New Car to Move the Moreno's

The beginning of this year we got temporary custody of my husbands niece.. Well we only had one vehicle and with 3 little ones in car seats we NEEDED a bigger vehicle and we needed it ASAP. We ended up with a minivan.. Sexy, I know. I so was not happy about that minivan BUT it had TV's and it worked. We had LOTs of room and it had room for whenever people would come to visit :) The kids LOVED the van. Well whenever we got orders to Alaska the people we made our payments to would not allow us to take it to Alaska. Thanks to the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act we were able to turn the vehicle back in with no penalties. We actually ended up getting SOME money back haha.

Our PLAN was to get a second vehicle a little after we got to Alaska.. Things changed like they always do in the military and we ended up getting orders to New York instead of Alaska. Well that caused a BIG problem.. With us moving to Alaska we were going to fly and the airlines we'd be flying approved 2 free bags for the service members and dependents(when flying with the service member) and THEN the military would reimburse us for 2 suitcases.. So that gave us 16 suitcases total that we could check. Well whenever we got orders to New York we would have to drive the car. The car we have is a SMALL Acura TSX. Now I love this car. It's a 2006 and it has been great to us. We have had one complication with it since we've had it and that was just last month. The power steering went out and we had to have that fixed. But its just a small car and driving just that car halfway across the US would have been hard. If we drove one vehicle it would have been me, Adam, our 2 kids, and Boidoe. At the very least we would have 5 suitcases and Adams golf clubs. The issue is whenever we drove from North Carolina to Texas it was only me, Adam, Boidoe, and Adams suitcases. That is ALL we had room for in the car. So there is no way all of us and ALL of our suitcases would fit in the car. Also I will start working once we get to New York, the kids school is about 20 minutes away from our house, I also want to start going to school. So we NEEDED a second vehicle again.

We started looking for vehicles about 2 weeks ago and oh my goodness I wish we would have just kept the darn minivan. Car shopping is MISERABLE whenever your on a budget and don't have the best credit(we've been working on it). Also we NEEDED roof racks, leather, 3rd row seating, and navigation. I WANTED a sunroof. And the kids wanted a tv haha. My mom and step dad were even helping us look for vehicles. Well I found a vehicle I loved we went and test drove it and were so ready to get it. Turns out it just looked like it had navigation. He wanted about $2000 more just to install the navigations. So after even more looking we decided all we need is 3rd row seating, leather, and roof racks. We can buy a darn tom tom. We can get portable dvd players or tablets for them to use. And a toe hitch we can have installed.. I found a few vehicles and THEN something amazing happened... I FOUND IT!! It was THE ONE! She was a BEAUTY! Red is my weakness when it comes to cars. I LOVE red, black, and white. But red is my FAVE!

It's a GMC Acadia. I still remember the first time I saw the GMC Acadia's. I was at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo with my family and Adam. I saw this brand new car I have never seen before(the Acadia's just came out that year) It was such a pretty car and I wanted it. I saw the price and it was WAY out of my price range.. Well 2 days ago I FINALLY found one and it was a GREAT price! Plus it had EVERYTHING! 3rd row seating, leather, roof racks, sunroof, TV, heated seats, navigation, and VERY spacious! Now let me answer a few questions for yall.. You are probably thinking why in the world do yall need 3rd row seating? Let me tell you why. We are a family of 4. We are also a military family that will be living 24 hours away from family. We need the extra space for when family visits. Also I carpooled whenever we lived in NC and needed the extra seats. And who knows maybe in a few years Adam and I may decide we want another child and we will for sure need the space. Now why do we have to have leather?

Big Red? Rosie? Betsy? Pepper? We need a name for it.
We also kind of need a name for our car haha.
Big Blue and Big Red?? Papa Smurf and Rosie?

Ummm.... kids. DUH! Oh and dog hair haha. Boidoe sheds like crazy whenever we drive. Navigation? Well we made the switch to Verizon and this whole not having unlimited data SUCKS!! Yes we are going to print the directions out but we are planning on stopping and sight seeing and could get off the path that we printed out. Navigation helps with that. Plus we travel last minute and just kind of go off.. Whenever I first moved to Fort Bragg I went and picked Boidoe up from the vet. It was an 45 minute drive at MOST(round trip).. I was gone for 3-4 hours. I got so lost with a dog and 2 kids. In a not so great area. Had no idea how to get home and my phone died.. It was horrible. Having navigation then would have helped. Sunroof.. People make fun of me because I LOVE my sunroof.. But I was willing to give it up AGAIN. Thankfully the vehicle I found had the sunroof :) I could have cried haha. The thing is I was willing to give everything up. Just get a vehicle with 3rd row and roof racks because I knew those 2 were the most important things we needed. But whenever I finally found this car I knew I was done searching and I was so happy :) Now the stress of finding a vehicle before we left for New York is over :) Seriously ONE WEEK before we leave we signed the paperwork! haha


It is so spacious!! 2 seats up front, 2 in the middle, and 3 in the back.
And Boidoe STILL has room in the very back :)

 

*You can comment down below with some names and once we pick them I will let yall know :) We may let the kids decide. They seem to come up with some good names haha. Brett named Boidoe :)

A Date, A Date, A VERY IMPORTANT DATE!!

FINALLY!!! We actually have official dates.. I would say they are set in stone but I don't think anything in the military is set in stone. EVER! Plus I don't want to jinx it because they may end up changing our orders yet again! But they gave us REAL DATES ON PAPER! And that's about as real as it gets in the military :)

Last night Adam and I headed back to Oklahoma and he had to sigh out of base and start leave. Now this whole pcs has been one big complication after another so it's only right for them to make something go wrong.. Adam goes in and don't have his paper work! They LOST IT! So Adam would have to go in the next morning and get it situated because he would either have to sign out on leave or stay in Oklahoma. Well thankfully they found his leave form and he was able to sign out. We were officially DONE with Fort Sill!!!

So we will be leaving Texas September 26th or 27th. And we have to get to Fort Drum, NY no later than September 30th. And HOPEFULLY we will get a house on the 1st.. I really do hope we're not in a hotel for long. We will be living in an empty house for a month or so because transportation will not pick up our HHG until we get an address :( they wont pay to put our HHG in storage again. Even though our HHG have only been in storage for no more than 21 days and they allow you 90 days in storage. But not much we can do about that.

Now I have a question for yall.. We will be driving from Dallas, Tx to Nashville, TN and then from Nashville, TN to Niagara Falls. Is there anything along the way we HAVE to see?? We probably wont be doing this drive for a long time. We are thinking about sight seeing in Nashville and then sight seeing in Niagara Falls. So any other places along the way we should see? Also if you could see ANYTHING or go ANYWHERE in the Northeast part of the United States where would you go? Who knows it may end up on our "New York Bucket List". I'm looking for sight seeing, parks, waterfalls, food places, ANYTHING! Pretty soon I will list our bucket list on the blog.

 

 

The closer we get to leaving the more excited and sad I get. I am excited to be moving to New York and be back in our own home again but also sad to be leaving Texas and leaving our friends and family. But we are ready to get settled and start having visitors, make new friends, and get to know the area we will call home the next 2-5 years :)

School Uniforms....

When I was in high school my school district and a lot of other surrounding schools decided to enforce a school uniform. This is NOT a dress code that we had the previous years but an actual uniform. You cold only wear 4 different color collared shirts and 4 different color pants. At that time I hated it. I was so mad I felt like I was being punished. I wanted to wear cute clothes and have fun picking out my wardrobe daily. Also I HATE collared shirts. What I didn't realize is once you have children you will hate it even more!

Brett has been in school for 2 years now and he just recently started year 3. Brynna also just started school this year. We moved home for the first 9 weeks of school before our pcs and the kids are going to school in the same school district I did when growing up. The school uniform policy is for kids in 1st-12th grade. Pre-K and Kindergarten don't wear school uniforms. I dislike the uniform policy even more now than I did whenever I had to wear the uniforms. I am so thankful Brynna can wear normal clothes so I didn't have to buy her a crap ton of new school clothes like I did Brett. Also I'm pretty sure he has been out of dress code 5 out of the 7 days he's been to school. I can never remember the stupid belt. Darn belt hides from me every day. I refuse to buy another one because he will only be wearing the uniform for 9 weeks and then we move.. I only bought him 5 shirts and 4 shorts and thats all because again we wont be here long. So with normal clothes I'd have a limited supply of clothes. With uniforms I have a very limited amount. It's not that I hate uniforms I just hate everything that has to go in to it. My son used to love picking out his clothes before school and now showing him his clothes in the morning is so boring. haha. I understand why the school has uniforms but I still dislike them. In a month and a half we will be back in a military school and out of the uniform school :)

BTW before anyone suggests it I do pick out the kids clothes the night before. Normally Sunday evening before I put the kids to be I pick out their clothes for the week and put them in their little cubby closet organizer thing. But currently it is sitting in Alaska and we are in Texas. So for now I just pick them out every night before I go to bed.

Since we've been gone..

We left Fort Bragg July 18th and headed to Texas. Adam got to be home for a few days in Texas and then it was time for him to head to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for him to go to AIT(a school for him to change his MOS, or job in the military). The kids and I are staying with family in Texas while Adam is in school in Oklahoma. Adam's school was supposed to be from July 25th to September 26th(or sometime right around there). Well he ended up failing out of the class. Adam failing out of his class somewhat complicated things. Originally Adam was reclassing(changing his job) to 29E and then we'd go live in Fairbanks, Alaska(Fort Wainwright). Since he failed his class he wouldn't be a 29E he would continue being a 13D what his original MOS(job) was. Since he was a 13D still they didn't need him at Fort Wainwright so they asked him if he'd go to airborne school and they'd send him to Anchorage, Alaska(Fort Richardson AKA JBER). The thing is our HHG(all our furniture, decor, clothes, EVERYTHING) was currently in Alaska. We were already approved to go to Alaska. Everything was taken care of except our plane tickets and shipping the car. Well 2 weeks later Adam calls them about his airborne paperwork he submitted and they end up telling him they don't have any slots available for him to go to airborne school right now and that he is going to Fort Drum, New York. Fort Drum wasn't even an option in the beginning. It wasn't even on the radar haha.. That just goes to show exactly how fast things can change in the military. In less than a month things changed 3-4 different times. It has been a huge nightmare. We are currently STILL waiting for paper orders. We can't apply for housing, we can't call transportation to have our HHG brought back to the east coast(they are currently sitting in a storage in Fairbanks, Alaska), we can't plan our move. NOTHING! We are still just waiting. Which has been the trend this whole pcs.. Adam also got an email TODAY. He has a levy briefing next week to prepare him for the pcs... No big deal right? WRONG. Its in Fort Bragg, NC and he is at Fort Sill, OK.... I swear these people have made this pcs one laughing matter after another. I can't even get mad anymore. I just wait for the next thing to screw up. So as of now we are going to Fort Drum, New York and we are supposed to be there by October 20th.. Who knows if it'll change AGAIN for the hundredth time but maybe the 3rd times a charm haha.

New York... How do I feel about living in New York. I have mixed feelings. The main reason I am not happy about living in New York is because it is NOT Alaska. Those of yall who have heard me talk about my dream duty station already know this but my dream place to live while Adam is in the military is Alaska. I didn't care if it was Fairbanks or Anchorage I just wanted to live in Alaska. Yes I know its freezing there, yes I know it snows ALL THE TIME. Yes I know during the summer it is pretty much sunny all day and during the winter its pretty much dark all day. I know its probably crazy to WANT to live in Alaska BUT just like Korea its a once in a life time opportunity. People tell me all the time why don't you use vacation there. I dont want to travel to Alaska and visit for a week I want to LIVE THERE for a few years and travel over time. Who knows maybe in a few years we will get the chance again. But if not I can say I ALMOST lived in Alaska haha.. It was so close I could almost touch it but then the army took it back. haha. With that being said, I am not mad that we will be living in New York. I am excited to get to experience the life of a Yankee(wont be a NY Yankees fan though, I will always be a Ranger fan). I'm excited to give New York a little southern hospitality. I'm excited to be a few hours away from NYC, Niagara Falls, Canada, and so much more. They still have skiing near by which is what I REALLY wanted to do. I already have a pinterest board for things we WILL be doing while living in New York. And the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of them :) not sure if we will be going this year or next year BUT we are going. We will have to be in New York for 2 years and then who knows. My biggest thing with living in New York is this Texas girl NEEDS AC and apparently not all the housing there has gotten with the program and they dont have AC. I'm not too excited about that. I'm sorry but if it gets over 80 degrees EVER then you NEED AC. It's a NEED not a want. So I may end up in the hospital with a heat stroke the first day of summer in NY.

Adam and I with Brett and Brynna
before their first day of school

The kids are currently in school here in Texas. Brett is in 1st grade and Brynna is in Pre-K. They both like school but Brett doesn't like that 1st grade doesn't have all the fun play time like pre-k and kindergarten did. Brett is having issues staying focused and not talking so much. He hardly ever got into trouble at school in pre-k and kindergarten but when he did it was with staying focused and talking. So we are having to work with that. Brynna LOVES her teacher and loves school. She didn't want to leave whenever we went for meet the teacher and on the weekends she is always asking to go to school. It has been great being home visiting family while Adam is doing his schooling. Had I known things would have worked out the way they did the kids and I would have tried to stay in North Carolina while he did his schooling. But you live and you learn.. Brett is starting to lose his first tooth. Brynna is a swimmer now and can swim along with her big brother. A week before school started Brynna learned how to spell and write her name all by herself. They are both growing up and changing so much!

Time For A New Blog

I thought about continuing my original blog (My Journey For Their Miracle) but I decided to keep that blog just about surrogacy and this blog will be about our everyday crazy life. You will probably enjoy it just as much as you enjoyed my surrogacy blog.

Within 3 years Adam, the kids, and I have moved to another country, and back, to another state, and back, and now we are about to be on our way to New York. We were SUPPOSED to be moving to Alaska but things changed and now we will be moving back to the east coast. NEW YORK HERE WE COME! Adam has now agreed to 5 more years in the military and who knows how many times we'll move within the next 5 years and how many different places we will see along the way. So I PLAN to blog about our experiences along the way. But I am a mom to 2 school aged kiddos, a military wife, I am planning on starting back school within the next 6 months and hopefully finding a job soon once we get there. So I will probably get busy and forget to update haha. So just bare with me :)