A quick update

No pictures today -- I am at my mom's house in NC with the kiddos, and Evan is in NY dealing with the movers. He has the camera, so you'll just have to settle for a written update this time! :)

Mom flew to Albany last Sunday afternoon. We put her to work right away babysitting while our good friends Jason and Renee took us out for a lovely goodbye dinner. We had such a great time catching up with them "sans babies." Children are wonderful, but they are not terribly conducive to adult conversation. We ate a lovely dinner in front of a roaring in a lakeside restaurant. It was a sweet time to spend with the Gagnon's!

Monday was busy with final details of packing and organizing for a week with the kids at my mom's. My good friend Sherry came and picked up Ella for the morning and took her along with her daughter Nora to the mall and to Friendly's for lunch. She took my double stroller, and people kept asking her if the girls were twins. I don't think Sherry got any shopping done, and she came back with a ketchup stain right in the middle of her white shirt, but Ella had a grand time. Thanks, Sherry!

Tuesday morning was especially bittersweet as I attended my last MOM's meeting at Loudonville. I have made some amazing friends there, but the very saddest part was Ella and her best friend Maddy having to say goodbye. They didn't know that is was goodbye for awhile; we didn't want to upset them with something they clearly would not understand. Angela and I spent the morning trying not to cry at the thought of our sweet girls missing each other so much. We took them out to Wendy's for a last lunch, and they had a great time. I am trying to convince Angela to bring Maddy for a visit this summer, and I plan to take Ella up there in the fall. We really hope to keep them in touch as best we can. Ella has already been asking for her buddy, and I just tell her we'll see Maddy soon. :(

Mom and I boarded a plan with the kids Wednesday morning and flew from Albany to Charlotte and then on to Asheville. Traveling with two little ones is very hard; Evan and I have done it so many times, though, that we have a chaotic rhythm that we maintain in order to survive. Mom was a HUGE help, but one really needs hours of training and experience to merely navigate airport security with little ones. For one, you are allowed liquids for the kids, but they have to be declared and held out separately. The stroller and car seat have to go through the x-ray machine. You cannot carry a baby in a carrier through the line -- you have to take them out and carry them. Children -- even infants -- have to remove their shoes. If a little kid touches the sides of the metal detector, it will go off. So you do all this, and then you get to the other side and have to get everyone redressed and reloaded into their appropriate carriers and haul hiney to the gate as to not miss your plane. Then you have to get a special tag for your stroller to leave planeside. This time Ella's car seat got stuck in the seat and it took me 15 minutes to get free; meanwhile the plane has emptied and the flight attendants are done cleaning the plane. Get the picture?

This time, I had a whole new adventure. About and hour into the Albany to Charlotte flight, both kids pooped. The odor was intolerable, and they both are prone to diaper rash if they sit in poop too long. So, I had to take them each one at a time to the airplane lavatory and change them on the toilet seat. First, the bathrooms are very small. Second, they are very gross. Third, they smell really bad. Easton kept touching everything -- he has had a diarrhea for two days. Connection you think? I opened Ella's diaper only to have poop roll onto the floor. So I had to hold her onto the seat, legs in the air, and chase the poop around the floor. It was great -- really.

We got through the first flight with minimal tantrums, and then had to hike all the way across the airport to make our connection. In my hurry, with Easton in the Bjorn and Ella's car seat on my arm, I fell. We were okay, and about five Southern gentlemen rushed to my aid. My pride was wounded, but after the whole poop chasing incident in the lavatory, who am I kidding? I have no pride; probably haven't since giving birth in a room full of strangers, really.

The flight from Charlotte to Asheville is short, and we survived that one. Tom picked us up at the airport and loaded all of our gear and delivered us to Pop's and Nana's house.

Thursday morning I went down to Greenville for an inspection of the house. We will post more photos after we move in, but I will just say that is beautiful, and I am so excited. The last time I saw the lot, it was empty, and now my house in there! Too cool!

The movers came to pack us up today, and Evan said they were super fast. They packed the whole house between and 8 and 3. They will load the truck on Monday, and hopefully Evan will start his drive down Monday or Tuesday.

I think that's all! We miss all of our NY friends already; I only wish you could all come with us.

Check back in a few days for another update!