Breathing ... sitting ... relaxing ... ahhhhh
The last few months have certainly been busy but nothing like the last week. Last Tuesday, after spending the weekend grading exams and tying up loose ends in town, E and I packed up the Passat and cleared out of our temporary housing in Urbana. After a morning of last minute errands, it took 4 hours to pack up, in large part because my sweet darling little boy remembered he was 2 that day and was therefore not supposed to cooperate in any way. I will never forgive the school district for shutting down for the entire week before Christmas.
We finally reached our new temporary home in TN at 12:30 in the morning. We unpacked a bit and toddled off to bed. The next day, I (or at least the Passat) became a resident of Anderson County, TN. You see, in TN, cars are registered by county and it says so right on the plate. The amusing thing is, in less than a month we'll be residents of Knox County. I did not have the luxury of waiting as my IL registration expires at the end of December.
The next day, we left TN for a week and a half of traveling. We started off on the road to Raleigh, only to find a rock slide had closed the interstate. Over the river and through the mountains we went, finally making it to see the Mav's Grandma for a few minutes before the child fell to pieces. A nice, but quick Christmas eve and morning visit with part of the family gave way to yet another car trip; this time to Baltimore. A short flight put us into the care of Nana and Granddah, just in time for some more Christmas festivities and then a lovely stomach bug.
In a few days, we'll hit the road again for a short stay in DC and then back to establish more permanent residency in the land of Volunteers.
(note: traveling without our camera!)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Together again...
It's temporary though. E and I return to the land of cold and wind next week. We're all here in TEMPORARY HOUSING PART 2 right now. And let me tell you, the sequel is way better than the original. This apartment is about as big as our old house and, get this, has a washer, dryer, and dishwasher! I'm no domestic diva but there is something to be said for being able to wash my boy's jammies without spending 2 hours in an unheated laundry room.
Fingers crossed please; we are putting an offer on a house tomorrow. We like it a lot. It's convenient to work. E has had enough house hunting. If the offer is accepted, then we'll soon have a house with enough room for lots of company (hint, hint!)
Saturday, December 5, 2009
New Parmen
Well, we've moved. To Urbana, the town next to Champaign. E and I are now living in the family and graduate housing here at the university. It is also the temporary housing for university visitors, and since I'm a visiting assistant professor here this semester, I was eligible to take advantage of the university's accommodations.
It is plenty big enough for me and the small boy and our few things that didn't take a big truck to a storage facility in TN. It was a bit tight with the Mav here last week and his two suitcases. Yes, just two suitcases made the difference between functional and not.
I know that for much of the world these would be some classy digs. My grammar school indoctrination told me that, in Soviet Russia, an extended family of 12 would be lucky to have this partially underground 600 square feet. It has heat. It has plumbing. It has parking.
It has 5 different types of tile.
5 different types of brown, beige and white tile expertly arranged throughout.
It is in good repair and has hot water.
The smell blowing in from the South Farms reminds us of the university's roots as an agriculture school. Ahhh, tradition never smelled so, well, stinky, before.
E is handling the change remarkably well. When I say we are going home he replies "to our new parmen, not our house." He was a bit upset when his Daddy left for TN today and we stayed behind but then he stoically accepted that our turn to go to TN is next week. (I haven't really told him that we'll be coming back here for another week after our house hunting trip).
In other news, E got a haircut. A very, very short haircut. I'm new to the boy's haircuts and apparently was not specific enough in my instructions. Ah well, it grows quickly and at least it is easy to wash.
It is plenty big enough for me and the small boy and our few things that didn't take a big truck to a storage facility in TN. It was a bit tight with the Mav here last week and his two suitcases. Yes, just two suitcases made the difference between functional and not.
I know that for much of the world these would be some classy digs. My grammar school indoctrination told me that, in Soviet Russia, an extended family of 12 would be lucky to have this partially underground 600 square feet. It has heat. It has plumbing. It has parking.
It has 5 different types of tile.
5 different types of brown, beige and white tile expertly arranged throughout.
It is in good repair and has hot water.
The smell blowing in from the South Farms reminds us of the university's roots as an agriculture school. Ahhh, tradition never smelled so, well, stinky, before.
E is handling the change remarkably well. When I say we are going home he replies "to our new parmen, not our house." He was a bit upset when his Daddy left for TN today and we stayed behind but then he stoically accepted that our turn to go to TN is next week. (I haven't really told him that we'll be coming back here for another week after our house hunting trip).
In other news, E got a haircut. A very, very short haircut. I'm new to the boy's haircuts and apparently was not specific enough in my instructions. Ah well, it grows quickly and at least it is easy to wash.
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