The things kids say......

Jackson started kindergarten here on Tue. It's an all day kindergarten. In Utah he onle has class for about 2 1/2 hours in the morning. We don't have that option here. When I picked him up after his first day he said "Mom, that was the longest kindergarten I have EVER been too! I don't want to go anymore." But he has kept going and he seems to like most of it. They have a lot of extra play things in their classroom and they get to do extra classes like art, music, and PE. It's been a little hard to have him gone that long everyday. I'm not used to it. It's probably better for him than being cooped up in the hotel though. Hopefully it keeps going well.

The other day Maggie kept saying something I didn't understand so I told her to ask in a different way. She said "You want me to change it? Do you want me to say it in Spanish?" Not exactly what I meant but entertaining none the less.

Hailey is starting to pick up a few more words. She has been the latest talker for us so far. She will say apple, ball, meow, woof, night night, hi daddy, sometimes the names for the rest of us, and no. She will sign eat, drink, swim, and bath. She is just now starting to get frustrated with us when we don't understand her so maybe that will motivate her language skills a little.

Quiet time.....

 

 

The kids have watched entirely too much TV since we've been in the hotel. Commercials have been a revelation to them. Maggie wants EVERYTHING. Luckily all we have to say is that we will add it to her birthday list and she is happy with that. Jackson wants some things for him but he is especially alert to things for me. The other day he saw a commercial for hair coloring and he was so excited. "Mom, you can chose any color you want and your hair will be so healthy! Don't you want that?"

Hailey has been taking her naps really well most of the time. This should be a good transition out of the crib for her.

Highlight of the hotel

 

The kids have really loved having such easy access to a pool. It definitely means we go swimming a lot more. It has a 2 foot shallow end that works really well for building Maggie's confidence. All three of them have really gotten more confident in the water. Jackson is still a bit of a dare devil. He will dive, try to do flips and get things off the bottom. After watching some older kids the other day Jackson tried a backflip - yikes. We told him not to do that anymore but I wish I would've seen it coming. He is so tough and daring with some things but then so emotional and whiny about others. Maggie will swim with fewer flotation aides :) and has even started jumping into the shallow water. She still doesn't like to get her head wet but doesn't mind going out in the deeper water with floaties. Hailey doesn't mind going under at all and thinks it's pretty funny. She will put on the arm floaties and just swim around a little on her own. She is another one that is a little unpredictable. You just never quite know what she is going to be brave enough to do - with or without you! We will miss the pool when we leave the hotel.

Laundry......

 

 

Laundy. Laundry. Laundry. There is nothing like a small space to show you how much laundry builds up in a week. We have been going to the laundry mat once a week to do it all at once. It has pros and cons. It only takes two hours to get a weeks worth of laundry done at once but..... you are all cooped up there while you wait. The kids get bored which leads to creativity which usually leads to them getting into trouble somehow. I really miss having an "in-house" laundry room. We are looking at an apartment in a building that, at least, has a laundry room in the building. That's a step up :)

Snow anyone?

 

This is what that huge storm in early Feb. brougt out here. This was the snowfall in about a 24 hr period. It shut down everything for about a week. Schools especially. I think because it just takes them so long to get all the roads plowed. Since snowfall like this happens so rarely they just don't have the manpower or resources to keep up with it when it does. Matt's work even has the option of snow days. We were not prepared for this either. It's not like we packed a snow shovel for hotel living. It took quite awhile to dig the car out. The little red car was completely covered. If you didn't remember where your car was parked it would be very difficult to find. Luckily Gram and Papa had arrived with our 4 wheel drive Pilot just a few days before. They also had snow clothes for the kiddos. It was fun to play in the snow for a little while but snow that deep makes it hard for the little ones to get around in :) It definitely put our house hunting, lot looking on hold. It was hard to find parking spots in the parking lots because the plows made huge piles of snow in the middle of everything. This was the largest snowfall in 17 years or something. At least we had the option to stay holed up.

Amtrak

 

There is an Amtrak station near here in Cumberland, MD. Matt's parents drove our big car out here from Utah so the rest of us could fly.... after delivering the car they decided to take the train where they needed to go. It was very exciting to go and see them off. The kids loved seeing the train come in and everyone load up. The brakes on the train are very, very loud!! Jackson was sad to see the train leave. He really misses Gram and Papa when they are away.

Hotel living

 

Just like home..... this is at the hotel where we have now been for a month. The kids have really handled it well. It's been rough being cooped up in a small space but we are managing.
We had hoped to get into an apartment this week. I found one that we thought would work well but when we went back to sign the lease it smelled funny. It didn't take long to realize that it was cigarette smoke residue. We really, really hate that. So we talked it over with the landlord and it looks like he will update the apartment for us.... rip out the carpet and put in laminate, new fixtures, some new cabinets etc.... Which is great - but it means a few more weeks at the hotel. Darn!

 

Maggie and Hailey - sometimes friends - sometimes enemies :)

 

We do have a nice view outside of our room. The hotel pool is directly across from our room. It makes it really nice to get back and forth when we go swimming and someone little munchkin has to go potty. The kids also love to just watch others as they swim. Hailey has started to sign 'swim' to us frequently. I just put some arm floaties on her the other day and she loved it. She just hangs out and kicks around on her own.

I should post a picture of our 'pantry'. Otherwise known as the top of the TV cabinet. It's covered in food for us to eat here. Using our mini microwave and fridge...... I am ready for a real kitchen again.

Old news....

 

This is old news but I thought I would document it anyway. It's from our house hunting trip to Maryland in mid-Jan. Hailey was always very helpful with the bags. We looked at a lot of houses!! We were out here from Wed-Sun. We didn't find any houses that we really liked. That was a little depressing. Especially since we had decided to come out with Matt when he started work. We had debated staying in Utah a little longer. After getting back to Utah we had 5 days to get ready to move. That was rough but during those few days the Utah house went under contract! It's now mid-Feb and it's completely sold. That's a little sad. We liked that house and our neighborhood. It's sad that it's not a part of our lives anymore - the house anyway - the people, though, have made an impact forever.

Outgoing kids.....

The other day there was guy outside our hotel smoking. He opened the door for us on our way in and Jackson just couldn't resist....
Jackson: "You shouldn't be smoking. It will turn your lungs black."
Smoker guy: "Yeah, I know."
Jackson: "My parents taught me to never smoke. It's very bad."
Smoker guy: "They're right. It is."
Me: "Sorry if he's giving a little too much advice."
Smoker guy: "That's ok. I need to hear it."

Obviously the guy was really nice about it. This is not the first time Jackson has done this. He seems to think of it as a personal crusade to stop people from smoking.
It's an ambitious goal and a good one. I guess I should just get over worrying about what people think and let the kiddo do what's right :)

It all started this last summer when we went to WA to visit my family. There was a guy smoking outside a building and Jackson told him he should stop because it was very bad for him. The guy said "You're right. I am going to put it out right now because you told me to." and he did. So Jackson thinks he has the power to make people stop smoking.

Hmm. Where are we now?

We put our Utah house up for sale around mid Jan. We came out to Maryland for a house hunting trip, went back to Utah for 5 days then returned to the East permanently. At least for now :) We are now holed up in our temporary housing - a hotel room. I had hoped it would have some sort of mini kitchen, it is a suite after all, but it only has a small fridge and microwave. That's it. So we are getting a little creative with our meals. Matt has started work and seems to enjoy it. We only had one car until today so the kids and I have been pretty much hotel bound. There is and indoor pool literally outside our door so we have been swimming a few times. We have continued house hunting A LOT and we haven't found anything we really like. Yikes. However, after only a week and a half on the market our Utah house went under contract!! Yes! That means if we actually find a house here that we like we could buy it :) Although we are strongly considering building a brand new house. Crazy. I hate that it would take about 6 months - I would really like to move into a house tomorrow - but building prices are really good right now and here, anyway, the older home prices are extremely high. Example: we can buy a 1960 -1970 home for $200,000 or we could build a new one for $200,000-$225,000. Isn't that crazy?
So next on the list is to decide for sure if we are going to build, then find something to rent for awhile - the rest of the pregnancy actually, and finally get Jackson registered for school out here. I have put it off as long as possible so I wouldn't have to make him change schools again but I don't think we are going to be able to avoid that. He is very sad to be moving. His emotions are on a high roller coaster right now. Maggie is handling it ok but asks every once in awhile when we can go home. Hailey hates being cooped up in a hotel room. I could probably just sleep all day every day if there weren't three little ones to keep me up :) This pregnancy is still pretty rough. I'm not sick anymore but still extremely tired!!