Moving and vacation

So The Boys, The Dogs, The Cat and I have moved to a house. Now each pubescent boy has his own room, and not a day too soon! The Dogs have a backyard, and The Cat can go outside again. This move in particular took a great deal of effort and work. Where we moved to required days of work installing things that were missing and cleaning. The move itself was painful. Lots of people who were really exhausted by the end of it, and I managed to piss off Corky.

The timing was not great. We were at Disneyland for the days preceding the move. The vacation was awesome, the weather was perfect, and the earthquakes were only mildly discomforting. The Oldest sounded great, the entire band looked and sounded great, and I had my first argument with Corky because I'd gotten up early, was crabby and thought the early hour was pointless (it wasn't). We weathered the argument (which amounted mostly to me being bitchy), the earthquake and aftershocks and 12 hours in the car plus 3 days in the parks. We still love each other, and it was really difficult coming home to the grind.

the very next day, I received the keys to the new place and began hauling boxes to the garage. This continued for a few days until I needed to start moving things into the house, and had to spend 8 hours cleaning with two other people. I also had to install 2 closet rods and shelves, a mailbox, and repair the fence so I could bring the dogs. I had some friends really flake on me and drop out of helping me move, and a couple others who really stepped up. My kitchen was rearranged three times, none of those were my desires. I spent hours being brow beaten about furniture placement, and ultimately had to redo the living room to be functional for me. Since moving in, it took a ton of effort to get phone service, Internet and TV, and the heater working. Still waiting on the second line jack install and reissue of voicemail...

Move in day (the furniture and everything else) was 5 days after getting the keys and lasted about 20 hours (for me) and 12 hours for my Sister & her Boyfriend and fewer hours for the rest, though we were all working hard. My folks were there to help, including the repair work to the fence (which was completed by Sister's Boyfriend). Since moving in, I've been unpacking, still cannot find the notebook I desperately need, installed a thermostat and new air filter, heard The Boys whine about The Cat keeping them up, started letting the cat outside at night (everyone is much happier and well rested), started walking to and from school with The Youngest, and lived without a microwave. I am ultimately happier with the house, but it seems like it's been a rather taxing move. Oh, and I have a sty on my eye that had my eye swollen shut yesterday morning, and hurts like hell.