Happy

Full Disclosure: The products in this post were provided to me at no cost. However, all words and opinions are my own.

We've been living in America for four weeks now and it's starting to feel like home around here. We still have some tweaking to do and are waiting for furniture deliveries and oh, yeah, I have one entire room that I haven't even remotely touched but slowly we're making this little place ours even if we find out we have to pick right back up and move again this time next year (it'll happen, mark my words). If only I could get Samantha to pull her weight around here.

Moving from Europe is a bit different than moving within the same country - for one, we left our washer and dryer in storage when we moved to Europe three years ago. So while the movers brought the majority of our things one day, we didn't get our storage (AKA washer and dryer) shipment until a few weeks later. So I was left without a means to do laundry. 

Most people would celebrate that, no? But not me, 1. I don't mind laundry (I know, I know, check my temp!) 2. We have 3,746 kids so I need to do laundry daily or else it piles up, literally. So when our washer and dryer showed up it was like Christmas in May! And the timing was perfect because I received a package of amazing products from Everyday Happy around that same time. I was pleasantly surprised by all the goodies they sent and when I saw their Natural Laundry Detergent I put it to immediate use. 

Remember when I recently wrote about simple steps to living a more natural life?  Well, in that post I shared with you that laundry detergent was one area we were still struggling with and unable to find a product that both me and Seth liked. Guess what? We found one! Everyday Happy's Natural Laundry Detergent is free of sulfates, perfumes, dyes, and harsh additives. Which makes it great even for cloth diapering which means I no longer have to buy a detergent for our clothing and another for Avery's diapers.

Another product we now use almost daily is the Bubble Bath. It smells soooooo amazing, and its plant-based, so those of you with kiddos with sensitive skin will love this stuff. 

And can we talk about teenagers and bathrooms really quick? Its a terrifying combo. I typically stay out of the big kids' bathrooms for the most part, I just do a quick QC (quality check) every few days to make sure I don't need to phone in the HazMat team. But let me tell you, the Liquid Hand Soap alone leaves a heavenly lingering scent when the kids use it. Now I just need to get them to toss their clothing that extra three inches to the hamper and we'll be in business.

So, the other day we were headed out with a long list of places to go and things that needed done. I was feeling like Super Mom because I was doing it all alone since hubby was out of town for work. The kitchen was spotless, I just completed a project for the house, the kids were happy, I was looking pulled together for once, and I walk out to the garage to load the car and...I realized I had no shoes on. What?! Who does that? Hot Mess Express, ya'll. The only reason I realized I forgot to put on shoes was because the change of texture in the floor as I stepped into the garage. All this to say, I need every and anything to make my life easier and I know many other parents are on the same crazy train. So streamline your do list and let Everyday Happy send you five of your favorite products of theirs every month automatically. No joke, they offer that service and the price is fantastic. Now if only I could find a service that automatically slips my shoes on my feet before I walk out the door. And another to teach Sam to unpack boxes.

Psst. Diggin' that print in the first photo? Download it here for free.

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Mealtime Help

Full Disclosure: As a Nuby Parent Blogger I receive products at no cost, however all words and opinions are my own.

So at mealtime, Sam is like a ninja - a large dog ninja that observes every member of her pack (AKA us) and decides who is likely to give her (whether willingly or due to not having perfected their utensil-using skills) the most food. That person is typically Avery because, well, she's 14 months old and has a tendency to be buck wild regardless of if she's eating or not. So Sam sits watch and waits ever so patiently for my little girlfriend to drop her bowl or plate from her highchair. But guess what, ya'll? Little Sammy is a little sadder these days and I'm a little happier because the Nuby Miracle Mat suctions to the highchair. Hallelujah Amen.

We use it every. single. day. And have ever since receiving it about a month ago and let me tell you, she rarely even tries to pull her bowls and plates off the table or highchair tray now. So I think of it as a learning tool as well, between the suction preventing her from lifting it and me reinforcing a "Keep your plate on the tray until you're done eating, please" we've been able to teach her some proper table manners. We still have a little work to do in other areas though.

Another learning tool has been Nuby's 

Clik-It™ FlipN'Sip™ Cup with 360° Weighted Straw. When kids are first learning to use sippy cups, they don't understand to tilt ones that needs sucked from, and to keep a straw cup upright, so this 360 cup is perfect because no matter the angle the cup is being held at your child will get the liquid due to the weighted straw. Confused? I didn't understand it either until I physically opened the cup and saw how it was made. And for older babes that have been drinking from sippys for a while like Avery that understand the concept, this 360 cup is still handy during situations like snuggling on mama's lap while watching TV. When she's partially laying and drinking from it the last thing on her mind is to hold it at the proper angle so again, even if she gets lazy and holds it at a less than ideal angle she'll still get liquid from it. And it doesn't leak, just ensure you here the CLICK when putting the lid on and you're all set!

So while I don't have an au pair or a personal chef I do have help at mealtime in the form of some convenient Nuby products. And since I know my fellow parents can also use a little help head on over to my Instagram to find out how you can win Nuby's Miracle Mat!

Happy weekend, friends. Xx

Fresh Wave Fresh Home

Full Disclosure: The products in the this post were provided to me at no cost, however all words and opinions are my own.

As parents we all have one thing in common - we want the very best for our kids. From making sure they have the best education to making sure they have the best home environment we strive to do it all. 

And what's better than finding products that make this parenting gig easier? Not a whole lot.

Here's what I'm working with: I have a big goofy dog, four kids, and a husband that works long hours and is gone on business for weeks and months at a time. I luckily no longer work full-time outside the home, nonetheless I keep very busy. My older three play sports, my dog gets into mischief, and my youngest can make a mess appear out of thin air so when I was sent some goodies from FreshWave I was so excited, the moment I opened the box I could tell my life just got a bit easier, and what mom doesn't want that?

The first item I used was the Fresh pod. It has odor removing gels inside so I placed it inside our kitchen trash bin. The adhesive backing made placement easy and the Fresh pod naturally gets rid of those pesky food odors in between taking out the trash. 

The Fresh Wave gel is in my laundry room. This is where the majority of the kids' shoes and sports equipment get corralled and stinky odors used to follow. The laundry room is the first room we typically enter since we tend to come in the house through the garage and now that I placed the the Fresh Wave gel in there I'm no longer met with offensive odors, just a nice clean scent.

I should mention that Fresh Wave varies from many other products in that it isn't masking odors or emitting harmful toxins into the air, Fresh Wave is all-natural with no harsh chemicals, it's truly an all-natural product. Now on to my favorite product - the Fresh Wave odor removing spray. Cue the clouds parting and the angels singing. I. Love. This. Stuff. With the kids and the dog and life in general the house could always use a little boost of freshness, so this odor removing spray is perfect. Other sprays on the market I've been hesitant to use because of the chemicals, but Fresh Wave is free of toxins so I spray the couch, the bedding, the rugs to my heart's content. 

Now here's where ya'll get really excited; Fresh Wave want to give one of you a prize pack filled with all-natural goodies that are sure to make your life easier and cleaner! 

Entering is simple, go to my Instagram page and follow the simple instructions, it will take you less than a minute to enter. Easy peasy. And check out Fresh Wave's website to see all the great products they offer, such as their candle, it's soy and smells like you did a load of spring cleaning *jazz hands*! And their Instagram to stay in the loop on their daily happenings. Happy Cleaning, guys! Now head on over to Instagram to get in on the Fresh Wave action!

Dinner

As I'm cooking dinner Owen walks in, "Mmmm, what's for dinner?" he asked in his cute little voice prior to making it all the way to the stove to see for himself. "Yum," he says, looking at the talapia I'm preparing, "pork!"

Home

As most of you know I was a stay-at-home-mommy for almost eight years. Then life happened, and not only did I no longer get to spend every moment with my kidlets, I moved cross country, causing me to miss scraped knees and kisses goodnight. Yeah, talk about shock of a lifetime. After sloooooowly adjusting to "a new normal" (as I call it) I realized life was going to be forever different. And I realized that with this new normal comes new traditions. And so I began making my crew a video near the year's end with a glimpse of things we had done throughout the previous year. Along with the video came the tradition of making a family yearbook. They watch it before bed when we're apart, and even request to watch it sporadically even when we are together. Good times.

I've yet to make this year's video but I'm a few months overdue for a different sort of video - one highlighting our recent move. As I mentioned in my last post, the kiddos and I have moved a gajillion times it feels like. And my goodness, my kids are little troopers. They went from living with me in Pensacola in 2010, to their Dad's in NM in 2011, back to me in 2012, then three months after moving back in with me we moved to a roomier house 45 minutes away from our Destin apartment. That's four moves in two years for them! So needless to say there were some mixed feelings about our most recent, voluntary move to our current place. Owen gave me the most resistance, said he loved our place in Destin. And so did I, of all the places I've ever lived it was the smallest and most expensive but it was the one that felt most like ours, most like home. So I promised Owen and the older two that I would make this new place feel just as cozy as our last. And I reminded him that while it sucked moving so many times, it wasn't the house that made it a home, it was the people in it as well as the memories made there. So here's a video containing a few pictures from the last few months, from a few days before moving day in August to present day. Enjoy.



Psst - if you want to see the videos from 2010 and 2011 just click the video page under the blog header and scroll to 'family videos.'

My Kidlets, Jersey, and Franklin the Frog

Can we discuss my middle child right now? She is a mystery. I'm certain my parents felt the same about me when I lived in their home. Hell, I'm sure my parents feel the same about me currently. Ariana is prissy and yet she can hold her own. She is a bit of a contradiction, that kid - I've been referred to as the same so I shouldn't be surprised that she followed suit. She is a girly girl and yet she'll roll in the dirt. She'll wear a dress then play in the rain. She'll apply lipgloss then join in a Nerf gun battle. She loves animal, and critters, and a few weeks ago she began a love of tadpoles. There's a little 'pond' in our neighborhood where she collected a single tadpole - it seemed that everyday that I came home from work there was another tadpole added to the jar.

After days of feeding and changing the tadpoles' water we came home to this yesterday...

I counted 12, but they kept moving so I'm sure that count is off. It was admittedly neat to come home and see the tadpoles grow arms, then legs, then their tail lessened, and now, they're teeny tiny froggies. Super cute.

We released them the moment we saw they were officially frogs. Jersey came outside to see what we were up to also, but he was a little too interested in the frogs so Ethan wrangled Jers up for the protection of our dozen-o-frogs.

I love this photo even though Jersey's face isn't in focus.

It seemed as if each frog paused for a photo op prior to hopping away. Seriously, Ari would take one out of the jar, he/she would sit there, I'd snap the photo and as soon as I was done they'd hop away.

I caught Jersey mid-yawn. Then we put him inside so that we could release the frogs without running the risk of a cat slash frog throw-down, but not before he ate a flower off our freshly bloomed plant.

It was super cute watching random little dots (frogs) jump from the grass. It was like popcorn popping, except it was a slew of frogs jumping.



Owen favored Franklin. Yes, Franklin is one of the frogs. Yes, he named and favored one of the frogs in a matter of 10 minutes. Yes, he managed to know which one was Franklin despite half of them looking exactly like Franklin. He even yelled to the his buddy as he hopped away,  "Bye, Franklin! You were my favorite! Don't forget me! Have a good journey!!!!" 

And yes, he's wearing his Halloween costume on September 30. For the second day in a row. Let's take bets on how long that'll last - my vote is: 31 October. Wish me luck with that.

Xo, Lorri

Come on Over - Part I

Come on over bay-buh!...No? No Xtina fans? Well then boo to you too...

Let's take a virtual tour of our new abode, shall we? Play Christina while taking the tour and you'll get bonus points.

In this house, I wanted to make sure I did better at documenting the changes we made, projects completed, and just the overall transformation of our house into a home. When packing up the apartment I realized how much it changed even just in a year and I I have a passion for decorating and making our house into a home so I really appreciate when I see a photo of a room on week one and then the changes a room has taken in weeks, months, (and if we military folks could be so lucky) years. So this go-'round I busted out the camera on move-in day, although I probably should have done it prior to putting anything in the house because as you will see in a moment all these photos are crazytown! With boxes everywhere and Jersey being a photo bomb. So without further ado, let's get on with it. Yes?

First off, we are in a rental. Second, it's a sweet little townhouse. Lastly, it's a bit over 1900 square feet, has five bedrooms, three full baths, and one hilly driveway. While it's obviously a modest home, it's ginormous in comparison to our tiny 1300ish square foot apartment in Destin we just moved from. And yet our rent is almost $500 a month cheaper here in the new place. But I guess that's what you happens when you live in a tourist area - they bend you over and...well, even I won't go there.

So let's get to it...

When you enter the front door you are greeted by stairs to the bedrooms.

To your left is the living room.

The living room is small and it shares a space with the dining area but it's still more open than our apartment's living/dining area was so we can't shouldn't complain.

Past the dining area is the kitchen. Why they made a little cutout in the wall is beyond me, they should've just knocked the whole wall down to make everything feel more open and seamless. At the very least the door to the kitchen could be doubled, the rectangle opening closed, and more cabinets/counters put on what would be left of the wall on the kitchen side. Just saying.

Speaking of the kitchen let's take a looksie. The black appliances are an eyesore but they're new so there's the positive in that. The cabinets make me want to barf - if this were my home and I were going to live here for more than a year I'd start in here first. I'd change the cabinets, add more counter space, and get rid of those black appliances, seriously.

If you come back out of the kitchen there is a plethora of doors in a little square-ish area, I call it the square hall. The door straight ahead is a bathroom.

The open door in that plethora-o-doors photo is Ariana's bedroom

This home is on the market, so I'm assuming that when they staged it they put up those sexy curtains you see in the first photo of Ari's room. I want so bad to burn said curtains in a ceremonious fire, but I have to hang them back up when I move out so they are sitting in a closet untouchable.

Below is the view looking out of the squarish hall.

Again, hands off the stunning brass chandi over the dining table, you'll have to fight me for that puppy. Seriously though, I would have replaced that the day I moved in if this were my home, but alas I'm only renting so I'll be cringing at the fixture each time I walk by.

So that's the first floor of our new house. I planned to show the whole house in this post but it's already a bit of a lengthy post considering I'm simply giving you a photo tour of our home. Plus, it's late and I need some shut-eye. So I'll give you the rest of the tour tomorrow morning. And then tomorrow evening check back in with us because Ari and I have a quick somethin' somethin' for ya!

Until then,

Lor

My Towel...No, MY Towel!

Source

When I saw the hooks pictured above at Anthropologie I knew they had to be mine. But at $12 a pop I thought I could find something similar at a much cheaper price. Now before you get all concerned about my fiscal well-being I realize that $12 isn't a huge amount of money. Heck, even buying three of them (which is what I wanted - one for each kid) would only total $36 dollars but lets get real, $36 simply for three hooks is ridiculous in my cheap mind. 

So when I found a similar item at Micheal's for .99 cents I knew they had to be mine. They were being sold as drawer pulls but I knew I could convert them into hooks somehow. So I bought some wood, with the help of Owen and Ari, at Lowe's (forgive the blurry iPhone photo)

along with some hooks and got to makin'. First I stained my wood, which was a $1.97 1X4' furring strip that I had them cut to 36" (and kept the rest for a future project that I already have in mind). 

Then I painted it with some left-over blue paint I had on hand. Then I sanded it to give it the distressed look I was going for. Next I took the hook I purchased from Lowe's and screwed those bad boys into the wood. But I only put one of the screw in each hook. 

Then I whipped out my drawer pulls and screwed them into the top hole of the hook to make it look like one unit (to the left in the below photo), rather than a hook with a drawer pull placed above the hook (like the one on the right). 

Then I removed this ugly towel bar

to make room for the new one. I saved it in my closet though so that I could reinstall it when we move (we are in a rental). Then I just drilled my new masterpiece straight into the studs of the wall. And voila! My babies have a personalized towel bar! I needed to touch up the holes where the old towel bar was but we've since decided to move to a bigger house so I'm just leaving it as-is since we'll be packing in about three weeks anyway.

Since making their own towel bar I can now I can give them all the same colored towels since then hang them on their specific hook. Trust me, prior to them having their own hooks there were arguments over whose towel was whose. So much so that we had to buy color coded towels per child. Ari had pink, Ethan red, and Owen green. But, alas, with their individual hooks they can all have the same color towel so that their bathroom decor looks cohesive even with their towels hanging up!

I think I did pretty good price wise - I already owned the stain, poly, paint, and sandpaper. So with the wood being $1.97, the pulls being $.99 each, and the hooks being $3.51 each, I came in at $15.50. Holla!

Any bathroom updates in ya'lls house? The kids' bathroom got neglected for so long because they have been gone for five months so the room never got used except by the occasional guest. But that's definitely changed these days. It now gets plenty of use and is often overrun with bathtub toys and dirty clothes littered on the floor, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Take care ya'll! 

Muah,

Lor

Frames, Frames on the Wall

Okay, I think I've finally come up with an arrangement I like when it comes to my once big, blank living room wall. Here it is lookin' all BLAH!

I struggled for a while on just what to do with it. I put up a few pictures and left them there, hoping to gain more inspiration. Well, months went by aaaaand no dice. So I was virtually flipping through a magazine one day when BAM it hit me. A woman had turned a wall in her kitchen into a huge gallery wall. I was diggin' it but I will admit that I was slightly nervous to actually do it myself.

I spent a few good weeks going back and forth on whether or not to do my own version of a wall gallery in the living room. I had stacks and stacks of frames just sitting in my closet because our current abode is much smaller than our previous home so I currently have less rooms, therefore less walls, to decorate, hence the stack of unused frames. One evening I finally thought 'screw it.' And I got to hangin'. I thought it would take me an hour or two to tackle the whole wall. Wrong. It took me three evenings. I did it during the week so I started a few hours after getting home from work and then I'd wonder off and do other things around the house. What can I say, I'm easily distracted, folks.

Here it is after the first evening:

It was like a big puzzle. And call me crazy but I had no plan. I just looked at all my frames and tried to piece them together in my head.

Here's after day two:

You may notice I spread some things out a bit because the left side was looking a bit cramped after the first evening. Three days and a gajillion nails later and I have this awesome wall of awesomeness:

I didn't get home in time to shoot this with the sun out so this photo is a bit darker than the others. But oh well, you just get to see the evening ambiance that is la casa de Rumbarger.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, I'm well aware that my decorating style is eclectic and unique and bit daring but what can I say, I'm a rule-breaker, even in decorating apparently. Wait...are there even rules in decorating? There aren't for me, at least. When I first moved out of my parents' house and started making my house a home back when I was a 17 year old mommy, I leaned toward the traditional decorating styles. And I think the reason I did that was not so much because I truly liked that style, but because I thought that's what adults did. And I wanted to be an adult, a good adult, a responsible adult. Granted, I was 17 and a new mom but I was trying, in every way, to be mature and grown up and I thought safe and stuffy decorating rules would help portray me in a mature light. I've since learned that decorating is all about being you. Just because you like certain decor doesn't make you and more or less of a responsible adult. Just because you have a ceramic giraffe on your bookcase or a bright yellow tray on your ottoman it doesn't make you any less of an adult, it simply makes you an adult that loves a pop of color here and there and a stud of a giraffe. And it's my house, so if it makes me happy I'm determined to find a home for it in my casa. And if the traditional look is for you and makes you happy and reflects who you are then go for that too.

I've already made a few changed to the contents of a few frames after taking these photos. And I plan to stain and distress the 'R' that's in the middle of the wall...I'll get there someday. And then I'll post updated pics when it's all said and done.

In the meantime, I absolutely love the result of my gallery wall. It reminds me of a library for some reason.

I don't know if it's the floor to ceiling look that I love or if it's simply the fact that I have so many sentimental items up there for display but whatever it is, I'm in love.

I can't be the only one that embraces quirkiness, tell me it isn't so.

Xo,
Lorri

There's No Place Like Home...

It's been exactly two weeks since we got here and Florida is finally starting to rub-off on me.

The months leading up to the move out here from New Mexico were filled with many emotions - excitement being one. I envisioned the moment we crossed the state line; I was convinced I'd fall in love with everything related to Florida, the heavens would open up and shine a light upon our little Dodge Neon as we drove closer to our destination, our worries and flaws would melt away in the Florida sun and life would be simply perfect, but things didn't quite go that way.

The trouble began as we left Alabama, I went to snap a picture of the "Entering Florida" sign (as I did with every other state we entered) just to find my battery was dead (in all four of my cameras). No big deal...right? That's what I thought too, until we arrived at NAS Pensacola and our luck didn't change for the better.

First, I should begin by explaining that I have a nonsensical fear of driving over any bridge with water under it. I tell Seth that I must've drowned in a past life and that a bridge and a car (and obviously water) must've had something to do with my death.

The feeling is indescribable but I'll try anyway; I panic, my heart races, I lower my head and close my eyes. I don't say a word. I don't think. I probably don't even breath. I just am. I sit and I wait. I wait for the "thud-thunk" sound that comes as the car crosses over the end of a bridge to the beginning of the actual road again, then I open my eyes and all is well, until, of course, we cross another bridge.

Well, what do you think we had to do to get to the main gate of NAS Pensacola? Cross a huge bridge with water under it.

My first thought? Fuck

Seth glanced over at me, grinned and chuckled a bit. I put my head down and waited for the thud-thunk.

After safely making it on base, we pulled up to a beautiful building that turned out to be lodging (which is basically a hotel, for all you nonmilitary folks) only to be told that, since we had a dog traveling with us, we needed to go to a different lodging facility down the street. They failed to mention to us that this new lodging facility was unimpressive, to say the least, and that they were going to charge us almost twice what we were going to be charged for our original room. Nevertheless, our 22 hour drive was over and we were thankful to have a bed to sleep in, so we grabbed our luggage and our pup and headed to our room.

The first thing I did when we got inside was put my purse down and take our dog outside to go potty. I went to the sliding door at the back of the room and struggled to open it. Now I don't know if our door was defective or if the architect simply intended to construct the sliding door so that only a 300 pound body-builder could open it, but I wrestled with it for a good five minutes to no avail. "You can do, put your back into it," I sang to myself as I swayed my hips and glanced at my puppy who was looking at me as if I was a nutcase. And I did it - using every last pound of my body weight as leverage.

So outside we went, me and my monster puppy (he weighs more than 100 lbs.), and as I'm standing there waiting for Bear to do his business it hits me how disgustingly humid it is. I'm not the outdoorsy-type so the humidity alone made me want to scrap the whole mission and get back inside to the air conditioning, but I patiently waited for my puppy to relieve himself.

But then I feel something - something on my leg, then my forehead, then my neck. Then I freak out because I realize I'm being bit by something. I walk towards the patio door to utilize the porch light and I see a swarm of mosquitos. I squeal - something I instantly do and cannot control when being attacked by a creature whose only mission in life is to find live prey and suck its blood.

I yell for Bear and haul ass to the patio door, all the while screaming as if I was at Camp Crystal Lake and I had just seen Jason Voorhees. The dog hauls ass towards me because he can tell I'm genuinely flipping out, I go to open the door and it doesn't fucking budge. It's ten o'clock at night, I'm jumping around and screaming like a mad woman while swatting at a swarm of mosquitos, my dog thinks I need committed and THE DOOR WON'T OPEN.

To make a long story short - I got the damn door open on my next try. Thank God for adrenaline.

I collapsed onto the bed out of sheer physical exhaustion and begin to tell Seth about my run-in with nature. He's chuckling while I'm telling him how I plan to go outside as little as possible from now on, when, mid-sentence, he stops laughing, his mouth drops and he says "Get up!" I follow his eyes behind me and I see the biggest spider known to man (okay, okay, slight exaggeration) on the bed, he grabs my sandal and murders the putrid thing and I instantly get goosebumps like never before. He comes back from flushing the dead spider and sits beside me on the edge of the bed. Everything just hit me at once and I started balling my eyes out.

My poor husband didn't have a single clue as to why I was crying, I could see the bewilderment in his face as he asked, "What's wrong babe?"

I couldn't find the words. It was everything and it was nothing. It seemed to be my dead camera batteries but that had nothing to do with it. It could've easily been the mosquito bites I got (and am allergic to) but that really wasn't it either. It was kinda-sorta-but-not-really the 15 ton sliding door that takes half an hour to open. It was but it wasn't the overpriced room we were staying in for God-knows-how-long. It wasn't even the gi-normous spider that just crawled out of the very sheets we were going to be sleeping in. It wasn't even the fact that we just traveled from one side of the country to the other in two days. Instead, I suppose it was all these things combined with the unknown, with not having any idea or control over what life was and is going to bring us. All we knew was to go to NAS Pensacola, and nothing more.

I didn't have the words to answer his question, so I just held on to him for dear life as he hugged me. When I finally pushed past "the ugly cry" and was able to catch my breath I told him I wanted "to go home." He didn't say a word, instead, he just looked at me and grinned and went back to holding me. I think he wanted to tell me what I immediately realized as soon as those words left my lips: we didn't have a home. Not at that moment and not that day and not even the next day. We were technically homeless. Almost all of our belongings were on a moving truck somewhere, a week's worth of clothes were in our suitcases, our laptops were in our backpacks and there was no house key on our keychains. We had no home.

But when I thought about it, none of that mattered because we had each other...we have each other. And I'll take that over a home any day.