"Homesick", hormonal, or just plain tired?

It's an odd situation to be in, the one where you're in-between leaving an old life and starting a new one. We've been in Minnesota now for nearly four weeks, and of course are thankful to be fortunate enough to receive Andy's promotion and have the generosity of family to stay with, but it hasn't felt like we're actually living here yet. At least not to me. Last night I was struck with the realization that I had an entire life back in Indiana, and as I see pictures of my friends carry on with their life - the life that I normally would be part of - it makes me sad to think I'm not there. Regardless I would miss that and them, but I think it's a little more difficult since we haven't settled into a home here yet, and are having a hard time finding one, and that I haven't lived the normal daily things that I typically do. If I think about it... it has been an overload of constant stress for the last two+ months. First with packing, finishing up jobs, saying goodbyes, trying to sell our house... to the actual moving part, being away from Andy for two weeks, searching for a house, looking at house after house to be disappointed, living out of suitcases, and feeling like I'm intruding on the lives of those I'm staying with. :) So maybe I'm just tired. Or maybe I'm just hormonal.

The day has come!

On Sunday I thought I felt the baby move while driving in the car for 3 hours to my brother's house (my temporary place of residence). But it ended up being just gas.

Nice.

All day yesterday something strange was happening with my tummy and my chest, and I couldn't really figure out what was going on. I asked my sister-in-law what her heartburn felt like when she was pregnant and realized that I was having heartburn. It felt like someone was pushing on my chest and I slightly had a hard time breathing. Part of the problem solved. At 10 o'clock at night I was sitting on the couch by myself, everyone had already gone to bed, and my stomach lurched again - suddenly it finally hit me that I'd been feeling the baby move all day! YAY!!! I've been so excited to feel that from the moment I found out I was pregnant. And by the time I realized it everyone was in bed and I didn't have anybody to share it with. ;) That's okay, it's been fluttering quite a bit today again- very cool :)

Watch, I probably won't be saying that in a month or two when its constantly kicking me, but I'm enjoying it for now!

Also, my sister-in-law's midwife told her that if you can pinpoint what day you first feel your body move and then count five months from that day - that's your due date. Not sure if that's true or not, but if it is I'd be a couple weeks early! A girl can hope, right? :) But I've already programmed in my head the baby won't be born until February... that way if I'm on time, or early (not likely), I'll be surprised.

The Process

Well, it's two weeks later and I am still exhausted and stressed. I don't think that feeling will stop until we finally settle into our own place. After staying with my parents for two weeks while Andy traveled to Chicago, and back and forth from Minneapolis for training, we moved in with my brother and his family. We are only an hour away from Andy's work and our soon-to-be home town, hopefully things won't feel so stressful now that traveling has been cut back quite a bit.

I'm in the process of trying to find a home for us. I'm trying not to be too picky, but I want to like where we live if we're going to be there for the next year or two. I really don't want to live in apartment. It's really hard to go from owning a big whole home to moving into a smaller place, and I really had my hopes set on finding a house to rent. But so far, nothing. I have one option, an apartment that only has four units in the building and its outside of town and even has a nice view of a lake, but just the fact that its an apartment is stopping me from getting it. I don't love it, there is a couple of things I don't like about the place - I can't paint, which isn't a surprise, but I really wanted to do a nursery for the baby, so I'm a little bummed about that. And the layout of the living room is kind of impractical, and there is a couple of other things I dislike. Am I being too picky? I figured if I don't find a place by the end of this week then we'll probably just take that place. It just doesn't scream "home" to me, but then I'm not sure if anything will until I've lived there for awhile.

Who knows.

I'm still crossing my fingers for a house! :)

Cold and Exhausted.

We made it. After a not-so-fun week of packing, finishing work, saying goodbyes and 14 hrs of traveling I am left completely exhausted. I am glad to be in Minnesota finally after all the preparations to move, but its friggin' cold! You Minnesotan's weren't joking when you said it has been a crazy non-summer by being colder than usual. I've cuddled with a blanket all day - apparently it was around 62 ish degrees our first day here. Whoo. Hoo. It's August, seriously? 62 degrees? Sigh. Well, it'll be an adjustment for awhile, not having a permanent place to live just yet, colder weather, living out of suitcases... I am glad to be here though, I just desperately need to relax for a little bit and recover and I will be a much happier camper. Sleep. Sleep....ah how lovely you sound.