This NaBloPoMo business is a little harder than I thought it would be. I've already missed one day (what, you didn't notice) and I've struggled on more than one day to produce a coherent post. The annoying part is that I actually have several ideas for posts swimming around in my head each day. But my children seem to have drained my ability to write clearly and concisely Even now, it took me a full minute to think of the word concisely!
It doesn't help that I don't usually sit down to write my post until 10 or 11 at night, when my already compromised brain is mush. Tonight I hung out with some friends, sans kids and husband, which was much needed, but now I am too tired to think straight. So this post is purely for the purposes of NaBloPoMo. I promise to come back tomorrow with actual content!
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Our Vet's Office
I got home from running errands today and let the puppy out of her crate to go outside. She seemed really squinty and I was chuckling to myself that she was trying to adjust to the sunlight when I realized that, actually, she wasn't squinting, here eyes were just very swollen. Awesome. So I loaded the dog and the kids back in the car (including poor Harriette who thought she was about to take a much needed nap) and drove to the vet's office to get the dog some benedryl and steroids.
Aside from being mildly annoying and inconvenient (not to mention a little damaging to the old pocket book), it was actually a fairly pleasant experience. I love our vet's office! We found the vet when we had to have Jager put down, and they were so incredibly thorough and sweet. They did a full exam of Jager and then x-rayed her shoulder to make sure there was nothing we could do for her. When we made the decision to put her down, they didn't make us feel guilty, and in fact, were extremely supportive and kind. After we put her down, they made a little clay mold of her paw-print for us.
When we took our new puppy the first time, we brought the whole family, mainly because Cyrus was having some anxiety about the vet. Everyone was extremely kind and welcoming. They even gave Cyrus a ride on the exam table. The exam itself was very thorough. In addition to the vet, there were two techs helping to exam the puppy, and an additional tech taking notes on a computer.
The puppy had to have some tests done, and instead of having a tech or secretary call, the vet herself called with results. And, as he sometimes does, Cyrus answered the phone, thinking it was his dad. When I apologized for my three-year old answering the phone, she said "oh yes, I thought that was Cyrus on the phone." She remembered his name! This was baffling to me - I've had doctors I've seen several times who don't remember my name, let alone my kid's name!
We also got a letter in the mail a few days later, handwritten by the vet, congratulating us on our puppy and giving words of encouragement.
We saw a different vet today, but she was equally kind and engaging with my kids, and didn't even seem to mind that Hattie was screaming her tired little face off through most of the visit. When it was time to check out, someone came to me in the exam room so that I didn't have to juggle my wallet and the kids and the dog up at the counter.
It feels good to be completely satisfied with a place I have to go on a regular basis. I feel like I've had to lower my customer service standards to where I am happy if I just get so-so service. I like knowing that my dog is in good hands, and that, not only will I be treated with respect and kindness, but that people will go out of the their way to make my experience as positive and easy as possible. This is the way it should always be!
It's a little hard to tell, but her left eye is very swollen. This was about a half hour after the shots, and the swelling had already started to go down.
When we took our new puppy the first time, we brought the whole family, mainly because Cyrus was having some anxiety about the vet. Everyone was extremely kind and welcoming. They even gave Cyrus a ride on the exam table. The exam itself was very thorough. In addition to the vet, there were two techs helping to exam the puppy, and an additional tech taking notes on a computer.
The puppy had to have some tests done, and instead of having a tech or secretary call, the vet herself called with results. And, as he sometimes does, Cyrus answered the phone, thinking it was his dad. When I apologized for my three-year old answering the phone, she said "oh yes, I thought that was Cyrus on the phone." She remembered his name! This was baffling to me - I've had doctors I've seen several times who don't remember my name, let alone my kid's name!
We also got a letter in the mail a few days later, handwritten by the vet, congratulating us on our puppy and giving words of encouragement.
We saw a different vet today, but she was equally kind and engaging with my kids, and didn't even seem to mind that Hattie was screaming her tired little face off through most of the visit. When it was time to check out, someone came to me in the exam room so that I didn't have to juggle my wallet and the kids and the dog up at the counter.
It feels good to be completely satisfied with a place I have to go on a regular basis. I feel like I've had to lower my customer service standards to where I am happy if I just get so-so service. I like knowing that my dog is in good hands, and that, not only will I be treated with respect and kindness, but that people will go out of the their way to make my experience as positive and easy as possible. This is the way it should always be!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Look who decided to start walking...
This girl is all or nothing. She doesn't do gradual. Two months ago she started taking three steps at a time, but until two days ago, that was the extent of it. All of a sudden, she decided walking was the thing to do, and now it is her preferred method of movement! Check her out!
Monday, November 12, 2012
100% Whole Wheat, Dairy Free, Homemade Bread
Due to an onslaught of requests (and by onslaught, I mean three), I am posting my bread recipe. I love this recipe because it requires no proofing of the yeast, and only one rise, which happens directly in the bread pans. My husband pointed out that it is not exactly "my" recipe, and that's true. A friend of mine in Arizona gave me this recipe, and I honestly can't remember where she said it was from. It should also be said that this is by no means an exact science. You will need to experiment a bit to figure out what works best in your climate and with your equipment. If I was one of those fancy food bloggers I would have step by step pictures with explanations. But of course, I am not, so hopefully my explanations will be enough without the photographic evidence OK, here we go:
This recipe makes two 2 lb loaves. I adapted it from a recipe for three 1.5 lb loaves. I'll include those measurements in parentheses in case that is your preference.
Prep time: 20 minutes. Total time: about 2 hours
2 2/3 cups warm water, I think about 140 degrees (3 cups)
just over 1/3 cup honey (1/2 cup)
2/3 cup oil (3/4 cup) I use virgin coconut oil, but you can use any oil you like
8 cups flour, divided (9 cups)
1 TBS plus 1 tsp yeast (1 1/2 TBS)
1 heaping TBS vital wheat gluten (1 1/2 TBS)
3/4 TBS salt (1 TBS)
Put water in the bowl of a stand mixer and add oil and honey, followed by half of the flour (4 cups). Then add the yeast, vital wheat gluten and salt. Make sure the yeast doesn't go into the water, and make sure it doesn't touch the salt.
Using a dough hook, mix on medium speed until blended, and then gradually add more flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and just barely sticks to your fingers. You don't want to have to scrape it off, but your hands should come away clean after touching it. You should need some oil on your hands to handle it. Continue mixing on medium to medium high speed for about 8 minutes or until dough stretches a bit without tearing and holds its shape.
Pour the dough out onto a well oiled surface or a silicone baking mat (that's what I use). With a little oil on your hands, form the dough into two loaf shapes (or three, depending on how many you are doing), pounding on the counter a few times in the process to remove air bubbles.
Oil your bread pans (I use coconut oil for this, but you could probably use Pam or something similar) and place the loaves in the pans. They will rise exactly as they are formed, so keep that in mind. Let them rise for about an hour, or until they have doubled in size.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the bread makes a kind of hollow sound when you thump it with your fingers.
A few notes:
I've never used any other kind of whole wheat flour besides the white whole wheat but I've been told that it makes a softer, lighter bread than other kinds. A lot of people use King Arthur brand, which is good, but if you have access to a Trader Joe's (sorry Bridget) I highly recommend their flour. Also, it only costs $2.99 per 5 lb bag, which is by far the cheapest I have found.
I have found that I only use about 6 cups of flour in total. Because of that, I also use a little less yeast, probably about 1 TBS plus 1/2 tsp. I had to reduce my yeast because my bread kept collapsing as I put it in the oven. If you live in a more humid climate, you might need more flour. I use slightly more flour here then I did in Arizona, which could also be due to the much lower elevation.
Vital wheat gluten doesn't last very long, and you don't use very much per batch, so I recommend keeping it in the freezer. I use the Bob's Red Mill, and I get it from Whole Foods.
If you choose to replace some of the whole wheat four with all-purpose flour, you will probably need a little more of it, depending on the ratio. You may need to adjust your yeast in that case, and you will want to reduce, or even eliminate the vital wheat gluten. (I will say that, although I prefer the health benefits of the 100% whole wheat bread, I ran out of whole wheat flour one day and used 1/2 white flour and the bread was so amazingly fluffy and soft and delicious, it almost made me never want to go back!)
I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and it only barely tolerates this amount of dough. I cannot actually do the three 1.5 pound loaves in that mixer without it overheating, so keep that in mind. I have heard that you do some white flour, the mixer can handle it a little better.
Let me know if you have any questions, and if anyone tries this, please tell me about it!
This recipe makes two 2 lb loaves. I adapted it from a recipe for three 1.5 lb loaves. I'll include those measurements in parentheses in case that is your preference.
Prep time: 20 minutes. Total time: about 2 hours
2 2/3 cups warm water, I think about 140 degrees (3 cups)
just over 1/3 cup honey (1/2 cup)
2/3 cup oil (3/4 cup) I use virgin coconut oil, but you can use any oil you like
8 cups flour, divided (9 cups)
1 TBS plus 1 tsp yeast (1 1/2 TBS)
1 heaping TBS vital wheat gluten (1 1/2 TBS)
3/4 TBS salt (1 TBS)
Put water in the bowl of a stand mixer and add oil and honey, followed by half of the flour (4 cups). Then add the yeast, vital wheat gluten and salt. Make sure the yeast doesn't go into the water, and make sure it doesn't touch the salt.
Using a dough hook, mix on medium speed until blended, and then gradually add more flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and just barely sticks to your fingers. You don't want to have to scrape it off, but your hands should come away clean after touching it. You should need some oil on your hands to handle it. Continue mixing on medium to medium high speed for about 8 minutes or until dough stretches a bit without tearing and holds its shape.
Pour the dough out onto a well oiled surface or a silicone baking mat (that's what I use). With a little oil on your hands, form the dough into two loaf shapes (or three, depending on how many you are doing), pounding on the counter a few times in the process to remove air bubbles.
Oil your bread pans (I use coconut oil for this, but you could probably use Pam or something similar) and place the loaves in the pans. They will rise exactly as they are formed, so keep that in mind. Let them rise for about an hour, or until they have doubled in size.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the bread makes a kind of hollow sound when you thump it with your fingers.
A few notes:
I've never used any other kind of whole wheat flour besides the white whole wheat but I've been told that it makes a softer, lighter bread than other kinds. A lot of people use King Arthur brand, which is good, but if you have access to a Trader Joe's (sorry Bridget) I highly recommend their flour. Also, it only costs $2.99 per 5 lb bag, which is by far the cheapest I have found.
I have found that I only use about 6 cups of flour in total. Because of that, I also use a little less yeast, probably about 1 TBS plus 1/2 tsp. I had to reduce my yeast because my bread kept collapsing as I put it in the oven. If you live in a more humid climate, you might need more flour. I use slightly more flour here then I did in Arizona, which could also be due to the much lower elevation.
Vital wheat gluten doesn't last very long, and you don't use very much per batch, so I recommend keeping it in the freezer. I use the Bob's Red Mill, and I get it from Whole Foods.
If you choose to replace some of the whole wheat four with all-purpose flour, you will probably need a little more of it, depending on the ratio. You may need to adjust your yeast in that case, and you will want to reduce, or even eliminate the vital wheat gluten. (I will say that, although I prefer the health benefits of the 100% whole wheat bread, I ran out of whole wheat flour one day and used 1/2 white flour and the bread was so amazingly fluffy and soft and delicious, it almost made me never want to go back!)
I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and it only barely tolerates this amount of dough. I cannot actually do the three 1.5 pound loaves in that mixer without it overheating, so keep that in mind. I have heard that you do some white flour, the mixer can handle it a little better.
Let me know if you have any questions, and if anyone tries this, please tell me about it!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
A Nose Bite, a Clean House, and Stubborn Dog
Three things from today:
1. When I picked Cy up from nursery today, his teacher told me that he was bonking another kid on the head, and then that kid retaliated by biting Cy on the nose. She didn't need me to do anything, she just wanted me to be aware of the situation.
Can I tell you how hard it was to discuss this incident with Cyrus without cracking up? I mean, come on! He got bit on the nose! The NOSE! How is that the best spot to place your attack? It turns out that Cy was hitting the other kid in the head with his own head (I have no idea why, by the way), so I guess Cy's nose was kind of close to the kid's mouth, but still. I told Cy that he shouldn't have bonked the kid on the head, and that he probably deserved to be bitten on the nose. Does that make me a bad parent?
2. Today, my husband cleaned our entire downstairs while I was church. I have been putting off cleaning our floors for about two weeks, and they were just gross. It was such a pleasant surprise to come home to a clean house and to just be able to relax.
3. I was giving the kids a bath tonight and the puppy was lying by my feet. Then she got up and started sniffing around, and I knew she had to go potty. We have only had three accidents with this dog since we got her two weeks ago, because I am highly diligent about making sure she gets outside. Also, she often just goes and sits by the backdoor or whines to get my attention to go out. In this instance, however, she must have decided it was too cold outside, because once I saw her sniffing around I tried to get her to go outside and she ignore me, kept sniffing and then SQUATTED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND PEED!!! I shouted no and put her outside where she promptly finished her business. But seriously dog? I know it's cold, believe me, I'm freezing in this bitter 50 degrees, but that is no excuse to pee in my house!
The End
1. When I picked Cy up from nursery today, his teacher told me that he was bonking another kid on the head, and then that kid retaliated by biting Cy on the nose. She didn't need me to do anything, she just wanted me to be aware of the situation.
Can I tell you how hard it was to discuss this incident with Cyrus without cracking up? I mean, come on! He got bit on the nose! The NOSE! How is that the best spot to place your attack? It turns out that Cy was hitting the other kid in the head with his own head (I have no idea why, by the way), so I guess Cy's nose was kind of close to the kid's mouth, but still. I told Cy that he shouldn't have bonked the kid on the head, and that he probably deserved to be bitten on the nose. Does that make me a bad parent?
2. Today, my husband cleaned our entire downstairs while I was church. I have been putting off cleaning our floors for about two weeks, and they were just gross. It was such a pleasant surprise to come home to a clean house and to just be able to relax.
3. I was giving the kids a bath tonight and the puppy was lying by my feet. Then she got up and started sniffing around, and I knew she had to go potty. We have only had three accidents with this dog since we got her two weeks ago, because I am highly diligent about making sure she gets outside. Also, she often just goes and sits by the backdoor or whines to get my attention to go out. In this instance, however, she must have decided it was too cold outside, because once I saw her sniffing around I tried to get her to go outside and she ignore me, kept sniffing and then SQUATTED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND PEED!!! I shouted no and put her outside where she promptly finished her business. But seriously dog? I know it's cold, believe me, I'm freezing in this bitter 50 degrees, but that is no excuse to pee in my house!
The End
Saturday, November 10, 2012
One More Step on My Path to Becoming a Domestic Goddess
I did this today:
That's four loaves of bread, my friends, made from scratch, by me. It will last my family about 10 days (we like bread around here). It is 100% whole wheat and dairy free. It is apparently so delicious that if I let him, my husband will consume 1/2 a loaf in the first hour it is out of the oven. I'm rather proud of it.
So how did I, the woman who shirked all things domestic, become a baker of homemade bread? Shortly after Hattie was born, it became apparent that she was extremely sensitive to dairy and soy. And I'm talking so sensitive that if I ate bread that contained whey or soybean oil, even if it was the 20th ingredient, she threw up. A lot. She gained weight really slowly and I did a mountain of laundry and generally felt really guilty until I figured out how to eliminate those two things from my diet. Let's just say that I had to completely rethink how I ate food. It forced our family to cut out a lot of the processed crap we were consuming, and forced me to start making more things from scratch.
Have you ever tried to buy bread that doesn't contain any dairy? It is very, very hard! I eventually found some that I could purchase for around $5 a loaf, but it went bad quickly, and I sometimes ended up throwing half of it away. After about six months of this, I decided to get over my fears and learn how to bake bread. A friend came over one morning and showed me how to make delicious, 100% whole wheat bread with just a handful of ingredients, and I realized how amazingly simple it is. It takes me only about 40 minutes of hands on time to make four loaves of bread,
Hattie's sensitivity is much less severe now, and I could get away with buying regular bread if I wanted to. But the thing is, my bread is made with whole ingredients, nothing highly processed, and it is far cheaper than a loaf of similar quality from the grocery store. Plus, as mentioned above, it is pretty delicious. (It is worth mentioning that my bread is probably not cheaper than buying a loaf of standard grocery store bread - I use moderately expensive ingredients, like whole wheat flour, honey, and coconut oil. But since my goal is to feed our family less processed bread, making it is cheaper.)
Along with bread, I also make our waffles, pancakes and brownies from scratch. For some of you, this is probably no big deal, but for me, it seemed like a really fancy, hard thing to do. It isn't, and now I can't imagine buying mixes for any of those things. It's just too easy and delicious to do it myself! Next on my path to domestication: sewing!
That's four loaves of bread, my friends, made from scratch, by me. It will last my family about 10 days (we like bread around here). It is 100% whole wheat and dairy free. It is apparently so delicious that if I let him, my husband will consume 1/2 a loaf in the first hour it is out of the oven. I'm rather proud of it.
So how did I, the woman who shirked all things domestic, become a baker of homemade bread? Shortly after Hattie was born, it became apparent that she was extremely sensitive to dairy and soy. And I'm talking so sensitive that if I ate bread that contained whey or soybean oil, even if it was the 20th ingredient, she threw up. A lot. She gained weight really slowly and I did a mountain of laundry and generally felt really guilty until I figured out how to eliminate those two things from my diet. Let's just say that I had to completely rethink how I ate food. It forced our family to cut out a lot of the processed crap we were consuming, and forced me to start making more things from scratch.
Have you ever tried to buy bread that doesn't contain any dairy? It is very, very hard! I eventually found some that I could purchase for around $5 a loaf, but it went bad quickly, and I sometimes ended up throwing half of it away. After about six months of this, I decided to get over my fears and learn how to bake bread. A friend came over one morning and showed me how to make delicious, 100% whole wheat bread with just a handful of ingredients, and I realized how amazingly simple it is. It takes me only about 40 minutes of hands on time to make four loaves of bread,
Hattie's sensitivity is much less severe now, and I could get away with buying regular bread if I wanted to. But the thing is, my bread is made with whole ingredients, nothing highly processed, and it is far cheaper than a loaf of similar quality from the grocery store. Plus, as mentioned above, it is pretty delicious. (It is worth mentioning that my bread is probably not cheaper than buying a loaf of standard grocery store bread - I use moderately expensive ingredients, like whole wheat flour, honey, and coconut oil. But since my goal is to feed our family less processed bread, making it is cheaper.)
Along with bread, I also make our waffles, pancakes and brownies from scratch. For some of you, this is probably no big deal, but for me, it seemed like a really fancy, hard thing to do. It isn't, and now I can't imagine buying mixes for any of those things. It's just too easy and delicious to do it myself! Next on my path to domestication: sewing!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Our Whirlwind Move to Fresno
Fair warning, this post is kind of long, and picture-less. It turns out I was so busy packing and freaking out during our moving process that I failed to photo-document anything.
Sometime around the second week in August, Jason got a call from someone higher up in his company asking how we felt about relocation. He asked Jason to talk it over with me and get back to him. Jason did some figuring based on the positions he knew to be available, and figured out pretty quickly that the San Joaquin Valley of California (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto) was up for grabs. The new position meant not only a relocation, but also a significant change in salary and responsibility and really, was the whole reason that Jason joined this company in the first place. We spent the next week speculating, fretting, but really not doing anything because nothing had happened yet.
A week later, on August 17 (a Friday), he was officially offered the job. When was he to start? Tuesday, August 21! We had just four days before he left to try and get as much packed as possible, and come up with a plan for getting the rest of our family out to Fresno as soon as possible. With the help of a friend who watched Cyrus most of the day Saturday, and the nap gods, who allowed Hattie to sleep for over three hours, we managed to get about 50% of our house packed up that weekend.
By some miracle, my step-dad had already planned to come out to Phoenix for a visit that Monday. He helped me get more things packed, and then heroically watched Cyrus for four days while Hattie and I flew to Fresno the following weekend to find a house.
Let me speak for a moment on trying to find a house in Fresno from out of town. It was FAR more difficult than I thought it would be. I spent hours on craigslist that week looking for homes. Having never been to Fresno, and not knowing much about the area, I tried to figure out the best areas in which to live. Those two things, in and of themselves, were a lot of work. However, I ran into several obstacles along the way. The majority of the rental market in Fresno is managed by property management companies. Apparently, these companies have found that they do not need to show houses after 4pm or on weekends. On several occasions, I wanted to say "Hey! I have money! Right now! In my pocket! I need to find a home! Don't you want my money???" Of course, I didn't know about the showing schedule before I booked my Friday evening through Monday evening trip! I ended up having to squeeze several appointments into Monday before my flight left that night.
Another problem was that houses were being snapped up like crazy. I found several homes that seemed "perfect" for us, homes that had just been posted, only to call the next day and have them already under contract.
Finally, I had some real trouble finding homes that allowed dogs. Several properties allowed small dogs (which Jager most definitely was not), and several others allowed dogs outside only. Really? This baffled me. The summer temperatures in Fresno, while not as hot as Phoenix, can hit 110. That is not exactly the safest climate for a dog to be outside in all day. Especially a senior dog like ours.
Despite all these challenges, I ended up with about 5 homes lined up for us to see while I was in Fresno. My goal was to be able to move on or near Labor Day. That was just one week after my trip to Fresno.
After spending several hours driving around Fresno and getting a feel for the area, and touring the houses I had lined up, it finally came down to two homes, a mile apart from each other, and on the same street! One was right in our budget, but didn't quite meet all of our needs. The other was a little over budget but had everything I wanted in our home.
Ultimately, I decided that if Jason was going to be working more hours, and I was going to be at home most of the time with kids, I wanted to be really happy in my home. I decided extra space was more important than extra money.
I flew back to Phoenix and spent the next four days trying to get the rest of the house packed. Before my step-dad left on Tuesday, he called in reinforcements, and my mom flew out on Thursday. She happens to be the queen of all things organization and packing, and that woman had me whipped into shape in no time!
The rental house we chose did not come with a fridge, washer or dryer, so Jason spent the next few evenings after work appliance shopping.
Jason flew in that Friday night, and he and my mom and I finished packing on Saturday. We took her to airport on Sunday morning, and picked up Jason's mom, who flew in to drive with me to Fresno and help us get unpacked.
I have to mention at this point that without the help of several friends and family members, this move would not have happened. Several friends watched Cyrus and Hattie for hours at a time, my cousin kept him for a day and night, my visiting teacher helped me pack my kitchen, and of course, my parents and Jason's mom flew in to save the day! I counted no fewer than 10 people who helped us in some way or another.
Jason was given a substantial amount of money for the relocation, and while we considered hiring a moving company to move us, our frugal side took over and we chose to rent a Uhaul and do it ourselves. We did hire a company to load the truck, though, because it was going to be a little tight! (Several people in my ward seemed a little irritated that we didn't just have the men of the priesthood help us out, which I totally get. However, even the movers said it was kind of close, and I'm pretty sure that without professionals, our stuff would not have all fit on that truck!)
So, on Monday morning, we picked up the Uhaul, met the movers at the house, and loaded everything into the truck. At 2:00pm, Jason drove off in the Uhaul, and I drove off in the van, accompanied by my mother-in-law, both kids and the dog.
We got into Bakersfield at 2:00am, and got up bright and early Tuesday morning to drive 2 more hours to Fresno. We picked up our keys, met some more movers at the house and unloaded the truck.
In case you lost track, we were unpacking in our new home in fewer than three weeks from when Jason was officially offered his new position, and in fewer than four weeks from when we even knew moving was a possibility. That, my friends, is how we do it in the Wells family - we don't mess around! I will post pictures of the new abode shortly.
Sometime around the second week in August, Jason got a call from someone higher up in his company asking how we felt about relocation. He asked Jason to talk it over with me and get back to him. Jason did some figuring based on the positions he knew to be available, and figured out pretty quickly that the San Joaquin Valley of California (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto) was up for grabs. The new position meant not only a relocation, but also a significant change in salary and responsibility and really, was the whole reason that Jason joined this company in the first place. We spent the next week speculating, fretting, but really not doing anything because nothing had happened yet.
A week later, on August 17 (a Friday), he was officially offered the job. When was he to start? Tuesday, August 21! We had just four days before he left to try and get as much packed as possible, and come up with a plan for getting the rest of our family out to Fresno as soon as possible. With the help of a friend who watched Cyrus most of the day Saturday, and the nap gods, who allowed Hattie to sleep for over three hours, we managed to get about 50% of our house packed up that weekend.
By some miracle, my step-dad had already planned to come out to Phoenix for a visit that Monday. He helped me get more things packed, and then heroically watched Cyrus for four days while Hattie and I flew to Fresno the following weekend to find a house.
Let me speak for a moment on trying to find a house in Fresno from out of town. It was FAR more difficult than I thought it would be. I spent hours on craigslist that week looking for homes. Having never been to Fresno, and not knowing much about the area, I tried to figure out the best areas in which to live. Those two things, in and of themselves, were a lot of work. However, I ran into several obstacles along the way. The majority of the rental market in Fresno is managed by property management companies. Apparently, these companies have found that they do not need to show houses after 4pm or on weekends. On several occasions, I wanted to say "Hey! I have money! Right now! In my pocket! I need to find a home! Don't you want my money???" Of course, I didn't know about the showing schedule before I booked my Friday evening through Monday evening trip! I ended up having to squeeze several appointments into Monday before my flight left that night.
Another problem was that houses were being snapped up like crazy. I found several homes that seemed "perfect" for us, homes that had just been posted, only to call the next day and have them already under contract.
Finally, I had some real trouble finding homes that allowed dogs. Several properties allowed small dogs (which Jager most definitely was not), and several others allowed dogs outside only. Really? This baffled me. The summer temperatures in Fresno, while not as hot as Phoenix, can hit 110. That is not exactly the safest climate for a dog to be outside in all day. Especially a senior dog like ours.
Despite all these challenges, I ended up with about 5 homes lined up for us to see while I was in Fresno. My goal was to be able to move on or near Labor Day. That was just one week after my trip to Fresno.
After spending several hours driving around Fresno and getting a feel for the area, and touring the houses I had lined up, it finally came down to two homes, a mile apart from each other, and on the same street! One was right in our budget, but didn't quite meet all of our needs. The other was a little over budget but had everything I wanted in our home.
Ultimately, I decided that if Jason was going to be working more hours, and I was going to be at home most of the time with kids, I wanted to be really happy in my home. I decided extra space was more important than extra money.
I flew back to Phoenix and spent the next four days trying to get the rest of the house packed. Before my step-dad left on Tuesday, he called in reinforcements, and my mom flew out on Thursday. She happens to be the queen of all things organization and packing, and that woman had me whipped into shape in no time!
The rental house we chose did not come with a fridge, washer or dryer, so Jason spent the next few evenings after work appliance shopping.
Jason flew in that Friday night, and he and my mom and I finished packing on Saturday. We took her to airport on Sunday morning, and picked up Jason's mom, who flew in to drive with me to Fresno and help us get unpacked.
I have to mention at this point that without the help of several friends and family members, this move would not have happened. Several friends watched Cyrus and Hattie for hours at a time, my cousin kept him for a day and night, my visiting teacher helped me pack my kitchen, and of course, my parents and Jason's mom flew in to save the day! I counted no fewer than 10 people who helped us in some way or another.
Jason was given a substantial amount of money for the relocation, and while we considered hiring a moving company to move us, our frugal side took over and we chose to rent a Uhaul and do it ourselves. We did hire a company to load the truck, though, because it was going to be a little tight! (Several people in my ward seemed a little irritated that we didn't just have the men of the priesthood help us out, which I totally get. However, even the movers said it was kind of close, and I'm pretty sure that without professionals, our stuff would not have all fit on that truck!)
So, on Monday morning, we picked up the Uhaul, met the movers at the house, and loaded everything into the truck. At 2:00pm, Jason drove off in the Uhaul, and I drove off in the van, accompanied by my mother-in-law, both kids and the dog.
We got into Bakersfield at 2:00am, and got up bright and early Tuesday morning to drive 2 more hours to Fresno. We picked up our keys, met some more movers at the house and unloaded the truck.
In case you lost track, we were unpacking in our new home in fewer than three weeks from when Jason was officially offered his new position, and in fewer than four weeks from when we even knew moving was a possibility. That, my friends, is how we do it in the Wells family - we don't mess around! I will post pictures of the new abode shortly.
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