Moving is hard

This past week has been a blur of so many things I'm not even sure which end is up anymore. Moving is hard, you would think after all the times that I've moved that it would be simple and easy for me to do. That is so not the case. This time I packed, purged, shredded, cleaned and labeled my way into our new home.

We officially moved in on Tuesday of this past week. We were smart and hired a moving crew to actually load and unload our items. With my arthritis in my back there is no way I would have been able to help my husband move furniture. Wednesday we spent back at the old house cleaning it and getting the carpets professionally cleaned. I hate to admit it but that place was filthy with a capital F. I was so disgusted by the time we left there that I just wanted to cry. 3 years of living in a place and not once did I ever do a "deep" Spring cleaning and it showed. Yuck!

Thursday was spent unpacking and getting information from my son's new school so I could get him registered. They needed a vision, hearing and dental screening and his immunizations on a Georgia form before they would even register him. Grr. I spent most of the day Friday getting these screenings accomplished. I got him set up with his new pediatrician too, which took a ton of stress off of my mind because the doctor listened and made suggestions that would best benefit my son and our lives.

My first concern was that I wanted to get Dakota off of the stimulants. I know that stimulants work well for some kids with ADHD but I hate the awful side effects that my son has been dealing with for 5 years now. He's tried most of the medications on the market that are safe for a child his age and weight. I was not happy with any of them honestly. The only reason he was medicated at all was because the TN school system told me to either medicate him or home school him because his behavior was too erratic for a teach to be able to control. The new pediatrician listened to my almost tearful account of the last 5 years of dealing with horrible doctors and stupid offices that wouldn't listen to me at all. He decided that taking my son off of Adderall was a good idea. He recommended Intuniv. It's a non stimulant that will allow him to focus without the narcotic effect of a stimulant. The first week it's a 1mg pill once daily. After 7 days, if he needs a little more help with his focus then the dosage is upped to a 2mg pill once daily. After day 14 if he needs a stronger dosage, I call the doctor's office and the doc will decide at that time if he wants to try the 3mg pill. There is also a 4mg pill. The doctor stated that with my son's weight being so low (due to the Adderall being an appetite suppressant) he shouldn't need more that 2mg honestly. I started the Intuniv pills today and my son has been fine. He's playing well and using his manners and he actually has eaten and drank plenty of fluids all day today. That alone makes me happy. I hated forcing him to eat and drink because the pills were not allowing his body to relay that he felt hunger or thirst. It's still only day 1, but so far so good.

We are still getting things we need for the house here and there as things come up. This is an older home and we have discovered that there are many things that need to be repaired, replaced or spruced up in order for this place to be up to par. The landlady is really nice and is working with us to get things taken care of. I knew that an older home (built in the 1980's) would be a lot of work, I didn't mind doing small things here and there. However, the structural issues and appliances not functioning properly is not something I can fix. The maintenance man is going to get tired of coming over here quick, ha ha ha!

We spent most of today putting together my son's bedroom furniture from Ikea. I love that store and would recommend it to anyone. We found bedroom furnishings that were the same color scheme and theme for his room, he picked it all out himself too. We were able to get the toy storage bins, the computer chair and the dresser put together today. Tomorrow we need to put together his computer desk and bookshelf. Once his mattress is delivered his bed will be put together. Then his room will be complete and it will look nice. I was super excited to get him new stuff that he could be proud of and enjoy for plenty of years to come.

There is still a ton of unpacking to do. I am so tired all the time these days because I get up early and I am up late at night. I'm trying to stay on top of daily chores as well and getting things in place and put away. Life does not pause just because I want some extra sleep or relaxation. I have to keep up or I will fall behind and that is not something I'm wanting to do right now. I think once I get the grocery shopping done and I have some real food in the house that doesn't come in a take out container I will be much more content. We have eaten out too much lately and I can tell my body is over the crap that I've been feeding it. I am craving veggies and fruit at this point because I haven't had nearly enough of them lately. I haven't been drinking as much water as I need to and I've even had coffee recently in order to stay awake. I can tell that my fatigue and headaches are from bad food choices I've been making and I can't believe that I spent years eating like that every day. It was no wonder I couldn't lose weight. I'm so glad I'm adopting new habits that include healthy choices. Now it's just time to put it all together, get to that farmer's market and make it happen!