The Movers Have Come and Gone, Part II

I really should be downstairs making my bed, since sleep is on my mind right now, but I thought I'd update you on our third full day in Colorado. I'm stitting on our sofa! Yay! Currently the greater Denver metro area is under a severe thunderstorm warning, and east of Denver is under a tornado warning. We have had rain and lots of wind in the last few hours, and a few sounds of rolling thunder, but nothing more than that. Our area does get thunderstorms, but tornadoes are rare this close to the mountains. However, other parts of the area have had several inches of hail and flooding. It was 88 yesterday, 75 today, and we are expected to have a high of 59 tomorrow. Then it should be in the 80's again. (??) Schizophrenic weather we have here.

The movers came and went, again, today. We have stuff! We have lots of stuff. Too much stuff. I need to go through a lot of stuff. Should have done that before (and we did. GoodWill got several large loads), but it seems like I really need to do that before our next move! Of course, it all looks worse when it's all piled around your house in boxes. Moving is a great equalizer. No matter how wonderful your little home looks, everyone's stuff looks bad in boxes, and everyone's house looks terrible right after all the stuff is moved out. We are taking advantage of any curtain rod or shelf currently up, and storing ours. We'd like to buy a house in the near future, and packing up our stuff isn't at the top of the fun list!

I took the kids to the mall today to play before the movers came. I kept them out of the house from 10:00-2:00. The first couple of hours were fine. They played and socialized with other kids. Caitlin made many attempts to run out of the play area and explore the mall, but I have so far managed to keep up with her. At this this altitude,though, running is not easy. I am out of breath after a short jog. I still get a little dizzy when I move fast. That should change soon. Caitlin's attempts to make a break for the mall became a little game at the play area, and all the moms and dads were keeping an eye on her. Luckily she can only go so fast. Unfortunately, the mall floor is rough stone tile, and I didn't want her to go too fast, since she tends to trip a lot when she goes too fast. She never fell, and I never heard a cry. Still, she somehow managed to end up with a nice bruise/welt on her temple and a bruise on her cheek, and I have absolutely no idea how they got there! The welt was from today (it was pretty fresh when I discovered it at lunch). How it got there? One of the great Caitlin mysteries. All of us are a little banged up lately.

After two hours at the mall, which included lunch, it was nap time. Caitlin usually goes down about 12:30. Lately Brandon has needed to nap earlier as well. On top of it all, I only had a single umbrella stroller with me, and Brandon had to walk. Such a travesty of justice! Brandon cried all the way to the car. I decided to go through Dillards to the parking lot, instead of going by the play area again. Brandon cried the entire time that it wasn't the right way. Caitlin cried when I wouldn't let her push the buttons on the elevator. Brandon cried when I let her. To save my sanity, I suggested ice cream, which improved Brandon's mode incredibly. I found the nearest Costco on the GPS and got some frozen yogurt for us to share. Brandon wanted to eat it all himself. Caitlin wanted to visit the poor lady on her lunch break who just wanted to eat her salad and read her book. By the end of the visit both kids were bawling, loudly, and I was losing patience at an exponential rate. I had to bring them home. We set up Caitlin's pack-and-play in the closet, but she refused to sleep after her 20 minute nap in the car. Brandon never napped. Can you say early bedtime? Caitlin was in bed before 7:00. Brandon was in bed soon after. One can only hope that they sleep better now that they are in their own beds. I know I will!

So, that's the update from the home front today. Brandon and I sat outside on the front steps for a while today and watched a couple of school buses go by, and talked about all the pre-thunderstorm wind whistling through the trees. Our little neighborhood is cute. I'll take some pictures and post them on our Picasaweb site when the other computer is up and running. I can't edit or shrink photos until then. Happy Monday everyone!