real life.

This post has been about 6 weeks in the works now.  Well, its been 6 weeks in the works in my head.  I'm just sitting down to blog it now (tonight- Sunday). 

Life is so different for us.  I mean, literally over night- everything changed.

As we drove away from our old house, I was sure that we'd be settled and feeling right at home after a few weeks of living down here in Florida.  Well, I can tell you, 6 weeks later- I still feel like we're on vacation.  I still feel like we're going "home" -("home" meaning Michigan).  Isn't that strange? 

Ryan and I were talking after dinner tonight, and we both admitted to each other that we actually missed Jackson.  What, what???  The dreaded town- the black hole- that we were always itching to get out of...   Yeah we miss it.

It's true though... Jackson holds a piece of us.  It always will.  It's where my 2 babies were born.  It's where Ryan and I met, where we married, where we built our first home. 

The funny thing is, living in Florida, has been amazing.  It's not like we thought it was going to be all fun and games in paradise, and its really turned out to be a nightmare or anything.  It truly is fun and games in paradise- its vacation 24/7.  And that's the problem- and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Sure, everyone loves a vacation, but at some point, there needs to be a home and a routine.  We still don't have either of those.

We live in a super nice condo- I'm definitely not complaining about it!  I mean really, its a condo that someone would rent if they were to vacay down here- who wouldn't like it?  But it feels like just that- a vacation condo. Our neighbors don't live here year round- they only vacation here- which makes it even weirder. I miss having neighbors...We have all our stuff here, but I can't paint the walls or plant a garden- I can't really do much to make it feel like  home, HOME.   Does that make sense? 

The other super strange thing about living down here, is nobody is on a schedule.  I swear 75 percent of this town is on vacation- they're tourists- so of course they don't have a schedule.  This is such a resort town- every business here is laid back, catering to the beach-goers.  I both like this- and dislike it.

Anyone who knows me (or knew me back in MI) knows that I am schedule girl.  I have just about every moment of the day scheduled out.  In Michigan, I had it down to a science- the kids were up around 7, breakfast, baths and dressed before 9.  Playdates were between 9-11, followed by lunch, no later than 12:30.  Naps were at 1, lasted until 3- dinner was started at 4, and served at 5... etc.  Pretty pathetic.  Anyways, here in Florida, I feel like I've morphed into a hippie or something.  Everything is go with the flow- for example, we ate dinner at 8:30 tonight.  And then we took a carousel ride at the local park.  We got home around 9:30- and we put the kids down around 10.  Do you know how crazy this drives me???  I mean, I love all the awesome stuff we're doing- but my gosh- I need some order in my life!  It really feels like we are on a constant vacation!

I keep telling myself, once the baby comes, school starts and everyone goes back to work (meaning the tourists clear out of here) things will go back to normal.

Tonight though, I can't help but miss the structured, "real" life, that Michigan was for us. 

But before you feel too sorry for me... do know that the reason the kids aren't napping or eating at regular times is because we're most likely at the beach.  Life isn't too bad  ;)  But I really, truly do miss the feeling of "home."  Someday, someday I suppose!

alright... those are my sunday ramblings.  thanks for reading ;)