Merry Christmas!

Hello friends! Merry Christmas to you! I wish you all a blessed and wonderful Christmas Day.

It has been a long time to say the least. Life just keeps us all busy and I get normally maybe 20 minutes on the computer in the morning and maybe a bit at night before bed - but not always.

We're all doing good. Duncan of course is very excited about Christmas. We are also looking forward tomorrow. It's going to be a lot of fun. Tonight, Christmas Eve, we are having my parents over for dinner after the Christmas Eve service. Tomorrow morning we'll unwrap presents with the kids, go to church, home again after probably after naps, go to Mom and Dad's for the rest of the day. It should be fun.

And of course in a week and a half we're off to Hawaii! That too is going to be wonderful!

I pray you are all well, enjoying time with your families and friends, and will hopefully speak with you in a few days.

Hi hi!

Hey friends! Yes its me, your non-blogger friend Carole. As you can tell I have not been blogging much. I just don't have time. I am totally behind on my blog roll, in fact I just clear it out unread more often that not. I haven't been on facebook much, and emails get deleted too. Just busy with life and taking less computer time.

But we're all doing well. Having fun ramping up for Christmas. We decorated the tree this week and Duncan had a blast helping with that. Of course, as would happen when a 4 year old decorates a tree, all the ornaments are all in one section. I moved a few of them b/c they were falling off the branches where he put 2 or 3 on the same branch, but otherwise I left it alone b/c I love how it looks. Cordie is also fascinated with the tree but so far has not knocked it over.

Tomorrow I am leaving for Seattle very early in the morning and am going to visit Laura for the morning. It's the only day we could make it work for me to come and visit. Mom wanted to tag along, so the two of us are going to go and hope to be home by 3 PM or so. Bill has the kids home today, and tomorrow. Not that he can't handle them, but I don't want to be gone all day!

Duncan's birthday was a week ago. Our little boy is 4! We had fun with a little party for him at our house. 4 of his friends came over, but with parents and siblings etc, we had a good crowd, and it was lots of fun.

Let's see what else... both kids are good. Bill transfered to the Abbotsford office which was effective this week. The hope was that he'd have a shorter commute, be able to leave later in the morning, and get to see the kids in the morning. Well let me tell you - it worked! His commute is now 35 minutes, he doesn't have to leave the house until 7:20, and is home around 4:50. I'm home with the kids around 4:30, so it all works out great. As a result we're also taking turns working out in the morning before the kids are up. This is good b/c to say I am a bit huggable would be an understatement :) But I'm working on it.

Alright, I told Bill I would make pancakes for everyone this AM as we're out of bread. I already made the batter, but should now go and actually make the pancakes. Everyone is still sleeping, which is not horrible.

Take care everyone!

Snack Pack Share a Smile

What are things that make you smile? Without a doubt my kids make me smile. They make me laugh - a lot! My husband makes me smile. He often claims he's the funniest person he knows. :) On the same note, I also make myself smile. I'm the second funniest person he knows :)  My morning cup of coffee makes me smile. Taking a minute to sit down with my book makes me smile. Getting a purr from my cat makes me smile. My friends make me smile. They are also funny people. :)

I also like to make people smile. I try very hard to greet my children with a smile each morning, so hopefully set them off on the right foot for the day. I try to walk around the office smiling. It makes people wonder what you've been up to. 

Snack Packs - the fine people who bring us pudding in a cup and Juicy Jels - are trying to spread a few smiles.

Visit Snack Packs' Facebook Page, hit the like Button, and then hit the smile tab. Every day you share a smile Snack Pack will donate $1 to Canadian Food Banks, up to $20,000.00. Not only that, but you're given a reason to smile, and a chance to win some really great prizes. Do this once a day and you can earn smile badges. Hey, who doesn't like to share a smile?


To find out more about Snack Pack products (including Juicy Gels and low-fat puddings), visit them at
http://www.snackpackcanada.ca/


Disclosure - I am participating in the
Snack Pack program by Mom Central on behalf of Conagra Foods Canada. I received a gift card as a
thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Checking for a pulse

Hi friends! I'm writing before you start checking for my pulse! Not much on facebook, not much blogging. You know, work is so crazy all the time by the time I get home and sit at the computer for a few minutes I'm ready for bed. Don't feel like doing much at all. The kids have been waking up earlier (the time change didn't help that) so I don't even really get my morning 30 minutes email and a coffee time. And b/c work is so insane, I don't have time to check things there.

But we're all doing well!! Bill is sick again... he had strep throat a few weekends ago and it has now apparently moved into his chest and he has bronchitis. He has Friday off, and was going to send the kids to daycare, but I'd already told her they were staying home, so she made other plans... so he'll have to rest another day :)

The kids are good. Duncan is doing awesome in his second year of preschool. I am loving how much he is learning both academically (pre-K program) and with going to the Christian school the things he comes home with wanting to talk about God and sing Bible songs etc... I love it!

Cordie is just growing by leaps and bounds. She is such a funny girl. Loving the world of walking. She loves books "Book! Book!". She loves Bubbles "bubble? bubble!!" for bath time. She loves cookies "cookie? cookie?" That's my girl!!

Like I said work is busy, but I'm doing well with my new team and all. Picking up the pace. But the pace is so fast the days fly and the weeks fly. Not too long until Hawaii now! Woo hoo!! So who is all in favour of drugging children for a flight? What worked for you? I'm not so concerned about Duncan, but Cordie, who won't have her own seat will be the challenge. She is not going to want to sit on laps for 5 hours. We'll figure it out.

Books - finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and enjoyed it. Now finally reading World Without End by Ken Follett, sequel to the Pillars of the Earth. I loved Pillars, and am really enjoying this one now. Nice thick 1000 page novel with small print.

Alright, and as a large yawn just over took me, I need to head to bed. Good night!

"Bob"

For some unknown reason, everything unknown to my son is Bob.

Mom, what's his name?
I don't know.
Is it Bob?
Sure.

Mom, who lives there?
I don't know.
Is it Bob?
Sure.

Mom, who is making that noise (someone was operating a power saw)
Our neighbours
What are their names?
Well one of them is named Cody
Who else?
I don't know.
Bob?
Sure.

Mom, who sings this song?
I don't know
Bob?
Sure

Mom, what's this song?
I don't know.
Is it the Bob Song?
Sure.

Mom, who are those kids across the street? (3 boys and one girl are playing)
I don't know
Are they Bob, Bob, Bob and Bob?
No, I think the girl is Bobette.

What's funny is Bill's Dad is named Bob, and we call him Grandpa Bob, and it makes me wonder if that ties into it somehow.

How I know my husband and I are well suited

You know, aside from being happily married for 10 years, do you know how I know I married the right man? Here's how -  this afternoon from our respective offices this is the type of conversation we had through email:


Him: I'm thinking of doing Movember next month
after a bit of explaining to me what Movember is... you grow a mustache to help raise money for prostate cancer
Him: I was thinking of growing one like Ra's al Ghul from Batman
Me: Oh, like Liam Neeson - nice!
Him: No, not Liam, the real Ra's. Liam didn't assume Ra's until the other one died
Me: I think Liam's character was always the real Ra's
Him: yeah, so do I

Yeah, we discuss Batman in our regular conversation in our married life. It's why I like being married to this man :)

Friday Ramblings

Stealing from Nancy's subject line... sometimes it's hard to think of something more catchy. I couldn't believe it had been 2 weeks since I blogged.

I guess there isn't too much to say anyhow... things, over all, are good.

• The Wiggles concert on Oct 10 was loads of fun. I hope I can take the kids many times before they tire of it. We were in 14th row floor, which meant we got to see most of the Wiggles right up close while they walked through the audience, but it was quite difficult for Duncan to see, so in the future, up in the stands.
• Thanksgiving was nice too. Mom and Dad came over. My chicken didn't cook proper, but there was more than enough food so we just threw the chicken in the oven and had it for lunches.
• My new team at work is going well. I'm still quite slow, but I've actually transitioned into this new team quite easily, which is good. I still have a lot of learning to do b/c it is a new block of work, but I thought I was going to be quite anxious about the whole thing, and I'm not. My new team seems to be a really good group of people.
• Bill has strep throat. I hate sore throats so I feel especially bad for him. I also take back all my jokes about man colds b/c it turns out he actually is sicker than I am.

The kids are good. Cordie is loving the freedom of walking, and now thinks it is quite fun to climb up the baby gate and ride on it... so Dad is coming over tomorrow to put up out climb proof one we hadn't installed yet. We took it from the other house but this one had one at the top of the stairs so we never bothered to put the other one one.

Duncan is doing awesome with school. He is really enjoying it and learning lots. I know this b/c he talks about things he's learned there, which is awesome. The other day we're out for a walk and talking about the seasons and he asked why there were seasons and we said b/c God made it that way. And he says "Just like he made the light and the dark?" That's right bud! So it's sinking in, which is great.

Thursday night

Good evening friends!

I find it funny how I am always writing blog posts in my head, yet they never actually translate into being typed and posted.

What's going on....
Well I've almost survived my 1st week on my new block of work. I have so much to learn. I know I have lenience b/c I'm new, but I feel so totally lost about the whole thing. I know how to assess medical, but how different groups like it done is what I need to learn. But the team is good, friendly, and supportive. I'm actually not near as stressed as I thought I would be.

Today we had a potluck at work in honour of Thanksgiving coming up. I'm on the social committee and we organized it, so for a while there I was worried we weren't going to have enough food. Well it wasn't an issue. We had plenty and it was good! I cheated and picked up a pecan pie at the store, but it went over well b/c it was all eaten!

Tomorrow is my Mom and Dad's 45th wedding anniversary. How awesome is that? 45 years!! We're going out for dinner with the family and so for the 1st time we've hired a teenaged babysitter. My coworker Robert's daughter. She is coming over tonight to meet the kids. We decided to not bring the kids b/c frankly, they would get really bored really quick.

Speaking of Mom and Dad, I don't think I told you the deal about Hawaii... well my parents are taking the whole family to Hawaii in January!!! How awesome is that? (Very! Thanks Mom and Dad!). Mom has been wanting to go on a family vacation for a long time now but it was never a good time, but now the kids are getting bigger and all, they are doing it before we get too old. We have a lot going on between now and then, but it is going to be great.

So this weekend we have the Wiggles concert. Monday we're doing a small Thanksgiving dinner with my parents b/c we're getting together as a family tomorrow night.

Otherwise... we're doing good here! I hope you are too!

Westjet and Travel Insurance

I mentioned yesterday that we had a bit of an issue with our bags being lost.

So here is the low down. We flew out of Vancouver on a Sunday morning on what they called Black Sunday because 7 cruise ships were coming into port. This meant the airport was going to be a zoo. We did hit the 1st wave of travelers around 8:30 AM, but since most ships dock at 8 AM down town, we weren't too worried.

When booking the trip I opted for travel insurance after an incident a few years ago where we bought insurance for Bill's brother when he came to visit. There was a clause in there that if bags were delayed for 12 hours he had $400 to shop for necessities. His bags were delayed, he went shopping, came home, bags came in, boom, new wardrobe.

Travel insurance also covers things like cancellation due to weather, illness, death,etc... since I work in insurance I tend to make sure we've got approrpiate coverages.

So when we showed up in LV and our bag didn't, we figured it had been caught up with other bags from various cruise ship passengers going who knows where.

We started a claim with with Westjet people at McCarran Airport. Let me say the people there were so friendly and helpful, it was really nice. It was annoying our bag wasn't there, but over the next 3 days they did everything they could to locate our bag, call us with updates and put up with my 3x/day phone calls. I gave a description of the bag and what would be inside. When they located the bag they knew it was ours b/c they took the time to compare our list with what they found.

Among the things inside were books 2 and 3 of Suzanne Collins Hunger Games trilogy, and I had finished book one and I needed book two!! Have you read the Hunger Games? If not, why are you not running to find it right now? Phenomenal. I am 30 pages from the end and am sad it is almost over. Thanks again Colorado Nancy for putting me on to this one. Bill has been enjoying it too.

We got our bags. When we got back to Vancouver I had to clear up the claim with the baggage counter there. Again, super friendly and helpful employee. We were allowed $75 for necessities and a $150 travel credit for the broken bag (the handle had come off, did I mention that?).

So yesterday I go to submit our receipts and I submitted more than $75 but sent a note saying that with a 3 day delayed, these were the neccesities we had needed, and get this -Westjet covered all the receipts I submitted, no arguements.

I really appreciate that despite the annoying inconvenience of this all that they were friendly, helpful, and efficient.

Now I am waiting for my claim forms from RBC for the balance of the claim. What Westjet paid will be deducted from the RBC claim, so it's not like we come out ahead by Westjet paying more, but it's the fact of the matter.

I know we also got travel insurance for Hawaii, but I hope we don't lose anything there going with the kids and all... What's that, you don't know about Hawaii? :)

Our Las Vegas Adventure

Hi everyone!

I've been meaning to post since we got back about out little trip away, but I just haven't bothered :) You know it's funny how you go through enjoyment of the internet in bouts. Some times I could spend hours online, and then some times I couldn't care less. I stopped playing Farmville, I unsubscribed to a bunch of the blog I used to follow, I post on my blog less. It's all good though!

Anyhow, we're back from Vegas and had a wonderful, wonderful time. I would love it if we could take off there every year, and maybe we will. I doubt we can swing it next year with going to Hawaii in January (oh I didn't, tell you about that? Later then) and Bill's entire family coming out next fall. Yeah. 11 people in this house. Come to think of it I think I will go stay with my parents during that time and let them have fun of the place. LOL!

So we flew out Sunday morning, landed just after 1PM. Unfortunately our luggage didn't. We settled in and then headed over to Macy's to pick up some stuff we needed at least for the night (pjs, toiletries, etc...). I had bought travel insurance, and so if our bags were delayed by 12 hours we would get $400 each for necessities. Well the next morning our bag still hadn't arrived, and it had been 12 hours, and after checking with the insurance company twice ("really? we get $750?) we went shopping!! We hit Target (love Target! Got most of what we needed there), and then the mall with a Lane Bryant, and headed back to the hotel. That was quite fun. We still need to settle our claims with both Westjet and RBC, but we came out with better clothes than we went in with!

So let's see... lots of walking, not as much eating as we'd have thought. We'd have a good breakfast, split a sandwich at lunch, and a nice dinner. Did room service 3x - which said and done wasn't too horrible for the money. We did the CSI Experience... well let me back up. We stayed at the MGM Signature in Tower 3 and LOVED IT. It is set way back from the strip (like 3 blocks, although attached to the MGM - it's down form the Miracle Mile Mall, which was actually a decent shopping place). Aside from the pillows being way too soft, it was fantastic and I would totally stay there again. We cabbed almost everywhere, which is totally the way to go if you don't want to spend your whole day walking.

So, CSI we had discount tickets for and it was worth about that. No where near as much fun as the old Star trek Experience used to be. Lounged by the pool - and in the pool. Enjoyed the real jacuzzi bath tub in our suite. We saw the Lion King which we loved. Lots of fun. We ate dinner at Emeril's - which was also fun and delicious. We plugged $40 into the slot machines and cashed out at $80 which paid for some ice cream, Starbucks, and Burger King on the way home at McCaran Airport which later gave Bill food poisoning. Poor guy still feels like crud. But at least that didn't hit until we got home.

Mom and Dad did awesome with the kids. Thank you again. I think we wore Mom out, but she survived :) And the kids were mostly really good for her. Even Strider didn't mind having the dog around.

Oh, and our luggage did show up on day 3. The handle holding all the tags had ripped off and then for some reason it went to L.A. instead of Las Vegas, but they got it to us. So we came home with 2x as much stuff as we went with, but customs had no problem with that. Westjet is being good about it. Actually, they were all fantastic to us.

Another comment. Every service person in LV was just so nice. You know people actually seem to enjoy their jobs whether it's being a waitress, a cashier, a bell hop, room service, cabbies... everyone was just really pleasant. We look forward to heading back!

Menu Plan Monday

Hey, even if I don't post about much else, this is something simple I can do. I can't promise this will stay in this order, but it is essentially what we'll be noshing on this week!

Sunday - Nachos (these were yummy!)

Monday - Mushroom Linguine with chicken (I used spaghetti)

Tuesday - Saucy Beef and Peppers (let's be honest, it's a stir fry)

Wednesday - hamburgers and fries

Thursday - Pesto Chicken pasta and garlic bread - made with President's Choice Tomato Pesto

Friday - whatever we feel like!!

How about you? Check out http://orgjunkie.com/ for more meal plan ideas.

Saturday morning

Hi friends!

I know I haven't been blogging at all, but quite honestly there is not a whole lot to say. We're all doing well. How are you?

Let's see... one week until we take off for Vegas and my Mom moves in to watch our monkeys. That will go fine b/c they are always super good for other people. Although I know there will be a certain amount of tears when we head off. I'll miss the kids but I'm trying not to think about that part of things.

School started for Duncan this week. New school, new teachers, and of course he jumped right in. I took Wednesday morning off and went to the 1 hour orientation, and then Friday was the 1st 2.5 hour class and Nikki said they both did great. So I'm glad that transition went well.

Duncan also starts soccer soon. This coming Thursday is the meet and greet and then next Sunday (of course the Sunday were gone) is their 1st practice and game. They practice for 30 min and then have a game for 30 min. My Dad has said he will take Duncan though. We also think we're going to sign Duncan up for another round of swimming lessons. It's about time.

The house is coming along great. We've been here for 2 months now and we just love, love, love it. We're so at home here. My Dad has been in this week renovating our laundry room which now also has a working toilet - which was very important for little boys who are playing trains and suddenly need to go pee NOW! The vanity is actually a laundry utility sink with drawers, so it will double well.

And finally, after years of nagging, we have a cleaning lady starting on Thursday!! YAY!! This is the woman who has been cleaning my parent's house for years, and she does a phenomenal job. You know, I know to some readers it might seem silly, or a waste of money, or excessive to have someone come in and clean my house, but quite honestly it's a time vs. money thing and right now I'd rather pay to have it done really well every few weeks than spending all my weekends scrubbing. So I'm happy about it!

Have a great weekend! It's beautiful here. We're about to go meet some friends for breakfast.

Menu Planning Monday

I'm going to try posting my Menu Planning. I always Menu Plan (I can't shop without it) but I'm hoping I'll get some inspiration for some new meals by joining in this fun.





What's on the Menu this week:
Monday: No Bull Burritos - I find Mexican food works well with the kids b/c we can give it to them "disassembled" and they love it. I'll be making some home made guacamole to go with it.

Tuesday: Slowcooker Meat Sauce and Ravioli with Garlic Bread.

Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice and some kind of Veggie.

Thursday: Ham and New potatoes and Broccoli

Friday: Something simple.

How about you?

Weekending. Or should I say weekend ending

Good morning. As usual a few moments to sit with a coffee and read some email before getting the kids up.

I've been actually getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning and using the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes. Kind of crazy I know. Exercising! Hopefully it does some good. It does cut into my sit on my butt and boot around on the computer time, but oh well.

So how was your weekend? Good I hope! Ours was good. We got our new furniture for the living room on Friday. Ohhhh it's nice. We really like it. Opted to pay the extra cash and have it stain proofed. We also had our screens put in. We started actually moving boxes and stuff into my sewing room. It's going to be great once that is altogether.

Friday night Bill had some guys over to hang around in the man cave. So I had Theresa over. We got take out Indian (YUM! 1st time in over a year as I couldn't eat it while I was nursing) and rented The Ugly Truth. Oh boy, that was funny. Rated R for good reason, but it was funny.

Saturday Duncan and I went to his friend's place for a playdate there. And while the kids were napping I went grocery shopping, and then I took the kids to a birthday party at the park. Cordie was stung by a wasp - poor girl. Got her some children's benadryl and it seemed to do the trick. We rented Date Night. That was also funny.  Reminded me of Adventures in Babysitting.

Sunday morning was church, then Mom and Dad came over for coffee. I took some time to unpack some boxes in my room and otherwise, we hung out with the kids. Duncan and I went for a nice long walk. Picked some blackberries. I ate either a poisoned one, of it had a spider or bug in it that was poisonous b/c it tasted so bad. I spat it out immediately, but it made my tongue go numb for at least an hour (well part of it). It was kind of crazy. I'm fine now. We rented Shutter Island for last night (having fun watching movies lately... ) and are really enjoying it, but were falling asleep. So we'll need to finish it tonight and pay the late fee.

And that's about it. This week ahead nothing too crazy. We're attempting a trip to Seattle next weekend with our pukey kids. I told Laura if one of them pukes we're turning around, but at least we'll give it a go. DVD player, frequent stops... hopefully it will work.

Alright time to get the wee ones up and get some breakfast into them. Have a wonderful day!

My kids make me laugh

You know, I think I can kind of tell I like being a Mom. I am the sterotypical Mom who still share stories of my kids with anyhow who will listen. Not that they care. But some times, at least to me, something is too good not to share.

My children make me laugh. Cordie makes me laugh because she mimics words and sounds, often unexpectedly. We often joke with Duncan when we're going somewhere we'll tell "Come On Duncan! To The Upstairs!" and make that do do do do sound (like this). Well we did that the other day coming home and Cordie totally mimicked the do do do sound. We about doubled over laughing.

Duncan loves to sing. Both kids do actually, but seeing as Cordie's words are quite limited, we can a bit more legitimately say Duncan loves to sing. We sing songs from Yo Gabba Gabba, Thomas, Backyardigans, and fun things like Peter Gabriel, Black Eyed Peas, Tom Cochran. But the funny part is he has his own words. And don't try to correct him.

"I Gotta Feelin'" by the Black Eyed Peas (which he can almost sing the entire song of, very funny in itself) there is a line "We'll paint the town". Except Duncan says "We'll paint the tail". No honey, it's town. "No it's not Mom, it's tail.". If you say so sweetie.

"Life Is A Highway" (Cars soundtrack). "Life is a Highway! I'm going to drive in on my lawn!" (as opposed to all night long).

Yo Gabba Gabba Keep Trying, Keep trying... there is a part where it says "don't stop, don't stop, you'll get it right", except the Duncan version is "No Socks, no socks, in your eye..."

And again, he is quite insistent that those are the words, making it that much more awesome.

What's also funny is he mumbles with songs when he doesn't know the words - he tries, and he wants to learn them, and so he tries and sings anyhow (which is awesome). But when he gets to the part he knows he belts it out. Often this is only two words of a song.

Yeah my kids make me laugh.

Mid-week hello

Hello!! Yeah remember me? I write lots and lots of blog posts in my head, but you know, unless they get transfered to my blog, it doesn't really matter does it? I'm just busy and I take very little time to be on the computer. I wish work was a little less crazy that I could get away with it there... Maybe soon?

Bill is listening to Billy Joel's Piano Man and writing some kind of a spoof of it and laughing to himself, which means it will probably be highly inappropriate :) We'll see. Oh wait... yep, I was right. Check it out. If you dare.

The weather has finally cooled down. Ahhh... Right now I'm hanging out in the Man Cave with my laptop, having a glass of wine, which Bill is playing on his computer. It counts for together time for us! I think we might go upstairs soon and maybe watch some tv. And have ice cream.

Tonight we went to Red Robin with C&R to celebrate Iain's 11th birthday. Okay, Iain was 2.5 when we met C&R. Insane to think. They kind of staggered our meals and what not, so the kids were done way before the adults, and they got a bit antsy. I have Up on my iPod (digital copy) so Ally watched that. Nice to see them.

Ummm.. last Thursday was our 10th wedding anniversary. Theresa baby sat and we went for dinner. It was wonderful. Bill got me a beautiful ring, and I got him... a beer fridge for the man cave! And he loves it! It's been going over quite well with his friends. Always good to have your husband's friends think you're cool. Not that it was an issue. I am cool. *grin*.

But yeah, 10 years. And although cliche, better than ever.

Saturday we had our kick ass party to celebrate the house and 10 years of marriage. It was so awesome to have our friends out. The kids played awesome (over all). And as most people have small childen, we were done by 8:30. LOL!

Flooring is all done in the house, so we can finally get around to moving my stuff into Sewrenity! We need baseboards done, but we can just pull stuff away from the wall and do it that way. Next, and pretty much last, thing is putting in the 3rd bathroom. We bought the toilet and sink already, so it's just a matter of getting it done.

What's coming up... this weekend we've got two play dates for Duncan. So that will be some awesome Duncan/Mommy time, and Daddy/Cordie time. Weekend after we're attempting Seattle for Jesse and Laura's party. It's been 3 years. Duncan doesn't do well in the car. But we're going to try. I told Laura if one of them pukes going down we're turning around and heading home.

We're still looking for a preschool *sigh*. More on that later.

Alright, laundry is done. Have a good night you all!

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Night Catch Up

Hello friends!

You know it's kind of funny because I had the whole week off work and was home for most of it, but spent less time on the computer than I normally would. So despite having unsubscribed to a bunch of blogs, I'm behind on everything. But fear not, I have the personal blogs I am loyal to, so my friends, I am not ignoring you.

So briefly, what's going on...

Well we attempted to go to the cabin with the kids. I had some reservations about going, but everyone said "Go! Enjoy" and so I got over myself and we went. And it was fun. The kids were having a great time during the day and very well behaved. However night time was a different story. The kids are not used to sharing a room, so when one made a noise the other woke up, etc... and then Cordie was up to 3 AM one night coughing... which meant I was too, and Duncan was up before 6 because he was so excited.. well after a few nights of that I declared myself a quitter and we went home. We're glad we did. We all slept well in our own beds and enjoyed the week together.

We have finished painting our rooms, and my brother hopes to get floors done for us this week, so that will be great. Once that is done, it will go a long way to gettting a bunch more stuff out of the garage as there is no point in moving it inside before floors are done.

What else... Cordie is officially weaned. I am sad about it in that Mom way. 14.5 months of nursing my baby girl every day. Truth is, she hasn't been interested in it for a while, and barely was nursing at all in the end, so Cordie isn't suffering, but it's a sweet bond. If we weren't going away in September I might have pushed for her to continue, but I think it's better to be done so she doesn't look for that comfort while we're gone.

My Mom is bravely moving in for 5 days in September while Bill and I take off to Vegas. I have no doubt it will go fine, but I'll miss the kids!

Colorado Nancy mentioned she is annoyed at her babysitter (and I don't blame you!). I am annoyed at the lady I was trying to hire to come clean our house. Bill caved in after years of me going on about it - I wanted someone every other week to come and clean the house. So I decided Craigslist might be a good place to look for someone. And I found this lady, and we got in touch, and I explained what we're looking for, and we discussed prices. I said I would like to meet her, check references, and then get her in once next week, and then the following Friday, and every 2nd Friday after that. At first she was very keen "Oh I'll get you the references to check" which she never did. And then We should meet. But after several emails she still hasn't gotten back to me to meet. So today I said forget it. I am not going to chase you down to get your business. Work for it honey. So back to square one.

Well that's enough for tonight. Hope you're all well! Back to work tomorrow!

Datebook July 26, 2010

Today...
outside it is sunny. I accidentally just typed that it is funny. Anyhow. It's been sunny and hot. I think high 20s again today. Blah. I love the sun, but a few degrees cooler in the evening would be good.
I am reading "A Kind of Magic" by Carole Matthews. This is like my 6th or 7th book of hers in the last 2 months or so. They are all totally unrelated, so something different each time
In the kitchen I almost don't even remember. Last night we did Beer Butt Chicken, something we love but havne't done in years. Nice having the BBQ outside the kitchen. Makes it a lot easier to just step outside and throw something on the BBQ. Also on the menu this week home made greek, tacos I think (probably tonight), chicken nuggets and fries (yeah, I know, exciting, but it works), and we'll figure out the rest as we go.
Weekend Saturday was a wash. Sunday was awesome. Saturday morning we met my folks for breakfast - something the kids love. Duncan loves the hashbrowns and pretty much clears off all our plates of it... wait, unless Cordie isn't grabbing it 1st! she was helping herself to mine. Quite funny. Anyhow, then off to Costco to pick up some stuff we needed. We bought, and Bill installed, a ceiling fan in the dining room  - much needed. Also a new microwave b/c, well, we need one. And also these pop up foot rest block things we'll use in the living room until our furniture arrives. Then Duncan just started acting horrible all day. He wouldn't nap - but he needed to. And then he was just being a, well, 3 year old. Anyhow, we were going to do movie night with him but didn't. We were asked by some friends to go to the Fair, but didn't b/c he was acting so bad. We also turned down two separate friends asking if they could come over. Sorry Tanya!! We'll have you guys over before you're back to work!!
Sunday was nice. We went to the Country Fair with our friends - the kids really enjoyed that. I'll post some pictures soon. Then home. Theresa and I got our nails done - you should see my cute toes! And then our friends Phil and Karen and their kids came over and the kids played in the pool and on the climber, and ran around... it is so wonderful having a back yard! We had some salads and corn on the cob with the chicken and then went out for ice cream after. Duncan was over the moon about going out for ice cream. It was so funny.
This week Not much on the go. Bill's boss is retiring so he'll be out on Thursday. Work will be crazy this week as I'm off next week. I think I need to see if Duncan's friend can come over one afternoon as we haven't had them over yet.
Alright, kids are waking up. Have a good day!

Ah the peace of sleeping chidlren

Hello friends!

It's a soothing time of day when everything is done - the kids are in bed, lunches for tomorrow are made (thanks Bill!), the kitchen is clean, puttering is done... You can truly sit back and relax and not have that "I really should be doing..." feeling.

We're doing good thanks! How are you? We're settling in really well. It feels like we've been here much longer than 2 weeks. We're really comfortable in this house. Yesterday we borrowed Dad's truck and went and bought a china cabinet off of Craigslist. It looks good and is providing some much needed storage. We're now toying with the idea of cabinets in the kitchen. Well, more cabinets. We may go used if we can. The drywallers finished the Quilt Cave today so now I need to pick paint colours and get on that.

Other stuff... this weekend is Country Fest which we're planning on taking the kids to. It's free and should be a good time for them.

Work is pretty crazy. Rather stressful. *sigh* Whatcha gonna do though.

We are off the 1st week of August, so that will be nice and relaxing. And then we're off to Vegas in September while Mom watches the kids. Oh bless her. She thinks she is going to be tired when she is done. I think she is right *grin* You'll do fine Mom!!

The kids are doing great. Cordie is just a sweet willful little girl. She is so funny though. She loves to laugh. She adores her big brother. She is not walking yet, but it shouldn't be long. And then watch out!! She sleeps awesome at night. We are still nursing, but only once a day and maybe for a moment before bed. I don't think it will be long before we're done with that.

Duncan is also good. He's just an awesome little kid. He loves the big back yard. He still loves his trains.

Alright, Bill is waiting for me so I am gonig to go. Have a good night!

Making it through to the other side

Good morning everyone!

From our wonderful new living room, enjoying a few minutes peace before getting the kids up... it's Carole! Yes I am still around, I am still alive, and we lived through the moving experience.

Actually, everything went great, and we are loving being here. We are really comfortable in the house, and it just feels good to be here. It certainly doesn't only feel like it's been a week that we've been here.

What sucks is that I have to go to work today. They gave me M-Th, but not Friday b/c Fridays can be busy. *sigh* Oh well!! Bill couldn't get today either, so one day of work is better than 5! And thank goodness we had most of the week off to get stuff done.

So let's see... the move actually went well. A little chaotic at the end. I had to wait around at the new place for the cable guy and so I was unable to help at the old place - which I hated. I mean I had to unpack stuff here, but I just felt like I wasn't doing my part in the move. But between Bill, 5 of his buddies, and Theresa and Rhonda they took care of everything, bless them!

This week the kids were at daycare still so we could get stuff done. We also had a lot of running around to do, and paperwork - address changes etc... which I'm still not done! Mom and Dad came back from vacation on Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning jumped right in and helped us tackle getting this place in order, and right now, I would say we're 80% there. The main living area upstairs is about 90% done. We ordered some furniture, but it will take about 6 weeks to get here so I popped on Craigslist and found a free local couch- which is actually a great couch in good condition, not ugly, and will make a good rec room couch later. We also borrowed a love seat and chair from my folks that used to be my Oma's. Not the colours I would choose, but wonderful to have until our stuff arrives. Downstairs we also have Oma's old wall unit for the rec room and it is awesome! Holds toys and books and dvds and is just perfect for the space.

Bill and my Dad jumped in right away to start renovating my sewing room, and it looks awesome! The door had been through the laundry room, so they put a door way into the main hall, and framed up the previous door. They moved the previous door up so we can eventually make the laundry room into a separate bathroom. They gutted the fake wood panelling and nasty brown carpet. Dad set up a new light switch and power socket. Today he is bringing in someone to measure for dry wall. Once that is done, new door, new floor, and then it's all mine! I can't say how much I appreciate them getting on it right away.

As for other stuff - the kitchen is actually quite limited in space, especially counter space. We are looking to get some kind of a kitchen island on wheels. Dad is also going to be installing a new kitchen faucette for us as the other one is short and leaky.

The kids love the house! They love the space and the back yard. I love that Duncan can go run around the back yard and a. he has a lot of room to do so and b. we don't need to worry about him. They left a little play house built out of wood. They also left a sand box with a lid, but we need to get the old sand out and new sand in. We have several fruit trees - pear, peach (my Mom thinks), apple, and I think maybe one other. We also have a plot for future vegetable garden use.

And that's it!! I am behind on all things internet - just not a priority, but I'll get there!

Monday morning

Good morning! Super quick post as the kids are waking up. It is going to be insane at work this week. Insane! I've been doing 1/2 a case load with someone, and her last day was last Wednesday. A new girl starts today (who has had training in our other office, but still will take a bit to get up and running), and she's only part time to start (she was hit by a taxi a while back!). So on top of being behind from last week, and carrying most of this case load until the new girl is up and running, I'm on vacation next week for most of the week (they wouldn't give me Friday *sigh*), and we're supposed to work ahead. Ha ha ha!! Not a chance! But the week will go quick!

You know what's also insane? Tanya is shaving her head today for cancer. Good job Tanya. Enjoy your carefree hair style just in time for the heat wave coming through!

We should be finally completing today. Well our notary has the money so I just need to go in and get my cash. Woo hoo!! Will be good to have that all done.

What else... we had originally planned to go to my parent's cabin in August, but as Cordie is just at that mobile stage we think we need to bail on that idea. The idea of having to watch her every second makes me tired, and we wouldn't be able to go to the beach b/c we'd have to hold her the whole time - something she wouldn't be too keen on. But it's all rocks down there and she loves to put rocks in her mouth! Anyhow, I know Duncan would love it - he loved it last year -but we might need to wait a year before going back with both kids. I'm hoping Mom isn't too mad at me about cancelling!

It's supposed to get hot this week *sigh*. I like sun, but don't love it being hot. Can't please everyone though.

Alright, time to get the kids up. Have a good week! 5 days until we move! Woo hoo!

It's done! (Or is it.... okay, yeah, it is)

I said on Facebook the other day "if you're sick of this, imagine how we feel!"

But it's done. Well mostly. Okay, let me back up. I'll be as brief as I can. Our realtor was out of town for 5 days and so his coworker handled stuff for him. We were getting quite frustrated having heard nothing. Was the buying planning on completing? Not? Did we need to proceed with legal action? So we got our temp agent to call the buyer's agent and find out. Yes, they were planning on completing, just getting stuff together.

On Tuesday we heard she was waiting for CMHC approval, and we were asked what we would like in the addendum to the contract. New posession date (July 11th, had been June 26th before), and we asked for $500 in damages. More on that in a moment. Temp realtor went back to them with it, and what we heard back was that while the buyer was willing to cut us a cheque for $500, Buyer's realtor ( let's call him "BR" from here on to save me typing) refused to write it in and they were going collapse the deal if we didn't just take the deal they offered. Said and done, we just wanted it done, so we took it as it was. We got a call Wednesday afternoon "It's done. Money has been transfered. It's officially done" (the lady had to add someone to the title in the end, so she had a bit of a time).

But as I thought about things on Wednesday I got really mad about it. Oh, PMS didn't help either. LOL!! But I felt we had been bullied into accepting that deal, and it made me really, really mad. Bill had a few good points though:

•  We had prayed that if there was a way we could stay in this place for two extra weeks, we would like it please (prayer answered)
• We had prayed that said and done if we could still complete the deal, we'd really like that (prayer answered)
• Temp realtor is a bit of a pushy person (as opposed to Andy, it's why we like Andy!), and we were wondering if just perhaps he had tried to push BR into something and so BR pushed back. Our experience with him had been one of being reasonable, and it didn't sound typical of BR to get all bitchy about it all of a sudden.

Andy called today, back from his trip. I was really frank with him - we're supper thrilled this is done. But we were wondering if maybe it was a "personality conflict" over the $500. Andy was wondering the same thing. He said one way or another he will get us our compensation. Even if it has to come out of his own pocket. I hope not!! But he appreciates how good we've been about this all.

Oh, we've had our mad/grumpy/sad moments about the whole thing, but overall, we did pretty good.

It's Canada Day today, so everyone is closed, and most people have tomorrow closed. Our notary is closed tomorrow, so we can't get our money until Monday anyhow. That's fine, we weren't going to do anything with it until we move anyhow. But it's nice to move ahead with planning again.

I'll go on about other stuff soon. Back to normal life. Both kids have colds. I had to take Duncan for a chest x-ray - oh boy, that was traumatic! He now needs a puffer for a chronic cough - hopefully it goes away soon too! Tanya is shaving her head on Monday for cancer. You are a rock star Tanya. Enjoy your short hair! I wonder if it will come back in different!

I am going to post about this experience in aother post. It's been interesting...

Sunday Update

I'm sitting here on the couch with Duncan while he is watching Yo Gabba Gabba - his newest favourite show - one that we don't mind! It has catchy tunes, and some fun guest starts, like this one has Weird Al.

I realized I hadn't done an update since Thursday, and I think most people know me on facebook, so know what's going on anyhow, but briefly - we didn't move and we currently own two homes.

Friday morning after dropping the kids off we went to the bank to sign papers and get a line of credit in place so we could get the balance of our deposit to complete on the sale of our new place. That was our foremost concern  - not losing our new home. Then it was off to the notary to drop off the money and complete the sale. We now own the house!  Unfortunately we also still own this one.

We don't quite know what's been happening with the woman, and we still think we'll complete soon and not have to relist this place. Although I did have a fantastic plan in place to completely stage this place with free furniture from Craigslist and Freecycle if need be.

We made sure power wasn't going to be cut off, nor our phone/tv/internet. We had to make sure the insurance wasn't cut on this place either.

Now, there is one advantage to staying here - it's a heck of a lot easier to move once. The kids can stay in the home they know for two more weeks, and we're of course more comfortable in our own home. We actually think it was either the cats that brought this around (they some how knew we were about to pawn them off on someone else), or it was Duncan and his friend Lily next door so they wouldn't have to move away from each other yet. Yeah we're only going to be 3 blocks away, but right now it's wonderful being able to send him out side and they can play together with no plans in place. Yesterday our friend Sarah brought Dylan around, and with no "play date" planned, Dylan and Lily and Duncan were able to run around for probably a few hours and have a wonderful morning together. So we're going to miss that.

What am I saying - we're going to miss our neighbours, and we're going to miss this community. It's been wonderful living here for the people, and we've made some great friends. Theresa lives two doors away, Phil and Karen next door. Jill on the other side is a great lady too. Living here is how we found Nikki, daycare provider extrordinaire. Although they are moving too, so the convenience of that was coming to an end no matter what!

13 days until our "bigger house"! Let's hope by then we've got the funds from our sale so we can proceed with our plans for the place. I'll let you all know once we know which way this is going.

Plan B again

Last night around 7 we got a call from Andy saying we might want to get plan B into place again. Our buyer had changed lenders again (we're not sure what's going on there... 3rd lender now) and they need to provide a letter of committment by the close of business today or else the whole thing goes belly up.

What's super frustrating is a. her mortgage lender told everyone it was all in place  yesterday, which obviously it wasn't and therefore we b. lost a day of running around getting banking stuff in order if needed. My parent's still are willing to step up to the plate, however there are still only 2 business days (today and tomorrow) before we need to complete. That is not a lot of time when you're talking about that much money!

I still want to have a heart for this lady - she obviously also has a lot going on, but she strikes me as quite flakey. I mean come on, she has had 2.5 months to get this all together and is scambling now? She signed a contract. A legally binding contract, and obviously she does not comprehend the legal implications if this falls through. We're not the kind of people to go aronud sueing people, but we'd have to go after her for it all, pursue the $5000 deposit (which we know now we should have asked for more  - oh the things we've learned!), etc etc etc... which is just a pain all around.

Anyhow, I'll let you know how it all comes out. We're at the end stages of packing here. Tomorrow is M-day (unless it isn't! LOL!!), so assuming all goes well, let's pray that goes well.

I like this quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer (you may have seen him on PBS)
" It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized."

What happened today

Gah, what a draining day!

The long and the short of it is that our realtor contacted us around lunch time today to say there may be a problem with the people buying our house. You know it's not going to be good when someone says "now I don't want you to panic..." (and I didn't - then *grin*).

From what we understand our buyers lost their financing through the place that was going to give them their mortgage. Not sure what happened there. Anyhow, if she was unable to come up with the financing then we wouldn't have the proceeds from our sale to fund the purchase of our new house, we'd have to come up with an additional $33k, and figure out something about financing our current home on top of it all. We, you know, just having bought coffee from Starbucks, don't have 33K laying around.

And if we can't buy the new place they can sue us for breech of contract, and we in turn can do the same to our buyer, etc etc... but no matter what we were stuck in the middle and kind of hooped.

So we prayed. I said right away I had faith the Lord would take care of us. I also suggest people pray for the woman buying our place - who is going through a nasty divorce, has two children, and really, would have been in a much tougher spot than us had this not gone through.

Our 1st answer to our prayers came when my folks told us that they would make sure it works out - lend us money, buy our place if they need to, etc... the 2nd answer came with our banker calling saying "we'll make it work, fear not". Our 3rd answer came on the way home when I got a call (I pulled over to answer it, don't worry) from our Realtor saying everything was settled and her financing was in place, and it was all good.

So said and done we had a stressful afternoon for nothing, but that people stepped up to the plate for us like they did means so much to us. Thanks again Mom.

And then we came home and Duncan and I made cupcakes and cookies and then Mom and Grandma Mac asked if I could come out for dinner, and we went for Greek, and now it is 10:12 and time to go to bed. The end.

Where there's a Will...

Well look at us being all responsible! We finally did up a will! You know we've only been married for 10 years and had kids for at least 3 1/2 years. So perhaps it was time we finally got around to it. Not that it's a complicated one - if one spouse goes the other gets it, if both do the kids get it, if we all do, our parent's get it, etc... But after having seen recently how messy things can get when no will is in place, it was the kick in the butt we needed to finally move ahead with it.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the notary and signed all our papers and what not. One step closer! Either Thursday afternoon or 1st thing Friday morning I need to go pick up my cheque from the sale of our place and go deposit it, and then turn around and get a new cheque done up for the purchase of our new home. Said and done we have a little less left than we thought. Still enough to get done what we need to, buy some furniture, a lawn mower, etc... but maybe the lazy boy recliners need to wait a little while longer.

Packing is going well. Okay, Bill has done 99% of the packing - he takes care of it while I run interferrence with the kids. He has been awesome about it though. We won't finish the kid's rooms until Friday morning when they are at daycare b/c every time we try to pack something that is their's (okay, Duncan) he wants to play with it. So we plan to move his stuff to Mom and Dad's during the day and have his bed all set up so it will be a bit easier for him to adjust once we're there.

Other stuff... both kids are sick again. Just a nasty cough. They both slept better last night but were up early this morning. Poor kids. It sucks b/c there is very little you can do for them. Okay, so when did cough and cold rx start being for ages 6 and up? It used to be don't give it to them under the age of 2, but now it seems it's 6?

Ants!! The ants are back in the back yard! Thank goodness not in the house, but after the horrors of last year, we dug up all under the back and put down rocks b/c it's supposed to keep the ants from coming near the house... well they are just coming out on top of the rocks! We put down a bait trap that our exterminator gave us last year, and it did the trick, but we also called the exterminator to come spray b/c I don't think that's a present the new owner really wants. You know, those ants are part of the reason we decided to sell.

Okay everyone, have a great day! Nancy - saw your post on 5 minutes for reading. I still don't have enough time to read :)

5 days until move #1

Good morning friends. Quick post before getting the kids up. Duncan has a nasty cold and had a hard night last night, so I think I'm going to be extra gentle with him this morning.

5 days until move number 1! Let's see... the place is slowly getting there. And when we came home from Father's Day festivities yesterday the house actually had that starting to get empty feel. It's hard to keep the house functionally neat during this process, but we do still have two small children who need to be able to play, and eat, and sleep etc... The plan is to not finalize their rooms until the morning we actually move. We're actually moving out a day earlier than we need to so we have time to finish cleaning, move odds and ends etc... I don't like that pressure of get out by noon.

We are into the "make meals out of stuff in our freezer and cupboard" mode, but we'll actually be pretty good on that front. Which reminds me, I need to take the steak out to thaw for dinner tonight.

We meet with the notary this afternoon to do all our signing of papers and to, yes, believe it or not, make a will! We've been putting this off for a long, long time, and figured it was time to finally get it done. Not that it would be complicated - pretty much when one of us goes, the other person gets everything, if we both go, the kids get it all, if we all go we don't care. Bwahaha!! No, but really, it needs to be done.

So, Friday morning my brother is delivering his trailer (bless him) that will allow us to store our furniture at his place for the two weeks - thereby removing the need to unload it all at Mom and Dad's and reload it again in two weeks. We could still use some extra hands if someone is available to help move stuff or clean. Ronnie and Theresa are both helping me clean. It shouldn't be too big of a job, but you know, wipe down walls, good vacuum, etc... Our realtor actually told us to not have the carpets cleaned and don't go crazy with the cleaning b/c what might be clean for us is not clean for someone else. Likewise, plan on a cleaning job when we move in.

And that's it! Time to go get the wee ones up. Have a gloriously wonderful Monday.

Celebrate

Further to Tanya's post, she encouraged us to join in:

• The smell of fresh baked bread that's filling the house right now
• 8 days until we move! (for the 1st time!)
• It's Duncan's last day of school (we're celebrating because he had a wonderful year)
• Although she'll be walking soon, Cordie actually crawls now instead of army crawling
• I've been getting to read books lately - it's wonderful!
• friends who take time off work to help us clean and move
• Father's! It's Father's Day this weekend and I have a wonderful one, my kids have a wonderful one, and my husband has a wonderful one. We're blessed!
• Mild weather. I know people are whining b/c it's not hot and sunny, but this is perfect in my opinion

Join in! Link back!

New House stuff

I figured this should be a separate post.

Less than a month until we're in our new house. I wish it was sooner. We're just ready to be in there. We love to chat about what needs to be done, what we're going to buy. I think we'll get a cordless electric mower. The yard is big enough, but not huge, and in efforts to be more environmentally friendly and all.

What we need to do: Okay I say we, but Bill will be doing most of this with my Dad acting as foreman *grin*. I have the Monday and Tuesday after we move into the new house off. Bill might also. So we're hoping we can get most of what needs to be done, done then. That includes having service people in - furnace services, chimney swept, insulation piped in, gutters fixed, flashing around the chimney fixed. We plan on making the downstairs laundry room into a functional bathroom, so we need to get a toilet and a small vanity for in there. We need to move the door from my woman cave (men get Man Caves, so I think a better name than "my sewing room" is warranted - can you think of a better name?). Anyhow, we need to move the access to that room from what will be the bathroom to the hallway. That's probably our biggest job.

We need to replace the wax rings around the existing toilets. We need to replace the door from the garage to the basement with a proper rated steal door. The deck needs to be repaired. It's not broken - actually all of this stuff is more preventative than needs to be fixed. It's "an ounce of prevention" type stuff.

Okay... so you know I started writing this around 8:30 this morning, but Duncan wanted to play. And how do you say no to a little boy who wants to build train tracks with you? Well, you don't. It's almost 10:30 PM now, so I'll just send this off and blather on about our new house later. Good night! 

Sunday Morning

Hi friends!

Yeah it's your long lost Carole who has not been blogging at all any more. Darn work for getting in the way of my blog writing and reading! I am constantly hitting "Mark All as Read" in Google Reader and I've been unsubscribing to a bunch of blogs I used to follow as I just don't have the time any more. Don't worry dear friends, I do still make sure I keep up on my friend's blogs. I can't access Reader at work. It's not blocked, but our net connection at work is so slow. It's dial up slow. That's right - DIAL UP SLOW! I honestly think that having a slow internet connection is our company's best defense against people wasting time online during the work day. It's too frustrating. Thank goodness for my iPhone *grin*.

So I'm behind on my reading of blogs. I've also been enjoying doing this ancient activity known as "reading a book". I've been back into book reading again. Just finished another one last night and it's so nice. I am enjoying spending time in the evening with my book on the couch and just reading. I'm glad I have a husband who is also a reader and understands when I say "I don't want to watch tv tonight, I just want to read". He get's that. I'm still reading books from British Author Carole Matthews. Really enjoying all the books I can get my hands on (through the library).

We're less than 2 weeks to moving date. We've done a lot, but still lots to do. We're now into "eat everything we can in our freezer and cupboard" stage. Although we're not moving far but since we'll be at Mom and Dad's for two weeks the less we need to bring there the better. When we move to the new place there is going to be a major shopping trip involved. We haven't been replacing stuff we're running out of like condiments etc... So by the time we move we'll be living off of bread, milk and peanut butter. *grin*.

Bill has had some kind of flu again this week. It's been brutal for him. He missed all but one day of work this past week and frankly I'm not sure he'll be ready for work tomorrow. He's been doing what he can to pack some boxes and stuff but his energy is so low he pretty much can do a little and then has to rest. And sleep. I'm glad Cordy-ella has been sleeping through the night consistently, so I'm actually not too bad for getting up with the kids. Yes Tanya, there is hope for kids sleeping through the night!!

Duncan. What can I say, this kid is awesome. Yeah he's still very 3 - throw the ocassional fit, but less and less all the time. Potty training is going well - at least at daycare. He's still resistent a lot of the time to wear underwear at home and sit on the potty. And I still refuse to push him. He got a hair cut on Friday and looks like such a little man. At this age you think about how much they can change in even 2 months and it's amazing. Verbally, singing, learning. Yesterday he figured out how to blow bubbles. It sounds like a silly thing but he's been trying to learn for a long time now. The look on his face when he got it was awesome.

Cordelia. She is a gorgeous, clever, funny girl. She is totally figureing stuff out. She's cruising around furniture now so it won't be long to walking. She really just sits down and figures stuff out. She is a total go getter. She is an awesome eater. Really, usually she eats more at meals than Duncan does. I'm still nursing her, which I love it's going this long, but will need to wean by August before we go to Vegas.

Work. I'm glad I live close to work now. I'm glad for the pay cheque that comes with it. 'Nuff said.

Looking forward to the new house!!

The other side of the weekend

Since I posted on what the weekend was supposed to hold, I thought I would post on what the weekend did hold... which was pretty much what we had planned :)

Saturday was pretty much spent doing Saturday things -cleaning, shopping etc... The Bell's came over as it was much easier for us with the kids. You know, when Duncan was little we'd just set up the playpen whereever and we were good to go. Now, Cordie just doesn't sleep well when we're out. I have no doubt this is because we have not gone out with her as a little baby near as much as we did when Duncan was that little. Oddly, the reason we haven't is b/c Duncan needs the routine of a normal bed time more - well he did in the 1st year of Cordie's life. Now we don't really care if he runs around to whatever hour once in a while, but Cordie is in her routine now, and it can't be messed with. I really wonder how it is going to go once we're living at my parent's place.

We had a great visit with Chris and Rhonda and the kids. You know we used to be at their house at least 2x a week, if not more - and then kids came along. LOL!! Not that I regret having kids, but it is funny how it changes things. And frankly, as Chris works 5 evenings a week we wouldn't be there that often anyhow, so we treasure getting together with them more. We made home made pizza - okay, Bill did, and hung out. Rhonda and I went to bed together... it had been a few years and I felt I owed her. *grin* Okay... so the story there, the 1st time I ever met Rhonda was just after Christmas and they had just gotten a new feather bed topper, and she asked me to come check it out. So within moments of meeting her we were both flopped out on her bed saying "oh" and "ah". In many respects it was how I knew we were instant friends. The other was that I had a nasty cold and went through an entire box of kleenex, and they still asked us back.

So last night Alex said she was ready to take a nap (around 9 or so) and so I said sure go lay down on the bed. Well Rhonda comes downstairs "your bed is so amazing" and since everyone else was occupied (Alex didn't stay in bed) we went up there and hung out on the bed and chatted about exciting things like Alexandra's 7th birthday party. But we had a lot of fun making jokes about how long it had been since we'd been to bed together (at Laura's house quite a few years back actually).

Enough about that. Today we went for a nice long walk with the kids. My 1st good long walk with Cordie in our back carrier for her, and she fell asleep, so it must have been comfortable!! Duncan had, a few days ago, wanted a turkey dinner, but turkeys were too expensive, so I bought a cook from frozen chicken and it turned out now, so we had a chicken dinner instead. It was a great weekend.

And now I can't stop yawning, so time to head up. Have a good week friends!!

Weekending

Happy Friday everyone! It's 4:30 and I'm having a coffee, my little girl having me up every night caught up to me today. I was hoping b/c I didn't need to get up for the alarm today she would let me sleep in, but it was false hope. I told Bill tomorrow he can get up with her. I'm pooped!

But we both had the day off (Bill flex day, I took a vacation day) so we could go into the bank and sign off on our mortgage, set up an RESP for Cordie, and re-set up our RRSPs. So we're all done there. After we had some fun and went to the La-Z-Boy store. We are certainly planning on buying 2 recliners when we move  - it's our new house gift to ourselves, so we were trying them out. I think we've narrowed it down to the Maverick and the Joshua. If we decide on something from Lazyboy though we might order it through our local furniture store as they are actually pretty good for price matching or getting it cheaper. We will also be getting a sofa of some sort. 

We went and saw Prince of Persia this afternoon. It was fun. Nothing spectacular, but enough of a plot to make it worth while, and it's crazy b/c this is the 2nd movie this week we've been to!

Then home, made some phone calls about house stuff, and then time to grab the kids. Cordie is standing on the outside of her exersaucer right now - she is really close to cruising - she wants to walk - watch out world! This morning for the 1st time Duncan got out of bed and came downstairs without someone having to go get him. So I guess we need to lock the gate at night now b/c I don't want him wandering down during the night.

Torrow is Sportball and in the afternoon I think we're going to the Bell's to visit. If the weather is nice Sunday we'll go for a hike or something.

And that's what's going on!

Today...

How you can tell I'm back at work. I have no time to blog (or read blogs!)

Today…
Outside my window: Some sun. some rain. Clouds. I hope it's cooler tonight.
I am hearing: Bill playing the latest Prince of Persia game. It is 9:43 and I was going to go to bed early tonight. So much for that.
I am thinking: I should really go to bed.
I am hoping: That the people we are buying from still surprise us and we can move on the 26th of June. That Cordie once again starts sleeping through the night. That my 5-year plan works out.
I am wondering: not a whole lot.
I am reading: A Minor Indescretion by Carole Matthews. A week ago I'd never heard of this British Author, and I read another one of hers called With or Without You - good British romance with some good humour thrown in. And practical results. I loved it! So I'm reading this one too. I got them from a coworker. Bless her.

I am wearing:my pj pants, a black t-shirt and some purple socks. Yep, I'm a sight to see!
In the kitchen:  tonight was tostadas (like toasted tacos - pretty good!). Also this week - pork chops, several chicken meals (which reminds me, I need to buy chicken), steak kabobs

This Week:  it's Tanya's birthday! Happy Birthday my darling! Love you lots! Otherwise, work, work... um Friday I have off so we can go to the bank and sign this and that and the next thing - mortgage, rrsp, resp, etc... I am thinking of seeing if I can set up a playdate with one of Duncan's friends from school.
A few of my favourite things: Duncan finally getting being potty trained. We've yet to get it mastered, but he is doing awesome with the 1st part of if. I knew we only had to wait until he was ready! I think night times will be a while away b/c as much as I love it, this kid does not get out of bed. Playing with Cordie. We play "here you go"  - she hands me something, I say thank you, then I give it back, she grins, gives me a big hug, and then hands it to me again. We can do this for a long time, and I don't mind one bit. My husband. Hey, he's not a thing, but he's a favourite!!
A picture thought:

Weekend catch up

Good morning friends!

Lots going on around here. It's a beautiful weekend. Today is Cordelia's 1st birthday. She is an amazing beautiful little girl and it's been an awesome year. She is pulling herself to standing, so I don't think we're too far off cruising and then walking. She never really did crawl. She could, she just does the army crawl instead. She is an awesome eater. She seemed to enjoy the cake we gave her.

Oh, we had her party yesterday. It was a super nice little get together. We parked our car somewhere else and used the carport. We brought the BBQ up front and hung out around there. It was Mom and Dad (Oma and Opa), Theresa, our neighbours Phil and Karen and their daughters Lily and Ava. And Jesse and Laura and Gabe came up from Seattle. It was perfect. Rhonda was going to come with the kids but very sadly she had to put her 19 year old cat Hemmingway down yesterday. She said she thought she'd be fine, I'm not surprised she was upset. I was a wreck with Wraith died and he was only 7!

On the housing front - inspection went great! No surprises. A few recommendations for upkeep, or warnings like "you'll need to replace the furnace soon" (which we knew). We'll have some cash at our disposal after all the dust settles so we'll get some of the bigger things taken care of.  There will also be the matter of new furniture for the living room, shelving and redoing carpets in my sewing room, painting - little things. I want to put a toilet in the laundry room (it's roughed in to be a bathroom), so we have a toilet downstairs for the kids. We're still trying to figure out the bedroom situation. Upstairs the two of the kids rooms - the one that is perfectly decorated for a little girl is quite a bit bigger than the smaller one which is boy colours. I think we should leave them as they are b/c Duncan will have all his toys in the rec room anyhow, whereas Bill thinks we should switch them b/c Cordie doesn't need as much room right now and then Duncan can have his train table in his room. Both make sense. I think laziness will win initially - not wanting to do a whole lot when we move in, and later Duncan can take a bedroom downstairs if he would like. I can always switch my sewing room to the smaller room upstairs.

It's all exciting though. We have signed off on the subjects, however do need final verbal confirmation that the house is insurable. Then we need to get the deposit cheques and we're done!! Please pray that these people find a place to move June 26th. We can live with Mom and Dad, but it means moving everything twice.

Now, on a very sad note, we found out this morning that the father of our friend's son (our good friend Theresa, her son Ryan's Dad) was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. Everyone is still in shock. Ryan is a mess (he's 16). Theresa is sad on so many levels - not only for Ryan, but Rick was her friend. It's going to be a long road for Ryan. Although she said she wasn't hungry we had Theresa over for "coffee" but got her to eat some yoghurt and pancakes anyhow. I told her she'd need the energy, and the last thing she needs is that feeling sick b/c she hasn't had anything to eat feeling. Please pray for Ryan. To be 16 and lose your Dad. Well really at any age, but they were close.

Have a good week friends.

Thursday morning

Good morning friends!

Uhg it has been so busy lately I have not had time to blog, or read blogs, or anything! I am reading your blogs, but with my return to work (really, you can only spend so much time misusing time at work to read blogs), and house hunting, and offer etc... well it's been crazy.

But hopefully for the last time, we have a house. If all goes well we may even have subjects removed by tomorrow. Financing should bet set up today, Andy is doing title search, inspection is tomorrow, and we're getting insurance in line. I'm taking a 1/2 vacation day tomorrow afternoon to be there for the end of the inspection and hear the report, but we don't expect any surprises.

Once it is all said and done I'll tell you more about the place, but we're very happy with it, it's only 3 blocks from where we live now, so we're staying in our current neighbourhood, and for commuting purposes, on a better side of town. Now let's just hope that if Pete and Nikki sell that they buy on this side too! I know they want to stick local too.

Cordie's birthday party is this Saturday. Her actual birthday is on Sunday.

And speaking of my little sweetness, time to get her up.

Sunday Afternoon

It is a glorious day! Happy Mother's Day! I hope you're being treated well and enjoying your day.

I found it quite funny as I was running errands yesterday how a lot of signs said "Say I love you with..." Say I love you with roses. Say I love you wish a gift basket (from the liquor store ha ha ha!). How about we say I love you with our mouths and actions?

I've been having a really nice day. Bill tried to let me sleep in. He got up early with Duncan - how was awake early for some reason today. And I got up with Cordie around 7:30. She is teething and is quite irked at me this weekend for the whole day care thing. And so when she is awake it's all about Mommy. I don't mind this, but some times I need to put her down or pass her to Bill, and even this she doesn't like. She is going to be super POed at me tomorrow morning when I drop her off at Nikki's.

Bill made me breakfast (french toast and bacon). Cordie took a wee nap while I showered, and then went for a walk down by the river. It was really neat! We hadn't been on that trail before. Duncan did fall into the mud, and so when we got back to the car had to strip him down, but we weren't too far from home, so that wasn't a big deal. We hung around outside talking to our neighbour while Duncan and Lily played. I made some Sunshine Lemon Bars and the rest of the family is napping right now. We'll be off to Mom and Dad's once everyone is awake.

Housing Update. Okay, I edited this part out b/c there has been a development. Bah. I need to stop blogging about places we like.

Surviving my return to work

Actually, it wasn't that bad today.  I wasn't sad, I wasn't nervous, it just felt like I'd never left. Well except it's a new office, I don't know 1/2 the people, and almost 1/2 the proceedures have changed. But otherwise, it's the same old, same old.

I did get the low down on what I'll be doing. For quite some time they've been saying they didn't know where I would be going. I always said this was nonsense (okay, I used a stronger word than nonsense, but we'll keep it clean). And today I got called into a meeting with the head guy, and they asked me to do a 3-4 month stint in a roll I haven't done in 8 years.

I actually don't mind - I always enjoyed that job, but I pointed out that it had been 8 years, and every thing about that job had changed in that time. So while I appreciate their confidence in me, I'm not sure they'll be getting the output they perhaps were hoping for. The roll is called a DBA. I explained I'm also an expensive DBA because I still get paid at case manager levels. I just hope they don't have some silly idea of my going back to that permanently.

Duncan's school is having a Mother's Day tea on Thursday morning. So I took a 1/2 day off, and I am going to surprise Duncan at school. I was going to keep Cordie home for part of the day, but I think while we're gettting into the swing of it all, it would be better to maintain routine for a bit longer yet.

No word on the house yet. They accepted our counter offer, but the other people are still trying to remove subjects and have until tomorrow night to do it. They went ahead and got an inspection in case financing comes through - their final subject. Having had an inspection - not good news. But maybe if they haven't had financing yet, they won't tomorrow either. And if they don't, it's our turn. Let's keep hoping and praying!

In other news. Duncan went pee on the potty FIVE times today!! He'd been sitting on it here and there, but this is by far the biggest jump forward for us. Nikki said she'd straighten him out. Gee Nikki, on day one - good job! I told you she rocks. Okay, we're still a ways off from fully trained, but that's an awesome start. Cordie also did good today. She seems to be adjusting to the new swing of things just fine.

Datebook May 2, 2010

Today... is my last day off work! I'm surprisingly okay with it right now though. Now it feels like just another Sunday where I need to go to work tomorrow.

Outside - well it's dark right now, but pouring rain and windy. It was okay this afternoon. Yesterday was quite nice. I have no idea what the long range forecast is like.

I am thinking - I should probably find out what the long range forecast is like so I can send the kids in proper clothes *grin*. I am also thinking I should call my folks and make sure they got home alright as I don't know what the water was like for the water taxi.

I am hoping - we get that house!! Won't find out for a few days yet, but until then, we wait. I am also hoping Cordie does alright right full time daycare. She is in good hands, but she is certainly out of sorts since starting to go to Nikki's. I am also hoping that my body adjusts for nursing needs pretty quick because if not, I might be quite uncomfortable by 3 PM tomorrow :)

In the kitchen - tonight I made ribs for the 1st time ever. Super simple, and yummy! Will certainly be doing that again. Monday is slow cooker rotisserie chicken. Also on tap this week are steaks, something with ground beef... and something else I can't think of.

The weekend - Actually was a pretty good not over stuffed weekend. We went to Chris and Ronnie's on Saturday night as they invited me over for a "we're sorry you need to return to work" dinner. We brought the playpen and thought to have Cordie go down and just let Duncan run around until he fell asleep somewhere, but Cordie just wouldn't settle. I think it's because there is so much going on. Anyhow, so we were gone by about 8:30 or so. A far cry from the many nights we used to be there until the wee hours of the morning... oh the pre-children days :) But that's okay, we'll get there again.

Today we went out to Golden Ears Park and went for a walk on this little trail. Duncan wanted to go to the mountain. This trail ended up bring super short, so we drove a bit further down and wandered by the lake for a bit while Duncan and Bill threw rocks in the water. It was wonderful. It was nice to get out and do something different for us - and we'll be doing it again. But then it started to rain quite hard and it was time to go.

Oh, so I complained on facebook the other day about McDonalds screwing up our order. I complained to their head office, and they called back saying we're sorry etc etc... and what can we do. I said I'd really like my money back, and she said sure, please come on it. Well it was lunch time on the way back from the park so I said let's pop in, I'll get my money back, and get some food. I got my money back, but then I ordered food and the manager also gave me 50% off our order, and she packed the whole thing herself to make double sure the whole thing was correct. I was actually pleased and impressed with how she handled it, and I appreciate it.

We came home, lunched, got kids down for naps. Bill and I sorted through our closets to get rid of clothes. Bill has lost 30+ lbs since January, and so there was a bunch of stuff that fit him now - it was like going shopping! After that Duncan and I baked chocolate chips cookies which only turned out okay because I had to bake them with the ribs in the oven at a lower heat... they are okay, but not my best. We supped, bathed the kids, and now we're vegging before heading to bed.

This week - well, return to work tomorrow. We're hoping to hear on the house Tuesday or Wednesday. If we don't get it...well either we keep looking or take one of the ones we've seen. But we don't like anything near as much! We'll see. It's in God's hands.

I'm reading - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - kind of slow. It's cute, but I'm ready to be done.

Picture thought:
The one I want is on my phone and I'm too lazy to go get it.

Saturday afternoon

Anyone want a 3-year old? :) Oh it's crazy. Yesterday he was the most agreeable little boy on the face of the planet. Today we had a 15 minute melt down because he didn't want to get dresses. They didn't go to sportball because it was not worth dragging him out there when it would just be him sitting on the bench not wanting to play. *sigh*. But he's down for a nap now, and then we're going to Chris and Rhondas, so hopefully he'll be a bit better for us.

Chris and Rhonda invited us over for a "We're sorry you have to go back to work" supper. LOL! That's so awesome. Looking forward to seeing them. This time we're remembering the playpen so we don't need to leave by 7 PM due to an overtired girl with no place to sleep. Duncan I'm not so worried about. He can either keep going or do what I used to do as a little kid when were out - fall asleep under the table :)

Yesterday the kids were at daycare - Cordie has done pretty good transitioning in to that. And Bill had a flex day, so we had a day alone together! So what did we do?! We ran errands!! *grin* Actually, we met Andy to look at a few more houses. It just confirmed our decision on the one on 228th. More on that in a minute. We then went out for lunch together, ran to Zellers (Cordie needed a jacket), Payless (BOGO - so got 2 pairs of runners for Duncan - one for now, one next size up for later... both for $21 total - not too shabby!), and then to Hopcott Meats for our week of meat needs.

So yes, we looked at 3 places, including one we'd previously liked as our back up in case 228th fell through. Well, upon 2nd showing - it's still good, but we do realize it would need some work. Two other places - one was awesome location, but higher in price and would need work, and then one was really neat - different layout and good shape over all, but the rooms weren't enough for our needs. So we had put in an offer on the one we love, they countered, we countered... and we were supposed to hear today if it was accepted.

Except it turns out that the other offer on the place was never officially collapsed, and those people are still trying to get financing for this house. So after all that we still might not get it. That would be a shame. We want it!! But subjects are set to be removed on Tuesday for that deal, so we just need to wait. Sounds like that other realtor is a bit of a piece of work and has left town for the week, didn't leave his work with anyone, and can only be reached by email...

We're not fretting over it - we're just annoyed because we want to move ahead with it all. We're ready to be done with this process and get subjects removed and look forward to moving in.

And that's where we're at. Duncan is just waking up from a nap and I can hear him whining... so doesn't sound like that did him a world of good. Great. I keep hearing Jo Frost's voice in my head "be the adult, be the parent"...

What's going on

Good afternoon! It's supposed to be Wordless Wednesday...but we'll go with Word Wednesday.

I won some stuff! It's always fun to win something. I won some body wash from Simply Stacie, and I won a t-shirt from Billy.com.

Cordie is doing good at Nikki's for daycare. Today is her 2nd full day this week. Monday she didn't sleep at all, but I spoke with Nikki on the phone and she said she napped both in the AM and PM and Duncan did too. Duncan is on this verge of not napping - it's about 50/50 now, and that's tough!! He's also still not potty trained - but I don't think we're too far off. I'm still not fretting over it. No point. Can't make him do it. And I'm not going to punish him for it. But I do encourage him a lot :)

Monday Bill and I went down to the States to do some shopping for back to work. So I got some clothes there. I'm not a good shopper. Bill was sweet to come along with me though.

Housing update (you didn't think I wouldn't mention this now did you?). We are officially sold. Subjects were removed on Monday, but they had only received verbal confirmation on the financing, but on Tuesday the hard copy came through. So that sweet little SOLD sticker is on our sign.

But then back to the finding a new house. We still have our eyes on the one we loved. We went back yesterday afternoon with 1/2 my family in tow - my parents, my brother Jeff, and the kids to poke around again. They do have an accepted offer, but it sounds like it might collapse, so we're writing a back up offer today. We will also be looking at a few more places in case we need to keep looking because the other one we like sold in two days.

I'll let you know!

I was going to clean out my closet today. I got a bunch of boxes from the liquor store this morning after I went to Aquafit (awesome work out - she was like the Jillian Michaels of aquafit "FASTER! FASTER!" and she'd point at people "HARDER!" lol... it was awesome). Anyhow, it's going to look like we drink a whole lot, but quite honestly those boxes are great - good size, sturdy... let people think what they will :)

Housing update

Because, you know, what else would I blog about?

We got a call from our realtor today about our buyer's financial conundrum and it sounds like everything has come together. They want to come through Monday evening and she wants to show her kids the place, but then they are going to sign off on all subjects. They aren't doign an inspection. We honestly don't think it would have shown anything anyhow - it's sound. But I hope nothing pops up right after!!

On our search, we looked at 4 more places on Friday afternoon. Bless Opa for watching Duncan. They have been having a bunch of fun together lately - I love it.

The 1st place we were quite hopeful about. On a busy road, but excellent location. New roof, furnace, hot water tank etc... right near the school Duncan will be going to in September, near our church, on the way too and from Bill's commute right now. We went in - not bad lay out. Has a rec room right off the kitchen. We couldn't see the basement b/c it has renters (we would have been able to if we were serious about wanting it, and arranged a 2nd viewing). So we went from there thinking it was a really good start.

Then we saw the 2nd place. We LOVE THIS HOUSE. It's on the top end of our budget but is on a quiet street, is only 8 years old, has all the rooms we want... it's great. That link is to pictures we took. See, over night, the listing disappeared from the MLS listing. *sigh* Wouldn't it just figure if it wasn't available anymore? The day after we want it? Well Andy is looking into it and will let us know what he finds out.

The 3rd one we also loved. Once again, a busy street, but although an older house, really well taken care of and an amazing yard. So at this point we'd already ruled out the 1st one, wanted the 2nd one, and this was our back up.

The 4th one was ruled out immediately. Just blah. Bad lay out. Needed a lot of work. It just was not good.

But then today there was an open house for a new listing, so Theresa, bless her, watched the kids for half an hour while we went and checked it out, and we really like this place too. All the rooms we want, nice quiet street, newer roof, flooring, etc... So this one is now our back up to the one we really love.

But it sounds like we're narrowing it down. And once subjects have been removed on our place we'll be able to go full steam ahead with good confidence.

Duncan would like to go make a bowl of fruit salad with play doh so I need to good.

Hmmm....

We were supposed to have the inspection of our place today, but got an email around 3 PM saying that there was a problem with the financing part of the buyer's subject.

We heard later that this individual was preapproved for a mortgage, but when she actually went to take of financing that they denied her. However, she is now going through another mortgage broker who doesn't think it is going to be a problem.

So we've extended the subject removal date to Monday (was supposed to be tomorrow).

I am not going to panic! Okay, I wasn't going to anyhow, but worrying over it won't do any good. I just really hope it doesn't fall through (well duh, of course I hope that) because we now have 4 people for sale in our complex. Kind of losing our edge there.

House Hunting: We went out yesterday aftenroon. Took the kids with us, who were actually really good. The 1st place was promisng at first (you know, aside from the reek of cigarette and pot smoke that was throughout the house). Really neat sunroom (which would have been great for a play area for the kids), and really neat kitchen. But the bedrooms were too tiny, and no option to add one for us downstairs. Honestly, we would have had to pull out almost everything in the way of flooring and then paint with Kilz, and then repaint the whole place to possibly get rid of the smell.

The 2nd one was also promising at 1st - older house with a lot of neat character. But there were only 2 bedrooms upstairs and no option to feasibly add a master downstairs that didn't require running through halls, upstairs, and down more halls if we needed to reach the kids. So that one was out.

The 3rd one wasn't bad at all. It didn't wow us, but it also didn't have any major drawbacks, other than the fact that it didn't wow us. But good size, good yard - not too big, but big enough. Nice big deck, good bedrooms, etc... good location. So we can lean back on that one if need be, but we'll keep looking for now. Our realtor wants us to be thrilled with what we get, not just "yeah it will do". So we'll see.

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures taken by our good friend Theresa on Sunday afternoon.