In no particular order......
1. unpacking
2. trying to figure out the schools
3. finding new dentists/orthodontists/doctors
4. finding a new church where you feel at home
5. starting over in your community (making friends)
6. moving all your information (insurance, change of address, etc.)
7. missing the things that made your last home, feel like home
I used to love it when we PCS'd, a chance to start over and I found it to be an adventure, but now it seems like such an effort to do this stuff all over and over again. I guess I'm burned out.....
****Okay, so updated to add #8****
8. getting used to the new News Anchors in your area....they all seem strange!
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
6/6/08
Kissing the ground (not really) and praying for day 2
Our departure day brought a bittersweet goodbye as we bid a fond farewell to good friends that we thought we might not have the chance to see before we left. We hugged through tears as my family climbed through our personal possessions to find our seats in our vehicles. I feel very blessed that we were able to say goodbye to them and hope that life provides us the opportunity in the future to see them again.
So on to day one of our driving....we did not get out as early as we'd hoped, the installation saw to it to make clearing the biggest issue it could. Housing was no big deal, that took about 5 minutes.....I guess they just wanted the money for the cleaning crew we were paying for....but me being the obsessive person I am, I had to clean it ahead of them.......go figure! But the last few things my husband had to clear, took way too long......Anyway, once on the road we were able to drive about 5 hours of our trip.....that 5 hours included me freaking out as I yelled at one of my daughters 'that checking her blind spots as she changed lanes WAS NOT AN OPTION'.....then at the other one 'that YOU DO NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN YOU CHANGE LANES, YOU WILL GET US KILLED'.......one almost took out a van, the other decided to get into a challenge with an 18 wheeler over who would win out on the merging of the lanes......and decided to go 85 miles an hour to do so.......that ended with a 20 minute disertation from her mother on why we don't take on tired truckers on the highway.........then I got to listen to her go off every time a driver refused to use their blinkers when they changed lanes only for her to use her windshield wipers a few times instead of her own.......and so when we finally stopped for the night I wanted to kiss the ground but it did not look so appetizing.......the only one in the car not making trouble was the dog. She was happy in her little collapsible carrier all snug on the car seat........
When my husband and I decided to stop for the night the girls were a bit PO'd, they wanted to keep driving the other 5 hours to the inlaws......we were like, um......what gave you the idea that we would drive all the way through.......they say we did, and we both laughed in unison and told them "Oh, we lied, we were never driving all the way through after three days of movers, two days of cutting grass and cleaning a house." They were not happy at first, but now that have had a good nights sleep and are refreshed..............they now know that they get another chance to drive and drive me crazy in the car with their driving, so all is well with La Familia esta Loco! No wonder my husband and Dennis are riding in the truck and only call on the phone when absolutely necessary......they know the hell I'm in.
The only saving grace is that I will have a small reprieve from my crazy driving daughters who only see one problem with driving and that is when I mention that maybe I should take over the wheel for awhile........so barring any huge fiasco that might happen while we are there, like them going out with their 15 cousins and getting into trouble with the local law (which are problably related to us anyway) or my shih tsu getting knocked up but one of the many strays that run the old Kentucky homestead, we should make it out of the state without anyone ending up in the ER.............. but everytime we go home to see the family I have this overwhelming fear that someone will lose a limb or a barn will get burned down or when the phone rings it will be the other shoe dropping and it will involve my children.......I guess that is what happens when your children and all their cousins reach the ages mine are.....it was so much easier when they were all little and cute and listened to their parents......now, not so easy..........so with all that being said, lets all say a little prayer that my children remain safe, my dog unpregnant and that I don't lose my mind! :D
~ASW
So on to day one of our driving....we did not get out as early as we'd hoped, the installation saw to it to make clearing the biggest issue it could. Housing was no big deal, that took about 5 minutes.....I guess they just wanted the money for the cleaning crew we were paying for....but me being the obsessive person I am, I had to clean it ahead of them.......go figure! But the last few things my husband had to clear, took way too long......Anyway, once on the road we were able to drive about 5 hours of our trip.....that 5 hours included me freaking out as I yelled at one of my daughters 'that checking her blind spots as she changed lanes WAS NOT AN OPTION'.....then at the other one 'that YOU DO NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN YOU CHANGE LANES, YOU WILL GET US KILLED'.......one almost took out a van, the other decided to get into a challenge with an 18 wheeler over who would win out on the merging of the lanes......and decided to go 85 miles an hour to do so.......that ended with a 20 minute disertation from her mother on why we don't take on tired truckers on the highway.........then I got to listen to her go off every time a driver refused to use their blinkers when they changed lanes only for her to use her windshield wipers a few times instead of her own.......and so when we finally stopped for the night I wanted to kiss the ground but it did not look so appetizing.......the only one in the car not making trouble was the dog. She was happy in her little collapsible carrier all snug on the car seat........
When my husband and I decided to stop for the night the girls were a bit PO'd, they wanted to keep driving the other 5 hours to the inlaws......we were like, um......what gave you the idea that we would drive all the way through.......they say we did, and we both laughed in unison and told them "Oh, we lied, we were never driving all the way through after three days of movers, two days of cutting grass and cleaning a house." They were not happy at first, but now that have had a good nights sleep and are refreshed..............they now know that they get another chance to drive and drive me crazy in the car with their driving, so all is well with La Familia esta Loco! No wonder my husband and Dennis are riding in the truck and only call on the phone when absolutely necessary......they know the hell I'm in.
The only saving grace is that I will have a small reprieve from my crazy driving daughters who only see one problem with driving and that is when I mention that maybe I should take over the wheel for awhile........so barring any huge fiasco that might happen while we are there, like them going out with their 15 cousins and getting into trouble with the local law (which are problably related to us anyway) or my shih tsu getting knocked up but one of the many strays that run the old Kentucky homestead, we should make it out of the state without anyone ending up in the ER.............. but everytime we go home to see the family I have this overwhelming fear that someone will lose a limb or a barn will get burned down or when the phone rings it will be the other shoe dropping and it will involve my children.......I guess that is what happens when your children and all their cousins reach the ages mine are.....it was so much easier when they were all little and cute and listened to their parents......now, not so easy..........so with all that being said, lets all say a little prayer that my children remain safe, my dog unpregnant and that I don't lose my mind! :D
~ASW
6/4/08
Update......
Okay so 17 crates AND 11 hours later they are still at the house attempting to finish this move. It seems as if every time we move it gets just a little worse. So tonight another truck, we already had two with the crates on them, shows up, this one is for my sofa, because it apparently is too big to fit in a crate and they will have to make a special one for it.....to which I am mumblng just great under my breath, my response to them was that it better be there when it all arrives on the other side of this move. When this happened, I opted out of staying, taking Dennis back to the hotel with me, both he and I are exhausted, today was his last day of school. My youngest daughter and her friend are weathering the remaining part of the move with Dad, the oldest is out with friends for her last evening...... Me, well I have cleaned, spackled and fed 6 movers and my family 75.00 worth of pizza and 50.00 worth of soda and water today. Tomorrow we pack the vehicles, sign out of housing, sign out of post and hit the open road......
I hate the open road, I prefer the closed air of a plane and a stewardess......I don't even mind paying for the extra bag......at least I don't have to hear "are we there yet" for 2000 miles.......
And so it shall begin............Move 2008. The only positive thing about it is leaving here......but still, I think I'd rather go to the dentist then ride in my car with two newly licensed (permits only) teens arguing over who gets to drive next, fearing for my life the entire way there AND hearing "are we there yet?" :D
I hate the open road, I prefer the closed air of a plane and a stewardess......I don't even mind paying for the extra bag......at least I don't have to hear "are we there yet" for 2000 miles.......
And so it shall begin............Move 2008. The only positive thing about it is leaving here......but still, I think I'd rather go to the dentist then ride in my car with two newly licensed (permits only) teens arguing over who gets to drive next, fearing for my life the entire way there AND hearing "are we there yet?" :D
Final day.........
The day has arrived, our movers will see how much they can shove in each crate today. Just a bit of information for those of you out there who are unfamiliar with PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) for CONUS (Continental United States) basically not overseas.
There are two codes on a military move. Code 1 and Code 2. Code 1 means that they will shove all your household goods in a truck and move it to your next duty station. Code 2 means that they will use crates to pack your belongings instead of a moving truck. If you do not have a door to door move set up, meaning that you are meeting them at your next house, all household goods go into temporary storage. Most people think that code 2 using crates is only used when you are PCSing overseas, but this is incorrect.
Cade 2 in our opinion is a far better way to have your belongings moved because it is packed up and crated in front of you and then the crates are sealed. Those crates are then either placed in storage or met by you on the other end. It is pretty hard for a crate to disappear (although it does happen) but when your belongings are placed on a moving truck, more often then not, they are not the only ones on the truck. Depending on the amount of weight being moved there can be a few families' belongings being driven across the country, or it could have a soldier's belongings on there, leaving those belongings up to chance of being mixed up where they meet on the truck and as they are dropped off, you may lose some of your things. Yeah, I know, they have different stickers, everything is inventoried, but IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY. Not to mention, your belongings are handled by the movers at your end, then they are moved out of the truck by another set of movers and placed in storage, then they are handled by another set of movers who then take it out of storage and put on another truck and bring it to you....that is a whole lot of hands moving your things......you are opened up for theft as well as the increased chance of breakage. So we opt for CODE 2 and request that it be crated whenever we have the chance. It does not cost the military any more money.....although I have had some transportation personnel tell us that it does as they mark code 2 on the paperwork, I just sit there and look at them......like it is money out of their pocket......just be nice to them and remember that if the option is open to you, you are entitled to it......but remember that some installations do not offer this to CONUS moves and if they do and its a busy season OCONUS has the priority for the crates. But do yourself a favor and opt for CODE 2 whenever possible and have your household goods crated for any move.
So now that I have told you about this option, here is how this will play out for us today. Each crate acts like it's own little truck. Our things are put in the crates so that they are packed full and less chance of things moving around. They packed our dressers full, leaving clothing and such in them. I used my chests to place our linen for our beds in them so I know exactly where they are when we get to our next duty station, no searching for THAT box! Also any special or antique piece of furniture I am worried about, I just told them and had them box everything that was in it instead of having it travel with the belongings in them, they were more then willing to do so. They figure that each crate holds about 1000 pounds, but it's a guess because when your sofa goes in, it takes up alot of space, but it no where near comes in at the weight that all my husband's professional gear will come in at. Make sure you have them mark all professional gear as such in case you are charged for being overweight and ALWAYS REQUEST TO HAVE IT reweighed......
And so that is just a piece of friendly information from this Soldier's Wife who wishes someone had shared this information with her a long time ago........this being our 6th move in 7 years.....it will be the 5th one we have had crated.
I'm excited.....we are really moving tomorrow YAY! I definitely will look in my rear view mirror and say goodbye to this place, vowing to never return~I will miss my two friends D&V but otherwise, this is not a place that will go down fondly in the old memory book, fond memories yes, but in the Great Big Book of Everything, it is going to definitely go to the bottom!
There are two codes on a military move. Code 1 and Code 2. Code 1 means that they will shove all your household goods in a truck and move it to your next duty station. Code 2 means that they will use crates to pack your belongings instead of a moving truck. If you do not have a door to door move set up, meaning that you are meeting them at your next house, all household goods go into temporary storage. Most people think that code 2 using crates is only used when you are PCSing overseas, but this is incorrect.
Cade 2 in our opinion is a far better way to have your belongings moved because it is packed up and crated in front of you and then the crates are sealed. Those crates are then either placed in storage or met by you on the other end. It is pretty hard for a crate to disappear (although it does happen) but when your belongings are placed on a moving truck, more often then not, they are not the only ones on the truck. Depending on the amount of weight being moved there can be a few families' belongings being driven across the country, or it could have a soldier's belongings on there, leaving those belongings up to chance of being mixed up where they meet on the truck and as they are dropped off, you may lose some of your things. Yeah, I know, they have different stickers, everything is inventoried, but IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY. Not to mention, your belongings are handled by the movers at your end, then they are moved out of the truck by another set of movers and placed in storage, then they are handled by another set of movers who then take it out of storage and put on another truck and bring it to you....that is a whole lot of hands moving your things......you are opened up for theft as well as the increased chance of breakage. So we opt for CODE 2 and request that it be crated whenever we have the chance. It does not cost the military any more money.....although I have had some transportation personnel tell us that it does as they mark code 2 on the paperwork, I just sit there and look at them......like it is money out of their pocket......just be nice to them and remember that if the option is open to you, you are entitled to it......but remember that some installations do not offer this to CONUS moves and if they do and its a busy season OCONUS has the priority for the crates. But do yourself a favor and opt for CODE 2 whenever possible and have your household goods crated for any move.
So now that I have told you about this option, here is how this will play out for us today. Each crate acts like it's own little truck. Our things are put in the crates so that they are packed full and less chance of things moving around. They packed our dressers full, leaving clothing and such in them. I used my chests to place our linen for our beds in them so I know exactly where they are when we get to our next duty station, no searching for THAT box! Also any special or antique piece of furniture I am worried about, I just told them and had them box everything that was in it instead of having it travel with the belongings in them, they were more then willing to do so. They figure that each crate holds about 1000 pounds, but it's a guess because when your sofa goes in, it takes up alot of space, but it no where near comes in at the weight that all my husband's professional gear will come in at. Make sure you have them mark all professional gear as such in case you are charged for being overweight and ALWAYS REQUEST TO HAVE IT reweighed......
And so that is just a piece of friendly information from this Soldier's Wife who wishes someone had shared this information with her a long time ago........this being our 6th move in 7 years.....it will be the 5th one we have had crated.
I'm excited.....we are really moving tomorrow YAY! I definitely will look in my rear view mirror and say goodbye to this place, vowing to never return~I will miss my two friends D&V but otherwise, this is not a place that will go down fondly in the old memory book, fond memories yes, but in the Great Big Book of Everything, it is going to definitely go to the bottom!
6/3/08
And with a few signatures (or several on 35 sheets of paper)
We are now the proud owners of a new home......or we became the owners of a new home on Saturday.....
It seemed a little strange for us this time, we have always been present when we closed on our homes in the past. But this time with how things have played out, we had no choice but to fly out to our new duty station ahead of time and put in the offer and then do the closing via overnight mail. It was a bit more stressful and a little more work since this was the first time we had a Realtor doing the work for us, but it went off without much to do and once we arrive we can pick up our keys and move in. Well.....I will, my husband has to jump right in and start with his Assumption of Responsibilities, a Sergeant Audie Murphy Club Induction and then the Change of Command for his new BC. Following all this, 6 days later he will then be TDY for a week leaving me and the children to sort through boxes in an attempt to make some sense of the house.
But first we will head out from here to visit my husband's family for the annual reunion we have every time we PCS....which is normally every year, but this time we were lucky enough to have 22 months between moves. This next one promises to be three years before the Army will up and throw an assignment at us, but now we have that option to say NO and just retire.....what a great feeling that is to have!!!
I will say that it is a huge relief knowing that all we have to do upon arrival is call to have the water and gas turned on. The electric, phone, internet and cable are done.....we know everything about the children's schools since we chose this neighborhood based on where we wanted them all to attend. We met some of our neighbors while we were there and although it is not a huge military community, I think we will all love our new neighborhood......I guess its a give and take at this point.
Since we, as military spouses, rely so heavily on one another and our military community during back to back deployments, its only natural to be a little hesitant to move to an area that lacks those qualities.....but since my husband will not be deploying again (just the occasional TDY) I will take that over the military community any day (it does not mean that I wont miss it, because I will)......but hey, after 20 years, my family may have some assemblance of a normal life. I'm not quite sure what we will do with that, except maybe enjoy the hell out of it and thank God for every day we are together.
~ASW
It seemed a little strange for us this time, we have always been present when we closed on our homes in the past. But this time with how things have played out, we had no choice but to fly out to our new duty station ahead of time and put in the offer and then do the closing via overnight mail. It was a bit more stressful and a little more work since this was the first time we had a Realtor doing the work for us, but it went off without much to do and once we arrive we can pick up our keys and move in. Well.....I will, my husband has to jump right in and start with his Assumption of Responsibilities, a Sergeant Audie Murphy Club Induction and then the Change of Command for his new BC. Following all this, 6 days later he will then be TDY for a week leaving me and the children to sort through boxes in an attempt to make some sense of the house.
But first we will head out from here to visit my husband's family for the annual reunion we have every time we PCS....which is normally every year, but this time we were lucky enough to have 22 months between moves. This next one promises to be three years before the Army will up and throw an assignment at us, but now we have that option to say NO and just retire.....what a great feeling that is to have!!!
I will say that it is a huge relief knowing that all we have to do upon arrival is call to have the water and gas turned on. The electric, phone, internet and cable are done.....we know everything about the children's schools since we chose this neighborhood based on where we wanted them all to attend. We met some of our neighbors while we were there and although it is not a huge military community, I think we will all love our new neighborhood......I guess its a give and take at this point.
Since we, as military spouses, rely so heavily on one another and our military community during back to back deployments, its only natural to be a little hesitant to move to an area that lacks those qualities.....but since my husband will not be deploying again (just the occasional TDY) I will take that over the military community any day (it does not mean that I wont miss it, because I will)......but hey, after 20 years, my family may have some assemblance of a normal life. I'm not quite sure what we will do with that, except maybe enjoy the hell out of it and thank God for every day we are together.
~ASW
4/30/08
And so......I feel like I'm on an episode of HGTV House Hunters
We narrowed it down to three houses......two that were functionally correct for our family, right size, right number of bedrooms, etc......and one that I fell in love with but it was one bedroom short but you know sometimes you just have to sacrifice for perfect......
And so after many more homes we looked at, we made an offer on one of the functionally correct homes.....we made the offer almost 10 percent lower then the asking price and where we are there are things they are bound by law to have to pay due to our opting to use our VA again. I was not aware that if you put more then 10% down your VA funding fee drops significantly.....and if you are retired and have over a 30% disability you don't have to pay it at all.....just some FYI.
So our realtor took the contract over a little while ago....the couple is military and they are doing the same thing we are, out of town at their gaining installation looking for a new home, so it's being done via phone.....and that kind of worries me a tad bit, but I hope they atleast will counter and we can come up with a negotiated compromise. I really love the house and hope that this works out, otherwise we start over with the next house, which is my least favorite and I'm not so sure he'd consider our offer.....and the one that is not made for a family with three kids....well, I may love it, but my older daughter may hate me before it's over.....
So keeping my fingers crossed because I am beat. I have looked at so many homes, my exercise limit has been exceeded but I am holding up well.....so well I think I am going to see about driving my car instead of shipping it.....I think I can do it.....it think I can.
And so after many more homes we looked at, we made an offer on one of the functionally correct homes.....we made the offer almost 10 percent lower then the asking price and where we are there are things they are bound by law to have to pay due to our opting to use our VA again. I was not aware that if you put more then 10% down your VA funding fee drops significantly.....and if you are retired and have over a 30% disability you don't have to pay it at all.....just some FYI.
So our realtor took the contract over a little while ago....the couple is military and they are doing the same thing we are, out of town at their gaining installation looking for a new home, so it's being done via phone.....and that kind of worries me a tad bit, but I hope they atleast will counter and we can come up with a negotiated compromise. I really love the house and hope that this works out, otherwise we start over with the next house, which is my least favorite and I'm not so sure he'd consider our offer.....and the one that is not made for a family with three kids....well, I may love it, but my older daughter may hate me before it's over.....
So keeping my fingers crossed because I am beat. I have looked at so many homes, my exercise limit has been exceeded but I am holding up well.....so well I think I am going to see about driving my car instead of shipping it.....I think I can do it.....it think I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)