Summer fun

Graduation, a wedding, and Memorial Day fun...

Nicknames

Since I now have two sons and one daughter and calling the new baby 'the baby' will quickly be inaccurate (I can't believe how fast they grow up!), I will follow Sara's lead and give them all nicknames. And since they all have nicknames in real life, this shouldn't be difficult at all.

The Boy = Bubby
The Girl = Smoochie
The Baby = Sudsy

Speaking of nicknames, Daddy called the girl Smoochie the other day and she proceeded to tell him only Mommy can call her that. Such attitude from such a little package!

BBB and graduation

No response to my Better Business Bureau complaint. I really did not expect one. I got what I needed out of it already- just for him to know that he screwed up and we know it and would never in a million years recommend him to anyone.


Mother's day was nice. The kids got me two new pairs of pajamas and I think daddy might be second guessing that choice as I have not changed out of them all day today. The girl made her bed and mine, so I no longer accept the excuse that she does not know how to make the bed. We spent the day with the extended family and enjoyed the unseasonably cool and dry weather.


Tomorrow is the girl's graduation from pre-K. I remember when I found out about the ceremony for the boy and thought to myself how ridiculous to have a ceremony with caps and gowns- it's pre-k for goodness sake and then proceeded to bawl like a baby through the entire thing. I'm prepared this time. Kleenex is already stocked in the purse.

Baby is doing well. He has slept through the night 2 of the last 3 nights. He is smiling and belly laughing and even though the ceiling fan gets the most smiles, I do manage several myself. Here is a video of him talking to the fan....

Life moves on

Today I registered the girl for kindergarten. It is hard to believe that she is already old enough. Sudsy is 6 weeks old today and he has seamlessly entered into our family. The older ones fight over who gets to hold him and they track how long to make sure it is equal. He slept through the night three times last week- twice for 7 hours and once for 8 hours. I went out with a friend Saturday night to see the comedian Brian Regan and my parents babysat all three without a hitch. I also went with a friend to the Astros last night and let daddy have a night alone with the kids. The calendar has been so full that I barely get any down time. I'm wondering how I fit work into this schedule!

Big sis always gets a smile


Baseball season has begun- opening day parade

School Carnivals

Word of caution about Jim Waller- do not use this builder!

I have been meaning to write this post for months as I hope it saves one person from the grief we have experienced over the past year in building our dream home. There is a saying that in any project you can have quality, schedule, or cost- pick two. Unfortunately, with our new home, we received none of the above. We were promised a 90 day construction, barring any weather delays. We finally moved into the unfinished home 8 months after the foundation was poured. The budget is currently 25% over and we are still finishing on our own to save money. I had to bring in two carpenters, painters, roofers, and plumbers to fix and finish what was not completed. The builder walked off our job last December and we have not heard from him since. We lived through multiple subs walking off the job and the ones who stayed, doing subpar work and complaining about the builder.

If you are considering using Jim Waller, who has several company names- MasterMark Enterprises as well as Calvert Christopher homes, I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere.

Kids say

Hubby and the boy attended my last ob appointment before Sudsy was born. While in the waiting room, the boy picked up a magazine about pregnancy. Inside were sonogram pictures, one of a boy and the other of a girl. He brought it to me and said- this one is a girl and her name is Labia. I told him to go tell his father and we both were brought to tears we were laughing so hard. A little later he wanted to know why it was so funny and we explained 'labia' was a female body part.

Later that afternoon, we stopped by the store to get jeans for hubby. There was a shirt that said I don't give a with a picture of a rat and a donkey. Hubby and I chuckled when we saw it and the boy asked- why is 'I don't give a rat's horse' so funny? I explained that it was a picture of a donkey and another name for donkey is a curse word. Since he's such an expert on curse words with not only knowing how to use in context but also how to spell them on (read back to the 'f' word incident in 1st grade) he caught on quickly and then asked if he wore that shirt to school what would happen.

Arrival

Wednesday, March 12th was the big day- 'Sudsy Pumpkin Pie' so aptly named by the girl made his big debut. I was induced around 9 am and he was born at 4:21 in the afternoon. Not so fast for a 3rd baby, but he was turned sunny side up, so I had to work for it. Overall, it was as pleasant a delivery as I could have ever wanted- night and day different from the first two. It was quiet, peaceful, controlled and not the least bit stressful. Obviously medicated as well :)

He's doing very well and other than a little jaundice that will lead us to 3 doctor visits in one week, no issues. I am feeling much closer to normal than I would anticipate at this time. The siblings are adjusting well and want to be with him and hold him all the time.

Artist

This evening, hubby decides to draw a sketch of himself and the girl:

Then she asks for one of Mommy. I give him the evil eye and before he even begins, he knows he is in trouble and starts laughing so hard he's crying. Apparently, I have one really swollen leg and a tiny head.

Baby baby baby

I find out today whether next Tuesday or Wednesday is the big day. I am nervous, excited, anxious and almost ready. Physically, I'm ready. I still have work to finish up- writing a report, transferring information, setting everything up for the time I'll be out of the office. I've resigned myself to the fact that the house will not be finished in time for baby, but we have made lost of progress the past month. The grass is mostly down, the fence is part way up and the water heater issues are fixed. Most exciting are the gas lights that are finally installed on the front of the house.

Weekend before last we took the kids on the sibling tour at the hospital. They practiced holding and diapering a doll baby and were officially crowned the toy police to make sure baby doesn't play with dangerous toys or toys that are choking hazards.


Last weekend was a baby luncheon given by my mom and mother-in-law. It was mostly family with a few close friends and was wonderful to get to catch up. I really am lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful people in my life and I do not take that for granted.

I survived the first two days of work this week which I had been dreading. A group of 10 from Canada were in town for tech assurance purposes on our project on Monday and Tuesday was a workshop to identify risks. They both went well and I'm glad to have that behind me. My project team also presented me with a very nice card and gift cards to Babies R Us, which was totally unexpected but much appreciated.

Kids

I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I'm trying to get the house organized and put together before baby comes, because it definitely matters to the baby. I have made quite a bit of progress with the nursery but still feel like I have miles to go on the rest of the house. Hubby is making quite good progress with putting down grass and if the rain would ever stop long enough for the ground to dry out, we might get a fence.
The kids are getting excited and also regressing a bit, especially the girl. She's been clingy and whiney and I have been tired and exhausted and lack any sort of patience these days, which makes it all worse.
Here are some pics that I finally downloaded.

She is fascinated with the spinning of the washing machine.

I wonder what she's dreaming about? Pinewood Derby- Judge's Favorite!
TV issue still not resolved, so right now, it's just a dream...
Yes, I am this huge and bloated!! And my friends are too good to me.

Shower

I finally finished the book Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka and it was an ephiphany. It has completely changed the way I view my son and and I am slowly working on changing my reactions to include less anger and more empathy. One of the messages in the book is to try to understand why they are acting the way they do and it is not because of defiance or because they are out to get you.

One of the big struggles we had was getting the boy out of bed and moving in the morning. When I looked at it from an angle of understanding, I realized that it takes quite a bit for his father and I to get out of bed and get moving in the morning as well. My routine includes a warm bath and a cup of coffee while hubby prefers a long, hot shower. As a trial, we replaced the boy's evening bath with a morning shower and the results are amazing. He still doesn't bounce out of bed, but 30 minutes of begging, pleading and yelling have been replaced by a five minute warning that the window to take a shower is closing. He is then a happy, agreeable child after the shower. The more subdued morning has spilled into his school day and he goes off to school happy and is now having more good days than bad. All because of a shower!

True colors

I knew that my mom leaned towards the right on her thoughts and ideas, but I had no idea just how closed minded she was until the other morning. We had a conversation about politics, which I always tried to avoid. I tried to ignore the fact that she called all the candidates by their last name, except for Hillary, which I do find a bit demeaning. Her hatrid for Clinton has long been clear. Not that she's my choice for president and nationalized medicine for all scares the wits out of me after learning about how well Canada's system works, but I do think she deserves the same amount of respect as the others. How much respect politicians deserve is a whole other conversation, but I digress.

I made mention that I was so glad it did not look to be another right wing extremist in the running on the republican side. I stated that I could not take another 8 years of it in office. She mentioned that she liked Bush and that she thinks he did make our country safer. I couldn't disagree more on that point, but when she added that she's terrified because of all the Muslins moving into our country, I nearly flipped my lid. I tried to remain calm as I explained that it is actually a peaceful religion and that radicals exist in every society. I also mentioned the very fact that our country is 'the melting pot' is what made us great. Then she proceeded into a tirade on how difficult it is to work with this nationality or this other nationality. I think she needs some serious diversity and inclusiveness training. Like maybe making friends with some people outside her tiny world. I'm still irritated by it all. Certainly not to say that I don't have my biases and prejudices, we all do, but I do at least try to understand where people come from and understand how cultural differences can affect our interactions.

Monkey

One monkey off my back this weekend. Well, actually two. I went through the 6+ months of boxes stuffed with the 'to be filed' papers and sorted and filed and organized. I hate filing. The even bigger monkey was finishing up the books for both businesses and incorporating all the comments from the bookkeeper and organizing all the data and dropping it off with the tax guy. Whew! I hate tax time.

The next major task at hand I've nicknamed Operation Baby. We need to prepare the nursery, stock up on baby supplies, buy and install infant car seats, pack the bag for the hospital, take the kids on a sibling tour at the hospital and probably the most challenging is to agree on a name.

I've already warned hubby that completing Operation Baby just means that I'll next be on him about finishing up all the little projects around the house. Aren't hormones fun?

The windows

Hubby and I have been trying to reframe the way we look at the house. It is difficult because each and every day we find more flaws. Speaking of which, we finally hired a real plumber to come out and assess the damage. If anyone is interested in installing tankless water heaters, I've become quite the educated resource. Where was I? Oh yes, positive reframing. It really is quite amazing that we are now living and breathing in a space that we envisioned and created. We are more than pleasantly surprised with how easy and nice it is to live in this house and how well it really does work for us.

Three windows that we had the architect add on the east side of the living room frame nature perfectly. I can lay on my couch and watch the sky change colors and trees blow in the wind. It is a picture frame that changes throughout the day. There is a similar window in the master shower on the second floor that I equally enjoy.

I finally made the phone call I have been dreading and brooding over for months. I called the architect to give feedback on his recommendation, our builder. He was more than appreciative for the feedback and immediately stated he will never be recommended again. I had a brief twinge of guilt, although I don't wish our experience on our worst enemy.

In other news, hubby had the luxury of taking both kids to the doctor to get a strep diagnosis- the boy on Tuesday and the girl today. Luckily we got it early and they are up and playing like nothing is wrong.

Boom box

Yesterday evening as I walked the boy home in the cold drizzle (seriously people- enough of the cold and the rain- this is Houston- we're not supposed to have winter here), we ran across the neighbor boy down the street and his friend. The boy shouts out- Brian! Brian! Hey Brian! Is that a radio? They nod and then the older kid turns to me and says- this is an old timey radio- like what you used to have? It's a circa 1980's something boom box with a tape player and I solemnly nod yes. The kid responds with our stuff sounds a lot better.

When did I get old? How did this happen? And since when is a boom box considered an old timey radio? Isn't that a phonograph or something?

Actual Door

Not the best picture and the trim has to be painted before it can be installed, but you get the idea...

Door

We finally received our long anticipated, very hard to find, custom craftsman front door last week. This is what we ordered, although ours is stained ebony. I'll have to update with a picture of ours this evening. The locksmith came and rekeyed all my locks Friday, the carpenter installed the door on Saturday, and we had people out yesterday to stain it. The carpenter still has to install the trim around the door, but has to cut the stone first to make more room.

In other news, we are heading to arbitration with Conn's over the tv issue. We filed a small claims lawsuit and they denied any responsibility for selling us a smashed plasma. Unfortunately, the courts are backed up and it could be March before we get a date for arbitration. Looks like we won't be having the SuperBowl party at our house. I'm really not up to it either, I am still terribly exhausted and now it hurts to sit, to move, to walk. I don't remember this from the first two, but I'm sure its part of the blocking bad memories so our species will survive.

My in-laws brought us a housewarming present yesterday....a Keurig single cup brewing machine. We've decided to put it in the master bathroom as our bedroom is upstairs and the kitchen is downstairs. We have something similar at work, so I'm already spoiled, but having a coffee bar in our master suite has me all a flutter.

Still much, much, much work to do on the house, but we're very slowly getting it punched out. The builder has dropped off the radar, which is ok with us because now it is all in our control and nagging him to get things finished wasn't working very well. Hubby is insisting on laying sod himself and I've tried to convince him of the folly of his idea. I replayed the story of him insisting to move our possessions into storage and the many treatments required by the chiropractor to fix him. He insists laying sod will not screw up his back. I insist he's not 16 anymore as he was when he worked as a landscaper and that I need his help more inside to prepare for the baby!!!! Approximately 9 more weeks until our life is completely turned upside down again.

Crossing

School started back today. The kids really had a hard time getting up and going, which is understandable since the last two weeks have been late nights followed by late and lazy mornings. I'm fairly certain I didn't get out of my pajamas before noon (sometimes 5 pm) except one or two days. Today is also the first day the boy has been a walker. The girl and I walked him the 2 houses down and across the street the school. Also had a quick chat with the crossing guard. This is what we've spent the last nearly two years dreaming about!

Nano

Moving stinks. Boxes seem to multiply when placed in the house. And none will magically empty themselves.

I've been more tired than usual. Doctor's office just called to tell me that I am anemic.

We still don't have grass. This is especially fun with a dog.

I received an IPod Nano for my present from hubby. My seven year old is teaching me how to use it. This could take awhile.

A Christmas poem

Twas the night before Christmas, when my son finally asked.
Mom, there is a secret I really need to know.
Some kids at school say it is their mom and their dad
who leave all the gifts, it's all just a show.
Others say Santa is true and they just don't know.
I am really confused and don't know what to believe.

I answer with a question, surprised it has taken this long-
Are you sure you want to know?
A quick nod of the head from the boy and I answer, yes it is me.
I knew it he says with a cheer.
So soon you will leave to buy gifts for sister and me?

No honey, I will not leave, all the gifts are already here.
Now that you know, from your sister this secret we'll keep
and we'll all still believe in the magic in this time of year.

Wednesday, December 19, 2008

The official move in. The kids were so excited it was nearly 10 pm before they fell asleep. The dog didn't know quite what to think and was pacing nervously around the house. Hubby and I spent the majority of the evening unpacking to make sure we knew where all the essentials were for the morning- towels, soap, shampoo, coffee maker, filters and mugs.... When my head first hit the pillow in my long anticipated wait for my pillow top king sized mattress, I had to let out a sigh of relief. Home sweet home.

CO

I didn't want to post anything until it was official, lest I ask for additional problems. Now I can safely say that we passed the electrical and plumbing final on Friday, and the mechanical and building final today. Which means.....the city will issue us the certificate of occupancy!!!!

Cursed

Yep, I'm fairly certain our new house is cursed. Another day, another two failed inspections. We finally unwrapped the 50" plasma and it looks like it was shattered by a baseball. Over half of our brand new appliances have dents or scratches. And of course, no one wants to take responsibility. Sure, why not us? Although none of this is our fault, we keep paying through the nose. Fair? Who cares! Screw the little guy.

Gone

I've often wondered what the other side of sanity would look like. I've walked the line between sane and insane before. I was fairly certain I'd know when I got to the other side. What I am finding out is that it is actually a fine line and stepping over it is not obvious.

Here is just a small sample of the things I have done lately. Saturday evening, I stopped at a red light like it was a stop sign and then started proceeding into the intersection. Fortunately, I slammed on the brakes when I realized what I was doing.

This morning, I showed up at my dentist's office for my appointment. It seemed like I had just been there, but hey, it was on my calendar. I signed in, sat down and alarms went off right when the receptionist was about to tell me I wasn't scheduled for that day. It then dawned on me that Dr. Teller is my dermatologist, not my dentist. Teller/Janik- one can see how I would get those confused.

Monday, I called for the gas meter to be installed. Again. First time the guy came out, and he made a list of all the reasons why we weren't ready. Something about lines not being installed yet. Second time, he put the meter on, and it started twirling around. Everything should have been capped off or connnected. Well, there was one line at the oven that was not capped. So, the plumber fixed all and I called again. Now the lady tells me we have to get an inspection first. She was not sure why the order went through the first two times. We can't move in until we get gas (i.e. heat and hot water). I cried. I threw things around in my office.

Did I mention that I ran my checkbook through the wash? You know- the one we're using for building the house and has the record of what we've paid to the subs.

Quite frankly, I am afraid I am a danger to myself and others. I find myself pulling incredibly stupid maneuvers in the car, flying off the handle at the slightest issue, and crying when something doesn't work out the way I think it should. And somebody help me if my husband doesn't do exactly what I want him to do. Like when the glass people installed a mirror in my powder room, even though they were not supposed to as I have a decorative mirror to hang there. I told him to make sure they remove it. He said it looked nice and we should just leave it. He got an earful of expletives and finally complied. Just for good measure, I left a nice message for the builder that was saturated with sarcasm. Even people at work are starting to fear me.

None of this is good for my health or the health of the baby and I have never had blood pressure issues until the last few weeks. Everyone is telling me to rest. Hah. I need to get away. Far, far away.

Move in

I've started and restarted this post four times. The house (or lack thereof) has been weighing on me heavily and I have not been in the best of moods. I am seriously lacking the confidence that the house will ever be finished. Tiler #4 has failed to show up for a week straight. There's only about a day's worth of work left. The HVAC guy won't return my builder's phone calls. Each day brings a new problem, issue, disappointment. I know this will all pass and hopefully one day we'll look back on this and laugh, but right now, it is all consuming and extremely anxiety inducing.

Even though nothing is finished, all is about 90% there, we are planning moving in our belongings Wednesday. I do not know when we will be able to follow. If a small miracle happens, and we actually can get gas and electricity connected, we may be able to follow suite. But nothing, I repeat nothing will be finished.

But here are some pictures......

Playoffs

I have mentioned the boy's baseball team this season. They are the number one seed and we are in the middle of the playoffs. They lost the first game of the playoffs on Saturday and it was a nail biter. The other team really stepped up and ours played worse than they had ever played before. Luckily, it is a two game elimination, so we moved into the losers bracket after the game Saturday.

Instead of playing Saturday, Thursday, and the following Saturday to win the championship, our schedule is Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. We won last night's game, so it is the next round this evening. The kids are nervous and hopefully last night renewed their confidence. The parents are holding their breath the entire game. Go Riverdogs!!

Butterfly princess and the ninja

One of those days

You know the kind of day that the only thing pulling you through is the thought of a huge glass of wine at the end of it? That was my day today, only I can't use my usual crutch, so the only thing pulling me through was that it would eventually end.

The day started off innocently enough. The kids were in a good mood this morning when I was trying to light a fire under them so they wouldn't be late for school. I started in on my work and was happily minding my own business when I was notified that my project had been shelved. Then I sent out an innocent email about working from home tomorrow and shortly received a mass email from my new 'I'm stuck in my ways and don't care how the world operates these days because I am 182 days away from retirement' boss that is trying to micro manage.

Help me out here. If he doesn't need to know what I am working on every day that I am in the office and my anticipated accomplishments for the day, why does he need to know the gory details when I am working from home? If I am not a trust worthy employee then I shouldn't be working there in the first place. But don't worry, I sent a snarky reply that met all of his requirements while letting him know what I think of his demands. I'm sure Monday will be pleasant when I return to the office when I receive my reprimand.

Oh yes, back to the rest of my day. Several in my department headed across town to check out the venue for our holiday party. The traffic was horrible on the way home and I made a panicked call to my mom to get the kids before they closed. Then I remembered I still had to pay the boy's after school care, so I rushed to his school to drop off the check. And the director wanted to talk to me about the boy's behavior. After stressing to get there by the time they closed, fighting traffic for two hours, getting my job canceled, and my boss irritating the ever living you know what out of me, I told her it would have to wait until tomorrow. I was afraid she'd lose her head if it didn't.

So, please. I am begging you. Someone drink a large glass of wine for me!

Gifting

Since I don't have control over much in my life, I love to take charge of the things I can control. Like holiday shopping. I am halfway through my list with either items I know I will purchase or ones I already have. I even have a few of the hard ones out of the way. I do have a dilema with my neices and nephew. Their ages are 5, 3, and 1. They don't have as much family around like my kids do, but I do know they are not hurting in the toy department. I might be projected my own feelings onto those of my bro-in-law and sis-in-law, but I know that it makes me sick to think of all the money wasted on toys my kids will never use.

So, should I buy one big gift for all the kids, something that they will use? Hard to know what that range of age could all use though. Or should I buy them all savings bonds? Not exciting for them to open, but quite useful (although not nearly as much with the dollar as weak as it is now). I know I should discuss with the parents, but we still have not caught up with them to drop off the 3 year olds birthday present from four weeks ago.

It's a ......

Boy! Not that I was surprised- I was fairly confident since I was first pregnant. Actually, I knew I'd have a boy then a girl than a boy. Everything looks good, growth right on track.

The weekend was nice. The boy played with friends on the street most of the day Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning, Mom and I drove halfway across town to spend 10 minutes at a place that sells stone to pick out the slate for the hearth then scrambled around looking for birthday presents. Saturday afternoon, hubby took the boy to a birthday party (hence the scrambling for the presents) and the girl and I checked out the ArBOOretum. Sunday, I sorted through the piles of mail and got caught up on our books for both businesses. We ate dinner at the in-laws last evening. It's nice when hubby's home for the weekend.

I'll try to take some pictures of the house and post soon. It really looks like a house now. Electric fixtures should all be installed today. The stairs are halfway stained. Kitchen cabinet doors painted and installed this week, along with all the hardware. Counter tops go in Thursday or Friday. HVAC wrapped up the end of this week. Electricity run by the middle of this week, gas is going in today. Water turned on today, so the plumber can install fixtures and toilets. Hopefully, the trim work will also be complete so the touch up painted can be finished by the end of this week, beginning of next. That just leaves flooring and the final cleaning, I think. It will still probably be a month more, though. Just trying not to get my hopes up.

Unrealistic expectations

I would like to say that every day that passes we are one day closer to move in, but it does not appear to be the case. More like every 3 or 4 days that pass.....

I am afraid I have set up completely unrealistic expectations for when we finally are in the house and settled. We did spend nearly a year designing the house- not for the way we want to live, but for the way we actually do live and tried to anticipate the changes for when the children grow older. I seem to think our life will be simple and perfect when we move in- it will all be organized and clean. As much as I would love to live that way, it hasn't been that way since we had children.

I have always wanted a vegetable garden. Me, the one who has killed ivy in the past. And the landscape architect has incorporated my wishes. The space in the backyard, behind the garage, is dedicated for my garden. I want the children to love vegetables as much as I do and what better way than to nurture and grow vegetables themselves? Yet the lemon tree I owned for 5 years is still nothing more than a few sparse twigs.

Living the way I want to live- peaceful, organized, will require change in every one's behavior. Am I being unrealistic?

Two days!!!!!

Arghhhhh!!! The painters finished up this weekend. The house should be crawling with people. Electricians, plumbers, carpenters- oh my! But NOT ONE person has been at the house working Monday or Tuesday. I am so angry right now I'm afraid my head might pop off. And the builder has not returned calls from last evening or today.

I hate to say it, but the next innocent person to irritate me is likely to regret it.

Just when you think all hope is lost...

Something amazing happens. Just to give a little background information, the boy not only struggles in school, but also in baseball. Coach started him off as catcher but soon sent him to outfield due to his lack of attention. During practices, he is regularly sent to the bench for goofing around, disrupting others, not listening. His father and I stand out by his position at left field so we can yell at him to stop playing with his hat, taking off his glove, talking to his friends on the other team....

That is why batting practice took all of us by surprise Friday evening. He stepped into the cage and was determined and focused. Coach couldn't find any flaws in his technique and was amazed after he hit time and time again. He told me after practice he'd seen kids turn around, but never that soon in the season. He was truly amazed. Saturday morning was the game and the boy again brought that focus and determination. He even brought in the winning run.

After the game, the coaches give their take on how it went overall and the head coach gives out the game ball. As soon as he started talking about the turn around in attitude and amazing batting practice, I knew it was the boy. The boy knew as well because he turned around to look at me and gave me a knowing nod. I cried I was so proud. I retold the story to his father later that afternoon as he was working and missed the game. He cried as well.

It is wonderful to see him reaching his potential and being recognized for it.

It was the best of days....and the worst of days

Yesterday started off great. Even though I had to wake up an hour earlier than usual, all was right with the world as I was heading across town to play in a golf tournament on one of the most perfect days since last spring. We didn't win, be we did have a great time and I actually had some good hits despite the fact that is has been 4 months since I've touched a golf club.

Yesterday afternoon was parent/teacher conferences. Now I knew it was not going to be pretty for several reasons. First, it involves my son. Second, his teacher has the reputation of being the meanest teacher the school. Third, I have been getting notes home with the same theme- he doesn't listen! Not cooperating! And lately, they are written in all caps, underlined with many exclamations marks following.

Of course hubby has perfect timing and is out of town for this event. Right when I walked into the classroom, she jumps on me because the boy did not put his things back in his desk at the end of the day. Yes, the only one in the room who did not. It went downhill from there. She thinks he does not receive any structure or discipline at home and that he is disrespectful. I can see how she would get that impression, but I do not think she knows who she is dealing with. I've been known to scare friends when I throw the kids 'the look'. And I never, ever cave and we have been structured and disciplined with him since he was a young toddler and already becoming quite the handful. The 30 minute supposed to be only 10 minute discussion ended with her saying that he will not win. And some alluding to corporal punishment on our part and locking him up in a sparse, nothing but a bed and a book bedroom. It was times like these that make me really regret I can't down a fifth of whiskey. Or even a shot.

We're considering seeing a professional to help us deal with him. It is possible that we are doing something terribly, terribly wrong. Or at least they can help us deal with the anger building up because of his behaviour.

New Braunfels

This weekend was the much anticipated annual extended family trip to New Braunfels. It was also our 11th wedding anniversary. Hubby and I took advantage of all the family and spent Friday evening over a quiet dinner in Gruene. The weather was perfect- warm enough to jump in the fresh, cool spring waters of the Comal and cool enough to not have to stay in the water. It all passed much too quickly and it is back to the reality of our crazily busy daily lives.

The bet

You, my dear readers, yes all three of you, are now witness to the craziest bet in history. For some incredibly strange reason, my dear husband is obsessed with minivans. Obsessed as in that is what he wants for our next vehicle and has talked about it for nearly 5 years. Even after we test drove one and I cried half way through because I just couldn't take the implications- that I'm a mom!!!

Anyway, I do have a point to the story. We made a bet on whether we will be in the house by October 19th. That means the house is live able (running water, electricity, gas, air conditioning, household appliances working, toilets installed, etc) and we have the certificate of occupancy from the city. If we are in the house by October 19th, our next vehicle will be a minivan. And since dear husband has decided we will never finance another vehicle, I'm sure it will be a lovely late 1990's vintage with 60,000+ miles on it. However, if we are not able to move into the house by October 19th, he will prepare all dinners and do the dishes from dinner within 12 hours of the dinner until the baby is born in March.

Still homeless

Stairs Entertainment center
Fireplace in the living room
Beginnings of the kitchen
More kitchen

I haven't posted about the house lately because it depresses me to think about it. We're still crashing at my folks and the carpenter has still been s l o w l y plugging away. IF the rain can hold out, we should get a driveway and sidewalks tomorrow. All the prep work for paint has begun inside and most is complete outside. The tile guy has been working out of sequence and has completed 2 of the 4 bathrooms and made good progress on the other 2.

The garage door for the back is installed and the correct panel put in place for the main garage door. We picked out carpet and wood and should be getting the damage done for that soon (we have good taste). They will come measure for counter tops this week and we'll select those on Thursday. All that leaves for us is pick out all the hardware for doors and cabinets, sinks, and toilets. I can finally see the end.

Sick, again

This is the second day in two weeks that I had to call in sick to work. I seem to pick up whatever is floating around and there is always someone sick at work. Hubby's the culprit this time, though. Would have moved to another bed in the house, except they are all full. New activity starting at the house- will post pictures soon.

Big time

Second grade, seven years old and the nurturing is over. The boy gets graded on his school work and will receive a letter grade instead of excellent/satisfactory/unsatisfactory. I can tell a huge improvement in his work. His behavior? Not so much. We get notes home from the teacher every day- the boy doesn't listen! He was misbehaving in line! He won't stop talking! Please talk to him! Might be time to have a talk with her. Good luck lady!

We're not throwing in the towel, but this is something we've struggled with since he was in preschool and if the school counselor, principal, district counselor, and pediatrician were unable to provide helpful advice, well, talking to him isn't going to make an impact. We've talked until we were blue in the face, taken everything away, paid for good behavior- he just does not respond to the typical reward/punishment theory.

Baseball season has begun and instead of the coach gently lolling the ball for them to hit, a machine pitches at 35 mph. Instead of rotating the coveted game ball each game so every player receives one, the recipient has to earn it. Instead of rotating positions so that each player gets good experience, the coaches decide the best player for each position and they keep that position the entire season. Instead of letting each player bat each inning, players will get outs and scores will be kept.

Welcome to the big time!

Bean counting

I am finally caught up on my accounting for both businesses after spending one entire evening last week and most of the day Sunday working on it. I haven't had formal training in accounting, but I did hire a tutor. With a finance degree and several accounting classes under his belt, my husband would seem to be the logical accountant, but since his idea of balancing a checkbook is to round the checks to the nearest dollar, I decided to take on the task.


I started by purchasing QuickBooks Pro and then entering the data in a way that made since in my engineering mind. I then met with a bookkeeper, an expert in QB, and had several sessions until I was comfortable enough to continue by myself. I met with her several times a year the first year to make sure I was on the right track. Now I have her review the books at the beginning of each year before I hand them over to the tax advisor to prepare our taxes.


It started off taking me 7 or 8 hours to complete one month. This past week, I did four months in a about 5 hours. Not too bad, but not something I enjoy. I do enjoy the feeling of satisfaction after I finish however and it gives me a much better understanding of where we stand. Neither business is where we'd like it to be this year, but now we can start working a plan to get them both back on track.

Thumb

Friday, I went to a genetic counselor for the new Ultra-screen test. It is much more accurate than previous tests to check for Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 18 and other chromosomal disorders. And since my risk of Downs increases each year and I'm not quite the spring chicken I used to be, I opted for the test. That and because I get another ultrasound ;)

The technician had to take so many measurements and because the baby was not cooperating and was sleeping in a tight corner of my uterus, the ultrasound lasted quite awhile. She was finally able to wake him up (and I use 'him' in the loosest terms since it's still too early to tell) and he swam over to another area and started sucking his thumb. So cute!!! Even if he did look like an alien. The measurements were all within normal and he's several days ahead on growth, but I'll get the official results sometime this week.

The next ultrasound, hopefully the one I find out whether to pick out pink or blue, will happen the beginning of November.

Something

I really don't have anything to post about, I just need to fill up some space so I don't have to look at my darn toes every time I open my blog.

I did just add a new link to the right- Because I Said So. A friend first forwarded her EBay auction which had her blog address and it's some funny stuff!

Unfortunately, not too terribly much to report on the house. It feels like NOTHING has happened in the past two months, even though a few things have. Funny thing is- the builder gave our name as a reference and hubby spoke with her last night for almost an hour. I'm just shocked he thinks at this point we'd give a quick, good reference.

I am moving offices at work, so I get the joy of packing it all up this afternoon. Haven't had enough packing in the past few months, so I'm totally overjoyed.

And in other news, my clothes don't fit anymore. 11 weeks and I definitely look pregnant. Or extra fat. And of course my maternity clothes are in the utmost unreachable spot in storage and the last thing I want to do is buy more maternity clothes. Argh. @!#$@#$ builder. Should be in our house by now, all settled and happy.

Baby corn

I'm walking in through Wal-mart, minding my own business and managed to get into a fight with a can of baby corn. And the corn won. I'm not sure the picture does justice but I was wishing for a morphine drip all day yesterday. I am able to walk today, but not sure when I'll be able to wear shoes again. Anyone want in on the bet if I lose my nail or not?

Goodbye

My cat of 12 years, the one hubby gave me as a Christmas present when he lived in Florida, had to be put down on Tuesday. He hadn't eaten much in a few weeks and at first, I figured he was eating a neighboring cat's food. Last week, I called the vet and they recommended giving him baby food and then gradually mixing in with his food. It worked briefly. He didn't eat at all on Sunday or Monday, so Monday evening I opened up a can of tuna for him- his favorite food in the entire world. I immediately became alarmed when he wouldn't eat it.

I dropped him off at the vet Tuesday before work fully expecting he'd need some medicine, maybe even a surgery for whatever ailed him. He just did not seem that sick. I received the bad news right after lunch. He likely had a tumor and his chest cavity was filled with blood, he was severely anemic and only had about 10% of his lung function left. I immediately drove to the vet to see him and to say my goodbyes. The vet had to lightly sedate him in order to examine him and he was put on oxygen for an hour afterwards because he barely made it through that. I opened up the cage and he could not stand up, but managed to crawl over to my shoulder and nuzzle under my hair, his favorite spot.

The vet offered to let me take him home and said he could pass at any moment, but I knew not only could I not handle seeing that, it would affect the kids in a traumatic way. I had to leave before they put him down. The girl asked when he arrived home where he was and I explained that he had died. She hasn't shown any reaction at all to the news. The boy took it much harder. He cried and then was upset with me for telling him. He didn't eat dinner that night or breakfast the next morning and has been extremely clingy with the dog. The dog wanders around the house, searching for the cat. He checks where his food used to be and where his litter box was, all gone.

I still think I hear the thump as his paws hit the floor when he jumps off my bed. I still expect to see him laying on the bed, waiting for me to come home. He was always the one to comfort me when I was sad. He is very much missed.

Guitars, drums, and bermuda grass

A lot of activities planned for this afternoon. We are meeting with the landscape architect so she can present our plan. I am excited to see what she has in store for us. One of hubby's requests was bermuda grass in the backyard. I'm thinking it would make a lovely putting green for me.

After that meeting, we're off to dinner with a friend before the Rush concert. I've lost track of how many Rush concerts I've been to, but they never disappoint. Since it is at The Woodlands, I'm hoping to catch a quick cat nap on the way out so that maybe I can stay awake past 9:15 this evening.

Confirmed

Arrival anticipated March 23, 2008

Shamu, here we come

I am so excited. I just made reservations for a stay in San Antonio for a trip to Sea World. I've been wanting to take the kids there for years, well, ever since I saw the adorable scrapbooking accessories for Sea World.

We have not had an elaborate family vacation since Disney January 2005. Last summer, right before school started, we took the kids to Schlitterbaun in Galveston. It was a quick, 2 day vacation, but they still have not stopped talking about it. Made me realize that vacations don't have to be big productions to have an impact.

Teensy bit of progress

Garage door arrived and was installed. Unfortunately, it was not manufactured to my exact specifications and they put in the wrong windows. Nothing wrong with, but not what I ordered. They will replace the window panel. The windows should be squares, not rectangles. I am now convinced it is too much to ask for anyone to get it right the first time.

And wood has been laid on the stairs. Most of them anyways.

I'll have to take pics of the railings and the mantle over the fireplace. I even have one kitchen cabinet now. (I'm sure the sarcasm reads through even via text).

And maybe someday, somehow, somewhere, Yellow Freight will find my dryer. But I won't hold my breath.

Stress level declining

We are done with the old house. Moved, cleaned and keys turned over. And we are all getting settled at my folks and it is fairly comfortable. Even better, I have two extra sets of hands when hubby is out of town. And miraculously, my laundry is washed and folded almost as soon as I place it in the laundry room.

I am getting over the hump at work- I should have the bulk of it finished on Monday and can see the pace slowing a bit. As I've stopped talking to the builder and even going by the house regularly, the denial is helping with that as well.

Be watching for big news to be announced at the end of next week.

Alive, barely

We made it through the move. Three intense days of packing, moving, cleaning, and more packing. We had been packing and sorting since April, so we were completely amazed how much work was left to do. The little things seem to multiply as you pack them. The majority of our belongings are either sold, donated, or in storage and the four humans plus dog plus cat are living with my parents. I was hoping to wake up this morning and this would all be a nightmare, but no such luck.

In other news, things are still not progressing well on the house (and any schedule delays are amplified by the fact that we are living with my parents). Tile was started on Saturday and fortunately my folks stopped by to check progress because the tilers were working without a level, without snapping lines, and without spacers. Needless to say, everything was a bit off. I called the builder and had him remove the amateurs from the job. So now we're even further behind. Sigh.

Did I mention that everything for work is due this week as well? Calgon, take me away!

Marketing geniuses

I wonder if Apple is used as a case study in business school on how to market. After the hype died down a bit about the iPhone and everyone who would camp out in line for when the store opened or pay $3000 dollars on EBay has already purchased theirs after just a glimpse on television ads, Apple has moved on to phase II of the blitz.

I just received an email about signing up for appointments with personal shoppers to get all of your questions answered about the iPhone or attend an iPhone workshop or to find out which stores have it in stock. Since the impulse buyer craze has passed, time to target those that need more information in order to purchase.

I'd be even more impressed if they targeted cheapskates like me and were able to convince me I needed one.

Last to know or best kept secret?

I was able to sell a few pieces of furniture through advertising at work. I decided to put the remainder on Craig's List. I had heard of it before and had even been to the website once or twice, but I had NO IDEA how well it worked. It was incredibly simple to post my items for sale and the postings are free. Within hours, the weight set was sold. I've had 10 emails about the treadmill and it will surely be gone tomorrow. Someone is coming tomorrow to look at the bedroom furniture. Only have the squat rack and weights left without any potential.

The money for all the stuff we can't use anymore is nice, but the fact we don't have to move it is the best!

Mailbox

I need to select a mailbox for the front of the house. I haven't lived in a house where the mail man delivers to an individual house since I was a kid and it seems so quaint. That would pretty much describe the neighborhood, as it is one of the original neighborhoods for Sugar Land, built in the 1910's for the Imperial Sugar Factory.

Anywho, my issue is which mailbox and I can't decide, so I need some help:

A)
B)
C)

Bars

Took a look at the house Sunday and I was shocked when I walked in the door. I have no idea what they were thinking, but the window sills were in and each one hung outside the wall about 3 inches. It looked like each window was a little serving bar! I called the builder and he assured me it would look right when they installed the trim underneath the windows. I asked if he had seen it yet.

Hopefully they will be fixing that today. Also a miscommunication with the builder and the carpenter about the cabinet doors for the bathrooms and kitchen. Hopefully he hasn't started building those yet.

And feeling a little frustrated because no one was at the house yesterday. 11 more days until we move out of our house. And no one is working. Each day is precious and I'm trying to remain calm, but it is taking all of my energy. I really, really, really want to be in and relatively settled by the time the school year starts. And I really, really, really do not want to live with our folks for very long.

Paint

The exterior is painted! And I'm not quite sure how I feel about the color. It goes great with the stone, but I was so used to seeing white, it just throws me off.

Here is my gynormous whirlpool bath tub, or should I say swimming pool?

R&R

Why is it that I only allow myself to rest when I am forced? I made it through my niece's blessing Friday evening, the girl's birthday party Saturday, and my niece's birthday party Saturday night and then collapsed. I did manage to pack some boxes yesterday and had to go into the office for a meeting this morning. I left right after the meeting and am doped up on cold medicine. And I missed an opportunity for golf this afternoon :(

Here are some pics from the girl's birthday party Saturday, which was absolutely fabulous. It was hosted by Tea Parties to Go and I would definitely recommend!

Uniforms

I am usually fairly laid back and take changes in stride. But one in particular has me irked. The girl's school is requiring uniforms for the pre-K program starting in the fall. My biggest issue- they are ugly. My second issue- I hate being told what to do and being told how to dress my child for school definitely falls into that category. Not to mention that I'm cheap and most of her clothes are gifts and now I have to buy an entire wardrobe that will be useless come next summer.

I don't believe any of the BS associated with uniforms. 'The kids concentrate less on what each other is wearing and more on their education.' 'The kids feel part of a community because they are all wearing the same clothes.' Maybe the kid feels like a robot? Or a drone? Or even more controlled than they already are at 4 years old!!!!! And most of all, it feels pretentious. Argh.

They thought of everything

Toys that have not been seen or heard in years have come to the surface in the massive packing project currently underway. The kids started playing with this alphabet caterpillar where it will say the letter or sing songs or sound out the sound of the letter. The boy presses the letter 'f' and takes it to his father- Dad! This says a bad word!

So, dad, being the big kid that he is tries to sound out bad words. F-U-C: only it says Fuh-Uh- giggle, giggle, that tickles! He tries again. F-U-K: fuh-uh- giggle, giggle, that tickles! F-A-T: Fuh-Ah-Ta. D-A-M: Duh- Ah- giggle, giggle, that tickles!

Buckets of oil

This weekend I had one huge task I needed to complete: finalizing and summarizing my choices for lighting and plumbing fixtures. I had already spent upwards of 10+ hours perusing the internet and the catalogs from the builder and was totally confused. I asked interior decorator mom for help and the kids and I went to visit Friday night. Only then did I remember that I left the lighting catalog on my desk at work.

So, Saturday I loaded up the kids and we headed to my office. I showed them around a bit and then we headed to my folks. I asked if they were excited to see my office and the girl answers Yes! and the boy answers No! I ask him why not and he said because it was boring- just a chair and desk and some other stuff. Curious, I ask what he expected to see. He knows that I work for a large company famous for producing gasoline, and he thought I would take buckets and dig up oil out of the earth and bring them back to my office and pour them in a computer that would make gasoline.

My dad is an engineer as well and as a kid the boy's age I thought he drove a train. The boy has a much better grasp of reality than I did at his age.