Week 1 Review

It's been a busy month -- physically, mentally, emotionally -- hence my absence from the blog. I moved last weekend to my new apartment (aka the "green house"), and have been busy settling in and sorting out my life.

Last Friday, I decided to take the day off from work and I'm very glad I did. The boys went to daycare, and my parents arrived from NY mid-morning, and my mom and I and a friend (also a mother of twins) went to the "white house" (the Husband's house) and moved a bunch of my stuff, packed up the boys' stuff that would be moving to the green house, and tried to prepare for the rest of the move. I was glad not to be sitting at my office, I had thought I would be fine, but I had too much nervous energy to sit still, and would have been anxiety-ridden if I were trapped in an office. My dad stayed at the green house to wait for the gas company, cable company (although I had originally planned not to have cable at the house -- but decided that internet was a must, and it's a package deal!), and it was such a help to have him stationed at the house so we could go out and do other things. My parents went and picked the boys up early from school, and we all spent the afternoon at the green house, cleaning, organizing, etc.

The boys and I slept at the white house on Friday night, but I was up before 5am, with too much nervous energy to sleep. I started in on my projects, and the boys were up soon after that, and asked repeatedly to go to the green house. I packed up more stuff, and we headed over to the green house. As we were leaving, the Husband gave me a hug, and told me it would all be okay -- I started to cry, I knew that leaving the white house for the last time as a resident was going to be so painful -- I've lived there for longer than I've lived anywhere since I was 17 years old, the house was where we started our life together, where we brought home our babies, where we were supposed to have a wonderful life as a family. Ben asked why I was crying when Daddy hugged me, which made me cry harder.

After a quick breakfast at the green house, my mom and I packed up the boys for a trip to H*me Depot to get the odds and ends we needed, and during the trip, the boys were both incredibly naughty, my phone was ringing/buzzing nonstop with calls, messages, texts, and I could feel my tolerance and patience quickly evaporating. I finally told my mom that I didn't care about the items on the list, that I just needed OUT of the store. We paid and left, and when we got back to the green house, the furniture delivery men were already there, as were Becky, Sean and Colin. I was happy to see my friends, and grateful they had made the trip from NY, as well, to support me during the transition.

My dad had directed the delivery men, two very nice young guys, but as soon as I arrived, they started asking me questions. Their non-stop questions, combined with the boys whiny, clingy behavior, a lot of people in one small apartment, and a bouquet of flowers that arrived from my sister were all too much, and I had to escape to the basement for a few minutes to myself to regroup.

All in all, the move went very smoothly, despite some tears, which I fully expected. The boys slept at the green house on Saturday night (sharing an air mattress with Mimi, of course), and I love the apartment, the location, and the new furniture we picked out.

Sunday afternoon was a challenge, as Becky and Sean and Colin left, as did my parents -- and then I had to meet the boys' father for a quick dinner, and to begin our new custody arrangement. After dinner, he took Ben, and I took Sam -- and we went our separate ways. Sam didn't think much of it, until we pulled in the driveway of the green house. He started to cry, telling me he wanted to go to the white house. I told him Mommy lives at the green house now, and let him unlock the door -- and he was very happy after that. He never commented on Ben not being with us, and I thought that maybe he hadn't noticed -- until later that evening, as we sat on the couch and read stories, he said to me, "Seeing Ben is at the white house with Daddy, can I have his bracelets?" Sam was very excited to go to school on Monday morning to see Benny-man, and as we pulled in the parking lot of the preschool, Ben was there waiting with Daddy, and Ben started jumping up and down, waving his little arms. I started to cry, of course, and when I opened my car door, he scrambled into my lap and hugged me so tight. The Husband told me it had been an unexpectedly challenging night for him, that Ben was upset and missed Mommy and Sammy. As we dropped them off at their classroom, they didn't even notice when we left, they were too busy talking and playing with each other to care that we were going.

Monday night, I had an evening meeting for work, and it seemed so strange for me to get home at 7:30, eat a quiet dinner, and watch "The Bachelorette" without interruptions to take a kid to the bathroom, or yell at them to stop jumping off their beds. Tuesday morning, I woke up early, and went for a run -- and then, had so much extra time before work, I sat on the couch and drank my coffee while watching "The Today Show." I was so happy to see the boys when I picked them up on Tuesday night, and couldn't wait to get them home to play. We walked to the playground and had a fun evening, and a great morning on Wednesday. While driving to school, we started talking about the "music truck" (aka ice cream truck) that drives past our house. Sam informed me that it isn't really a music truck, it's an ice cream truck. I asked how he knew that -- he said because of all of the pictures of ice cream on the side of the truck. I wonder how long it will be before they realize kids actually get ice cream from the truck??

Because of the Husband's work schedule this week, I had the boys three nights in a row, as compared to the every-other-day schedule we are trying. I am certainly questioning whether this arrangement is actually an arrangement that is in the best interest of the boys, as I think we are already seeing signs that the transitions are too difficult for the boys.