My Neighbors are Corn Husks.

Gianna, Zoey and I have finally moved in with Hubs in Corn Country on the 18th.  (For those of you who do not know you can catch up on what I am talking about here & here .) I have been living here for a little over 10 days and finally have our place situated the way we like it.  Hubs moved into this place the week prior to us and had all the furniture and kitchen stuff in order by the time we got here. (I have such an awesome man.) There was still tons of stuff that needed to be done as always the case when you move into a new place so I have kept pretty busy these past ten days.   I am going to give you a quick evaluation of our new digs cuz I knew you are all dying to know.

The Pro's of Corn Country:

• I really really love the set up of our new place.  It's a bit larger than the home we own in Hometown and is much larger than anything we have ever rented.  This place has a very open floor plan and could have easily been a three bedroom unit.  We have a family room, a dining area, two bedrooms, laundry room, large kitchen, 1.5 bathrooms, and a large play area/craft station/guest area.  

This area right here is ALL MINE!

• The amount of storage in this place is amazing.  Both bedrooms have not one, not two but THREE closets.  My clothes and shoes die of happiness.  This does not include the cupboards in the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry room and the built in patio storage unit outside. For once we are not storing things under our beds and couch.  
• We have a gated outside patio area.  I can go outside with Zo and Gianna and have everyone contained to one area with plenty of space for us all.  
• We live in a nice area/neighbor hood.  We are a few miles from the downtown area and in a really safe part of town.  From the looks of it all of our neighbors are senior citizens so it's really quite and clean.

The Con's to Corn Country:

• We have a laundry room that has no washer or dryer so Hubs and I had to purchase one.  This was an expense that we were not planning on but with the amount of laundry we have there was no way I could go to the laundry mat every time I need to wash clothes.  It was a must.
• We had to purchase a microwave because this place did not have one either.  Not too big of a deal but yet again another expense that we were not planning on.
• There is no bath tub or laundry tub in this unit.  This posed a problem for bathing Gianna.  Hubs bought a handheld shower head and the duck tub so I can bath her, but Gianna is WAY to big for the duck tub. We are making due until we can figure something better out but as or right now its all we have.  Its like washing Gianna in a puddle.  

Duck tub + Gianna = giant fail. 

• Our place smells like cigarettes.  The past tenants must have smoked.  It's slowly going away or I'm just getting used to it.  It's the worst in Gianna's room.  Gross. 
• This town is really really small.  There is not much to do and not a whole lot of nothing going on.  I walked around the down town area on Saturday and it's really cute but like most of America it's hurting.  Many of the businesses are closing up or have already gone under.  It's really sad to see these beautiful historic buildings empty like that.  I have to shop at Walmart for my everyday needs, which is a crime in itself.  
• I cannot find good produce.  I have gone to one farmers market in town, Walmart, and the only other grocery store and everything looks like it's going bad and is super expensive.  I do not know how you can be surrounded by farms and not be selling fresh fruit and vegetables at a reasonable price.  Next time I need fruits and veggies am going to drive out of town to the local farms to get my produce. Hopefully I will have better results outside of this little town.
• It's so far away from everything.  It's an hour car drive to the two largest cities.  Eight hours + to home town.  So anytime we have errands major errands to make we have to make a day of it.  I have a lot going for the rest of this calendar year in Hometown which will require me to travel a lot back and forth btw Corn Country and Hometown.  I am so not looking forward to it.  Traveling back and forth multiple times with a little one is going to be very tough on all of us.  

Neutral Ground to Corn Country

• This place is like Mother Nature's own personal green house.  Its hot, so dang hot, and humid.  The sun will be shining one minute and then the next minute out of nowhere a thunder storm will roll though and then just like that.... poof.  Its gone.  It has rained here everyday since I have lived here but it usually only lasts for 20 mins tops.  Then the sun comes out and dries everything up like it as if the rain never came.  I can see why there are farms everywhere in this area.

Regardless of the Pro or Cons its good to be back living with Hubs.  I get my kiss goodbye in the morning before he leaves for work every morning while I am still sleeping.  When he gets home from work Gianna squeals with such delight that it melts my heart.  She then tries to crawl to him as quickly as possible but many times it results to her getting semi upset cuz she just can't get to him fast enough to her liking.  Hubs will then scoop her up in his arms and kisses her all over.  The smile on my loved ones faces when they embrace fills me up with so much love and happiness.  We then finish off the night with dinner with Hubs and snuggles on the couch.  Perfect.

Week One: Completed

Week one apart from Hubs has been completed and we are working on week two.  So far its not been too bad.... for me.  I have been keeping so busy with my family and its been amazing in that aspect.  Everyday I have something to do and someone to see.  Such a nice change of pace for me.  There were times when I lived in Hill Country that I felt so incredibly lonely from not knowing too many people.  You can only go to the grocery store or mall so many times during the week.  Here I have family and friends all over the place and its keeping my busy.  Now before you think I am a heartless woman.  I promise I am not 100% evil.  I swear.  I do miss my husband but its at night when Gianna is in bed and its quite in the house.  Its then that I miss having him next to me and when I just want to cuddle with him and talk about our days.

The Hubs on the other hand is having a much harder time with this separation than I am.  He is working long ass days and coming home to a empty hotel room and eating out every night.  It gets real old real fast. He misses his daughter.  He says that she changes every single day and he hates that he is not a part of it.  He has been looking at finding a place to live but being that its a very small town in the middle of nowhere there really is not a ton available.  In the meantime he is going to keep doing the 8 hour commute home every weekend to see his family.  ::SIGH::  It sucks.  Big time.

So I tell him, and myself, to take it week by week.  On Sundays when he gives me a slap on the ass and a long kiss goodbye I tell him that its only five days til we see each other again.  Five days is really not too long.  In the meantime we have been chatting via skype.  BEST INVENTION EVER!  Its like he is right here with us when in reality he is states away.  Gianna seems to love it too.  She smiles, talks and laughs at her dad while skyping with him.  Hubs sings her songs and makes silly faces.  Although their Daddy/Daughter rituals have changed it has not changed their relationship.  Gianna is still daddy's little girl.

New Beginnings.

Our little place among the hills.

Well, tomorrow is my last day at our place in Hill Country.  It feels all very bitter sweet.  This is the place where Hubs and I became a little family of two to three point five.  This is the only home Zoey and Gianna have ever really known.  Can't believe that we spent over a year and a half here.  It all went by so quickly.  We have been here longer than we planned but we have enjoyed our time in Hill Country.  Among many of our other memorable firsts it's the place where we potty trained our puppy, hosted our first holiday dinner with family, the home where we brought Gianna to from the hospital, and the place  where we documented her first smile.  Do not get me wrong, The Hubs and I constantly bitched about it just like I think anyone renting a place would.  It's not entirely yours so you cannot do as you please with it, but I am going to miss it.  It will always hold a special place in my heart for all the sentimental reasons and the memories that we made here.  Although if am I am going to be 100%  honest I am going to be glad to not live among these any more....

We have too much CRAP!  (Another pic taken from my phone cuz I am w/o a camera... AGAIN)

As corny as this is going to sound, I feel like our little family is closing a chapter in our book and beginning a new one.  It may not be the easiest road but what good book has easy simple plots with no challenges?  None that I enjoy reading.  Little by little we will figure it out and in the end do what's best for our family.  I know this chapter will bring us new challenges and new adventures, but my little family is up for it.  We will make it work. 

The Verdict Is In.

We are moving to Corn Country, Indiana.  It was confirmed to The Hubs yesterday afternoon.  They would like him there as quickly as next week.  If you have followed my story you may be wondering why the change?  Well, last week Monday we were to hear the final word on if we were moving to Chicago when someone in Corn Country put in his two weeks notice.  This job in Corn Country is a pretty important job for The Hubs company.  If they do well on this job and please the owners it could lead to further jobs and more massive amounts of money for the company.   This meant that once they heard that this employee was no longer going to be with them on the Corn Country job that they needed someone to fill that spot a.s.a.p.  So instead of hearing that we will be moving to Chicago last Monday we were hearing that there were emergency meeting in the corporate office to figure out who would be the best candidate to fill this dudes spot.  Of course The Hubs name came up and that is when our fate change from fun in the city to well, Corn Country.

We are now in hyper active fast forward speed mode... which I knew would end up happening no matter how much I tried to plan ahead, hence some of my anxiety.  We have a game plan, although it's not the most ideal it's a plan and the best we can do right now.  We are going to pack up a months worth of clothes and necessities for Gianna and I and this weekend we are going to move back to our place in Hometown.  We will stay there for at least two weeks to a month.  Meanwhile The Hubs will be in Corn Country living in a hotel scouring the small town for a place to live and evaluating if its safe enough city to raise our daughter in.  Once he finds a place in Corn Country he will have movers move all of our crap from Hill Country to Corn Country.  If all goes well we will be joining him in a month or so.  If not then G and I may live in Hometown throughout The Hubs stint in Corn Country which at this point is one year and he will fly home every weekend.  Confusing and hectic, right?

There are issues with living in Corn Country other than being in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do, and dying from boredom.  It is a small small town.  Housing is few and far in between, let alone housing that are pet friendly, have a washer/dryer, or even have two bedrooms.  We have Zozo.  We have a baby. We have loads and loads of laundry.  This may pose a problem.

My other issue with Corn Country is that its far away from EVERYTHING!  Airport is two hours away, Hometown is 8 hour drive, nearest city where there is a population over 120,000 is over an hour away. No major stores and not a whole lot going on.  I have been spoiled at this point.  I get to go home to Hometown very often.  My parents, sisters and in-laws get to see my daughter, not as often as I would like but they get to see her.  She knows who they are and they have to this point to watched her grow.  I know that if or when I move to Corn Country the visits from family will be slim to none not because they do not care but because to get to this little town in the middle of no where is sooo difficult.  Our trips back home with a little one and a dog are going to be just as difficult and will rarely happen.  We will be stuck there in a small town with nothing to do and no loved ones near us.

Our last issue and biggest worry is that from what we heard from The Hubs coworker's who already live there is that Corn Country has some pretty shady areas.  It's a well known fact in that area that some of the locals use the fertilizers from their neighborhood farmers to make meth in their homes.  I guess this tiny city in the middle of nowhere is a high meth trafficking area.  Just wonderful.  Above all the other issues we want to make sure that we are raising our daughter in an area where we do not have to worry about taking her to the park, playing in our front yard, or going for a walk on a nice evening night.

I am trying to be brave about it all.  It's only a year.  My marriage is strong our love for our child is even stronger.  We will do what's best for our family even if all of the options are not ideal.  We will make this work.  This job is an amazing opportunity for The Hubs.  I have to have faith that someone up there knows what He is doing.  Its only a year...

Mothers Day

My mothers day was just what the doctor ordered.  We didn't do a whole lot and that was A OK with me.  I spent most of my day on the floor rolling around and cuddling with Gianna and The Hubs.  It was nice not to be in a car all day long for once on a Sunday.  Usually on Sunday we are driving back to Hill Country from Hometown, a five hour drive.  It was hard and sad to not be spending this holiday with our own momma's but it was so nice to be just us with no pressure of the clock.  Usually when we are in Hometown we are driving back and forth btw the two families and then if time allots it, friends.  This weekend we said no traveling back and forth.  Its just going to be the three of us spending quality time together.  I think we all needed it.

I have been stressed out lately.  A ball of anxiety describes it a lot better.  My heart starts racing and I can feel the heat quickly shoot up to my face.   I can feel my eyes start to tear up and the lump grown in my throat.  Many times this anxiety begins when Gianna starts to fuss, and that is not all too often. Sometimes its when I feel pressured by the clock.  Need to get ready to be here or there by such and such time. Oh crap, Gianna just took a massive dump. Have to pack this up, make sure to bring an extra this or that.  Lately, its been happening more and more often for no reason.  I have to stop what I am doing, close my eyes and start taking deep breaths.

I am sure that most of these feelings are coming from the fact that our lease is up here in Hill Country at the end of this month and we still do not know where we are going to be moving to.  Plans may have changed and there is a high possibility that we are no longer moving to Chicago.  There is pull from management to have The Hubs move to a less than pleasant and semi dangerous area far far away from Hometown, an airport, or any semi major city.  This town is in the middle of corn fields.  I will not go into the gory details as to why I do not move there.  Its not necessary until we know for sure if this is what our future holds.  I am trying to not think about it or get worked up about it but I am failing miserably.  If this move occurs there will be a ton of tough decisions for my husband and I.  We keep telling each other that what is meant to be will happen and that God will do what's best for us.

So for my mothers day I spent time with the two people who matter the most to me.  My loving and supportive husband and the little girl who puts a smile on my face and amazes me every day.  We stayed in our pajamas well into the afternoon, ordered in dinner, and cuddled all day long.  Its a day that I will alway hold dear to my heart.

The Waiting Game

We are moving again. The Hubs job here in Hill Country is coming to an end and now its time to move on to the next job. The Hubs has been told that he would more than likely be moving to the Windy City, and that the start date to the new job would be mid May. That is less than a month. We started our research for a new place to live but have yet to set anything in line until we are given the 100% go ahead. We have been doing this for years now and I should be used to this kind of life but I am not. I am stressed to the max. No matter how much preparation The Hubs and I do it always seems to end the same way. Too much to do with too little time.

The Hubs went to the corporate office and met with the President and VP of his company to discuss his future plans. We were under the impression that after this meeting we would have a clear plan of what's next. The meeting lead to further positive discussions and negotiations which left things a bit murky for our relocation. It sounds like they still want us in the Windy City but they still need to work out the details. The Hubs asked if we should lock in a place in the Windy City and was told to wait a bit. The president and VP will get back to The Hubs in a week or so.

So we wait. And with each passing day my stress level increases.

Check out how cute my family is...

cuz it will be awhile until you see more photos from us.  Stupid me just realized that I left our camera charger back at our place in Home Town and after we took a few photos on Friday our camera died.  I am totally kicking myself.  How am I supposed to get a six month picture of Gianna on Thursday when I have no camera?  Do I go to the store and buy a new camera charger that I *may* only need for a week?

My parents may be visiting us this weekend and I asked them to stop at our place to pick up the various things that I so happened to have forgotten on our last visit home and bring it with them when they come here.  Oh yes, there is much much more that I accidently forgot to repack on our last visit to Home Town that we have just been living without over the past two weeks.  If they do not come then I will be SOL until we go to Home Town May 2nd.

This is just the shitty reality with living on the road.  You are always needing something, people places or things, that are just not where you are at.  We have solved some of the headache buy buying two of everything, but buying two of every.little.thing. adds up.  Living in two homes states away from each other sucks.  Living on the road just sucks.

I digress... so here is the cuteness that is us.

Can I bitch just for a second more????  Another thing that sucks with living on the road.... we rarely get pics of all three of us together as a family.  

Packing up and heading home

The family and I are heading home tomorrow.  I am super duper excited for this trip because I am staying for the week in Home Town while The Hubs drives back to our apartment in Hill Country for work.  I hate being away from him even for one night and being away from him Sunday through Friday is going to be extremely tough but at the same time I need this.  Even though I try to get out once a day these four walls in our apartment in Hill Country are closing in on me.  I think even G is getting antsy.  We need some more human interaction and we are going to get it back in Home Town by seeing family and friends.  I always feel so refreshed and ready to come back to Hill Country after a few days in Home Town. 

I already have some nights planned with people.  This is a big thing for me.  I am not a planner.  I am more of a play it by ear type of girl.  (Which I know drives everyone around me NUTS.) I plan on spending the day running errands and hanging out with my sister and baby Dante.  I even have a night out on the town with one of my besties planned!  I can CANNOT WAIT!  Momma needs this. 

Now I have to do the one thing that I hate and procrastinate the most but seem to have to do more often than not...pack.  Ah, the downside to gyspie life.