Things I will miss about living here

1. The Ropes Mansion Gardens Like a desert oasis, this has always been a cool, peaceful pitstop on the way to the library.



2. Having an ice cream place every 50 yards. Sometimes this is kind of a pain, like when I realize that traveling in any direction with a toddler in a stroller requires going past an ice cream parlor, but at least at this age, she's satisfied with a few bites from the "kiddie cup".




3. Having almost as many playgrounds. We have one right next to our building and it's amazing to have so many places within walking distance where you can have a "pick-up playdate".



4. Random surrealism. There's something about walking to CVS to get milk and passing teenage puritans bumming cigarettes off mid-western wiccans that never gets old.



5. Halloween. Known to most towns simply as October, here it's a month-long party culminating in a 24 hour orgy of weirdness that brings out the SWAT team.

Things I will miss about living here

Happy 1st Day of Fall!

Happy 1st Day of Fall!

So close...

We were supposed to close on our new place today in Marblehead, but the Marblehead Fire Department didn't get their inspection done because (get this) they said they couldn't find the property. Considering the size of Marblehead, this isn't a very comforting idea...

So close...

WE'RE MOVING!!!

-Just up the road to Marblehead...

So-I'll still be around Salem a lot since, in my opinion, it's got it going on in a way that Marblehead doesn't. We found a great place for a fairly decent price and I'm going to have my own office instead of a 2X3 foot space in a corner of the living room/den/playroom now! Part of the reason I've been so lax about keeping this blog up-to-date has been the fact that: A)The Chloe has discovered online games and it's hard to say no when I see how quickly she's learning to use the computer from them, and B) by the time she's safely out of the house, I've got so much work piled up that I can't justify the time it takes to crank out these finely handcrafted bon mots :^|

Anyway, here's some moving tips tailored for moving with a toddler:

1) Make Moving Day sound like a really awesome adventure.

Maybe tell them it's like going camping in the new house and pack their sleeping bag and a canteen and flashlight for the first night. Maybe tell them they are going to "discover and explore" a brand new neighborhood in their "explorer ship" (aka moving truck)

2) Get all their friends' contact info for future playdates.

Chloe is old enough to verbalize her fears fairly well and knowing that she will be able to stay in touch with her old buddies makes it easier for her and her friends to deal with separation anxiety.

3) Let them get involved with packing and purging.

Giving a kid a damp rag and letting them clean unbreakable stuff before it goes in the box makes them feel more in control about what's happening. Giving them a box to pack favorite toys in helps too.

4) Take everyone up on those offers to "help get them out of your hair".

Because there's times when you just need to focus on what you're doing and constant pleas to play "train" with 20 cardboard boxes is a bit too much at the moment.

5) Big liquor stores are the best source for grabbing carloads of free packing boxes.

6) Got old clothes, towels, bed linens? Use them for packing padding before you recycle them! Bubblewrap and peanuts don't bio-degrade too well. Also, before you toss some old stuff, think about making something else with it, like a stuffed animal, pillow case, or quilt.

7) (Local tip) Savers, in the Danvers Market Basket plaza, is the easiest way to get rid of kid's stuff. They take toys, books, games and clothes.

8) (Set Dresser's tip) Blue painters' tape is great for labelling everything since it stands out against boxes and bags really well and won't damage wooden surfaces. Make a "packing kit" by using a box or tub and keep your markers, blue tape and packing tape in there so you can easily go from room to room.

WE'RE MOVING!!!