Maryland So Far

The drama has finally settled down around here, so let’s chat!

I spent plenty of time wondering about and worrying about and planning to move here.  So, now that I’ve accepted my broken foot, how does Maryland stack up to what I expected?

It’s great.

It’s so much better than I could have expected.

I spend the majority of my days pinching myself to make sure this is all real.

This may sound surprising because I spent 1,682 words last time describing how upset I was about my foot.

Thank God I’ve moved through that intense disappointment and I’ve gotten some perspective.  Being able to get around without crutches has really helped ;)

I’m flakey when it comes to change.  Part of me hates it and part of me craves it.

Before the move I was mostly hating it.  The idea of moving away from my family, friends, and church was enough to make me want to hide under my bed.

I’d try to picture myself in the new house and new life and I had a hard time.  When I did, I could only see lonely feelings and unfamiliar smells (I’m super weird about home smells and getting attached to how my house smells, so I was worried the new place would smell weird).

Everything leading up to the move was SO INTENSE that getting here and settling into a new life and large home and wide open schedule was actually a breath of fresh air.  The relief was incredible and there was so much to be done, I just got into beast mode and unpacked almost the entire house in 3 days.

I’m an achiever, so this was great fun for me :)

Getting around town hasn’t been too bad.  The grocery store (with a Starbuck’s inside!), pizza place, and barber shop are all very close so I feel pretty much set. LOL

Barber shop might be a funny thing to have on a list of places you’d like to have close by, but with Drew having over 18 haircuts already, this is a great thing.  Plus the lady who cuts hair is very quiet, extremely efficient, has a fish tank for the girls to ooh and aah over, a 1970’s tv playing old shows like Three’s Company and Green Acres, and she gives everyone fruit snacks at the end.  I’m like, “Where have you been all my life??” LOL

Food here is significantly more expensive than Michigan.  I haven’t been able to find a couple of my regular items either.  But they do make fresh tortilla chips in-house and they are awesome, so I guess I can let them off the hook for not selling frozen carrots.  I reallly ought to get my booty over to the commissary to save money on the bulk of my shopping.  Perhaps I’ll be inspired when I’m out of the walking boot.

Traffic is heavy.  Lights are LONG.  We live near a toll road that my GPS is always trying to route me to even though there are many ways around it.  There are speed cameras everywhere and they can mail you a ticket for going even a mile over the speed limit.  If you want to find me, I’m the lady staring at her odometer more than the road!

Our immediate neighborhood is dreamy.  Rolling hills, lots of trees, lovely homes, tucked into a more rural side of our big city.  We’re only about 3 houses away from the community pool and unlike the GP pools we visited with friends where rules reigned, this place is flexible and allows all manner of odd toys and floaties, so my kids are happy “swimmers”.  I use that term lightly because the girls are both freakishly timid in the water.  They love to be there, but heaven help anyone who tries to coax them to get their heads wet or go underwater with googles on, nose plugged and mouth shut.  Ugh.

Montgomery county library cards are universal, so once we finally get one (it’s been on my list of things to do since the beginning, but keeps getting bumped!) we will be able to go to any of them!  This is great news because there are several nearby and one REALLY fantastic one in the Rockville Town Square. *update: it’s taken me so long to finish this post that we’ve gotten library cards.  Yay!

This branch is huge and has a phenomenal kids area.  Andy and I checked out the square on our date night and it’s got a great vibe.  We were huge fans of Partridge Creek in MI, and while it’s not a mall like that, it’s got a bunch of great restaurants and shops around a stage and open area with fountains for the kids play in and enjoy.

I’m a summer girl through and through, but this summer in Maryland has been putting my heat-loving ways to the test.  The temps here are high and the humidity is higher.  It’s really buggy too which is a bummer because we have a lovely yard and deck, but many days it’s too hot, humid and buggy to be able to sit out there and enjoy it.

I’ve heard the bugs aren’t an issue in the fall so I’m daydreaming about quiet afternoons spent reading on the deck :)

The heat and humidity are perfect for spending time at the pool.  It’s within walking distance of our house and it’s never crowded and always a hit with the kids :) The kiddie pool is my jam.  Avery and Drew can play independently, and it’s so shallow I’m not freaking out about them every single second.  I’m still haven’t arrived at “reading a novel poolside while the kids play” status, but one day…

When Andy is with us we go over to the big pool and that’s where Grace really loves to be.  She’s incredibly intimidated by the idea of actually swimming, but she feels cooler in the big pool and she loves walking over to “level 3” (3ft deep) LOL

Avery can walk comfortably in level 2 and level 3 waters, and Drew wants desperately to walk independently in the 2ft area which terrifies me.  He can do it, but it’s still a struggle for him to keep his balance.  This means he’s aways straining to get away from me to wander toward deeper waters and I’m always trying to keep him contained while also keeping my broken foot safe.  Good times.

Here I am happy to be in the baby pool with my big boy :) #thatHAT

Right away I decided to join the military medical spouse’s group (Oakleaf) and it’s been a great decision.  We had a fun gathering at one of the Admiral’s homes on base (SO COOL.  I felt like I was straight out of the show Army Wives), there’s a book club, Mom’s night out events, benevolent activities and a mom’s group called Treehouse.

So far we’ve gone to 3 Treehouse events.  The first was at a waterpark a few cities over.  The kids had a great time and it was really nice for me to chat with the other resident’s wives.

Avery being Avery.

Last week we had lunch at a fun diner with some Treehouse peeps.  I was exhausted after a LONG crazy morning getting my military ID renewed (that’s a whole other post.  It was even crazier than last time!) so I felt a little distracted and antisocial, but we still had a nice time and the kids connected with some friends.

Last week we also visited a nursing home with Treehouse.  The kids and residents all had fun waving a big rainbow parachute and singing songs.  I can only imagine how gloomy it could be to live in a nursing home, losing or having already lost many of your faculties, and being surrounded by a bunch of others in the same situation.  A room full of sweet little kids, songs, balloons and laughter must be so refreshing!

I got there about 15 minutes late because I’m STILL not used to traffic and how far away everything is, but we were able to enjoy at least half of the visit.  Next time I’ll leave more time and know where to park where I won’t walk around the ENTIRE building looking for the entrance.  UGH.

I could keep going, but I’ll stop here and start putting together a house tour post.  I love seeing where people live and this house has been such a joy for us…I can’t wait to share!

It’s good to be back.  I want to try to stay more current with our life here this year.