I've been pretty busy getting settled into the new house, and constantly cleaning it. Thats one downside to a big house...lots of stuff to clean! I think I have some silly little laundry fetish now. I love doing laundry with my new washer & dryer...I could do laundry all day. Weirdo.
And the kids....well they are messy boys. There's always something to clean when they're around. I cant even send Ian out in the backyard anymore to play since we got around a foot of snow between Thursday night and Saturday. And its gotten a little colder. Once it warms back up to the lower 40's I will let him go back out and play. Right now our yard looks like a tundra again!
I'm impatiently waiting for warmer temps. I am going to plant a vegetable garden!! I'm so excited about this! I have already started growing some herbs indoors...cilantro, dill, basil, coriander, chives, marjoram, and a couple other things. I need to get some small pots ASAP so I can start my peppers and tomatoes indoors. The rest of my veggies can be directly sown into the ground. I have hot peppers, bell pepper variety mix, peas, lettuce mix, spinach, and tomatoes. I am going to do 'Square Foot Gardening' because it seems to be easy enough to start and maintain. I am a beginner so I hope it all goes well. I cant wait to have grown my own fresh veggies and herbs.
I am starting to get into reading again. I love reading but I always felt like I wouldnt have time to get any reading done. I've traded computer time for book time...which is definitely a worthwhile trade. I'm currently reading 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and I am halfway through it. I just couldn't put it down! It's such a good read. I cant wait to see the movie, now! My next book will be Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth". A totally different book from the one I am reading currently, but thats great. Any books you could recommend for me to read, just let me know and I will start stockpiling. Speaking of reading, I am going to do a little more of it until Quinn wakes up from his nap.
I hope to update again soon if anything happens that's worth mentioning. My surrogacy blog gets more updates than this one so read that one if you're update hungry. ;)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
It's officially ours!
I am a homeowner once again!
Our closing was scheduled at 9am yesterday. We got there and there were some delays on the seller's side (the bank). So 2 hours later we got everything signed and finalized. We were told to bring a certain amount in a cashier's check for our closing costs, but it ended up being much less! So we have enough left over to get a nice new washer & dryer set. We went to this place called Appliance Smart which is this place for slightly damaged (scratches or dents, mismatched pairs, etc) appliances of all kinds. We found a white Whirlpool Duet front loading washer & dryer set for $799. The only thing wrong with it is that there is a gray accent on each one, and the shade of gray is different on each one. Sso we're getting the set for the price of ONE of the units. Isn't that amazing!? The washer & dryer in the house now are very old and when you turn it on it smells like it's burning. I'd rather not take any chances washing or drying clothes in them.
We also want a new refrigerator. The one at the house is brand new and stainless steel, but its the kind with the freezer on top. We prefer side-by-side with the water & ice in the door. So we'll probably get a fridge from Appliance Smart as well once we find one we like that has the dimensions we need. We'll probably sell the one we have right now since its brand new. All the paperwork is inside and the shelves and everything are still wrapped in plastic. And there are ice cube trays...I dont think I could even remember to keep those things filled!
Our painter started painting yesterday morning. He's painting the whole interior. I think he will be done by Sunday...at least I hope so! We have our new furniture being delivered tomorrow. We bought a king sized bedroom suite, a Serta mattress set, and a formal dining set. We'll probabl start moving some stuff over there today. Chris wants to have everything moved out from the downstairs here and put into the basement at the new house. He's off work today so we can finish up our packing. :)
I may not have internet until Monday or Tuesday so I will be back with an update next week!
Our closing was scheduled at 9am yesterday. We got there and there were some delays on the seller's side (the bank). So 2 hours later we got everything signed and finalized. We were told to bring a certain amount in a cashier's check for our closing costs, but it ended up being much less! So we have enough left over to get a nice new washer & dryer set. We went to this place called Appliance Smart which is this place for slightly damaged (scratches or dents, mismatched pairs, etc) appliances of all kinds. We found a white Whirlpool Duet front loading washer & dryer set for $799. The only thing wrong with it is that there is a gray accent on each one, and the shade of gray is different on each one. Sso we're getting the set for the price of ONE of the units. Isn't that amazing!? The washer & dryer in the house now are very old and when you turn it on it smells like it's burning. I'd rather not take any chances washing or drying clothes in them.
We also want a new refrigerator. The one at the house is brand new and stainless steel, but its the kind with the freezer on top. We prefer side-by-side with the water & ice in the door. So we'll probably get a fridge from Appliance Smart as well once we find one we like that has the dimensions we need. We'll probably sell the one we have right now since its brand new. All the paperwork is inside and the shelves and everything are still wrapped in plastic. And there are ice cube trays...I dont think I could even remember to keep those things filled!
Our painter started painting yesterday morning. He's painting the whole interior. I think he will be done by Sunday...at least I hope so! We have our new furniture being delivered tomorrow. We bought a king sized bedroom suite, a Serta mattress set, and a formal dining set. We'll probabl start moving some stuff over there today. Chris wants to have everything moved out from the downstairs here and put into the basement at the new house. He's off work today so we can finish up our packing. :)
I may not have internet until Monday or Tuesday so I will be back with an update next week!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Getting a package tomorrow!
Remember the bedding I posted a few entries back? Well I bought it! I had a 30% off Presiden't Day sale coupon for Kohl's so I ordered it. It will be here tomorrow. I cant wait! I hope its good quality. It's listed as luxury bedding so it should be nice. The set we have currently on our bed was expensive but we've had it for 5-6 years and it's still in excellent shape. Well, not the sheets. The sheets were replaced about 2 years into it and haven been replaced 2 other times since then. I must not wash them correctly because they wear out too fast. Ah well.
Next week we will go to Hom furniture and pick out a new bedroom suite. We're getting a king bed this time. I cant wait to be able to stretch out in the bed. ahhh!
Next week we will go to Hom furniture and pick out a new bedroom suite. We're getting a king bed this time. I cant wait to be able to stretch out in the bed. ahhh!
They found a renter!
Our landlord called this morning and said he has a renter who wants to move in on 3/15! So that means we only have to pay a half month for our last rent payment! :) Plus we will get our deposit back, including the pet deposit we paid but ended up finding the dog a new home. So that will help out when we get moved in and start to personalize the house.
He wants to have the townhome painted this Sunday, too! And speaking of painting, we're going to have our previous pastor paint the interior of our new house and he will probably go take a look this weekend and give us a quote. We told Chris' dad about that, and he said he'd pay for the paintjob! Our previous pastor is having a hard time making money since he left ministry and he has been a professional painter for years and years so everyone is trying to scrounge him up some painting jobs. Chris even suggested him to our landlord for painting the townhome this weekend. I hope it works out for him (Tom). He's such a nice guy and was a great, humble pastor. And we didnt know if we'd be able to afford having the new house painted before we moved in but since Chris' dad offered to pay for it, it looks like it will happen after all! We are really very blessed to have Chris' parents in our lives. Sometimes we dont all get along, but I'd say about 98% of the time we get along fantastically. :)
I love good news!
He wants to have the townhome painted this Sunday, too! And speaking of painting, we're going to have our previous pastor paint the interior of our new house and he will probably go take a look this weekend and give us a quote. We told Chris' dad about that, and he said he'd pay for the paintjob! Our previous pastor is having a hard time making money since he left ministry and he has been a professional painter for years and years so everyone is trying to scrounge him up some painting jobs. Chris even suggested him to our landlord for painting the townhome this weekend. I hope it works out for him (Tom). He's such a nice guy and was a great, humble pastor. And we didnt know if we'd be able to afford having the new house painted before we moved in but since Chris' dad offered to pay for it, it looks like it will happen after all! We are really very blessed to have Chris' parents in our lives. Sometimes we dont all get along, but I'd say about 98% of the time we get along fantastically. :)
I love good news!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Dramaaaa!
Too much house drama for me to handle! So we got the toilets installed at the house, then we had a plumber come out to check things out and turn the water on to the house. As soon as he turned it on, the meter outside cracked. Sigh. We didn't know how long it would take for the city to have a new one installed so we were afraid we wouldn't get to move on schedule. Well then we found out that someone with the city would meet the plumber at the house this morning and install the meter, check the pipes, etc. Chris met them there at 7:30 this morning and they are still there.
Apparently there are a couple cracked pipes. Chris thinks its not too bad because they were able to pump the air pressure through the pipes at 40psi (they typically use between 40-60psi) and they held up. But they will have to be fixed or replaced somehow. As of now those are the only pipe issues. We were afraid if it was too bad that we would have to pull out entirely and find a new house. And with a closing date 2 weeks from now, this is all last minute and scary. The brand new dishwasher is either bad or wasnt installed correctly. Hopefully its just the latter. It looks like we will need to buy a new water heater and water softener as well. One thing after another.
Some advice - never buy a foreclosure if you dont have gobs of money to put into it (even if its in GREAT shape there are issues somewhere that will be uncovered) and time and patience.
Chris just updated me that the pipes aren't cracked, just some 90 degree fittings. The plumber thinks there was a bad batch of them and he replaced them already. Whew. So thats one hurdle we've crossed.
Normally I would be anxious and really freaking out about all this but I've been trying to be positive and trust that God will get us through it no matter what happens.
I'm so ready for February to be over with.
Apparently there are a couple cracked pipes. Chris thinks its not too bad because they were able to pump the air pressure through the pipes at 40psi (they typically use between 40-60psi) and they held up. But they will have to be fixed or replaced somehow. As of now those are the only pipe issues. We were afraid if it was too bad that we would have to pull out entirely and find a new house. And with a closing date 2 weeks from now, this is all last minute and scary. The brand new dishwasher is either bad or wasnt installed correctly. Hopefully its just the latter. It looks like we will need to buy a new water heater and water softener as well. One thing after another.
Some advice - never buy a foreclosure if you dont have gobs of money to put into it (even if its in GREAT shape there are issues somewhere that will be uncovered) and time and patience.
Chris just updated me that the pipes aren't cracked, just some 90 degree fittings. The plumber thinks there was a bad batch of them and he replaced them already. Whew. So thats one hurdle we've crossed.
Normally I would be anxious and really freaking out about all this but I've been trying to be positive and trust that God will get us through it no matter what happens.
I'm so ready for February to be over with.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Toilets? Check!
We bought, and installed, 3 new toilets this weekend and went and installed them in the new house. Some time within the next few days we will go over and fix the water damage spot in the kitchen and replace the damaged segment of the fence in the backyard. That will be difficult considering how much snow is back there! Chris already had to scrape the driveway and walkway yesterday in below zero temperatures. Otherwise we couldn't have gotten the car into the garage. The toilets look great though. We'll have to have a plumber come out and turn the water on and check everything to make sure there are no more leaks.
I walked through the house yesterday with some paint samples. I love this one sunny yellow color but if I paint the kitchen yellow, the dining room, family room, and living room will have to be yellow as well and while *I* could handle that much bright color, I dont know if Chris or any visitors can. My backup safe color is a taupe color. Upstairs we will paint the master bed/bath a blue color. Once we buy the bedding for our new bed we will take a sham up to Home Depot and coordinate it with some paint and see what looks good with it. The boys' bathroom will be the sunny yellow color, for sure, and the guest bedroom will be a sage green to match the bedding we have right now which will be used in the guest room. Ian wants his room to be "Lightning McQueen Red" but I dont know about that! Quinn's room will probably either be the same color as whatever we paint Ian's room or it will be the yellow color. Too many decisions to make!
My Pampered Chef orders came in on Saturday and Chris helped me put everyone's orders together. I got so much nice stuff! I had to box it back up though since we're about to move. I cant wait to use it all.
I just waxed my upper lip and its stinging. =(
I walked through the house yesterday with some paint samples. I love this one sunny yellow color but if I paint the kitchen yellow, the dining room, family room, and living room will have to be yellow as well and while *I* could handle that much bright color, I dont know if Chris or any visitors can. My backup safe color is a taupe color. Upstairs we will paint the master bed/bath a blue color. Once we buy the bedding for our new bed we will take a sham up to Home Depot and coordinate it with some paint and see what looks good with it. The boys' bathroom will be the sunny yellow color, for sure, and the guest bedroom will be a sage green to match the bedding we have right now which will be used in the guest room. Ian wants his room to be "Lightning McQueen Red" but I dont know about that! Quinn's room will probably either be the same color as whatever we paint Ian's room or it will be the yellow color. Too many decisions to make!
My Pampered Chef orders came in on Saturday and Chris helped me put everyone's orders together. I got so much nice stuff! I had to box it back up though since we're about to move. I cant wait to use it all.
I just waxed my upper lip and its stinging. =(
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Come on 2/28!
We got our official closing documents in the mail yesterday. We close on our new house at 9am on 2/28. We received a copy of our appraisal last week and the appraiser had included a section of things that need to be fixed before FHA will fund the loan. Well the trouble comes from the fact that we are buying a foreclosure so there is not an actual seller to fix these things before we move in. Our realtor is asking the bank to provide $1000 in concessions so we can get the things fixed before we move in.
All 3 toilets are busted due to the tanks freezing, then thawing. There is a little bit of water damage on the kitchen ceiling, underneath one of the bathrooms. It's really just a stain and not damage since it was a one time leakage issue and not continual water damage. Also, 2 of the electrical outlets upstairs do not work. The fence in the backyard is one of those cheap section by section fences, and one section is damaged and has 'nails protruding from the wood'. So we need that section replaced or repaired. Eventually we will get rid of the fence and install a privacy fence instead. This has to be done before our closing, so our realtor is sending a handyman out to do an estimate and see what it would cost, whether the bank awards us the concessions or not.
I'm really excited to move, but haven't been motivated to start packing. We've been going through stuff and getting rid of clutter, donating old clothes, selling some baby stuff we dont need anymore. We really need to get with it and start packing. The 28th will be here before we know it.
We also have our old pastor from church who will come by the new house and give us an estimate about painting the walls inside. They are all plain white and it's so boring. We may just have him paint the main level and we'll take care of the upstairs. Unless he gives us a really good deal, then we may have him do it all. Either way, the walls need to be painted before we move anything big into the house.
I cant wait to meet my neighbors! I hope they all have kids and they're all friendly. I hope they do some kind of neighborhood activities too. If not, I may have to take it upon myself to start something. Chris and I may start a neighborhood association website for the subdivision. We can list events, neighborhood news, classifieds (garage sales and fundraisers, etc) and a babysitting co-op. All kinds of ideas.
I cant wait to decorate! Come on February! Let's get this over with! (BTW - patience is not a strength of mine...)
All 3 toilets are busted due to the tanks freezing, then thawing. There is a little bit of water damage on the kitchen ceiling, underneath one of the bathrooms. It's really just a stain and not damage since it was a one time leakage issue and not continual water damage. Also, 2 of the electrical outlets upstairs do not work. The fence in the backyard is one of those cheap section by section fences, and one section is damaged and has 'nails protruding from the wood'. So we need that section replaced or repaired. Eventually we will get rid of the fence and install a privacy fence instead. This has to be done before our closing, so our realtor is sending a handyman out to do an estimate and see what it would cost, whether the bank awards us the concessions or not.
I'm really excited to move, but haven't been motivated to start packing. We've been going through stuff and getting rid of clutter, donating old clothes, selling some baby stuff we dont need anymore. We really need to get with it and start packing. The 28th will be here before we know it.
We also have our old pastor from church who will come by the new house and give us an estimate about painting the walls inside. They are all plain white and it's so boring. We may just have him paint the main level and we'll take care of the upstairs. Unless he gives us a really good deal, then we may have him do it all. Either way, the walls need to be painted before we move anything big into the house.
I cant wait to meet my neighbors! I hope they all have kids and they're all friendly. I hope they do some kind of neighborhood activities too. If not, I may have to take it upon myself to start something. Chris and I may start a neighborhood association website for the subdivision. We can list events, neighborhood news, classifieds (garage sales and fundraisers, etc) and a babysitting co-op. All kinds of ideas.
I cant wait to decorate! Come on February! Let's get this over with! (BTW - patience is not a strength of mine...)
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
House stuff
I want this bedding set from Kohl's for the new bed we're going to get when we move. We will be buying a King Sized bed and putting our Queen in the guest room. I am in love with this bedding and the color scheme. So I am posting it here so that I can come back to it and buy it once I have the money. :) They have curtains that match and I want to get those too.
I like this lamp from Target.
Brrrr
It is currently -6 without the windchill. My heater stopped working today. Nice, huh? The kids and I are in layers and we're still cold. Hopefully Chris can fix it when he gets home. Tonight is supposed to get down to -40 or so. They are cancelling school and college classes today and tomorrow because it will be dangerously cold. Lovely. Why do I live in Minnesota again?
I've been having a really bad day. I had some drama with a friend this morning but we've worked it out. Then on my message board 2 of my favorite moderators have stepped down. I'm taking it personally even though I probably shouldn't. I seem to have fallen into a pattern of having people leave me, which I guess is what I deserve for leaving everyone back in Memphis. First my sister, then almost a close friend, then 2 of my mods. Who next?
I'm on my period and it's been really tough on me this time. I rarely get PMS. Last night I felt so sad for no reason so I went and took a hot bath and listened to Sia's album 'Some People Have Real Problems'. I wanted to stay in the bath for hours. I got out and slathered myself with some yummy smelling lotion and I felt better. I've just been so sad. And it's hard for me to even admit that because I am always the happy, bubbly person. I hate PMS. I should be back to my normal self tomorrow.
I want to feel like myself again.
I've been having a really bad day. I had some drama with a friend this morning but we've worked it out. Then on my message board 2 of my favorite moderators have stepped down. I'm taking it personally even though I probably shouldn't. I seem to have fallen into a pattern of having people leave me, which I guess is what I deserve for leaving everyone back in Memphis. First my sister, then almost a close friend, then 2 of my mods. Who next?
I'm on my period and it's been really tough on me this time. I rarely get PMS. Last night I felt so sad for no reason so I went and took a hot bath and listened to Sia's album 'Some People Have Real Problems'. I wanted to stay in the bath for hours. I got out and slathered myself with some yummy smelling lotion and I felt better. I've just been so sad. And it's hard for me to even admit that because I am always the happy, bubbly person. I hate PMS. I should be back to my normal self tomorrow.
I want to feel like myself again.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Pink Eye
I get pink eye way more than the average person ever should. What is going on? Seriously?
I understand why I got it twice within a couple weeks time last year. The boys were in daycare and brought it home to me. But why now? Ian must have picked it up in Sunday School this past Sunday. His eye was red for a couple days and now its fine, but yesterday mine was all red and sore. So I figured it might have just been irritated, but when I woke up this morning it was obvious that it was pink eye. Again.
So I keep washing my hands and I'm trying not to rub my eye at all. I've been putting Visine in my eye which makes the red go away for a bit but my eye is still sore. It better go away ASAP. I'm going to have a house full of people this weekend! Ay!
I understand why I got it twice within a couple weeks time last year. The boys were in daycare and brought it home to me. But why now? Ian must have picked it up in Sunday School this past Sunday. His eye was red for a couple days and now its fine, but yesterday mine was all red and sore. So I figured it might have just been irritated, but when I woke up this morning it was obvious that it was pink eye. Again.
So I keep washing my hands and I'm trying not to rub my eye at all. I've been putting Visine in my eye which makes the red go away for a bit but my eye is still sore. It better go away ASAP. I'm going to have a house full of people this weekend! Ay!
Heath Ledger Dead
So by now the world knows about Heath Ledger's untimely death. Ordinarily celebrities' deaths don't effect me much because I don't really know them, and usually because it has something to do with stupidity and drug overdoses. But with Heath, the circumstances surrounding his death are just incredibly sad. The autopsy this morning was inconclusive and it will be another 2 weeks for the toxicology report to come back.
They are reporting that:
They are reporting that:
- He had pneumonia
- He had just travelled in 3 different countries in the previous few days
- He was terribly disturbed after delving deep into the role of the maniacal Joker in the new Batman movie
- There was a bottle of prescription sleeping pills near his bed
He had done an interview recently where he said the role of the Joker had made him anxious and he wasn't getting more than 2 hours of sleep a night. He would take an Ambien and it wouldn't work so he'd take another one and it would knock him out for an hour. Then he would wake up having an anxiety attack.
I think I am so upset by his death because it was so accidental. He has a 2 year old daughter who will only ever know her Daddy through his movies. Other actors have nothing but the nicest things to say about him. He just seemed like an all around decent guy. And now he's gone in the blink of an eye.
As morbid as it sounds, I watched (live) on tmz.com last night as they wheeled his body out of his apartment. And I replayed it in my head last night when I was trying to sleep. It's just not fair. I hope his family can find some sort of peace with all of this.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Hello
Well I have decided to start a new personal blog. I have a Livejournal that I have had since 2000 but I don't really post there anymore. Back when Livejournal was super popular all of my friends had one too, and it was fun to read each others' blogs and comment each other. These days I just want an outlet for my ramblings and I rather like the idea of basically being anonymous since only maybe 3 people who know me in real life would read this. So it's a fresh start and it feels good.
Instead of a big introduction I will just jump right into journaling.
Yesterday on the messageboard I run, there was some drama that broke out. Drama is nothing new to a messageboard with 2500+ hormonal women, but this drama involved a friend of mine so it was especially taxing. She was accused of something she didn't do, so I had to be shown proof, which was her PayPal records. She had no problem showing me, and everything added up and all was well. She was accused of scamming people because she did a donation drive for one member who was struggling to survive and had her newborn in the hospital with a heart condition and another child at home. She collected diapers, wipes, outfits, toys, bottles, formula, etc for this woman, and any cash donated was used for shipping everything to her plus one more big diapers & wipes purchase from Walmart. Well this woman decided that she was being scammed because she thought there was extra cash left over and she was entitled to it. Excuse me? My friend did this out of the kindness of her heart for this gal, and they were close friends too! So once I was able to clear her name I made the ungreatful one apologize publicly on the board. Sure it was a bit of public humiliation, but she was telling everyone that H had scammed them out of money so it was only fair for her to apologize publicly to clear H's name. So she did and the other members tore her a new one. Whew. It has tapered down today and I think everyone is moving on. Sometimes I just can't believe I got myself into the mess of being the Admin of such a big mommy board. It really is a lot of work. Even while I was working full time I would have to do stuff on the board during the day. Very time consuming. Every issue anyone ever has, they come to me. I have to mediate squabbles between members, research possible fraud and lies, organize events & exchanges, etc. I do have a fabulous team of moderators who help me tremendously though, although we all don't always get along. So that was what I was dealing with all day yesterday...oh the drama!
One good thing that came from the board yesterday was that someone mentioned something called a Tassimo. So I looked it up and it looks awesome! -click- It makes single cups of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, espresso, latte, and cappuccino. It is so amazingly convenient with making one cup at a time. I don't drink regular coffee but I do drink the flavored stuff. And we'd all drink the hot chocolate. Mmm. I want one of these so bad. I can't buy anything right now since we haven't closed on our house yet. I would love to have one for the new house though. There's a perfect spot for it in the kitchen.
My kids are in the playroom watching the movie Aladdin. I love Disney movies. I want to collect them all. My favorite one is Little Mermaid. The boys don't particularly like that one but they love Monsters Inc, Toy Story, and Lion King. We'll see if they like Aladdin or not. I really want to take Ian to see the new Veggie Tales movie: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I think it looks cute. I would have to take him once Chris was home so he could watch our little one while I take Ian to the movie. I think we will try to do that this coming weekend. It will be fun to spend some mommy/son time with him.
Chris and Ian have had some kind of stomach big for 3 days now. It's horrible. They feel just fine and have no other symptoms besides nonstop diarrhea. I'm tired of poop around here! Poor Ian sometimes doesn't make it to the bathroom in the middle of the night so I wake up to a yucky bathroom. Both of them get up so much during the night to 'go' that its a wonder they get any sleep at all. Chris took yesterday off work hoping he would get better but he didn't. He's working today though. I hope nothing embarassing happens to him. All I let him and Ian eat yesterday was toast, bananas, and corn flakes. They say to go by the BRAT diet when you need to firm up stools...bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. So that's what they did but it hasn't worked yet. I hope it goes away quickly. My poor guys. Luckily the little one and myself have been spared.
I'm having a Pampered Chef party this Saturday here at my house. I attended a friend's party in November and had so much fun! So I booked a show. My friends are looking forward to it too. I love Pampered Chef products. Everything I have ever bought from them has been awesome. And because we're buying a house right now, I can only really buy stuff if I get a lot free or discounted. But my friends know there's no pressure to buy stuff. I just really want the Mandoline. :) It will be fun. We'll be making 'Chicken Fajita Pizza' which sounds heavenly!
Let's see, what else is new in my world. Well the house buying thing is coming along nicely. We tried to get the bank (seller) to pay for the home warranty but they refused, so our realtor bought it for us. She's great. She's actually Chris' boss' wife. So that part is taken care of. We've asked to have our closing date pushed back to 2/15 instead of 2/28 since it looks like we've got someone who wants to move into our townhome on March 1st. We're still waiting to hear back from the rental management company to let us know for sure. When the couple was looking at the place they absolutely loved it. The lady said "This is it! This feels like home to me." So that was encouraging! I just want to move into my new house ASAP and get settled in. I can't wait for my kids to finally have a yard to play in, with a nice swingset out back. This spring is going to be wonderful.
Speaking of spring...is it almost here yet? Gah! We've been fighting -24 windchills lately. We got some snow all day yesterday but it was only about half an inch. So it looks pretty but isn't enough to cause problems. I am not a cold weather girl at all. I'm from TN and miss it terribly. Well I miss the warmth but not the humidity, or the crime, or the poor schools, etc etc etc. There's so much to love about Minnesota but the winter is NOT one of them.
I sent in an application to put Ian in preschool today. This would be for the 2008-2009 school year. I can choose the 2 day a week option or the 3 day option. It's only $40 difference in monthly cost for the 3 day option. It's only 2.5 hours a day but I suppose that is all they really need at this age. Since his birthday is in December he can't start Kindergarten this year, so I wanted to put him in something to get him out of the house and socializing with other kids. He will love it. I think he's smart enough to start Kindergarten anyways, but the age restrictions are tough and there's no getting around it. It will be ok though.
Well I suppose that is enough for the first day. I didn't mean to write a novel. Since I am at home with the kids these days I don't have adults to interact with and talk to, and I'm terribly phone shy so I won't call anyone to chat, so this is what I'm going to do. I really need to work on my issues with the phone. I'm just irrationally afraid of talking on the phone. I dread any awkward silences or saying something stupid. Plus I never know when to end the conversation. I don't want to end it too soon in case the other person has more to talk about, but I don't want to keep it dragging out if the other person has nothing else to say. So I avoid it as much as possible. It's sad, I know. I'll work on that this year.
:)
Instead of a big introduction I will just jump right into journaling.
Yesterday on the messageboard I run, there was some drama that broke out. Drama is nothing new to a messageboard with 2500+ hormonal women, but this drama involved a friend of mine so it was especially taxing. She was accused of something she didn't do, so I had to be shown proof, which was her PayPal records. She had no problem showing me, and everything added up and all was well. She was accused of scamming people because she did a donation drive for one member who was struggling to survive and had her newborn in the hospital with a heart condition and another child at home. She collected diapers, wipes, outfits, toys, bottles, formula, etc for this woman, and any cash donated was used for shipping everything to her plus one more big diapers & wipes purchase from Walmart. Well this woman decided that she was being scammed because she thought there was extra cash left over and she was entitled to it. Excuse me? My friend did this out of the kindness of her heart for this gal, and they were close friends too! So once I was able to clear her name I made the ungreatful one apologize publicly on the board. Sure it was a bit of public humiliation, but she was telling everyone that H had scammed them out of money so it was only fair for her to apologize publicly to clear H's name. So she did and the other members tore her a new one. Whew. It has tapered down today and I think everyone is moving on. Sometimes I just can't believe I got myself into the mess of being the Admin of such a big mommy board. It really is a lot of work. Even while I was working full time I would have to do stuff on the board during the day. Very time consuming. Every issue anyone ever has, they come to me. I have to mediate squabbles between members, research possible fraud and lies, organize events & exchanges, etc. I do have a fabulous team of moderators who help me tremendously though, although we all don't always get along. So that was what I was dealing with all day yesterday...oh the drama!
One good thing that came from the board yesterday was that someone mentioned something called a Tassimo. So I looked it up and it looks awesome! -click- It makes single cups of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, espresso, latte, and cappuccino. It is so amazingly convenient with making one cup at a time. I don't drink regular coffee but I do drink the flavored stuff. And we'd all drink the hot chocolate. Mmm. I want one of these so bad. I can't buy anything right now since we haven't closed on our house yet. I would love to have one for the new house though. There's a perfect spot for it in the kitchen.
My kids are in the playroom watching the movie Aladdin. I love Disney movies. I want to collect them all. My favorite one is Little Mermaid. The boys don't particularly like that one but they love Monsters Inc, Toy Story, and Lion King. We'll see if they like Aladdin or not. I really want to take Ian to see the new Veggie Tales movie: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I think it looks cute. I would have to take him once Chris was home so he could watch our little one while I take Ian to the movie. I think we will try to do that this coming weekend. It will be fun to spend some mommy/son time with him.
Chris and Ian have had some kind of stomach big for 3 days now. It's horrible. They feel just fine and have no other symptoms besides nonstop diarrhea. I'm tired of poop around here! Poor Ian sometimes doesn't make it to the bathroom in the middle of the night so I wake up to a yucky bathroom. Both of them get up so much during the night to 'go' that its a wonder they get any sleep at all. Chris took yesterday off work hoping he would get better but he didn't. He's working today though. I hope nothing embarassing happens to him. All I let him and Ian eat yesterday was toast, bananas, and corn flakes. They say to go by the BRAT diet when you need to firm up stools...bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. So that's what they did but it hasn't worked yet. I hope it goes away quickly. My poor guys. Luckily the little one and myself have been spared.
I'm having a Pampered Chef party this Saturday here at my house. I attended a friend's party in November and had so much fun! So I booked a show. My friends are looking forward to it too. I love Pampered Chef products. Everything I have ever bought from them has been awesome. And because we're buying a house right now, I can only really buy stuff if I get a lot free or discounted. But my friends know there's no pressure to buy stuff. I just really want the Mandoline. :) It will be fun. We'll be making 'Chicken Fajita Pizza' which sounds heavenly!
Let's see, what else is new in my world. Well the house buying thing is coming along nicely. We tried to get the bank (seller) to pay for the home warranty but they refused, so our realtor bought it for us. She's great. She's actually Chris' boss' wife. So that part is taken care of. We've asked to have our closing date pushed back to 2/15 instead of 2/28 since it looks like we've got someone who wants to move into our townhome on March 1st. We're still waiting to hear back from the rental management company to let us know for sure. When the couple was looking at the place they absolutely loved it. The lady said "This is it! This feels like home to me." So that was encouraging! I just want to move into my new house ASAP and get settled in. I can't wait for my kids to finally have a yard to play in, with a nice swingset out back. This spring is going to be wonderful.
Speaking of spring...is it almost here yet? Gah! We've been fighting -24 windchills lately. We got some snow all day yesterday but it was only about half an inch. So it looks pretty but isn't enough to cause problems. I am not a cold weather girl at all. I'm from TN and miss it terribly. Well I miss the warmth but not the humidity, or the crime, or the poor schools, etc etc etc. There's so much to love about Minnesota but the winter is NOT one of them.
I sent in an application to put Ian in preschool today. This would be for the 2008-2009 school year. I can choose the 2 day a week option or the 3 day option. It's only $40 difference in monthly cost for the 3 day option. It's only 2.5 hours a day but I suppose that is all they really need at this age. Since his birthday is in December he can't start Kindergarten this year, so I wanted to put him in something to get him out of the house and socializing with other kids. He will love it. I think he's smart enough to start Kindergarten anyways, but the age restrictions are tough and there's no getting around it. It will be ok though.
Well I suppose that is enough for the first day. I didn't mean to write a novel. Since I am at home with the kids these days I don't have adults to interact with and talk to, and I'm terribly phone shy so I won't call anyone to chat, so this is what I'm going to do. I really need to work on my issues with the phone. I'm just irrationally afraid of talking on the phone. I dread any awkward silences or saying something stupid. Plus I never know when to end the conversation. I don't want to end it too soon in case the other person has more to talk about, but I don't want to keep it dragging out if the other person has nothing else to say. So I avoid it as much as possible. It's sad, I know. I'll work on that this year.
:)
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