The 8th move

You might remember how I laughingly stated that there was no way I was going to be involved in another move where I did the moving in any way, shape, or form. From here on out, the Army can handle it. Once again, eating my words.

I know. I KNOW.

I was washing dishes one day and the thought hit me- why don't we do a DITY (do it yourself) move? (Keep in mind, I had this thought mid-week and Steve was leaving on Sunday. Because I'm an efficient planner who excels in great ideas and preparedness obviously.)

My reasons were:

• the money made from the move would more than cover the new washer/dryer we would need to purchase upon arrival
• we wouldn't be without kids' beds and cribs for any extended period of time
• the timeline is SO tight and we have to make the drive anyway, so why not
• no waiting on movers to load, move, and unload
• I pink puffy heart chaos?
• we moved everything out here on our own, and we have even less stuff than we did then, so this should be a cakewalk! Right? Right??

Honestly, we probably will never have this few possessions ever again. If there was ever a time to do a DITY move, it's now. We will be moving into a house twice the size of our current home and will likely accumulate a few more bigger furniture items, another crib, the washer/dryer, and a trampoline (we done promised that there bone breaker to the kids already).

So in between having this thought and telling Steve about it, I decided that maybe I should just double check this idea with a level-headed third party. You know, see if this is a huge mistake. Because once a DITY offer is out there (with Steve), there is really no turning back. The man loves a good DITY move. He loves driving the big truck, he loves the real life game of Tetris he gets to play while loading, and he loves telling me how I have too many Christmas decorations.

I texted Casey. What happened next is unprecedented.

She called me.

And knowing the gravity of what I was asking, I answered.

(For what it's worth, I am not a phone call type of gal. I don't know too many moms who are. No one shuts up long enough to let me sit and chat and I can barely string together coherent thoughts through text, where I have the option to proofread. So for these reasons (and many more), I rarely answer my phone and leave my voicemail intentionally full. That's the whole truth. Just text me. I swear I'll reply. Eventually.)

Anyway, Casey called to understand if this was some sort of coded cry for help (murderer in the room? phone a friend?) and once I explained my thought process, she told me that yes, you are right, this is absolutely a terrible idea, but also, I can understand why you are considering it. Ultimately, after talking it out, we decided I would bring it up to Steve once he got home.

Naturally he was thrilled with this development. I casually mentioned that if we do intend to go this DITY route, we would need to start packing like, yesterday in order to get done what needed to get done before he left. Revived with a new purpose in life, Steve sprang into action and began pulling totes and boxes from the basement and methodically loading them into the garage. Our garage is essentially the same size as the back of the truck, so this was like a Tetris pre-game for him. Also, we did not unpack everything we owned when we arrived here. Decorations, totes of outgrown kids' clothes, and random kitchen items that I don't use regularly were stored in the basement. I set to work boxing up things throughout the rest of the house. This, admittedly, did not take very long. We do not really have any closets, so once everything you see is packed, you're basically done. There are plenty of things I can't pack until right before we leave (flatware, sheets, towels, toiletries, the pan we cook eggs on every morning, some toys, WINTER COATS BLUGH. But I do have boxes and packing tape at the ready, and all of those things are easily tossed into a bag or box, so I'm not worried about the time commitment there. Turns out, the only fragile items we possess are in our kitchen- plates, glasses, casserole dishes, coffee mugs- and I got those wrapped and packed before Steve left, so once he returns, it should just be a matter of loading things onto the truck. Which, we already know can be knocked out within 3ish hours. (<-- info I'd rather not know so easily)

We had the Army move us to and from Korea and that was really nice. Kicking back and watching someone else do all the work was something I could get used to. It also meant that I was not touching every single thing we owned, and thus, moving a lot of stuff we did not need. Purging is a vital part of my moving process and we honestly own less stuff now with three plus kids than we did when we first moved to Virginia with no kids. And I love it. Less is more, people!

Obviously, our next move will (hopefully, God-willing, please, Baby Jesus) not be a DITY move. And DITY moves are not for everyone. Jen just posted about their upcoming move and gave great reasons as to why the Army moves them. Different strokes for different folks!

I'm looking forward to being able to move into our new place immediately and getting all the kids into a new normal and back into their regular sleep routine as quickly as possible. I'd also LOVE to nest or something for maybe a day or two before going into labor. Hashtag goalz, right?

Y'all pray for me, please.