Back With a Bang!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly you have to jump back into the hustle and bustle of life after a vacation. I got home Friday night, and had half of Saturday to get my house back in order before real life took over again.

Don't get me wrong...I loved the 10 days away, I had plenty of down time and it was fantastic to have a break, but they were exhausting in their own right, and I need more than half a day to recuperate.

After a busy Saturday and Sunday, this morning we signed closing papers on the old house! Finally!!! We can breathe a huge sigh of relief now that gigantic burden has been lifted. Making the decision to sell the house was very difficult but the peace that has come with it has been such a confirmation that we did the right thing, and a huge blessing.

Also, today is #2's 5th birthday! I can't believe my Beefy is already a 5-year-old. It was so weird registering him for Kindergarten a few weeks ago, and realizing that I'm not really a Mom of little kids anymore. There is still the sister - but I have to school-age kids now. When did that happen?...

Anyway, it's good to be home.

Look What the Tax Return Fairy Brought Me!

Yeah, I pretty much totally and completely love it. It plays beautifully (even if it's player doesn't ; )) It's in tune (something my other piano was not), and all the keys work (so very cool! Another feature my old piano did not posses.)


I even love the shiny black finish (it wasn't my first choice but it's what fit in the budget). I'm just really grateful for my big bottle of ammonia-free Windex to help me battle the fingerprints.

The Living Room

So, the house is starting to come together, slowly (a lot slower than I am used to going). We finally picked a paint color and painted the living room (or really the living part of the great room) a couple of weeks ago. The kitchen is next, but picking a paint color (a good brick red, that doesn't come out looking magenta) is proving harder to do than I thought. Hopefully that will come soon. Until then:

Before:









After:

Settling in

After a full two weeks here, I can finally say that it's starting to feel like home. Boxes are mostly unpacked, furniture is arranged, and I have plans to get pictures hung and paint colors finalized by the end of this week. All in all-not bad.

This move has been different than any other time we've moved just because it's been such a process. In the past it has been a pack it all up/empty it all out/unpack it all at the new place. Not so much this time around. I moved via the "laundry basket method" (ie: fill up a bunch of baskets, take them over and unpack them, go back and repeat) so it has taken longer. We still have the garage from the old house to move over (tools, camping stuff - you know) and then it will just be cleaning and closing. It feels really good to be almost done. It has been hard, once we were moved out, to get back over to the old house to finish up the last few things. Life, for some reason, just doesn't allow me the extra hours I need to just go get it all done.

I'm liking the new house. There are some things that have driven me crazy (leaky dishwasher, boring tan walls) but there are lots of things I am starting to love too - and I think overall I will be happy here.

The kids are adjusting too. The move put us into the boundaries of a new school (incidentally, a much nicer/better one) but at the Bugster's request we are letting him stay at the old school through the end of the year. The distance is about the same, and there is no bus service so I'd be driving either way-it wasn't worth the fight. I am having a hard time with the drop-off/pick-up routine. I was spoiled with the bus stop right in front of the house before, I hate having to load everyone up twice a day to get him to and from school. Especially when I have to wake the Sister up from her nap.

Anyway, that is what has been going on with us. I will have pictures soon (hopefully) plus some crafty stuff I've been working on. Until then...

Thanks for reading!

Moving

Yeah, we're moving this week. Yeah, I kind of forgot how much I hate it. I think eventually - When the old house is clean and empty, and the new house is clean and full - then I'll have that funny amnesia and forget all about how sucky this part is. Until then, I've got a hundred more boxes/baskets to unpack (and find a home for their contents) so that I can refill them and start over again. Yay!

But really, things are moving along pretty well. We are at the point that we are staying at the new house with most of the essentials (minus furniture -that is coming tomorrow). After that, it will just be getting those odds and ends, and stuff that "needs-to-come-eventually-but-I-won't-die-if-I-don't-have-it-today". So, we're getting there. But, I really want to start crafting and decorating, and can't yet. That's the part that's killing me.

In the mean time. I'm looking for ideas for paint. This new place is screaming for some color. Anyone have some favorites that I might not have thought about yet? Thanks!

Casa

We're moving. Here. Next Week. Yay!

Our Christmas

The kids are back in school, I send my husband back to work tomorrow, and I can officially get back to normal after my two full weeks of chaotic-routine-smashing-bliss. We had a great Christmas vacation, with lots of time with friends and fun outings, and fun staying at home time too. I kept things really simple and didn't over plan too much, and it went fantastically well.

On the last day of school, I got to go help out in the Buggster's class for their hot chocolate/polar express party. It was really fun to see him in his classroom. I wish I could help out more.

We made a couple of trips to Jump Planet, and a couple of trips to the Children's Museum (so glad I bought that membership). We've got to go out to eat, and go shopping, looked at lights, played video games, watched it snow (and attempted to play in it, but it was too cold) and got to spend time with friends. Santa came, and was especially nice this year, with everyone getting what they wanted - and there was much time spent by all playing with new toys.

And on the house front - We have a buyer! We went under contract around the middle of the month and now are just waiting for bank approval (because we are taking a loss/selling for much less than we bought for - the bank has to approve the sale). This could take some time, but they are committed, so we finally feel comfortable looking for a new place to live. Our main criteria is that it is a house within our ward boundaries. We've looked at a lot, just haven't found the right one yet. Hopefully soon.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas too. I love the Joy that this season brings as we celebrate the birth of the Savior and His life. It is such a wonderful thing. One of my goals for the new year is to keep that Joy, and keep my focus on Him more fully throughout the year. I can't wait!

Today - I Feel Like I've Been Hit by a Truck...

...Because I have.

So really this story starts, as usual, with us running late on Sunday morning. Seriously - we have 1:00 church, and yet we still manage to be rushing out the door each week. Anyway - I had the house mostly ready for a showing that was happening after church, but then the kids ate lunch (ie: made a big mess) and I left it for when we got home.

Well, then of course, I get a voicemail halfway through the meetings, and when I check it - it's someone else who wants to see the house, before we were going to get home. So, I decided I would run home really quick during Sunday School, pick up the big mess, and be back before I was even missed.

Moral of the story: Don't skip church. Just let them see your house messy.


As I was heading back to the church, I was stopped at a stop sign when a kid in an old beater truck tried to come around the corner going too fast. He lost control, didn't turn and crashed into me instead.

I'm okay, the teenagers in the truck are okay, that is what matters.

Thankfully, my neighbor (who is also my friend, and happens to be my insurance agent, and goes to church with me) was headed home to pick up something she had forgotten and saw me shortly after the accident happened. She got me back to the church with my car seats to pick up my family.

Thankfully, I was only really a block from home, and didn't have to drive my crunched car very far.

Thankfully, my chiropractor is also in my bishopric and told me to come in first thing in the morning, and to call him if I needed him sooner.

Thankfully, we have really good friends who had already offered to feed us dinner, and who conveniently had two cars at church.

Thankfully, I have zero fault in this accident, and the other driver's insurance will pay for absolutely everything.

Thankfully, I was alone - no kids in the car (a rarity) and I was in my big car, not my husband's little tin can with wheels.

Thankfully, even in a bad situation, I was being watched out for. And I am safe.


I am pretty sore today. I hit my head on the side window at the impact. I went in this morning for some x rays. My neck is pretty messed up, but otherwise nothing too serious. I feel lucky.

My car...is not so lucky. It looks pretty sad. The collision messed up the whole front end, so the driver's side door only opens a little, and the passengers side door (although there isn't much damage over there) won't open at all. The driver's side quarter panel is smashed, and my bumper and grill cover are hanging on by a thread only. The hood has been totally displaced, and the quarter panel on the passengers side has subsequently found a new place to live. Not at all a happy situation.




The insurance company should be coming out to look at it tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have a rental minivan. They tried to give me a sedan, but I put up a stink (have you ever tried to get three car seats in the back of a sedan? Not very easy). Anyway, it isn't even really a cool van, and it didn't take me very long to remember why I love my SUV. It just drives differently.

It's only been a day and I miss it already.

All in all, I'm glad everything is okay. My car should be fixed soon, and I have something to haul the family around in until then. Even if I do feel like a dork in it. I will be seeing the chiropractor quite a bit for the next little while, but the personal injury insurance covers massage (something my regular health insurance doesn't) so there is a small silver lining in all of these storm clouds.

And just for a touch of sheer irony... Somebody stopped by last minute to see the house today - and yeah, it was totally messy.

The House

This post has been a while in the making, it's been a little bit hard to figure out how to write.

So, I'll use pictures.

This is our house:
Here's the front door:

This is what the front door looked like as of 3 weeks ago:

Here's what our yard looked like as of last Friday:

Yep, our house is for sale.

It wasn't a decision that we came to easily or lightly, but it's one that after much prayer and deliberation, we feel good about.

See, we bought our house in August of 2007. For any of you out there that also bought a home in 2007, that is probably all I need to say. But, I will continue.

So, when we bought, the bank got creative with our loan (more than we had any realization of). Now three years later we are stuck in a toxic mortgage with literally no other way out.

Our payments are skyrocketing to an unreasonable amount. We have lost too much value for a traditional refinance (we've tried, and tried) and the "private investor group" (ie: greedy pigs) that own our loan are "unwilling to offer" a loan restructure. Because the loan is privately owned and not backed by Freddie or Fanny, all of the government help out there is unavailable to us.

To put it frankly, we got hosed.

We've been feeling strongly for a while that we need to be focused on getting out of debt. And this will put us one step closer to being able to do it. No, it's not ideal be we've made our peace with it and that is what matters.

We will be renting for a while (I absolutely don't want another mortgage after being burned so badly with this one). We have a few prospects out there, but if anyone near us knows of any good rentals available - please let me know.

So that is where we're at. It's the reason I haven't posted much lately, and it is why my days are filled with paper work, phone calls, and making sure my house is clean while trying to still be a Mom, wife, and all other titles that I fill at this point in my life. My prayers are for things to move quickly, and for a really good outcome. Any other prayers on our behalf (for a good outcome) would be much appreciated.

Thanks...

Another Reason Why I Love My Husband

He's Handy.

**Okay, yes - the pictures kind of stink. I also don't have any "before" pictures, of what a huge disorganized mess this closet was. Just rest assured that this is a massively huge improvement over the standard issue single shelf wire rack thingy that was housed in this closet before.

Our Other New Addition

This is the one thing that I requested from my husband when I got pregnant with this baby. We've had it for a while now, and I am absolutely in love with it. I foresee the upcoming sleepless nights being much more bearable now.

Baby's Room

These were among the 30+ pictures that have been sitting in my camera, waiting to be uploaded for some time now.


This is what we have completed (so far) in "Baby Sister's" room. This is by no means the final product (those photos will come soon though, hopefully) - I'm still not 100% sold on the furniture arrangement, and there are shelves, chair rail, and other little things that need to be hung on the walls.



Overall though, I am really pleased with how it has come out so far.

TV Room

We have lived in our house for 9 months now, and we finally got around to decorating the TV Room. It is kind of crazy contemporary, but I am really loving it. Here is what we did. *Please note the lack of wall hangings-I'm stuck, really needing ideas, I hope I figure something out soon as empty walls drive me bonkers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our new entertainment center (thank you IKEA)


We bought this couch from our home teacher in our previous ward for $25. It was well loved (by us as well as its previous owner). But new slipcovers for it and its accompanying pillows make a world of difference.

And this is how it all ties together (or fits) in our very small TV room (it is really a guest bedroom on the floor plan). The wall color is really starting to grow on me. I expected it to be much lighter, and when we only had half the room painted, it looked kind of "toothpaste blue". It has since dried to a much nicer hue and even though it is rather bold, I really think it is fun (and will be more so when I figure out what to put on those darn empty walls).