New Year... New Everything

Greetings from Katy! The forecast today calls for a T-shirt and capris... and it's January. Does this seem odd to anyone else??? Well we've been in town a whole week and have begun our slow acclamation to life in Texas... one wouldn't think it would be quite different than Oklahoma since they are basically right on top of each other, but we've noticed some major differences for sure. I'll give a 'small' re-cap of the last couple of weeks ups-and-downs.

Let me say first that we had a blast during Christmas time. Camden and I headed into OKC early, so I could get some Camden relief while Aaron flew in from Houston that weekend. I only had one meltdown, and that is when Camden, Gracie, and I pulled out of our Bville home for the last time. I knew it was the last time Camden would leave his first home because he would not be coming back with us when the movers came the following week. I am guilty of being extremely nostalgic at times and remembering back to when we brought my sweet little baby home from the hospital, and then realizing we were leaving it for the last time... well... there were some tears for a few miles. We spent Christmas time with family and friends and said our final good-byes before the move. Aaron and I headed back up to Bville for a few days while the movers packed and loaded. We drove back down to a very chilly OKC to stay at the Skirvin for a night, went out with The Gregorys for a good-bye dinner, and then headed out on Sunday with family in tow.


Hello Texas!

We arrived on Sunday evening with no major breakdowns from Little Man... thank the Lord!!!! Napping, Blues Clues, crackers, and gasps of clapping, banging, and whatever else we could find to entertain him made the trip MUCH easier than originally anticipated. Aaron and Gracie rode in one car, and my mom, Camden, and I rode in the SUV. Despite a very easy trip, we were pretty tired by the time we got in to town. We stayed at the Lantrips that night (where Camden attempted to destroy their house while Gracie attempted to dominate Polo, their little dog-sorry Wes and Alison!) The movers came the next morning and quickly moved in and 'unpacked' our belongings. By 'unpacked' I mean taking everything out of boxes and laying it on the floor. This was a huge help because it got rid of hundreds of boxes and MOUNDS of wrapping paper, but this also left a VERY large mess throughout the entire house. Over the next few days we attempted to find places for things, make several runs to the grocery store, take a MUCH needed trip to the Container Store, etc. My dad and sister, Auntie Amie, came up for a few days this weekend and then left with my mom. Now alone with a teething Camden while Aaron is back at work, I'm a little overwhelmed with everything. I embrace normalcy, and I think it's going to take a while before things feel 'normal'. I'm slowly trying to adjust to life in Texas, and there are quite a few adjustments to make!

Here are my top five adjustments of this week...

1. I have NO idea where I am going, and I pretty much get lost wherever I go. Despite getting a fabulous Christmas gift I've named Sally, I seem to get turned around once I leave the neighborhood. It doesn't help that EVERYTHING looks the same. Apparently the community has zoning laws where everything has to be the same brick and the signs have to look the same (very Pleasantville-ish!) For a newbie like myself, this can be EXTREMELY confusing.

2. No more 'Oklahoma Hellos!' People here in Houston are not the friendliest bunch compared to the laid-back Okies. I guess things are just more of a faster-pace? We didn't even get greeted by the Greeter at Wal-Mart; she just stood there with a straight face. I think there have been a total of three people out of like 100 who have asked me how my day was going this past week (Thank you nice Chick-fil-A people!). I guess I expect this when I go to California or New York, but I wasn't expecting this in Texas. Oh Well... I guess I would be less friendly too if I had to battle I-10 every day...

3. Poor Miss Grace has been taking the move the hardest, and it's taking its toll on me. The first few days she spent running to the door as if she were saying "Okay, It's time to go back home now." She hates her new yard because she has a privacy fence with no hill and no squirrels to play with. She has stayed mostly inside and follows me around everywhere. She's depressed and whiny, which doesn't help with my own desire to pack it up and head back.

4. A good adjustment (I'm trying to give positives as well!) is the grocery store choices. People kept talking about the 'good' HEB in my area, so my mom and I headed there one evening to check it out. Holy cow! Mom and I felt like complete hillbillies because we kept on going up to everything and asking each other, "Can you believe this??" It's like we had never been in to a grocery store before. HEB Plus is like Albertson's meets Whole Foods meets Sam's. It was crazy having everything in one spot. People making fresh tortillas, wrapping sushi, and offering you wine tasting at a grocery store... it was unreal. This is a major plus to moving here.

5. Neighbors. We have lots of them, and I'm going to have to get used to that. In our old neighborhood, our neighbors were much older with no kids. Everyone pretty much kept to themselves because we all lived on big lots. We are on a much smaller lot now and can't help but hear what goes on outside. One neighbor whom we have endearingly termed 'The Corvette guy' revs his Corvette engine before he leaves his house. I've decided to not choose that battle until the day it wakes up a sleeping Camden (the cardinal sin around the McD home). On a positive note, there are sidewalks, playgrounds, and water parks around us, which will make playtime a lot more exciting for Camden.


I have no idea where our camera is in this mess, but I'll hopefully post Camden's first pictures as a temporary Texan this week.