Times, they are a changin'

Once again, I've gone MIA.  Once again, I apologize.  Life is so crazy hectic right now, what with summer ending, school prepping, my new hobby upcycling/refinishing/repurposing furniture, and oh, did I mention we are moving in 3 weeks?

Yep.  Moving.  In. 3. Weeks.  I KNOW! (did you just hear Monica?)

It's been a whirlwind.  Grumpasaur and  I have gone back and forth about wanting to move for a while now.  And Stanky always tells us how we should move to a smaller house with no stairs.  Well, he's getting 1/2 his wish! 

Here is a quick & dirty rundown of the haps:

1. Last Thursday, we found out we'd need to move by the end of October.
2. We started looking immediately for a house in our price range, since they are a hot commodity where we live.
3. Despite dozens of calls and e-mails to prospective landlords over two workdays and the weekend, we only got one call back.  And it was NOT from my first choice house, no matter how cute the photos looked.  It wasn't the house down the street, and that was it's only problem.  I wanted the house down the street.  But they wouldn't. call. back!
4. We looked at the house on Friday.  ADORABLE.  Seriously, even though it is literally 1/2 the size of our current house, I loved it. 
1. The kitchen is bigger with more counter space (yay!). 
2. There is a built-in entertainment center in the living room (no more gargantuan oak monstrosity in my otherwise cute room).
3. The laundry is upstairs!  No more schlepping heavy baskets up and down the stairs.  And no laundry-covered couch in the living room!
4. Its gate-controlled access and a small neighborhood.
5. TONS of kids.  The streets were literally crawling with kids of all ages on bikes, scooters, heelys, wagons, etc. when we saw the house Friday evening.
6. Pocket park!  No play equipment, but there are two schools within walking distance, and a city park just down the bike trail (you know, for when I finally get my butt in gear and get a bike, then conditioned to actually ride it farther than the corner).
7. Small backyard.  Yes, this is a perk for Grumpasaur.  There is even a raised garden bed just waiting for me to plunk down some yummy veggies and berries. 
8. The BEST part?  Our power bill will be cut in HALF.  HALF.  Guess that's what cutting half the house and the pool out will do huh? LOL
5. We went back with the boys and my parents on Saturday.  Other than the boys commenting on the small backyard and mom being concerned about the size of the house, everyone liked it.
6. We prayed.  And discussed to death.  And prayed some more.  Came to the conclusion that all those other dozens of doors and windows were slammed shut because God wanted us in this particular home.
7. Sent our list of questions and stuff we noticed needed attention to the owners.  Heard back within 3 hours with answers to all of our questions, and promises to have everything repaired before we moved in.  They are even going to let us have a key early, so that we can go in and paint the boys' rooms and such (yes, they are letting us paint, and don't even care to approve colors!)
8. We are signing the lease tonight!  Our 'official' move date is the first, though we will start painting and such next weekend.

I'm also over at my DIY blog Paint & Patience, with a chair rescue, and the details on Stanky's rescued desk.  Hop over and check it out!

Family Vacation #1

We survived.  It was our first "real" family vacation ever (I don't count 3-day weekends as vacations, more like reminders of why we never go anywhere with 3 crack-monkeys).

Spent a week on the coast, in weather 30 degrees cooler than home, in space about 1/4 the size of our house, and we are all still alive and kicking!  Two kids shared a bed, one slept on a couch, and Grumpasaur and I managed to share a queen bed without inadvertently rolling one another out in the middle of the night.

The weather was gorgeous (except for that one cloudy/windy day) and the beach was not nearly as crowded as we thought it would be (except for the 4th - that was insane). 

Drama & Stanky learned to boogie-board with some friends from daycare that they ran into at the beach on our first day.  We didn't think Stanky would even venture a toe into the water, but throw another 5-year-old boy, a boogie-board and an adult male not related to him, and he turned into superman.  He was out chest-deep, jumping waves, screaming like a banshee and acting a fool.  He and his friend spent time searching for the perfect piece of kelp for tug-of-war, then proceeded to fall on their butts from yanking on the slippery stuff.  It was awesome.

Drama had gone to daycare with Stanky's friends' older brother, so he too had a buddy.  By mid-afternoon, he had talked his Nana into buying a boogie board for him, and he was able to ride the waves without waiting turns.  Cousin Tal got in on the action with a board of her own, and pretty soon the two of them were figuring out how to ride in tandem, spin around and try flips.  Again, It. Was. Awesome.

Not to be outdone, Bea and Thing traipsed back and forth building piles of sand, rocks and assorted broken shells, troughs full of water and 'bawoons' of kelp.  At one point, Bea grabbed her board and headed into the surf like she's been doing it all her life.  Thankfully, Uncle JJ scooped her up before she got far - especially since she decided that wet was not the way to be!

And all this while I sat in comfort yards from water I had no intention of touching, visiting with my SIL and her mom.  So nice to relax for a change!  Of course, those extended family days at the beach were really the only relaxing for moi, but that's just the way it is for moms on vacation.  I still cooked, cleaned, did laundry and wiped butts.  At least I got to do it in a nice place, without having to traipse to work and back each day.

Believe it or not, the kids rarely fought the entire trip.  I KNOW! Unbelieveable isn't it?  I think there was a minor tussle over the scooter, and the order in which to enter the car, but nothing like the daily bickering we contend with.  It was lovely.

Thing keeps asking to go back to the "new" house...guess we'll have to plan another jaunt in that direction before school starts huh?