old fashioned chore

I can't even begin to describe how happy I am in this rental house. The pressure of the house on the market is off. The kids can go outside without fear of being killed by a golf ball. There are wonderful ammenities in this neighborhood, such as a pool, sidewalks, playgrounds, and a pond. The best feature so far, though, are the neighborhood kids. Unlike where we moved from, they actually go outside and play and visit unannounced and stay for dinner. Just like the way I grew up. I wanted that life for my kids, and was so surprised that it was exactly opposite of that in our last neighborhood. The kid across the street has quickly become my boy's favorite friend. In this picture, he and S are learning to snap the ends of the beans off for dinner. They had no idea they were doing an old fashioned chore. They thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Or they would have, if they knew that bread didn't come out of the oven pre-sliced. The "cherry on top" of this chore was that they found an actual worm among the beans. Because the beans were from the farmer's market and actually, gasp, grew in a garden. Not in a can. Sweet boys didn't even know they were learning a lesson.

At dinner, they proudly ate the beans THEY made, and we all decided they tasted like candy. Only better.

"Delightful" summer pasta

It may not look like much, but this pasta is one of the best dishes I've made all week. And that is a week that included grilled ribeye and chicken stuffed with fresh spinach and tomato basil feta cheese.

My 6 year old often turns his nose up at my cooking, and tonight after dinner, he said, "thank you mom; that was delightful." Delightful! What a great word from a 6 year old. Especially when I'm so used to hearing, "ewww, that was yucky." So, I'm officially naming this the "delightful summer pasta." I made up the recipe several years ago, but tonight it was better than ever because I grilled the veges instead of sauteing them. Here's the recipe...

Cook angel hair pasta according to directions.

In the meantime, cut up summer veges of your choice. I used tomatoes, zucchini, squash and onion.

Sprinkle the veges with salt, pepper, a tiny bit of Greek seasoning and olive oil.

Put the veges in a pan made for the grill, and set over the grill on high.

When pasta is done, drizzle with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar.

When veges begin to soften, some of them color a bit and the skin of the tomatoes are blistered, remove from heat and add to pasta.

Sprinkle with feta (I used the kind that has basil and tomato). Serve warm.

Enjoy~

Last day of Kindergarten

Two posts in one day? I'm obviously avoiding packing.

Today was S's last day of kindergarten. I'm so proud of him. We had a luau and award ceremony. He got the award for "most polite." I feel like that is the best award possible! It's our goal to raise polite, respectful kids, so to have him be recognized for that was awesome. Afterward, the teachers and one of the parents approached me to tell me how sweet and polite he is. The other mom also commented on how good all three boys are. What a great morning. I'm really just so proud.

Also, they have 200 sight words to learn in kindergarten and another 200 for first grade. He got all 200 for k and he got 186/200 for first grade. Yes, I'm bragging, but I don't care. He's an awesome kid!

the last mow

This is a picture I took of myself two nights ago mowing this lawn for the last time. Yes, I was drinking a lemon-drop. It was celebratory mowing.

Today is our son's last day of kindergarten, and we begin moving boxes into the rental tomorrow. Wow, it still seems surreal. Living here for 3 weeks after closing on the sale made it feel like it never happened. The movers come Monday to officially get us moved. I'm anxious to get it over with. I'm actually really excited about the new neighborhood. There are sidewalks, playgrounds and a pool. Plus we can ride our golf cart out here (less than one mile) and see our friends when we want.

Here's the rental. It's a great house. Okay, so the smell of curry permeates every inch of it, but I'm gonna deal with that when I can. That will be fun, I'm sure. Anyone have tips for getting rid of the smell?

The perfect rental

The rental market in our town is much more limited than I expected. I gave our agent an impossible list of things I wanted out of a rental. 4 or more bedrooms, a room to do my massages, a room for workout equipment, a basement for storage, a fence and a pool in the neighborhood. And I want it available in three weeks. Oh, and they have to allow my dog. She practically told me it was impossible. Still, she was up for the challenge. I'll be damned if she didn't deliver on every single wish on my list. She even got the price for the exact target I had in mind. She's good; she's very good.
Got the papers signed today and wrote the deposit and POA dues. We are moving in 3 weeks. One week ago today, we didn't even have anyone looking at our house. What a week.

Sold

Over the past two years, I had almost decided I would never be able to see that word on the real estate sign in our yard. Two years. It was so stressful, I can't even explain. During the time we had our house for sale, I got pregnant, had the baby, and now he is almost 14 months old. Having three boys in a house for sale was no fun, to say the least.
I don't want to revisit the whole situation right now. We closed this afternoon, and we are so relieved. We have about 3 weeks till we move. The rental is still in final negotiations. "Onward and Upward," as my husband has been saying all week.

living with a landlord

Oh yeah. I just realized that when we rent a house, we are gonna have a landlord. Hmmm. I don't know if I'm gonna like that too much. I still haven't heard about the house I want to rent, so today after school, I rode by. The owner was outside and waved at me, so I stopped. I got out and explained how much I wanted his house. He had another appointment coming today to look at it. I began a speech about how neat and clean we are even though we have three young kids, etc. He responded that he believed me because he had looked in my car yesterday while I was going through the house. Ewww. I have to admit that it was a little weird. Then again, he is considering letting my family live in his house, so I don't blame him. I passed. He said, "you can tell a lot about a person by their car, and yours was spotless." Thank goodness.
Then he went on to say that he may want to retain access to half of the basement for storage. He said he wouldn't go in the house, but he may go into the basement. Honestly, I'm not cool with that. I don't like the idea of somebody coming into the house in the middle of the night (or day) while I'm living there. Plus, I want that house specifically because of the basement. I plan to use it. I'm squeezing 5400 square feet into 3800 square feet. I know, it's still big, but we are a family of 5, and I work from home.
So, the dream rental may not become reality. I may have to spend tomorrow lining up something else, and I will be sad. But I did hear from the attorney's office today, and we are scheduled to close at 4:30 tomorrow, unless I hear otherwise. ALMOST there!

almost there

Today is the last day of the buyer's three day due diligence period. We are almost there. At 8am today, we are having a heating and air man come out to figure out why one of our units is "making a noise" that has the buyers "concerned." Even the inspector can't figure out why they cared about this. He simply recommended a service. So, that's what we're gonna do. Otherwise, the inspection was "perfect." Gotta admit, when I first heard that I freaked out a little that the sale was gonna go bust because of a noise from the air conditioning unit. My agent is slowly realizing that I'm a little bit crazy and a lot insecure.
The rental market around here is bleak. There just aren't many rentals with at least 4 bedrooms, room for me to do my massages, room for our workout equipment, a fence, and access to a neighborhood pool. All for the relatively low price I wanted to pay. Go figure. I have driven the streets for 3 days and my agent has been searching too. I almost decided to pay too much for a house that fit most of our needs when I got a call yesterday from the agent. She had just found a house with every single feature I listed! It was just available for rent (was for sale), and someone was going to see it at 6pm. So, of course, she had gotten us an appointment for 4:30. I made the offer on the spot. Now I couldn't sleep last night waiting to hear. The couple wanted to talk it over last night and let us know today. I'm a little scared because I took my baby with me. They are middle eastern, and we, first of all, forgot to remove our shoes. Then he mentioned how baby's "eat cereal everywhere" and he has white carpet. My agent insisted repeatedly how spotless my house is, and I threw in the fact that we are very strict and I own my own carpet cleaner, etc. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Still, I give props to my agent for even finding it. That's why she's got the reputation she has.
When I can, I'll update about today's events. It will be a big day. Hell, it's been a big week. Best birthday ever.

Suck it Monkeys!

Sorry. That's what I plan to say to the owners of this golf course when my house finally closes. That's right, our house is finally under contract! I'm still in disbelief and shock, but the agents feel sure it will close. I've been keeping it a secret until I felt sure. It was all so weird and sudden. On our bike ride Saturday, I had talked to hubby about just taking it off and forgetting about it. Then, I got a text, A TEXT!, from our agent with an offer from a couple who've not even seen it. They wanted to close this week. After that, it all happened so fast. They couldn't come, and their parents were buying it anyway (I know. I know!), so the parents flew in and out of town Sunday to see it. Loved it, made the offer, and Monday morning my phone rings off the hook with appointments. Got the inspection done, the appraisal done, both agents finding us rentals. If all goes well, they want to close tomorrow. That's 4 DAYS from first contact. My head is spinning, and I'm a little nauseous. It's not anywhere near the price we wanted, but these days, it is acceptable. If we didn't take it, who knows how long it would be before a great offer came along. And these people are a dream to work with. No contingencies. They are letting us stay till the 25th without paying rent. They offered to pay all the closing costs. And they are quick and decisive, which we love.
So, that's (hopefully) the end of my real estate saga. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is bright and happy.

Our first real bike trip

We have a great bike trail about a 40 minute drive from our house. For my birthday, instead of dinner, I asked my husband to take me on a bike ride. We got great bikes last summer, but we haven't made the time to go try out the trail. Mostly because we never leave our kids. But, my mom agreed to keep them, so we were off! Wow, we had a blast. We rode about 16 miles, and it felt so good to get so thoroughly exhausted! We aren't exactly in top notch shape. Now we know that part of the trail is flat enough for the bike trailers, so next time we can take the kids with us. Today, though, was so good for us to get out by ourselves and just have fun. It's something we just don't do enough. Yes, we missed the kids, but I think we needed it. We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home, bike shorts and all, and ate like pigs! It was great!

I've had the best two days for my birthday, and I really needed it. Feeling much better. I'm gonna try to keep it up.

Happy Birthday to me

Hola Bebe

Every day at 2:15, I have to wake up the two little ones to go get S from kindergarden. Yesterday, I put N (3) in the car, as usual, and went to get Tiki (13 mths.). When I put the baby in the car, he was excited to see N and squealed, "gubala!" N laughed and greeted him.

I asked N what the baby said.

He answered, "He speaks Spanish."

Visit from Grandpa

S and N having cuddle time.

I love this special picture of Grandpa reaching

back in the car to hold Tiki's hand.

N and his Grandpa.


My husband's dad visited this week, and he just left today. I'm always so sad when family leaves. It's tough to have grandparents who live across the country. The boys all enjoyed Grandpa, but N especially got attached quickly and fiercely. We went to six flags Saturday, and he only had eyes from Grandpa. I'm glad, and I know it made him feel good. We only get to see him once a year because we rarely get to pack everyone up for the trip to California.

Six Flags was a blast. Our boys are fearless. It was S's treat for his 6th birthday, so he got to take a friend.

S, N and their buddy.

S's friend, S and me on the wheelie. So fun!

S, friend and my husband on the train.

Eyeball Cake

When asked what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, S answered "strawberry." Oh yeah, and he wanted it to look like an eyeball. Yes, he is all boy.

So, here's the eyeball cake. I'm quite proud of it. I put fresh strawberries in the cake batter, which had the effect of looking a bit like blood and tissue. The frosting is cream cheese, and it was really yummy.

Now for the funny part of the story. After baking all day (cupcakes for school and the cake), we let him choose Zaxby's for dinner. Upon leaving, he begged for a gumball. We said, "choose a gumball or cake." He chose gumball. We asked several times if he knew what he was doing. We got home, and some of our closest friends and their two kids were waiting to have cake with us. We all had birthday cake, and S played with his friends, chewing his gumball. I hope it was good.

Happy Birthday to my oldest son

S turned 6 today. Of course, I can't believe how fast he's growing up. Then again, I can't really remember life before him. He came into this world and began to heal our hearts from the terrible loss of his brother the year before. He was our largest baby, at 9lbs 12 oz, yet his was the easiest and funnest birth. I remember when my husband put him on my chest after he was weighed and cleaned up. We just sat there holding him and each other and cried and cried.

As most first time parents do, and even worse because we were recovering from loosing Silas, we doted on him terribly. He nursed whenever he wanted, which was all the time. He slept whenever and where ever he wanted. He learned quickly that he could control the house with his moods. He's still slowly learning that it won't work that way forever. He's so emotional, like his mother. In fact, he is like me in most ways. It's so weird to see your own little quirks show up in another person. Makes you in awe of genetics. Unlike me, he is smart. Really smart. And he has a wonderful memory. Also unlike me.

Although he's one of the youngest in his class, he is probably the tallest. When we go somewhere, I can usually count on him helping me take care of the baby or hold my door, etc. Unless, of course, he isn't in the mood. There are plenty of those days too.

We are so proud of him. On his birthday, and on every other day too.

nothing to say

I know I haven't posted in a very long time. I just haven't had anything interesting to say. Well, I have. Tiki turned one. Did I post that? S turns 6 tomorrow. My girlfriend and I had a great trip to Alabama last week with our 5 kids during spring break. Yada yada yada. I'm depressed about the bum housing market, and sometimes I just go through the routines. Tiki is still very clingy and demanding. He's had more colds and teeth cut than any baby I know. I'm tired.
Of course, we have great days too, but I still never get around to posting. I'm more likely to write a quick facebook entry.
Things will turn around. I'm still very impressed with President Obama and confident our country will rally. I'm not, however, so confident that anyone will ever buy this house and release me.

who turns down free banana bread?

Got the house clean and had the showing. I made the banana bread for tomorrow's party and left it on the cooling rack with a knife and a note saying, "please help yourself. There's fresh coffee." I was offended when I got home and they had neither had banana bread or coffee. Don't they appreciate southern hospitality? Oh well, it's their loss because I make kick ass banana bread.

Gearing up for a busy day...

I don't know how I'm gonna get through tomorrow. My cleaning lady is coming to help in the morning, thank god. We have a showing at 1:30. I'll pick up S at 2:20 then go to an appointment at 4:30. Sometime in the middle of all that, aside from taking care of the kids, I have to bake 2 loaves of banana bread, make two birthday cakes, and make quiche for the Saturday am party for Tiki. Then, we have two more birthday parties to go to Saturday. Over commit much? This is why it SUCKS having your house on the market with three kids at home for TWO YEARS. Don't know how much longer I can do this. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled we have a showing.


Meanwhile, I'm trying to con my husband out of enough money to buy real art for the office. I don't know why, since we have very little real art in our house. But my friend, who's an amazing artist, is sort of clearancing some gorgeous stuff, and I want it ALL. I'll post pictures if I get any. Yes, I know, I have many pictures to post.

Catch up

I've missed posting on several events lately. When I'm feeling low, I just can't bring myself to write. I tend to just run around aimlessly or drink red wine instead. Let's see if I can catch up...


February was a hard month for me, so I'm gonna skip it for now. SKIP...


March 2nd, however, was my baby Tiki's birthday. Somehow, he's already one. Poor kid almost got overlooked because we've been so busy, but we did manage to make him yummy tacos for dinner. His party is Saturday, so I'll try to post more on that later.


Last night, S pulled out his second tooth by himself! I couldn't pull it; it just grosses me out. My hubby couldn't do it either. Finally, the poor kid took matters into his own hands and popped it out. I would NEVER have done that as a kid, but thank goodness he may be a little more independent than I was. He was proud, and very excited the tooth fairy came last night.


The biggest news, though, is that we moved into the office over the weekend. They opened for business yesterday. Things aren't really completed, but it's workable. They are so happy. It looks great, and the space is gonna work nicely. I'm trying to get some art from my friend the photographer and my friend the painter, so I'll post pics when all is settled. My tile job has drawn tons of compliments, so that's exciting. Just furnishing it and bring in the essentials (trash cans, coffee mugs, etc) is keeping me so busy and driving the kids crazy. Thanks to my dear friend, I bought Orla Kiely mugs, plates and bowls. They're adorable. We are quickly going broke, though, due to all the unexpected expenses, so my husbands about to cut me off. I can feel it coming.

Gotta run for school pickup, but I'll try to post pictures soon.

Mardi Gras Pictures

Hmmm, yes, we felt a little rough this morning.

But we were probably the most well dressed people there.


I was so proud of my husband. Such a good sport. Love him in the tights.