Moving

I'm exhausted...we finally have a new house, and are moving this week, but in the days preparing for it, we've been painting, cleaning, transporting awkward items; transporting precious breakable items...and trying to keep a 4.5yr old entertained, excited about his new space, and calm because everything this changing.

For an adult, we can go for a run, take stress pills, take additional vitamin B & C, meditate, do yoga, or whatever it is that 'works'. For the little guy, change is very scary, and we somehow have to create some 'normalcy' which is very difficult during a move. So although I'd like to keep working, packing, I do have to stop and play so he is able to adjust. He is also wanting more of our time than normal (he'll usually find things to play by himself for awhile before wanting someone to join in - but this past week, he doesn't want to do anything alone).

This past weekend I had help from friend and parents while hubby was away...I was still struggling to do what I felt needed doing and yet keep my son calm. Hubby is definitely better at redirection than I - we called him at one point and he had a great job for lil k to do - take paper/pen, walk around the house and draw what furniture is going to go where...that kept my son busy for about 5-10 minutes, but it was enough to calm him and he then found himself something to play with while we continued painting.

I joke that my husband is a big kid, and that's why he can come up with these fun activities to redirect my son's attention to avoid meltdowns...maybe he needs to come up with activities for me to redirect myself to avoid my meltdowns :)

reBlog from table4five.net: Tightwad Gazette Recipe for Laundry Stains | Table for Five

Drove by the house today - we close on Tuesday/take posession on Wed - looks like the previous owners have already moved out and left us their Bell satellite dish and a bench on the front porch!?!?

We're not finished packing, but a good portion was done on Saturday with the great help of my mother!  Alas I'm now in need of a couple of things that I told her to pack (I definitely wasn't thinking).  Although, I had to pack my Tightwad Gazette book - and of all times, D needed his beach referee shirts cleaned - stained collars from sunscreen didn't come out in the regular wash, so he needed the 'laundry stain remover' that I've been using out of that book for years...lucky for me, after googling, I came across a blog published today with the recipe!:

Of all the tips I picked up from the books, the one I have used the most is the recipe for laundry stain remover.  When you’ve got something really stained, like for example, when you are potty training a three year old who refuses to poop on the potty, you mix up this formula and soak the stained clothes in it. My experience has been that the clothes might not look brand-new, but the stains are significantly lightened. This is the formula:table4five.net, Tightwad Gazette Recipe for Laundry Stains | Table for Five, Jul 2009

Shirts are soaking as we speak - I'll be bookmarking this site for future reference!