Hello, friends!! Greetings from Virginia Beach!!
**Warning! This post is waayyy too long. Just so much to catch up on!!**
What a crazy couple of months it's been! When we found out in January that we'd be relocating to Virginia Beach, we had convinced ourselves that our crazyshort timeline wouldn't be an issue. Our SoFlo landlord had new tenants moving in on March 1, and the Hubs needed to be in VB a few days before that. We were clearly smoking crack.
We just got back from our fourth - yep, fourth- back and forth trip between Virginia and Florida in something like seven weeks. The Hubs and I flew up the first time for a quick house-hunting blitz. We found an adorable older rental in a great neighborhood with original hardwoods and a big fireplace. Easy-peasy. We didn't find out until we got back to So Flo that the other couple viewing the home with us won out, giving us a crash course in the VB rental market. It's tough here, and the good stuff goes quick!
Oh those Cracker Barrel rocking chairs! The big smile shows how happy she is to be out of the car!
So, a little more than a week later, and a few days after the Hubs returned from a business trip to California, we packed up Zoey and my mom and made the 13 hour trip back up to VB for almost a week. We drove in behind a snowstorm, which was awesome! (It's no big secret that I love winter, and snow, and cold. So I was super jazzed to see the white stuff!) Snow everywhere!! Except that the 6 or so inches around town made it that much more difficult to get realtors to show us properties. But so what...Zoey's first snow!! Amiright?!
By the third day, we had record low temps, which meant that the walks along the boardwalk and trips to the playground that I had envisioned were not gonna happen. So this trip marked the beginning of Zoey's screen addiction. The poor kid had the iPad or TV in her face almost constantly -- which lasted until just a few days ago. Best. Parents. Ever. Thank god for Disney Jr, Sesame Street, and movies on the iPad!
And in keeping with the Parents of the Year theme, Zoey's second birthday fell right dab smack in the middle of the trip. Having hoped that we'd find a house early in the trip, and that the weather would have cooperated a little better, I had planned to make the day all about the kid. Trip to the park, running around on the beach, and cupcakes!! But, it didn't pan out. I have a very strict rule that you must make a wish and blow out a candle on your birthday, so I ran into Harris Teeter, grabbed a six-pack of cupcakes, and we celebrated in our hotel room with Carrabas takeout and the "2" candle I brought from home. Not at all what I had hoped for the kiddo's second birthday, especially by blogger mom standards, but better than nothing. I still feel some major mom guilt about this one, but you can see that the kid was pretty excited about her cupcake.
We found a great realtor who showed us some awesome properties, but none were quite right (too pricey, not a "walkable" neighborhood, etc.). So on the night before the last day of the trip, I scoured Zillow and Realtor.com for the newest listings and sent out desperate emails to the list agents. The following morning, only one got in touch, showed us the house and we filled out an application, crossing our fingers that they would change their minds about the dog. (We came in knowing that a dog larger than a loaf of bread would be an issue, but didn't expect it to be as tough as it was.) We headed back to Florida the next morning not knowing if we had a place to live when we returned for good in a week.
The good news is, we got the house and our new landlords seem to be wonderful. We were so sad to leave our place in SoFlo - great house, great neighborhood, great landlord. But we love our new place already - twice the square footage for the same price! Plus, a "lake" view, huge garage, fireplace, and all the navy jet sounds you could ask for!
Ok, maybe more jet sounds than you'd ever want, but we're already getting used to those! (Turns out our new 'hood falls between Oceana Naval Air Station and the auxiliary airstrip south of town. We were expecting jet sounds from Oceana, you hear them all over town on the daily and it's no big deal, we just didn't account for the auxiliary strip or the maneuvers back and forth between the two for 10-12 hours a day when a carrier is in town. Now I get why everyone was pissed when Maverick buzzed the tower! Most of the time, it becomes white noise, like living near a highway. But every so often, one of those guys comes in low and fast and you get a flash that he just might land on your roof.
Anywayyy, we managed to move up here (with rain on both ends - packing and unloading) with little incident (other than the truck overheating in NC) and with the help of the in-laws and the Hubs' buddy. Seven days later, we loaded up the VW and made the trip back to Florida for my brother's wedding. The Hubs, Zoey and I all had major meltdowns the day before we left, and we came very very close to calling off the trip altogether. We had had about enough. So we set aside March 22 as our "Day of Rest", so we had something to look forward to.
I'm so glad we made the final trip, because the wedding was wonderful, and it's so rare to have all the cousins in one place at the same time. Zoey was showing her special two-ness, which made a photo of the three of us all dolled up impossible, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there's a decent professional shot. I did get some epic video of Z showing off her dance moves, which were a big hit. The kid knows how to boogie! And the sweet Maid of Honor insisted that she take a pic of the Hubs and I once Zoey was off with the In-Laws. It's probably the only shot we've got!
And now, we are blissfully back in VB, enjoying the cool temps and our new home. The Hubs spent the week getting into his new work routine, and I spent the week trying to break Z of her crack screen habit and unpacking. We have so much more space, and no clue what to do with the furniture or art. Finally have a pantry closet, and no idea how to organize it. Finally have a big garage again, and not a clue where to even start. Guess that's what Pinterest is for, right?!
I have a bunch of posts ready to go, including a 24 month update that's been written since the end of January. So stay tuned!
