People used to tell me that I move too often, and they would be very correct. I have lived in more places then I can remember, and this year is turning out to be the worst for moves. We have already moved twice, once to Chicago and then to Kansas City where we are as I type this message. However, at the end of this month the Lambert clan will pack up and  move again. It’s comforting to know that we will be moving back to familiar territory, closer to home. I have accepted a job in Minneapolis and will begin on June 29th up there. This comes at a good time since the previous position wasn’t working out for us.

I am going to try and make this the second to last move we make for a while. I am tired of moving and always wondering where my next paycheck is going to come from. So this time I am planning to make this job work long term. I will be working part time while I continue going to school. This will be the second to last move only because we decided to put all of our stuff in storage in Minneapolis and rent a room for a couple of months while we look for a place we can call home for a few years. The timing is perfect, with college students all gone for the summer there are lot’s of cheap rooms available. We’ll be able to save a lot of money this way with no ulitilies and cheap rent.

We originally planned to get a large enough truck to pack all the stuff here in Kansas City, then stop in Wisconsin to get the rest of our stuff in storage there and take it all with us. However, I really don’t want to have to move the stuff in Trempealeau twice, and it’s only two hours away from where we will be so we will likely wait until after Labor Day to deal with that stuff. Besides, our camping gear is there and we will be camping at Autumn Rose in Galesville, WI this September, so it will be near by. It will be nice to get all of our stuff together again, and to have a nice paying, albeit part-time, job that will likely become a full time position, if and when I want it to.

Changes at School

This move will effect the degree path I am following in school. Unfortunately, Minnesota does not allow the Elementary Education degree that the University of Phoenix offers. Though I still think it might be fun to be a teacher, reality has made this decision a lot easier. The highest paid elementary school teachers barely make $40K, and if I am already capable of making near $55K in the IT industry without a degree, think if what I could make with one! I will take a week off of school so we can move and get settled, and start back up on May 29th, with an emphasis on Information Technology, hopefully leading into a Bachelor’s Degree for System Analysis. I will keep you updated as I continue my education.

Yeah, we have finally managed to clear out the 10×20 storage locker we have had in Trempealeau, WI since fall of 2006.  Of course we haven’t lived in Trempealeau since Nov of 2007, but we still kept our storage locker there.

Well today we finally have that storage locker completely cleaned out.  Of course it took two additional trips to visit family in Holmen, WI since our move to Kansas City last month.  But it’s good to see family.

It’s great the storage locker is all cleared out, the not so great thing is that now everything that was in the storage locker which we’re keeping and haven’t been able to take to Kansas City yet are now in a 10×12 storage locker in Trempealeau.

Why all the trouble to move it from one locker to another?  Well, originally we had intended to take everything down to Kansas City with us last weekend when we were in town.  We had planned our trip to do many things all in a long weekend.  These things included going to the La Crosse and Three Rivers Train Show, a party on his side that combined Shane’s birthday, Allyssa’s birthday, and Easter, as well as the moving of our things in the storage locker.

Unfortunately things did not work out that way.  In the end we were not able to rent a truck to haul our things to Kansas City.  And since we had planned on having it all out by April 1st, Shane had given notice on the locker.  When we found out that we wouldn’t be able to get a truck we attempted to see if we could keep the locker another month, but unfortunately they already had it rented out for April.  So we needed to find an alternative.  We did.  It was a different storage facility in Trempealeau, and it was a little smaller.

Last weekend we donated some of the furniture we had in storage which we decided we weren’t keeping to a nearby church rummage sale.  And then started moving things to our new unit.  We had things about 3/4ths of the way moved before we left town last Tuesday, but it was raining on Tuesday and we really didn’t want to finish the move in the rain with an open pickup truck.

We make the 8 or so hours drive to family yesterday, and today we managed in three loads to move everything we had left to the storage locker.  The few last remaining things that we did not want when to his mother’s for curbside pickup.  (Whether it be freecyle or trashman we don’t care at this point.)

Yes, we have now been in Kansas City for a little more than a week.  We are attempting to settle in which includes the process of attempting to find new places to store all your things.   One of the things that makes this process a little harder in our new home, is that it’s an older complex.  It was built in the mid-sixties from what I found, and naturally it doesn’t have all the closets and storage areas that newer homes now have.  We are taking it bit by bit, and we do have a storage area on site which will help with this.

One of the things I really like about this place is that it has an enclosed outdoor area.  It has a 4′ stone wall and than a 5 – 6′  wood fence above that, so it’s nice and private.  It’s going to make a wonderful play area for Allyssa once we have a few toys out there for her to play with.    It’s a northern exposure and right now in it’s completely in the shade of the building which I personally LOVE.  I’m told that as summer approaches it will receive some sun, but I actually prefer the shade because how sensitive I am to sunburn.  Yes I am much more sensitive to sunburn than Allyssa is.  I can and have been burned just sitting under shade trees, and at the same time she’ll barely turn the lightest pink.  When I pink up under the trees she doesn’t in the slightest.

The other really nice thing about this place is the fireplace.  It has a brick enclosed woodburning fireplace in the living room.  We arrived last Friday, Feb 27th, and on Saturday we had to purchase some wood to burn in the fireplace.  It was really nice to have a fire on Saturday and Sunday.

Allyssa and I have been to one playdate so far, and intend to go to more.  We have also found a park where she loves the slides, the library and Barnes & Nobles (the last 2 for their storytimes).  I have found some mother’s forums in the area so that we will meet others for us to get to know.

Yep, you heard me, another move. Sounds like we will never get settled. The job in Schaumburg, IL with Verizon Wireless just wasn’t the right job for me. I thought it would be fun to not have to write code any more, but I ended up managing a couple of WordPress installs and that just isn’t what I want to do. When this new opportunity came up I had to take it.

Oh, yeah, this time the move is to Kansas City, Missouri where I will be working with someone I have known and worked with for over 2 years. I will again be writing code and building web sites and promoting the weight loss program that I know works – still down about 25 pounds from the first run and getting started to do it again.

We have spent this past week at Laura’s dad’s home in Holmen, WI, catching up with family and taking care of things that needed to be taken care of here. This time we have a condo waiting for us when we get there, so I packed up the necessary items from storage yesterday and will drive down tomorrow morning. The condo is a perk from the employer so we don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a hotel room while we look for a place. It’s a small, 1 bedroom condo but it’s much larger then then hotel room we lived in for 6 weeks. It’s also close to shopping and entertainment so we’ll save money on driving everywhere.

Hopefully this one will be the one that lasts a while. As soon as we get settled we will share photos of our new digs and try to keep you updated as life continues for the Lambert clan. Now that we will be nearly 8 hours away from family and friends this blog will become an important lifeline to keep you all updated on the trials and tribulations of raising such a beautiful young lady.

Remember that post back on the 6th of December titled Moving Again that made you think we were moving? That one was just about our blog moving off of Blogger and onto our own WordPress installation – like that really mattered to you, right?

This time, the title “Moving Again” means we are physically moving, south, past our hold home in Trempealeau, past La Crosse, heck, even past the state line. Though we don’t know exactly where we will be living as we are in the process of finding a place now, I will start working for Verizon Wireless in Schaumburg, IL on January 12th, and we will be moving during the first week and a half of January.

There is a fun story in this for all of you to enjoy. Originally, the in-person interview for this position was set for the morning of December 29th. Then it appeared the person who was supposed to interview me was going to be traveling that week, so they asked if I could come down on December 22nd. We made arrangements to stay with Laura’s cousin Jean Ann in Lake Villa and ventured south on December 21st – with terrible road conditions the trip would take us over 8 hours. It was hoped that the trip would be worth it.

Monday morning we set off for Schaumburg, IL for the interview, and after getting caught in traffic we were unable to make the interview, which was rescheduled for Tuesday morning. We had already planned to meet my Aunt Joanne and Uncle Bob for lunch so we kept those plans, then went shopping afterward. Joanne was having so much fun with Allyssa we offered to make room in the car so she could spend more time when the rest of her party headed back home. It was nice to see Allyssa take to Joanne so well that Laura and I could go and do some last minute shopping.

Tuesday morning we left an hour earlier and arrived almost an hour early, having no problems with weather or traffic. All was looking well until I received a phone call that the person interviewing me could not get out of his subdivision and could not make it. Needless to say, I was very frustrated and decided to head back home to spend the holiday with family. We again met with Joanne and Bob for breakfast at Walker Brothers, the world’s finest pancake house. During breakfast, I received a phone call wanting me to agree to meet for an interview on Christmas Eve, which I was just not going to do. I had family stuff planned – so I declined and we headed to Holmen, WI.

On the drive home I again received a call asking if I could come back down on the 29th for the interview – the day it was originally scheduled for. I agreed and we made plans to stay in Lake Villa Sunday night and drive in to Schaumburg on Monday morning. This time, everything worked out well and the interview started on time, but went long. I left the Verizon office around 11:30 thinking the interview had gone well . Laura and I spent some time around Carpentersville, IL where I grew up, and even stopped for lunch at the Village Pizza Pub, home of my favorite pizza as a child – and it was just as I remembered it.

After leaving and getting on the highway to head home, I received a phone call shortly after 2:00 informing me that I was being offered the position, and that they wanted me to start on January 5th, but also gave me the option of January 12th. I chose the later date to give me time to finish up work I had back home and give us plenty of time to pack and move.

So that’s where I am at today – finishing up the work I started before this 1600+ mile trip during the holidays and planning how we will make the big move – yet another one in the winter. You probably won’t hear much from me until we get settled in the new place in Schaumburg, so I am wishing you all a Happy New Year – I know mine should be a little better with a full time job and steady income for a while.

It’s been a little hectic here. We arrived up in the Twin City area on Wednesday and stayed that night at Super 8 in Cottage Grove. Shane had some problems dealing with the scent of their cleaning chemicals so on Thursday we moved to LivINN in Mapplewood a small chain of hotels which are more designed for long term stays and had an excellent rate ($150 a week less than Super 8′s rate).

We looked at a few places on Wednesday, and then on Thursday we saw one in Prescott, WI that we both really liked. It has 1400 sq ft, 3 BR 1 1/2 Bath, with an attached 2 car garage. It’s about 200 sq ft larger and 2 car rather than 1 car attached garage for just over 2/3 the cost then the one we were looking at in Cottage Grove. Definitely a much better value for the buck and only about a 15 minute drive for Shane. We learned on Monday that we are going to be able to move into this place on Dec 1st.

We spent time on Friday and Saturday trying to get a feel for the lay of the land and to find our way around. We spend a little bit of time going to a couple of furniture stores and looking to see what we would like to put into our new home. Never hurts to do a bit of dreaming (or planning depending on who you ask).

We had intended to spend some time in Prescott on Sunday. Instead, on our way there, we lost part of the muffler. When we had our last oil change last month, Shane had specifically asked that they look over the exhaust which they said it was ok, but it certainly shouldn’t have rusted out in a month… Anyway we ended up spending 3 1/2 hours on Sunday, trying to find a place open that would do muffler work. When we finally did find someone, they weren’t able to get the necessary parts.

On Monday, Shane started his first day at his new job. On his way into work, he took the van to a dealership for the exhaust work. He used their courtesy shuttle to get to work, but once he received the quote, he certainly wasn’t going to have them do the work. The other big thing that happened on Monday is that Shane stayed LATE his first day of work. It was 11 pm before he left work. He had things that would keep him busy, but part of the delay was that he was receiving a ride back from a co-worker. (Who ended up working until 3 am once he arrived home.)

Today, Allyssa and I rode in with Shane. Once we dropped him off, we then went around Cottage Grove getting quotes for exhaust work. On the up side, we were able pick up Daddy and go out to Chinese buffet for lunch together.

One of the places that I stopped at was a full service garage. When I asked them for a quote, they actually recommended that we go to Muffler Doctor’s saying that’s who they send all their muffler work to, because they do great work, have the best prices, and have the parts. According to the owner I talked to, it’s also the only other garage in town he recommends for any work. You know a garage is good when another garage recommends them. I had already been to Muffler Doctor’s when I stopped in and they did have a far better price than the other quotes we had. This was where we ended up getting the work done.

Besides all this we have finally had a chance to start Allyssa on cereal. While we had intended to at her 6 month birthday, with everything so up in the air as to whether we were moving, and then packing and worrying about finding a place we kept delaying it. Well now, even though we are living in basically a hotel room so space is at a premium, we have the time to work on cereal. She has been enjoying it, and has been extremely quick in understanding how a spoon works. Not that she is using the spoon, none of us are ready for that mess yet.

Well currently, Allyssa and I do not have any plans for tomorrow; we’ll just see what tomorrow brings.

Well, for those of you in the know, which of course you all will be shortly, we are no longer at our apartment in Trempealeau. Currently we are spending our time at the LivINN Hotel in Maplewood, Minnesota, which will be our new home for the next few weeks at least. We are actively searching for an apartment in the area, and will either end up in Cottage Grove, MN where I will work, or in Hastings, MN or Prescott, WI – wherever we can find a reasonably priced apartment we can call home for a while. Until then, here is our new home:

Although I will actually have an office at work where I will spend the entire day, there is still a lot of stuff I have to do from home, for personal stuff as well as old clients. So I have set up a temporary office with my second monitor, laser printer, and even our broadband based phone system, so our old number will still reach us. Ironically, I actually have more room here for my home office then I did at the old place, so I can’t really complain. The hotel offers free wireless Internet access so I can keep in touch with family, update this blog, and do my work.

The bedroom, located directly behind me when I am sitting at “the office”, basically consists of a king size bed and a place for Allyssa to sleep, when she doesn’t sleep in our bed. Again, here we have a bigger bed then we have at home – a queen size – so we can’t complain. We brought along our own pillows so it feels like home, even though we know it won’t be the same. But this is home for at least the rest of this month.

At the end of “bedroom” is our living room / kitchen / entertainment room / pantry / whatever-else-we-need room. We do have a large color TV and cable television with free HBO, but we didn’t think to bring along a DVD player and DVD’s so the evenings could get kind of boring. Looks like we will be playing more card games until we get into our more permanent home.

Directly to the left of the living room thingie described above is our kitchen(ette). It consists of a small refrigerator, microwave oven and our brand new George Foreman grill which will help keep our dining budget down. The refrigerator has no freezer section so when we want ice cream we have to go in to town. It’s a good excuse to get out of our palatial mansion we are calling home.

And if you think this is small, check out the walk-in closet / bathroom we have! Lot’s of room in there.

Well, it’s home for about 3 weeks unless we find an apartment we like that’s available before December 1st. We lucked out to find an extended stay hotel that has wonderful weekly rates, only $199.01 per week. Though I would prefer to use that money to pay rent, I need to be in the area for work and this is better then a 2 1/2 hour commute from Trempealeau every day.

So, now you know what’s up with us. Keep an eye out here as I will try to share all the great new changes in our families life, including the wonderful (hopefully) new job I have.