I just realized it's been a good 5 months since my last blog post. Holy cow. A lot has changed since then.
So about a month after the boys and I moved to Texas, Dan told me that his job wasn't going great and it probably wasn't going to last. It was pretty much exactly what we were hoping wasn't going to happen.He started reaching out to some people he had already been talking to about possible job opportunities. We got the one we were hoping for and it was same pay, part time, and he could work from home!
So when we found that out, we packed out stuff up, shoved it in storage, and drove back to Idaho. We've been staying with my parents, and just found a rental place that's perfect for us. We've been here for 3 months, and I am missing all our stuff! Dan and I are flying back to Texas tomorrow to pack it all up and drive it back. yeah. You could say it's going to be a long 4-5 days. I've been dreading it, but am SO excited to get into our own place again, with all our stuff, and hopefully some stability for a while. And we are spending Saturday in vegas....so hopefully I get lucky at the black jack tables!!!
This year has been so hard and has challenged us in pretty much every way. I'm so glad things are starting to settle down. Dan has a lot of good things going for him and a few side projects that we are so excited about! Things seem to be looking up after a long year of living in limbo and having no real direction. Last year I remember writing a blog post about how ready I was for 2013.....thinking 2012 was bad. Well holy crap. I think I jinxed myself. I am SO ready for a fresh start, a new house, and a new perspective!
MY BIRTHDAY:
I just turned 24 on Sunday and had such a good birthday!
Dan took me out on Saturday and I had a little shopping spree. The thing I love about my birthday is that it's so close to black Friday so I still get a lot of the great deals! I got some "big girl" makeup, as I like to call it. some MAC and Sephora stuff. I got a new purse...or two and a new pair of shoes....or two. We went to Dave and Busters for Dinner and had a blast! We love that place! Then we went to see Catching Fire. SO good. Then we did some more shopping and headed home around 1. Then on my actual bday, we had a family dinner and cake and ice cream and all that good stuff. It was a good Birthday!
DAMON AND RAFE:
A little update on the boys- They are doing pretty good! They have had a lot of change this year from everything I mentioned above! It's so hard on them to adjust and re adjust to things, but they have done really well considering how crazy life has been. Damon is pretty sweet most of the time. He loves anything that has to do with cars and trucks and trains. He plays well with Rafe and makes friends wherever we go. He surprises me every day with how much he knows and how smart he is. He's just a little sponge that soaks up everything. He is really excited about Christmas and asks every day if Santa is coming. Especially if he sees snow or Christmas lights. I'm SO excited for Christmas this year because he knows a little more about everything.
Rafe has got such a fun personality! He is no longer a little baby, he's a full blown toddler which is crazy to me! He will be 2 in a month and is learning to speak so well! Every day he's a little clearer in his words, which makes things a lot easier for me! He's a tough kid, and loves to tackle Damon and wrestle. He's also hitting, and biting, and pulling hair.....which isn't my favorite. But he thinks it's pretty fun. He's got the best face expressions and is just such a goof ball all the time!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Brotherly Love
When Damon was almost one, we thought pretty seriously about having another. I didn't know if I was ready for the craziness that having two little people close in age would bring. I had two older brothers who were close in age, and they fought with each other all the time. So I was worried, but I couldn't let the thought that they COULD be enemies keep me from having another one.
When I got pregnant, I swore it was a girl. It was a little different than the first pregnancy so I took that as a sign that it was a girl! Yeah, I was way wrong. And I'll admit I was a little sad at the thought of no tu tu's and glitter in the house. But the closer I got to my due date, the more excited I was for two little boys.
This picture was taken a few hours after Rafe was born. One of my all time faves
Now that Rafe is getting older, he is starting to fight back and become more aggressive. These two are a handful, but they are so much fun and they laugh and giggle together more than they fight. I thought I was going to die the first year after Rafe was born. I just couldn't seem to really feel on top of things. The sleepless nights, opposite nap schedules, and the nagging that would go on during the day, and not to mention the dreaded trips out of the house. It really only took me a few months before it seemed like no big deal, but to this day sometimes ask myself if I had them too close. Or if I should have given Damon more time with just Dan and I before we added another baby. Damon was only 20 months when Rafe was born. Right now Rafe is 18 months and it is CRAZY to me that I was getting ready to have another one with Damon at this point. Rafe seems so small still!
A few weeks ago our A/C broke and we were dying of heat, so we had dinner at McDonalds and let the kids play at their strangely clean play place. There were tons of kids. Damon went over to try and play, but they wouldn't let him. They were all quite a bit older and I think they were all friends. Damon went over to the part that's just for 3 and under kids and just sat there and watched the kids. It seriously broke my heart. He just looked so sad, and I couldn't help but think this isn't the first time he's going to encounter this problem. Kids can be so mean. Anyways, Rafe was finishing up eating so Dan got him out and said go find Damon! and Rafe ran over to where Damon was sitting and gave him the biggest smile. Damon automatically lit up and he ran over and hugged Rafe and they started playing together.
My heart could have exploded. It brought tears to me eyes to see the friendship they have and to know that whatever happens at school or with their other friends, they will always have each other.
When I got pregnant, I swore it was a girl. It was a little different than the first pregnancy so I took that as a sign that it was a girl! Yeah, I was way wrong. And I'll admit I was a little sad at the thought of no tu tu's and glitter in the house. But the closer I got to my due date, the more excited I was for two little boys.
This picture was taken a few hours after Rafe was born. One of my all time faves
Now that Rafe is getting older, he is starting to fight back and become more aggressive. These two are a handful, but they are so much fun and they laugh and giggle together more than they fight. I thought I was going to die the first year after Rafe was born. I just couldn't seem to really feel on top of things. The sleepless nights, opposite nap schedules, and the nagging that would go on during the day, and not to mention the dreaded trips out of the house. It really only took me a few months before it seemed like no big deal, but to this day sometimes ask myself if I had them too close. Or if I should have given Damon more time with just Dan and I before we added another baby. Damon was only 20 months when Rafe was born. Right now Rafe is 18 months and it is CRAZY to me that I was getting ready to have another one with Damon at this point. Rafe seems so small still!
A few weeks ago our A/C broke and we were dying of heat, so we had dinner at McDonalds and let the kids play at their strangely clean play place. There were tons of kids. Damon went over to try and play, but they wouldn't let him. They were all quite a bit older and I think they were all friends. Damon went over to the part that's just for 3 and under kids and just sat there and watched the kids. It seriously broke my heart. He just looked so sad, and I couldn't help but think this isn't the first time he's going to encounter this problem. Kids can be so mean. Anyways, Rafe was finishing up eating so Dan got him out and said go find Damon! and Rafe ran over to where Damon was sitting and gave him the biggest smile. Damon automatically lit up and he ran over and hugged Rafe and they started playing together.
My heart could have exploded. It brought tears to me eyes to see the friendship they have and to know that whatever happens at school or with their other friends, they will always have each other.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Fourth of July!
So I'm lame and still haven't gotten a hard drive so I can transfer all my pics off and have room for new ones! So no pictures once again....Now that I think about it, I didn't even take pictures. Haha oh well!
I'm going to write this really quick before this Monster kicks in and I do some serious cleaning.
Dan worked from home of the fourth. Because he just got his new job, he doesn't have vacation days yet. So lame. His family was coming in the evening of the fourth so he asked if he could work that, and take Friday off. So they let him work from home which was so nice! Then his family came in earlier than we thought so it was a win/win! Dan's brother Joe and his wife, Thea, are moving to California and Tom and Val were helping them move. So we got to see all 4 of them, which was great! I've never really had a chance to get to know Thea...or Joe really. Dan and I got married while he was on his mission and I've only seen him about 3-4 times since he's been home. So it was great getting so see them and spend a few days together! I absolutely love when Tom and Val come visit. We stay up late and play games and talk. Val is always so helpful around the house and is so good with the boys. I really enjoy their company, and not many people can say that about their inlaws;) I'm a lucky girl!
We had kabobs on the grill, which were amazing! I love having a grill for two reasons. I don't really have to cook, and it's outside so the house stays cool. After dinner we just kind of hung out and watched movies. The next day was a lot of the same. We went to the outlet malls for a bit, but other than that, we just relaxed in the A/C and talked and played games.
On Saturday, we all drove to San Antonio and went to the Alamo and did the River walk. It was awesome! San Antonio is a cool place! It was really hot, but it felt good to me! I think I'm starting to acclimate to this heat! The boys did pretty well. Damon really wanted to ride in one of the boats and was practically ready to jump right into the river, but besides that, it was a blast!! We were sad to see them leave! Especially Damon. He kept asking where Grammy Val and Papa Tom were going and if Joe and Thea were coming over for breakfast. I love having family around! It just breaks my heart when they leave and Damon asks about it. He loves all the attention he gets and gets so attached, that when we aren't together he still asks for them days after. That's when I wish we had tons of money and could just go visit family all the time. Or live close to all of our family. That would be the life. It truly is the most important thing. Thank goodness for Skype and Facebook so we can keep in touch with everyone and see pics about whats going on in their lives!
It was my 2nd 4th of July that I wasn't in Melba. My family always does a big family reunion and it's just a week of partying and doing fun stuff together. This year I did feel pretty lonely, but having some family here helped a lot! They helped snap me out of my lonely state leading up to the fourth and the days after I didn't even really think about it. Growing up in Melba it was always a HUGE celebration. Living outside of Melba...haha not so much. It's such an important day for our Country, but no one seems to celebrate it like people do in Melba. The times away will make it that much better when I go back.
In other news! Damon is potty trained! You can read more about that at my other blog, www.mommybrigade.blogspot.com Can I just say, It's about freakin time?! But this time was a lot easier than the other times I tried, which was so nice!
I hope everyone had a great 4th! I can't believe we are already almost half way into July!
I'm going to write this really quick before this Monster kicks in and I do some serious cleaning.
Dan worked from home of the fourth. Because he just got his new job, he doesn't have vacation days yet. So lame. His family was coming in the evening of the fourth so he asked if he could work that, and take Friday off. So they let him work from home which was so nice! Then his family came in earlier than we thought so it was a win/win! Dan's brother Joe and his wife, Thea, are moving to California and Tom and Val were helping them move. So we got to see all 4 of them, which was great! I've never really had a chance to get to know Thea...or Joe really. Dan and I got married while he was on his mission and I've only seen him about 3-4 times since he's been home. So it was great getting so see them and spend a few days together! I absolutely love when Tom and Val come visit. We stay up late and play games and talk. Val is always so helpful around the house and is so good with the boys. I really enjoy their company, and not many people can say that about their inlaws;) I'm a lucky girl!
We had kabobs on the grill, which were amazing! I love having a grill for two reasons. I don't really have to cook, and it's outside so the house stays cool. After dinner we just kind of hung out and watched movies. The next day was a lot of the same. We went to the outlet malls for a bit, but other than that, we just relaxed in the A/C and talked and played games.
On Saturday, we all drove to San Antonio and went to the Alamo and did the River walk. It was awesome! San Antonio is a cool place! It was really hot, but it felt good to me! I think I'm starting to acclimate to this heat! The boys did pretty well. Damon really wanted to ride in one of the boats and was practically ready to jump right into the river, but besides that, it was a blast!! We were sad to see them leave! Especially Damon. He kept asking where Grammy Val and Papa Tom were going and if Joe and Thea were coming over for breakfast. I love having family around! It just breaks my heart when they leave and Damon asks about it. He loves all the attention he gets and gets so attached, that when we aren't together he still asks for them days after. That's when I wish we had tons of money and could just go visit family all the time. Or live close to all of our family. That would be the life. It truly is the most important thing. Thank goodness for Skype and Facebook so we can keep in touch with everyone and see pics about whats going on in their lives!
It was my 2nd 4th of July that I wasn't in Melba. My family always does a big family reunion and it's just a week of partying and doing fun stuff together. This year I did feel pretty lonely, but having some family here helped a lot! They helped snap me out of my lonely state leading up to the fourth and the days after I didn't even really think about it. Growing up in Melba it was always a HUGE celebration. Living outside of Melba...haha not so much. It's such an important day for our Country, but no one seems to celebrate it like people do in Melba. The times away will make it that much better when I go back.
In other news! Damon is potty trained! You can read more about that at my other blog, www.mommybrigade.blogspot.com Can I just say, It's about freakin time?! But this time was a lot easier than the other times I tried, which was so nice!
I hope everyone had a great 4th! I can't believe we are already almost half way into July!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
New Car!!
Texas just got a whole lot better Ya'll!!!! We added a new member to our family! (I didn't get a new big car because we are expecting, cuz we aren't! Trust me. i took a test 2 days ago! That's for a different blog post!)
Meet our Nissan Armada! Charcoal, leather interior, sunroof, DVD, Navigation, bucket seats, luggage rack, new tires, the works! Seriously, I don't know how we got so lucky to find such a nice used car! It's an '07 and is exactly what I was looking for!!!
I've been here for about a month with no car and it's been kinda tough to just stay inside day after day with the kids. I love that now we can go out, or if we want to play with friends, we can all ride in the same car! when family flies in, we have enough room to pick them all up and hold all the luggage! and if we decide we want another babe, then we will have plenty of room! That is why I wanted a bigger car. Sure we could have gone with a mini van.....but this is just more my style. I seriously love it so much, but feel like a spoiled little brat driving it! We have been driving my car from high school since we've been married and Dan's Nissan Sentra. Which has been great for us! But the celica had to go. It was just getting old, it was a '91. I loved that car though. And the Sentra is Dan's commuter car because it gets great gas mileage. We were packed in that little car with two kids. My knee's literally touched the dashboard so we could fit the kids in the back, and they were still kicking the backs of our seats! It just wasn't safe, comfortable, and if we were to have another babe, we would for sure need to upgrade. SO we are finally in a spot where we can! So we jumped on it!
We went to a dealer a few miles from our house just to look. We drove up and I immediately thought, there's no way we can afford anything on this lot! So we didn't even get out. The kids were sleeping, so Dan told me just to go see. So I did. and found this beauty. I liked that we bought it from a dealer because they make sure it's in perfect condition before selling it. We got a good deal on a warranty, the car fax was perfect, and we were able to talk them down on price. Which I just have to say, I have some pretty good negotiating skills.....ok not really. I just blamed my husband for why we couldn't pay what they wanted. And begged for him to help me because "I need this car! I have to have it!!! But my husband doesn't want to go above $X amount!" Then we got really close, and I said. Well thanks for your time, but we just can't do it for that. And then BAM! "ok ok, let me ask my boss again!" SOLD!
We love it! I'm so excited to have the car I've been wanting for years, but couldn't get until now! Thanks Honey! You're the best!!!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAN MY MAN!!!
It's the hubs birthday today, so I thought I'd dedicate a whole post to him;)
Let me tell you a few things about my man that I LOVE! I say a few because we would be here all day if I were to mention them all;)
Since day 1, I have been head over heels for this man. And it hasn't changed over the years, it just keeps getting stronger. We had a different kind of love when we were first married. When you add a few kids, it can change things. But in an amazing way! Seeing him as a Father to our kids has made me love him more and more. He is so great with them and they always want to be around him and play with him and wrestle and all that stuff! I hope our boys grow up to be exactly like Dan.
Dan and I have been through quite a bit over the last 4 years. He is always my sound board and will listen to me no matter how petty something is and give me advice. He's not one of those guys that will say what you want to shut you up, he actually cares about little things that I care about. And that has always meant a lot to me. He's always the first person I want to talk to. We still spend nights up late talking about our future and our kids and everything in between. Some of my favorite memories are staying up till 3 AM talking about our life together.
He's a romantic. I have always LOVED this about him. Girls, for the most part, are all hopeless romantics. I sure was! And Dan swept me off my feet with all the cheesy lines and romantic gestures I could handle. He still does the sweetest things just to show he loves me.
He is a pro when it comes to quoting movies. We literally communicate in movie quotes. It keeps things funny and light, which I like. When i first met him and would hear him quote movies, I was like "Really?" but now I love it haha. There's never a dull moment. My favorite is when we say the same quote at the same time.
He is a hard worker! Every wife seems to say this about their husband, but that's a great quality for a man to have. He works so hard for our family and so that I can stay home with my boys. He is constantly trying to learn and better himself and our future. I'm a lucky lady!
Dan has amazed me since day one. I couldn't believe he actually had all the things on my "list" that I wanted in a husband. I thought I would never find a guy who could do that, but he did. And then some! He is the perfect guy for me and the perfect father to our kids! I love him so much and am so lucky to have such a great guy!
Happy Birthday Babe! I love you!!
Our first real BF/GF pic together....So young.....and skinny
Since day 1, I have been head over heels for this man. And it hasn't changed over the years, it just keeps getting stronger. We had a different kind of love when we were first married. When you add a few kids, it can change things. But in an amazing way! Seeing him as a Father to our kids has made me love him more and more. He is so great with them and they always want to be around him and play with him and wrestle and all that stuff! I hope our boys grow up to be exactly like Dan.
Dan and I have been through quite a bit over the last 4 years. He is always my sound board and will listen to me no matter how petty something is and give me advice. He's not one of those guys that will say what you want to shut you up, he actually cares about little things that I care about. And that has always meant a lot to me. He's always the first person I want to talk to. We still spend nights up late talking about our future and our kids and everything in between. Some of my favorite memories are staying up till 3 AM talking about our life together.
He's a romantic. I have always LOVED this about him. Girls, for the most part, are all hopeless romantics. I sure was! And Dan swept me off my feet with all the cheesy lines and romantic gestures I could handle. He still does the sweetest things just to show he loves me.
He is a pro when it comes to quoting movies. We literally communicate in movie quotes. It keeps things funny and light, which I like. When i first met him and would hear him quote movies, I was like "Really?" but now I love it haha. There's never a dull moment. My favorite is when we say the same quote at the same time.
He is a hard worker! Every wife seems to say this about their husband, but that's a great quality for a man to have. He works so hard for our family and so that I can stay home with my boys. He is constantly trying to learn and better himself and our future. I'm a lucky lady!
Dan has amazed me since day one. I couldn't believe he actually had all the things on my "list" that I wanted in a husband. I thought I would never find a guy who could do that, but he did. And then some! He is the perfect guy for me and the perfect father to our kids! I love him so much and am so lucky to have such a great guy!
Happy Birthday Babe! I love you!!
 |
| The day he proposed. This is the romantic side of him I'm talking about!!! |
Friday, June 21, 2013
TEXAS part 2!!!
Leaving my family has been tough. I really miss having them so close. As a stay at home mom, you can get rather lonely. It was nice to have my mom there on the days when I needed out of the house. Or Sunday dinners in Melba, or free babysitting. I definitely took those things for granted. And now that I'm here, and there's no family, no friends, and my kids have been in this crazy transition stage with everything going on, it's just been hard the last few days. Not to mention the fact that we are carless, so we couldn't get out of the house if we wanted....and we haven't mowed the lawn yet and there's all kinds of bugs, and it's hotter than hades here and my kids' skin is super sensitive. So we sit in the house all day and play hide and seek, and chase eachother around, and play don't break the ice (Don't ever buy that blasted game. 5 minutes to set up. 30 seconds to destroy). We watch a lot of movies, which I feel bad about. I haven't been able to get out and find a good park that's within walking distance. I just have a single stroller so Damon would have to walk and he always makes me carry him. With the 90 degree heat with crazy humidity....no thanks. The pool is big and it makes me nervous to take two little boys who can't swim to a pool by myself. So we just bought a little pool and some squirt guns for the backyard, and i'm excited to do that! Everyone would tell me Texas was hot....but man. It's like 80 degrees by 8:00 in the morning. and the humidity! Oh man, it's intense! I only really like humidity if i'm on a beach. But I'm learning to love it. The evenings are nice. and the early morning I bet too...I wouldn't know that one though haha!
We have slowly been getting settled. We sold our couch and TV with the house. And our other car before we left so we could buy a new one. So we just got our couches this last week, and found a new TV. I just got the internet and cable comes next week. So it's all coming together, which is great!!! Helps me feel like this place is more homey. I really thought that buying a new tv and couches would be fun, but I realized that it's hard for Dan and I to agree on stuff like that.....well besides the 70" tv...that was pretty easy. But the couches...good grief. We spent like 3 different nights in Ashley furniture while our kids ran around, knocked over lamps, climbed all over couches, ran their snotty noses over the furniture....and Damon full on punched a TV.. What? Anyways, we finally decided on a leather sectional. Which I don't super love having two little kids, but they have an awesome warranty that will help us if they ever take a pen or scissors or anything like that to it. And it looks freakin sweet, and is super comfy, so that helps. But here's another problem....
We moved into this really nice house in this super nice neighborhood which is awesome. Rent is double what our mortgage is....but welcome to Texas. That's just how it is here, unless you buy. Which we don't want to do yet. SO anyways, awesome house! Smells like cat. At first we didn't notice cuz our house was full of boxes and they had just cleaned the carpets for a second time....(red flag, why twice if there were no animals?) Anyways, I noticed it first in our closet. It was gross. Pulled up the carpets and they were covered in pee stains. Then i started pulling up carpet in other places to find the same problem. We were told there were no animals here before us. So now we have been fighting with the property manager to replace the carpets because A) Dan's allergic, and possibly my kids. They have been sick since we've been here and constantly have runny noses B) my kids play and roll around all over this cat pee carpet and C) it's just GROSS and we shouldn't need any other explanation than that! the prop manager has been super difficult and you can tell he overlooked all that and now he's trapped and has to spend money that will piss off the owners becuase he wasn't doing his job. So now he's trying to replace it with his own money to cover his butt. He hasn't told the owners. and refuses to fully recarpet. He only wants to do our room even though the kids' room is just as bad. He's a jerk. And I hate him. So now it's to the point of us breaking the lease and moving out. HI. I just got settled, all boxes unpacked, tv mounted, internet, cable, all that crap, and now we might need to move?! Because he's being a jerk?! ridiculous. So anyways, we are having him redo our room and closet and the boy's room and closet and calling it good. I'm not moving all our crap again. What I am going to do is write a nasty letter about this fool to the prop management company and the owners and get that fool fired.
Sooooo.....crazy cat pee house, crazy kids in transition, no car, and everything else and you could say it's been a crazy ride so far. Oh! And Rafe got hand foot and mouth his first day in nursery....then Dan got it, BAD, then Damon got it! Luckily I have been spared. Thank goodness for that tender mercy. If I get that crap I'm for sure going to need a straight jacket. The kids wake up at night, have had fevers and runny noses, and blisters in their mouths and throat and hands and feet. YUCK! I think we are on the downhill, so that's good.
I'll step off my soap box now! I'm sorry for the ranting and venting. I didn't start this post off with that intention. I was just going to update, now I'm realizing how crazy it really has been here the last 3 weeks! Regardless of everything, I'm glad that we are here. It's a beautiful place with some really cool stuff. It's fun being somewhere else on our own. I honestly feel like when life gets too settled, something will happen that will force you outside of your comfort zone so you can grow as a person and challenge yourself and see what you're capable of. I really like Austin and am so excited for a new adventure. I'm excited to make new friends and try new things. The beginning is always tough, but it will get better.
We have slowly been getting settled. We sold our couch and TV with the house. And our other car before we left so we could buy a new one. So we just got our couches this last week, and found a new TV. I just got the internet and cable comes next week. So it's all coming together, which is great!!! Helps me feel like this place is more homey. I really thought that buying a new tv and couches would be fun, but I realized that it's hard for Dan and I to agree on stuff like that.....well besides the 70" tv...that was pretty easy. But the couches...good grief. We spent like 3 different nights in Ashley furniture while our kids ran around, knocked over lamps, climbed all over couches, ran their snotty noses over the furniture....and Damon full on punched a TV.. What? Anyways, we finally decided on a leather sectional. Which I don't super love having two little kids, but they have an awesome warranty that will help us if they ever take a pen or scissors or anything like that to it. And it looks freakin sweet, and is super comfy, so that helps. But here's another problem....
We moved into this really nice house in this super nice neighborhood which is awesome. Rent is double what our mortgage is....but welcome to Texas. That's just how it is here, unless you buy. Which we don't want to do yet. SO anyways, awesome house! Smells like cat. At first we didn't notice cuz our house was full of boxes and they had just cleaned the carpets for a second time....(red flag, why twice if there were no animals?) Anyways, I noticed it first in our closet. It was gross. Pulled up the carpets and they were covered in pee stains. Then i started pulling up carpet in other places to find the same problem. We were told there were no animals here before us. So now we have been fighting with the property manager to replace the carpets because A) Dan's allergic, and possibly my kids. They have been sick since we've been here and constantly have runny noses B) my kids play and roll around all over this cat pee carpet and C) it's just GROSS and we shouldn't need any other explanation than that! the prop manager has been super difficult and you can tell he overlooked all that and now he's trapped and has to spend money that will piss off the owners becuase he wasn't doing his job. So now he's trying to replace it with his own money to cover his butt. He hasn't told the owners. and refuses to fully recarpet. He only wants to do our room even though the kids' room is just as bad. He's a jerk. And I hate him. So now it's to the point of us breaking the lease and moving out. HI. I just got settled, all boxes unpacked, tv mounted, internet, cable, all that crap, and now we might need to move?! Because he's being a jerk?! ridiculous. So anyways, we are having him redo our room and closet and the boy's room and closet and calling it good. I'm not moving all our crap again. What I am going to do is write a nasty letter about this fool to the prop management company and the owners and get that fool fired.
Sooooo.....crazy cat pee house, crazy kids in transition, no car, and everything else and you could say it's been a crazy ride so far. Oh! And Rafe got hand foot and mouth his first day in nursery....then Dan got it, BAD, then Damon got it! Luckily I have been spared. Thank goodness for that tender mercy. If I get that crap I'm for sure going to need a straight jacket. The kids wake up at night, have had fevers and runny noses, and blisters in their mouths and throat and hands and feet. YUCK! I think we are on the downhill, so that's good.
I'll step off my soap box now! I'm sorry for the ranting and venting. I didn't start this post off with that intention. I was just going to update, now I'm realizing how crazy it really has been here the last 3 weeks! Regardless of everything, I'm glad that we are here. It's a beautiful place with some really cool stuff. It's fun being somewhere else on our own. I honestly feel like when life gets too settled, something will happen that will force you outside of your comfort zone so you can grow as a person and challenge yourself and see what you're capable of. I really like Austin and am so excited for a new adventure. I'm excited to make new friends and try new things. The beginning is always tough, but it will get better.
TEXAS!!! Part one
Hey Ya'll!!!! Now that we live in Texas, I have to say that. Just kidding, I never say that. Mostly because I have no adult interaction....
Well as most of you know, we recently moved to Texas! Dan now works for this guy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t36tnz5kVCY
and he loves it. He started off with a three week trial period to make sure everything was a good fit. He officially started in May. I stayed in Boise and sold the house and packed everything up. So we were apart for a month, and that sucked, but it was nice to be able to spend that time with my family!
Our house sold in one day. I was so surprised how fast it went. Every person that came through to look at it made an offer. all offers were more than what we were asking.....so we took the best one and that was the end of that! We closed in less than a month! So! If you are thinking about selling your home, now is a good time!!!!;)
We hired movers because it was just going to be too much for Dan to take off work, fly back, pack the truck, and drive it the 26 hours to Austin. Here's a little tip if you're going to ever hire movers......they will give you a phone call and ask for a general inventory list. Then they give you a quote. Don't believe that quote price for a second. When they ask for the inventory list, tell them EVERYTHING you own. We had double the amount of boxes and a few things i forgot to tell the guy. When I talked to him, he made it sound like it was not that important and the movers just need a general list. No. Be detailed. Very detailed. Because it may or may not have been an extra $1800 than what we were quoted.....and what are you going to say? "STOP! unload the truck, i'm not doing this!" yeah forget that. I'm not driving that truck. So that was kind of a nightmare, but it was also suuuuper nice not to have to make that trip with kids. And they packed and wrapped all our stuff WAAAAYYY better than what we ever would have done.
So I stayed with my parents for about a month, and it was a blast. My little brother got home from his mission during that time so it was so fun to be there for all of that and let everyone have some extra time with the kids. We spent a lot of nights watching movies or talking and catching up. It was so nice, but it also made it that much harder to leave. I miss them, a lot. I've kind of been in robot mode through this whole thing. The last few months have been an emotional roller coaster and I think I just started going on auto pilot and trying to emotionally detach myself from everything. Now it's starting to catch up to me! You can only block things out for so long until they come back and make you want to explode over every little thing. Here's what I mean....
I was only in my calling for a few months. Just long enough to get settled in and really get attached to all the girls. I miss them a lot. They were so fun and quirky and I loved giving them advice. They were all 14-15 with one 16 yr old and so we all know that time of life is crazy and drama filled. So I miss them and I was bummed about being released. Another thing was I LOVED our home. I loved that house and was so sad to see it go. When everything was moved out, and everything was cleaned, I just sat on the floor and cried. We had so many monumental things happen in that house. SO many good times. Our boys both learned to walk, talk, crawl, and go down stairs in that house. first birthdays and christmas' and my first Thanksgiving as the host. Little things like that. and I feel like selling that house was leaving that stage of life behind us. Now they are both so independent and seem so big. It seems like nothing is a first anymore, and it makes me really want another baby at times.....but then I think "MMM, betta not" (someone please recognize that quote!)
So leaving was hard, but being here has had a whole different set of issues too! Read the rest in part 2!
Well as most of you know, we recently moved to Texas! Dan now works for this guy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t36tnz5kVCY
and he loves it. He started off with a three week trial period to make sure everything was a good fit. He officially started in May. I stayed in Boise and sold the house and packed everything up. So we were apart for a month, and that sucked, but it was nice to be able to spend that time with my family!
Our house sold in one day. I was so surprised how fast it went. Every person that came through to look at it made an offer. all offers were more than what we were asking.....so we took the best one and that was the end of that! We closed in less than a month! So! If you are thinking about selling your home, now is a good time!!!!;)
We hired movers because it was just going to be too much for Dan to take off work, fly back, pack the truck, and drive it the 26 hours to Austin. Here's a little tip if you're going to ever hire movers......they will give you a phone call and ask for a general inventory list. Then they give you a quote. Don't believe that quote price for a second. When they ask for the inventory list, tell them EVERYTHING you own. We had double the amount of boxes and a few things i forgot to tell the guy. When I talked to him, he made it sound like it was not that important and the movers just need a general list. No. Be detailed. Very detailed. Because it may or may not have been an extra $1800 than what we were quoted.....and what are you going to say? "STOP! unload the truck, i'm not doing this!" yeah forget that. I'm not driving that truck. So that was kind of a nightmare, but it was also suuuuper nice not to have to make that trip with kids. And they packed and wrapped all our stuff WAAAAYYY better than what we ever would have done.
So I stayed with my parents for about a month, and it was a blast. My little brother got home from his mission during that time so it was so fun to be there for all of that and let everyone have some extra time with the kids. We spent a lot of nights watching movies or talking and catching up. It was so nice, but it also made it that much harder to leave. I miss them, a lot. I've kind of been in robot mode through this whole thing. The last few months have been an emotional roller coaster and I think I just started going on auto pilot and trying to emotionally detach myself from everything. Now it's starting to catch up to me! You can only block things out for so long until they come back and make you want to explode over every little thing. Here's what I mean....
I was only in my calling for a few months. Just long enough to get settled in and really get attached to all the girls. I miss them a lot. They were so fun and quirky and I loved giving them advice. They were all 14-15 with one 16 yr old and so we all know that time of life is crazy and drama filled. So I miss them and I was bummed about being released. Another thing was I LOVED our home. I loved that house and was so sad to see it go. When everything was moved out, and everything was cleaned, I just sat on the floor and cried. We had so many monumental things happen in that house. SO many good times. Our boys both learned to walk, talk, crawl, and go down stairs in that house. first birthdays and christmas' and my first Thanksgiving as the host. Little things like that. and I feel like selling that house was leaving that stage of life behind us. Now they are both so independent and seem so big. It seems like nothing is a first anymore, and it makes me really want another baby at times.....but then I think "MMM, betta not" (someone please recognize that quote!)
So leaving was hard, but being here has had a whole different set of issues too! Read the rest in part 2!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Rafey Baby Turns 1!
Here's about a million pictures of our "Big Chubby" Rafe... Who I guess isn't really a baby anymore! He's the sweetest, most relaxed little guy I know. He's been so fun to have in our home. He puts up with his big brother always knocking him over, climbing on top of him, and stealing his toys;) Damon really is sweet, just not all the time! Rafe is a good sleeper, a good eater, and has the cutest laugh. Here's some of the things he loves:
Cars
Stairs
Damon
Daddy
Mommy
Making funny noises with his mouth
walking
silky things
crackers
Mickey Mouse
Peek a boo
Anything that makes noise
Toilets...not my favorite
His little Trike
noodles
taking pictures
(Sorry these aren't in order! I'm not that cool)
We love our Rafey Boy! I can't believe he's already one! He is so much fun and is such a goofy boy! I'm so excited to see the changes in him this year!
Happy Birthday Rafe William!!
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