A Funny Story for You
We are finally moved into our house that has immediately felt like home. It is so so beautiful where we are. I have been catching Livi often saying "I love this house Momma." I think it's mainly because it has stairs and she has been wanting a house with stairs for awhile 👍
While it has been an easy and beautiful transition making this house a home, getting here wasn't easy!
In the last post, I mentioned how we are no strangers to moving. Unfortunately,this was the worst moving day we've had thus far. Let me tell you the story (it's a funny one). We can laugh about it now because it's over, we've moved on and all is well....
The whole experience was a bit off from the beginning as our moving day kept getting postponed due to maintenance work, we kept being promised our tenancy contract and were told 6 times to drive all the way to their office in Abu Dhabi from Al Ain (where we were living) to sign it... only to drive an hour and a half to be told either:
a) the person wasn't there to give it to us
or
b) actually, we don't have it ready yet.
This was always said after having been told each morning before driving that everything was ready to go.
This is just unacceptable and made me so sad because it made me feel like we weren't cared about... no thought was given in regards to us going out of our way to make things happen... and to drive all of that way with 2 kids in tow is not the easiest and should in no way be expected for us to do 6 times.
This type of inefficiency set the tone from the get go.
Our 4th and final moving date came around. We had double checked multiple times that our tenancy contract was ready because the movers were coming and we had paid already. Everything was said to be ready to go. They told us they would give us the contract once we arrived in Al Ghadeer (the community where our house is). I already thought, why should we believe them? Nothing has been ready for us thus far.
I had planned the day in accordance to all previous moving days we have done.
- movers usually take 2 hours to pack items
- it take about 3 hours to get from Al Ain to Al Ghadeer
- then another 2 hours to unpack items
This has always been the time frame for moving day to pan out. My plan was to leave with the kids as soon as movers arrived.. gives me 2 hours to get to Dubai and meet up with family for a few hours. I then planned to reach Al Ghadeer when movers and Will reached there, and take the kids to the pool for a couple of hours while the movers unpacked everything. Thought, we'd be set up in our house by 5 pm.. in time for dinner and bed time for kiddos.
Well, wasn't I sorely mistaken!!!
Movers arrived at 10am (expected time) so I shoot off to Dubai and have a great time with family. However, I'm looking at the clock and realise it's almost 3 and Will still hasn't said movers have left al Ain yet... by only 3:30 were they on their way.. how does it take 5 hours to pack up house???? We are minimalists.. it is also the same moving company we have hired in the past and it never took them more than 2 hours! (we don't have more items compared to last move, either). By this point, I'm still thinking positively, like it's ok... I'll get to Al Ghadeer by 4:30 and take kids to pool for an hour longer or stop and get food before hand.
I reach Al Ghadeer at 4:30, the same time as Will. Will says, the contract isn't ready and the guy isn't here to give it us. What??? Will still says they will at least give us the keys so the kids can be in the AC while they are sorting out the contract. We go to our new, empty house... I turn the AC on, only to find out- it's not working. There were only 2 rooms upstairs that had the tiniest bit of cold air flow coming out of them and it was thankfully the kiddos' rooms. Keep in mind it gets to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees F) here. You can't be living in a house with no AC.
We spent 2 hours going up and down the stairs, playing games in the kids rooms until we were all drenched in sweat and I was about to lose my mind. I call Will... no answer- straight to voicemail. So this Momma actually does lose it (I'm usually very calm). I have no idea whats going on... the kids should be in bed. Movers still haven't come because as far as I know, there is still no contract so they can't be let in.
My sweet Livi girl, wipes my tears away and says "It's ok Momma, I'm here." She consoled me when I should have been putting on a brave face for her and Ben... but I had a moment and couldn't help but shed some tears. My girl was able to make me smile and figure out what the heck was going on. I strip the kids to just their shorts because they were so hot and I get them in the car and decide to find Will's car somewhere in Al Ghadeer since I couldn't call him. We find the car and I go to the closest building to where he is parked hoping that is where he was. I knock on the door... Will comes to it but says he is locked in!!! What??? Even more confused!!! The doors are heavy so I can't completely hear what he is saying (sorry, I'm pausing for a second to just laugh out loud right now at how ridiculous this all is).
OK.. laugh break over.
The time of knocking on door is about 6 pm (kids' bedtime). Since I can't hear Will, I go around the corner and see a few men in an office. The window is a bit high, so I take hold of my half naked babies and jump up to knock on the window (thinking they probably are like 'this woman is a maniac' but at this point I didn't care). They point for me to go around the other way.
Long story shorter (not short), We only get contract by 7 pm... Movers finally get to unpacking- I tell them to immediately do Livi and Ben's rooms so we can get them to bed. We get them to bed around 9pm and movers finally leave around midnight. Will and I sleep in Livi's room because there is still no AC. We didn't get that fixed until 2 days later (even though we called straight away for someone to come) :(
It was a miserable experience.
I had a brief breakdown where I was ready to go APESH*T but again, at the end of the day you just have to laugh and look at the big picture. Will and I also went to bed that first night saying, at least this will make a good story.
My fingers are crossed that we don't have to move again any time soon. This house has become a home so quickly, like I mentioned a the beginning and some things are worth the hassle and the wait.
Cheers the good times and the bad and to making new memories in this beautiful new home.
While it has been an easy and beautiful transition making this house a home, getting here wasn't easy!
In the last post, I mentioned how we are no strangers to moving. Unfortunately,this was the worst moving day we've had thus far. Let me tell you the story (it's a funny one). We can laugh about it now because it's over, we've moved on and all is well....
The whole experience was a bit off from the beginning as our moving day kept getting postponed due to maintenance work, we kept being promised our tenancy contract and were told 6 times to drive all the way to their office in Abu Dhabi from Al Ain (where we were living) to sign it... only to drive an hour and a half to be told either:
a) the person wasn't there to give it to us
or
b) actually, we don't have it ready yet.
This was always said after having been told each morning before driving that everything was ready to go.
This is just unacceptable and made me so sad because it made me feel like we weren't cared about... no thought was given in regards to us going out of our way to make things happen... and to drive all of that way with 2 kids in tow is not the easiest and should in no way be expected for us to do 6 times.
This type of inefficiency set the tone from the get go.
Our 4th and final moving date came around. We had double checked multiple times that our tenancy contract was ready because the movers were coming and we had paid already. Everything was said to be ready to go. They told us they would give us the contract once we arrived in Al Ghadeer (the community where our house is). I already thought, why should we believe them? Nothing has been ready for us thus far.
I had planned the day in accordance to all previous moving days we have done.
- movers usually take 2 hours to pack items
- it take about 3 hours to get from Al Ain to Al Ghadeer
- then another 2 hours to unpack items
This has always been the time frame for moving day to pan out. My plan was to leave with the kids as soon as movers arrived.. gives me 2 hours to get to Dubai and meet up with family for a few hours. I then planned to reach Al Ghadeer when movers and Will reached there, and take the kids to the pool for a couple of hours while the movers unpacked everything. Thought, we'd be set up in our house by 5 pm.. in time for dinner and bed time for kiddos.
Well, wasn't I sorely mistaken!!!
Movers arrived at 10am (expected time) so I shoot off to Dubai and have a great time with family. However, I'm looking at the clock and realise it's almost 3 and Will still hasn't said movers have left al Ain yet... by only 3:30 were they on their way.. how does it take 5 hours to pack up house???? We are minimalists.. it is also the same moving company we have hired in the past and it never took them more than 2 hours! (we don't have more items compared to last move, either). By this point, I'm still thinking positively, like it's ok... I'll get to Al Ghadeer by 4:30 and take kids to pool for an hour longer or stop and get food before hand.
I reach Al Ghadeer at 4:30, the same time as Will. Will says, the contract isn't ready and the guy isn't here to give it us. What??? Will still says they will at least give us the keys so the kids can be in the AC while they are sorting out the contract. We go to our new, empty house... I turn the AC on, only to find out- it's not working. There were only 2 rooms upstairs that had the tiniest bit of cold air flow coming out of them and it was thankfully the kiddos' rooms. Keep in mind it gets to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees F) here. You can't be living in a house with no AC.
We spent 2 hours going up and down the stairs, playing games in the kids rooms until we were all drenched in sweat and I was about to lose my mind. I call Will... no answer- straight to voicemail. So this Momma actually does lose it (I'm usually very calm). I have no idea whats going on... the kids should be in bed. Movers still haven't come because as far as I know, there is still no contract so they can't be let in.
My sweet Livi girl, wipes my tears away and says "It's ok Momma, I'm here." She consoled me when I should have been putting on a brave face for her and Ben... but I had a moment and couldn't help but shed some tears. My girl was able to make me smile and figure out what the heck was going on. I strip the kids to just their shorts because they were so hot and I get them in the car and decide to find Will's car somewhere in Al Ghadeer since I couldn't call him. We find the car and I go to the closest building to where he is parked hoping that is where he was. I knock on the door... Will comes to it but says he is locked in!!! What??? Even more confused!!! The doors are heavy so I can't completely hear what he is saying (sorry, I'm pausing for a second to just laugh out loud right now at how ridiculous this all is).
OK.. laugh break over.
The time of knocking on door is about 6 pm (kids' bedtime). Since I can't hear Will, I go around the corner and see a few men in an office. The window is a bit high, so I take hold of my half naked babies and jump up to knock on the window (thinking they probably are like 'this woman is a maniac' but at this point I didn't care). They point for me to go around the other way.
Long story shorter (not short), We only get contract by 7 pm... Movers finally get to unpacking- I tell them to immediately do Livi and Ben's rooms so we can get them to bed. We get them to bed around 9pm and movers finally leave around midnight. Will and I sleep in Livi's room because there is still no AC. We didn't get that fixed until 2 days later (even though we called straight away for someone to come) :(
It was a miserable experience.
I had a brief breakdown where I was ready to go APESH*T but again, at the end of the day you just have to laugh and look at the big picture. Will and I also went to bed that first night saying, at least this will make a good story.
My fingers are crossed that we don't have to move again any time soon. This house has become a home so quickly, like I mentioned a the beginning and some things are worth the hassle and the wait.
Cheers the good times and the bad and to making new memories in this beautiful new home.
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| My girl always there to make me smile |
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| Breaking in the kitchen with some baking |
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| Livi and Ben playing in Livi's room |
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| Aunty Barbara and Uncle Mic visiting |
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| My little baker (not many pics of Ben because he just doesn't sit still.) |
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| Amazing dinner in our new house with our family 💖 |
Oh Caelan! I'm so sorry you had to through that. Thank you for allowing a window into your life. Love all of you!
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