Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not pick a recipe for dinner, buy all the ingredients at the store in advance, and pack the cookbook away in a box for moving before actually making the dish. That would have been crazy.

I did not borrow money from my kids piggybank so I could drive thru and get a breakfast sandwich some place because I could not face another english muffin.

I did not eat mass amounts of cookie dough in the late afternoon and then decide that it could also count as dinner.

A New Day

Nineteen days until we close on our current house. Nineteen days. Nineteen days. That's going to have to be my mantra for the next couple of weeks.

I've heard it said that moving is one of the most stressful things a marriage can go through. For the most part things have gone pretty smoothly for us - mostly because Duane is the most calm and steady person I know. I do the freaking out while he stays calm and talks me out of my tree. It works for us.

But even the most calm and steady person can't be that way all the time. Especially not when the boxes are piling up all over the house, and we still haven't heard about the appraisal and the things we need to fix before the house is sold aren't going as smoothly as would be nice and we are both working full time and still trying to be there for each other and keep things at least a little bit normal for the kids. That's a recipe for the perfect storm. The set up for a fight over stupid stuff where we both yell and I end up sobbing and a general basket case, convinced I am a horrible wife and mother (not from anything Duane said, but from my own insecurities.)

But today is a new day. Duane never holds a grudge. I feel more human. We are optimistic about the repairs wrapping up today. We have friends who are going to store a bunch of the boxes that are overtaking our entry way and kitchen so that maybe I'll no longer feel we are being buried alive by our stuff. I have a worship service to look forward to this morning that I am sure will inspire and reinvigorate me. I have the support and love of my wonderful family and friends. As Pete the Cat would say "It's all good." I just need to remind myself of that sometimes.

And in nineteen days we'll move into Grandma and Grandpa's. The packing will be done. The repairs will be done. We'll settle into a new routine - and in twenty days I'll start to stress about Christmas ;-)

This Might Actually Be Happening!

It occured to me today that other than a somewhat cryptic post last Thursday, I haven't really said anything about the house hunt in awhile. Of course, if you talk to me at all or follow me on Facebook, you know that the house is just about the only thing on my mind these days. I guess I've been afraid to talk about it too much. I'm so excited about it, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and for something to go terribly wrong. Part of being a bit a of a pessimist I guess.

Our current house is still set to close on November 30th. Duane and my stepdad have been working on a few things that need fixed prior to the sale, and my dad is helping out with some others. We still haven't heard back about our appraisal, but we are just acting like everything will be fine and this sale will go through without a hitch.

Duane and I spend most evenings going through boxes of stuff and deciding what to keep, what to give to the school yard sale, and what to just pitch. I stress every single day that we won't be ready to move, but Duane is the calm to my crazy and assures me that we will be fine.

So we close on Nov. 30 and have to be out by Dec. 2nd. At that point we are moving into my mom and stepdad's house with one of our three cats. I still don't know where the other two are going, but we're working on that. Our plan is to only take some clothes and a few very special toys for the boys and put everything else in storage. On December 10th we are scheduled to close on our new house - the kicker is that we can't take possesion of it until January 5th (long story).  So we'll spend the entire month of December at Grandma and Grandpa's.

That's not a bad thing at all. For one, we all get along really well and we spend a ton of time there anyhow. Also, the house we are purchasing is literally around the corner from my mom and stepdad in their subdivision. That's going to make moving a breeze!

Wanna see what the new place looks like?

I know I'm biased, but isn't it awesome! And look! A two-car attached garage! I repeat those words to myself every morning that I'm scraping my car windows in the cold.  The house is a three level split. The living room, dining room and kitchen are on the main level. The upper level has three bedrooms and a full bath. The lower level has a fantastic family room, a half bath and the laundry room. There's a partial basement (that is still a good size) and the backyard is partially fenced.

Duane and I are meeting with the mortgage company on Monday to sign more paperwork and like I mentioned, packing has consumed our life, but in 57 days we can walk into our new home and it will all be worth it. Remind me of that when I freak out, okay?

No Big Surprises

Today was our parent teacher conference with Ryan's preschool teachers. I'm not really sure what I was expecting going into it. We haven't had the notes home and phone calls about behavior like we did during Wesley's first few months of preschool, but we were not deluding ourselves that he's a little angel at school either. I mean, have you met Ryan?

The conference started off pretty well. We got to see some of his work and were told that he does have a little group of friends that he plays with, which had been one of out concerns. Ryan's teachers told us that he can work and play by himself well and he can follow directions, but...

You knew there was a "but" didn't you?

Apparently our youngest son can be very stubborn at school. If he doesn't want to do something - such as the required large motor skill evaluation - he just will not do it. And nothing will change his mind. No big surprise there I guess. I mean, we are talking about the child who once sat at the dinner table for three hours until bedtime rather than take a single bite of his dinner. So yeah, we know he is stubborn.

We were also asked to work with Ryan on controlling and properly expressing his emotions at school. You can read that as "He needs to learn not to throw a fit when things don't go exactly as he wants." Again, not really a surprise since he tries to pull that at home too.

I wasn't exactly disappointed by the conference, but...okay maybe I was. And I don't know why I am. It wasn't all bad and Ryan has only been in school a couple of months. I think he's doing better socially than Wesley was at this age, but its hard to hear you child is the one throwing a fit when he can't get his jacket on or sit in the spot he wants.

I guess if I get too down about it, I can reassure myself by remembering that Wesley would lay on the floor and moan and wipe spit on his classmates when he was 4 and now, in first grade, his teacher says he's a good role model. If we can get through that, I think we can get through stubbornness and a few fits.

Little Politician and Good Citizen

PTA meetings can be so interesting. Take tonight's meeting for instance. Tonight I learned that on Monday Wesley made campaign fliers for President Obama and was passing them out to parents at pick up.

Well, we always said we thought he'd be a preacher or a politician. Maybe he'll just on the fund raising end.

On a different note, we got Wesley's report card today. His grades were good, which we are very happy about, but the thing that makes me happiest is something his teacher wrote. "Wesley is a very well mannered young man and is a good role model for his peers." That's better than any grade.

Election Day

I am not a person who talks politics all the time. In fact, I generally avoid talking politics although my close friends and family all know my political leanings. I don't think I've ever discussed politics around the boys, but I do take then with me when I go vote.

Last night I told Wesley that we'd have to leave the house a little bit early today so I could go vote.

"What are you voting for?" Wesley asked.

"I'm going to go vote for president," I told him. "It's the day I get to say if I want Barak Obama to keep being president, or if I think the president should be a man named Mitt Romney."

A look of horror passed over Wesley's face. "You have to vote for President Obama! Mitt Romney is bad!"

"Where did you hear that?" I laughed.

"From some other kids at school. We already voted for president and I voted for Obama."

I assured Wesley that I knew who I would be voting for. And I'm glad my seven year old is exercising his unofficial right to vote (in a pretend school election.)

Daylight Savings Strikes Again

As an adult, I love the whole "fall back" part of daylight savings. I love that "extra" hour to work on things, sleep, and I love that it is lighter when I have to take the kids to school.

"Falling back" with kids is a whole different ballgame though. Saturday night we kept the boys up late so they would sleep until a normal time Sunday morning. It worked and yesterday went very smoothly.

Then this morning hit. At 6:30 I heard Ryan yelling from upstairs, "Mom! Are you ever going to come wake me up!?"

Fifteen minutes later, Wesley came thundering down the stairs. "Did I miss breakfast? I'm starving!"

And daylight savings strikes again.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

We did not go on a marathon house hunting mission in the dark and rain, find a house, bid on it, lose it and get it back in the course of 72 hours.

I have not been through so much emotional stress and so many mood swings that I have considered changing my name to Dr. Jekyll.

I did not go to a restaurant and order a coney with no onions, but with a side of onion rings.

I have not tried to banish any and all thoughts of Christmas saying  "I'll think about it after we close on the houses" even though that would leave us two weeks to do everything.

Saturday Stuff

It's not even 6:00 and it's already been a very full Saturday. I got up around 7:30 this morning and spent several hours cleaning out shelves and cupboards and doing some packing. My step-dad came down to our place and he and Duane worked on some repairs in the attic. Then my mom came down, we all had lunch together, and Mom and I took the boys to COSI for a break.

Extremely cool LEGO dragon

Wesley in the castle

Wesley loved this create a story area

After checking out the LEGO exhibit, we headed upstairs to the remodeled Kidspace. Wesley couldn't wait to see the new big kids area and he was perfectly happy playing in there while Ryan explored the rest of the Kidspace. Ryan's favorite part is still the water table. He managed to get his shirt completely soaked.

Attempted to blow dry his shirt

 

 Grandma and I gave up on trying to dry  Ryan's shirt and decided to just take it off and let him wear his jacket. He was fine with that.

Ryan in the cubbyhole window. He now wants one in our new house to sleep in

Wesley in the human hamster wheel

Of course, one of my kids had to find a way to embarrass me in public. We were in line for the submarine in the Ocean exhibit, when Ryan turned to the mom in front of us, announced, "I'm not wearing a shirt!" and unzipped his jacket to show off his little four-year-old chest and belly.

She laughed as my face turned red and I said, "That doesn't bode well for his future does it?"

She laughed even harder when I said, "Well, at least he's wearing underpants!"

Please Don't Let That Be His Talent

Mommy: Ryan, why did you change your shirt again?

Ryan: I peed on it.

Mommy: You peed on your shirt and not your pants? I don't understand how you could do that.

Ryan: Well, I was very sneaky.

Preschool Cutie

Got Ryan's preschool picture today. I know I'm biased, but I think he's adorable!

Today in a Nutshell

6:00 AM - a sweet little four year old crawled into bed with me.

6:04 AM - the cat that was in the bed sneezed on the sweet little four year old, causing said four year old to exclaim, "Ew! The cat spit on me!"

7:34 AM - overhear my two children playing superheroes in the family room. Oldest child informs youngest child, "We have to have the same powers because we're brothers."

10:00 AM - Duane calls me at work to tell me that the sellers of the house we bid on Tuesday have decided not to sell their house because their kids can't help them move (the sellers are 92 and 86 respectively)

10:01 AM - I burst into tears at work

10:02 AM - 3:59 PM - I am convinced we are going to live in a box under a bridge

4:00 PM - Receive a text telling me the sellers have agreed to an alternate offer we made and we can take possession of the new house on January 5th.

6:00 PM - Go out for cheap Mexican food to celebrate the fact that we won't have to live in a box under a bridge.

6:45 PM - Exiting the restaurant, Ryan sees something and says, "That's as pretty as pancakes on a baby."

7:40 PM - Devour a big ol' piece of pumpkin caramel torte

7:58 PM - bedtime - goof off and enjoy the feeling of much reduced stress.

Happy Halloween

As per my own Halloween tradition, I took the day off work to prep for tonight's festivities and attend the parade/party at Wesley's school. I love not working on Halloween.

Wesley the Hulk enjoying the class party

The principal (Dorothy), the assistant principal (Scarecrow) and the rest of the office staff

Sho, Kei, Wesley and Ryan ready to trick or treat

Heading off in the cold and rain to get some treats

It was a MISERABLE night for trick or treating - cold and rainy and just all around yucky. We barely made it around the block before the kids were totally and completely done. I think they maybe trick or treated for 40 minutes.  But they had fun and that's what counts.

On the way home Ryan piped up from the backseat, "Mommy, you need to work on not yelling, Wesley needs to work on not sassing and I need to work on behaving. What does Daddy need to work on?"

Wesley had the answer to that. "Daddy doesn't need to work on anything! He does it all right!"

I can't argue with that. Duane is practically perfect to me and apparently the boys feel the same.

When to Become "That Parent"?

So I'm having a little bit of a problem with Wesley's class at school. Remember how Wesley got his teeth knocked last week? Well, yesterday Wesley informed me that his desk at school has been moved. He now sits between two known trouble makers in class, one of whom is the boy who knocked Wesley's teeth out.

Wesley believes the whole teeth thing was an accident but he has become very wary of the boy. The day after the teeth thing, the boy sat next to Wesley in art class. Nothing happened and the boy was nice to Wesley, but Wesley didn't like sitting by him. When his seat was moved yesterday, he immediately came home and asked me to write a note to his teacher about the new seating arrangement.

"Did anything bad happen with E?" I asked. "Was he mean to you?"

"No, but he just gets in trouble a lot."

Today Wesley told us that E. was making fart noises on Wesley's arm and that he didn't like it.

My first thought was give it a week and see if things settle down, but I hate the thought of Wesley being uncomfortable in his class.  It's obviously bothering him to be around this boy. 

Do I send a note in? Wait and talk to Wesley's teacher at our conference in two weeks? I'd appreciate advice here.

The Butler Didn't Do It

We went house hunting again last night. Actually, we went on a whirlwind house hunt, looking at about 8 houses in about three houses. Needless to say, our normal weeknight routine has been shot to pieces the last couple of weeks and we didn't even get home until after 9:00 last night. That doesn't sound too late, I know, but it's half an hour after the boys bedtime and Wesley still had homework to do. I think he got to bed about 9:30.

Since bedtime was late last night, I had to wake the boys up this morning. These kids do not respond well to someone waking them out of a dead sleep. I knew I'd have some grumpy kids on my hands, but I think I may have underestimated Wesley's grump factor.

Wesley started to get dressed and threw his clothes into the hamper in his room. As he did so, he noticed the previous days dirty clothes in the hamper. Now, that may not sound strange to you, but Duane does laundry every day and it's kind of unusual to have very many dirty clothes in the hamper, if any.

"Yesterday's clothes are in my hamper," Wesley growled.

"Yes, they are," I said.

Wesley continued to complain, "But my hamper is going to get full."

I sighed. "If it bothers you that much, do your own laundry."

Wrong thing to say. "Daddy does the laundry," Wesley insisted before raising his voice even further. "Why didn't Daddy do my laundry!?"

That was the last straw for me. "Wesley, you know we were out late last night. Someone is going to buy our house at the end of November and we don't have a house to move into yet. Do you want to end up living in a box under a bridge because we don't have house?"

Considering how sensitive Wesley is, it's probably a minor miracle that he didn't burst into tears at my oh so elegant and patient answer.  Instead, he just crossed his arms, scowled and said, "No..."

"Well, I guess you just might have dirty laundry for a few days," I said.

If he was tall enough to reach the controls he would be doing his own laundry tonight.

One Proud Turtle

I only took a couple of pictures at Ryan's preschool Halloween parade, but this is the money shot.

That is one proud Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle! And to think, when he woke up this morning, he said he wasn't going to wear his costume today.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

The first words out of my mouth after hearing Wesley had been punched by another child and lost two teeth was not, "And what did you do to E.?" 

I have not started going to bed when the boys do. That would be extra embarrassing since we upped their bedtime by half an hour.

I have not become absolutely obsessive about my pedometer and trying to hit at least 10,000 steps a day. And I certainly don't think I'm going to continue wearing it after the step challenge is over.

I was not a little bit flattered when I was carded while buying cold medicine.

Starting from Scratch

The sellers took the other offer. We just couldn't compete with a cash offer and no contingency. Back to the drawing board for us.

First Grader

Wesley's first grade picture. Every time I see it I hear Joey from "Friends" saying, "How you doin'?"

Wrench in the Plans

Last night we discovered that there is another offer on the house we bid on Friday. It's kind of funny how this news affected me. Earlier last week Duane and I thought we had found our house, but the second walk thru showed a lot of problems we completely missed (or dismissed) the first time around. The house we bid on was on our OK list, but until we saw it again on Friday, it wasn't necessarily on the top of the heap.

Now the idea of not getting it really shakes us up. We have both been doing some decorating in our minds and seeing what some cosmetic work could really do to the place. The thought that someone else wants it makes me feel sick.

And of course, we have no way of knowing what their offer was. Well, we know that it isn't contingent anything the way ours is contingent on the sale of our house (slated to close Nov. 30th). We talked to our realtor last night and decided that the best way to handle it was to verbally give our absolute best offer, then officially submit it in writing today. Basically by submitting our best offer, we are saying "This is it from us. We aren't going to negotiate for weeks or get into a bidding war." 

It might seem a little radical to submit our absolute best offer at this point, but there were several things motivating our decision. I do not handle stress well, which is not a big surprise to any of my readers. We do not want this to go on and on. Our realtor says this offer shows how serious we are and, quite frankly, if they don't sell it to us at our best offer, they were never going to sell it to us. After we came back with our best offer, I immediately felt better. It was like I had given everything I could and it is no longer in my hands. I actually felt some peace.

So now we continue to wait.  Duane is able to pretty much let go and I wish I could so the same. My first instinct is to immediately come up with a plan B. I have already found a couple other houses I wouldn't mind looking at if our offer falls through. I am mentally finding a place for our cats to live and thinking about where we'd store furniture while we bunked with my parents for awhile. None of it is ideal, but I feel better if I think I have a game plan.

The bidding war is our of hands now. And I'm good with that. One of our pastors reminds us that God's plans are not always our plans and His time is not necessiarly our time. I cannot force this issue, no matter how much I may want to. It wouldn't do any good. I do believe God has a plan for us and He wants what is good for us. I'm trying very hard to pray instead of stress, even though stressing is my first instinct in situations like this. So I ask for your prayers, and if you are not a praying person, I ask for your good thoughts.

Deep down I know it all be okay no matter what happens.