The Craziness Truly Begins...

I know...it's been a while. Silly me, I actually thought I would have time to blog once my husband came home. As it turns out, we were extremely busy trying to get as much done as we could before he had to leave again for a 4 week school. Just a few of the things we managed to do:

-turned in passport paperwork/pictures
-scheduled our 3 moves (express, regular, and storage)
-finished our Overseas Screening physicals and dental appointments
-lots of household projects (like fixing a hole in the wall where the toilet paper holder used to be!..yes, that was the kids)
-going through lots of boxes trying to figure out if we really need this stuff for the next couple of years, especially if they stayed in boxes for the last 3 years
-turned in our old (big) SUV for a smaller CUV

We also managed to make a quick trip out to Oklahoma so Dean could see his family since he hadn't been home in 3 years. It wasn't the best timing, and it was a LONG drive, but it was nice to see everyone before we left. And while there, we got some excellent news: we found a renter!! They are only signing on for 18 months, but that's why we got a property manager...we'll just deal with it later when we need to. Meanwhile, that is one major weight lifted off my shoulders! Especially since it means I don't have to try to keep the house show-ready at a moment's notice - with organizing our moves, two small ones and one big dog, this is a big relief!!

Things we still need to do:

-ship our cars overseas.
(We decided to ship one of our cars ourselves (the Navy ships only one for free). Most families need two cars, and Dean was going to buy a used car once there. But we heard through the grapevine that the prices for used cars there are highly inflated! So we crunched the numbers and figured we would save a LOT of money just by shipping our paid-off car than buying a used one!)
-sort-out Laney's school/transcript stuff
-set up Jake's vet appointments/paperwork to bring him over
-deal with Pack-Outs and Pick-Ups by myself since Dean is gone, while trying to keep the kids and dog out of the way (UGH!)

So as I expected, this week is when the craziness truly begins. Besides the fact that Dean left for his school, and our first shipment (the Express one) is scheduled this week...I now have to deal with a medical issue for my son. His Dr. wanted him to be checked before he leaves for an eating problem he's had since he was born (couldn't they do this any time in the last 2 years, since I had been telling them there was a problem since day 1?!). So he now has 2 Dr appts this week I'm trying to fit in, as well as a very early procedure next week in DC (meaning, we have to leave by 5am to get there in time with the rush hour traffic). I really didn't need any extra stress added on, but I knew the move was not going to be the fun part of living overseas...it never is no matter where you go!! I'm just keeping my eye on the prize :)