Aug 27, 2013

Moving: Phase 3 - Ann Arbor, MI. - June 2013

This is the 3rd and final installment in our moving adventure. If you're just joining us you can check out:
And

So, let's pick up where we left off. After 6 days of eating out and primitively entertaining our little ladies, the Allied Van Lines truck arrived in front of our new house. After a quick McDonaldd breakfast they set to work Preparing the house.
They build a bridge across the lawn from the truck doors... 
Right up to and over the front steps.
Carpet runners were rolled out on all the hard surfaces.
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And plastic wrap tracks were laid down on all the carpeted surfaces, like the halls...
and stairs.
They removed stair rails and padded the doer way.
The inspector checked everything out.
(The inspector... I LOVE that lip!!!)

We did a quick walk through noting where all the large furniture needed to be placed and each room was labeled to make it easy to direct where boxes needed to go.

We found a quiet, out of the way corner for the girls.
Once everything and everyone was ready, they set to work.
I'm still floored but how many boxes there were!
(kitchen and dinning room)
(Office)
(Kids bedroom)
(Kids Bathroom)
(Master Bedroom)

There were a few furniture placement mishaps, meaning that I misjudged how large our furniture was and had to completely rethink how a few... No ALL of the rooms would be set up. 

Once the couch was in place E didn't waste any time making sure its comfort wasn't damaged in the move.
The day was long and there were frustrating moments, but for the most part, a full service pack and move was well worth every penny we spent.

If you're interested in connecting with Allied van Lines to get your next move quoted we HIGHLY recommend them!  We've worked with Mitzi Lyne, our move coordinator a few times and had several friends work with her as well.  Her information is below.  We don't get any credit or discounts for referals but having moved as much as we have a good moving company is a HUGE comfort when everything in your life is being relocated.  Also if you have any questions about the process please ask me in the comments below.

Mitzi Lyne
Moving Consultant
Lanigan Worldwide Moving
Agent for Allied Van Lines
Memphis, Tn/
901-744-7070
mlyne@alliedagent.com
Our Master Mover's name was Sebastian out of Chicago.
(he primairily does northeastern and mid western moves and he doesn't go farther south than Tennessee.)

In many ways it was hard to watch someone handling your stuff because in your head you feel you'd take more time and be more careful and organized. The truth of it is you can put a lot of effort in on the front to make things more organized for them to pack which will make unpacking a lot easier on you.

To be COMPLETELY honest I did NOTHING to prepare for the move except organize the girls toys, give a few things away and pack our "go bags", and when everything was unpacked, there were only 4 casualties.  Our steam cleaner sustained very minor damage, and the glass in a picture frame was broken. 3 and 4 were actually my fault. I left the batteries in our 2 hands free soap dispensers. Needless to say, they emptied themselves throughout their journey. Oh well!!!

All the packing information told us that things would be packed "as is" unless there were instructions given ahead of time. As you can see, I'm not torn up about it!

I know it's taken a while to get this entire story up but I promise there is good reason. we've had a lot of d.i.y. projects going on that have kept us all very busy. Those stories and more are coming soon. Love you all and thanks so much for sticking with us and keeping us in your prayers throughout this transition. If you can believe it, we've already started planning the next move. We're like the Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade around here, in more ways than one!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Aug 1, 2013

Moving: Phase 2 - Baltimore, MD/Ann Arbor, MI - June 2013

Welcome back! If you're just joining the party you can check out:

A lot of people think the hardest part about of moving is the heavy lifting. They're right!   However, when traveling and moving with little ones there are lots of challenges. We've learned that how you frame the situation makes all the difference.  All around, this move was stressful, but really a lot of fun and it was cool to see the creativity emerge when we took away the TV and noisy toys, both  children and adult.  Lots of time for family.

The drive time between Baltimore and Ann Arbor is just over 8 hours for 2 adults that's nothing at all, but add 2 SUVs, 2 kids, 2 cats, and 2 fish and it gets a little more interesting. We gave a lot of thought to us all riding together and towing the smaller of our 2 vehicles, but when it we decided to buy walkie talkies and drive separately I mean how could I turn down the Hub's offer to give me 9 kid free hours of listening to music, uninterrupted audio books, and I did't have to share my snacks with ANYONE!

So it was me, the cats and the fish in the little truck. Then the Hub and the girls in "Daddy's BIG truck". The decision to put the girls with the Hub was a few layers deep. First, in general, our girls behave WAY better for their daddy. THIS is a mystery to me that I'm sure I will NEVER completely understand. The second reason is that the Hub's truck has GIANT tires and the noise that they make on the road completely puts them to sleep. I have to admit, THAT was the Hub's idea and he was absolutely right!
When they weren't sleeping they were reading...
And setting booby traps for daddy when he opened their door at the rest stop.
The most challenging part about using professional packers and movers is that you don't move with your stuff. The company we use gave us a 4-6 day window for delivery. and because of the geographic makeup of our moving teams load schedule it took the full 6 days to receive our belongings. That being said, we had a lot of time on our hands to keep our little ladies busy and with no furniture and a VERY limited supply of toys we had to get creative.
The Bucket Races
Playground Inspecting
Nature Hunts
Trash Can Head
Static Electricity Hair Stylist
And yes, we did watch a little bit more Sofia.
Then, on the 6th day, after driving all night to get to us on time, this is what appeared in front of our new home.
I can't wait to tell you about the move-in process, it was a really cool.  We decided that we will request this team by name for our next move, which, by the way is less than 11 months away! CRAZY!!!

Check out:

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!