just a little more craziness...

some more house news! Because we weren't real confident the original house deal was going to go thru (for many reasons, mainly being the seller), we decided to keep looking at houses "just in case"....well, we found one we liked much better, was up for immediate occupancy, way less $$ (giving us more for renovations) AND in town w/ a large lot! Craziest part is it wasn't even on our list of homes to look at on Thursday - we just happened to drive by it while we were out w/ our realtor, stopped by & fell in love....our realtor turned to us right when we walked in the front door and said "I just got goosebumps - this is your house!"...talk about crazy! But she was right :) The next day (Friday), our realtor called the original house guy to see if he'd release us from the purchase agreement, (which he did thank goodness) so we made an offer on house #2 which was accepted yesterday (Sat.) - holy crap!!! All of this just proves once again that everything happens for a reason and there's a higher power watching out for us! I'll keep everyone posted as we move thru the steps...hopefully it all goes smoothly and we can start our renovations on the new house soon b/c I reallllly want to have it all done before we move in (including my brand new kitchen - woo hoo!) Oh - and I forgot to mention we sold our house too!!!

Thursday was my last day at Olon...such a bittersweet day for me. I have made such good friends there (which I know I'll keep but won't get to see everyday) and feel like I've learned a lot. I knew before the day began that I would end up being a baby at some point and I didn't disappoint! I probably had tears in my eyes 5 or 6 times...and I kept saying "I even put my big girl panties on this morning so I wouldn't be a baby!"....I guess even the big girl panties don't work every time! So I start my new job tomorrow...1st day won't be too exciting since I'll be in orientation all day but that's ok...I'm still getting used to anwering "Williams Bros." when asked where I work :)

Shane has worked hard the past month getting his S10 ready for the Car Cruise & Show this weekend...he & Nick were in the Cruise while the girls & I all watched from his grandma's house. Both of my "boys" had soooo much fun - neither one of them could wipe that grin off their faces! At one point during the build, we really didn't know if the truck was going to be ready or not but Shane was adamant that he would keep his word to Nick that they'd drive "Pedro" (yes, we name our vehicles!) in this year's cruise...I feel so blessed that my son has the dad that he does! While Shane may not have contributed "biologically", he has more than contributed in every other way in shaping who our son is! And trust me, they are two peas in a pod when it comes to "race cars" :) Here's a pic of my two grease monkeys from the Cruise:

Today was pretty quiet - the kiddos started Religion Class for the year this morning so I got the dreaded Walmart trip out of the way while they were there...then I caught up on laundry since yesterday was spent at soccer game/flag football practice/lunch w/ my girlfriends in Jasper/Car Cruise...Shane took Pedro over to the Carfest around noon so the kids and I spent the dreary afternoon just hanging out. After watching too many episodes of "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" on the Food Network, I ended up making biscuits & gravy, fried potatoes & bacon for dinner :) Not exactly healthy but super yummy just the same!!

I know this week will hold more of the same craziness w/ the new job, houses, kids' sports, etc but I'll try to stay sane enough to remember it all to re-cap next post!

such a slacker...

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...just had a little craziness going on the past few weeks! Between accepting an unexpected new job, making an offer on a house, putting our house on the market and all the day-to-day normal craziness, we've been a little busy :) I'll try to tackle each subject one by one...

NEW JOB: so, I've been perfectly content at my current job, wasn't looking to leave but the phone rang on a Sunday night which lead to a couple of interviews and BAM - I start my new job at Williams Bros. next Monday. I'll be working for a company they own called True Rx which is a prescription benefit management company - this is the prescription drug part of your insurance...we process claims, work w/ the client companies and their employees to make smart prescription choices, etc. etc. I'll be the manager so keep me in your thoughts as I start a job I know NOTHING about :)

NEW HOUSE: Shane & I have been looking for awhile but finding a house w/ enough bedrooms in our price range w/ the other amenities we require has been tough! We finally found one that met our needs and after a couple of counter offers, we're good! Only downer is the seller is very difficult to work with and we're not confident the whole thing is going to go thru....what it boils down to is the wife wants to move to be closer to her family but we really don't thing the husband wants to b/c he seems very reluctant to find another home - obviously this needs to happen in order for us to get HIS house! Part of the negotiations was he has until mid-October to find a home; if that doesn't happen, the deal is off so keep your fingers crossed.

OUR HOUSE: The aforementioned buy has obviously led us to put our house on the market - Shane & I were in total "home improvement" mode for a solid month and its paid off - we countered an offer on Friday that we received within the first week on the market! We should know tomorrow night if the offer has been accepted...of course we had to ask for time to find out if we have the other house or not b/c we're not going anywhere if that deal falls through...so stressful!

OTHER CRAZINESS: Kate = volleyball practice or game 3-4 nights per week; Kate = braces week 1 & still going good; Twins = soccer practice 2x per week starts tomorrow w/ games starting Saturday; Nick = flag football starts Saturday; having to keep house spotless for showings; hiring & training my replacement at work; checking off several "To-Do's" before I leave my job - don't want to leave loose ends for the rest of the team; I'm sure there's more but my brain is fairly fried :)

We've been doing some fun stuff too though...Mom & Scott were home this past week so we had dinner w/ them Thurs. nite at our house...Shane is designing their new kitchen (with his cabinets of course!) so we were up until midnight doing that w/ them...I have to give Mom some major props though b/c she was ORGANIZED w/ her notebook full of dimensions, pictures, etc - I totally see where I get some of my "skills"!! I also loved getting to live vicariously thru them - nothing like designing a kitchen with a larger budget than I'm used to!! Can't wait to see the final product.

I spent Saturday morning at the White River Valley Antique Show helping my aunt Anna w/ her flea market booth - such fun hanging out w/ her, Abbie and all of the other family members that were roaming around. And can I say, the food at the Show rocked! I managed to "carb up" quite nicely w/ noodles over mashed potatoes for breakfast then curly potatoe chips w/ cheese for lunch...not exactly a "skinny day" since we also ate dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings but oh well - I've made up for it today by being "good". I also did a little shopping - by far the best purchase was the "retro" metal lunchboxes I bought for Shane & I...G.I. Joe for him and Strawberry Shortcake for me...the exact same one I had in grade school! Love the nostalgia - but feel old that something I had in my childhood qualifies as a flea market find!

So here I am on Sunday nite...trying to think if I've forgotten anything of any merit to mention...watching football w/ my husband and enjoying the quiet of 4 kids in bed...feelin' pretty good about it allllllll!