it's the little things...

Pretty lame year on the reading front but things have been a bit hectic.  Perhaps 2016!  Here's the list for posterity's sake: A Lesson Before Dying The Baker's Daughter Notorious Nineteen Takedown Twenty The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox The One and Only Ivan And the usual tons of children's books.  #6 is one, too, but it's a chapter book.  I thought we could read it aloud but it's still a little old for the kids.  I liked all of them. #5 was probably the one I wanted most to not end.  It felt like I needed to know what happened after the final page.  Good sign...

We are finally (FINALLY) at the portion of the program where the progress is something that I care about.  Not that I didn't care about progress before but things like new plumbing don't exactly make me giddy.  I couldn't fall asleep last night (even though I'm sickly AGAIN) because I really wanted to see the progress from yesterday.  Freakin' time change.  The guys were working late and I don't really want to drop by at night.  Them having a heart attack doesn't get me in the house any sooner. So we're looking at the end of the month.  I'm disappointed we won't be in by Thanksgiving but we'll work it out and will be thankful regardless.  I've been told by multiple people that they feel like they're going through this with us.  I take that to mean that they crammed their family in an apartment (and various other places) for nearly a year in solidarity.  No? Ok, fine.  What it really means is they want pics.  Here you go.  Obviously

It seems that right when things are getting really bad and crazy and you want to scream "I can't do this!" that's when they turn around.  Kind of like childbirth. So things are better.  I feel like we may actually live in our house again...something I was doubting before.  I started treating the contractors like I treat folks at work--I badger until I get a response (in a relatively nice way, of course).  It has actually resulted in--gasp--responses.  And I told them that I was going with the more generous part of the date range they gave me during our last big meeting.  So November 13th it is.  Please ignore that that's a Friday the 13th.  We're basing furniture delivery and leaving the apartment on that date so they have to stick with it.  Or else we'll be camping in the backyard, I guess. We've had a lot of progress in the last few weeks.  We have all the walls textured and several rooms painted.  All new doors and trim--all painted.  Bathroom v

I feel like making it 8 months out of the house before losing my mind was a pretty good run.  We're about a month past that and probably have almost two more to go before we're back in.  I'm honestly thinking of starting a GoFundMe campaign for my mental health care costs.  I try to go to sleep at night but just get angry and think of how I'd go on a tirade Julia Sugarbaker-style.  (Instead of, you know, slightly misplaced anger at strangers in a parking lot.) Also?  I waffle.  I try to calm down and think that none of this is a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  So many people are going through much worse.  At least I live in a safe place.  I don't feel the need to flee my country to bring safety to my children.  We have food and jobs and our general health.  But then I think that if I don't get mad we will literally never move back home.  NEVER.  And I want to scream.  So here's where we are.  We have walls and ceilings.  Allegedly they'll be

I saw this comic strip one time where a dog was complaining that he or she was always good, never great.  I don't know why "good girl" flows so much better than "great girl" but it does so that's what you tell them.  This morning, though, I told her she was a great girl.  And she was. We got Maggie about 6 months after we got married.  We knew we wanted a rescue, and I really wanted a Boxer.  I don't know what it was about her little ad that I liked over the others.  I am so sweet and I just roll with the flow where ever I go. Everyone who meets me says that I am just the sweetest little girl! You see, I was lost...and I got picked up by the county animal control. They put me in a large cage with lots of other dogs...but, that did not bother me...I just waited there because I knew that someone would come and see how sweet I am and get me out. Sure enough, one day a nice lady showed up and got me out of there. She put me in her car and I had a lovely

Hey, Buddy!  You're 3!  I can't believe my baby is three.  Sigh.  These days you go by a lot of different names other than your own--Buddy, Buddy Bear, Buns, Jojo, Joj. I think Jojo came from the Power Puff girls' Mojo Jojo.  I'd change it to [your name] Jojo.  And then dropped your name altogether.  Daddy calls you Super Son sometimes.  So, Jojo, what are you like these days?  Mostly awesome with a little bit of the whole "threenager" thing sprinkled in.  Oh my, speaking of sprinkles I guess I should start with a story from when we went on vacation in the Hill Country a few weeks ago.  You met your first love.  It was so funny; as soon as we got to the campground, we went to the pool.  You quickly found an age-appropriate little girl to woo.  After we changed, we went to the playground.  There you flirted with 3 sisters.  The oldest one (who turned 14 while we were there) is the person you say you're going to marry.  She was very sweet to you and you

To say I've fallen off the blog wagon would be an understatement.  Ho hum.  So, 2 months have gone by, and I have to say that my positivity is waning.  Being in relatively good spirits while being out of the house 7 months was a good long run. I think (in addition to just the length of time) it's because we've spent too long doing tasks that don't have a lot of gratification but are necessary.  Like electrical and plumbing.  Definitely want those but you don't get terribly excited seeing new pipes and wires.  Ok, I did get excited to see that the kitchen fluorescent lights had been replaced with can lights and pendants.  So what's been happening?  We have windows (except for a few downstairs) and siding and exterior paint.  The garage is almost completely done--need a few trim pieces and the garage door.  Everything inside has been sealed.  We have ductwork but no AC units.  All the flooring has been removed.  We've made decisions regarding changes we want

I can't believe I used to blog so much. Of course, that was pre-children. Anywho, it's been awhile since an update. We're still working on the exterior so that it's secure before moving on to the interior.  And, you know, we've had more rain in the last few months than we've probably had over the last 5 years.  But!  Other than where windows need replacing, we have exterior walls!  And our covered patio was rebuilt. And we have lots of interior wood replaced including all the rafters.  So basically everything that was above the 2nd floor ceiling has been replaced.  It wasn't just a quick shingle replacement.  Really, it's like a 3rd of our house has been rebuilt.  And then nearly all of the interior will be.  This is the kitchen looking into the laundry room. And the attic above our bedroom.    So things are really coming along.  We've had a few days without rain (even though it looked like it could rain at any moment pretty much

Last week, exactly 3 months to the day later, demo started on our house. They've made a lot of progress since then, and we usually stop by almost daily to see what's happening. It's interesting to see the guts of your house. We also have electricity hooked up. Finally. So many hoops to jump through before you can even make the request. I wanted to post pics here but just don't have time to upload everything right now. I'll put some on FB. Doing a lot of shopping these days. Lots of decisions to make but I love it. So, yeah, if you hate shopping? Don't ever (re)build a house. One interesting thing is that everything inside the house was black/grey because of all the soot and ashes. Now everything looks clean because of drywall dust. And from the outside? Time just keeps rolling on. Spring is here. Flowers and bulbs are blooming. Can't wait to get back home.

We remain in the tentatively exciting stage. How long can one remain there before that tentative excitement wears off? We'll see... We're in the apartment now. I hadn't lived in one in YEARS. It's really not bad. Definitely more space than the hotel and it feels more "ours" than the grandparents'. It really is a beautiful property--so wooded and quiet. Overall, everyone has settled in. I've tried to make it feel like home with some decorations, art, photos, etc. But still, it's much more brown than I normally go for. The only thing I don't like is how tiny the 1-car garage is. I mean, yes, we have a garage. But we have to park in it because we only get one other space. We'll see, though. As time goes by we may need to store some things in it. Still haven't gotten our clothes back but that should change tomorrow. There was an issue with a check from the insurance company not making it to us so we had to wait to get t

Again, I've been meaning to write something. But, again, I've been hoping to have more exciting news. I guess we're kinda at the tentatively exciting stage. Maybe. That sounds convincing, right? We're still at the in-laws'. We were supposed to have moved into the apartment today but that got pushed back to Friday. That means we'll be here to welcome the in-laws back from vacation. And hang with them a few days. So the apartment was all kinds of fun. Everything went swimmingly the last day I posted. Then the next day we were told we couldn't move in there at all due to a new company policy not allowing leases shorter than 12 months. I called them and was on the verge of tears, threw the kitchen sink at them, they called corporate and had a "change of heart." Then last week they had a wrong date for move-in. Whatever. I'm rolling with it but not counting on moving in until I'm actually in. And then it will be harder for the

It's my birthday, and I gloriously took the day off. It's been awhile since an update but I guess that's because there hasn't been much to say. Annoyingly. We moved out of the hotel at the end of last month. I weaned myself from the family that week. Hubby came over first to take care of the dogs and for me to let him have a tiny break. Then I sent Buns over because he had to go to daycare the next day while I took Chicken to her 4-year pedi visit. And then I had a night to myself. I was hoping it would be glorious but there ended up being work crises. At least I could handle them without the help of my tiny co-workers. Being here is great for the kids, I think. They're so familiar with the place and have their own rooms (that they feel really belong to them). And it's super near daycare. Obviously it's bigger than the hotel, and Maggie gets some outside time more easily. It's still just not our own place. But we're happy to have it

Child, I'm ridiculously behind on about all things these days. But you're 4!  When we planned your brother's birthday party, you told me that you want a princess party yourself. It wasn't surprising then and you stuck with it for 6 months. We narrowed it down to a Frozen theme, however. I had all sorts of fun ideas and even looked into getting snow but then all hat fell to the wayside when our house caught on fire. The opposite of a Frozen party...  But we took advantage of the birthday package at the gym you and your brother attend and it worked out great. I feel like I phoned it in but y'all had a good time and Mommy didn't go insane so win-win. You are still so smart and chatty. You ask TONS of questions. Sometimes when I say something you will repeat it under your breath, like you're processing it and committing it to memory. You do have a fantastic memory. You still have a lot of empathy and love babies. You're very resilient, as evidenced by this

I can finally breathe at work for a bit. And by "a bit" I probably should mean about 5 minutes. But I'll spend a few more here. I wish I had the day off and could just do whatever outside. It's so beautiful. I would die up north. A week and a half of dreary days in the 40s leaves me just this side of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Obviously the weather makes me distracted and rambly. Back to business. If you've been playing along on FB you saw that I got a new car. It's a 2015 Highlander. I love it. It's a greenish grey color that doesn't show up well in photos, and it's way fancier than I am. I think we got a good deal but even better than that, we got something big crossed off the list. I had one glorious solo ride in it. Without carseats even. But then back to reality...which, of course, I wouldn't trade for anything. We're still at the hotel, and things are still going well. Our transition to the grandparents' house starts next we

I remain exhausted but still wanted to let y'all know how things are going. It feels like there has been a lot of progress in the last week. My car was removed from the "garage" yesterday. Yea! Hopefully I'll have a check for that by next week. We've done a bit more research and more test driving and I think we are narrowed down to two. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've car shopped with toddlers/preschoolers. Oh, did I mention that I had about 6 payments left on my old car? Isn't that the way it always goes? I love our hotel. People are so nice and it doesn't feel weird staying here. Maybe it's because I've stayed in so many hotels over the last several years for work. It's really quiet, and I'm able to work fairly well here. It's obviously much smaller but that hasn't been a problem yet. And I have to say that I do enjoy that someone else cleans and cooks (at least several meals). Someone who isn't me.

Super light reading year. I don't know what I did with my time... 1. Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises 2. The Secrets of Happy Families 3. The Fault in Our Stars 4. Heartbroke Bay One was Hemingway at least. And I'm retiring the following as I think they're all in storage post-fire: 1. And Baby Makes Three 2. The Happiest Toddler on the Block 3. Daring Greatly Maybe 2015 will be more exciting. I do miss curling up with a good book.