All organized and ready to move!

Well...I'm ready to pack.
I feel like an old pro at this. We have only packed and moved 4 times in the 3.5 years we have been married. That doesn't count the 3 hotels we lived in between moves. I have moved pregnant and with an infant. Now I get to move pregnant with a toddler. This time we won't have to box everything up or be super diligent about what goes in which box and which box will travel which way. We are moving 40 min down the road. Half our stuff is already packed (and reorganized...my winter project) and in storage. Clothes can stay in the dressers, hanging clothes will go from closet to back seat to closet. Toys will pile in a laundry basket and will be dumped in the bonus room. The only thing I have to think about is what we will store in the garage and what we will use or what will be acceptable home staging items. I am so looking forward to spreading stuff out so we don't feel cramped or cluttered. Mostly I am looking forward to putting a nursery together...this is my second kid and the first nursery that has our furniture, our paint colors, and doesn't have extra furniture and our golf cubs for storage. Even though I hate moving I hope the house sells quickly and we will be moving again before the end of the year.

Hotel Life

As much as it’s nice to have maids make your beds and leave
you fresh towels daily I am not going to miss washing bottles in the sink…

or my “kitchen”…

Zack didn’t mind his small play area…

but he did mind his small bath…

and I was not a fan of our handicap shower that made the
whole bathroom floor wet and slippery…

we are so happy to be in a home…even if it is temporary and
after moving, packing and unpacking twice and almost a total of 3 months living
in a hotel I am so happy to know we will NOT be moving or living in a hotel for
at least a year.

Moving in...part 1

It was nice to walk into the apartment and not have to scrub and disinfect from top to bottom like I did with both apartments in Huizhou.  That sence of releif didn't last long because everything that had been sitting in storage for almost 2 years (some almost 3) needed to be cleaned and we had to try and fit 2 houses worth of stuff into an apartment and a small storage unit. 
Our morning started off with a few hiccoughs...first the key to the storage unit was not actually the key to the storage unit so Adam had to make the movers (who already came early) wait while he went to Lows and bought something to cut through the lock.  We also didn't do the one thing that we were supposed to do before we signed the lease...call the power company.  We realized this before business hours so we just hoped that things would work out.  They did but it did give us a little scare first thing in the morning.
I went to sign the lease get the key and bring in the stuff we got at the baby shower. 

Here is a little peek at why I love our apartment...

I washed my first load of dishes in the dishwasher (I did 3 total today...then I realized that I am much faster at washing than a machine and washed some by hand.

The movers were pretty quick and very helpful.  I was really impressed at the contracption they had for the door and door jam so they didn't nick the paint.
Zachary played...

and napped...

While I washed and unpacked...

Honestly it was better than Christmas!  I had forgotten what we got as wedding gifts and it was so much fun to take everything out of it's box.
I actually went to Crate and Barrel the other day and saw some glasses that I LOVED, I really wished we were getting married again so I could register for them...then I opend a box marked glasses and guess what...

I am so excited to eat off my red dinner wear and throw parties so I can use platters, and bake so I can use my pans.  I loved opening every box, even the ones that weren't full of new things...and I have to say Red Kitchen Aid Mixer...I think I missed you most of all.

Everytime I made a cake that wasn't as fluffy as I knew it could be, every time my arm cramped from trying to mix batter like a machine, everytime I decided to make brownies insted of cake I thought of my trusty old friend that can do AMAZING things.  Plus it sure does look nice as a focalpoint in my kitchen!

More Friends and Family

Our First Sunday back we went to Church...as you know from my nursery post.  We went out to lunch with some of the people in our old lifegroup.  Adam and I just signed up for a new lifegroup but I don't know if we will ever find a group of people as amazing as these people.  I am so excited for Zachary to play with new friends from this group...and possibly some of the five other boys his age in the nursery with him.
Sunday afternoon was a laid back get together with Adam's side of the family...what a perfect way to spend a Sunday in America!

Wednesday we drove up (in the new car) to DC to intrude on my Tante (aunt...for you non-Norwegians) Janet and Uncle Ray for the night.  Then we headed up to Whiting, NJ for the last time ever (and Adam and Zachary's first time).  My grandparents sold their house of 25 years to move to a different retirement village.  We helped them pack and we watched Zack play.  Grandma and Grandpa Dalland (along with my mother) agreed that Zack was the best baby...and they weren't just saying that because he was their great grandson.

On the way back from Grandma's we stopped off in Maryland to see my good friend Molly and her husband.  I am so glad we were able to meet up with them, even if it is for just a short lunch.  Molly is one of those friends that I don't see as often as I would like but when we see each other we pick up right where we left off.

Checking Things Off...

Last week (or should I say last Monday and Tuesday) were very productive...and very overwhelming.  We spent both days looking at apartments and test driving cars.
Apartment Hunting:  I have to say this area has some amazing apartment choices...each apartment we saw was better than the last.  It all came down to location (and the kitchen).  We thought long and hard and weighed the pro's and con's...we decided living in Cary would be nice but we would be further away from things, so we ended up in Raleigh within walking distance to the Briar Creek shopping area.  I will have everything from BJ's to Homegoods at my fingertips.  Plus there is an Orange Julius and a Super Target! 
Car Shopping: We started at Carmax, not to buy a car but because I know they have a variety on the lot for me to narrow my choices down to a couple makes and models.  Radik was our sales guy, he was an immigrant (I think middle eastern) and was super nice.  If Carmax allowed you to haggle and they had a good model of the car I wanted I would have bought a car from him for sure!  I felt so bad when he brought a sold sign "just in case", and I felt even worse when we left without a car.  I have a lot of experience haggling and walking away from my time in China, but I still feel bad for Radik.  After leaving I was pretty sure about the Ford Edge.  Our second dealership was when I made my final decision...but I wasn't ready to buy the only one they had on the lot.  The car was the right price, it didn't have a lot of miles, but there was a chunk taken out of the steering wheel.  I don't expect a used car to be perfect but I don't want to settle before seeing if the perfect car for me was out there.  This salesman was the stereotypical used car salesman and he played all the games.  In the end he asked why I wasn't leaving with the car and I was honest, it was my first time car shopping EVER and I needed to see what was out there before I spent that kind of money...and what could he stay to that.  We searched online for every Ford Edge within driving distance and ended up at Capital Ford in Raleigh where they had a bunch of them!  Kenney was our sales guy and had been selling Fords since 1979.  His wife was a teacher drove a 98 Explorer which they gave to their daughter when she went to college.  I was a teacher and LOVED my 98 Explorer...yes he won me over.  He pointed out his Church on our test drive and we loved the car.  We went in expecting to see what else was out there and only buying if we found "the car" at a great price.  Well...

This was taken at 10:00 pm while we were waiting for our temp. tags...we had been there since 5:00 and hadn't eaten dinner.

Here it is my 2007 Ford Edge!

so happy to be back behind the wheel

In this you can also see my new wash and go mom hair cut!

Car...Apartment...Cell Phones...Haircut...finished...so far!

We Survived! Our Travel Story...thanfully nothing interesting or exciting happened

We made it!  We left our hotel at 7:00 am...honestly I was worried out airport shuttle wouldn't be able to handle our luggage.  We checked in and went through immigration and found our gate.  There were a ton of adoption families at our gate so I was very thankful we weren't going to be the only ones with small children on the plane.

We were in business class and boarded the plane last min (we didn't want Z to get cabin fever before the plane left) and I could see the looks on the faces of the people who had paid a fortune so they could get a good sleep on this 16 hour flight.  "How is it that I am the one sitting next to the baby?!?"  A few hours into the flight (when other passengers realized that Zachary was going to be alright) Zachary was the star of our section, he was fascinated with the grandma sitting across from us.  I am so thankful Cree put us in business class...not only was I able to lay the seat flat so Zachary could kick and play, but I was able to pump in the privacy of my own seat without being that girl who spent 20 min in the airplane bathroom. 

The new face of Delta Business Elite!

Yes I used my manual pump in my seat on the plane...twice!  I really thought I would have to give a lot of formula (my milk supply was down due to the stress of the last couple days and I wasn't sure what plane pumping would be like) however I only had to give 4 ounces of formula...and it would have been 2 but immigration in Detroit took a while and I didn't have time to pump before our second flight.
When we got to the Raleigh airport we were greeted with big smiles and hugs (well I avoided the hugs...not being able to pump and all...mommies you know what I'm talking about). 

We checked into our hotel (which is packed with families leaving the coast) and headed to Moe's for dinner with our families.

Ahhhhhhhhhh...I really expected Z to be angry that he couldn't play (it's been hard while the movers were packing his favorite toys) and I was really worried about the state of my milk makers...I have been up to 12 hours without pumping and I have to say it's the worst pain, it radiates through your body...and I wondered if we would be stuck in Detroit again...although this time I was prepared with extra clothing in our carry on...plus Irene was worrisome.  Thank goodness we didn't take a later flight!

Moving Day 5 (Checking Out)

If we have to move to China again the only thing that would make me hesitate is the disorganization of everything and the paperwork.
We went to the apartment really early so I could wash bottles and Adam could get the last of the stuff that we were giving away.  When we finished we stopped off at Starbucks (will I go to starbucks so much in NC?  I don't think so, I don't even like coffee...I just liked the feel of America).  Adam got an e-mail with the amount we owed to cover bills and it ended up being 10,000 RMB (over 1,500 US)!  We knew it was going to be a lot and because we have a foreign ATM card we are only allowed to take out 2,500 RMB each day.  Usually when we pay bills we take a few trips to the ATM over a week...yes we HAVE to pay everything with cash.  We had 8,000 and no way of getting more because we already got our max for the day. 

It's so hard watching someone else clean.

The last picture of Zack on this floral sofa!

I went back to the hotel to pump, Adam went to the apartment to sign out while Zachary and I hung out with his birth buddy (a baby born to a French Bulgarian couple 10 days before Z in the same hospital...and they live in our building).  Adam's 20 min checkout ended up being about 2 hours...and I am so glad I didn't go because I would have gotten really annoyed and mad (I am so lucky to have a husband who can deal with people telling us we owe more money because they have to hire someone to move the furniture back and repair pin holes...meanwhile when we moved in Adam moved furniture by himself and there were huge nails sticking out of the wall.  Anyway all that is over with and we figured out how to get them cash.







Goodbye 1201...yes the number was held up with scotch tape.







Our driver took us to the HK border and we said goodbye...see a later post.  Another car picked us up and drove us to the airport hotel.  We hadn't eaten lunch so we had an early dinner then a late dinner with my good friend Judi and her husband Cesare...I am so going to miss my hotel friends.  Cesare is an Italian chef and the head Chef of the Intercontinental hotel on the Hong Kong harbor...he had his assistant prepare a special meal for us.  We finally crashed at around 1:30 am.

Moving Day 3 (sea shipment)

The morning went a little more smoothly than yesterday.
They came...did their thing...

In each one of these is a small glass...yeah I don't think anything is breaking

At this point I stayed in the living room...I didn't want to trip or mess anything up

and when they left we had nothing left...goal met!

Before

After

After watching them pack I have no doubt all our stuff will get to our new apartment (wherever that may be) in one piece.

Good-Bye Huizhou Family

We have been saying goodbye for a while...it all began last Friday (2 weeks before take off).

Dina bought this outfit for Zachary.  She wrote "to Handsome Milton" on the card because she wasn't sure how to spell Zachary.

I had to throw in a cute picture of my boys!

We started by taking Dina out for lunch.  Dina is one of my favorite people at Adam's work.  She has been my lifesaver.  Not only will she translate when I am desperate and she will organize crazy schemes so that I don't end up doing any of the work.  It's funny...sometimes I call because I need her to explain my errands to the driver and she will end up telling the driver to do them for me...and since Zachary was born I don't argue.  It has been a huge help because taking Zachary out means blocking cameras, explaining in broken Chinese that he doesn't need socks when it's 100 degrees out, and making sure people don't give him food (like a whole tomato...yes this happened).

Last Saturday night we had close to 25 friends over for dinner.  I made NC style pork BBQ, homemade chicken nuggets, hot dogs, cole slaw (from scratch...this won't happen again...cabbage makes your kitchen STINK), pasta salad, chocolate cake and rice krispie treats. 

Adam with some of his co-workers

Some of oour Ex-Pat friends

Amber and her little girl Lottie

Monday night Adam went out with some of the Engineers he works with.  The went to dinner and KTV...I wasn't invited...I think it was because they were intimidated by my singing voice.  Adam had a great time and when I asked him what he sang...he replied "everything".

enjoying a nice dinner

Toasting Adam

 

Saturday afternoon we threw another party this time with Cree people.  I prepared finger foods.

This baby is 2 weeks younger than Z...and belongs to one of the first Cree people I met.  Who would have thought we would both get pregnant at the same time.  BTW- ever tried to take pictures of two 5 month olds?  At least here they are both looking at the camera and Z isn't attacking the other little guy!

Zack's new best friend...I honestly thought he would never give him back, it's so sweet watching men play with a baby.

The whole group!

Sunday we went to Palm Island.  This area is about 45 min. from where we live and this is where some of the first people I met live.  Most have moved away but my friend Jacqueline and her family are still there and moved to Huizhou from Cary, NC...talk about small world.  Jacqueline was the one who lent us the crib and our favorite thing...the Jumparoo.  We are so sad to give it back but even more sad to say goodbye.  I am hoping we meet up again sometime for an Orange Julius in Briar Creek!  I am so mad I didn't take any pictures...I was having way too much fun!

Our last celebration dinner was tonight (Wednesday)...honestly I was super exhausted and had way too much on my mind to enjoy it as much as I should have.  I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow...I feel like I am a few years behind my life...you know...things move so fast.

Adam with the top Cree Huizhou guys

The head table

Adam invited 40 people to his big dinner.  Here are some.

and some more

These are my two favorite Cree ladies...Rolin helped us when we first moved in (hers is the baby with Zack) and Dina helps us all the time now.

These events along with several trips to Starbucks with the ladies were a great way to end our stay in Huizhou.  I hope to bring Zack back someday to meet all these people who were so excited to be a part of his life, and who Adam and I are honored to know!