Welcome Home!!

We finally made it to Virginia, and are settling in nicely. The moving company came on Sunday November 18th, and loaded everything up. Since we had no furniture to sleep on that night, and we weren't planning on leaving for VA until Monday morning, we slept upstairs on Matt's parents' couch. We loaded everything left over into our cars Sunday night, and were on the road Monday morning at around 9:30.

Long story short, we checked into the hotel for Monday night. The driver of the truck told us on Sunday that he would be able to deliver our belongings on Tuesday morning, from 8-9. We were thrilled, because originally, the estimate was anywhere from Tuesday to Friday, and Thanksgiving was on Thursday. So we changed our hotel reservation to only Monday night, checked out Tuesday, and drove to our hotel to wait for our delivery. Well, 9:15 rolled around, and there was no sign of the movers. So I called the company, and the dispatcher informed me that we were on the schedule for Wednesday morning. Say what?! Uh, well, that's not what we were told, and we already checked out of the hotel with our 2 dogs, and nothing to sleep on. That's not going to work at all. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. They were picking up a 15,000 pound shipment as we were talking. So we decided we would try to see if we could get an air mattress to sleep on for the night, and sleep in our apartment.

We ended up sleeping on the floor with just a blanket. Definitely not the most comfortable sleep we've had. It was horrible. Oh well, there was nothing we could have done. We were told the movers would be coming between 8-11. They showed up around 9:15, and were done unloading everything by 1 I think. So not too bad. But they did have 4 movers, which was awesome.

So at this point, we've been officially in our apartment (with furniture) for a week now. And I would say we're about 98% unpacked, and settled, which is amazing! Our friend stayed with us for a few days starting Wednesday night, and he helped a lot with the unpacking. He was hopped up on RedBull, and helped me unpack and put away my entire kitchen in 2 hours. I was so happy, because I was afraid we'd be living out of boxes. Much more unpacking soon followed in the following days, and at this point, we have only about 3 or so boxes left to find homes for. The boxes have crap in them that we threw in at the last minute, so it's just left over junk. We'll find a home for that stuff, but for now, I'm just happy we're mostly unpacked. It feels like home, and I love it.

All loaded up in the car Monday morning for our drive to VA

We made it to the hotel! Sharing some cuddles with Tyson

Tuesday! Checking out his bedroom.

What a view!

This is what you do when you have no furniture for a whole day.

You do what you gotta do to get a sick baby to sleep. Yes, I curled up in the PnP with Cael

Five Guys for dinner? Hell yes! Now if only we had a kitchen table.

It's moving day! For real this time!

Enjoying some Kix while the moving guys unload all of our belongings.

Boys will be boys. At least we finally have our stuff!

We finally have furniture, and Cael decides to sit on Tyson.

It didn't take long to find the Tupperware drawer.

Cael's room is looking put together!

Reading some books in his new room.

Cael LOVES the balcony!

Relocation - Phase I & II Complete!

I've decided to break our moving journey down into four phases. Yes, I'm a dork. But I need to do things like this to keep my sanity. We have 2 weeks before we move, and my mind is in a million and a half different directions. I bet you didn't think that was possible. Well, I assure you, it is. Holy shit.

Phase I - Which is completed, entailed applying too, interviewing for, and accepting a job in VA. That was completed a few weeks ago.

Phase II - Is finding a place to live in VA. This was, fortunately, completed 2 days ago on the 30th! I'll discuss below.

Phase III - This phase will be packing, actually moving to VA, and unpacking. Part of this starts now, with going through everything, getting rid of what we don't want/need anymore, and packing. The rest of it will be when we actually move, which is scheduled for November 19th. Once again, Holy shit.

Phase IV - This part encompasses actually starting at my new job, which will be a journey and a half. I will experience a whole slew of emotions, ranging from sadness of leaving Cael home with Matt (for the first couple of months, anyway), to nervous excitement to being overwhelmed. I officially start on December 3rd, with 1.5 days of orientation, and then I start in my department.

On our way to Va!
Stopping for a coffee, and Cael got a free
munchkin, which he loved!

So now I will update you with the journey Cael and I took earlier this week to VA to find a place to live. Last Friday, I started calling some places for rent. I came to the realization that I would have to see these places before making a decision to rent, so then the spontaneous idea of going down to VA with Cael on Monday came to light. And since I needed to get some pre-employement things done, such as a physical, I figured I could get it done then as well.

So I made some appointments with a total of 3 apartments, all complexes. Two of them really nice complexes - pool, playground, walking trails, dog parks, fireplaces in the living room, and gated access to the apartments. And all 2 bedrooms/2 baths. However, there was the threat of Hurricane Sandy coming up the eastern coast, expecting to make landfall on - yup - Monday. Taking that into consideration, in addition to having to get my physical early Monday morning, I decided to go down to VA on Sunday morning, and plan to stay until Wednesday, taking a huge chance that I may not be able to get anything done because of Sandy.

Cael relaxing. I gave him the bag of cheerios
to keep him quiet, which he
then emptied everywhere.

Well, Sandy hit hard. And without remorse. But that'll be another post. Fortunately, where I was in VA didn't get hit too hard. Just rain and wind. But I was worried I wouldn't get to view the apartments on Monday and Tuesday.

Well, come Monday, I had my physical, and met with HR to sign my hire letter, and other pre-employment paperwork. After that, Cael and I went to lunch at Denny's. My apartment appointment was for 2, so we had some time to eat. Well, then I got a call from the first complex, ML, that they were closing the office within the hour, and she asked if I could come by now. I told her I was just finishing lunch, and then I'll be on my way. I called my friends Ed and Stef, as they were going to go with me at 2, and they met me no problem to go early.

Now, the funny thing is, this is the apartment I wasn't planning on signing. Not sure why - probably because I was afraid it was too expensive. I don't know, it was just a feeling. The rent for this one was $1086, sans pet rent. Another complex I was looking at on Tuesday had rent as low as $766, so I thought I would like that one because of the price. But what I learned is you get what you pay for. Long story short, I'm so happy that I was able to make it there before they closed to view the apartment, because this was the one I ended up returning to on Tuesday and signing a lease for :).

Aunt Stef and Cael making faces at each other!

I didn't want to sign for the first apartment I saw, and I wanted to see the other 2 before making a decision. But since that was the last unit left, I gave her a $100 check to hold it for me, refundable up to 48 hours. Tuesday morning, I called the 2 complexes I was supposed to see, and the cheaper one informed me that the office was open, but that they weren't showing that day. Sucks to be you I thought. I was on a time constraint, and if you didn't have time for me to see your unit, I don't have time for you. I called the second complex, Brittany Commons, which was a beautiful complex (one of the 2 nice ones I mentioned, with the one I saw Monday being the other nice one), and fortunately they were still showing. But there isn't a doubt that I wouldn't have signed a lease for the first place if I couldn't see them all. I would have had to settle because of time limits, but it wouldn't have been a bad place to settle on. (Continued after photo dump)

I love that he's finally grown enough hair to do this!

My little Linus!

Getting ready to go home!

Helping mommy load the car up!

Home in time for Halloween! Even though
trick or treating was rescheduled because of Sandy.

Brittany Commons was nice, and the layout was very similar to ML. They had the same amenities as ML, but rent was a little more. However, Brittany Commons was a HUGE complex, having 500+ units, and it was right off a main road. ML has only 150 units in their complex, and it's "off the beaten path" so to speak. It's set back away from main roads, and you have to take 2 side roads off the main road to get to it. My decision was made.

Master bedroom

Our friends came with me to see Brittany Commons as well, since everything was closed due to Sandy, and they didn't have work. I was so HAPPY they came with me, because they asked questions I didn't even think about. They are definitely life-savers. So we all went to lunch, and I called Matt to discuss our two options. He left it up to me, and said he trusts my judgment (but also the judgement of Ed). ML was the fit for us, so I called and asked if I could come by and sign a lease.

So we all went over and I signed the lease. The unit is available November 15, so the rent was prorated for that month. So the total due at move-in, including app fee, pet rent, and one-time pet fee, was $1061. Our rent every month would be $1155, not including utilities or cable. With my salary, that's definitely do-able.

Living room

Now, about the apartment. It's a 3rd floor unit, and because of that, has vaulted ceilings. The balcony faces the woods, so it's completely private, which is a major plus for us. It's a gated community, has a swimming pool, dog park (which is AWESOME for the dogs, since they're going to be going through a big change from running freely outside, to being walked on a leash), 2 miles of paved trails with "doggie stations" for poop, and volleyball and tennis courts. Both Cael's and our bedroom have walk-in closets, and there is an extra, big closet in the dining room for storage. There's also a linen closet outside Cael's room, a closet when you first enter the apartment, and a pantry in the kitchen! No more storing food or cans on the floor in the kitchen! There's also a large laundry room with a washer and dryer. So we'll be storing our semi-new Samsung washer and dryer here until we have our own house and need them again. Those things are my babies, and I'm not getting rid of them. Not to mention we still have payments on them for another year. And one of my favorite things about our apartment, is there is a gas fireplace in the living room, with a built in table on top of it for the tv. It's going to be so nice.

Cael loved running around in the apartment. There was so much room, and we even lost him for a second. His bedroom is HUGE! He'll have plenty of room to have all his toys in there, so he can actually play in his bedroom. I'm so happy and feel so fortunate that I was given this opportunity for an amazing job, and therefore a better life for my family. Just a few months ago, Matt and I were saying to each other that we will never be able to get out of this apartment (and therefore his parents house), and we'll never get out on our own. What a different a few months makes.

Kitchen (And Cael doing yoga!)

Kitchen and pantry. And I love the sliding lights.

Kitchen again

Another view of the master bedroom and master bathroom.
Walk-in closet is behind the door.

Apartment Hunting! This is real!

As my really close friend said to me today, this is getting real. Last night, I made a spur of the moment decision to make a trip down to VA to look at apartments. I'm going down Sunday, and staying until Wednesday - which happens to be Halloween. It needs to be done though. I figured that, while I'm looking at apartments, I can also take care of some of the pre-employment paperwork at the hospital, and my physical.

After spending (literally) all day on the phone yesterday, and half the day on the phone today, I managed to talk to all 3 moving companies provided to me by the hospital, and got the ball rolling on obtaining estimates. I called at least a dozen rental places, and have 3 appointments set up to look at apartment units to rent - all apartment complexes. One on Monday, and 2 on Tuesday. Today, I also called and scheduled my physical, and made an appointment to sign the employment paperwork. YIKES! My brain feels like mush. At least this morning, I had Matt to watch Cael while I made phone calls. Yesterday, I had to wrangle him while he climbed and got into everything, while I had my ear to the phone, and a pen in my hand. Talk about multitasking! I am Woman, hear me roar!!

Matt and I decided on trying to just rent an apartment complex, just to get down there. It was last on our preference list, with renting a house first, but I think it would be easier to rent a complex. We can do a 6 month lease, and once we're down there, look for a house to rent. The plan is to hopefully buy our own home within a year of being there! How incredible would that be!? It seems like just a few months ago, that thought didn't seem possible at all. I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but if all this works out the way we anticipate, I'll be making enough money to cover all our bills and have some left over to actually save. Saving money? What's that?! And then whatever job Matt gets will all be extra money we can save as well. And of course, we'll have my sign-on bonus to initially lean on until we get settled down there.

These complexes I'm looking at next week are gorgeous. Some have fireplaces, all have pools, all accept dogs, and 2 of the 3 have a fenced in dog park for us to let the dogs run around. Two of them are on the higher end of our rent budget, and will put us over our budget when we include utilities, but it's only short term. And I also estimated low on the budget, so we should have a little more than originally estimated, left over.

It's going to be crazy for me though, because it will be just Cael and me. I can only imagine how stressful and tiring it's going to be to chase after Cael, while looking at apartments AND filing out paperwork (hopefully both hospital and apartment paperwork). But it should be a nice trip there, and hopefully I'll be able to get a lot accomplished.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!!

Oh my goodness, where to start!? I have been slacking on my blog entries lately - I've been so busy. Between chasing after a toddler, doing errands, and the recent happenings going on our lives, I haven't had a chance. But finally, I have time to write.

First and foremost, I'll discuss the changes with breastfeeding. I've successfully managed to wean Cael from all nursing sessions during the day. Lucky for me, he didn't put up a fight when I dropped the session during the day, right before his nap. He whined a little that first day he didn't nurse before his nap, but fell asleep relatively quickly. And each following day got easier and easier. No fight whatsoever. I was really concerned about the possibility of going through hell dropping that feeding, but he did really well. That was about a week ago. He still nurses in the morning when he first wakes up, usually around 6 am, and then right before he goes to bed at around 8 pm. If he's not feeling well, or teething and wakes in the middle of the night, then I'll nurse him then too, but that hasn't been happening too often :::knocks on wood:::. He'll usually sleep through the night from 8 to 5-6 am, so I'm happy about that.

I'm surprisingly ok with weaning all daytime nursing sessions. I think because it was gradual, it made it easier on me. It makes the day so much easier, because he doesn't have to nurse if I'm out, and I don't get engorged. I'm happy that my breasts and milk supply have adjusted so well to the change. And I know I still have milk, because when he nurses in the morning and at night, and I compress my breast, milk will come shooting out. So it makes me happy to know it's still there, but I didn't have to go through engorgement issues. I'm happy with the nursing schedule we have now, and I hope it continues until Cael is at least 18 months old. That was my long-term goal. Anything past that is a plus. I do get looks and questions when people find out that I still nurse. But I don't care. It's such an important and intimate bonding experience between my son and I, and I will continue to do so for as long as I see fit. And there is no research anywhere  that suggests nursing past the age of 1 is harmful. In fact, it's quite the opposite. If Cael and I are happy, and it's benefiting both him and I, then we'll continue to nurse. :-)

Secondly, I've been slacking in the cloth diapering department. To be honest, Cael hasn't had a cloth diaper on in about a week. :( I know, I know. I'm extremely disappointed in myself. I've caved into disposables. And I don't have a real reason as to why, either. I always just found it easier to put him in a disposable when we go out, and of course he wears a disposable at night because he leaks really bad through the cloth diaper. And then when my mother-in-law watches him, I have her use disposables because it's easier for her. So since we use them at night and with my mil, I have them around, and I'm more tempted to just reach for them. I'm going to make a much better effort to start using them again.

Finally, the biggest change and update of all! No, we are not pregnant. I'm returning back to work full-time! In another state!! Yes, Matt, Cael and I are moving to northern Virginia at the end of November. After many discussions between Matt and I, and a lack of jobs here, we decided that we would look elsewhere. Since our friends moved to VA last year that was always an option. So the search for jobs began there. And BAM! Tons of jobs are posted in the Fredericksburg, VA area. After months of thought and debating, and MONTHS and MONTHS of struggling financially, I finally decided to take the leap, and apply to a few ultrasound positions in VA. Within HOURS, I got a personalized e-mail from HR, expressing interest in my resume, and that they wanted to do a phone interview. I applied on Monday October 1st. Three and a half weeks ago. Yes. Weeks!

Enter a roller coaster of emotions! Honestly, I only gave into Matt and applied for the position because he wanted to really move down there, and there was nothing here. At that point, I just did it to shut Matt up. I didn't really want to move down there. I didn't want to go back to work. What had I done!? I didn't want to move, and leave my friends and family. I was disappointed, sad and terrified. But. But they responded to me within hours. Am I that desirable? Could this be a good opportunity? I guess we'll have to see how the phone interview goes.

I had my phone interview on Thursday the 4th, and it went well. She was impressed, and said that she would definitely pass my application along to hiring manager. The next step would be a technical assessment, and she said I will definitely be hearing from someone shortly. Wonderful I thought. I don't want this. I don't want to move. But deep down inside, I was starting to feel something. What is it...is that...excitement?? Shhh!! Don't tell Matt!

The next week on Wednesday I think, I had a surprise phone call from the chief sonographer at the imaging center for women. I was completely caught off guard, but our conversation went even better than the first phone interview. We were on the phone for over an hour, and I was so comfortable speaking to her. She did character questions, we talked about my breast ultrasound experience, equipment, etc. She told me that she is definitely impressed with me, and she would love to have me visit the hospital for an on-site meeting/interview. Say what!?!? I said that I would be more than willing to do that. I asked her when they were looking to fill the position. Her answer? As soon as you can come down here. Whenever you can start. WHAT?!?? Not, "As soon as we find the right candidate," or "As soon as we are finished interviewing candidates." It was as soon as YOU. Holy.Fuck.

The next day, I got a call from HR again, confirming that I wanted to come on-site. I agreed, and she said she would send me the hotel information via email, and that the hospital would cover the costs of our hotel stay. I got the hotel reservations on Friday the 12th. We were going to VA Tuesday night, and staying until Thursday. This is going way to fast. WAY too fast for me to deal with!

Virginia is beautiful, I have to admit that. The hospital is beautiful. This would be a nice place to work and live. Everyone was so nice, especially at the hotel. It was a 1 bedroom suite we stayed in, and the entire staff was so friendly. I told one person that I had a job interview, and before I knew it, everyone was saying "good luck on your interview!", or asking how my interview went. Wow. It's crazy, and almost sickening, how nice everyone is.

I went on my interview on Wednesday the 17th. I first toured the on-site daycare center, which was really nice. A bit pricey, but I love that it's curriculum and education based. Plus, they have an open door policy, so I can call or visit anytime I want. Perfect! Then the recruiting rep took me on a tour of the hospital, bought me lunch, and then we headed over to the woman's center. I met with the chief sonographer and she showed me around the center. We talked for a while, and then she had me scan.

I knew I'd be scanning someone, and I thought it would all come back to me like riding a bike. Well, let me tell you, I felt like a complete.failure. She was quizzing me on abdominal anatomy that I SHOULD have known. But because it's been a couple years since I've scanned general ultrasound, I was really sketchy and iffy on the answers. And even got some answers wrong. I told her to let me scan breast, because that is where I really shine. So I did, and she was impressed with my scanning. Since the center scans 85% breast, she was more concerned about how I scanned breast, and because I did well, she wasn't concerned about my incorrect answers, or discomfort with scanning general. I, on the other hand, was very upset. I hate being wrong, especially when it's about something I know I know well. I just need a refresher, and she said that is something I can work on.

After I scanned, she told me that she definitely wants me to join their team. I told her I would love that, and then she said she would inform HR, and I'd be hearing from them. Holy.Fuck. I'm going to be getting a job offer!

I'll skip the other details and get right to it. I got a call on Friday from the recruiter in HR, and she offered me the position! Unfortunately, the hourly pay was a little less than I needed in order for us to move down there with just my salary. Matt and I had been crunching numbers and figuring out different scenarios, and we knew what I needed in order to move there. She also told me that they would cover my relocation expenses up to $8000!! I tried to negotiate salary with her, but she informed me that the salary is created using a formula, and there will probably be little leeway for negotiating. She said that she would talk to the manager, and if they couldn't increase the salary, maybe they could do something like a sign-on bonus for me. Perfect! I hung up, and waited for the phone call. A couple of hours later, she made me an "offer I couldn't refuse."

Salary would remain the same, $8000 towards relocation AND a $10,000 sign-on bonus. Excuse me, what? I told her I would call her right back, and I called Matt at work. I told him what they just offered me, and he nearly shit himself. My same reaction. He said that is something we can definitely work with, and even though the salary is less, we will be more than okay with that sign-on bonus (which I get in my first paycheck) until Matt can find a job. I called her back, and accepted the offer. How could I not?

I got my hire letter via e-mail today. My start date is December 3rd, in which I have to do 1.5 days of orientation. I have to so much to do! I have pre-employment paperwork to fill out, pre-employment physical to do, renew my CPR, oh and yea, FIND A PLACE TO LIVE all in 5 weeks! We want to be there the last week in November, which, unfortunately, is around Thanksgiving. But maybe we can have our first Thanksgiving there with our best friends. Not to mention I have to solicit estimates from 3 moving companies for my relocation costs.

What an amazing opportunity. At this point, I'm still really upset about moving, in addition to feeling sad and terrified. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited. What an incredible offer and opportunity for me. We can finally be out on our own, and we won't be struggling. We won't be living paycheck to paycheck, and we can give Cael everything we want; give him things we didn't have growing up. I'm not a big fan of change, but I think this change is worth the stress and anxiety.