OK...here is the deal. Mom and I have decided that due to the stress of the move, we are opening a new business. It's going to be called the Crazy Woman's saloon. We hope that each of you will either come and visit the both of us either there or in the looney bin. Ha ha! Neither of us drink but due to the aftermath of this move, we have decided that vodka and maybe even some vicadin (sp?) sound appealing right about now. :)
We are here. The weather is grand. It's a balmy 85 degrees and sunny. The palm trees are swaying and the sea salt aroma of the ocean is as prominent as ever. We are home. That sounds so weird to say. Home. A new normal. New beginnings - should we survive the stress of the move in general. :) Brent arrived about 14 hours behind us with the moving trucks. The guys had a tough time getting here. They were exhausted after the move and the packing in general. Therefore, to have to drive 18 hours on top of that to get here really took a toll on them. They arrived around 1am last night and have taken it easy today. The unloading of the trucks will start this evening once the sun cools down. This is going to be a several day ordeal. We are staying at the Bonita house for the next few nights until we are completely unpacked at the new place. For those of you close to us, we will have a new "family" email address. Comcast came today and set up our new phone number, email, and cable. There was some chaos there with the service techs but in the end, it worked out. We are in business. Once I get our new email address picked out, I'll let our close family and friends know what it is.
I've determined that Kenidi has gone AWOL. She is beyond hyper and is giving Mom and I a run for our money. I've never seen anything like it. My guess is that she is trying to understand and adapt to all of the stress and chaos right now. In turn, she is like a caged animal - literally. On top of that, she already took a plunge in the pool today at the new house. Thankfully, Mom was there with her and pulled her up and out by her shirt up and out of there. She came out drenched like a drowned rat. That child keeps me on my toes fo' sho'! She is running thru the new house like it is a play land because there isn't any furniture in there yet. Between her energy and Brennen's bossiness and whining, I feel like I'm living in a zoo. Mom and I just keep laughing to ourselves about it all - trying to keep the air light and find humor in the dazed and crazed. She and I drove down the road - both hands in the air - pretending to have a zen moment earlier in the car. The kids weren't finding it amusing as we tried to get Brennen and Kenidi to join in. The gentleman in the car next to us was quite sure we had lost both of our minds. I've decided I'm going to leave Kenidi with Mom at the Bonita house tonight while Brent, Lou, Brennen and myself begin the unloading process at the new house. I think I can get more accomplished that way without having to worry about what Kenidi is getting into while I'm not at her side every second. I know without a shadow of a doubt that her over abundance of energy is coming from the confusion and transition of it all.
The good news is that even though the realtor alerted me that there are probably small gators in the pond behind our new house, he says there are only 3 poisonous snakes in the area of FL we are in. OH JOY! You can imagine my excitement when he told me that info. Thankfully there haven't been any other snakes around the Bonita house since our arrival. I'm sure they heard I was back in town. You know how much they love my SUV tires. Ha ha!
For now, I am going to go and gear up for the damage I'm about to do to myself as we begin the unpacking process. My Mom just rubbed muscle rub all over my back for the pain I'm already in and I now feel like there is a small forest fire crawling up my back due to the medicine. WOWZA! Where is the beach when I need it? HA HA! Stay tuned...this week is going to be real interesting. I'm sure of it. I'm just so glad that I have all of you around to help me laugh while this process plays out. A HUGE thanks to each of my new friends on facebook who have friend requested me and for all of your comments and private emails in the past couple of days. You girls RAWWWKK! :)
Much love and continued sanity, Angie
PS...The 1st song playing on my blog right now is my new theme song as we begin our new life down here. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Truly one of my signature favs!
Well, we are alive. We made it only a few hours before stopping at a hotel late last night. (around midnight) My Mom got tired and was ready to cash it in after about four hours of driving. I don't blame her...we were all exhausted after the move yesterday and the couple of nights leading up to the move. We stopped at a hotel somewhere in Franklin, Tennessee where we ran across an overly friendly and very giving registration desk gal. (waving high to all of my Tennessee friends right now) :) The front desk girl gave me an AARP discount beings that we were coming in so late. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She did let me know that she knew I wasn't old enough for an AARP discount but she wanted to give it anyway. Now that is my kinda' girl. Maybe we should make her an AGD sista. Ha ha! Really though, she was just too sweet for words. You guys know how much I appreciate pleasant customer service in this world. It's hard to come by now days. (unfortunately) So...if your travels should ever take you to Franklin, Tennessee...make sure to stop at the Holiday Inn Express on Neha drive and ask for Megan. She was a real doll!
It's about 8:15am Indy/Florida time and we are now ready to get up and headddddd em' ouuutttt! I told Mom that I'd like to be on the road again by 9am. Let's see if I can align the troops and make that happen. HA! We are a bit outside of Nashville, TN now and still have about 13 hours ahead of us. It's going to be a long drive beings that we quit so early last night. Either way, I look forward to conversing with each of you along the way via facebook. I can't thank you all enough for keeping me awake last night by commenting on my status updates as I updated my facebook page each hour. Should you want to friend request me (if you haven't already), click HERE. You can then follow along with the us. :) I even got the great pleasure of rolling thru Louisville last night only to have someone come up beside me - window to window on the hightway - honking their horn like a crazy woman. When I finally looked over and realized what was going on, I saw that it was a dear friend of mines sister. It was Amy Babbs sister - Tracy Vance. Hi Tracy! I can't believe you passed me on the road girl. So funny! How crazy is that?! What were you doing in Louisville, KY??? Either way, it was good seeing ya gur-fren! :) For now, I'm off to blow dry my hair, grab some breakfast, and hit the road. The good news is...well aside from the fact that it is going to be 84 degrees in Naples today, is that the sun is shining - BRIGHTLY - and it's a gorgeous day outside. YAY!
If you are reading this, then we've most likely already hit the road and are in route to Naples. It's been a very long and stressful 48 hours leaving us wondering at times if we would ever get out of here. However, the trucks are packed and headed South. The key now is to slow my lead foot down enough to allow my Mother to keep up with me in her car as she follows behind us. Although I learned my driving habits from her and my grandfather who used to race cars at Kitley, I've recently noticed that my Mom has slowed down a bit as she has gotten older. :) Yes, I know...I need to slow it down too. I swear I'm just a target for police officers. Last night I had one pull side by side with me on the highway, give me a mean mugged stare, then flip his spotlight on me in my side window. No...he didn't pull me over but I think he just wanted to make his presence known. I wasn't speeding or anything. I looked at Brennen and was like..."What did I do?" We both started laughing. In the end, I'm glad he alerted me that he was there. He probably saved me a ticket. Ha ha! Anywho, here is to praying I can escape this 17 hour drive from the Midwest to gator country without getting pulled over. The beach is still there waiting for me no matter how fast I drive to get there. Wink wink! ;)
Stay tuned for more updates as I can give them. And again...if you are a facebook user, feel free to friend request me. I'm making hour by hour updates there regarding our progress.
Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this journey. If you are a crackbook addict, feel free to friend request me there on FACEBOOK. I'll be doing minute by minute updates on my page as we head out and make the drive from the Midwest into "gator country." :)
Kenidi being pushed around on the dolly by her Dad...
I love how she fits just perfectly inside the contour of it. So funny!
Also, I'm sure you can see that we are in the process of altering the blog a hair. I thought that I wanted to give it a new fresh makeover. You girls know how I love to change things up a bit from time to time - never keeping anything long enough for it to get stale. Same goes for my AGD logo. If you have a good eye, you'll notice that I changed up my logo design a bit. Well Crystal did it for me - I just told her what I wanted and she magically makes it happen. I had her remove the crown and the heart from my logo. I wanted only wings from here on out. Reason being, it is the wings that AGD is known for - not the heart - and not the crown. Not only that but I have had the logo just long enough for several people to copy the design. I'm not fond of the copying especially when one of them was supposed to be a good blog friend. Therefore, in an attempt to always stay ahead of the game and keep the AGD look but yet always keep it fresh and out of the box, I trashed the heart and the crown, and made it a bit more grown up. Less girlie and more cottage chic. Less zebra-ish or less of a black and fuchsia color scheme and opted for a more beachy look. A fresh and clean new vibe. Angie. I just wanted it to scream AGD & Angie. So...I'm thankful to have a look that isn't blending in with the over saturated amounts of wings, crowns, and hearts now. I love the look and think that Crystal and Amy ROCKED it like they always do. I hope that when you log onto this page now that you will instantly be propelled to the shoreline with us and that you will enjoy your time here as though it was a virtual vacation of sorts. I can't wait to share the Naples treasures with each of you.
This card was given to me by my dear friend Tamara. I met Tamara several years ago when Brennen became friends with her son in 2nd grade. We've enjoyed our time with them ever since. They are great to vacation with and we love their company no matter where we are. Tamara and Joe are considering buying a vacation home in the same neighborhood that our Bonita Springs house is in. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will so that they will have an excuse to come down and hang out with us all of the time. :) Either way, Tamara gave me this card after our dinner together the other night along with a bag full of "good-bye" gifts that I fell in love with. The card was my favorite though. The wordage on it couldn't be any more perfect. Just had to share...
And speaking of Brennen...a couple of you have asked how the kids are taking the move. Well, it's like this...Brennen is now 10 years old and in 5th grade. He adores his friends here and will miss them terribly. We've assured them that they are welcome at our home in Naples anytime they want to come down. Fortunately, the area where we live has lots of families who go on Spring Break to the Ft. Myers Beach area each year. Beings that we will only be about 40 minutes from Ft. Myers Beach, we are hoping to keep in touch with many of his friends just on Spring break alone not to mention the rest of the year too. Brennen is excited and nervous all at the same time regarding this move. I am the same. Thankfully he is a pretty outgoing kid and makes friends easily. I'm praying that lunch time and recess will be a breeze for him that first day/week. That is my only worry - those moments in general. Brent and I decided that if we were going to move, we needed to do it NOW. It was going to be easier to transplant Brennen there in Naples now - rather than waiting until junior high or high school. He will be at the elementary school for about 5 months before migrating over into the middle school next year with everyone else. The next 5 months will give him just enough time to meet some friends to "move over" into the middle school with. We didn't want to throw him into the junior high next year to fend for himself. We truly believe that getting in the elementary school for the next few months will be a plus for him as he transitions to the junior high next year.
And Kenidi...well...she is a whole other story. Although she doesn't quite understand what is going on, I realize the transition will be tough for her into this new school - mid year. It will be tough for me as well to have to watch her adjust. However, without going into a ton of detail here on the blog...I'd rather watch her transition into a new school in Naples than have her stay in her current school even one more day. I have not discussed her school much here lately out of fear of hurting some feelings or causing an uproar. However, after meetings with the principal of the school as well as repeated conversations with her current teacher, to say that Brent and I are disappointed would be an understatement. Kenidi has come home with multiple incident reports from the school nurse this year - sometimes weekly and even twice a week - due to injuries she is receiving while at school. Sometimes the injuries are explained by acknowledging another child hurt her within the class but then there are most times when no one seems to know what happened to her to cause the injuries. The aide doesn't know, the teacher doesn't know, etc. As you can imagine, sending your child - who can't talk and tell you about her day - to a school where she is coming home injured on a regular basis, really makes your job as a parent even that much more heart wrenching. The school is understaffed and has admitted that they are short on aides and now her teacher has even left for the year due to maternity leave. Kenidi is extremely scared - more like "petrified" of a particular aide in the classroom. When I take her to drop her off, she breaks down and goes into a mode I've never witnessed before when she thinks I'm about to leave her with this particular aide. The bus driver has noted it as did Kenidi's speech therapist at the school. They all confirmed what we were seeing. I don't believe this aide is harming Kenidi but there are other factors that I know cause her fear when it comes to this woman. We've repeatedly asked the school to work with helping Kenidi and this aide transition together but no one is listening. And the final straw came just a couple of weeks ago when I went to drop Kenidi off at school one morning. Her teacher never came outside to get her as scheduled - nor did the aide who was working that morning. When I called inside the school after all of the buses had come and gone and we were the only ones left, the front office staff sent out a school janitor to come and get my daughter from me at the back of the school and walk her to her class. Oh yes they did. Now...I know the janitor is definitely an up and up kind of guy. The principal assured me that he would have released his kids to this janitor anytime. However, I am NOT the principal. I'm a parent who is responsible for the well-fare of my children and I'll be darned if I'm going to release her to a school maintenance worker instead of her teacher - as planned. That janitors job is not to get my kid to class. That is my job and her teachers job! Nuff' said.
So...let me repeat myself again...I would rather watch Kenidi have to endure the adjustment of a new school mid-year rather than to have to watch her go thru one more day of torment at her current school. Clearly there are issues there. People are dropping the ball and they've admitted it. The children in that special needs class have gotten less than 50% since the first day of school began. I'd like to say that her teacher "checked out" in recent weeks when she got further along in her pregnancy. However, the truth is...she was never "checked in" from day one. As you can imagine, this is hurtful for us because we had her in the best school with the best teacher and the absolute BEST aides last year.
Unfortunately, the district let most of those people go and then shuffled everyone else around to different areas. So...it's tough when one school, one principal, one teacher, and four different aides spoiled us rotten regarding the care and love they showered our daughter with when she was in their care - only to go to the polar opposite when the district changed her school this year. Thankfully, I've been able to remain good friends with her teacher as well as an aide of hers last year. We love them dearly and miss them being in her life more than words can describe. I used to always hear about the horrible time that parents of special needs kids have with schools before I had Kenidi. However, I never realized the drama and its complexity until I had a special needs child of my own. As her only advocate in life, Brent and I will do whatever we feel necessary to keep this child safe and comfortable. And at this point in time, that means moving her to a new school.
Are we moving just because of her school, No. Not at all. Truth be told...this move to Naples has been in the works for 10 plus years. Deep down, even you guys knew I'd end up there someday. An opportunity presented itself to go now, so we are going - before I change my mind again. I swore I'd never leave my parents and move there. Now look, I'm leaving my Dad and Cathy behind as well as Brent's mom. It's a tough decision. In the end though, life's curve balls helped me make that decision. My goal is to get to Naples, dig in deep, and go gung-ho with my photography business there. I want to make a name for myself and build a business that can sustain itself for my family. Photography is a HUGE passion of mine and I feel that I can promote it there better than here in Indy. I can shoot year round there. As a natural light photographer, I only get 5 months or so here in Indy to shoot each year. And that is if Mother Nature doesn't cause me to have to cancel sessions due to weather issues. Naples is a tourist area. People flock there for family vacations and tons of them want family photos on the beach when in town. I want to embrace those wants and cater to the those families willing to let me photography them. I've been there and know how hard it is to find a beach photographer or any photographer for that matter when on vacation in a tropical area. Due to my own experiences when searching for a photographer, I plan to hopefully saturate the market there in Naples and Southwest Florida in general. We'll see where the good Lord takes this. I'm letting him lead the way. For all I know, he'll get me down there and away from photography doing something else totally different. I heard a saying the other day that said something to the effect that God laughs at our "10 year plans." I truly believe that. He totally has his own agenda and I'm confident that his agenda is always best. :) Less than 48 hours to go...
It's Tuesday night. In three short days it will be Friday. In three days, we will be packing our cars and the moving trucks. Cars and moving trucks bound for Naples, Florida. We will depart Indiana on Friday evening - driving half way, stopping to sleep for the night at a hotel mid-way, then picking up where we left off on Saturday morning. If all goes as planned, we shall be official "Floridians" as of Saturday night - around 9pm. We will leave the title of "Hoosier" behind but it will forever be embedded in my heart - just like the initials 'CG' are.
And for those who've asked...yes, my Mom is moving and becoming a "Floridian" right along with us. She is not moving in with us but she will be staying in our Bonita Springs house until she finds a place of her own. We on the other hand will be about 20 minutes south of there - in the heart of Naples. 4 minutes from the beach and 5 minutes from 5th avenue. Although moving from Indy will be tough, the geographic location where we will now reside sure will make it easier to stomach leaving the "Hoosier" state. Those flights back and forth to Naples over the past couple of months paid off. Our mission was accomplished. We found a place where our family of four will be comfortable and where the schools are rumored to be great. The schools were a big part of our research. Florida isn't really known for great public schools. Therefore, we spent many hours on the phone, speaking to other locals, and just investigating the schools in general. We based our new residence on the school(s) we wanted our kids in and were NOT about to move until all of the stars aligned and we found something within that few mile radius.
But back to my Mom...beings that I'm an only child and my Mom isn't married, she hasn't got a whole lot tying her to Indy right now. She has sisters here whom she will miss a lot and whom are already missing her at the mere thought of her departure. However, she has always said - for years - that if we should ever decide to pack up and move to Florida, she would be going too. And she is. I didn't even have to ask her. It was just an unspoken and automatic notion. I am thankful to have my Mom coming with us. She immediately said..."When do I need to start packing?" It will be great to have someone there that I know. It will be lovely that she is just down the street in Bonita in case we should need help with the kids. But the best part will be on those mornings when I put the kids on the bus and can call her up and say...get your beach bag ready...I'm picking you up and we are going to go lay by the seashore all day - catching the suns BEST rays. You see...my love for the sun came from my Mom. It was genetically instilled in me from the time of conception. My Mom is the type that back in the day...when I was little...used to climb a ladder to her roof and then lay on that 'said roof' all day long until she was fried beyond belief from the sun. She truly believed that the black shingled roof helped her tan easier and quicker. Not only did she tan on the roof, but she would use one of those aluminum foil looking reflector blankets to lay on. You guys remember those back in the day, right? Yeap, those are a few of the fondest memories of my Mom. Ha ha! So...my love for a good tan, the warm sunshine on my face, and the mere feel of the melanin rising to the top surface of my skin from the heat outside is a direct result of watching my Mom do what she did best during our Indiana summers when I was a kid. I remember taking a trip to the Bahamas with just my Mom and my aunt when I was in high school. We laid on the beach all day long - soaking in the sun - like it was the last day we'd ever see it. Yes, we are addicts. Yes, we will look 80 by the time I'm 40. But know this...Florida senior citizens are WAAYYYYY healthier than Indiana senior citizens. Why? It's because of all that vitamin D they get from the sun. I'm sure of it. We see 80 and 90 year old men and women out boating, walking the beach, perusing the shops, and dining at the ritzy restaurants in Naples just as though they were 30 again. They ROCK it out - living like they are dying - everyday in Florida. We always talk about how healthy they all look and what a gorgeous glow they all have. They keep a kick to their step unlike our older/elderly community here in Indiana. The Hoosiers of that age are old, frail, brittle, and fragile. Indiana winters cause falls which causes bad injuries in the elderly. It's no wonder why they age quicker and harder here.
There is a reason why we - as human beings - have a natural radar that goes or gravitates toward beaches when vacationing. God totally knew what he was doing when he made the shorelines and invented beach chairs.
