Getting better all the time

I had a really good day at work today. Validation from two different people many levels above even my boss. And an offer from someone even higher to be my mentor. I think I finally found a place that matches my talents- some call it the gift of gab, others call it networking.

I called a meeting this morning with some major players and did it at the last minute by necessity and received kudos for running it efficiently and pulling it off so quickly. Something that would be totally expected in my last job, but is appreciated in my current job. I received a raise that was beyond my expectations. And a good friend of mine from my previous employer finally sent me his resume to pass on to his future boss down the hall from me.

I am glad I stuck it out and gave the new place a chance. Yes, it is all those negative things that I thought before- political, inefficient, etc, but I have found a way to accept it, move on and use it to my advantage.

Kids play

The weekend was nice, even though hubby missed all of it. It kicked off Thursday evening with a birthday party for the boy at the dreaded Chuck E Cheese. Told hubby that thank goodness we had alcohol in the house when we got home or I would have been forced to drink rubbing alcohol.
Friday evening, Mom and I went scrapbooking with our group and my dad entertained the kids. They spent the night since we were out late (I stayed up past 1 am!!!!). I stopped by in the morning before I headed off to a baby shower. My folks dropped the boy off at another birthday party. I picked him up and then picked up the girl at my folks and headed home. We went on a walk around the lake and then ate a picnic dinner while watching Barnyard.

I dropped the boy off at my grandparents for church Sunday morning and the girl and I went to the gym. She had a friend from school over in the afternoon. After church, my grandfather took the boy fishing at a nearby lake. Hubby finally arrived home late last night and missed all the fun family time. Bummer.

Irony strikes again

We completed our follow up action to take the boy to the pediatrician to 'make sure he does not have any underlying medical conditions'. Which his doc translated directly to 'have your doctor diagnose him with ADHD, get him drugged up so we can manage him in our school system'.

I was not quite as cynical with their intentions, but was very pleased that his doctor does not want to medicate him. She ruled out any other medical causes for his inability to sit still and gave us a lot of helpful advice on how to handle the situation such as setting timers and telling him explicitly how much time he has to complete a task. Basically, to make his routine very structured and to make sure he has ample time to burn off excess energy.

She also wants to see him in a different type of classroom, and if the school can not accommodate this, then she wants us to look into private schools. The irony is the main reason we are demolishing and building new is the location- 3 houses down from his elementary school. Wouldn't that be funny if he didn't even go to school there anymore....

One more week

One more week until the little, old house becomes a pile of rubble hauled off to a landfill somewhere. Our current home has been on the market for 2 weeks now and week 1 was slow. We had 2 calls, neither of which were looking at anything close to the price range. Week 2 has been crazy. We've showed the house 3 days in a row and 2 appear serious. We could be living on the streets soon. All these houses and nowhere to live. Now that would be interesting.

Cold then beauoootiful

This past Friday was my 'every other Friday off' day, so I scheduled a golf lesson since I have so much leisure time I decided to take up a time intensive, demanding sport. It was so incredibly gold and my golf pro has about 0.2% body fat, so the lesson was cancelled. I was not terribly disappointed since I was exhausted. I spent most of the day laying around the house, being completely unproductive and then hubby came home from work early in the afternoon and joined me. I believe my aunt, uncle, cuz, and cuz's boyfriend came by before heading out of town, but I'm not completely sure since I was so out of it. Stress has a funny way of playing with your mind, I've found. After picking the kids up from school, we stopped by the in-laws for a visit.

It warmed up Saturday and turned into a beautiful weekend Saturday morning. Hubby took the boy to baseball practice and the girl and I hung around the house and did fun household stuff like laundry and dishes. Then we all headed off to the gym. Later that afternoon, hubby's brother brought the kids over for some cousin bonding time.

Sunday was the ever fun grocery time, other household chores, a little play and then dinner with my folks. Very nice weekend indeed.

4 closings in 4 weeks

We decided to move ahead with buying the lot on Canyon Lake and closed on it yesterday. We are also refinancing one of our rental properties next week. And hopefully we will also be closing on the construction loan for our house next week. The rental that I bought a few weeks ago is going along well- the foundation has been repaired and the roof replaced. Next is the cosmetic work- paint, carpet, new countertops, etc. Hopefully that work will begin in the next few days.

We don't believe in doing things one at a time. All in.

On the market

The house we are currently living in is officially on the market. Hubby stuck the sign in the yard yesterday afternoon. Let the masses arrive and the offers pour in. Actually, we only need one offer. One good one.

In other notes, there is an update on the lot we are buying on Canyon Lake. The appraisal came in 15k less than our purchase price. So, hubby called the guy and said we'd meet him halfway. He went back and forth saying that he had 3 other cash offers and so we fully expected him to say no. Only he said yes. Now we have to decide if we are willing to pay 8k more than the appraised value for the lot, especially since we now know that we are not able to move the little, old house there economically. Today is decision day on that one.

Downhill

After nearly a year of planning, preparing, rethinking, and second guessing ourselves, I believe we have pushed the ball to the top of the hill. Everything is picking up steam and starting to roll faster and faster. The little old house could be nothing but a memory as soon as next week!


No, I will not shed a tear.

Word

We have the numbers in hand. The initial bid from the builder is about $1100 less than my 'this is the worst case scenario but probably incredibly realistic' estimate and about $80,000 more than where I really want the number to be. So, we're moving ahead. With nothing but blind faith that our vision is good and that one day, in the not so distant future, we will be looking back at ourselves and thankful we went forward. In other words, if none of that made any sense because I am really not making any sense at all these days, we hope the area will appreciate drastically in the next 5 - 10 years.

I am such a dork

I met hubby at the gym for a quick workout before heading to his folks house for dinner. As we were leaving, I reached into my pocket to get my key locker only to find an empty pocket. I spent the next 30 minutes tracing and retracing my steps. I blamed the lady who started up a conversation with me while I was changing since I could not remember what I did with my key. I blamed hubby because he left to go pick up the boy before the school closed. I blamed the people who did not pick up a lost key and just stepped over it, wherever it may be. Most of all, I blamed myself for being so absent minded.

After speaking to everyone who worked at the gym and turning over every leaf, I admitted defeat and asked to get the locker opened. I signed the form, agreeing to pay $40 if the key is not found in a week. $40!! What a racket. About half way through dinner, I realized that I was not comfortable and that I was sitting on something. Of course it was the key. I was sitting there least 15 minutes before I even noticed!

Think maybe I am trying to do too much and maybe I should slow down? Nah, me either.

I need to know!!!

We are waiting on a number. A very, very big number that may or may not have a large impact on our life. The plans are complete, the estimates are in for moving the little old house and for demolishing the old house. The number for the cost to build the new house is not in. We expected to have an answer last Friday. Still nothing. This is make or break with our dream, one that we have spent the last 9 months planning.

Let's take a guess, will the number be:

a) enormously large
b) enormously, heart stopping large
c) enormously, heart stopping, you have got to be kidding me large now we have to completely change our plans