Sweet Home Alabama

So, I've got some really, really, really, good news to share.  My husband went to that interview that I referenced last week and HE GOT THE JOB!!  So I get to FINALLY move back to my hometown and I am so very excited.  They called him yesterday afternoon, he accepted the offer then and there, and he starts on June 11th. 

I am leaving Texas with its insane heat and it's flying demon cockroaches for the humidity and mosquitos of my home state of Alabama.  I can't wait!!

Wait.  Today is May 17th.

I have 1, 2, 3....16, 17, 18....HOLY CRAP.  I only have 24 days to sort through, pack up, and arrange transport of all the chaos in this house.   AND I have to clear my DVR because I don't think I can take it with me.

The company is paying his relocation, but he doesn't get that money until his first day of work.  So basically it will be reimbursement.  This will probably be fine.  We have moved too many times to count.  Every time we move, we've had new family members, so it has gotten increasingly difficult.  The relocation package this time is substantial, and I know what is involved in moving ourselves, so I am tempted to hire a mover.  I decided to do a little Google based research.

Let me make a suggestion -- if you ever need to get revenge on someone, go online and sign them up for a free moving quote.  I filled out what I thought was a form for ONE company -- Budget Van Lines.  Within the next hour or so, I got no fewer than 23 phone calls and about as many emails.  Each of them were more than willing to provide me with a free quote after having me on the phone for about an hour going through my house telling them all of the items that I want to have moved.  Then there are more and more options -- transport only, partial pack, full pack, supreme coverage, premium coverage, elite coverage, and standard coverage -- I had no idea that it was this complicated.  My head is swimming.  First, there is the prospect of tackling this daunting task in a little more than 3 weeks.  Now there are options that I haven't even considered.  And as I am looking around at all the crap that my kids have broken and destroyed that we've been "making do" with, I am thinking seriously of just lighting a match.

We have to find a house to rent.  Soon.  And we can't go to Alabama and look because the husband still has a job here, and the kids are still in school until the end of May.  I keep looking online, but having done this before, I know that houses online look amazing but that doesn't mean that they are.  I also know that houses that are listed online, with their well-written descriptions and their 23+ photos are most likely overpriced to cover all of that fancy marketing and management fees.  We need to be "boots on the ground" so to speak -- we could most likely find the house that we need in the area that we want for much less than those listed online by driving around, word of mouth, etc.  The other option is to find a place to store all of our stuff while we stay with family and look for a house.  Also a daunting task fraught with its own secret language of coverages, spacial measurements, and terms.

If there are any moving or storage companies that would like a review, please feel free to contact me -- I am serious.  This is a golden opportunity for you to get a real user review of the services that you offer and I could really use the discount.
I am getting overwhelmed.

I need to take a breath and calm down.

But we all know that isn't going to happen.  So now I have something new to obsess over, to be anxious about, to be excited about, and to keep me from my blog and my Facebook addiction.  I don't mind.  I've been wanting to move back to my hometown for more than the past decade -- this is a good obsession.  I am over the moon to be going home.  I am certain that I will be on here off and on over the next few weeks, but any long rants will have to wait until I have time to really work on them.  Any posts until after we get moved will most likely be short little stories about the perils and pitfalls of moving a family of 6 across country in a short period of time, and all of the wonderful (sarcasm) things that I will no doubt find lurking in the nooks and crannies of this house as I sort and pack.   But, I'll be back.  With a vengeance.

Y'all want to take bets on the oldest half-eaten Pop-Tart that I'll find hiding in my house?