Head Cold

Hit with a bit of a head cold. Took some Sudafed (which, rumor has it, also dries up breastmilk ... so that might be a bonus SINCE I STOPPED NURSING SEVEN MONTHS AGO).

A manager (possibly the general manager) of the local Michaels called me last night and asked me to give her a call back. (I copy and pasted and blog post to Michaels' corporate email.) She sounded sweet-as-pie complete with a Southern accent. I was hoping a man would call me, because then I'd have no trouble standing my ground ... but I am hopeless with nice-sounding ladies! I don't want to call back, I said everything I had to say in my email. My mom says I am a chicken. Ugh.

Met up with some fellow Tastefully Simple consultants today for lunch. They're such a nice group. I mailed off four packages with catalogs, recipes, and samples to a few out-of-town clients today. Enjoy! I am hosting an open house at my home Saturday, Oct. 2 and am planning on a mystery host catalog party online too (need to figure out those details). I have a good feeling about all of it.

Moose has been in a mood this week. Maybe it's the Terrible Twos or maybe he has a bit of a cold, but he's so disagreeable and whiny when we drop him off at Mother's Day Out (though, he doesn't CRY, he's just not so gung-ho like he usually is). He's just not quite himself.

Bean is still doing great with school and is making improvements with his karate. He's just growing up fine and dandy.

The kittens are psychotic. I have never met two things that poop so much. They also yacked three times for my husband this morning. Lord only knows what they ate this time. Why are we adding chickens to our zoo? Crazy people. CRAZY.

I rearranged some closets and my craft/crap room last night with some help from Husband. I'm trying to relocate all my hobby-type stuff to the craft/crap room and keep it out of our master bedroom, our master bedroom closet, the dining room, the kitchen, the living room the rest of the house. I sure know how to take up space!

RAIN! FINALLY! I HEAR IT. I SEE IT. We so needed this!

My Hallmark Card

Wednesday night, a person told me that my life was like a Hallmark card. I wanted to break into hysteric laughter, but instead I said thank you (and possibly rolled my eyes). All in all, if you put things into a list of what my life is compared to what it could be, it is pretty good. I wouldn't say Hallmark card, I'd probably say Endless To-Do List. Maybe entitle it Life Interrupted. Seriously, though, I have a lot to be thankful for (or "for which to be thankful," if we don't want to end a sentence with "for," but who talks like that?).

It's funny what people see when they don't hold you to same standards you hold yourself to - I usually just see the last-minute meals out of cans and heaps of laundry. Start seeing what's so good, stop worrying about the short-comings. There's no such thing as perfect.

Moose has decided to stop napping. This is not a good thing. Today he is in a rare mood, and he's napping ... I don't care if he stays in his room and wails for two hours. He is tired and grumpy and needs to go to sleep and leave me alone!

Bean is still doing well in school and should be assigned to his "reading group" by the end of the month. I am hoping he gets in with the higher kids, because everything they are doing right now he covered and mastered in pre-school. I really think he's ready to start reading and stop with the "trace your name" and "identify this letter."

The kittens are growing like crazy. I did take the one to get stitched up. They also gave her an antibiotic. She's not gaining weight as fast as her sister (might have a little something to do with her diarrhea), but she's eating/drinking/playing just fine. Her sister (notice the non-use of names) ate a bunch of leftover Fruit Loops the other day and yacked them up. It never stops with those two. They turn EVERYTHING into a toy and enjoying nuzzling up to us at 5 a.m. Oh, my goodness ...

Husband is almost done with the chicken coop. I'm pretty proud of him. I never thought he'd (a) get on board with us getting chickens or (b) actually build a coop from scratch. Way to go, Husband :)

We are also planning just a Husband-and-Me weekend to Wisconsin in November. A friend of ours is getting married, and we're going to splurge and spend the weekend there. I even have a house/baby/pet sitter arranged for the three days. Bliss! We're going to fly up there, rent a car, and just ridiculously enjoy ourselves. Wisconsin in November? Hey, we'll take what we can get!

Lots of reading and writing to do. First, though, LUNCH!

Whose is Whose

Painting 1 was mine :)

Painting 2 was Husband's.

I agree that his look more real, but mine are prettier :) I said that from the moment we set them out at home. We had a lot of fun painting them, and I can't wait to do it again.

That said, I am in a major funk. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's time for school to start. Maybe it's time for this heat to subside, but I'm all sorts of mopey.

We adopted a new cat. She looks a lot like our old cat. Her name is Penuche (PAH-NUSH), well, that's the name she came with. Bean is pretty set on it. We mainly call her Cat. Today, Husband came up with Mrs. Nathan Fillion-Grylls (after his two man crushes). Obviously, no one is going to start calling her that. She is five and appeared to be just an obese lazy orange cat at the shelter. After bringing her home, however, I noticed that she's actually quite spunky and affectionate. She was also disgusting, so I took her to get groomed. She looks about 10 pounds lighter (but, no joke, she's still 17.5 pounds). She spends her days hiding under the bed and her nights curled up on top of the bed. Her and the dog are still ignoring each other, but I think they'll figure something out soon enough.

Regarding my hatred of litter boxes ... I bought a Clever Cat Top Entry Litter Box. This is what the shelter switched to recently and said it is AMAZING. I am also using pine pellets instead of cat litter. You're not supposed to flush cat urine and poop ... but let's just say that the pellets are so awesome that you CAN. No dust, fresh smell. Very, very few pellets make it out of the litter box (I've counted like THREE since we got her Wednesday - compare that to clay litter that is a freaking mess all the time). I am also lining the box with bags, so there's nothing sticking ANYWHERE. So far, this is a completely different litter box experience. Thank goodness.

Friendly Competition

Yesterday, Husband and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! Painting with a Twist was super fun AND we decided on Copeland's. We can take the kids to Outback sometime and still use the coupon ... we are not taking our kids to Copeland's. Good choice, Amanda, thanks for the push :)

So, we have TWO of the same paintings. My question to you, which do you prefer? Please leave a comment with your preference.

Three Pairs the First:Three Pears the Second:The place was very full - about 50 of us in all. Husband was the ONLY male. We plan on taking my in-laws there (and leaving their poor aunt to babysit, because you have to be 21 to go). I'd love to see my father-in-law painting.

We had a wonderful day. He bought me a beautiful pendant necklace with blue topaz and peridot stones (and cookies). We got family pictures (which were a bit of a disaster), but then we got the greasier most delicious burgers in the world for lunch.

Nesting

I got home and decided to start really finishing the house. I put the new bedding on the best, and I am in love with it. Life feels more luxurious and pretty with it. It happens to go perfectly with a print of the Ernest Hemingway's Key West home we brought back from our honeymoon. I slept wonderfully and am considering a plural marriage with the bedding and my husband. He likes it too, so I don't think he'll mind.

While the bug hit me, I also framed up a lot of ignored artwork and picked places for Husband to hang them. He did so quickly, and I am even more in love with all of it. We also picked up some tension rods to hang curtains over the metal blinds - I hate looking at metal blinds. Tension rods are a renter's best friend (and the best friend to a girl who cannot hang real curtain rods to save her life and must depend on her husband for such things). We also got tension rods for curtains in the boys' play room (since I have plenty of panels, because I was obsessive on NOT including the curtains in the sale of our old home - and I'm glad I didn't).

I rearranged the boys room and Husband hung up their artwork from Red Bean Dream up there and his pilot memorabilia stuff - it's a good place for it. The plane stuff is great for little boys and its nice for them to have reminders up of their daddy (and it's nice that it's not in any of the common areas of our home - we are proud of him, but I really hate putting stuff like that front and center).

I tidied some bookshelves.

The whole place feels more like our home. I'm totally loving it.

By the way, my nesting is not part of a pregnancy. I assure you. I am suffering from MSB, as my mom calls it (menstrual syndrome bitchiness). No combination of drugs and caffeine seem to keep it in check. The only thing that works - and temporarily - is just to eat a lot of delicious food. My husband, trying to tread lightly, mentioned the drastic change in my moodiness. I wasn't mad at him, because I very clearly see it in myself too. Not sure what to do about it, but I can't spend nearly a quarter of my month acting like this. I do have two lavender plants growing outside, and they are proven stress relievers. Maybe I should start smoking them.

I have more dirt and seeds to plant. A friend shared a planting guide designed specifically for our region (written by a local professor/scientist), so that's really a dream come true. I can make sense of our growing season and can likely harvest foods almost year around! Score one for hot, humid summers and mild winters!

I did get a good deal on some very beautiful frames (framed up six pieces for significantly less than a single custom frame would cost).

I strongly suggest that you splurge on bedding when you are in a position to do so. Amazing - I can't say it enough!

Vitamin D

My husband is on casual duty while all his medical stuff gets wrapped up. He likely will not be starting training till December, so this means he has a pretty lack schedule nowadays. This means he's around A LOT. I love him, I really do, but when you're used to someone being gone most the day most days, it gets a little trying sometimes to always be "sharing" day after day with them. I've got a vibe at home that doesn't include him some of the day. This morning I told him he needed a second job, I could have him hanging around the house all the time. He told me to get a job. I said, "Fine. I'll apply at Michaels and work at night and on the weekends, that way we don't have to pay for daycare." The look on his face immediately suggested that he regretted saying it, but I started filling out my application (and what a tedious application it is).

My mom is in town for the week, so I have another round of taking care of her :) She had a long flight in yesterday and is on blood thinners and is very weak and tired. She is doing better today, though. We managed to go to lunch and stop by a plant nursery - I bought some ailing strawberry plants, two jalapeno plants, and herbs (lavender, chives, oregano, and mint). I worked outside for more than an hour planting and arranging and watering. I am soaking wet with sweat and humidity, but it feels good. I love not having to worry about the house (one benefit of renting) and spending so much more time in the yard.

Speaking of the house, the kids and I worked on redecorating the guest bathroom. I may have mentioned the "custom paint job" that my landlady came up with ... beige walls with red and peach sponge paint and stenciled green/black fleur-de-lise. Oh, I wish I was kidding. A friend (Mrs. Precious One) suggested vinyl a while back. First, Bean picked out a bath mat that was orange and blue and then some fun towels - one shaped like a blue monster and one shaped like a green frog. Then I found some shower curtain hooks in orange, green, and blue all from Kohls. We also found green and blue vinyl spots for the walls from Kohls and a large "Surf's Up" vinyl poster from Hobby Lobby in blue and orange. Yes, it's a wild mess in there, but it's much more kid-friendly looking and fun. I'm not completely embarrassed of it anymore.


I also bought this bedding from Bed Bath & Beyond. I've had my eye on it for months and am so happy to call it my own. The designer originally designed scrapbook supplies (which I was a fan of it), so it's no wonder I loved it. I skipped the designer throw pillows and throw, though, to make it a bit less girly. The sheet set is also different with my set - it all looks like that green paisley design pillow (umm, so more girly) and the euro shams are cream with pink embroidery. Hmm. I saved $91 with coupons ... so that just sort of suggests how much I spent on it (but worth every penny).

Sweet Home Louisiana

Made it back Thursday morning around 6 a.m. I took two 5-Hour Energy Shots to make the drive and it took me like two days to recover from the stuff. I had a similar experience with caffeine pills in college (took them for a week, completely melted down, and never touched them again). On the plus side, I made the drive in 13 hours and 20 minutes (including stops) AND painted the office when I got home. I finally passed out and proceeded to have a pounding headache most of the next day.

The house was standing and the boys, dog, and plants were alive. I suspect my husband makes a better homemaker than I do (the house was certainly tidier). However, all three guys were happy to have me home AND I was happy to be home with them (you know, after the energy shot hangover passed).

My mom is doing OK and will hopefully be back at work by the end of the month. It's been a long and miserable process for her.

My husband had a PET scan while I was gone. We got great news Thursday. The scan was clear. Thank goodness.

Not wanting my mom's lousy kidneys and my husband's cancer to take all the attention, I decided to FALL at a bookstore yesterday. It was the perfect storm - flip flops, long dress, door with metal slates, carrying a box of heavy books. I went down hard, dislocated my pinky and skinned and bruised my knee. I was so embarrassed. I don't remember falls sucking this much as a kid. My finger is in a splint (most the time, the darn thing gets hot and itchy) and my knee hurts every time my pants touch it. So, umm, fun times.

Post-fall, I dropped some items off at a locally-run thrift shop and saw TONS of plastic pots in their dumpster. I asked the employee (or, more likely, criminal doing community service) if they were just throwing them away. He said yes and agreed that it was wasteful and loaded 20+ into my trunk. Plastic pots aren't my first choice, but FREE plastic pots certainly are.

I am convincing Husband to build me a chicken coop and run. He's surprisingly on board with the idea. City ordinances OK chickens, but we need to get the by-laws for our neighborhood. Hopefully no one has thought to ban them.

Bean starts school in exactly one month! He'll be a real kindergartner at a new school. I should probably figure out how to register him for that foolishness. I am also hoping to get Moose into a private pre-school a couple days a week starting this fall.

It was Artist Sunday at church today - church members and people from the community came out to sing, read, dance, and play. There were belly dancers, little ballerinas, violin, piano, drums, poetry, stories, etc. Artists also had artwork (jewelry, paintings, collages, books, etc.) on display and for sale in the church classrooms. Very neat.

Am in the middle of three books right now - Urban Homesteading, Cutting for Stone, and a book written by a local friend. I'm enjoying all three and having a hard time deciding which one to pick up each time I get a chance to read ... now wonder I can't keep the house tidy. Ha ha.

Murphy, Cut People Some Slack

Husband's tumor was cancerous, but the cancer hadn't spread. The oncologist didn't think it was necessary to do preventative radiation or chemo, and my husband was happy with that news. The least invasive, the least issue with this career. (Also, the babies, the hypothetical third baby that he is obsessed with me carrying.) However, they did decide to wash him back - at least one class. He's on casual status till further notice and will eventually have his file go before a Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) before he is cleared. Everything should work out fine, but there's a lot of red tape to get through before anything happens. That's the military - rush in and wait forever.

My mom is once again having fun with kidney stones and a kidney infection. Horrible, horrible. We planned on heading up there mid-July, but now I want to bump it up, but then one has to wonder how helpful a person can be with two small children. I certainly wouldn't want two kids bouncing around my house when I feel like dying. Also, Moose's birthday is in between there and is it fair to be away from home and away from his dad for his birthday? He's turning all of two, so I don't think he cares ... but it wouldn't be my life without the overwhelming Mommy Guilt.

Remember House of Boys? Well, the oldest boy, B, had a terrible jet ski accident. He was airlifted from Middle-of-Nowhere, Montana to Denver Children's Hospital. He's in ICU. He is responsive and they are hoping to move him out of ICU and remove his neck brace. His dad, who is serving in Korea, is on a flight back to the States. Oh, and it's the poor kid's 9th birthday today! It sounds like things are going well, though, so thank God for that. B is an awesome kid (and I mean that - I'm not generally a big fan of other people's kids.) Poor Mrs. House of Boys - a husband that's been gone for a year, three boys, one in the ICU. She's gotta be worn thin.

The stupid bird flew away.

Moose went to speech testing today, and they want him to come in TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK. Personally, I think his speech delays are less severe than Bean's ... and Bean only got therapy once a week for a month and then every other week. I am thankful that they care and are taking it seriously, but two or three times a week seems like a little much. He is saying the following nowadays (compared to Bean's FOUR flipping words at two years old):

I don't know.
Ready, set, go.
This one.
Ball.
Mommy.
No.
Shoe.
Meow.
More.
Please.
Thank you.
Hi.
Bye.
Night-night.
There it is.
I do.
Uh-huh. (That's like "yes")

He's fine. Two or three times a week? Egads.

Husband and I were hoping to sneak off for a mini-vacation and leave the kids with my mom, but obviously that's out of the running now. If that's the only thing we're having to sacrifice, then I guess we're doing all right and shouldn't complain.

A Boat

Yesterday, we headed over to the base to stock up on freezer foods (we certainly know how to have a good time with garage sale money). Anyway, we went over the bridge and saw a speed boat pulling a tube.

"That looks like fun," said Husband.
"Yeah, until you get gobbled up by an alligator," I replied.

He called me a Debbie Downer, but he also agreed with me.

Oh, June

June has always been a busy month in my family. It kicks off with my birthday and is followed by several more family members and friends. My grandpa is 72 today! Happy Birthday!

Tomorrow is Father's Day. My husband is has procured a grill out of the deal. My in-laws and I originally went in on a nice, fancy grill together, but it arrived in a busted box with damaged and missing pieces. (Way to go UPS!) It was picked up and hopefully they are refunded quickly. I've returned things with Amazon before and been shocked at how easy it was. I took the boys to Lowes and talked to the guy in the grill department for quite a bit. They had a great model with features similar to the one my in-laws and I picked out, and it was marked down AND assembled AND the only one left. I also got the 10 percent military discount. Sweet. The boys also made him a gift and my in-laws sent a little some for the new grill.

Today we went to several rummage sales and came home with the following: (1) pair of boys Crocs, (2) bungee cords, (1) three-wheeled scooter, (4) books, (7) glasses that my husband liked (I liked them too, but he had to have them) and (1) parakeet with big cage and food. This all fit in the Elantra, along with the stroller I forgot to take out and all four humans. We looked hilarious. Bean renamed the parakeet Luigi (formerly Dodo), because he's green. They kept him on their patio day and night, so he's hanging out there for now - less mess inside (at least till the winter).

We may need to have a rummage sale ourselves soon. I was hoping to wait till next year, but we're just making a huge pile in the living room with no where to put it (no garage, no huge closets). You know, so it made perfect sense for us to buy MORE stuff today. The cycle never stops.

Good News

Husband's CT was clear. For all purposes, he's cancer-free. The doctor is running some blood work to double check some things, and Husband will need to have CT scans every 6 months forever, but I think we'll get to keep him :) He may do precautionary radiation, but he also has the option of doing nothing except the CT scans. We'll see what the doctor suggests.

If he has radiation that means no more babies. Well, no more babies in the traditional way. Honestly, I feel like we have two happy and healthy children. It's not necessary to bank his, umm, boys (or girls, maybe) before treatment. As far as I'm concerned, let's just adopt a little girl - IF we want more. Then we know it's a girl and there's no turkey baster (or morning sickness or fat-ass-ness) involved. It's not the most important thing in the world, but it's something on our minds.

Husband jumps into training tomorrow. He'll speak to his commander about what is going on, and I'm guessing that they'll push him through training unless the Flight Doc steps in and says no. Of course, the Flight Doc wasn't available to talk to him today. No surprise. He still has multiple doctor's appointments over the next few weeks and isn't fully recovered from surgery. It clearly makes more sense to wash him back a class and keep him on casual duty while he wraps this cancer thing up. But, no one cares what I think. I'm used to that.

I am going to make Amish Monster Cookies for the journaling group tomorrow.

I am still on the lookout for washing soda, because I want to make a batch of laundry detergent - I have been to two Walmarts and the commissary and cannot find the stuff. I thought it'd be hard to track down the essential oil, but that was EASY (call crazy hippie store and ask if they have them and they do, they have all sorts of essential oils for reasonable prices, Bean decided on orange essential oil this time around - I kind of liked the lime, but I thought orange was a safer bet for my first batch). Husband thinks I am a lunatic. "Making your own laundry soap isn't even something that's ever dawned on me that could be done," he said. I told him I had SEVERAL friends who make their own and the DUGGARS make their own. I quickly realized that mentioning the Duggars was not making the idea appear NORMAL and shut up. I did buy a pretty blue 5-gallon bucket for the detergent, though. Hopefully my husband doesn't get a hold of this one (all my other buckets are lined with GROUT).

Boys are good. Bean is scrapped up on his arms and legs ... all from, umm, like walking. Moose is also pretty banged up and has a pretty rash on his face and buttocks. He pooped SIX times today. Big, full diapers - not like I caught him mid-poop and he had to finish. So, so gross. We tried out a new park today and checked out the campground my in-laws will stay at later this summer. Verdict: Not Ghetto.

We also visited the farmer's market downtown. Wow, Tuesday is nothing like Saturday. Not even half the booths were set up. It was pathetic. It was also super-hot and there was some lady singing who sounded like a dying cat. Much, much different vibe Saturday mornings. Verdict: No Tuesday Nights at the Farmer's Market.

I can't believe it's not even 7 p.m. Bedtime cannot come soon enough!

When It Rains, It Pours

The last week has been quite a ride. Let me preface this by saying that I know things could be worse, they could be WAY worse, but it's still been a heck of a week.

Last Friday, Husband saw the doctor and was immediately referred to a urologist. The urologist immediately scheduled him for surgery for Tuesday. He has (well, had) a testicular tumor. It was an out-patient surgery and he is gaining more strength each day, but he's still pretty uncomfortable. We are waiting on results from the biopsy today and still haven't heard anything, so I'll tell you about that when it comes in. Even if it is cancerous, it's very treatable. One of the doctors told him that if you could pick your cancer, this would be it. Still, though, the "c" word makes any person nervous.

So, Husband has been holed away in our bedroom and I have had the pleasure of the boys full-time, all the time, with a patient in the back bedroom. It's been trying at moments, but everyone is still alive. I shooed the boys outside this morning and Husband said, "Do you trust them out there by themselves?" I said, "I trust them more out there than I trust them in here with me!" They were just fine and played for hours. I even put their lunch out there and they picked at it.

Speaking of time outside, the dog was out there with the boys (so they weren't totally unsupervised) and I saw her coughing/looking like she was licking peanut butter but all frantic and painful like. I put her water bowl out there and came back inside. Later, I brought the boys in for a nap and put her inside. After I tended to the boys, I noticed that she didn't look right. Her face looked swollen and she was breathing heavy and she wouldn't drink. I checked her mouth and her jowls were swollen rock hard. I called a vet and they said she was probably stung (my suspicion) and to bring her in, so they could give her something to reduce swelling. So, I got to rush off to the vet during THE ONLY PEACE I GET ALL DAY. I am on my way to pick her up now. Since she was there, I'm also getting her shots updated and getting her microchipped and getting flea preventative and all that fun stuff. I take her back next week for an update.

Finally, on a more minor note, our new stove/oven and microwave are supposed to come today. I'm trying to be optimistic and say the day isn't over yet, BUT they're not here yet.

Hooked on Phonics Deal

This is too good not to share. Money Saving Mom has a post about getting a $200 Hooked on Phonics reading system for $30! Check it out here. It's for kindergarten to second grade. They also have a toddler reading program on overstock too. Use the code SLICK50 to get an additional 50 percent off. I ordered both for about $50, including shipping (and I had $20 in my PayPal account from using Ebates, so it was like $30 for all of it).

Wahoo!

Husband is leery about it, but I told him I could probably resell the system for that price, so we're not out anything if we don't use it. I've wasted $30 on worse.

Speaking of good deals, I scored big at CVS this week - two razors, three cereals, and two men's deodorants. I spent $15 and got $20 back (including a $5 off $15 - you never see those anymore). I only run one transaction per a week now, I just don't have the mojo to do multiples anymore. It costs me a few more bucks that way, but time is money too.

This afternoon, I went to lay Moose down for a nap and was in his bed with him. Well, he escaped, and I proceeded to nap. Then Husband came in and laid down beside me and told me to get up. Then he fell asleep. So, we napped in the boys' bed while they bounced off the walls. We heard a crash of Play-Doh supplies but ignored it for a few more minutes of sweet slumber.

Also, for the first time this year, I'm going to stop reading a book before I finish it - Once Upon a Time by Gloria Vanderbilt. Good grief, talk about a rich and bitch sob story of nothing. I'm on page 50, and I think it's time to stop. I've moved on to The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. It's so much better so far.

Final Flight

The kids got up at 6:15 today. I sense a pattern. To be fair, we may have put them to bed at 6 p.m. last night - we were really tired and needed to catch up on Lost :) Bean fell right to sleep, but Moose squawked for a bit.

Today is Husband's "fini flight." It's his final flight for this assignment/base. Crazy. I'm picking Bean up early from school and then taking pizza, wings, and soda up to Husband's work. I should have some pictures.

I am still doing a lot of packing and setting stuff aside to sell and give away. We have buyers for the washer and dryer! They are going to a good home. We haven't gotten any calls on the fridge, but we can always move it with us and sell it in Shreveport - it's a little easier to temporarily stow a fridge in a carport than a washer and dryer. I can't believe how much stuff we have.

The packers/movers are supposed to call 72 hours in advance. No call yet. Hopefully we hear some Monday.

Falling into Place

OK, so we close May 28!

We have fliers up at Husband's work, at the base consignment shop, and my Realtor is emailing it out to her associates - so, hopefully, our appliances will sell shortly. Our new rental comes with appliances, and I just hate to store ours for a year or so and risk an infestation of mice (or, umm, rats) or have the seals compromised because of the heat and humidity. Seriously, that humidity in Shreveport is like nothing I've ever experienced - I have no doubt that it can do serious damage. And, well, damaged appliances won't do us any good in terms of use or money.

I found the survey of our property - saving us $300 or so off closing costs (which we are paying for). Thank goodness. My husband had filed it away and my husband (whom I love dearly) cannot "look" for things to save his life. I cannot even recall all the episodes we've had over this little problem he has. I decided to go through every piece of paperwork he had filed away and found all our title paperwork in a legal-size folder underneath the files. I could have shot him (him, whom I love dearly).

BUT everyone is alive and well.

Things with the home are falling into place, all the May holidays are covered, we will be back for Bean's last two days of school, to sign all the closing paperwork (Husband is giving me POA ... wha ha ha ha), and attend the House of Toys' Boys birthday party. House of Toys is also hosting us once all our stuff is packed and gone - so a big thank you to them.

Now, anyone want to babysit this Saturday, so I can craft with friends? Am getting desperate.

In Contract, For Real

Yesterday marked the end of our buyers 10-day option period. Not a thing was said regarding the $300 (nor about our refusing to meet in the middle at $150). Their house in Nebraska is in contract. We're good to go ... barring terrible circumstances :)

I rented out a meeting room at the library for this Saturday. I invited several friends to come up and craft with me. I need to call around and wrangle a sitter, because my husband will probably be IN VEGAS ... AGAIN. Should I start to be concerned about all the time he spends in Vegas?

On the 15th, we are planning on driving one of our vehicles and a medium-large Uhaul truck to Shreveport. We'll get our keys and leave a big chunk of stuff, and then leave the Uhaul there and drive back here together. The movers will be here the 19th or 20th for the rest. Hello? I'm like really moving in about TWO WEEKS.

Tomorrow we are meeting Mrs. Precious One and Precious One for Story Time and possibly lunch (if SOMEONE behaves well enough that I'm not suicidal at the end of Story Time). I also have some shorts to exchange, because my husband cannot possibly understand why he would need two pairs of khaki shorts. Forget that I got them for $9, why does he need two pairs? So, hopefully I can find a DIFFERENT color in his size.

Husband is working late this week, so I got to run around sans Moose this morning. I hit deals at Target AND Walgreens AND CVS. It was SO peaceful.

It's raining here today, which I love.

Need to plan out what I'll be crafting this Saturday and then seriously start packing up the office/craft room. You know, TO MOVE IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS.

Oh, and this upcoming move will mark my 18th address. How many addresses have you had?

Let's Move Already!

We have a Realtor's Open House this Thursday, since our home is not officially sold until These People sell their home.

These People had their home inspection today, and I'm curious to see what the guy found. We've worked really hard to eliminate most problems, so I'm sincerely hoping he didn't find anything that is (a) expensive or (b) a deal breaker. Please!

My mom is here. I picked her up at DFW last Thursday, and we went to the Fort Worth Zoo and the Miniature Train Ride. It was great weather and the boys had a great time. Awesome day. I want an open-air bird house with lots of cockatiels and parakeets.

Since there are two more hands around, I finally got around to listing several items on eBay. No joke, I have 16 auctions on there and am hoping that I make enough to buy my SLR camera in the very near future! You can see them here. Spare me the lecture on buying the stuff in the first place, got it?

Speaking of my camera, my mom and I went to the casino Saturday night, and I made $90 off the free $10 the casino gives people with a military ID! Wahoo! I pocketed my $90 and walked out with it more than an hour later. Mom's luck wasn't as good.

My old neighbor, House of Boys, wants to have a garage sale May 15. But, Melissa, you just had a garage sale! I know! Still, though, now that we're actually moving I have a few more items I might be willing to part with, and she has a chunk of stuff anyway. Why not? I have rugs and kitchen carts - maybe I'll find more.

We went for a walk today at the park, did some shopping, and pigged out at Red Lobster - lobster, scallops, shrimp. Yum. I am stuffed.

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Boys are good.

Bean is skinnier than ever - my mom notes that all his chub is gone, even his face is skinny. She's suggested adding Ensure to anything that calls for milk just to get some more calories in him. We've been giving him a PediSure each day, but clearly he's still anorexic.

Moose is running and walking and climbing. He throws things when he's mad, and he can be a bit of a bully - but when those things aren't going on, he's still very sweet and easy-going. (Even with the mood swings, I still think he's less ornery than Bean was at this age.)

Husband is very busy with work, his paper for his master's, and maintaining the yard and doing some small repairs. My mom noted that his car is much dirtier than it used to be. Clearly, the man is stressed out. We are still waiting on official orders - we can't schedule the movers without them. So, yes, that's fun.

Not Myself Lately

With so much stuff stripped away, it's been interesting.

It's quite easy to keep the house picked up and, within an hour, it's easily shiny and spotless.

Much of my craft stuff is packed away and the rest of it is spread out into a couple closets. I haven't touched the stuff in nearly a month. That's right - I've gone an entire month with no crafting.

I've done a lot of reading. Books 3, 4, 5, and working on 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Reading is a very tidy hobby.

I'm considering keeping the craft stuff packed away after we move - at least for summer (when I'll be unpacking and then rewarding myself with an escape from the heat and a trip to my family up north). I'm strongly considering having a real guest room instead of a craft room. Can you believe it? I mean, we'll be living in a place where people might actually WANT to visit us.

I'm thinking I can downsize my stash to just fit in our current TV armoire. Our rental home has a built-in in the den that houses a TV, so we won't need it in the den. The formal living room will be the toy room. Yes, we're going to keep things classy there. (I don't have to worry about selling it, so I plan to live strictly with what is most convenient for my family - caring little about what you think when the first thing you see is a mess of toys to your left and my craft stuff all over the dining room to your right.) The kitchen has space for our small dining table (where we eat all of our meals unless we have company).

One of the offers has till 3:30 p.m. to respond to our counter. If we get a no or don't hear anything, then we'll accept an offer from the other buyers. They have a home to sell, so it's not a done deal, but there's a high likelihood of everything turning out OK. All the math and money talk makes a humble English major uncomfortable. Husband is crawling the walls in anticipation. I actually told him to HAVE A DRINK AND GO PLAY VIDEO GAMES last night. So, you know it was bad.

Well, I think someone pooped in their pants. Twasn't me.

Garage Sale

Last Saturday marked the Third and Final Annual Garage Sale between ourselves and the House of Toys. For the first time, we skipped the ad in the paper - and we have no regrets about it! We both cleared hundreds of dollars of stuff.

I actually think we're kind of disgusting. How, for the third year in a row, have we acquired hundreds of dollars in stuff that we don't want? Such consumerists. Personally, aside from groceries, I don't think I'm a big shopper. I will say that even Mrs. House of Toys has cut down on the toy buying. Still, though, we found lots of crap.

My friend, Mrs. Precious One, also dropped off some stuff. She wanted Tastefully Simple product instead of her cash - fine by me! She brought lunch to the house today and saw her old office chair in my office and her old shower curtain in my guest bathroom. Ha ha. She said it was quite a compliment to see her old stuff in someone's home. I'm not proud, I'll take my friends' unwanted stuff :)

There were several incidents of Crazy Old People - all harmless and fun. I sold the play cube for $30 (exactly how much I paid for it two years ago - talk about holding its value!). Husband finally parted with his surround system ... that's been sitting in a closet for almost three years.

I'd say only two or three groups of people walked away without buying anything - that's amazing.

I also had a young man and his female friend ask for a tour of my house. I showed them around and warned them that anywhere from four to eight kids had been running through the house all morning. The kitchen and living room were a bit messy, but all the other rooms were pretty good. They both really seemed to like it. I suggested he talk to our Realtor, if needed anything else. Apparently, this meant that he should come over again Sunday sans Realtor. That's right, I again roamed around my home with a young pilot while my husband was at class. (Husband did meet him right before he left the house.) Funny enough, my husband has also said things like, "Give him your number." and "Drop by his house and leave a note." and, when I suggest husband talk to him, "Oh, no, he likes you better." My mom, Mrs. Precious One, and I all find it hilarious that my husband thinks absolutely nothing of his wife giving out her number and giving tours of bedrooms to handsome guys while he's away. Wha ha ha.

So, we've had someone look at the house - just not the traditional route.

I painted some gutters today, scrubbed all the siding and did some minor repairs to the trim around the garage. It was just a little effort, but they're all marked improvements. I may tackle the gutters in the front of the house tomorrow and possibly the shutters.

Hope and pray that we are in contract before the end of the month. We are getting very nervous.

Why So Quiet?

So, we have our orders. We need to be in Louisiana by May 31. It's, umm, overwhelming to say the least. I didn't expect to be out of here quite so soon. I was thinking more the END of summer, but no one who makes decisions cares what I think.

We've gone back and forth on a million different things but have decided to get a home on-base. Husband is already getting that paperwork together, so we'll be on the waiting list and ::fingers crossed:: have a home to move into upon our arrival. (The base housing there is quite nice we hear.)

We'll get Bean tested for the magnet schools. If they're full or he doesn't test into them, then we are sending him to the Montessori school for kindergarten. Should we get assigned to Shreveport long-term, then we'll move to an area near one of the better public elementary schools. To save some money, though, Moose will not go to the Montessori school for pre-school. We'll just place him in a church-type pre-school a couple days a week (he'll only be 2, after all). Luckily, a student loan that we're currently making large payments to will be paid off by the time tuition comes do - we'll just roll that money into the Montessori tuition instead of into another loan, as we had planned. So, actually, we won't even miss it. Thank goodness.

We met with the Realtor. I can't say the price is bad, but how much commissions and fees take is quite disgusting. We do all the hard work for years and these vultures swoop in for a few weeks and take a healthy chunk of it. BUT, I do like the Realtor. She seems very organized and professional. Personality-wise, we also mesh well.

Husband is wrapping up the guest bathroom and I'm packing. Husband has already lost his parking spot in the garage to boxes. I have a garage sale planned for April 10 and a chunk of stuff to take to Goodwill and to the base thrift shop. I also have some painting projects to look forward to (nothing huge, but painting is not something me or my husband look forward to - since some extreme painting at our last home, he actually hasn't painted a thing in this home). Also, I've noticed I have a thing for paint colors that name fruits. For example, Apple Green, Cherry Red, and Northern Pear Tree. The only other paint color I have recently selected is called Overcast - so it's not a 100-percent theme (BUT, Mrs. House of Toys actually picked it out, so maybe that doesn't count). (Don't worry, I didn't paint any room Cherry Red - just the mailbox and touch ups to the bench and flower pots.)

I finished our taxes today, and we're getting a nice chunk of money back! Thank goodness. We're just going to let it sit for now - in case something comes up with the housing inspection or we move without selling it and need some moolah on hand to make extra mortgage payments. What spectacular timing. If all goes well, though, it'll be the start of a new car fund! We have our eye on something with decent gas mileage, three rows of seating, and NOT a mini-van (I'm not so opposed to it, but my husband is dead-set against it). Husband is sort of liking the Chevy Traverse. Now, I love a Chevy, but the thing looks like a monster compared to my Elantra. I'm a small-car girl - a beloved Chevette, a not-so-beloved Escort, and the good-car-worst-buying-experience-ever-never-buy-anything-from-Butler-Hyundai-on-the-northside-of-Indianapolis-ever Elantra. Oh, but ROOM! Road trips will be so much more pleasant when we're not packed on top of each other - with luggage and snacks and entertainment shoved between. Only 12 hours to Orlando - we might make that trip a couple times a year!

My new thinking: It's just money. We'll get more next month. (My frugal friends are gasping - my apologies, but it's the only way I'm going to get through the next few weeks. I will resume my more frugal lifestyle once this house is sold and the move is complete.)