A beautiful fall day and nearing the end of the week. As the leaves turn bright shades of orange and brilliant yellow, my focus on seeking out the perfect harvest kitchen table for our new home seems well-timed. Mr. Lawyer wasn't too keen on an antique looking table or benches being more inclined to like the sleek and modern look but I hope to find the perfect table and convert him. Attempting to be diligent in finding the best deal, I've been scouring the Kijiji and Craigslist ads in anticipation of lady luck being with me and stumbling across the perfect table.
One of our friends is finally coming to look at our girl's clothes this weekend and I can only hope she will take quite a bit of the 18 - 24 month lot. My sister has also put her bid in for any of the funkier items for my niece. With the hope of emptying some of my bins I can start packing our summer clothes away. Well, my summer clothes are away already having already grown out of them but the gada of clothes for my daughters can finally go into storage or be given away.
I realized this week the amount of companies, schools, institutions, people I need to notify of our address change. A simple "change of address" email or card will not do but either personal correspondence, phone calls or in-person visits will be required along with a copy of our Sale of Purchase to prove we are the new owners at WXX Road. My poorly handwritten list, done while waiting for my younger daughter's gym class to end, is already a page long and growing. I will need to convert that to one of my favorite excel spreadsheets this weekend. One positive note by identifying all of these people/institutions I may be able to cut some items, like the national newspaper we receive daily and late to our front doorstep. Are we really going to have time to read this with Baby #3 on the way or can Mr. Lawyer do without his sports section each morning? Our land line will be gone since we both use our mobile phones for everything. Are we watching all the digital cable channels through our cable company? It's almost refreshing and certainly overdue to review all of these items and simplify some items in our life.
So, what's on the to-do list the next few days? Finalizing my moving to-do checklist and target date list and notification list, start packing summer clothes away and next week - reviewing all of the literature on moving companies we've been bombarded with the last few weeks to find the perfect moving company.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
September 17, 2010
A few days later and I've been investing my little free time with internet searching for a few pieces of key furniture for our new home.
Thankfully, our new house is move-in and live condition. Perfect for a busy family. That's why Mr. Lawyer and I chose it. After buying our first home together pre-kids with only our adorable lab Jake and cat Wilhelm, we knew there was work to be done on the house. We took it on and each year we chose our projects with care and with a budget. It felt good to improve our 37 year old home. Now, all I can dream about is a home where the most I have to worry about is whether I like the current paint colours and am awaiting the day I finally have my own ensuite bathroom. What little luxuries it takes to make one happy!
Another bonus is that our current furniture, a mixture of leftover university pieces, average quality, inexpensive pieces with a few "splurge" items, fits into our new home. We will of course, upgrade each year but there are only two must-have items that I would like ready to be shipped on our moving week: a new bedroom set for our soon to-be 5 year old and a kitchen table.
Beginning my search online, viewingfurniture for a little girl that will grow with her into her teenage years is both exciting and frustrating! Budget of course is always an issue. How much do you spend for excellent quality without being ridiculous? I'm not a bargain shopper. I see something I like, I get it. I try to compare costs and will usually get a few prices but unlike others around me who will spend months seeking out the "best deal" I would rather pay a bit more and hit my deadline.
Questions arise: Do you get sleigh bed, but what if she's super tall? Is white to "little girlish?" How much input should she have? The lack of Canadian suppliers online is a concern, after all how much time and energy does a working, busy Mom of two have to score the few shops in my area or visit possible used furniture stores that may have the perfect antique bed? Online ordering would be ideal, but I did that once and the quality was disappointing for the price so I'm not keen to order online again but want to feel and smell the wood of the twin bed and dresser.
The kitchen table is another matter. Romanticizing my family using our new space as "the gathering place" looking through the large windows to our backyard while the kids quietly complete their homework as I make a gourmet dinner, this table needs to be just right! A long, rectangle table with benches seems to make sense in order to fit our growing family. Round will just not do. From my only visit to the house, I "think" a wood table in dark brown/black will correspond nicely with the open concept kitchen.
Spending some time recognizing what I want, the question is, will I be able to find the time to seek out my desired pieces by November 1st? I've enlisted my mother to keep an eye out (she loves to send me pictures from her iPhone) of things she thinks will work and I need to book into my schedule, furniture looking.
Next on the list, besides continuing to offload my girl's clothes is to start packing the summer clothes away. The weather has turned cool and I think it's safe to fold up the summer dresses for another year. As well, moving companies - need to go through the huge pile of advertisements we've been sent in the last few weeks. Two items to try and start this weekend in between an overnight wedding and planning another week of fabulous Mom lunches for my kindergarten girl.
Thankfully, our new house is move-in and live condition. Perfect for a busy family. That's why Mr. Lawyer and I chose it. After buying our first home together pre-kids with only our adorable lab Jake and cat Wilhelm, we knew there was work to be done on the house. We took it on and each year we chose our projects with care and with a budget. It felt good to improve our 37 year old home. Now, all I can dream about is a home where the most I have to worry about is whether I like the current paint colours and am awaiting the day I finally have my own ensuite bathroom. What little luxuries it takes to make one happy!
Another bonus is that our current furniture, a mixture of leftover university pieces, average quality, inexpensive pieces with a few "splurge" items, fits into our new home. We will of course, upgrade each year but there are only two must-have items that I would like ready to be shipped on our moving week: a new bedroom set for our soon to-be 5 year old and a kitchen table.
Beginning my search online, viewingfurniture for a little girl that will grow with her into her teenage years is both exciting and frustrating! Budget of course is always an issue. How much do you spend for excellent quality without being ridiculous? I'm not a bargain shopper. I see something I like, I get it. I try to compare costs and will usually get a few prices but unlike others around me who will spend months seeking out the "best deal" I would rather pay a bit more and hit my deadline.
Questions arise: Do you get sleigh bed, but what if she's super tall? Is white to "little girlish?" How much input should she have? The lack of Canadian suppliers online is a concern, after all how much time and energy does a working, busy Mom of two have to score the few shops in my area or visit possible used furniture stores that may have the perfect antique bed? Online ordering would be ideal, but I did that once and the quality was disappointing for the price so I'm not keen to order online again but want to feel and smell the wood of the twin bed and dresser.
The kitchen table is another matter. Romanticizing my family using our new space as "the gathering place" looking through the large windows to our backyard while the kids quietly complete their homework as I make a gourmet dinner, this table needs to be just right! A long, rectangle table with benches seems to make sense in order to fit our growing family. Round will just not do. From my only visit to the house, I "think" a wood table in dark brown/black will correspond nicely with the open concept kitchen.
Spending some time recognizing what I want, the question is, will I be able to find the time to seek out my desired pieces by November 1st? I've enlisted my mother to keep an eye out (she loves to send me pictures from her iPhone) of things she thinks will work and I need to book into my schedule, furniture looking.
Next on the list, besides continuing to offload my girl's clothes is to start packing the summer clothes away. The weather has turned cool and I think it's safe to fold up the summer dresses for another year. As well, moving companies - need to go through the huge pile of advertisements we've been sent in the last few weeks. Two items to try and start this weekend in between an overnight wedding and planning another week of fabulous Mom lunches for my kindergarten girl.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September 14, 2010
Staying the course of my goal this week of attempting to offload my numerous girl clothes, here is what is available in 3-6 months.
5 long sleeved u/s (Old Navy, Children's Place, Joe Fresh, Petit Bateau) = $15
2 sleepers = $5
Pink Robeez Boots = $8
3 pairs of pants = $10 (European brands)
Gap Fleece Pink Pants = $12 (worn once)
Children's Place Polka Dot Dress = $12
Yellow Summer Dress (European brand) = $10
Pink Summer Dress with hat = $8
First Impressions Yellow Flower Dress with hat = $15
Petit Len Reversible Flower Hat (Yellow inside) = $8
*Not pictured - pictures available on request
3 undershirts = $10
Roots organic cotton t-shirt = $8 (worn once)
1 Baby Gap Jean Jacket = $8
1 Pumpkin Patch Fleece sweater/jacket = $5
5 Summer Jumpers = $25 (most worn only once or twice)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Step One - out with the old.
September 13, 2010
Having found out our third and final child is a boy, (and receiving flowers from Mr. Lawyer who was so happy to have some testosterone entering our home) I have decided to purge all of the cute little girls clothes we have.
In a cleaning frenzy last year, I did give away quite a bit of our newborn and baby clothes and kept the really cute or unique pieces. Having a rapidly growing 2 year old who is already fitting into her older sister's clothes, we have a bins full of clothes from the last six months that have to go. We have been very fortunate that my father-in-law, who lives overseas, is spending his retirement buying and shipping enough clothes for our girls that I could set up my own ebay shop but now that packing is becoming a certain reality, I need the bins.
Project for this week:
Attempt to sell all the "too small" girls clothes. I have never entered the commerce world of gently used children's clothes but any funds I can raise to help offset the costs of moving would be welcome by our bank account.
What cannot be sold will be given to key chosen friends/family members.
Then out of that, the remainder will be given to a chosen charity.
After researching pricing options and taking pictures I am ready to start.
First round: Size: Newborn (0-3 months)
Robeez Princess 0-6 mths (worn once) = $10
Robeez Pink Sandals 0-6 mths = $8
Purple Dress = $10
3 hats = $10
Rest of NB clothes (Lot including summer dress, Children's Place pink dress jumper, Calvin Klein undershirts, Long-sleeved undershirt (Europe brand), Children's Place white sweater, Baby gap long sleeved pink shirt, Old Navy jeans, 2 velour sleepers, 1Joe Fresh sleeper) = $20
The Countdown is on..
September 13, 2010
After dropping off my 4 year old (Tali) to her first day of JK, hurrying home to get a hug from my 2 year old (Amy) to make me feel better and planning out the rest of my day, at the top of my list beside my work items is, "create blog."
I have decided to attempt to create a blog about "The Adventure of Moving." Millions of people move every day. Moving is painful and stressful, but it can also be an adventure, or at least I'm hoping to have this perspective at the end. The goals of this blog will help keep my focused on my task of trying to move (with a sense of adventure!) my entire household including 2 small kids, Mr. Lawyer (the husband), the nanny, and our dog Jake, while working at my own business and being 22 weeks pregnant with our unexpected, but welcome, third child.
The goal: Successful move to our new home
Final date: November 6, 2010
Countdown to move: 55 days
Wish us luck!
After dropping off my 4 year old (Tali) to her first day of JK, hurrying home to get a hug from my 2 year old (Amy) to make me feel better and planning out the rest of my day, at the top of my list beside my work items is, "create blog."
I have decided to attempt to create a blog about "The Adventure of Moving." Millions of people move every day. Moving is painful and stressful, but it can also be an adventure, or at least I'm hoping to have this perspective at the end. The goals of this blog will help keep my focused on my task of trying to move (with a sense of adventure!) my entire household including 2 small kids, Mr. Lawyer (the husband), the nanny, and our dog Jake, while working at my own business and being 22 weeks pregnant with our unexpected, but welcome, third child.
The goal: Successful move to our new home
Final date: November 6, 2010
Countdown to move: 55 days
Wish us luck!
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