Talking to Kids about Moving

Anne is generally over the moon about the new house, but in the past week or so, she's started to get a little resistant when we talk about the prospect of leaving our old house. "I like the new house the best," she'll say, "But sometimes I'm going to sleep at the old house, too." When we tell her that that won't be possible because someone else will be living here, she gives us a resounding NO.

It makes sense that she would be a little anxious to leave. James and I love this little old house and the time we've spent here. But to us, it's just a quick drop in the memory bucket, a place among all the other places we've lived, a place where we spent just a little over a year. But to Anne, it is the only home she's ever really known. She was too little to remember our Arlington condo. This house is the setting for the only Christmas she remembers, the only birthday she remembers having, the place where she's played with her friends, all the little moments in between.

We've been trying to do what we can to make the move easier on her. The main thing is that we've tried to move everything else before packing her room. That way, she has a sort of sanctuary amid the chaos of packing that's taken over the rest of the house. We're planning on unpacking and setting up her room at the new house first thing before anything else, for the same reasons.



We've taken a lot of photos of/in the old house during the months we've been here but are trying to snap some shots of the little things about it that we'll want to remember in the future: the plants and trees in the yard, the crystal knobs on the pretty ladderback doors (each one is unique), the funny black-and-white retro tile in the bathroom.

It helps a lot that we've been spending a lot of time at the new house, usually making at least one trip every day for renovation purposes. It's also convenient that the layout of the new house is very similar to the one we're leaving. Thank you, mid-century architects! A.'s new room is coming together, and she's already made friends in the new neighborhood, which has been great for helping to distract from the fact that our time at the old house is coming to an end. But I still find myself crossing my fingers, hoping it all goes smoothly.

Have you moved with your kids? How did you make the transition a little easier? Any strategies you could share would be most appreciated.

Happy Monday!

Our New House

Just over a week ago, we closed on our new house -- a four-bedroom, two-bathroom (!) 1940s Cape Cod just a few streets away from the house we've been renting for the past year. Despite a few dubious design choices left over from the early 1970s (psychedelic wallpaper and linoleum, wood paneling everywhere), our new house is pretty much perfect in our eyes, full of light and charm and tons of possibilities.

Anouk's favorite things about it are the vintage light fixtures in the bedrooms and the seats under the dormer windows upstairs; James loves the yard and the fact that it's within walking distance to the beach; I still can't believe the sheer number of cabinets and drawers in the kitchen (well over thirty) and the neighborhood, which is shady and friendly and full of young families.

I think what's most exciting though is that this new house means that we're here in Norfolk to stay. We can start settling in and really putting down roots. It's exciting, seeing our city through this new perspective. I never really paid attention to the elementary school down the street before; now whenever I pass it I can't help but picture a little six- or seven-year-old Anouk there, knowing that it will be her school one day.

We're going to be super busy over the next few weeks as we settle in and start some pretty extensive renovations so please forgive me if things are a little slow over here on the blog. I promise I'll make it up with some juicy DIY posts later for those of you who are into that.

Two whole bathrooms! I still can't believe it. Happy weekend, everyone!