Awww

I just received a phone call from the boy's extended day program that he is attending this summer. Normally my heart sinks when I receive a call because it usually means one of the kids is sick, injured, or in big trouble. Fortunately, it was a request from the boy to pick him up first as he had made something for his sister's birthday present and did not want her to see it.

It is so darn cute to witness day after day just how much those two love each other. Don't get me wrong, they fight like siblings most of the time, but they also look out for each other. What more could a parent ask for?

Insulation

The insulation is in! It really changes the feel of the house, can't see through the walls anymore and it feels like walking into a giant bottle of pepto bismol. Inspection this morning and I am supposed to meet with the builder and the cabinet guy to start making decisions on all the trim. Drywall starts this afternoon or tomorrow.

I'm getting excited again now that I can see progress.

Update: Insulation inspection passed. The house was a three ring circus when I went by- insulation guy finishing, 2 guys working on the stone, 2 guys finishing up the speaker/tv/alarm wiring, and two guys starting trim work. Now that's what I like to see!!!

Progress

We made it through a slew of inspections last week- plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and framing. Insulation happens tomorrow with drywall due to begin Wednesday. The cultured stone is coming along nicely and should be finished in about a week or so. Meeting with a landscape architect the week after next to work out a plan. I still say it's a one in a million shot to be done by the end of July, but we will see...

Pictures!

The boy's birthday party:

And the ridiculous amount of toys (and no, this isn't even close to all):

Inch by inch

Crazy, busy weekend like most. Met with the electrician to walk through some final details Saturday morning and then the boy's birthday party was Saturday afternoon at The Incredible Pizza Company. Sunday was a Father's Day celebrations and the family birthday party for the boy. We also spent most of our free time packing and even started the monstrous task of sorting through the toys, most of which will not be moved. We're getting there slowly, inch by inch.

Yesterday was the boy's actual birthday, so I skipped out a little early and we took the kids to Johnny Rocket's for dinner and walked around Town Square. Tricked him a little with his present by giving him a card and two pairs of pajamas first. He was not too impressed until we took him to the garage to show him his new basketball goal to be installed at the new house.

Not too bad to get three days of celebrating for your birthday!

Tissue

Apparently, I need to be more specific. I was preparing dinner and needed to set the table, so I asked the girl to take the tissue (kleenex, as we call 'em in Texas) boxes and put them in my bathroom. I finally called for her and asked her to please join us for dinner because it took her so long. I realized why when I walked into my bathroom- she had removed the plastic from each box and pulled out the tissue so each box was ready for use and lined them all up on my counter. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I did appreciate the effort!

Big tooth

Lost the second front tooth today! What a grin!

Snake bite

Friday, hubby and the boy headed north to work on the trailer park. The girl, myself, our dog and my mom headed south to their cabin in the woods. My father is working on developing property in the area and had left early in the morning.

After a bite to eat and a little nap, I awoke to my mom telling me to wake up. The dog's cheek was swollen and she was panting and drooling. Dad and I rushed off to find a vet in the nearest town- Hallettsville, population 2,772. In the waiting room was a woman and her dog, who was a mirror to my dog with the snake bitten cheek. After a quick check and a shot of penicillin and steroids, we headed back to the cabin for r&r. Fortunately, the remainder of the weekend was much less eventful and I came back rested.

However, Monday quickly kicked in and I was told at 8:00 am of an all day meeting I was supposed to attend at 8:00 am.

DITL- my first!

I always enjoy when Jo features 'A Day in the Life', so I thought I would give it a whirl. Maybe next time I won't be too chicken to take pics of people....


5:30 wake up call

Time for a bath

Breakfast for me

Breakfast for the kids

Drop off the boy

Drop off the girl The builder needs more money
Finally at work!
Definitely need more coffee

Head out early to check out cultured stone for the house

Some options Late lunch
Pick up the girl- great work!
Pick up the boy- always a ham!
More work at home- this time I'm double calculating the HVAC requirements
I cooked, but I'm too tired to clean
One down!

At last, time to relax

Be careful what you wish for

I always wanted our house to be the place for the kids to gather. I like the idea of knowing where my kids are and what they are doing and having a house full of laughter and joy. Hah!

I have five kids in my house right now and I am beginning to rethink this brilliant plan.

Whoops

We close on the house we are living in tomorrow morning. My realtor called at lunch today to say that the buyer was going to walk through this evening. Whoops! We haven't finished the list of items from the inspection because we are leasing the house until the end of July and quite franky, we have more going on than we can handle. Picking out items for the new house, making sure everything is going as planned, last minute fixes on the new rental before the first tenants move in on Thursday, emergencies on several other rentals, the little munchkins, and oh yeah, our full time jobs.

Fortunately, the new buyer understanding and we have a new agreement to complete the maintenance items by the end of July. Now the fun begins. Packing. Since we have only been in this house for a little over three years, the pain of moving is all too fresh. Hopefully, having 9 weeks will ease the pain, but I seriously doubt it! Especially since we are on the time crunch on the new house. Not much has happened in the past week and we are still a week away from drywall. That leaves 8 weeks for the interior, which takes FOREVER as I remember when my folks built our house when I was in middle school. Everytime I talk to the builder, I remind him we must be in the house by the end of July. And every time he reassures me that is more than doable. I'm not so convinced.

Mark the day

Today is a momentous day. The boy made his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And he was so enamoured with his new ability that he made one for little sister. Mommy no longer has to cook dinner!

Friends

We have lived in our current house for over 3 years and the kids do not have friends they play with in the neighborhood. The boy started playing with the boy across the street earlier this week. One week before we sell our house.

In other news, I have passed my neurosis to my children. The boy tells new friend- after you pet the dog, you have to wash your hands.

Not so bright in the morning

Two of my coworkers are nuts and decided that meeting at the gym at 5:30 am every morning was a good idea. Since I have been less than consistent in my exercise routine, I decided that the morning was probably the only time I could get consistent. Too many excuses at lunch, too many activities in the evening, too exhausted at night.

Tuesday morning I set my alarm half an hour earlier and ran for half an hour on the treadmill. Wednesday, hubby was home and the treadmill is right next to the bed, so I ran around the neighborhood. And this morning, I thought why not meet the guys at the gym for the 1 hour 15 minute killer cardio/weight class that I love.

Last evening, I packed up work clothes, toiletries, and breakfast for this morning. I slept in my gym clothes, set the alarm for 4:50, rolled out of bed, brushed my hair, put on socks and shoes and headed for Katy.

Half way there I realized I had forgotten my breakfast. It wasn't until I was in the shower, already shampooed when I reached for the conditioner and realized it was body lotion. So, I was hungry, tired, in a lack of caffeine induced haze and my hair was nothing but straw. One of the guys invited me over to his house for breakfast and I bypassed the straw issue with a french braid. Now all I need is a nap!

Last day

Today is the boy's last day of 1st grade. I can't believe how fast the years are flying by.

Status

Vacation is almost over. I would like to say that I crossed all the items off my list and still managed to sneak in some fun. Unfortunately, the week did not turn out that way. We did spend countless hours at the house, watching, thinking, and planning. We picked out the cultured stone and tried out several colors for the house. I bought most of the tile for the house. I did get taxes finished and caught up on accounting for one of our companies. Managed to get some repairs for one of our existing rental started.

However, we did not punch out one item of the repairs required before we sell our home. Still have several lingering items to finish on the new rental. Did not get a chance to look at appliances and I wanted to tour some local model homes for tile/appliance/decorating ideas.

My niece was hospitalized this week with cellulitis from a spider bite. We took the kids to see her and in less than half an hour she went from down in the dumps to laughing. The girl got sick and we've spent the last two days dragging her around on our errands. We took the boy lunch and cupcakes for his birthday yesterday (a month early since it falls in the summer).

We did not once make it to the gym and worst of all- no golf! The weather is perfect right now too. And if anyone is still with me......new pics on the house......

Elbows

Things are moving now! Four different subs working at the same time- now that's what I like to see! Our activities for today include choosing the cultured stone and the color of the metal roof over the front porch. The house *should* be dried in today. So RAIN SMAIN.

Look at all the elbows! Plumbing rough-in is underway. Electrical boxes are in place, but the wires have not been run yet.

We have windows! They are all installed as of late yesterday and the roof should be complete today.

Happy belated Mother's Day

I'm only a couple of days behind. The weekend was nice- started with the boy's baseball team party Friday evening. Our new house is in a different league and one that I have heard is more serious. The last few games the boy has really come around including almost making a triple play Monday night!! He did make several double plays this week which proves his capabilities when he focuses.

Saturday morning was spent doing the weekend laundry fun and the boy had his last baseball game for the season. I then spent 4 hours with my tax advisor that evening while my parents kept the kids. I really, really, really, really, really hate taxes. And it is a huge weight off my shoulders that they are finally complete, albeit a month late.

Sunday, I dropped the boy off with my grandparents for church and the girl and I hit the gym. We all met up at my aunt's house for a Mother's Day celebration. I stopped by my mother-in-laws on the way home to visit and give her a gift. Hubby finally arrived home Sunday evening after all the festivities had finished.

Updates

It has been a bit since I've posted house pictures and since these were taken, we have windows! And we're getting a roof! I'll take more this afternoon and post soon...

Vacation!

Today is the official start of my vacation. What wonderful and exciting places are we going to see and do? Unfortunately, this is a working vacation. We have so many tasks to catch up on, that I created a daily agenda. How sad is that to spend my vacation refinish bath tubs and doing accounting and meeting subs at various rentals. I am excited about deciding on finish materials for the new house. I CAN NOT WAIT to move in!!!

Insulation

Well, the quote came back. And it was nearly 4 times the cost. It would take many, many years to pay out and we just don't see how we can float it. Oh, well. It is the way of the future, but we're not there yet. At least in terms of demand.

In other news, we made it through the inspection on our house and the sale is full steam ahead for the end of the month.

The kids birthdays will be here before I know it and I have started preparations for the girl's party. She is having a combo party with her best friend which is the ONLY reason I have agreed to throw a $425 kid party through Tea Parties to Go.

The boy's birthday is first, but I am still waiting on him to decide where he wants to have it. I had better get on the ball quickly though because his birthday is in less than 6 weeks. How does time fly so quickly?

Roof

It is finally starting to look like a home. Roofing materials are due to arrive tomorrow and hopefully the house will be dried in this week. It has rained over 5 inches in the few weeks. Not good for the lumber, but it is hard to control mother nature.

The decision we need to make now is about insulation. We are considering using spray foam insulation in order to reduce our utility consumption. Friday, we watched installation at a house in the Memorial area. The house is completely air tight and ventilation is not required. A fresh air system is required because the house is so tight. It is nearly three times the capital cost compared to fiberglass insulation, but the reduction in AC load makes it more attractive. Another way we plan to reduce our carbon footprint is to go with tankless hot water heaters. I am also going to discuss ways to recover grey water for the yard with the builder this week.

Just another Monday

I have learned to loathe Mondays. The weekend and party time is over and it is back to the daily grind of life. Working for a living. Living life for The Man. Paying dues to Uncle Sam. It started off like any other Monday. Tired and groggy, I drag myself out of bed hoping for a snow day, rain out, ice, anything to keep from going to work. I finally make it into the office and rinse out my coffee mug, head to the coffee crack machine and join the other working stiffs for a cup of joe to make the day a little easier.

I start on my work and before I know it, lunch has arrived. The phone rings and it is my realtor. She has good news! The buyer has accepted our counter offer and not only do we have the house SOLD! but we have a lease for 2 months so we only have to move once. I celebrate! I dance! I call hubby and he celebrates with me. The his other line rings and when he gets back to me, he has more good news. Our new rental is leased! Finally!

Don't expect too much more from me this week; I'm off on another boondoggle at a resort in The Woodlands.

Two story

Front view

Rear view

ESPN

I woke up yesterday knowing it was going to be a good day. I even dressed up (in a skirt!!!!) for the occasion. I knew I would finish with the project I'd been fighting at work that morning. I knew I was going to win something and I just knew that we would get an offer on our house.

Well, I did finish the project. And I did win something in a raffle and we did get our first offer at 6:30 this morning. I told hubby all of this and he looks at me and says- Damn girl! You have ESPN!

On a side note, I won a lantern (a lantern?, seriously?), the offer on the house was way less than we are asking, and we also received a letter from the IRS saying we underpaid our taxes last year.

Blonde moment alert!

It's been awhile since I've posted one of these....

Last night, hubby looks at the scented plug in that I placed near the sink to take any musty smells away from the house since the house has to be FRICKEN SPOTLESS 24 HOURS A DAY EVEN THOUGH TWO ADULT SLOBS, TWO MESSY CHILDREN, AND TWO ANIMALS LIVE HERE because the house is on the market and we're trying to sell it. I'm doing fine with it, thanks for asking.

Anyways, back to the story of my brilliance. It's been plugged in for several days and I noticed that it didn't give out much scent. I think maybe the cartridge is in backwards and inspect. Nope, fine. Last evening, he takes one look at it, turns to me and says- You are such a blonde! And then takes the cartridge out, peels off the protective layer and puts it back in.

D'oh!

One story

Sara

Happy Birthday!!!!

Hope you have a great one...

Bird

The boy (TB): Mom? When I buy a pet, can I name it anything I want?
Fuddy Duddy Mom (FDM): Mom and Dad have to agree before you buy a pet.
TB: I want to buy a bird and bird cage. Can I?
FDM: No. Not now.
TB: Uh! What about when I am a teenager?
FDM: Maybe. We don't need to decide that now.
TB: Will they still have bird cages at PetSmart in 9 years? And birds?
FDM: Yes they will.
TB: I'm going to name my bird Gangster.
FDM: Why?
TB: Because it's cool.
FDM: Gangsters aren't cool- they are groups of kids that do bad things and end up in jail or killed. Still want to call your bird Gangster?
TB: No. I'll call it Yo.

They are so cute. Before they can walk and talk.

I received a call from the vice principal at the boy's school yesterday afternoon. Apparently he said 'f#$k' in class and the teacher told him it was not appropriate language. Then he kept taunting her by repeating 'fuh' over and over again. She finally wrote him up and the VP made him call me and tell me what he said. She put him on the phone and I said boy- what did you do? He replied- I said a bad word. I heard the VP in the background saying tell her what you said. Um, I said, well it ends with a 'k' and begins with an 'f' and there is a 'uc' in the middle.
The VP gets back on the phone and tells me the story. And that he will not be allowed to participate in field day. I reassure her that he will be punished at home.

He had a baseball game last night, so as I am telling this story to two other moms, they both told me of the first time their boy said the word. One mom said she has a special bar of soap just for such occasions. I already told him he would get his mouth washed out with soap and I had planned on using liquid soap since that what my mom used growing up :) But I thought the bar of soap was too good an idea to pass up, so I opened up a very special bar of Dial just for him last night. Good times, good times.

You have friends?

I was on the phone with a friend (hey C!) this evening and the kids happened to eavesdrop on me. When I hung up the phone, the barrage of questions began. Why did you say 'whoot'? Why did you say bye?

I answered that I was on the phone with a friend and when the conversation ends, you say bye. They both looked at me funny and said- you have a friend?

I have kids?

This weekend didn't seem like it. Some friends of ours, whom we have not seen since the school year started in August, called in the middle of last week to go out Friday night. We've attempted such a feat twice before in the past year and someone got sick every time. I was amazed when we were able to take our plan to completion. We met at Sherlock's Pub and then headed to a nice French restaurant for dinner.

Saturday, I played in a golf tournament at Tour 18. It was 50 degrees and 20 - 25 mph winds. Perfect weather for golf :) After 5 1/2 hours on the course, we finally defrosted in the club house waiting for the results. And MUCH to my shock, awe and amazement- we won! I guess it helps to have 2 people on the team with a handicap in the 30's. Surprisingly enough, we didn't have the worst overall team handicap.

Sunday, I dropped the boy off with my grandparents for church and the girl off at a birthday party. The parents took 4 girls to Disney on Ice Princess Classics. They are much braver than me, but I was told she was perfect. She's the luckiest girl in the world because they bought the girls everything- cotton candy, mermaid wand, tiara, coloring book, picture with the princess..... everything mommy and daddy won't buy.

Mom and I took advantage of the free time and picked out some of the tile for the new house. There are so many decisions to make, it is completely overwhelming. Thank goodness Mom's an interior decorator who specializes in remodels and new construction. She's done so many kitchen remodels in the past few years and they all turn out beautiful.

Monday morning- back to the daily grind.

We have a foundation

This was fun!

Weekend recap

Friday evening was the ball and a Czech from class and I went to the ball together. We took the tram, but because of an accident on the tram, we hopped off and walked about a mile to the ball at an old church in Den Haag. We left early to catch the last train, but did not have the right coins for the machine, so we walked and walked and walked and finally caught a taxi back to Risjwijk.

Saturday, I spent at Scheveningen with a Zambian now living in Germany and his French friend now living in Germany. They were heading back to Cologne and I wanted to tour Amsterdam, so we drove to Utrecht to sight see and eat lunch. They headed off and I took the train into Amsterdam.

I stepped out of the train station and was almost panicked seeing all the masses of people. I was determined to see the Anne Frank House and was also determined not to be seen as a tourist, so I walked around in circles until I finally relented and pulled out a map.

I found the house and then I saw the line halfway around the building. Even though the sun was starting to set and I wanted to be back on the train by dark, I knew I must stay. I finally reached the front and went inside. It was an eiry feeling knowing that I in the very rooms that 8 people hid from the Germans for years.

After the tour, I wanted to see the red light district. I walked and walked and walked and nearly gave up until I started seeing sex shops and knew I was in the right place. I walked quickly down the street as it was Saturday night and I could tell the clientel was changing and I was by myself. I then headed back to the train.

Sunday, I spent at Keukenhof with my former supervisor and his family. The flowers were blooming and the weather was perfect as it had been all week long.

Monday, I headed into the office to meet a few people and then toured the Bodies exhibit and ate a quick dinner before heading back to my hotel.

Highlights

I had some particularly memorable moments on the trip. I will recap a few here...

- Being the only girl in class. Not only the only girl, but the only one from the US to ever attend the class. And everyone repeatedly pointing it out. As if I didn't notice.

- Part of the class would go out to dinner as a group in the evenings. It always sounded like the beginnings of a joke. There was a Dutch guy, a German, a French, a Brit, and an American girl....

- Watching a 6'8" Czech imitate Snoop Dog

- Showing up at a ball in my work clothes. I happened to be in town the same weekend as the annual 'Young "Insert Company Name Here" Ball' and was invited by several in my training class to attend. Thinking that crashing a party was better than sitting alone in my hotel room, I decided to go. I also mistakenly believed that European women are much less judgemental than American women, and no one would even noticed that I had on pants and a sweater. I was sadly mistaken when I took off my jacket and three women on my left in their fancy ball gowns began to whisper and stare. However, it was worth it just to hear a Dutch band singing Diana Ross.

- I tried to blend in as much as possible while alone and I apparently did an excellent job. Until people spoke to me. In Dutch. One man in particular seemed insistent in starting up a conversation Saturday evening on the train on the way back from Amsterdam. He asked what I had seen in the country and I told him I visited the beach earlier in the day. OF COURSE he had to ask which one (Scheveningen) and then corrected me three times as I attempted to pronounce it. Which I still can't get right. There is a reason the word was used to out Germans attempting to pass as Dutch in World War II.

- The boy had to write a sentence in school starting with the word Mother. Here is what he wrote:

"Mother Mother Mother
Mother My Mother
Went to Apster dam.
by, the boy
need need need
I need you."

What I've learned

I came here for technical training, but more importantly, cultural awareness. Here is a just a few of the things I have learned this week:

Stereotypes about Americans:
- overfed
- overpaid
- oversexed
- not funny
(Hopefully I dispelled at least 2 of the stereotypes...)

What I've learned about Europe:
- German is not the ugliest language; Dutch beats it hands down
- We do not speak the same language as the Brits
- There is a lot of farmland in The Netherlands
- Europeans do not eat healthier than Americans; McDonald's is everywhere, chips and soda and candy are staples in the grocery store- but they walk or ride bicycles everywhere

What I've learned about myself:
- I can survive alone
- I can make friends with anyone around the country
- I look Dutch
- I love being with my family and miss them terribly when they are not around

2 more days until I leave for home!

Checking in

Hello from across the pond! Thought I would drop in and say hello from Riswijk, Netherlands. My first time in Europe and I came all by myself. I'm such a big girl now.

Not the best image

But you get the picture...

We did close on the construction loan yesterday! Yeah! That should be the last closing we attend for a long, long time. Well, at least for a few months since nothing is in the pipeline right now and the well has completely dried up.

Oh my gawd

After work, I drove by the little old house that is no more on the way to pick the boy up from school. I decided to stop as I noticed that someone was repairing the neighbor's roof (which was fairly new) and that the big old tree was gone. I was greeted with the pleasant news that things could have been much, much worse.

My builder talked to the tree guys this morning and the game plan was to lop the 50', nearly 100 year old tree piece by piece. As he left to run a couple of errands, the amateur hour tree bozos decided to speed things up a bit. They tied a 3/4" rope around the tree and tried to pull it down. Fortunately, the wood post on the fence stopped a huge branch from completely crashing through the neighbor's house, who happened to be home at the time.

As I am trying to put my head around the fact that we almost killed my neighbor, I watch in horror as the back hoe operator whips the heavy machinery around with little to no regard for the tree we are trying to save, my truck, the portocan, etc. And then I see the spray of water as he digs up the water main. I quickly decide that this is why I am paying the builder and tell him I've had enough, I am heading home to my wine.

Coma

My husband really cracks me up. To put up with me for 17 years, you'd have to have a good sense of humor. He really got me Friday. I was trying to open the door to the title company and it was a level handle and I just could not get it. I finally gave up and told him to open the door. Meanwhile, the receptionist is almost at the door to let us in. He opens it, we walk through and looks at her and says- it's ok, she just came out of a coma and is relearning basic skills.

The girl completely bought it and looks at me with these look of pity. I held it in as long as I could and then busted out laughing.

Conversations from the back

Overhead in the car this afternoon on the way home, but first, some definitions.

Mattie= the girl's best friend (she's 3)
Pawpi= my father (he's 60)

The girl: Mattie's big.
The boy: How big is she?
The girl: She's 50!
The boy: She's 50? No way, if she was 50, she'd be dead!
The girl: How old is Pawpi?
The boy: He's 48.
The girl: Mattie is 50! She's tall!

Ah, crud

Well, the sale of the house that we were not trying to sell but were very much more than happy to do so, fell through. Young home buyers coupled with a house with some, uh, issues. We'll be calling out the termite and foundation peeps this week. The refi is back on and we close on Friday.

In other news, the appraisal finally came back for our new house and we received the construction permits. And HOPEFULLY all will go better than they have in the past few weeks with the totally incompetent mortgage broker and we will close next week. Can you tell I am at my wits end with them? So much so that I even called their daddy to complain today?

And what bozo told me this would be fun?

Important questions

Have you ever been on such overload that your mind shuts down to everything important and focuses on the little things that you can control? No? Well, mine has.

So, while organizing my scrapbooking stickers and die cuts, I came across a dilemna. Do camping themed stickers go under 'travel' or 'sports'? At first I would think travel since if I'm camping, I've gone somewhere. However, it does go along with hiking boots and if hiking, then that is a sport.

Surprise!

As I complained about before, everything is moving slower than I would have liked. It looked like we still would not have the necessary documents until later this week, but the builder allowed the demo crew to go ahead and move in the big equipment to prepare.

Surprise!!!! I got a phone call yesterday from hubby on his way to pick up the boy from school- the house is gone! There is nothing but a giant Caterpillar sitting on top of a pile of rubble. The girl got really upset when she saw the house and started crying. They tore down our house! Now where are we going to live! Poor thing. We spent half an hour last night explaining how to build a new house, how we will move all her things to the new house, what we will move.

It was a three ring circus yesterday evening with everyone driving by, stopping, mouths gaping open. Apparently there is a general misunderstanding that the neighborhood is historic and you can't tear down the houses. The neighbors were SO INCREDIBLY appreciative to see the house gone. It has been vacant for so long because the house was basically unlivable and patched together so poorly, no one who bought the house could afford to fix it. Well, we took care of it.

In other news, we have a sales contract on our house! No, not the one we are living in and trying to sell. One that we were in the process of refinancing. Now we have to get the tenant to move out. This is the house that has been a thorn in our side for 3.5 years, so we are very happy.

Here's some pics for your amusement.

Frustrated

Patience. Not something that comes easily or naturally for me. I was expecting day one of construction on the house to be this week. Instead, we are still waiting on funding and the construction permit. It looks like it won't be until 2 weeks from now until we close.

TWO WEEEEEKKKSSSSSS. UGHHHHHH.

No, I really don't feel any better.

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

Philosophical question

Would you hire someone who is missing an arm to cut down your trees?

Seriously?

On the way into work this morning, I heard a bit on The Arrow that made me chuckle and shake my head. They were referring to a list found on the internet about songs that make you gay. One caller gave a testimonial- I listened to REO Speedwagon and turned gay!

Several more followed with disgust, dismay and anger. How can listening to music turn you gay- that is just not possible! The dj's retorted- well, you're just not trying hard enough! Maybe you need to pay more attention while listening. Several more angry people called in.

Seriously people! Are people that dense and lacking in sense of humor?

God necklace

When hubby and I married and talked about how we would raise our children, the topic of religion was one of the topics. He was raised Jewish, myself Christian and neither of us believed in either God or organized religion. So, how to raise the kids? We decided they should find their own way, much like we did. We never expected it to turn out this way!

The boy is very interested in religion. He attends church weekly with my grandparents (the only ones in the family who attend regularly). He has been asking for a "god necklace" for over a year. He even made a cross necklace out of rubber bands, staples, and ribbon. My grandmother had a cross and necklace for him when I dropped him off for church last Sunday. He has not taken it off since.

The preschool the kids attend(ed) has a prayer they say before every meal. The girl announced last night that she was saying prayer. The boy then wanted to say prayer and he asked if it was ok if he make one up. His went something like "It is ok if you are Jewish. It is ok if you are not. We believe in you God. Amen".

Even if I personally don't agree with his beliefs, I love that he is finding his own way and that he is following his heart.

Rain, rain

Go away!

I might scream if we have one more cloudy, rainy, dreary, cold day. It seems like it has been this way for months. A rainy day here and there is nice- a nice break from the sun and nice to fill your heads with thoughts of lounging around in bed all day. Day after day of dreary is down right depressing.

Sunday was a brief break from the rain and it was surprising to realize just how much I missed the sun.

Golf

I had many misconceptions about golf. No one in my immediate family played and I thought it was a sport for old men who did not want to exercise. After joining my new employer last summer and seeing all the business done on the golf course and all of the afternoons off from work that I was missing, I decided I needed to give it a try.

I love it.

It is challenging, exciting, invigorating, and just plainly a lot of fun. I took my first lesson yesterday and I want more. I am hooked.

No one ever said it would be easy

Oh, the boy. We've seen a steady decline in his behavior marks at school since the week before Thanksgiving. At first, we chalked it up to the excitement of the holidays. But it is still getting worse. I received a phone call yesterday from his teacher to discuss. She recommends meeting with the school counselor and I think that is a great idea. We have tried everything we can think of- small rewards, bigger rewards for consistent behavior, punishments for bad behaviour. We're out of ideas. The boy Does Not Listen. Ever. He is disrupting the classroom by continuous talking, messing with the teacher's things, not staying in his seat, and a constant desire to be the center of attention.

What to do? I am going to make an appointment to discuss with the pediatrician. We're also going to move bedtime up a little, to allow for more sleep. He's been showing signs of allergies lately, with always wiping his nose and dark circles under his eyes, so I will also get him tested for allergies.

What I dread most is a diagnosis of ADD and the subsequent prescription of meds. I will refuse that option. He is a bright, creative, driven, energetic child. How to we hold on to that and get him to blend into society without breaking his spirit? How do we teach him impulse control without squashing his drive? He's always been special and difficult to manage and never responded to traditional parenting. Oh, what to do.

Stress Counselor

One of the perks offered by my company is a stress counselor. It is a one hour session and she comes in once a week. I am wondering what she could tell me that would help me that I don't already know or that I could do something about. I work full time in a demanding job, have two small children, running two small companies, and have two small children. Not to mention that we are building our dream home and trying to prepare our current home for the market with two small children, a dog, a cat and two not so tidy adults living in it. I get as much sleep as I possibly can (usually 7 hours), try to eat as healthy as I have time for (which means too much eating out) and I am exercising regularly and taking a yoga/pilates class.

Maybe I'll go just to find out.

Yeah! We have a decision!

I think. In case you haven't been following the saga, here is a little background. We bought a house. A very, very old house- 1914 to be exact. A house in quite a bit of disrepair. We don't particularly like the house, but we love the neighborhood and the lot that the house currently sits on. My plan was to buy old house, move old house to new lot, fix and sell. Then build dream house on the lot. Somehow I convinced hubby this was a good plan. So, we started this project last spring and expected to be moved in and settled by now. Only we are still in the planning stages. The architect is almost finished and next comes the structural engineer. We need to interview one more builder and then select the builder, get financed, sell our house (which is not on the market yet) and then build. Piece of cake :)

So, what to do about little old house? We went back and forth. I called everyone to try to donate it. Apparently there is an oversupply of little old houses to be moved. We do not have a lot, so where do we move it? The house sits on a street called Lakeview. Only there is no lake view. And hubby's dream is to have a lake house. A dream he obsesses over constantly, to the point of driving to the dream lake 3 1/2 hours away regularly to drive around and look. He went on just such a mission last week. And found a lot. A lot where a house burned down, so it has utilities, a slab and a garage. All things our little old house needs. (Along with major structural and cosmetic repairs). So he puts an offer on the lot. And it is accepted.

And we still have not determined if the house can be moved, how much it will cost to repair or if the house could be moved to the lot we are purchasing. I used to be so methodical and rational.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Darkle! May your day be filled with bagels and Ben and Jerry's ice cream and void of the typical office idiots!

Ack! New Year resolutioners....

I tried to escape from work a little early to have enough time to go home, change, get hubby, pick up the kids and get to my "Total Conditioning I must be nuts to love this" class at 5:45. I was stopped by my manager right before I headed out, so I was running behind schedule. We picked up the boy and we pass right by the gym before getting to the girl's school, so hubby dropped me off and went to get the girl. It was right at 5:45, so I jumped from the car and jogged up to the front. Apparently, after I started jogging, the boy exclaimed- "Run for your life girl!".

I hurried over to the locker room, found a locker, threw my stuff in and pushed through the masses of people to get the stairs to my class. I am about to walk in when I notice that every square inch of the room is in use and all the equipment is taken. Two more show up wanting to join the class. Disappointed, I take a deep breath and turn towards the cardio and weight areas. HOLY COW. I've never seen so many people!!!

We don't count as the blasted new year resolutioners since we joined weeks ago. I give it 2 weeks before it is noticeably less crowded. 4 before it is back to normal.

The Day After

I was aimlessly perusing the television one evening after the kids were asleep and hubby was out of town. I settled on the SciFi channel, one that I rarely, dare I say never watch. I stick to the majors, TLC, Discovery, National Geographic, HGTV or Food Network. Anyways, what I watched was the most disturbing film I have ever seen.

The Day After chronicles the events of a small town after a nuclear attack. It followed the lives of a doctor, several in the military and a farming family. Deep down, I think that one of the reasons I want to move to the country and live off the land is not really to reduce the impact my family has on the environment. And maybe it is only partly to reduce the stress in our lives and bring us closer together and make us healthier. I think the real reason is fear.

I believe it is a possibility the US will undergo a nuclear attack. At the very least, I believe we will eventually enter another recession, one akin to the Great Depression. Maybe it is the pessimist in me, but this drives to want an independent existence. This movie took some of the peace of mind away from me. As I watched the characters of the farming family survive the attack, but then deal with the aftermath and the slow death due to radiation poisoning, it made me think. Wouldn't it be better to go quickly rather than suffer through all of that?

I have had nightmares nearly every night since watching the movie. Maybe all this cleaning and organizing I have been obsessing over is my feeble attempt at something I can control.

Still can outsmart the 3 year old

I've long lost arguments with the 6 year old boy and have had to resort to "because I said so" way more times than I care to admit. I take some consolation in the knowledge that I can still outsmart the 3 year old. I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner and since hubby's gone and I've been sick the last three days, cooking is the last thing on my mind. "Salami sandwich" yells the girl. "Peanut butter and jelly toast" yells the boy. Sounds divine to me. I fix their dinner and place the plates in front of them. The girl starts whining- "I want peanut butter and jelly toast!". I respond that she can have it for breakfast. She replies that she wants breakfast now. I tell her that she has to go to sleep before she gets breakfast. Ok, she solemnly replies. Ha! Score one for momma!

The new year

Instead of setting out with resolutions for the new year, I want to instead look back on the year and think about areas I can improve. Looking at the areas of mind, body and spirit, I know that I can improve on all three.

Mind
I did a fairly good job at the areas of the mind. My new job is technically challenging and I continue to educate myself in the areas of real estate investing. I also signed up for golf lessons in January along with a friend, so I am carving out time for myself to relax and rejuvenate.

Body
I can see that by joining the gym, we will be much more consistent with exercise. I know that I have lots of room for improvement in what I feed my body and I plan to concentrate on this area. I have not been as diligent in what I feed the kids and I will concentrate on this as well.

Spirit
This is the area that most needs improvement. One of the key values I wanted to instill in my children is compassion towards others. I am consistent in delivering this message, but the message needs more action. Consistently donating items we no longer use and giving money to various charities is not enough. We need to give something even more scarce and precious- our time. The children need to see first hand how they can directly help others and how important it is to help those less fortunate. I think they are finally old enough to be a help rather than a distraction.

Unnecessary necessities

Isn't it amazing to think back 10 years and all of the added expenses for our unnecessary necessities? Cell phones, PDA's, satellite radio, internet, satellite TV... There has to be a better way! And I don't mean by going back in time and giving up all these luxuries. I've thought about eliminating our home phone and just using cell phones, but then we don't have 911 service. And with 2 small children in the house, this is not really an option. We do have 2 phone lines, 1 for personal and 1 for business and we could eliminate the business line and just use our cell phones. We have not subscribed to satellite radio, but with the way the radio stations play irritating commercials 90% of the day, I know it is only a matter of time. I refuse to give up my satellite TV with TIVO. And forget about giving up high speed internet service. I work from home on average once a week, plus with all of our business activities, it just would not be time efficient to go back to dial up.

Have you managed to simplify and if so, how?

Organization

One of the main goals for our new house is to design it for the way we live our lives and to make that a little easier, neater, and better organized. We fought hard to get a mud room where we will most likely enter the house. We are building in a small desk area in the kitchen to help with managing activities and school work. When we move, the plan is to sell/donate/trash the items we don't use. I am seriously contemplating selling the fine china and crystal. I bought a book on home organizing, but am looking for more ideas.

Anyone have good tips or techniques for making your home more organized?

Another house

Yes. Another. Our realtor who specializes in HUD homes called yesterday afternoon. I drove by the house and liked what I saw, so he submitted a bid. I didn't even look inside the house until after we won the bid today. Met up with the realtor, handed him the earnest money and signed the contract. Hubby's been out of town so I mentioned to said realtor that he'd be surprised to find out we bought another house. He informed me that he called him on accident, so he already knew. I said that it was good that he told him since we only communicate through third parties.

On a side note, we have been moving forward on our house and settled on the company we will use for financing. I read through the documents a last week and it mentions that you should not buy anything until you close. You know, like appliances, or furniture. Or maybe a house.

Unexpected perks

I know it has only been three days since we joined a gym, but I am so glad to be back in group exercise classes and to have a place to swim again. I took a "Latin Infusion" class today. It was so much fun and I am certain my hips will be screaming tomorrow. That will be nice because maybe it will take away some of the focus on how much pain my arms and chest are in.

Hubby took the kids swimming while I took a class Thursday night. That evening, what usually takes 1 - 2 hours of yelling, coercing, and tears, took only 3 seconds. The kids went out like a light. Not even a peep. I can tell you already, this is better motivation than wearing pants I haven't fit into in 4 years or improving my health. We know the secret to wearing out the kids.

Ouch

First day at the gym. Being the extremely intelligent being that I am, I decide to take the hardest class they offer. I was early, so I did 15 minutes on the bike first and then headed into a 75 minute "Total Body Conditioning" class. Should have been concerned with the assortment of apparatus everyone collected before the class began. But I pressed on, undeterred. Next clue, she asked if it was anyone's first time. I raised my hand and she said "Welcome!" with a sly grin. That woman is evil. Pure evil.

I am typing this all out this evening because I am fairly certain I will not be able to lift my arms above my waist tomorrow.

I am going to run away!

We finally joined a gym! Yeah! And not just any gym, but Lifetime Fitness. I have been wanting to join for years, but with a treadmill and complete weight set at home, it seemed like a luxury. Hubby signed us up yesterday afternoon and we got the kids all excited telling them we were going swimming! After dinner! In the winter!

I pick up some of the materials and see that the pool is closed on Wednesdays after 2 pm. Hubby calls to confirm. Uh oh. We try to substitute driving around, looking at Christmas lights and promise a trip to the pool tomorrow.

The boy gets upset halfway through the event, so we cut out early and start heading home. Then it turns into a full blown tantrum. He's crying and begging to look at more lights. Then he says that he is going to run away and find better parents. He adds- I am sure I can find better parents than you!

Hubby, being a kid trapped in an adult's body, stops at a house on our street with lots of lights. He tells the boy- these look like good parents, look at all the Christmas lights. Why don't you get out and ring the doorbell and see if you can live with them?

PTA

Hubby is on the parent/teacher board. We just received an email reminding everyone to RSVP for the party to thank all of the volunteers. It was addressed to "Hi Ladies". I think I understand why he looks for every excuse to get out of the monthly meetings.

Because I am lazy

and it has been awhile since I posted and I have no idea what to post about and because I just responded to am email with the exact thing below and because I know you all care so much.....

What time is it? 6:28 pm.
What is your full name? Spritzy, duh
What are you most afraid of? Losing a loved one
How many grandkids. None hopefully for a really, really long time
Have you ever seen a ghost? No, but I think I hear one in my house quite often
Where were you born? Houston, Tx
Ever been to Alaska ? No but I have a coworker moving there- I am already making arrangements
Ever been toilet paper rolling? Yes and "forking" which really does not turn out as cool as you expect it to
Ever loved someone so much it made you cry? Of course
Been in a car accident? Yes and the lady sued me in excess of a million dollars. I broke her tail light.
Croutons or bacon bits? blech- neither
Favorite day of the week: Friday
Favorite Restaurant? Amazon
Favorite Flower: Hydrangea
Favorite Drink: Vanilla chai tea
Favorite ice cream: Banana pudding ice cream from Hank's
Favorite fast food: Chick-fil-a
What color is your bedroom carpet? light beige with coffee stains
How many times have you failed your driver's test? None
Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? I don't know, already deleted it
What do you do most often when you are bored? Eat
Bedtime? Anywhere from 9:30 - 11:00
Ford or Chevy-Ford
What are you listening to right now: whatever the kids are watching on tv
What are your favorite colors: blue, green
How many tattoos do you have? none, haven't figured out what I would like permantly on my body
How many pets do you have? 1 dog, 1 cat, and whatever insect the boy has adopted at the moment
Which came first the chicken or the egg? the chicken
What would you like to accomplish before you die? Raise two healthy, self suffient adults who feel compelled to make the world a little better
How many people are you sending this e-mail? the entire world! hah!

What a Bad Dream

Othr by "The Boy"

He made Majik Poshin and he drank it. Wyrd things hapind to hem. He skard hes Mom & Dad & hes sistr. He kepe hes room how Evre he Wanted it to be. He Even Eyts cookies! & iec crem for brefist. He rids hes byck in the stor and he dasint go to scool. He eyts pissa with awt napkins. He dasent tayk a bath wen hes dertey. He wathes TV wen it is Time to go to bed. Son you Just hade a bad drem. Is that psehn no good.

Blow Harder

Where did you go? What happened to your blog? I miss reading about windmills and generators and water wells.

5 days off

It was a nice, long, relaxing holiday weekend. Wednesday, the boy was out of school, so we took the girl to her school and went grocery shopping for the Thanksgiving day feast. Then we went to my mom's house to help her prepare the meal for Thursday. My dad came home early, so we left the boys to play and we did a little Christmas shopping and then picked up the girl. My brother and his wife showed up, so we visited for awhile, ate dinner and headed home to finish preparations for Thursday.

Hubby got home from work at 3 am Thursday morning, so the kids and I let him sleep in a bit and then headed to my folks. We ate until our stomachs could not hold any more and then spent the rest of the day with hubby's folks and brother and wife and cousins. 5 children under the age of 6 plus three very large dogs does not make a relaxing afternoon, but all had a good time.

Friday, we cleaned up a bit around the house. I got caught up on accounting for the business and then we headed to the cabin my dad built. Our good friends called on our way out of town and were heading to the same small town, so we decided to meet up on Saturday. We played games, and visited with Santa in downtown Hallettsville and built fires and went on hikes and went to sleep early and woke up late. It was a wonderful weekend and the cabin is a great place to escape the world.

We also got the Christmas tree up and decorated yesterday evening. It was a lovely weekend with lots of quality family time.

Thankful

I have many reasons in my life to be thankful. I have a loving, generous, supportive husband and two imaginative, affectionate, bright and funny children. I have a strong family and friend network that I love and cherish. My husband and I both have good jobs as well as bigger dreams that we are working towards to be able to leave those good jobs and spend more time together. We are all in good health.

I have so much to be thankful about- Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Don't hate me

Because I am almost done with my holiday shopping. All that is left is my mother, my father-in-law, and hubby and the kids stocking stuffers. Scratch that, almost done with the kids stockings, but I need more ideas for hubby. I have two goals every year and each year I get closer and closer to reaching them. The first, that I never walk into a store to purchase anything. All shopping is done in the comfort of my own home and I arrive home every day to find another package on the doorstep. The second goal is to be completely finished by Thanksgiving. I am thinking of adding a new goal to my list. The third goal will be to not continue shopping for the kids after I have finished shopping for the kids. By finishing early, I always think of new gifts and it leaves me plenty of time to shop for them. By tracking how much I am spending this year, I think it will be much easier to stop when I am done.

I have exactly 4 hours, 23 minutes to reach goal #2. I already missed goal #1 as I went to the mall with my mother today.

Wish Every Weekend

The weekend was perfect. Saturday, we went on a family bike ride on our favorite bike path and then picked up lunch at Subway and visited the playground near the bike trails. Hung around the house Saturday evening and hubby went on a grocery shopping run with the girl. Sunday, I gave the kids a lesson in folding clothes and they performed much better than I anticipated. They are especially good at matching up socks; a chore that I abhor. We took the kids to a different playground and then to Burger King and let them play there after eating. Finally, we spent several hours touring new model homes in Telfair. We only made it about half way through before the kids had lost interest, but we did get many good ideas for our house. And we actually agreed on about half of it!

Speaking of the house, I don't tend to post much about it because our plan fluctuates daily. However, I think we have arrived at a path forward. The plans should be complete by the middle of December. We have interviewed two builders and plan to interview one more. We need to order a soil sample for the structural engineer to develop the foundation drawings, figure out who we will use for financing, pick out the materials we want, get bids from the builders and hope to begin construction by February 1st. Hubby has been working hard around our house, painting and fixing problem areas. We'll put our house on the market in February and hope to move into our dream home by the summer.

As for the little old house that is there, we do not have a consensus. I have finally reached the conclusion that we should bulldoze it, but hubby wants to move it to Canyon Lake as his lake house. No, we don't own land on Canyon Lake.

Trendy

A few years ago, our family decided to down size a bit and start a gift exchange instead of everyone buying for everyone. We draw names each year at our annual trip to Leakey. I drew my cousins name, which I thought would be very easy. Well, she's very trendy and keeps up with the latest trends. I wouldn't know the latest trend if it hit me in the face. I asked my mom to see if she could elicit ideas from her sister. Apparently, these thong panties are the best thing since sliced bread and this is what she wants.

I told my mother I thought it would be a bit weird to buy my cousin thong panties for Christmas. She answered that was what she wanted as well. I told her that was even more weird. What a Christmas this will be! Thong panties for everyone!!

Tinkerbell & the Arctic Wolf Ninja

The boy, who is 6, would walk up the door holding the girls hand, who is 3. He would ring the doorbell and then walk off the porch, leaving the girl to fend for herself.


We walked from my parents house to my grandparents house. The kids wanted my mom and I to hang back when they went to the door, just to see if they would be recognized. So mom and I hid behind and tree and then decided it was safe to come out when the kids were welcomed into the house.

Eye opening

Earlier this week, our boss suggested we leave early Wednesday and blow off some steam. The team headed out around 11, and played at Dave and Busters until the mid afternoon. The boss and one of the other team members headed home, so we headed to a bar a block away to continue our team building.

This is where the conversation gets interesting. One of the guys is married to a girl from Belarus, another is dating someone from Venezuela, the third guy is married to an American but has traveled extensively around the world, and there is me, the American girl. The topic of American women and basically how awful they are always comes up. I always try to defend my tribe. First off, I hate stereotypes. Second, I am one. I finally pry out an explanation- women from other countries 'take care of their man and understand women's roles'. Wow. Then I find out that they are offended why I pay, even if everyone else takes turns paying.
They feel threatened that women want the same things that men want and feel that this competition is bad.

I thought that I lived in a totally different world than I obviously do. I know that I live in a conservative state and work in a conservative industry with a bunch of engineers, but I had no idea that I would never be considered an equal by my coworkers. Several of these guys are my generation, one is about 10 years older. Fortunately, I am married to a man who loves me, respects me, and truly thinks of me as his equal and partner. I had no idea how rare he is!

Brothers and Sisters

A new show on ABC, Brothers and Sisters, is on right after Desperate Housewives. The show depicts a large family and all the drama that goes along with being a large family. It makes me want to have more children. That and both the kids keep asking for a baby in the house. It is starting to get to the point where the boy and the girl will be too far apart in age, so I know that we need to act soon if we are going to have more children. They are both relatively self-sufficient- can dress themselves, brush their teeth, no more diapers- so it is hard to imagine starting all over again. My sister-in-law just had her third kid and holding the baby brought back all of those memories. I guess it is time to get serious about getting into fighting shape and going through it all over again.

Control

I am finally starting to take back control of my life. I do have a lot to undo however. The months of stress and catering and fancy restaurants and no exercise has taken a huge toll on my body. I am easing back into my exercise routine and making attempts at improving my diet.

I have been spending much more quality time with the family and taking care of forgotten tasks at home. I spent this past weekend on catching up on accounting for our businesses and filing and organizing the house. We met with the architect Friday afternoon and we are finally pleased with the layout. Now we are getting down to the nitty gritty details of the plans. He can't start on them until early December, which means we will have the final plans around Christmas time. Then comes the arduous task of getting bids from builders, figuring out the financing, and getting the necessary approvals from the city.

We have made some head way in getting our house prepared for sale. It is terrible timing to put on the market and I have no idea where we will live while we are building, but we are proceeding ahead. My new goal of being in the new house by this Christmas has changed to start construction by the end of January.

And just to prove that I am getting my life back under control, I started Christmas shopping yesterday.

Trusting your gut

When I decided it was time to move on from my employer, the only employer I had known my professional career of 10+ years, I told myself I would just have to make the decision based on gut instinct. As you can tell from my past posts, it has been well, trying at my new place of employment. I am starting to doubt my 'gut instinct'.

This is the week

That I have been dreading. We are presenting our detailed drawings to the client and reviewing them. And day 1 went amazingly well. The client is typically argumentative and mildly combative. And they were neither. Actually, they were almost completely silent. Which sets us all a little uneasy. Did we do our jobs? Did the long hours pay off? Or, is the storm brewing behind the scenes....

On the other hand- I have kids! And a life! I took my off Friday off and hubby and I actually had a day to spend together. Lately we've completely traded shifts. He'll get home after I'm asleep and I will leave before he wakes up. He did have to go to work Saturday morning and was gone the rest of the weekend, but I'll take one day. It was wonderful having three days off of work and it was just what I needed. Even better than that is an extended family trip to Leakey coming up this weekend.

Maybe I should go with the obvious untruth

Work has been all consuming for my little team the past few months. We've worked 10+ hours straight for the past 9 days and we are all getting a little loopy. So we decided to cut out early today and we hit the bar for a couple of hours this afternoon. I had to leave to pick up the kids and take the girl to swimming lessons. Sitting at the swim school, conversing with the parents of a little boy in her class, I realized I smelled like smoke, major smoke. My first instinct was to say, I don't smoke, I just smell like it because.... oh wait a minute, let's just say I smoke.

Am I dreaming?

I am here at work on a Saturday morning. I did the reasonable thing and stopped and picked up kolaches for the team on the way in. Couple hours later, the boss shows up with a huge cooler and a skillet. He cooked up eggs, sausage, and pancakes in our conference room. I wonder how long the smell will linger......

Office politics

I was so naive. I thought my previous company had issues with political currents and behind the scenes doings. I had no idea just how bad it could get. I love the work I am doing, I love the people I am working with, and I love working for an owner versus a contractor for hire. But the level of politics are something I have never seen before and actually prevent us from doing our jobs. Not just preventing us from doing our work effectively, but preventing us from doing our jobs completely.

Unbelievable!