What do you do all day?

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Whew....so much going on! Moving day is tomorrow at my school. There is a tarp on our gym floor and it is slowly filling up with boxes from the various classrooms, with more to come tomorrow as the kids empty their lockers. The movers will mostly concentrate on loading the boxes from the gym onto trucks, while the students and teachers will continue moving boxes to the gym. It will be interesting tomorrow! I am impressed by our 32 year old brand new principal. He is really doing a good job, although of course there are complaints....aren't there always? I wouldn't want his job, that's for sure. I baked some cookies tonight (peanut butter blossoms.....they look good despite my ineptitude) so that I could give some to him, the assistant principal, and our three secretaries. They have all had a lot on their shoulders this week!

Half of the faculty spent the morning in the new building this morning, and the other half was there this afternoon. I was in the morning group. I am pretty pissed about some of the things in my new room. My white board is *smaller* than the chalkboard I am leaving behind, and I thought IT was too small. There are mirrors lining the side of my classroom (why, I don't know, since I didn't ask for them) and they are such cheap crap that they might as well be funhouse mirrors. They totally distort everything, not just at the edges, but everywhere. I asked my principal if they could take those down and give me more whiteboard instead and he hemmed and hawed and said it would be a change order, blah blah blah, and I just said, "Look at the size of that board, Matt.....it BLOWS!" He was quiet for a minute and then said "Yes, it really does blow. I will see what I can do." I would have never talked that way to my former principal (who was much older) and it was a relief to just be honest. The decisions that have been made pre-date this guy (and honestly, were probably made at a higher level anyway) so he doesn't feel attacked when I point out the stupidity of some of the stuff.

I took a personal day yesterday, which was fortuitous since we had a two-hour delay due to slick roads.....I would have gotten very little done AND would have had to stay later than I usually do, which would have annoyed me greatly. I got most of my shopping done (mostly for DH) and then DH and I drove to the south side of the city to make our lighting choices for the house. I was stressed about the appt., but it actually went very smoothly and we came in under-budget (probably because we went OVER budget on electrical since DH put in so many canned fixtures, but I digress.....) by a little bit. That was the *last* choice we had to make, so we went to Melting Pot to celebrate (there was one right by the lighting showroom). It was nice to have dinner out alone with DH.....can't remember the last time that happened! (I probably posted about it.....I should look back!) When we got home, DH helped me organize and wrap some of our gifts. We have such a motley collection of paper and recycled gift bags -- it is pathetic looking. But there is no way I am buying new this year, only to move it all in a few months. No saving gift bags this year, though.....out they go! I think some of them are on their 5th or 6th year. (I know this only because I remember what grade Luke was in when he did a gift wrap fundraiser....)

Tonight Luke and Joel were supposed to have bball games across town, but we are due to get more freezing rain, so the games were cancelled. DH is working an in-house shift tonight, which sucks, but it is the last one before he has a week off. Tomorrow will be an early morning, because I have a faculty Christmas brunch (male teachers make omelets for everyone else and people bring in sweet rolls, etc. YUMMY!) that begins at 7:30. That means I will need to drop the boys at early care around 7:00 <gulp>. DH scheduled his office Christmas luncheon for tomorrow (supposedly his day off) at 2:00, and since he had that on the agenda, he decided to go ahead and schedule a surgery for tomorrow morning. :banghead: Let's see.....we lost his last Friday off due to the funeral in KS, and he decides that his time is better spent at work on WHAT SHOULD BE A DAY OFF *SIX* DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS! What.the.hell was he thinking?

The walls of my house are primed in the colors we chose. It is almost scary now that it is getting so close to being done! The trim crew has started working and today when I stopped by, I saw that the newel posts at the top of the stairway to the basement are done and have been placed. I went by our flooring place the other day (I had a couple of questions) and saw that they had a new line of hardwood with several choices that were in budget. I looked through them and found a sample of a hard-scraped maple with a dark glaze that I liked MUCH better than our original choice, which was oak. The maple has less grain and is available in a wider plank, and I also like the hard-scraped look. So I was psyched about that.

I am feeling a little guilty about Christmas for the boys. I spent about $150 on each of them, and that is plenty, I know, but honestly, our impending move and my knowledge about the "toys" (ping-pong table, air hockey, pinball machine) we plan on getting once we are in the new house caused me to hold back quite a bit. I think they are old enough to understand the situation this year, and I certainly don't need more crap around here to pack up, but it makes me a little sad. We are going to celebrate Christmas on Monday I think, since we are leaving for KS Tuesday a.m.

My Dad arrives tomorrow night for the weekend, and we will be celebrating Christmas with him and with my half-sister and her family on Sunday afternoon after church. I'm thinking pizza sounds good. I will also be hosting my mom and sisters on New Years Day for another get-together. Pizza might sound good then, too. My mom still doesn't get that Travis will have to work every day one of the holiday weeks. She is acting all spoiled that we won't be coming to her house, but there is no way I am leaving Travis here in an empty house on New Year's Day. She keeps saying stuff like "There is no point in even putting up the tree if your boys won't see it." AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

DH informed me this morning that movers and a "pod" (those storage units) will be arriving on Monday also. CRAP! We are going to put some things in storage to make our rooms look more spacious, and we are also getting new bedroom furniture (which will become guest room furniture in the new house) because when the realtor walked through our home, he asked us if our master was a "spare room" . We have never bought master BR furniture, and I guess it is kind of obvious. After all, I have never seen an elliptical machine, cat tower, Sauder dresser, two computers, packed bookshelf, hand-me-down dresser, bed with no headboard, and $3 bedside tables in the after-shots on HGTV. So we are going to attempt to spruce things up, but may kill each other in the process. Our plan is to list the house soon after the holidays.

Well, after that stream-of-consciousness vent about all of my stressors, I guess I will sign out!

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Wow, what a day yesterday. We were in the car for 14.5 hours for what is usually a 10 hour trip, and we also really almost could have been killed. We drove through the freezing rain "event" that moved through IL and IN yesterday, and lost control of our Suburban not too far into IL. It had started raining about the time we crossed the state line, and DH had slowed down a little, (from 65 to 55) knowing that it was bound to get slick since the temps were below freezing. All of the sudden a gust of wind caught us and we were skating from one lane to the other, angling every which way, with no way to control the car. It was very, very, very scary. We hit a stake on one side of the road, which sent us hurtling across to the median, where we finally came to a stop and were able to get out, which was fortuitous because there were lots of iced over puddles down in the ditch where we were. We actually had to wait quite a while to pull back onto the road because there was so much traffic, although by some miracle there had been NO ONE around us when we started sliding. I was *sure* we were going to roll the Suburban and was yelling the whole time at everyone to sit up straight and hold onto something (no idea if that would have been helpful, but I felt like I needed to do something to prepare). The stake dented our car and ripped out our tail light, but DH was able to pop it back in and it still is working. Shortly after we got back on the road, the windshield started icing over, so we cranked up the defroster and then watched in surprise a few minutes later when a crack began on my side and ran completely across the entire width of the windshield. We pulled off at the next exit to eat and take stock, and decided to keep going after calling my in-laws and checking the weather/traffic reports. We were through the worst of the icy conditions by then but it was pretty tense driving the rest of the way across IL. We crossed into MO and thought we were good to go, and then hit this http://www.ksdk.com/video/default.aspx?aid=90227 east of St. Louis. (The link is supposed to be to a story about how I-70 was closed for several hours due to a fatal accident.) That event is what caused us to lose so much time, but we finally made it back onto the interstate, watched the temperature gauge like a hawk, and made it to my in-laws late last night. We woke up to several inches of snow this morning and are so glad we don't have to get out in it!

I have had a leisurely morning and had the chance to upload photos so I can post some here!

This is our front door. The newest development is the stair newels and railing. The trim carpenter has been working for about a week, and I love the way things are starting to look.


This is the great room fireplace.


This is the kitchen, showing the pantry area. There will be a built-in bench to the left (as you look at it) of the pantry.


This is the dining area, with the back view beyond it.


This is my laundry room (LOVE the color!) and you can also sort of see the cabinets that will be installed in there.


This is the master bathroom tub.


This is the master bathroom walk-in shower.


This is the master bedroom fireplace.


This is another view of the master bedroom. The darker wall is the wall where our headboard will be, and this room will have a chocolate brown frise carpet....I am very excited to see it come together!


That's enough of the house for now! I would love to take some pictures of the basement, but it has been so cloudy that there hasn't been enough light down there to take pictures when I have been at the house. I think once the trim guy starts down there, there will be more lighting plugged in and I will take pics then.

We celebrated Christmas Sunday night. The kids loved the stuff they got and we had a nice time. It was a little weird to celebrate early, but worth it to not have to transport everything to KS. Here are my goofy boys:


My goofy husband (so handsome, despite his goofiness!):


My goofy self, with the goofy dog:


And finally, a picture taken by a parent at my choir concert a few weeks ago. This is my 7th grade choir, all 75 of them, who rocked the house during their part of the program.


Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah/Happy New Year to everyone!

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Wow, it has almost been a month since I posted. Lots going on. I need to post new house pictures, but I haven't taken any (shame, shame) so I have nothing to post. All of the trim and built-ins are finished, and except for the kitchen, all of the cabinets/countertops are installed. The kitchen cabinets/countertops should be installed by the end of the week. Some of them are already up and I love them! It is so nice to see all of the little details I chose last summer coming together in a good way! The painters have started working and that will take about three weeks. Then the hardwood/tile will be installed, and then closets, carpet, and finish work. It won't be long now!

We listed our current house last Wednesday, just before the sub-zero temps hit Indiana. Perfect timing. We are in the zone of keeping everything picked up and I have been pleasantly surprised at how the boys have stepped up. We'll see how long it lasts. We have our first showing on Friday morning, and then an open house on Sunday afternoon. We have a deal with our realtor that he will buy it from us on a four year contract if it doesn't sell in 120 days. If we end up doing that, we will still have a mortgage for four more years, but he will be making monthly payments to us that are only about $50 less than our house payment. He gave us several references of people who have sold on contract to him, and one of them was a nurse that works on L&D, so DH checked it out with her and she was very happy with the program. It will keep us from having two big mortgage payments, so that is good.

I think we are through the worst of the transition to the new building at school. My new room is much nicer than my old one, especially the technology, but since the school is so much bigger, I *never* see anyone else. The other teachers say the same thing, but I think my situation is exacerbated because I am in a completely different part of the building than the academic teachers. I used to have a science teacher next door and lockers outside my classroom, but I have none of that now. The band room is next door, but the band director teaches at the high school in the mornings, so by the time he comes over to the middle school, it is about time for me to go. On the bright side, I am getting LOTS of work done! My kids have Solo & Ensemble Contest coming up on February 7th, where they sing solos (or they can enter in a small group) for a judge and are evaluated according to a rating sheet and given a 1st, 2nd, or (hopefully not) 3rd place rating. I have 28 different entries this year, which is great, except someone has to accompany all of these entries and there is no way one person can do it all since they are scheduled in several different rooms over the same time period. My regular accompanist is going to help me, but there was still no way the two of us could do it, so my MIL is driving here from KS to help! I used to help her with this same thing when I was in college and she was teaching, so she figured she would do this for me. She has to be at Purdue the next weekend for a conference anyway, so she is just driving here early. I am so grateful to her! She is an intense person with lots of energy (like mother, like son!) but when that intensity is directed in a way that helps you, it's all good!

I didn't end up having school this past Friday because of the cold weather (our buses wouldn't start) but my kids had school as usual. It was DH's Friday to be off, so we had a great (unexpected!) day together, and Monday, he and I were both off, too, and the boys once again had school. SO no complaints from me about time with DH for awhile, I guess. We made the most of it! (Working on house stuff, of course!)

Time to put some kids to bed.....pictures soon, I hope!

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Okay, picture time! My kitchen cabinets are in, and I love them. No countertops in there yet, though. Maybe next week.

Here is a picture of the kitchen.



The hutch piece w/stained glass in corners of middle upper cabinets (the piece you see leaning against them is the backsplash for the center area):



The island, with space for a dishwasher:



The "appliance wall", where the refrigerator, cooktop, and microwave/oven will be. All the appliances will be stainless. There is also a spice drawer in this section, and I am psyched about that. All of the drawers have the thing where they close automatically, which I think will also be nice.



Another picture of the whole thing, from a different angle.



This is our built-in bench that is just to the left of the scene in the previous picture. The seat lifts up and I think I will keep vases and Yankee Candles and other odds and ends in there.



Here is my newly stained front door:



and the stair railing to the basement:



Great room fireplace and built-ins....lower cabinets will have doors. (taken from the kitchen):



Music room cabinetry....kind of hard to take a picture of, but it lines the whole wall and goes floor-to-ceiling. I think we have enough music to fill most of it up already.



Laundry room with cabinets. I love the color of this room.



Master bath cabinets:



Master bedroom fireplace and built-ins (there will be cabinet doors on the bottom sections):



Other side of master bedroom built-ins:



Basement built-ins (also with cabinets all along the bottom to hide all the video game crap!):



Basement kitchen (which the painters have been using for now, apparently....see the microwave?):



Kids' computer/study area in the basement. I am going to put my infamous huge bulletin board between the upper cabinets.



Cute closet/cubbyhole under the stairs:



Thanks for looking!

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Moving day(s) are six weeks away!

The painters are all done (except for final touch-ups) and the tile guys have started working.....so far, so good. My kitchen countertops have finally been installed and I really like them. It was hard to compare a sample chip of the countertop to a little piece of cabinetry and decide that it would look good.....I was a little apprehensive! Now if my backsplash looks good, too, I will rest easy. All tile and hardwood should be in by next weekend. Then comes lighting, closets (shelving, etc.), and plumbing fixtures, followed by carpet and final trim/paint touch-ups. We are getting really excited, but are also trying to get a handle on what we will owe to the builder at closing (the things where we went over budget) and what $$$$ we will need to bring to the bank (shouldn't be much). We also need to figure out our taxes. We have been socking away as much money as we could, but it will be nice to have some figures in black and white, especially because there are some things we want to buy for the house (flat screen tvs, new furniture) but I don't want to get my heart set on anything if we won't have the cash right away. There is NO WAY I am going back down the consumer debt trail now that we are almost off of it for good.

I don't know when it was that I last posted, but I am now past the busiest week of my year (which culminates in Solo & Ensemble Contest) and life is GOOD now that it is over! I had 31 entries (almost all soloists, just three ensembles) and the kids came away with 21 1st place ratings and 10 second place ratings. They are "competing" against a score sheet, not each other, but it is so gratifying to see them taking the next step as performers. I was very proud of them! My mother-in-law had come out to help me accompany all of the students, and it was a godsend that she was here because I got strep throat the week before Contest. Of course. I got on antibiotic and kept going to school, but having her there too really saved my bacon. My youngest had strep this week, so I stayed home one day with him.

The boys don't have school tomorrow, but I do (snow make-up day) so it is lucky that DH is off after about 10 a.m. tomorrow (since he has been on call all weekend). The older boys' bball season is FINALLY over and it is kind of the end of an era.....I have driven the Lutheran school circuit for games every fall and winter for the past four years.....no more! Of course, the damage has been done.....the Suburban currently has 199,253 miles on it. The boys and I will finish the second trimester at our respective schools this Friday. The third trimester always FLIES by, and I am sure this year will be no different. I will need to register Luke for high school as soon as we move (don't currently live in the district) and I can hardly believe my baby (who is six feet tall) is this old! He will be 14 in April, and it really doesn't seem like so long ago when he was giving me fits as a toddler/preschooler. Honestly, he still gives me fits at times, but I am proud of the young man that he is. He's trying to make choices about which classes he will take and which sports he will go out for....I hope he is good enough to keep playing basketball, because I really enjoy watching the game!

I am feeling a little sad that the homebuilding process is coming to an end. It has been really, really nice to have a project to work on with DH. I have loved spending time talking through various choices with him. I have shared this with him, and he has reminded me that since we are *never* moving again, there will be lots more projects that we can work on together. It is strange wrapping my head around the fact that this house is IT for the rest of our parenting years, at least, and hopefully for our grandparenting years as well. (Except for when we are wintering someplace WARM!) We have moved six times in our 18 years of marriage (I guess this next move will make it 7 moves by the time our 19th anniversary rolls around) and have always known from the moment we stepped into a "new" home that we would be leaving it. It is a new concept to think about spending years and years in one house, and although it is my "dream", it feels really permanent and like an end to our young, transitory years. Not really bittersweet, but definitely a change to get used to.

I need to take more pictures of the house....I will try to get that done this week. I am loving all of the pictures of the new babies! I don't think I have been very good about posting congrats to all of you with new little ones, but know that they have been sent.

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Still no pics, sorry! I will try to grab my camera when I leave the house tomorrow to take some shots so I can update here.

I don't have students tomorrow....we have an end-of-trimester work day at school, which is much appreciated by yours truly! Choir contest is coming up, and I need to clear out all the crap from this trimester and get focused on the rest of the year (only 12 more weeks!!!! ). On Saturday, I have ~25 kids attending a choral festival for the day (with me) and getting them rehearsed despite school delays and cancellations (we rehearse before school) and various illnesses has been a challenge! I really think this festival is valuable because it allows my most talented kids to learn music that is a step above what we are able to tackle in class, but it is always a hard slog to get them ready, not to mention that I give up another Saturday to do this with them.

My new building is being dedicated on March 8th, a Sunday. My principal came to me a couple of weeks ago and asked if some of my kids could provide some music for the ceremony (National Anthem and one other song). I said yes, somewhat stupidly, but when you get a chance to flaunt your program to the administrators, you take it, right? He asked me the week I had strep and was up to my eyebrows in getting kids ready for solo and ensemble contest. So fast forward to this week.....I mass emailed all of my 8th grade parents an explanation of what the kids have been asked to do, and a permission slip that I wanted them to return today. I only got 15 of them back. Our National Anthem is not easy and I think I probably need more than 15 kids (at least the 15 who signed up ) to make it sound good. As for the other song, these fifteen kids are split between two choirs and don't know the same songs. I am going to open the event up to the 7th graders, but my problem of what song to sing (and when to rehearse it, since I will be dealing with kids from four different classes) remains. This wouldn't be as much of a big deal except for the fact that each of my choirs needs to really focus on getting three songs ready for choir contest, which is on March 21st. <pant, pant, pant> I just feel like I am in a constant state of trying to keep up. I have gotten the word that they want me to be full-time next year. The incoming 7th grade class already has 82 kids signed up for choir, and 40 kids haven't turned their scheduling forms in yet. That is more than I have this year, and this year was up over the year before that. I don't know yet how many of my current 7th graders I am keeping for next year, but I think it will be most of them. I think I will also be picking up the general music class next year, too, which I don't mind teaching.

I guess I just feel swept along by the tide with this. It is an awesome opportunity to work in the same district where my kids attend.....a way to know their classmates without being in their faces all the time. It isn't my dream career, but then again, I never had a dream career. I long for more downtime in my life, but don't see it coming any time soon. I think our upcoming move is stressing me out, too. I am thankful that everything has worked out that we are able to move over spring break, but :needabreak: and I don't think there is one on the horizon anytime soon.

[mommax3]

Re: What do you do all day?

Pictures, finally!

This is the bench that is just inside the door when you come in from the garage, with the laundry room beside it.


These "lockers" are in a closet just across from the bench pictured above.


On the other side of the laundry room entrance is a "charging area" for cell phones, etc., and what will be my purse drop zone, I'm sure.


The view as you look into the master bath:


The vanities in the master:


Looking into the master shower: (no fixtures installed yet)


Standing in the master shower looking out:


Master bedroom closet:


View into the master bedroom:


A few steps further into the master:


master fireplace:


master ceiling: (rope light inside the crown molding)


view of kitchen:


another view, from a different angle:


My ovens and cooktop have been installed!


Convection cooktop:


Pantry!


looking out from dining area to where our deck will be:


Great room fireplace tile:


Tile just inside front door:


light fixture over stairway:


light fixture in music room:


cabinets in music room (these are not built-in, so if we ever move, they can be removed and the room can become a dining room):


basement fireplace and built-ins:


close-up of basement fireplace:


basement kitchen with appliances:


each of the boys chose a deep blue for an accent color in their room....I decided it would go on the window wall:


We are really getting close to the end now. The carpet and hardwood needs to go in, as well as the tile backsplash in the kitchen. The central vac system was installed today, as were the security system and the speakers for our sound system in the upstairs and basement. There will be decks outside the kitchen/greatroom and also outside our bedroom. The driveway and front porch need to be poured (weather-dependent) and there is some more trimwork and painting that will have to be done after the carpet and hardwood are installed. My upstairs fridge and dishwasher are in the garage and will be installed after the hardwood goes in.

I will do my darndest to get one more set of pictures taken AFTER it is finished, but BEFORE we move in.

Thanks for looking!

[mommax3]

Well, I gave myself a pep talk to go and move this from the old site, and lo and behold, someone had already done it. Thanks! http://www.medicalspouse.com/forums/...ons/icon10.gif

I had kind of a meltdown on Friday. I figure if that is the only one I have through this whole process, I am lucky. I have been waiting patiently for the backsplash behind my cooktop to be installed. The tile was on order and was taking a long time to come in. I had actually designed the backsplash based on a picture I had seen in a magazine, only using my own colors. I drew it all out on a piece of graph paper. On one piece I drew the design for the center of the backsplash, which is a little more elaborate, and on another piece, I drew the design for either side of the the cooktop area. For me to do this was a HUGE step outside my comfort zone, because I am one of the least crafty people you will ever meet. I was pleased with what I came up with and showed DH and my mom, and they thought it made sense and looked nice. I had no fears that our tile installer would have trouble with it because he had done beautiful work on our entryway and in our MBA with very little direction. However.....he just plain didn't follow my drawing, and I was disappointed. He came up with a fine design, but it wasn't what I drew. Basically, I had 1 inch square tiles (in blue glass) set on the diagonal interspersed with 4 1/4 square tiles. All of the corners of the larger tiles were to be clipped so that every time four of the larger tiles came together, instead of the corners touching, there was supposed to be a little blue glass tile on the diagonal. I have seen tons of pictures of this and the result is that the backsplash looks almost like it is "tufted", and it gives it some dimensional interest. Anyway, my tile guy only used half as many of the blue tiles as I had drawn, but SWORE he had done what I had on my paper. It was like he and I were speaking two different languages. He kept calling me, I kept getting frustrated, and finally DH stepped in and called the builder, who put the kibosh on the other guy calling me. Basically, he kept calling because he didn't want to have to take it all down, but that is what he ended up doing on Saturday morning, and my builder has assured me that he understands my design and that it will be completed properly.

It didn't help that all of that was taking place the night before my choir contest. The band director at my school (who is also the HS band director) hosts this contest to raise money for his HS band program. He is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guy, which is fine for him, but at the last minute, he decided that the choir portion of the contest would be hosted in our new building, with the band part of the contest at the high school. Both choir and band have been hosted at the high school previously. Do you see where this is going? You guys, he waited until the last minute to do EVERYTHING! He hadn't talked to the janitors about set-up. He hadn't talked to the athletic director about the use of the gym. It went on and on. Of course, since he isn't in our building all day, guess who everyone came to with questions? That's right. Friday night he kept calling me (he was setting up with the band boosters) asking me about power cords, etc. about which I knew nothing. I decided to go out there early Saturday morning because I knew it would be chaos, and it was. He hadn't provided the necessary office equipment for the judges. His student helpers didn't have the day's schedule, or a map of the building. ON AND ON. And of course, he was over at the high school, working with the contest stuff there. I was a total stressball, and that was even before I considered that I had three of my own groups performing.

Anyway, it is over, my kids did fine, I kept things at the contest from totally disintegrating, but didn't take on responsibility for any of the chaos, and now I can focus on the move and a week away from school, which I desperately need. We have all the closing paperwork and now know that our savings will be wiped out after both closings and paying our taxes. The good news is that we have enough to cover all of those things, but that hard part is that we wanted to buy new furniture, etc. which will have to wait. We only went 8K over budget with the house, which I think is pretty good. DH/partner had a slow December and January, so they weren't able to take a draw this month which they have done in years past. However, they have been busy since then, so it is just a matter of time, and compared with what so many are experiencing right now financially, I feel very petty expressing any kind of disappointment regarding our move. Besides, if I had to pick out new furniture right now, my head would probably explode!

So, we close on the new house Thursday. I am going to really try to get over there this week and take some pictures before we start moving in, although I don't think the backsplash will be done until after we are living there. I am having big time PMS this weekend as well, so this week could be an interesting one!

[mommax3]

Well, we're in! I didn't get any pre-move pics taken, and if I took any now (assuming I could find the camera) they would mostly be of boxes.....so pics will have to wait. My backsplash still isn't done, so maybe after that is finished, I will have enough stuff put away to make taking pictures worthwhile.

The days with movers went smoothly and the cruddy weather happened on the days the movers weren't working (over the weekend) so it was all good. Different friends have brought food every day since Friday......what a blessing! The kitchen is mostly unpacked, which is always a huge undertaking, so I am glad that is done.

The boys' rooms are about halfway there, but this is Spring Break, so I bet they will be in good shape by the end of the week. The master bedroom will take some time, but we'll get there.

The *BIG SURPRISE* is that we are getting 3 LCD tvs tomorrow, big ones, and the boys don't know. We have told them that moving has been a big drain on finances and that we will have to save up some $$$$ before getting new tvs. Won't they be surprised tomorrow?

DH took today, Tuesday, and Wednesday a.m. off this week, so we are trying to get lots done. We close on our previous house tomorrow afternoon, and it looks like everything should go smoothly, thank God. My cleaning lady went to work on the old house today and it looks nicer than it did when we moved in!

I am feeling a little overwhelmed, to be honest, and got a little sentimental about leaving our playset behind at the old house (the buyers wanted it for when their grandkids visit). DH says we can get a new one, and I am sure we will at some point, but I just remember how much fun we had when we picked that one out, and how excited the boys all were for it to be delivered and put together. Luke won't play on any playset that we get here.....I don't know, just feeling a little blue about how fast time goes. (and tired, and hormonal.....)

Anyway, I will probably remain scarce around here but I wanted to let you know how we were doing. Can't wait until things get back to "normal" and I have a little free time once again!

[mommax3]

We have been in our new house for one month. I love it and am finding new things to enjoy about it every day. My backsplash STILL isn't done (they did it once, incorrectly, and taking the tile down caused the tiles to break, so they had to re-order it) but I have been told it will be finished soon. I hope so! My cleaning lady came over yesterday to walk through the house with me.....she will clean for the first time on Monday WOO-HOO! After she left yesterday, I got a wild hair and cleaned all the bathrooms and swept all the floors, mostly because I was ashamed of how they looked when I was walking through with the cleaning lady. I love our central vac system!

Now that we are moved in, I am so ready for some new furniture! There is a Bedroom One (don't know if that is a regional or national chain) near us and they are going out of business, so we got some cheap bedroom furniture for the two older boys, but I want/need a new table & chairs, bar stools, and living room furniture for our greatroom area. Our old stuff (bought for cheap with our house in Wichita Falls) is ugly and I can't wait to get rid of it! All in good time, I know.

We are still waiting for the landscape company to come and work their magic. We have had so much rain here that they haven't been able to get started. Consequently, my house is an island in a big mud pit. We did get an in-ground bball goal installed for the boys, but when they miss a shot, they have to run into the dirt/mud to get the ball. Ugh. I know we won't have grass for a while, but I will be glad when they at least level things out and get it seeded.

Luke turned 14 two weeks ago. He was just barely taller than me (5'7 or so) when he turned 13, and now he is within an inch of DH, who is 6'2 or maybe a little more. He has been going to open gym nights at the high school, to work on basketball and to meet kids for next year. At the high school is a kid who signed with Purdue when he was a sophomore. He will be a senior next year. Luke has gotten to scrimmage with him several times and has rebounded/scored off of some of his shots. This older kid (Travis is his name) has been very kind to Luke and has encouraged him quite a bit. The cherry on top was that he "friended" Luke on FaceBook this week. Luke was in 7th heaven! Even if Luke ends up not playing basketball, he will remember scrimmaging with this kid for a long time.

The other two boys are doing well. Joel is getting geared up for 6th grade next year in a new school, same building as me! Nathan will be a 2nd grader in the lower elementary and will be riding a school bus. He has already made some friends in our new neighborhood, so I think he will transition fairly easily. Both of the younger boys are going to do swim team again this summer, which should help in the friend department as well. It is gut-wrenching to help them through these transitions yet again, even though we didn't move far.

After hearing all year that I would be full-time next year, I am likely looking at the same work schedule next year that I have had this year, which is teaching four periods with one period of prep time. I don't mind getting to go in late/leave early (whichever it turns out to be) but I am going to have large classes next year (2 sections of 44 each in 7th grade) if they keep me on my current schedule, and that is always challenging.

My half-sister had a second baby boy (her first baby was born a year ago with a serious heart defect) on April 11th and they are doing well. However, my Dad called me last week, wondering "if Adrienne had her baby yet?" Grrrr. I have no idea why she didn't call him, and I was embarrassed for him that he didn't know yet. His kids from that marriage don't keep in contact with him, and I have no idea why not. He didn't leave them, and the reason the marriage between him and their mother ended was because SHE had an affair. My half-brother was in the Army (band) during the time the affair/divorce was happening, and he dealt with it by volunteering to go to South Korea for two years. He is done there and will be in the states within the week. (I only know this through FaceBook.....he was the reason I joined in the first place.) He has not spoken to my Dad in two years, nor has he made plans to see him during his time off before he reports to his new duty station. I could just shake both of them. My Dad is 77 and he is not/has not been perfect, but he was a much better father to them than I ever had. I feel caught in the middle a little bit. I can't make Adrienne and Jordan have a relationship with their Dad if they don't want one, but I can't make my Dad stop asking me "what I hear from Adrienne and Jordan" either. It is heartbreaking to me.

When I look back at what has gone on this year (DH's office move, my school move, our move, plus all the other normal stuff.....sports for the boys, concerts/contests for me, call for DH) I can't believe we have come through it all. It has been a LOOOONG year. We are getting to end of it, though. Luke leaves on his class trip to Mackinac Island on Tuesday, swimming starts for the younger two next week, track for the older two is ongoing, basketball open gym for Luke is ongoing, I have my last concert on May 14th, and Luke has 8th grade graduation on the 28th. Only a month of school to go! We are going to an amusement park (King's Island for you midwesterners) tomorrow....I am chaperoning for my school, so my family can go for free! I think the weather will be sub-optimal, but I couldn't pass up free transportation, no driving, and free admission to the park. DH and I both have the day off today (and the kids DON'T!) so I am hoping we can get caught up on some stuff and also do a little shopping. I think we are going to get Luke a cell phone for his "graduation" gift, so we need to check them out.

I promise I will post pictures once the backsplash is finished! I don't think I have posted pictures of the hardwood or carpeting, either, or the decks. We are really enjoying all of it and DH and I are very pleased with the final result.