Moving Day and the First Night in the New House

It’s so hard to believe it’s been over FOUR WEEKS since moving day!  It seems like yesterday in many ways, though, and I’m thankful I still remember some of the sweet details.  I definitely want to capture those before any more time slips by and I completely forget!

I originally had a different game plan for getting the girls to school on moving day but that fell through the day before the big move.  I was so incredibly thankful that Miss Demara, M&C’s mom, was off that day.  It was a huge stroke of luck that, particularly on very short notice, she was able to pick up the girls and take them to school in her van, which is obviously outfitted with two perfectly-sized car seats.

The girls didn’t mind that I wouldn’t be taking them to school.  They were super tickled to be riding in M&C’s carseats!

It dawned on me that morning that no one – apart from my husband and me – had ever driven the girls anywhere.  It was almost surreal to wave goodbye to them as they pulled out of my driveway.  They were smiling and waving back, flashing the “I love you” sign all the way.

I had scheduled “Aunt” S and “Aunt” K to pick up the girls from school.  They found their way to the bookstore, where they enjoyed a cookie and milk, and then a seat on Aunt S’s lap to read some books.  I know they had such a fun time!

The girls got home – to the new house! – just after Daddy did, the movers still having a few minutes to finish things up.  They were very excited, but thankfully not “wild”.  :)

The girls’ room was already set up, and I made sure they had everything they’d need for a relatively normal night-night, including a favorite bedtime story.  Miss Demara brought over supper, which was a huge blessing. 

We were running a bit behind our normal schedule, but we held our bedtime routine as close to “normal” as possible.

I put the girls in bed, bid them goodnight with the same words I’ve used since before they were born, and I closed the door to their room.

I was a bit nervous, knowing they were in a new space, of course, AND with this being their first night in big-girl beds.  I was listening to them over the monitor, and I thought I heard some commotion.  I went upstairs, maybe 30 minutes after I’d tucked them in.  I didn’t hear anything, so I turned out the light in the hall to head downstairs. 

I then heard B whisper, “She just turned it off.”  For some reason, that still strikes me as hilarious.  The girls always call me “Mommy” – to me, and to each other, and to anyone else.  I think that’s the first time I’d heard them use a standard pronoun.

I shrugged it off, though, and went back downstairs to sweep the floors.  Hubby had gone back to the old house for a few more items, so I was alone with my [supposedly] sleeping babes.

There was not a sound in the house, as we didn’t yet have cable or internet service.  I was exhausted, having had a couple of very late nights prior to the move, and an extremely full day of directing traffic.  I was lulled into cleaning mode when something caught the corner of my eye.

There stood Baby B, silently, at the bottom of the staircase.

YIKES!!!

I tried not to show my surprise, but to calmly show her back to bed.

On the way upstairs, we talked about calling Mommy if she needed something.  You do not come downstairs for me.  I will come to you.

My heartbeat eventually fell back into a normal pace, and the girls eventually went to sleep without further incident.

That was a day of many firsts, for sure…some very sweet, some bittersweet, and some downright hilarious…which is really pretty fitting.