Exhaustion

I am too tired to think straight. It takes a lot of the fun out of the stuff we are doing. It also make our tasks more difficult, frustrating, and longer. That being said, we wouldn't have it differently. Our timeline has been manageable thus far. After the next two weeks have passed the bulk of the essentials will have been completed and we will have a home. Getting there.

The big thing this week was the windows. It took four men nearly two days to get them in. They were necessary and really improve the house. Naomi cleaned up the garden a bit while they were busy inside. She also cleaned the radiators which were disgusting. We crossed lots of little things off the list, filled up the dumpster with old cabinets, picked out paint, met the neighbors, and today we will get the crown moulding finished up for the most part. Workers came to patch up some cracks, clean the chimney, run the piping for the washer and dryer along with a few other things.

Abigail and Amélie have been doing really well. They feel more comfortable here, amid the chaos, than they did at the vacation house. The garden has been a lot of fun for them and they really like playing in the sun room. Sleeping has been no problem at all.

Fun in the new bath.

Cleaning the window screens. Only got to keep two of the four.

Good thing we had sunshine!

Tadpoles in our pond.

Napping in the play room.

 

Bedroom window gets replaced.

Heavy glass.

Helping Mommy clean.

Amélie with an artist's goatee.

The Keys

We had a busy time preparing for Friday, but we could have done more. Friday really sucked. That was the day we got the keys. The sellers showed up late. We were also surprised to find a kitchen without fridge or dishwasher. Got out of the vacation park late. Dumped everything in the garage. Didn't get to clean. Picked up the girls from daycare. Started putting a few things in the kitchen. Bah.

Saturday was better. We got a loner fridge which took away a lot of my stress. Also got a new fridge and dishwasher ordered. A couple of other workers came by to check things out. Kitchen, stereo, and bathroom got set up. Starting to feel manageable. A few more things to unpack today.

Abigail especially had a rough time this week. On Tuesday Naomi was gone and she refused to have a single bite to eat for dinner. Only milk. Things are improving thought. The girls are enjoying their new play area. Nice and sunny with a heated floor. They are taking to the house well - sleeping nicely and having fun. Abigail is quite clingy though. Abigail started calling Amélie 'Aménie' and then Amélie started answering back with the same. Neither of them can say Abigail yet.

Definitely have a headache. Lots of things left to do. Good to be here though. We like the house more and more each day.

Eye of the Storm

We have finally had a relaxing week. Even got a bit bored. That hasn't happened in awhile! Picked up a gym membership, finally. Way too much time without enough exercise. Getting a bit familiar with the town. Spent some time walking through it. Also explored a bit more on the bike. We picked just the right town!

Yesterday we went to the market again and bumped into another set up parents with twins. Two boys, slightly older than ours. Nice to talk with them. Once things settle down we can find time to meet up.

The girls have been doing just fine at daycare and the little playground here at the vacation park has been a lot of fun too. They went swimming again on Thursday and had a blast. We are starting to get a bit tired of being here though, and looking forward to moving in to our own place. It has been a nice chance to rest and get to know a few things around town, but it is time to move on.

The website is nearly finished and looking good. I will need to learn how to use the software, put in a few finishing touches, and then it will be ready to launch. Hopefully soon!

First Impressions

This past weekend was filled with the chaos of moving. Now it feels like we are on vacation. What a welcome change! Our vacation rental is working out just fine, and we will be in our new house in less than two weeks.

Claire was a big help in getting us situated here and it was fun that she got to see a bit of our new town. On Friday I discovered around 25,000 acres of land that belongs to the Crown just a couple kilometers outside the village. It is like a big national park. Lots of nice trails for walking and biking. Even a few ancient burial mounds. The castle and windmill in town look really nice too!

The girls are adjusting really well. They have been a bit fussier, demanding more attention, and scared of a few things (like a leaf blower - they were shaking with terror even though they were inside) but for the most part we don't see much of a change with them. Happy as ever. Good thing they have each other! The lady at daycare was most impressed by them. She said it was as if they had already been there for months.

Yesterday we did some shopping downtown. So much nicer than Goor! Except for the bakery. We will miss that. Even found some new shoes for the girls. They played on the slide while we found some. The salesman even gave us a nice price because we had twins.

Being able to bike to work sure has been a treat! I discovered a really nice dedicated bike path that goes directly from Vaassen to Apeldoorn. Over 5 km without really seeing a car. Quite the contrast to being stuck in rush hour traffic on the highway!

We hypnotized the girls with Teletubbies while trying to get the cars packed.

Playing in the pool - Abigail outgrew her swimsuit.

New shoes!

Real fire! Finally getting rid of scrap wood.