of 30-45 minutes and may have caused delays at Denver International Airport.  Sorry!
4. Had "fun" smuggling the cats in again.  If I never had to do that again, it would be too soon.
5. If we have to stay the night in Oklahoma City tomorrow, 3 1/2 hours out of Frisco, I may just cry.

Tomorrow is a new day.  A better day.  A lot of prayers needed for Chris, CJ and I for tomorrow.

Road Trip Day 2

So today was our first "full" day on the road.  Chris and I took a little time to catch up on our sleep (FYI: 2-3 hours of sleep a night for the last 2 or so weeks is NOT enough sleep for an adult parent of a toddler) so we didn't leave Pendleton, OR until noon.  After a much needed sleep-in, we ate breakfast at the hotel and packed up the car (again sneaking the cats and their litter box out one by one).  After Chris figured out that the stuff from the car that fit fine (tight, but fine) yesterday no longer fit, we went to the post office and packed the lesser necessities in two boxes and shipped them ahead of us.  If you can believe it, shipping 85lbs of our belongings cost nearly the same as taking a literal ton of trash to the dump in Vancouver.

It was a good travel day.  Not much drama from the cats and CJ was a model traveler.  He got a little fussy right as we were coming up on our hotel, but we managed to give him an incentive to push through that last little bit.  And Baby Girl managed to escape their little camp set up in the back of the Rav4... she was fine though.  Honestly, it may have been mostly due to Cassie beginning to growl again - I'd probably want to escape, too!

We managed to get about 522 miles under our belt and got to check off the remainder of Oregon and all of Idaho and have now checked into our hotel for the night in Ogden, UT.  We did lose an hour right before crossing into Idaho due to the time change, but feel like today was a good day.  The upside to this hotel is that it is pet-friendly and required a mere $50 refundable deposit per stay for the cats!  It was much nicer to not have to smuggle them and their litter box in one by one.  Now we're getting ready to sleep for the night and we'll hopefully get an earlier start tomorrow.

I'm taking the first leg tomorrow so Chris can take the last part of driving and see if we can get a bit more driving in by switching off.  So far, Chris has done all the driving (mainly because it's a tight squeeze for him to sit in the passenger seat and be unable to push the seat all the way back due to his desire to not squash our son's legs).  He's a superstar and I'm happy I can help a little by taking first leg.  With that said, I ought to rest up!

Good night!

Road Trip Day 1

Late departure from the 'Couve... so we didn't get too far.  We are in our room in Pendleton, OR.  We've smuggled our three cats in (one by one, four flights of stairs and another trip for the litter box).  Cassie is in the corner under a desk growling, Houdini is huddled not-too-close to Cassie for fear of death and Baby Girl is wandering around like she owns the place.  CJ is wired and Chris and I are POOPED!!!

With a little over 200 miles under our belts on this little adventure and we are now a bit wiser.  Let me share a few tips for traveling 2,000+ miles with 3 cats and a 2 1/2 year old.

1. It is important to pack wisely but even more important to load the vehicle like a genius.  Make sure those must-get items are accessible on the fly in order to head off a cranky toddler.
2. Bring air freshener for when the cats need to take care of business.
3. Bring upholstery cleaner for when the cats show you just how displeased they are with your selected mode of travel.
4. Find out when Starbucks closes... apparently the two we attempted to hit for me close at 7.
5. Finally, and my mom will love this, don't ever move so far away that you have to pick and choose what to move.  We unloaded literally a ton of trash and donated 3 car-fulls of stuff on top of giving away a boatload of stuff.  And on top of that, the PODS box may be overstuffed as is our Rav4.  We will be packing up some excess from the car and shipping it ahead of us.  Perhaps they can ship cats, too???

Well I will hopefully post again tomorrow evening with the results of Day 2.  Please pray for a productive travel day tomorrow and for it to go smoothly!

Crazy times

It is the end of day 2 packing and loading the PODS box.

Fortunately, based on a conversation I had with CJ after we picked him up from daycare, Chris and I can rest now... he's got it!

Me: CJ, does Daddy pack?
CJ: No.
Me: Does Mommy pack?
CJ: No.
Me: Who is packing up the house?
CJ: CJ packs.

Well that is a load off our minds!!!

As a generic gripe, how do we end up accumulating so much stuff?  Chris and I are kicking ourselves for letting stuff get the best of us.  As we sift, sort, pack and load... we just keep our chins up and our eyes on the prize - getting home to Texas.

Back to packing... took a few moments to rest.  I'm sure I'll be blogging more later.

One month later and I see blue sky!

Where shall I begin?  So it's been a month since I last posted... bad, blogger!  Well, let's talk about the last month.  God is GOOOOOD!  He is so good.  Doors are opening, and through the clouds and the rain I see the sun again!


We are moving back to Texas!!!  Yup, that's right.  We are Texas-bound on the 23rd (so long as all goes as planned).  We are having PODS drop a box off Monday and CJ's daycare is allowing him to come back next week so Chris and I can have some focused packing and loading time.  Thank God for a church-run daycare - they aren't even letting us pay them for the week!  The wonderful church we've been attending since December is praying over us Sunday the 22nd and then we leave as soon as possible Monday morning... Chris, me, CJ... and our 3 cats... in a car... for about 5 days worth of driving.  Whew!  Should be an adventure, to put it mildly.


Once we get to Texas, Chris's mom and step-dad are taking care of the cats while we stay at my mom and dad's until we find an apartment.  The only reason we are separating from the cats is because for my mom, it is a choice between breathing without cats versus not breathing with cats courtesy of her terrible allergy.  We've decided that a little time away from them to allow my mom to breathe is the best choice.  Thanks again to Candi and Jim for welcoming Houdini, Baby Girl and Cassie into your home soon!

We will find an apartment to live in for 6-12 months then work our tail ends off looking for jobs!  I'm so excited I can barely stand it!!!  We'll be returning home to Texas just a couple weeks past 4 years after we moved.  We left for Washington as newlyweds, unencumbered... and we are returning as pet owners three times over and proud parents to one adorable two-and-a-half year-old CJ!

Now we have a new CJ development as of today as well.  The boy is trying new food!  We have tried everything to get him to try new food and have had him slam the door in our face time after time.  Well thanks to his playdate with his friend Ava, he tried macaroni and cheese for lunch (and got an airplane, thanks to one of our "incentives" that CJ repeats over and over: "Try new food, get a new airplane.") and then he ate some chicken for dinner.  This kid has not eaten much beyond Cheerios and Gerber Graduates Pasta Pick Ups as lunch and dinner staples for AGES!  This is the dawn of a new age in meals... we might be able to finally graduate to "real" food and stop buying the toddler meals.  Chris and I could not be more proud.  Now, if we can get the potty-training rolling and get him to stay in bed at naptime and bedtime...  But beggars can't be choosers so we will just keep plugging away with patience and a good sense of humor.

Keep praying for us - we've got an interesting journey ahead and I look forward to seeing God's plan revealed for our lives.