My old Kentucky home.....

Now that we have been settled in our new home for a little over 3 months, I have finally found the time to write about it.

When Ben and I started talking about moving closer to family, we really were thinking of Indianapolis - - it's right in between our parents (3.5 hours to Ben's, and 5 to mine), an hour from Purdue (so we can catch football games), and we have a ton of college friends who live in the area so it sounded ideal. Then the opportunity in Louisville came up. I NEVER in a million years ever thought about living in Kentucky. In fact just about a year ago, a guy that I use to work with was telling me about when he was younger him and his family rented a house boat on a lake in Kentucky and how great of a vacation it was. I just looked at him and said "Kentucky? That is one of those states that I lump in with West Virginia......." And now I live in Kentucky!

Lots of jokes were told to us before we moved, and I understood because I had similar thoughts. My family asked if Alex and Olivia would grow up with southern accents, and I told them that I sure hoped not! And after being here for a few months, here is what I have learned and thought about our move:

1. A study was released listing the states with the most millionaires - #4 was Connecticut (what were we thinking moving?)
2. Another study came out shortly after that ranking the large metro areas with the lowest percentage of residents with college degrees - #6 was Louisville (what were we thinking moving to Kentucky?)
3. A ranking of the most affordable places to live had Louisville ranked #8 (Kentucky was finally redeeming itself!)
4. Not knowing whether I live in the south or the midwest, I have been told that Lexington, Kentucky is the south, and Louisville is the midwest. Interesting.....
5. I've always told myself (perhaps trying to convince myself) that Louisville is much different than the rest of Kentucky and I am finding that others who live here say the same thing, and I still think it is true.
6. Everyone who sounds like their from the south, I find, doesn't live in Louisville but lives in a surrounding city - perhaps proving that Louisville is indeed the midwest and the rest of Kentucky is the south!
7. People do really have "double wides on the lake" and others seemed excited about it. Maybe one day we will own our very own double wide on the lake!

With all that said, so far we really do like living in Louisville. There seems to be so much to do here - - with and without kids. They have a great zoo and science center, and then there is always Churchill Downs (which we haven't been to yet) There are also some great restaurants with fabulous food.

Even though we targeted Indianapolis, Louisville is an ideal location as well. Ben's parents and extended family are just 2 hours away. My family is 6 (half of the drive from MI to CT), and Ben's cousin and college roommate live in Louisville.

We found house that has been great for our family - - a lot more space than what we had. And it is in a neighborhood which we love. There is even a playground in the neighborhood which we can walk to. Ben and the kids got a lot of use out of the playground this past summer and will continue to in future summers when he is home with them.
The kids have enjoyed all the extra space but it was a transition moving to a new place. They got their own rooms for the first time - - this actually went over much better than we thought it would. After we closed, Ben and I stayed at the house for a few days by ourselves painting the kids' rooms to make them extra special for when they first arrived.
And the kids had to get use to us going downstairs after putting them to sleep at night (our house in CT was 1 story) - - this was a bigger transition than we anticipated - they thought we were leaving them. 3 months in and they are well adjusted to their new rooms. They even have a playroom all to themselves which is off of Alex's bedroom.
The finished basement is a hit with the kids (so much space to run around since we don't have a ton of furniture down there), us (great place to hang out at night and also do work in the office), and our guests (the guest room is down there with their own bathroom and coffee maker, etc -- much different from our old house).

Here are some pictures of the main floor:


The only painting we have done is the kids' rooms. Ben hates painting, so it is kind of like pulling teeth to get him to paint. Lucky for him I LOVE the yellow in the kitchen and dining room, and the red in the living room. So there won't be too much to paint. Our room will probably be the next to paint.....we'll see when that actually happens!

So far my job is going good. And I am happy to report that in the middle of September (about 4 weeks into the school year) Ben landed a job teaching 7th grade social studies (what he taught in Connecticut)...things have been crazy busy ever since! Here's a picture of the building where I work - AEGON Center which is the tallest building in Kentucky (my brother took this while we were walking through downtown).
It's official....we are Kentucky residents!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedershen, Good-bye....Connecticut........

It's been 3 months, but at times it is still so hard to believe that we moved from Connecticut to Kentucky. From the time I gave my notice at work, which was the beginning of May, to the time we actually loaded up the car and left, LIFE WAS CRAZY! A lot of our time was spent spending time with good friends for the last time for a while (not forever, we will see you again!), keeping life as normal as possible for Alex and Olivia, packing up, and keeping our house clean for showings.

As much as we knew that this was the right move for our family, it still was very hard to say good byes to all of the wonderful friends. Ben's co-workers threw a wonderful party for him on the last day of school, and gave him some wonderful gifts including a Granby, CT mug, a Connecticut tile, and a signed yearbook from his school that was signed by all the teachers and students. These are some great memories that Ben and I will cherish forever.

It was hard for me to say goodbye to all the friends who have been wonderful to me over the years, and all the co-workers I have kept in touch with. It still has not set in that I can't just call a former co-worker to see if they want to go to lunch. I'm no longer just down the road at ING working alongside people I've worked with before, instead I am several hundred miles away working at a new company with nobody I've ever worked with before. Still very very strange.

AEGON, my new employer took care of all the moving arrangements, which was really helpful. The packers from the moving company came 2 days before we left for the midwest. They packed everything that we had into boxes. I had this done when I moved from Michigan to Connecticut and as I told Ben, you better watch out, they pack things you think they wouldn't even pack. And sure enough that was the case. By the time they got to the office, they wanted us to put the printer ink into a sandwich bag, at which time I informed them that they already packed our sandwich bags into a box!

Alex and Olivia were in day care up until the day before we left, mainly because there was going to be a lot going on at our house, and I wanted to keep their life as normal as possible. As the packers finished up, our house was beginning to look so empty. Here are a few of the last pictures we have of the inside of our house after the packers had started:

Every personal belonging packed in a box, labeled with our name, and barcoded.......




I was very concerned about how the kids would react to the house being filled with boxes and a lot of things packed away. The furniture was still there after the packers had been there, so it still looked a little normal. They were completely unphased and thought the boxes were sooooo cool!

The next day (our second to last day in Connecticut, for a while), the moving truck came.


They spent all day moving all the boxes, and all of our stuff that wasn't in a box (furniture, tv's, washer and dryer, etc) onto the truck. And when I say all day, I really mean all day. They seemed to move so slow, and if I would have been given the job, I swear I would have been done a few hours earlier than they were.

The truck also came to pick up our jeep to transport it to Kentucky. They guy drove all the way from New Jersey to pick up our car!

And then he backed our car up onto the truck! This guy had skills - - I would have never made it up the truck in reverse! So strange to see a truck drive away with one of your cars.
After the movers left, we went to pick up the kids from day care and Dudley from doggie day care. It was very hard to pick the kids up from day care. This was their last day at Apple Tree, and the last day they would play with the only friends they knew, and some of the friends (Kaitlyn and Daniel) that they had been playing with every day since they were 5 months old. They are young and resiliant, but Kaitlyn and Daniel have made an impression through all that time as we still talk about them today. Ben and I shed lots of tears picking the kids up.......the day care wasn't always perfect, but we always knew how much everyone there cared for and loved our children. We can't be thankful enough for the time they spent there. And even in their last week they talked about going to Kentucky in their class, and their classmates made a beautiful art project for them which included the following poem:

"We'll always miss your five little fingers
Used to wave high and give "High Five".
We'll miss the way Alex tilted his head in wonder
and asked the never-ending question of "Why?"
We'll miss Olivia's smile and how it was always so sweet,
A hug fro her was the best; it was such a special treat.
We really wish that you could stay
But we know you have to be on your way.
Continue to learn and play and grow!
We hope that you will always know.....
You will forever be in our hear,
We loved you from the very start!"

And with that we know how much our children were loved at Apple Tree as this poem describes them perfectly. We couldn't be more thankful for the people that watched over our children every day.

As we brought the kids home we were a little worried about how they would react with the house being completely empty - - they thought it was so awesome to have so much open space (I wish I could see life through the eyes of a child), and Dudley seemed to be the one to take it the hardest.

So with that we spent one last night in our house, one last morning with our favorite Miss Cole, and then packed up the car and said one last goodbye to the only house we have every known, and the one house where so many memories were made for the Jarboes.......a new career in education, a new doggie to love, two beautiful babies to love, and so many other memories......

And once again, I would love to live life through the eyes of a kid, because as we pulled away, tears filled Ben and my eyes, and Alex said in the back "daddy, you sad? why are you sad?" And then Olivia saying "don't be sad daddy".

Good Bye Running Pine Rd........
And even now, 3 months later, it is still hard....in a way much harder than it was on, June 26, 2010, the day we pulled away from our house as a family for the very last time...........so much love for all of our friends in Connecticut - - We miss you all and think of you every day!!!!

Never a dull moment.......

It has been so long since we have regularly updated the blog that I am not sure if anyone checks it anymore, but in the case that people do, I thought it made sense to update it before we experience many changes in our lives in the next few days.

2010 has been a whirlwind......having twins has changed our lives completely and I thought things would get easier as they got older and more independent........but I will say some things have become easier while other things more challenging and thus exhausting! Two two year olds is CRAZY! It is constant monkey see- monkey do in our house with one kid getting in trouble while the other one follows the lead and joins in the fun, or someone is always asking "why?" (particularly Alex), and then there is Olivia who likes to tattle on Alex when he is getting in trouble..."Look at him mommy! Look at Alex doin'" With all of the challenges does bring so much happiness and excitement to listen to what the kids say on a daily basis and listen to the sentences that they put together and the things they tell us. In fact the other day Olivia and I had the following conversation:

Jackie: "what did you have for lunch today?"
Olivia: "mommy me no like fish sticks" (I sent fish sticks in with them for lunch)
Jackie: "oh, you didn't like the fish sticks?"
Olivia: "Ms. Darla eat my fish sticks!" (Ms. Darla is one of her teachers! - - yep her teacher got ratted out by a 2 year old!)
Olivia: "Ms. Darla give me some more yogurt" (Apparently they traded lunches!)

Anyway, this year has seemed busier than most, and I am not sure if it is because we have been doing a lot more or if it is just from having 2 two year olds....Here are some highlights of the year:

In January, Uncle Dave came to visit for the weekend, and he took us to a local kids museum and Alex and Olivia had so much fun!
In March, we all got zapped with a NASTY stomach bug that was going through day care. Olivia fell victim first, then Alex two days later, then Ben got sick the day he stayed home with Alex, and then I was the last victim that got sick on my birthday! We cleaned more vomit and did more laundry in one week then I ever cared to do. This literally all took place during one week with Olivia getting sick on Monday morning, and me being the last to get sick on Thursday night. By Friday morning luckily both kids were healthy enough to go to day care, so Ben and I essentially drew straws to figure out who was going to take them in since we both felt so awful.

Luckily we all felt much better in time for Alex and Olivia's 2nd Birthday which they celebrated with friends and family with a Sesame Street Theme!
At the beginning of April, Alex and Olivia enjoyed their first easter egg hunt! They had lots of fun! Alex was not too into picking up eggs once he realized there were things inside. He would just get one, sit on the ground and eat the candy (with the wrapper still on!)....he has a sweet tooth!We also took a vacation to stay with my parents in Michigan in April. The week was very busy spending time with family. We went to the zoo with my mom and my brother.


We went to a bounce house with Uncle Dave.
Hung out with my parents.We also got to spend some good quality time with my grandma.

In May, we decided to make a big change in our lives.....I decided to accept a job in Louisville, Kentucky so that we could move closer to family. I have been out in Connecticut for 10 years and Ben for 9, and after raising 2 children for the last 2 years we decided that we really want to be closer to family so Alex and Olivia get spend more time with their grandparents and great-grandparents. In addition, we wanted them to be able to experience some of the same things we did growing up. This was a very difficult decision, as we are very sad to leave Connecticut, leave all of our friends that we have made out here, and the memories we have made in Connecticut. However, we think this is the best decision for our family and we are super excited to be so much closer to family and friends that we haven't see that much over the last 9 - 10 years.

At the end of May, Ben and I spent the weekend in Louisville looking for a house. We had a fabulous realtor who took us around for 4 days looking at houses and we found one on the second to last day. We are in love with our new house and can't wait to move in and enjoy all the extra space. We close on June 30th.
In the meantime we put our house in CT up on the market, and are happy to announce that we have accepted an offer on the house. We are set to close on our Granby house on July 23rd. Even though we are excited to have extra space, a wonderful backyard, and central air-conditioning, we are very sad to leave our current house. We have made so many memories in this house between bringing Dudley home, to bringing Alex and Olivia home.
And then I will miss the fireplace surround that we designed.........
But now, we just have new space to decorate and call our own, all with family much closer. We couldn't be more excited!

That's the update for 2010, and hopefully once we get settled in Louisville, we will have more regular updates.....and finally, through all these months.....Olivia's hair has gone WILD!!!!!

It's been a while...more coming soon

We have been so busy that we have not had time to blog, but I promise, updates will be coming soon. However, we stumbled upon this last night as we were cleaning off our desktop computer and figured everyone could use a good laugh.

Here are a couple of videos after Ben thought it would be a good idea to get Dudley some boots for the winter.


Needless to say, he doesn't wear the boots........Great idea Ben! :)

Holidays 2009

I still can't believe that tomorrow is going to be March and I am just now finding time to sit down and blog about the Holidays!!! I guess I understand why my baby book doesn't have much in it after the first year - - chasing little tykes around and seeing how they change every day just makes the days so busy. More to come in the next post.

We had a wonderful holiday season here in Connecticut. We spent Thanksgiving with our friends, Jen and Eric, as we had done the previous year. As always we are very gracious for them having us over along with their parents, along with Jen's brother and his family. It was a great time had by all - - Alex had a ton of fun sitting in Eric's dad's lap before dinner, and crawled right up on Jen's dad after dinner! He just loves to cuddle! Olivia had lots of fun running around the house, and of course entertained everyone at dinner.....not much was eaten, but I thought at one point her mashed potatoes were going to end up in the curtains!

December was a busy month for us as we got ready for Christmas, attended a few holiday parties, got the house decorated, and prepared the house for family to visit for Christmas.

We went to 2 Christmas tree farms to look for Christmas trees this year, before picking one that was already cut down at the second Christmas tree farm. It was the biggest tree that we have ever had in this house and it was the perfect tree. I loved everything about it. It was so tall that Ben had to get the 8 ft step ladder to put the angel on, and if we would have turned on the fan, it probably would have decapitated the angel! It took us almost the entire month of December to decorate it (at least that is how it felt), and the kids were GREAT with all the ornaments, the hardly even touched them. I envisioned a nightmare with the kids and the tree which is probably why it took me so long to decorate it!
Even Dudley liked the Christmas decorations!!
Ben's parents made the trip to Connecticut for Christmas. They came out the weekend before and got to spend 3 whole days with the kids while Ben and I were at work. On Christmas eve, we all got dressed up and went to mass. We made sure to get their early this year to have a seat. I am always so proud to be Alex and Olivia's mom when out in public with them as they are always so well behaved, and Christmas eve mass was no exception.
We let the kids open one present on Christmas eve which were their Christmas pj's they would get to sleep in. They were quite excited about the presents that we could not even get them to focus for a good family picture!
Christmas was a blast - - They kids LOVED opening their presents this year. Olivia looked confused when she came out and saw all the presents.

I think she was trying to figure out how they all got under the tree when they weren't there when she went to bed. Alex enjoyed playing with his presents, while Olivia just loved opening all of them (she's definitely my daughter!). Some of the big hits were a fire truck and a school bus for Alex, an Elmo that says his "abc's" for Olivia.

They each got a chair that they now sit in every day reading books (or eating apples from the core for the first time as in this picture!) while Ben cooks dinner!They also got a sit and spin from Grandma and Grandpa Krausman....it plays music that sounds like it is from a 70s disco night club, but they LOVE to dance to it!
There is nothing greater than experiencing Christmas through a child's eyes, and I am sure it is going to get even better each year as they get older.