Wanted: Sturdy Brick Wall

For my head. To bang my head against repeatedly.

This house closing will give me my first grey hairs, I swear.

I received the documents for the closing, via email, about an hour ago.

I printed them out carefully, as to not get anything in the 1" margin, as per the escrow office's warning. I also planned in advance and had new ink for the printer.

As I was reading the first email, a line popped out at me. Here is the email in it's entirety, minus important numbers and the actual name of the Escrow service.

"Attached is the Seller's closing statement for your signature.

Please return with the escrow instructions, etc. that were e-mailed separately.

Please also include a cashier's check in the amount of $4224.69 payable to The Crappy Escrow Service (funds needed to close)"

Nothing that says, "For questions, call..." or even a "Thank you for doing all of this paperwork last minute and from Alaska, Your kindly escrow officer." It also just occurred to me that this is the same escrow service that screwed up on the paperwork for the closing when we bought the house.

Anyway, the line popping. Did you catch it? Good.

NO ONE told us (before this email) that there would be funds due at closing from us. We knew that there was a pre-payment penalty on our loan, but assumed that would be settled after escrow. As in, it has to be paid first, in order to have the penalty. And what about the money we have in escrow for the property taxes already. Probably refunded later? We will be getting half of $8986.12 back from the Relocation Folks because that is what our Crappy Realtor is getting in commission, for sitting on his behind and doing nothing, but that is back to the Reimbursement (you pay and then, you get it back) problem.

So, I called The Bank of Mom. Out of the office until Oct. 11th. What the ??? PANIC!!! Check email itinerary for the week. Hmmm, today is not the 1st, also the day that the big family plans (needing an itinerary) start. Try the home number. No answer, leave freaked out message. (reading email from Mom, complete with emergency numbers) Emergency! That's what I have! See Dad's cell number. (dialing frantically)

Yippee! Dad not only saves the day by promising to have my Mom (hahaha!) do the wire transfer, he did a great job talking me down from my high ledge! I honestly don't know what we would have done without them (and their money) with this whole move. My dad is hoping (aloud) that this will be the last time we will need assistance from them and by the end of the conversation, he was saying that he would go to the bank tomorrow and figure it all out. I still think my Mom will do it, but he was willing and that's what counts!

So, for you math whiz's, we will be making roughly $300 on the sale of My Perfect House. After we re-pay my parents for the closing money. Shhh, don't say anything about the other money we borrowed last month from them...

Me Time?

Not much to say today. Joe was supposed to have tomorrow off, but is taking this afternoon off instead. Yep, an entire half day off this week. I've stopped complaining to him since it doesn't make any difference. We'll see him again on Sunday.

I am almost finished with the living room and kitchen. I unpacked and put away 3 lingering boxes, moved the table and mopped the kitchen floor. I got the kids to pick up ALL the toys from the living room and vacuumed too.

I took an hour last night, gathered all my supplies and scrapped one page. I realized that the calendar I was using to create this album stops at November, so I will have to remember from the pictures what we did for the last 2 months of the year. I know I got pregnant with Tristan about that time, so maybe that's why I stopped.

I walked Grace over to AWANA at 6:15 pm, in the rain. I really need to find a rain guard for the jogger. I put a quilt over them and by the time Tristan and I got back home, it was soaked. Joe picked Grace up at 8 pm on his way home from work. Tristan was already asleep and I put Grace to bed while Joe played his video game. I beat his high score in the morning and he had to go re-mark his territory. I was almost asleep when he finally came up to bed at 10:30 pm.

Tristan was up at 6 am this morning and Grace was up at 7 am, but there were no visits in the middle of the night. I'm waiting for an email with the documents we need to have notarized today (and Fed Ex'd back) for the closing on Monday. I need to go fix breakfast and make some coffee before I retreat to my craft corner and get some of my stuff done.

Happy Hump Day!

And now for the downhill slide into the weekend.

A few highlights:

1. I have a dial tone on the phone.
2. The house closes on Monday.
3. The garage door opener is possessed by a 5am demon.
4. The big stack of boxes in the garage is gone.
5. I'm not drinking Mountain Dew anymore.

That is all.

Quiet (except for hacking coughs) Sunday

We skipped church. Due to the fact that my kids sound like lifelong smokers.

Anyway, I uploaded more photos to Snapfish this morning and found these 2 to share.

Downtown Juneau from the top of the Tram on Mt. Roberts last Sunday, when we also skipped church and enjoyed Joe's day off.



A closer view North of town. The buildings in the distance are where the airport is and where we turn inland to our house.



I have been sorting through all my pictures today too and discovered that 1. my photo boxes are more disorganized than I thought and 2. I am now almost 4 years behind in my scrapbooks. I'm working (or was working) on 2000 before the move, which was also Grace's First Year album. I'm going to need to do a family album for 2000 too. That leaves Tristan's First Year (2001), a family and Grace album for 2001, all of 2002-2004 into family albums, albums for each of the kids and a couple vacation/special event albums. At least 16 albums so far. Yikes!

I also need to spend a small fortune on getting prints from all of the digital media I have. Most of Tristan's baby pictures went straight to CD because we couldn't afford film and developing. I just started (this summer) ordering prints as soon as I uploaded them, as if I was developing a roll of film. It's daunting to go back through 4 years of photos and pick what I need to get printed.

Anyway, I best get back to it. The reason I started was to find pictures for my sister in-law, Katie. She's doing something for Flo (the Marine sister in Iraq) and I want to get her some good pictures.

Catch ya'll on Monday!

For Fun...

Here's a Meme I found at Grace's while catching up this morning.

Here are questions about your kitchen:

1. Hand wash or dishwasher? Both
2. Do you have tile, linoleum, or hardwood flooring in the kitchen? Linoleum
3. Stainless steel, white, or black appliances? Black dishwasher, almond stove and fridge, my stuff's all white
4. Do you have an eat-in kitchen? or do you eat in the dining room? Eat in Kitchen
5. Side-by-side, freezer on top, or freezer on bottom? Freezer on Top
6. Gas or electric stove/oven? Electric
7. Do you keep all your small appliances out (blender, toaster) or tucked in cabinets? Coffee pot, mixer and toaster are out; blender, bread machine and chopper are put away.
8. Trashcan in cabinet or out on floor? For the first time since having kids we have a lidded can out on the floor.
9. Do you have an island? Nope.
10. Do you keep emergency candles & flashlight in the kitchen? I've got candles in every room, flashlights are all together in the hall closet so I can find them in the dark. I am also putting my new fire extinguisher in the kitchen today.

For the house in Washington:

1. The dishwasher worked like it was supposed to and I only handwashed the pots.
2. We had linoleum, but planned to put in hardwood.
3. All the appliances were white.
4. We had a dining room.
5. Side-by-Side Fridge.
6. Electric Stove.
7. There was enough cabinet space to put the toaster away.
8. The trash was under the sink and everything was child proofed.
9. No island, but we had space for 2, on stools, at the bar.
10. Again, candles in every room and the flashlights were stored in a chest of drawers by the back door.

Another Negative Post. Mostly.

I keep telling myself that it has to get better. And then it gets worse.

I tried calling the transportation company (again) to come pick up the boxes they didn't come get Wednesday and found that there was no dial tone on the phone. Again. Being that it was Friday night, I tried my best to get through to the phone company and find a quick solution, but they will have to send a repair person out. Maybe today, probably Monday. Until then, we are without a phone. Again. I even have new phones to play with and that makes me cranky.

To top off my evening, 4 of Joe's work shirts were ruined in the washer or dryer. I'm thinking it happened in the dryer, where they sat overnight and came out with what looks like rust all over them. So, between the Dry Cleaners losing about 6 shirts and now these 4 that can't be worn, I'm down to 3 good shirts. And the luck will be in actually finding shirts here to replace them, nevermind the cost. Oh joy.

So, in the midst of all my anguish, this morning I tried bleaching the 4 rusty shirts (to no avail) and discovered that one of the hoses to the washer is spraying water all over the corner of the garage. Oddly, it now explains some boards the landlords have stored, sitting up on an old towel next to the water heater. I'll keep an eye on it and just thank God that this isn't our house.

We were visited by a campaign person yesterday afternoon and she had paperwork with her so that I could register to vote in time for the state deadline. She was very nice and although I don't think I'll be voting for her candidate, I found her very informative. I've stayed away from talking about specific religion and politics here, but that may change in the future.

I want to send very Happy Birthday wishes to Katie! I hope you have a great day!!

A New Blog

For those that are interested...

www.fromtheeaglesnest.blogspot.com

I will still be here as normal. I just don't want to invite my family (read in-laws) into my private little world. :o)

TTFN!

Please Wash Your Hands...

Between blogs. It seems that everyone is sick!

I got the kids to the doctor yesterday. Tristan's lungs and throat are clear. The doctor was very good with both kids and I'm so relieved that my "Close Eyes and Point" method of choosing a doctor worked this time. I left with a prescription for "Just in Case Over the Weekend" and some peace of mind. He's still whiny and Grace is getting a cold too. I hope that I just stay on the verge of a sore throat, but I foresee a head full of gunk soon.

My afternoon adventure was to Costco. Gone are the days under $100 that I was having. OK, so they were every week, but the receipts were under $100 and I can prove it. I had to get printer ink and more telephone handsets, as well as most of my list of groceries. In large quantities. I have a smaller list, for items I don't need by the case and I should be set for at least a month. Other than milk.

Joe's pay cycle goes to bi-monthly at the first of the year and I'm trying to build up our pantry levels again so I don't have to shop every week. I'll be filling the garage freezer for the winter too. Last week, I made Rhubarb Chutney and Rhubarb Marmalade, with the rhubarb I found in the small garden on the side of the duplex. The miracle was that I found all of my canning supplies, except for my jar lifter in all of the garage boxes. I'll be borrowing Katie's method (frozen fruit) for more jams and jellies soon. Costco only had big bags of strawberries and I want peach and raspberry.

I stopped at the dry cleaners yesterday to give them our new number in case they found the missing shirts. I spoke to one of the owners (I'm guessing) and the day I dropped them off, she wasn't working. She said she would look through the tags from the day and give me a call if she found them. I really don't want to replace 6 shirts at $40 a pop. The 4 shirts we have left here (minus the one with the grease stain on the sleeve in the trash can and the one without buttons for the collar that could be worn in an emergency) are in the constant wear-wash-iron-wear cycle.

Well, I've got to go make some coffee and feed the kids breakfast. It's going to be an inside day today and I might just get some scrapping in!

Thursday Already?

I guess when you spend half of the week in a fog, it really shouldn't be a surprise, but it's already Thursday!

I found a doctor that is listed with our insurance and will be making appointments this morning. Tristan has a sinus/cough thing going on and I need to get him in today. He's had a cough for 3 weeks (since his last cold) and he stuffed up again yesterday pretty bad. Grace woke up last night (ok, at 3 am) to tell me that her nose was stuffed and that she needed to go to the doctor Right Now. Ummm, nope. Go back to bed.

I have been feeling better, still run down though. The kids are obviously sick, so I still think my issues were more like a flu, instead of something more serious. I've got to get my yearly over with, so I'm just going to schedule it early and take care of everything all at once.

Yesterday, I did some laundry and put it all away. I put together a shelf unit for the living room. I picked up most of the stuff that needed to go to the garage. I made our bed with fresh sheets, since Joe got the new bed frame under it. I spend about 15 minutes putting stuff away in my crafting corner and I finished most of the layout I started for the CK contest. (I need printer ink, so the journaling will wait until I can print it out.) I talked to my new friend here in town for about an hour and I can't tell you how nice it is to have a landline phone again! I searched the insurance website for doctors and finally found one that matched an ad for a doctor taking new patients that was in the paper.

Today, I need to make a Dr. appt for Tristan, get the kids ready to go out, go to the appointment, probably head to the pharmacy and I'll get groceries at the same time. I want to scrap this afternoon. Survivor and the Thursday premieres are on tonight too.

Which brings me to TV.

Amazing Race? Loved the ending. Watching Colin have be gracious was priceless.
CSI Miami? I'm still sad that they killed Speed.
Survivor? I can't wait for tonight!

I best get off of the computer and get on the phone to make Tristan's appointment.

Scary Morning

Yesterday? I read a book. From cover to cover. I made Ramen and Mac and Cheese for dinner. I fixed the TV cable situation so that the VCR talks to everyone and recorded LAX. We watched CSI: Miami instead. Bed was sometime after that. *winks*

This morning? Tristan was up at 4:22 am. I jumped out of bed and went to settle him on the couch. He started acting like he was going to be sick, so I ran to the closet and grabbed towels. As I was putting them out on the floor, I got really dizzy. So, I laid my head down on the edge of the futon until I felt better.

Tristan wanted some milk. I agreed on water and I walked the 15 feet to the sink. I was filling his cup when I got really dizzy again and ended up on the floor, unable to get back up. Tristan came over and I sent him in to wake Joe up. Joe found me on the floor, a couple of minutes later. He got me up and back into bed.

Where I stayed until an hour ago. Joe went in late to work, left the kids with an open bag of goldfish and drinks and strict orders not to bug me unless for an emergency. I was up a few times for little stuff, but the kids were very good and I did get to sleep some. Joe came home at noon to check on us and I was feeling well enough to get up and shower.

Which brings us to right now. Joe wants me to go to the doctor and I think I just got up too fast. But I worry about brain tumors and aneurysms. I tried to stay awake after I got back into bed because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up. I've had a headache this morning (I didn't have one last night) but I think it's from lack of food and caffeine. If it happens again or I feel worse, I will be heading straight to the ER, by ambulance if necessary. I'm stubborn, not stupid. :o)

Anyway, that's been my morning. I have to go vacuum the smashed goldfish from the carpet upstairs.

In other news, we have a working phone today! I will be ordering pizza for dinner tonight!

Busy...

Just checking in quickly.

The weather has been sunny, which means the kids want to play outside. Not inside where the computer/sewing machine/scrapbook stuff is.

Yesterday was Joe's day off and we got a bunch of stuff done.

The car now has Alaska plates and we have Alaska insurance. We both flunked the driver's license test - it would have helped if either of us had actually studied the book before trying it. Heh.

We also found and bought a new bed frame. That will get put together tonight and I will be able to walk around the bed without tripping on the dust ruffle again!

We bought a bunch of shelves to put up too. I spent the morning sorting through the kid's toys and putting them into bins on the new shelf I put together! I did a serious purge before we moved, but everything was packed in different boxes and there is new stuff we got here, so we needed a new plan.

I finally got a haircut. It sucks trying to grow out short hair! It was also $30. A normal wash and haircut here is $27, men are $20 (as are kids) and then there's the tax. I'm so glad I own clippers and can do a good job cutting everyone else's hair.

I got Joe hooked on Survivor for the season. Something about the Men vs. Women. *winks*

I also got him for the last few episodes of Amazing Race. I am ticked that the last leg was non-elimination going into the finals. I'm tired of Colin and Cristy. Nicole and Brandon annoy me too. Joe is cheering for Chip and Kim and I'd be happy with them or the Mom's winning.

All the CSI's have their season premiere this coming week, so I'll be back to my nightly addiction. I need to figure out how to record off the digital cable box though because I have 2 shows at once some days. The kids also need me to flip the TV/Video switch in order to watch a video. Pain in my behind!

Anyway, the kids are ready to go ride bikes...

Clean Up Day

Well, I survived my bus experience yesterday. The kids thought it was great fun and I remembered how great it is to have a car and go whenever I want.

We left for the stop early, since I was not sure how long it would take us to walk to the closest stop. There were no slugs on the road, so we were early.

Way early.

So early, that we walked another 1/2 mile or so to another stop down the road. And then we waited... For 15 more minutes. (I told you we were early.) And the bus arrived at 11:32 am. There was much cheering (OK, not really) and we sat down in a sideways seat. Because they are cool and it was the first open seat and the bus had already started moving again. I had forgotten how much force it takes to turn a corner in a bus and how much strength it takes to hold two (2) 40 pound kids onto the seat, without seatbelts, while making a turn opposite to the sideways seat.

Anyway, we survived the ride and I dinged the bell for our stop and felt very proud of myself for actually Doing It. A very kind lady helped me lift the kids off the step at Fred's, but that scared Tristan and Grace kept asking why she was helping us. It took all I had not to tell her that if they didn't hurry up and climb down, that the door was going to close on them and drag them down the road.

And then we found Daddy in the store and all was forgotten. That is until Joe was mortified that I had actually Taken The Bus and vowed again that I really needed a car.

The End.

So after we got groceries (and had lunch in the deli with Daddy and 2 potty stops) we loaded into the car. I stopped first at the Dry Cleaners - who told me there were no shirts there. Now, either I'm losing my mind or they lost the shirts. Still shaking my head, I headed to the Post Office and got the mail. I drove straight home to unload the groceries and it was only 1:30 pm. I still don't have a good gage on how long it takes to run errands here. Obviously.

The kids watched cartoons and I putzed around a bit until the neighbor came over to ask us outside to play. The kids got coats on and we played for about an hour in the yard. I left the house at 4:55 pm to get Joe at 5 pm and we arrived at Fred's at 5:04 pm. During "Rush Hour" even. And then we sat for 15 minutes until Joe came out.

Dinner was a fiasco, don't even ask. It ended with me yelling "I'm trying to fix your damn dinner!" and I really don't swear. Did I mention the migraine? Oh yeah. I was sent to my room for a Mommy Time Out. Because I really needed it. And he ate the leftover spaghetti.

To leave yesterday on a good note, I bought a new iron. It is very nice. With the big burst of steam feature and also a squirting feature. I will note that my old iron was from when I was in college (10 years ago) and leaked all over whatever I was trying to iron. I will be saving the money from the Dry Cleaners and doing Joe's shirts myself again. Which I don't really mind doing (besides, I don't lose shirts) and I have a new iron to play with. Have I mentioned my love of new appliances? OK - now I have. *winks*

Today I decided to work on getting the house picked up. Not unpacking things, but getting the counters cleared and the miscellaneous stuff in a home. So far I've done the kitchen and bathroom. I may be doing 15 minutes with the timer this afternoon to make a dent in the rest. The kids don't have a place for their toys yet, so that means all over their room. And the living room. And the basement. Since the frame broke on our bed, our room just seems messy. The dust ruffle trips me every time I walk around the bed and it's such a pain to put on, I don't want to take it off. The clean laundry has detoured into the basement and I promptly forget about it. Well, until I have no pants to wear. Or socks. Like this morning.

Don't worry, I'm still in good spirits. Dinner is in the Crockpot. The kids are happy and I'll get everything put away eventually. Probably just in time to move again. Bwwahahaha!

Logistics

I am currently attempting to figure out the local bus schedule, so I can go get the car and run errands today. Sounds like fun doesn't it? The good news is that I think it will only take 15 minutes to take the bus to Fred Meyer. And $1.50 and some patience to get the kids to the stop, on the bus and into a seat.

We are going car shopping on Friday, but part of me is freaked out about having a car payment again. We'll just have to wait and see if we even qualify for financing. We defaulted on a loan 4 years ago (when I stopped working) and a two seater truck wasn't very practical with a new baby. Less practical was two car payments, on one income. We called the bank and told them to come get the truck. In the end, it ended up on our credit report listed as a repossession. So it might just be good for me to become acquainted with the bus system now, while the weather is decent.

Among other news, I have a migraine. I expected it this month though. Unfortunately, the world didn't stop for me. *winks* I will admit right now that having my head pound, while dealing with all of the other stuff going on, makes me a very cranky person by 4 pm.

I didn't get my scrapbook layout done in time to enter it in the CK contest. I've been messing with it for a week now and can't find an arrangement I like. It all ended up in a heap on the floor yesterday (bumped by accident) and I decided the stress wasn't worth it. The pictures will still end up in an album...eventually.

I have somehow ended up with the responsibility of finishing the expense reports, getting the car registered, getting the mail from the P.O. Box, picking up Joe's work shirts at the dry cleaners and getting the groceries - with the kids and without a car. Go Me!

Which brings me back to studying the bus route so that I can get to Fred Meyer, pick up the car and start on all of these errands.

Headlines

• Huggies Supreme Diapers SUCK. Tristan leaks through them in an hour and half.
• Tristan's interest in potty training is somewhere below Not Even Interested.
• Joe got the lawn mowed yesterday and finished precisely as it started raining.
• He took the kids to go get gas for the mower and was gone for 2 hours.
• He also thought that was PLENTY of time for me to get a nap and a shower.
• He also saw a bear crossing the road.
• I'm tired of unpacking and moving and rearranging. Very tired.
• We still don't have a phone - someone screwed up and it might take until *this* Friday.
• The only thing that worries me about not having a phone is not being able to call 911.
• I've only had to call 911 once for an emergency.
• Joe slept in yesterday until 11 am.
• It's 9 am and he's still sleeping this morning too.
• Tristan has been taking a nap in the afternoons, which means he's up at 6 am.
• It hit me yesterday that WE ARE IN ALASKA! I know that sounds silly, but the reality hit hard yesterday. We aren't just on vacation. Our house is almost sold - which means it's not our house anymore. We have nowhere to go back to. This is it. For the next.three.years.
• I'm already ordering things online, instead of looking around here and being frustrated. Grace has Hello Kitty rainboots coming and Tristan's are Spiderman. I'll buy a good pair for myself and Joe here, but they are $60 on sale. Judging from the puddles - we're going to need them sooner rather than later.

I have to go change another diaper... Later ya'll!

Run with it...

I have had a productive day!

After a good night's sleep, I decided to take advantage of the excess energy. I worked on breaking down the multitude of boxes in the garage first. The movers will come back and pick them up, but only if they are broken down and they won't take the packing paper. I had stuffed about 10 boxes full of the paper and had to move it all into plastic trash bags until we can burn it. I can walk through the garage now, so there is a definite improvement.

I moved onto the Boxes I've Been Dreading Unpacking next. There are now no moving boxes inside that need to be emptied. There are a few that are needing to be repacked and stored or need shelves up to be put away, but they are out of the way for now. The kids have all of their toys accessible and I can get into their closet now.

I'm waiting for the last load of laundry to dry and I will be caught up with that.

So, onto the regular stuff.

I took more pictures of the neighborhood while we have sun. It's supposed to start raining again tomorrow. We had frost on the lawn this morning, so Joe will need to get the lawn mowed this afternoon for sure. It might be the only chance we get for a while.

Grace had her first trip to AWANA last night. It's a church club for kids 4 thru 6th grade. She was in tears before we left because she was going to miss us and then Tristan was in tears when we left her there because she wasn't coming home with us. I went back at 8 pm to pick her up and she was literally bouncing! Tristan had fun playing with all of the neighborhood kids too.

I'm hoping to get some time to get my craft area set up. I have a couple of things that need to get done this week and I'm running out of time. That is my goal for this afternoon!

The Photo Update

Among other things, today I got 290 photos uploaded to Snapfish. I still need to get them burned to disc, but hey, one thing at a time right? Anyway, I also found a couple of shots to share.

The first is of our new abode. We are in a cul-de-sac, facing another duplex that looks just like it. Well, all of the houses are duplexes, so there's really no point in taking pictures of them all. Some have boats in the yard (like our neighbor's) and there other interesting, if not subtle, differences. Some don't have the patio door downstairs. Those have been converted from 2nd apartment entrances to actual windows. One has a people door where the garage door should be - Voila! Garage = another bedroom. The one that makes me laugh the most is the window with the cat ladder to it. I'll share that at another time. :o)



The second stop today is the view from the kitchen window above the sink. There are several very tall trees in the back of the lot and I have a very cabin-y feel while I do the dishes.



The third stop is the Duck Park (as it is known here now) and the incredible view from the Duck Bench. I don't think many places can top the scenery here. If we could see over the trees from the kitchen window, this is similar to the view I would have from the duplex.



The last stop is Mendenhall Glacier and proof that the kids survived the move. The glacier is 2 miles from the duplex. People here call it a Drive-By Glacier for good reason. You can get a decent picture without ever getting out of the car in the parking lot. We hiked down to the lookout for this shot though! The bright blue iceberg (yes, iceberg) just right of Grace's shoulder had just rolled that morning. Once the ice has been open to the air for a while, it turns white.



That concludes this tour. There will be more as I get the photos organized.

I hope you all have had a great day!

Whoo Hoo!!

The counter offer on the house was accepted and signed this afternoon.

We just have to wait for the inspection, within the next 10 days and the closing should be Oct. 4th-ish. This is such a relief for me - almost as exciting as buying the house!

Now, car shopping... :o)

Hopeful...

I'm hoping my blogging will be better if I sit down in the morning and think through my day, before getting completely frustrated that "nothing" worked out and then coming here and complaining.

Last night was a lost cause. I won't go into it in detail, but it involved Grace's whining, the trash cans and Fun Dad.

Alrighty then, on to today...

I woke up in a panic at 6:15 am because I knew the trash cans hadn't made it to the street. So, now I'm dressed, the cans are waiting for pickup and the kids are still sleeping!

A brief note about the garbage collection here. When we were in the hotel (and I was just sitting around watching TV and gaining weight) there were tons of ads for the proper procedures of trash handling. You see, there are bears here. At least one sighting in town every week. So, no more "put the cans out on the street the night before and curse at the loud trucks at 6 am" like in Granite - that practice will get you a $250 fine. Here, there is a small window of time where it is legal to put out the cans, 4 am to 6 am on Trash Day. Which solves the problem with the loud trucks too - you can't be upset if you're already up.

Anyway, Tristan is now up. A whole 9 minutes of solitude. Heh.

I've got to go start making phone calls to the East Coast Relocation people and then figure out what I need to get done before I take the rental van back. I have a garage full of empty boxes that need to be picked up, I might need to hunt for a working fax machine and I need to contact the Property Manager about a list of things here at the house. I also need to put up some shelves downstairs, make 2 quilt blocks for a swap (and get them mailed) and work on a scrapbook layout I want to enter into a CK contest. Add in there a few boxes to be unpacked, some laundry, some meals and I've got a full day.

It's all closed for the holiday...

What a day.

Due to the holiday, I couldn't get anything, other than the usual and some unpacking and cleaning, done. I still need to find a working fax machine or wait until Joe does, so we can get the contract for the house sale. I got part of my crafting area put together, but not enough to where I could actually sit down and do anything. Maybe tomorrow I'll get the toys set up and be able to unpack in peace.

The neighbor came and took the kids for about an hour this afternoon. She has a 2 year old son that is a ball of energy and needs someone to help keep him entertained. They played with playdough and blocks while I managed to get the living room picked up, meat defrosted for dinner and a leisurely stop in the bathroom - alone.

Grace is still whining non-stop. I think it has to do more with me being busy with the normal stuff (instead of stuck in a hotel and at her constant beck and call) rather than not adjusting to the move. I could get everything unpacked and find out otherwise though.

It has rained since the morning we moved in here. There is now standing water in the ditch in front of the house. Like 6 inches or more. Welcome to the weather here.

Joe is stressed at work, which means he's of little help at home and that stresses me out more than I already am.

I am counting the days (hours, minutes) until we get our phone installed. I realized today that we don't even have a local telephone book.

I better get to bed, tomorrow is bound to be busier than today because everything will be open again.

Hoping for a Puke Free Day...

Well, that was yesterday morning. With a double scoop of whining and a migraine in the afternoon. Bah.

The best news of the day was that we have an offer on the house!

I'm excited, but at the same time we will be lucky to break even because the buyer wants us to pay all of the closing costs, close to $12,000. We have a pre-payment penalty on our loan ($3500) and our Realtor changed what he said originally and told Joe the commission was 9.5%. So, we will have to counter offer about the closing costs, but we can't do that until I find a working fax machine.

Today, we are skipping church because *I* don't want to get or share whatever bug is going around. Tristan is back to normal and so far, Grace hasn't had any fever. I did get a ear scan thermometer out of the whole thing and now the kids are begging to have me take their temp.

I finally found the VCR yesterday in one of the last kitchen boxes of all things. So, now the kids can argue about what video to watch. I haven't found any trash bags yet, but I found my candles. It's a surprise in every box!

It's going to be a few days before I feel like I'm level footing, but I'm a step closer with each box I get unpacked. I managed to make dinner last night, eaten on our regular dishes with the normal silverware - only to realize that the dishwasher isn't hooked up and I have to handwash everything. Of course it's a holiday weekend and the Property manager is out of town, not accepting messages and I will have to call back on Monday. In order to do that, I have to stand on the front porch or right by the upstairs window to get reception on my cell phone. I could go on, but I'll spare you. :o)

I best get moving. If the kids are still fever free this afternoon, I've got to get to the grocery store before we go back to one vehicle on Monday. I've been driving a rental van and it will be hard to give it up!

TGIF!

Hello!

I'm back. :o)

Things have been crazy here...duh. We had our stuff delivered yesterday and I'm about 1/2 way through unpacking. The Cable Guy was here this morning and now we have digital cable and internet, but still no landline phone. Maybe next week...

We just got back from checking out of the hotel - 4 large boxes full of groceries/papers/stuff, 1 trash bag with toiletries, a box of cheerios, a Costco size box of plastic silverware, a bunch of clothes on hangers and a inflatable beach ball. I also called my mom and let her know we were still alive. *winks* (I talked to her last week, so it's not like she hasn't heard from me.)

We slept here last night. My goal was to get the TV's set up, make all the beds and get the computer ready for the cable guy this morning. Mission Accomplished. The only hitch was the bed frame broke on our bed when the kids and Joe climbed on for Bedtime Stories. So now our bed is on the floor and I have a good reason to go find a nice headboard...As soon as the house sells.

That, unfortunately, has become our most used phrase. Let me share a few examples.

When the house sells... We will buy another vehicle, enroll the kids in some preschool, get a new computer, buy a house, take quilting classes, join the archery club, buy a couch and loveseat, repay my parents...

Regardless, I'm happy to be in a place other than the hotel. Right now everything is sort of double edged and I'm surviving on Mt. Dew, pain relievers and TV. Unpacking everything in the kitchen is really hard because it won't all fit. Our house has my perfect kitchen. It was the first place we've lived that I didn't have to stick pans above the cabinets and pile the top of the fridge high with cereal boxes. Now I'm having to sort and choose what I want close by and what gets stores downstairs/in the garage. It's a roller coaster for me.

I really should get this posted and get busy catching up. We're in for the rest of the day (it's still early afternoon here!) because Tristan is feverish and not really feeling himself. Suits me fine to not go out in the rain anymore today!

It's so good to be back! Smooches and thanks for missing me.