8 days to go!!!

Only 8 days to go until we become the proud owners of a new (to us) house!

Moving is never pleasant, but this seems to be an easy move, despite the fact that we have a house full of stuff. I think this is thanks, in part, to a very detail oriented Realtor, who insisted that we pack away a lot of personal items and organize closets to make them look roomier, and minimize on clutter. We followed that advice for the most part, and organized every closet. I gave 4 very large trash bags full of clothes and shoes to Goodwill, threw away much of the stuff that was just sitting in a closet unused, and categorized things into storage bins in closets. I've packed a majority of the glasses and dishes we seldom use and stored them neatly in the cavernous under-stairs closet.

Today I'm going to find more things to pack. Brian is out fishing with the boys, which gives me some much appreciated time to get productive. We plan to move all of the small stuff, like clothes, boxes, fragile things, lamps, soft furnishings, etc., ourselves, then after we get back from our trip, we'll have movers do the rest.

As I look around my downstairs, I'm suddenly struck with the feeling that I'll miss this house. It was, afterall, my first house. The first time since moving to the U.S that I've actually established roots and dared to call a place home. Made the transition from home being with my parents in Stoke on Trent, to home being here in Austin. But missing this house is completely overshadowed by the excitement I feel when I think about our new house. I can't wait to cook a meal in my gorgeous new kitchen. I can't wait to have a reason to use the double oven. I can't wait to see Brian's face the first time he parks his car in the garage and we still have room for 2 more!

I probably should mention a little bit about how The Kid is doing these days. He's very active. You can actually feel him kicking if you put your hand on my stomach now. Everyone else thinks it's so cool. That's because they are not the ones getting kicked. He expresses a preference for my bladder, of all organs available for him to kick, and the occasional rib. Perhaps it's just that I feel the bladder kicks because it makes me have to pee. Pregnancy boredom is setting in for me. I am tired of the moving around, I'm tired of feeling winded when I go up the stairs, and I'm tired of the "warg!" noises I make when getting up from sitting, or bending down, or getting in and out of the car. I'm also tired of the constant pressure in my lower abdomen. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss the days of the second trimester when I would forget that I'm pregnant because I felt great. The good news, though, is that I've made the transition from feeling disappointed that I'm not having a girl, to relieved that I'm having a boy. I think the turning point was when Brian agreed to the name. Now I'm actually looking forward to having a son. When I think about how much fun Brian is going to have with him, and when I think about all the times I'm going to get to see Brian's face light up when his son does something for the first time, it actually makes this all worth it. As for me, well let's just say I still don't like kids, but I will like mine ;-)