Winter Showed Up!!

Well after a fast and busy October, November is here and so is the cold weather. Waking up to temps in the 30s is something I have not had to deal with in a long time! We actually had a dusting of snow a few weeks ago but it quickly melted. All that did was remind me that snow is coming whether I am ready or not.

JP enjoyed Halloween this year and had a good time in his Kermit the Frog costume. He liked trick-or-treating (I think) and he is certainly enjoying his candy. He gets one piece a day when he sees it and points to it. Somedays he just ignores it! From what I understand he might be just like his Daddy and rationing it for a while.

I have been really busy with classes and I am looking forward to having the week off from school work during Thanksgiving. It will be nice that Jason wont have to go to Morgantown for a whole week and then there is only 2 more weeks in the semester. One down and one to go before we can pack it all up and get back to SC!!!

Some things still are strange to me but I dont find myself as depressed as before. I dont know if I have just accepted that this is what its going to be like here or if I am so busy I just dont think about it. I'm leaning towards the latter on that one. I still find it amazing that people live like this. I am excited that I am going with Jason to Morgantown today so I can go to a Target. Yep! 90 minutes away is the closest one! I can not believe that this is what gets me excited. A 90 minute car trip to a store! UGH!!!

Looking Forward to Getting Out of Town

We have to travel to SC in 2 weeks for JP's 15 month doctor's appointment and I could not be happier about it. I can honestly say that I feel depression setting in and I'm really having a hard time.

For the past 2 weeks JP has been a little monster. Throwing temper tantrums because he's not getting his way and even resorting to hitting and biting me because of it. Things are better this week but I didn't know if I was going to make it with him acting like that. I didn't want to talk too much about it to Jason because who wants to hear nothing but complaining when you come home? Not me! I have also realized that I don't have a single friend here and that isn't going to change. No one is going to hang out with the daughter-in-law of their boss but it was at least nice to meet a few people even if it was just for one afternoon. It just really stinks since I'm used to being around friends all the time.

I have also started to get a feeling of worthlessness since I'm not making any money. I have not been paid in over a month now and the money I have from student loans has to last until January. That means I'm not buying anything extra or doing anything for myself. I don't even think that I can afford a haircut in the next few months. Part of it is me being stubborn but I refuse to ask Jason for money. I don't need or want an "allowance." I just need to do a SUPER job at making sure I don't buy anything that isnt't needed. Its more important that JP has diapers and milk than I have a bottle of wine in the house. I am fine with that since that is part of the deal of being a parent.

I know that I agreed to move here, not work, and stay home and take care of JP but its proving to be more difficult than I thought. I love the time I am getting with JP but I feel like I'm doing him a disservice by taking him out of daycare. I can't believe that I just said that. What kind of mom thinks that her kid is better off in daycare? This is the other thing I am struggling with. I get so frustrated during these temper tantrums and lonely days and nights that I think I'm being a bad mom. I find myself crying 2-3 night a week before Jason gets home. What kind of life am I living for the next 10 months?

Well at least I have the trip to SC to get me through the next 2 weeks...

Starting to feel a rountine...

Well, we have settled into daily life here in WV. Jason is working and going to Morgantown 3 nights a week while I am home with JP and taking 12 hrs online at Marshall. So far I have been able to work while JP naps and its nice to have lunch with Jason everyday when he walks home from work.

Its still an adjustment and I dont think I will get used to having to drive 40 minutes to a Walmart or 50 minutes to a mall. Thank goodness for the internet. I have learned to make adjustments though. I only grocery shop every 2 weeks instead of every week and the Dollar General is my new favorite store. LOL! Its a shame that some people rely on that as a "department" store so they dont have to drive far.

We had visitors this past weekend and it was really nice too. Seeing no one all the time gets old fast and I would love for more people to come here and see what life is like here. If anyone wants to come I'll be more than happy to send you directions. LOL!

Ups and Downs

So there have been a few things that have actually been nice about living here...the people here are really nice and they are excited that we are here. They are excited that Jason is going to be working at the college and everyone loves JP. We attending the National Night Out in the park right across from our apartment and that was nice too. It was nice to see people in more of a community setting than you see in NMB. NMB is just such a big area that its hard to have that same sense of community like I had growing up in NJ. I am getting used to being home and keeping myself busy right now with housework and laundry. Thank god classes start soon because I am getting sick of that!

On the other hand there are still things here that I dont see myself ever getting used to. I am honestly lonely here. There are very few people near my age here and because we are meeting people through Pete and Besty, we are meeting older people. Not exactly the kind of people I see myself going out for drinks with (not that there is any respectable place to do that here) or having dinner with. I have found myself wandering through the Dollar General or the Family Dollar here just for something to do during the day. I know that once classes start I will be busy so I am really looking forward to that. I am not looking forward to Jason starting classes though. He will be gone most of the day and night and I will have to do everything for JP alone. It makes it easier to think that we only have to do this for 10 months and we can get back to our lives. People here are talking like we are going to love it here so much that we wont want to go back. These people are what I like to call NUTS!!! There is no way that I could survive living 45-90 minutes away from society for more than this time that we are here.

1 month done...

We Are "Home" in WV

Well we have been here for a week and there are only 3 boxes left to be unpacked. It wasnt as bad as I thought (getting here) and the unpacking part was OK. I have somewhat settled into staying at home with JP while Jason goes to work but I dont know how long that will last. Most things (Walmart, a chain grocery store, etc) are really 30+ minutes away. I dont know how people live like this. This isnt real life.

Speaking of real life, I have cooked 2 meals since we have been here now that the kitchen is unpacked. I feel like I have taken a few steps back into the 1930s with the stove/oven. There are 2 ovens that are on the top of a range that pulls out from what looks like a drawer. I shit you not, I cant make this up. There is also only ONE, yes one, drawer in the entire kitchen. So my silverware went in there and I dont know what else to do with the other gadgets that are usually in kitchen drawers. This is also the first kitchen in my life that doesnt have a junk drawer. I thought those came standard in a kitchen? I guess not. I also dont know what I am going to do with all my cookbooks since there isnt enough counter space for them and there is no where to put up a shelf. I'm sure I'll get it figured out about 3 days before its time to pack it up again.

Jason and I are heading about 2 hrs away tomorrow to pick up a washer and dryer we bought on Craigslist and I hope it fits in the space we have for it. Either that, or I will be placing an ad on Craigslist for a washer and dryer. LOL! Its interesting living in an apartment that is connected to a hotel. I have seen a few weirdos and I am sure that I will see more. There is always noise in our bedroom since it backs up to the laundry room of the hotel. That has been fun when the dog is barking at the wall in the middle of the night. I hope she gets used to the noise soon because she is driving me nuts with all the barking.

Everyone here has been really nice so that is a plus. I dont know how used to living here I will get, or how used to it I really want to get. I know that real life is waiting for me 11 months from now.

One week down...

Anxiety is Setting In

So the BIG MOVE is less than 1 week away and I can feel the knot in my stomach growing and the sleepless nights beginning. I am not nervous that everything wont get done because I know that it will, I am nervous about the move itself. I am leaving everything that I love and that I am familiar with for a place where I know next to no one, I dont know where to find anything, and I really dont know how I feel about living in.

It was very strange to get my last paycheck and know that the money that is in the checking account right now is all the money I have for a whole year. I dont like the idea at all of being 100% dependant on Jason for money. Its just not me.

I guess that I just need to bury myself in school work and taking care of JP. I dont know what else will get me through this. I am praying and hoping that this year goes QUICKLY and I can be writing this from our new home in SC much faster than I could possibly imagine.

Packing SUCKS!!!

So since I am out of work and Jason is still working, I have taken on the task of trying to get some of our stuff packed as far in advance as possible. The problem that I am being faced with is that we have belongings in 2 houses. I still own the townhouse in Surfside and because we moved into a fully furnished house we didnt need to bring a lot here with us. The idea behind it all now is to move everything we own out of both houses so when we move back here next year, we can move into our new home. (And I swear I am NEVER moving again!)

I have packed what I think I can for now. I cant pack dishes and pots and pans yet. I cant pack all our clothes. And I have no clue what I need to pack and what I need to throw out from the Surfside house. I would just like to throw it all out and start over. Because we have that kind of money, NOT!!

So Jason and I were thinking about how we are going to make this move and of course the 2 options are:
1. get a UHaul and do everything ourselves
2. hire a moving company to pack the truck and drive it for us
After meeting with someone from a moving company last week, we are going with option #1. I met with a very nice man from United Moving who told me that after looking at what furniture and belongings we had, it would cost..are you ready??? $3500 to move us 10 hours away. UNREAL!!! This also included a delivery window of 3-11 days. Meaning, we could get to WV and have to wait up to 11 days for our things to arrive. Really?? How do these people stay in business? This didnt even include them packing for us, which they will do for $25.00 per person/per hour. I would still be packing up everything, they are just loading the truck and driving it for us.

So now we are left with the task of packing, driving a UHaul, and doing it all ourselves. I guess people do this everyday. I just have never moved this much stuff over such a distance. And to think...I get to do it all again in 11 months!

Getting ready for the big move

Since the Barr family is going to have a busy year and its just hit me in the face today, I thought I could keep my sanity by documenting what we are up to and how our lives will be going over the next year.

We wont be moving till mid-July but today was a hard day. Today was the last day of school with the kids and although I was glad to see some of them go, I realized that Monday will be my last day of work for a whole year. It will be the first time in a long time that I wont be working, I wont have my own money, and its the first time ever that I'll be a stay at home mom. While some of this is appealing and exciting, there are some parts of it that are scary and sad. I know that we are only leaving here, our home in SC, for a year but its really hard to think about leaving my friends and the job I love. I know that the choice we are making is the right thing to do to support each other and for us both to get the Master's degrees we have been talking about for years but its hard to make such a drastic change.

We are moving to Glenville, WV (Google it, its worth it) for the academic year to complete our degrees. I will be going to school full-time and staying at home with JP while Jason works at Glenville State and goes to WVU to complete his degree. Its going to be a busy year for sure and I have not even packed one thing in this house yet. The thought of packing and moving everything we own, which adding a baby to the mix has become a lot, seems like an impossible task right now. Now that work is over for me, I will have the time to get it done and I hope that I manage to get it finished little by little instead of waiting till the last minute.

In the meantime, we will be planning JP's first birthday party, I'll be saying goodbye to great friends and co-workers, and we will be making the trek to a place that has one McDonald's and a Pizza Hut that doesnt deliver. Its 45 minutes to the nearest Walmart, 45 minutes to the movies, and 90 minutes to a real mall. I hope this Jersey girl manages to survive.