Dad update

A breakthrough has occurred and word is the draino worked. Nothing like reporting on my dad's poo, but it is very exciting since it means he will hopefully be able to come home this weekend. YAY!

Congrats to Dawn and Rosie!!!!

6-28-13

Congrats Dawn and Rosie!!!!!

In an awesome coincidence, Dawn and Rosie happened to be at Torrance Memorial yesterday afternoon getting ready to birth their little girl. When the boys and I headed over to visit Poppy, we were able to make a quick stop down in Labor and Delivery where we chatted with the lucky mom, Dawn. Rosie was resting, having been up much of the prior night with labor pains. Her blood pressure had gone up, but luckily the fetal monitor showed no signs of distress in Victorian Rose which meant once they got Rosie stable, baby and mommy were resting until the scheduled C-section would take place at 5. Dawn was so excited and almost in a daze. I loved seeing her so deliriously happy. I am looking forward to meeting the little girl they waited so long for.

My dad is doing better. Sadly my mom didn’t check in with me last night so I don’t know if the draino they gave him yesterday right before I arrived had the desired effects. He was in significantly less pain and was up walking around, complete with tube in his nose for stomach pumping purposes. I asked him if he was tired when he walked the boys and I out, and he pointed out he had done like 30 laps. Some of this was boredom, but most was due to the Chatty Cathy that he is rooming with. Holy. Crap. This guy was nice, but clearly lonely and needed people to talk to. He kept my dad up until almost 11:30 the first night he was there. My dad, who is a pretty easy going guy in terms of chatting with strangers had to actually tell him to shut the hell up. When the boys and I were there, he was trying to engage the kids. He is one of those guys that is kind of condescending to people. When he asked the boys how old they were, Dax answered for both of them and he responded to Bobby with, “Do you always let your little brother answer for you?” He then proceeded to tell Dax that he was very chatty. Later, when this old guy was trying to tell them jokes, Dax wasn’t talking and he asked him why he stopped being all chatty, Dax did his patented eye roll and both the boys were clearly spent when dealing with this guy.

The inspector checked out the new house yesterday and all of the repairs needed before escrow were approved and forwarded to the lender. YAY!! The floor looks great, too. I am pleased with how well it turned out. Ken spent the day working on our place. He put in a nice ceiling fan in the playroom and the room is looking great. We also went to Lowe’s and priced out some siding to replace the front boards on the house to make it all rental ready. The good news, too, is that Chris is interested in the place. It would be him, his fiancé and Aaron. Hopefully Chris can come over and talk with Ken and they can determine if there are any specific things that need to be done or don’t need to be done in our upgrades for them.

Today is my mom’s last day of work. It was a crazy last week for her what with my dad being in the hospital, but I know how relieved she is to finally be done with the day to day drudgery of work. I know she also is looking forward to pretty much being able to spend more time with her grandkids and my dad. YAY!

I am happy that this weekend is open. I am hoping to get a lot of things done. I really need to pack up the bedroom since Ken and I are moving our mattress in the playroom while we paint our room. Seriously, I am getting so freaking excited about this move. 

so much to report

6-27-13

I am sore and tired and worried.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first. My mom called me around noon yesterday and started off by pretty much telling me to not worry. Then she let me know that she and my dad were at the emergency room at Torrance Memorial. Apparently my dad had been throwing up and having a lot of pain in his chest/stomach kind of like indigestion, but worse. They had been there since about 6:30 and they had done lots of tests. He has some kind of blockage in his colon.

I of course went down there. Ken and the boys beat me there, but I clearly showed up at the right time since I got to hear from both doctors. They would have to admit him because with him unable to keep anything down, they couldn’t keep him hydrated without an IV. They wanted to let his colon rest, so he is not allowed to consume anything for now. If the blockage doesn’t clear itself, they would consider a tube down his nose to get things moving. Sadly, because of his Coumadin they don’t think this is a good idea. If he starts bleeding, this would be all kinds of bad. They also could go in with surgery, but since a lot of times these blockages are due to scar tissue from old surgeries, they don’t want to clear old scar tissue only to create new. For now, we wait.

My dad looked much better than last time he was in the ER. Thankfully he is hydrated, therefore keeping him from looking like death. Plus, he has his sense of humor and his wits, which is something the illness took from him last time. This isn’t life threatening, but due to his abdominal aortic aneurysm and his d-fib conditions, I get a little spooked when he has to go to the hospital.

Ken ended up heading back to the new place to continue watching over the workers who are doing the floor. The boys and I stayed at the hospital for a bit longer, and then headed out. I wasn’t as worried anymore, but I did still have it in the back of my head.

The afternoon was spent doing hard labor. I hurt. My knee and back are sore and I can tell I was working hard much of the afternoon. Ken pulled up the floor tiles in the rec room while I pulled all the plastic fake bricks from the walls in there. It sounds easy, but it really isn’t. They were glued down with this industrial monster style snot that was gross and sticky and a pain in the ass.

I got most of it removed, with the exception of the parts I couldn’t reach. Ken managed to pull up all the tiles as well. I hurt like heck. That being said, the room already looks better. I am putting down blue carpet squares in there. I think a dark blue will look awesome. It will make it kind of whimsical and yet not too wacky. Plus, I figure the boys will come in from the pool in that room, and water spots will seem less noticeable. I could be wrong on that aspect, but I think blue will open up the room a lot.

The workers were originally going to be done at 5. They were not done when we finally left the area at 6:30. At 5:30, I ended up walking up to the park with the boys so they could get out some energy. They had a good time with some neighborhood kids, which was nice. The other kids kept calling me “purple haired lady” which made me laugh.

The house across the street from the new digs is listing at $525. We went over there and it is always surreal when you look at a place with your floor plan. Clearly we are part of an old housing tract, but it is still always funny. Even though they have a similar layout, I like our place better. It feels more open. Ken thinks this is due to no furniture being in our house right now. Yet, the other house also was naked and felt less open so I don’t know how much of this is true.

It has been decided we will not have to carpet the new place (aside from the guest room). It ends up being cheaper to refinish the floor, which is way awesome. I believe I heard Ken talking about the idea of new linoleum in the kitchen as well. It will be a similar shade, which is happy making. The little spots of wallpaper in the actual kitchen (not the dining room) will need to come out. They are not in as good of shape. I am ok with this. Ken also removed the plastic ceiling above the kitchen and it already looks better. Yay!

Escrow will close in 5 days. This is when the big work starts since we can really dive in. In reality, we should have probably not done the stuff to the rec room that we did, but I think we are in the clear for the most part. The flooring work will be done today along with the rest of the termite damage. We do need to carpet the guest room since the floor boards we used for the living room repair came from there. They don’t make the boards like they used to, which is why we had to get boards from that room. Thankfully, that room had some random burn marks on one part of the floor which meant we had planned on carpet anyway.

I think today I will spend my afternoon at Halldale since I need to do more stuff there to prep for more of that work. I had not planned on doing so much at the new place yesterday.

On top of the sore, my body is purging itself of the period I had not had for 6 weeks. Cramping and already one bleed accident, I am not super comfy when it comes to my girly parts.

I am curious as to what will be said today at work since I pretty much just high tailed it out of the office without so much as really telling anyone. Of course, it was an emergency so I am not going to stress, and I only left an hour early. I think they can all handle this. Plus, no one was at their desk when I bailed.

I was pissed when the alarm went off. I was just hitting the casino floor with my drink in hand. Scotty and I were all dolled up, yet barefoot. Ken and Andy were both in suits and Holly was rocking some kick ass heels. It was to be a fun night since I had just bid the children a good night in the hotel room where they were hanging with Grandma Brenan. Stupid alarm.

Dax has gone back to peeing. Sigh. I don’t know what has changed. Last night may have been fluids later than normal, but either way, it is frustrating. He had done so well for a whole week. I know there will be set backs, so I will try to not get too upset. Thankfully he doesn’t seem upset, so this is good. It isn’t his fault. His alarm went off last night at like 2, so it is happening when he is in a deeper sleep. Hopefully tonight we can be a little more on schedule and it will allow him to have success again.

So now I am drinking shit tons of green tea with the hopes that it will wake my ass up. The tired doesn’t bother me as much as the soreness, which is why I could not get super comfy last night. Also, we are getting into the hot nights season, which makes for bad rest. Fans were drying out my throat, but the air flow seemed to help. It will be interesting to see how things are at the new place. 

walking and rocking

6-25-13

I rock.

It was a mega productive day again in Brenan land. Once I got home from work (with kids in tow since Ken and the boys met me for lunch!) Dax and I set out for the new house. I had my AYSO deposit in my backpack along with water for all three of us (Miss Luna accompanied us as well) and we set out on foot. It was a really nice walk, especially being able to chit chat with Mr. Dax. We showed up at the new place about 2 minutes before Ken, Bobby and Lycos who had driven over since we were meeting with some contractors about the asbestos removal.

While there, I was able to go through all of the paint booklets Ken had picked up for me and we came up with colors for many of the walls. I am quite pleased! They are nice colors, and not too dark. Our bedroom will still end up the darkest since the red I want goes well with our dark furniture. We are trying to figure out what would be good for the trim on that.

Ken started work on painting the windows and walls of the playroom while I worked on some standard domestic things like laundry and dishes. Tonight my plan is to pack up more of our bedroom since once the playroom is painted, Ken and I are moving in there so we can paint our room.

I was pretty beat by bedtime.  I must have slept pretty well since I had some awesome zombie dreams. For some reason, my random goofy songs were appealing to the zombies and I was able to lead them away all pied piper like.

Escrow officially closes on the 1^st. Hee!!

Of course, the Falena house went on the market yesterday. Sigh. It is ok since I feel that our house is better. It is a similar layout and in the Cul De Sac, but the house is not as open feeling. I still love that place, don’t get me wrong, I just think the one we got is better. They spent some extra time and ended up remodeling the kitchen and pulled up all the old carpet and refinished the floors. It is now listed at $529. I am following it since I would like to see what it ends up going for.

My mom and my MIL have both expressed interest in tree trimming and removal for the new property. I really don’t want them doing that. I really want to do that myself. It is one thing I think I can actually accomplish on my own, and to be honest, I didn’t like how Ken’s mom trimmed Sideshow Bob for our wedding. It was terrifying. I am ok to some degree with their help in removal of items I don’t want at all, but I don’t need them “fixing” existing plants that I don’t want. I am starting to feel a bit bossy on things but I am the one who will be looking at the vegetation for the rest of my life and I don’t want it being annoying.

3 days of busy

6-24-13

A week with no boss? Thank you!

It was a long and productive 3 days off. I wish I had gotten a touch more sleep, but the cats were in some kind of contest to see who could keep me awake the longest.

My appointments went fine on Friday. I did have the time wrong on the dentist, so I ended up being 45 minutes early which kind of blew. The appointment itself was also much longer, and much more painful than anticipated. He was replacing a filling, which ended up being 2 fillings on teeth that had some very sensitive spots. I probably could have stopped him and had him numb me further, but honestly I just wanted to be done. I powered through every time the drill hit one of my nerves and was pretty exhausted by the time it was all done. My tooth and jaw hurt the rest of the day. Thankfully it is better now.

My PAP went much better. I adore my doctor. She is my age and just lovely. She and I chatted for some time. She was happy to hear that a lot of my stress will probably be going away what with the escrow closing soon. She totally understood how much stress my life has. It was nice to also talk with her about her life. I love that this is someone that I trust and she is in charge of my medical stuff. She also had me do the pee test to confirm I was not pregnant. She thinks it may be a slight UTI, and has prescribed some antibiotics.

After my all my poking and prodding, I was pleased to be able to drop off the kids with my folks and go out to dinner and a movie with Ken. We went to PF Changs and then saw This is the End, which was very fun.

Saturday had Ken and I at the middle school all day with registration. It was a relaxed one, even with the 150 signups we ended up getting. The boys didn’t get dropped off until almost 1:30, which meant they were not bored, which was good. Jerry let me have the one pin from Regional that was for AYSO’s involvement with the Rose Parade because it had been my idea for our region to donate. I was very excited! I also found myself less annoyed with band-aid bitch, which concerns me because if I start to like them, then perhaps I am becoming too passive.

Our reward for a long day of data entry and soccerness was to go see Monsters University. Pixar did another great job and all 4 of us were pleased with the prequel. The dumb kid next to me who kept talking through the whole movie was super annoying, but I didn’t say anything because his dad looked spent. I felt kind of bad for him and knew someone getting on his case about his rude child would not make much of a difference.

Sunday morning was house time which was super tiring but quite satisfying. We cleared the side of the house so we could move yard sale stuff there. Ken and Dax cleared out one section of the attic so that we could sort through it and put it in yard sale or POD. Most of this stuff was the baby stuff. I opted to get rid of two giant bags of baby clothing. I know, I haven’t ruled out another baby since my doc said I looked quite healthy internally, but I also know that holding on to that much stuff isn’t necessary. I did get rid of the Diva-Mobile and the double stroller. I kept the crib but parted ways with the changing table. We also kept the Graco set which was the Pack n Play and stroller. For now, I can keep a few things as a just in case and go from there.

We took out most of the yard sale stuff we had accumulated and have since covered with a tarp. We also put a lot of the packed boxes into the POD. Our neighbor also gave us their BBQ, which looks in great shape so we are set for backyard parties at the new place! YAY!

Ken spent the day with Aaron at his gaming party, so I decided to take the boys out to breakfast. It was nice aside from Bobby being surly. He was tired. Dax woke him up and because of this, his mood was cranky pants much of the day. I made due, even though I was beat by the end of the day.

I did manage to get the boys to help me with their bedroom packing. We packed up a lot of their PJ’s since both of them have taken to sleeping naked. Dax has been dry for a whole week (YAY!!!!!) so we also packed up most of his nighttime underwear. I packed up their long sleeve shirts since it is summer time and I packed up a lot of other things. We had picked up a couple of fancy boxes that we put their special drawers stuff in. We also did all of their laundry. It was a busy day.

The contractors who are working on the termite damage will be at the house today. In addition to this, there is someone coming out this afternoon to give us a bid on something. I have decided that this will be a good excuse for Luna and I to walk to the new house this afternoon. I really feel like I do get more out of my workout when I can’t just stop in the middle of it.

We will need to pull down more things from the attic. Our next set of items will be holiday which is in the next section. Most of that will end up in the POD. Thankfully most of that is also already packed well and therefore not as big of a deal to go through. It is the final section that looks to be the biggest pain since it is all things I don’t know about. Sure, I was part of putting them up there, but I really don’t know what it all consists of.

Ken is probably going to start some painting today. We need to paint the playroom and the windows. He finished re-sealing the windows last night and they are prepped for paint. There is so much to paint!!!!!

I am way too excited

6-20-13

The bug circus is in full swing.

We drove past our new digs to check out the fumigation efforts. Seeing that all made some of it more real to me, which was awesome. I am anxious to see how the woodwork that gets started on Monday will look.

We drove down towards the new school and I noted that it was open. In addition to that, their last day isn’t until tomorrow, so we were able to stop in and speak to the office peeps. We got registration packets and she said if I can turn in most of the paperwork on Friday, she can get the info into the computer at the least, and then come August when she gets back, we can bring the proof of residency. Yay!

The most shocking thing about the packet was that ALL of it was in English. That’s right, no second page with Spanish, no hint that they even knew what Spanish was. Hee!

We also wandered the school a bit, checking it out. It was nice to be at a school that also had all permanent buildings that were not bungalows. There is grass on all three playgrounds. There is a locked bike rack in the middle of the school so as to not tempt kids to mess with the bikes when at recess. It is everything I want for my kids. YAY!

At this point, our travels took us to Home Depot where we priced flooring. We are carpeting the Halldale house, in addition to putting down new linoleum in the kitchen. Did you know their installation is only $70 for the whole house?? Dude, awesome! We picked out a carpet and once we get all the painting done, we can carpet.

Ken and the boys had put all of the packed boxes into the POD which now sits in our driveway. He also was able to clear out the playroom entirely, leaving only my clothing in the closet, which I removed and am now borrowing the boys’ closet. LOL! I don’t mind. It means we can get the room done. Ken worked on the windows that needed new sealant and paint chipped off. Ken hopes to paint today. Not sure if he is concentrating on the room or the front of the house. Either way, I assume he will be exhausted when I arrive home.

I spent some time packing up yet another box of clothing of mine. I may have a problem. LOL! I also spent the afternoon filling out the packets for the boys which left my hand sore. I don’t have to handwrite a lot of things anymore. What is sad is that these packets are positively tiny compared to the ones I have had to fill out for Halldale, but it still seemed like a small novel.

We are hoping to bring down stuff from the attic on Sunday morning. Ken wanted to do it during a morning since it gets hot up there. We apparently have a lot of boxes to go through since not all of it is packed for a move. Hopefully we can get the attic mostly done on Sunday since then we can put some concentration into the garage.

Yes, I know we still have time, especially since we won’t be moving until probably August, but it is amazing how quickly a month flies by. Plus, by doing it the way we have been, we can do it all carefully and be able to get rid of things instead of just tossing everything in boxes in a rush.

I have a feeling carpet/flooring in the Halldale place will end up happening after we have mostly moved all of our belongings into the new digs since it will mean there is nothing in the way of installation. In fact, my guess is the flooring will be one of the last things done.

I wonder if come 4^th of July weekend I am allowed to start painting the new house. And if this is the case, I would like to go check out colors.

I think Ken will be packing up the Lego soon, too, since summer camp starts July 1. Ken and the boys even have class on July 5^th. I took that day off so I could work on the house stuff. I should be able to have 4 days worth of house time! YAY!

At the very least, I might be able to do some yard work at the new place come 4^th of July. I know both my mom and Ken’s mom are interested in doing tree work, but dammit, I want to do some of it, too! Dax and I have already decided on where we are going to plant a couple of lemon trees. We also discussed where the play structure will go.

There is a bunch of what looks to be mostly firewood in the area we are making into the catio. I need to figure out how to get rid of that. It may just be one of those things where we get one of the soft dumpsters and fill that puppy with all of the debris. We can also do some of it slowly since we will probably need said dumpster for other things like the rec room flooring.

Part of me really wants to get out our inflatable mattresses and have us all sleep at the new place one night of the 4^th of July weekend just because.

The POD comes today!!!

6-19-13

The POD comes today! The POD comes today!!!!!!!!!!

In other fab news, the fantastic guy from Rusher Air came over to the place yesterday and got the heater working. FUCK YEAH! One less thing that needs to be a rush repair before close. It is a banner day, my friends. Shit is getting real, and I couldn’t be happier.

We took the dogs to the new place yesterday. Lycos loves the big bush/tree in the back yard and spent a great deal of time exploring it. I have to say, it was really fun watching both dogs enjoy the new place.

The fumigation crew gets there today, which means we don’t get to go there for any reason today. I gotta say, it kind of bums me out if only because I just love being there. LOL!

But this is all ok since today the freaking POD is being delivered. It means hopefully when I get home from work I will find Ken and the boys hard at work going all Tetris on this storage unit. I am excited to join in on the fun and get Ken even more boxes to go in there. If all goes well, the playroom can be empty today aside from the clothing in my closet. I am considering taking those out if just so that when we paint the smell doesn’t get on them.

Last night since the boys seemed out of sorts, I decided we could all sit down and watch Hercules. I enjoyed the evening for that reason. Bobby just didn’t want to go outside, and Dax tried to play with Zack who ended up being a total dick by throwing a water balloon at Dax in his tenders. The lack of normal schedule is taking its toll on the boys, so their moods are sour.

I did manage to get both kids to help me make dinner, including measuring out milk and water for the Hamburger Helper. At one point, during an epic rant from Dax which mainly consisted of Dax saying, “But Mom!!!!” over and over as I refused to let him have a sandwich only an hour before dinner, I made a declaration. I told Dax I was not Mom. I told him I would only answer to Rosita. He stopped yelling and looked perplexed. He then chuckled and tried saying But, Mom, again. I said, “Nope! No Mom here. Only Rosita.” He then called me Rosita and it turned into a fantastic laugh fest.

We ordered these new flea collars for all of the critters to combat the flea issues we have been having. These ones claim to last for 8 months and are even water resistant, which is good for Miss Luna in particular. They claim to be a slow release of the chemicals which is what makes it last so long. Of course, we are skeptical, but they were cheaper than the topical and from everything we read online, it seems to work as well or better than the topical. My skepticism was certainly appeased when I spent some time petting Breezer last night and I actually watched 4 fleas fall off of her. They were not dead, but they certainly looked near death. It was awesome! Monarch didn’t slurp last night so perhaps even his was helping. The dogs get theirs on Friday, so I am very excited about a flea vacation.

Have I mentioned the POD is coming today?? YAY!!!

Fumigate

6-18-13

Fumigation is scheduled!

Tomorrow the new place gets tented and next week the repairs for termite damage take place. The guy from Rusher Air is heading over to the place today to see about getting the heater to work just for inspection purposes. Also, the inspector agreed to take the shower pan off of the “must do before close” list since he knows we are remodeling the bathroom. Yay all around!

The POD had to be rescheduled for tomorrow since someone has to be on hand to receive it, and Ken found out he had to be at Costa today. No big deal as I spent a great deal of time yesterday packing up things from my closet that were not clothing. In fact, the playroom is all pretty much boxes ready to be placed in the POD. I done good!

When I got home from work, the boys were being rather lazy in front of the tube. I made them turn it off and I put them to work. They were to bring in trash cans, clean the mess in the living room along with do a bunch of other things. I then kicked them out to go play with their friends. They ended up in the back yard armed with water guns and buckets while they doused themselves. It was fantastic. It started to go a little sour when Zack was acting, well, like a 10 year old compared to my not quite 7 year old. As much as they get along great, there are times when the maturity does rear its ugly head. Thankfully, Dax was content to come in and help me. I was all proud, and I showed him how much I had accomplished. He praised me, and even offered to get me something to drink, which I thought was cute. I told him I was done, but then proceeded to work. He scolded me and told me to take a break. LOL!

When Ken got home, we jetted over to the new place to see about testing the heater ourselves, but we didn’t have the right tool. I didn’t mind since I had decided to bring Luna along, who got to run around the house, smelling her new home. It was very cute. I also had fashioned her in her vest and id badge and when we stopped by the grocery store on the way home, I took her in. I had her close to my side and really spent the whole time (which was maybe only 30 minutes) training her to only listen to me and to be calm. She did amazing. I had a couple different people tell me how good she was and how cool it was that we were working on the service dog thing. The security guard did look at me and point to the dog to which I responded, “service dog.” And he nodded without any further question. It was a good exercise for both pup and me, which I enjoyed a great deal. She also seemed pretty proud of herself.

My period is finally starting its descent by crippling me last night with some horrendous cramps. I also found myself getting dizzy at one point along with smack me in the head tired. I had been so energetic until the cramps hit, which seriously took the wind out my sails. I feel them now, but not to the same extent. What makes it even worse is that I have not officially started. It would be one thing if I could bleed, but having period issues with no real period is sucky, period.

Dax has managed 3 nights of dry!!!!! YAY! He is well on his way to earning the watch he covets and I won’t have to buy pullups anymore. I am excited about all of this. My boys are growing up and in this way, I am pleased. 

2 more weeks

6-17-13

Busy week ahead of us.

The repairs that need to be done to the new house need to be completed this week. All of this is for the bank who will we inspecting I am guessing the following week. Escrow closes the first of July. Ken is spending today on the phone getting the contractors to come out and start work on their bids so we can get those items done for close purposes. There is other work that will be done before we move in, but it’s these critical things that we need to do quickly.

Tomorrow the POD comes. I haven’t been this excited in some time. LOL! It means my house will no longer be a maze of boxes and piles. When I get home today I will continue in on more packing since I won’t mind a couple of boxes added to the pile since they are going away! YAY!

Friday is a day of poking and prodding what with me having my PAP and a filling fixed. Yes, multiple orifices will be violated. The good news is that after I am done with all of that, the boys will be staying at my folks so that Ken and I can go see This is the End.

The weekend was good. Friday night we went to dinner for Matt’s birthday. We went to BJ’s, which was quite nummy and happy making. Then it was back to their house for cake and allowing the boys to run around a whole bunch.

Saturday I went with Stephanie over to Daiso where we had a lot of fun checking out all of the random Japanese products, including a giant afro wig in which the guy modeling it was Asian in black face. Yeah, that happened. That place is pretty awesome.

I also took her over to the new house, which she loved. I swear, every time I am there, I feel like it is a dream come true. The place is so freaking awesome. I am very anxious to get everything done so I can start nesting. I am so planning on being a little old lady in this place. I also look forward to being said little old lady with my great grandkids asking what the strange thing on the wall by the kitchen does since I am pretty sure rotary dial phones won’t be something they will have ever dealt with. Hee!

Sunday we went to Don Jose’s for Papa Day. I got to go there 3 times last week and every time was super happy making. I really wish the one closer to us had not gone away.

Since it was Dad’s day, it was lazy. We had all done laundry the night before along with some more packing so it was ok to kind of hang out. Dax and I went out to Target for a couple of items, and when we were done,  I decided to drive by the new house. Dax asked where we were going and I told him home. He was confused since it wasn’t the normal route. I got on 238^th and then pointed out the school and asked him what he thought. He said it was cool looking. I told him this was good since he would be attending the school. He laughed and was excited. We then drove by the house and we both enthusiastically said, “Hi House!”

I spent some time hosing the kids and dog down, too, which was much fun. I say dog instead of plural since Lycos will have none of this nonsense. LOL!

I decided to make lasagna for Ken’s dad day dinner. It was a good batch and I was quite pleased. The boys still won’t eat my lasagna, but I know it is only a matter of time before they come to their senses.

Bobby’s wish for Father’s Day was to have the entire family in a game of Minecraft. I gotta say, I wasn’t thrilled about this, but I also knew how important this was to the boys. We played for about an hour. It wasn’t something I would ever do on a regular basis. It doesn’t interest me much. On the plus side, I didn’t do horrible. I managed to shear multiple sheep even while swimming, which is a funny sentence. I also was able to hide out in caves I would make when I got lost trying to get back to shelter. Turns out when it gets dark in the game, the zombies come out and they can fuck you up. In the end, I was ambushed by like 6 zombies who killed me in a second. Sadly, I had no idea where I had been, which meant I lost all my belongings since I could not get back to where I had been. Oh well. It was an interesting night.

The past two nights have been hard core potty training. Yes, both boys are bathroom trained, but Mr. Dax still has night issues. I decided the kid has been coddled what with the pull ups, so I had him wear underwear the last two nights, and he used the alarm. I know Saturday night he was dry, and I don’t recall hearing the alarm last night. I think he had been sort of lazy in a way when he had on the pull ups. Not having that crutch may have got him past this hurdle. I don’t think we are out of the woods, but we are on our way! YAY!

Speaking of woods, Holly’s house is ok!!!! She even got the ok to go back this morning. We have seen a picture of the house and it is ok, but of course there will undoubtedly be some smoke damage. I am anxious to hear how it looks/smells. Over 450 people lost their homes, which is horrible. I can’t imagine and it makes me so very sad for that community.

My dad tried some of his brownies and sadly they didn’t seem to work! I may need to make a new batch since I didn’t shake up the oil which means the oil I have left is probably crazy fucking strong. LOL!

My day should be better if only because the boss is gone today. He is back tomorrow, but the POD delivery will fuel my day. Wednesday is boss free, too, and Friday I am out all day. It is going to be a good fucking week!!!

Happy birthday Matt-how are you 37 now?????

6-14-13

Happy birthday little bro!

If I can make it through today I will be proud. I have been so uninspired at work lately that I feel like I sit here and just stare at the screen for 25 minutes. I wish I could even chalk it up to something like being tired, but honestly, this morning I feel revved up and ready to go. I haven’t even had any coffee yet!

I have done 50 squats already and it isn’t 6 yet. I feel pretty damn good about it, too. We did our little bike ride yesterday in memory of Doug. We only rode up to the grocery store, but the destination wasn’t what was important. The ride also allowed me to finally give one of my little happy packs to the super sweet security guard that we pass all the time. It made me feel all kinds of good.

I managed to bathe both pups yesterday. It is quite a process as they are not tiny dogs. Plus, Miss Lycos was covered in flea yuck. Poor pup can’t scratch herself because her body just doesn’t do what she wants it to do. Even though she acted miserable in the tub, I think she felt fantastic after because she wasn’t trying to scratch and she seemed comfy. I was pleased. I also managed to brush out like a pound of fur. No joke. That dog has always been a shedder. Both my dogs look fantastic now, though.

Luna got her working dog harness in the mail! We need to sew on the patches and then I can take her in stores with me. I need to keep working with her manners, but overall she does such a good job. I am excited. Luna may even be more so. LOL!

This evening is dinner with my parents for Matt’s birthday. Thankfully Matt has stopped insisting on going to Johnny Rockets and has upgraded significantly with his request for BJ’s Grill. Once we get back to their place to do cake, I believe my dad is planning on partaking in brownie goodness. He is really jonzing to try out his dad’s day present.

No new news on Holly’s house. Although she is out of the fire perimeter, the winds have shifted again and as of right now it doesn’t look good what with the fire only being 5% contained. They also have not issued an updated house list. Hopefully the fire fighters make some progress today, and hopefully they all stay safe.

I can post again!

6-13-13

2 years have passed.

A bike ride is scheduled for our little family today. We will ride when Ken gets back from his afternoon class. I am not sure where we will go aside from just Wilson Park. Maybe we can ride over to the new house just for the hell of it. Either way, it should be done and it will make me feel better about the day.

Holly’s house is so far not on the destroyed list of homes in the Black Forest fire. That being said, there are homes close to her that have burned and as of this morning it is still a zero percent contained blaze. The winds are picking up and it is still hot out that way. It is all some scary shit. Holly and I have texted back and forth, checking in, so I at least have a direct line to her, which makes me feel a little better.

My body is all kinds of off this morning. I am sure I am fighting off the sadness of Doug along with the annoying fact that I am once again late this month. Sheesh. I don’t even think I am “late” anymore so much as my cycle just now seems to be every 35 days. I do like having more time in between periods, but I don’t like wondering if I am prego. The Dollar Tree stick says no, and I am choosing to believe that since my understanding is those are just as accurate as the pricey variety.

Today is a no squat day, which I guess is good since it looks like tomorrow I have to do 220! Sheesh! I am still breaking them down into sets of 30, which seems to be a good amount at a time. I feel like I am stronger, but I don’t honestly know how much this is doing for me. In reality, I just like the idea of sticking with some kind of program till the end. I only have 6 more days of the program, so I think it will be good.

Brandy took the boys and I out to dinner last night to Don Jose’s. Always a nummy treat. The boys laughed at Brandy’s antics, including a story about a dog named Bark which still has them barking this morning.

The POD shows up to our house on Tuesday, thankfully. I gotta say I am getting quite tired of the box navigation that takes place in the house right now. I also need them cleared out so I can see what actually is left to pack up. In all actuality, there is quite a bit to pack, but it is one of those things where I have to determine what can be packed right now and what should wait. I also want to take all the yard sale stuff out of the house and put it on the side of the house.

I have a problem. It is called Candy Crush. I have been playing it now for a couple weeks. It is incredibly mindless, which is what is great about it. I can sit in the bathroom and zone out for 10 minutes which is perfect. The problem is that I started playing even more often. This morning at my desk before anyone else was in, I found myself playing. The other day I found out there is an easy way to always have energy and not have to wait the 20 minutes for each life. I have done this more often than I am proud to admit. I like having this distraction, but I worry that I can’t stop. LOL!

38

6-11-13

And just like that I’m 38.

Yesterday when I got home, I decided to fill up 200 water balloons. Sometimes we need to be able to throw a water bomb at our kids. In addition to that, sometimes we need to let our kids throw them at us. Filling them took forever, and the war was over way too quickly, but it was fun and I look forward to doing it again.

After the water fight, the boys played video games and I sat and read my book. It was relaxing and nice.

Ken and the boys will be spending much of the morning at our new place entertaining contractors. Someone will be there to look at the heater and I believe someone who will price the termite damage. The other things that will need to be done sooner than later are the bathrooms. One is functional, but we really need to remodel both. Really, I am ok with waiting until some of these things are done before moving as long as we close escrow since it will mean I can sign the boys up for school. My priorities are funny like that.

I want to pack, but the problem is I am running out of room to put boxes. I am anxious to get that POD set up so we can put stuff in there. Ken will be packing up all the Lego in the next couple weeks to take to the camp, which is nice since it leaves the house/garage free of the plastic bricks which gives us a better idea of what is left. I have big plans for our trash cans. LOL!

37 and counting

6-10-13

One more day of 37!

It was a fantastic couple of days off. Since I bailed on work early on Thursday, it was nice to be able to spend some of the last 4 days being lazy! Don’t get me wrong, I busted my ass as well, but I also was able to hang out and watch a couple of movies I had been meaning to see. I saw Safety Not Guaranteed, which I highly recommend. Very sweet and goofy at the same time. I enjoyed it a great deal.

The best news, which seems silly for me to wait until right now to post, is that we got the appraisal back. It was good!!!!!! In fact, the Admiral emailed our real estate guys to tell them that we are in fact moving forward with the purchase. 

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, there is some work to be done before close in about 20 days, but hopefully we get a good bid tomorrow since Ken is entertaining multiple contractors at the house to see what can be done.

As the Captain points out, we are not in the home stretch, but we are rounding the turn at a good rate. I am seriously delirious with happy.

I spent much of Saturday in the closet. LOL! I cleaned out one of the bedroom closets in our place and it is now empty. I even tried to convince each of the boys to just move in there with me. Both were quite amused at my antics. Bobby pointed out that although it sounded great, there was no room for my jewelry and clothing. Dax seemed to only be concerned with the bathroom issues.

We need to order the POD storage box since our living room is filling with boxes. LOL!

The boys both made it through their award ceremony, both getting the perfect attendance awards. Their last day was less chipper, though. Both broke down sobbing when I picked them up, indicating how much they would miss their teachers and friends. It was heartbreaking. It was also very sweet that they were that happy there. I explained that we would and could easily come back and visit, and this seemed to make them happy. I also pointed out that this last week presented me with the opportunity to talk with multiple people I knew in elementary school. This also seemed to perk them up.

This morning looks to be busy, and I am pissed since it took me forever to get into the building. My key was not working right so I had to go into the different door. We will see how that goes when someone points out that I am parked wrong. 

walking and Madison

6-6-13

Appraisal results tomorrow!

My cyber stalking skills were put to good use yesterday. Jamie and I had been discussing old Madison peeps and a name from the past came up; Bobby Fulton. Bobby was one of my best buddies in the first couple years of elementary school. The problem with a name like Robert Fulton is that it is super common. However, thanks to the wonders of the internet, it was actually pretty easy to find him even with him having moved away from Redondo Beach in like the 2^nd grade. I found his Facebook, but the profile pic was his kids. Luckily, they look just like him. LOL! I sent him a note and sure enough, it was him! Very fun!

Yesterday was also a successful exercise day. I walked to get the boys at school, which is always good. I also took Miss Luna with us to Wilson Park for the boys’ birthday party for fake Jenna. Luna and I hiked at a good pace around the park three times, which according to the web is 2.73 miles. I think we should have gone another 3 times. Oh well. It felt great!

The party seemed to last forever. On 3 different times they said they were going to do cake, but then the kids all kind of wandered off again for another 15 minutes. I should have done another lap, especially since Luna became obsessed with this brazen squirrel who kept taunting her. However, I assumed that the party would be over soon what with it being a Wednesday and it was now 5:30. Sheesh!

I was so comfy last night, so I feel pretty well this morning. It is a late night, but I am sleeping in tomorrow. Ken gets to go to the boys’ award ceremony this morning. I really want to go, but quite honestly, there is no real reason to go aside from the idea that I can then work on the house this morning. I would leave here shortly. Actually, I think I just might. 

33 years!

6-5-13

What a wonderful time!

Last night I went out to dinner with two old friends. I played on the Gunners with both Lori and Jaime, but I also went to school with Jaime since kinder. It was fantastic catching up with these ladies. Lori is in San Diego, so since she was up for some different things, it was a perfect time to be able to get together. Sure, we all keep up on Facebook, but this was nice seeing each other in person, too. Both of them are pretty happy in life, which made me thrilled. Jamie and I ended up hanging out for another half an hour or so after Lori left, and we could catch up on some different Madison related peeps.

I think I may have also tracked down an old Madison guy that Jamie brought up last night. I sent him a message from what I am pretty sure his Facebook page. Fun!

Today looks pretty bland. I am crampy so I am hoping that since the boys are both invited to this party (I found this out yesterday), I am going to bring Luna and she and I can walk around the park a few times for exercise.

I am not feeling particularly chatty this morning. I have this stack of paperwork I am working on and it is not letting me think about much else. 

sleepy tired

6-4-13

I am ready for the week to be done and it is only Tuesday.

Still no word on appraisal at this point, so I get to just be frustrated with conversations concerning other properties.

Last night was actually pretty fun. It was a hint clickie but it was ok because I sat with nice people. The food was actually quite yummy. Either that or I was toasty enough that any food was good. I also got to take home the center piece so it was a win all around.

It looks as though it is good that I am taking Friday off. I will be able to sleep in a little bit after the board meeting. Phew!

140 squats to do today. I have accomplished 60 so far and it is only 6. Yay! It is hard, but not so hard I want to quit, so this is good. Hopefully I will have them all done before I leave at 9:30.

What did we do all weekend?

6-3-13

Purple feels right.

I think the weekend was productive, even though I am not 100% sure. I can go over a list of things accomplished, but I still feel like I didn’t do everything. I don’t know that I can ever do everything. I must have been thinking about more cleaning since I had a dream in which all I did was clean. In a sick an twisted way, it was actually quite relaxing.

The appraisal has been ordered and the understanding is that it will be taking place either today or tomorrow. I am on pins and needles.

We went and looked at a fun place in Hawthorne on Saturday. It was truly quite amazing. The basement was huge and the whole house was fantastic. It also had the rotary dial phone in the kitchen along with a rigged up phone system that allowed you to call the attic or the garage from this one handset they set up. It was charming and roomy and had gorgeous wood all over. It also had a lot of work to be done, so I am kind of glad that we didn’t even have a chance to really consider an offer since by the time we got home they had already accepted an offer.

We also got to go to our hopeful future home and make some measurements to allow us a Lowe’s trip to price out repairs. I gotta say, it is much more fun to be at Lowe’s when you are thinking about your new home.

I prepped breakfast for me for this whole week. I got some lean chicken and I basically just baked it in some cream of chicken with some seasonings. I figure if I have a little bit of lean meats in the morning, it has the protein to get me going. I had my first batch this morning and it was pretty yummy. Who knew I would turn out to be a pretty decent cook?

It turns out that Breezer is a helluva mouser. Last week, I found her and Tonks accosting a bedspread in the playroom and it turned out to be a mouse we are pretty sure escaped from our tank for Hal. This didn’t explain the droppings in our laundry room, though. Ken managed to block off any ways to get out of the laundry room a couple days ago and then yesterday as we worked on laundry, Lucy was freaking out about something on the shelf. Turned out, the mouse was there. Breezer was alerted and she went to work. In a series of amusing “gotchas!” and “Doh!” we finally had the mouse on the run near the litter pans. I moved the trash can where Breezer was on the hunt. The mouse jetted out and almost made it under the dryer. Breezer snagged it in an amazing feat of nature and then pranced proudly off with her kill in mouth. We managed to remove the mouse and put it in one of the tanks for Hal for later. It was quite the adventure.

It looks as though I may be able to get together with a couple of Gunners tomorrow! Lori is in town from San Diego and Jamie is local, but the three of us are going out for drinks hopefully tomorrow night. I have known Jamie since kindergarten, but all three of us were on the Gunners together. It will be super fun to see them again and hang out. I am really looking forward to it.

This evening is the Founders Cup appreciation dinner. Really, Ken is the one who should be invited, not me, since I didn’t do anything. LOL! That being said, I guess I am kind of like his plus one. Besides, I get to see Sue who moved on to Area with Fred and that should be fun. I also like a handful of the soccer folks, which will be nice. I also get to debut my new do!

The week looks to be quite busy beyond that. Wednesday is a birthday party for Fake Jenna from Bobby’s class. It is at Wilson Park right after school. I don’t know if it will be one in which Dax is invited to stay which keeps me there, or if Dax and I will run up to Target to hang out.

Thursday is the board meeting, which is only nice because I want to drive by our hopeful new digs just to say hello. Yeah, so I want to say hi to a house. Is this odd?

Friday is the last day of school, which also means they are having Chuck E Cheese night. My folks are going to meet us there, which is really cool since the boys will like having people hang out with them at the games. More grownups means we don’t have to worry about losing our table, and the boys always have someone hanging with them.

If all goes right, I think Saturday is a day of rest. LOL! 

The boys played a lot of video games yesterday, so I have decided on days like that, they will do squats with me. I am not making them do the 135 that I might have to do in a day (that would be today). I am however making them do a set with me of something like 25. They did 50 yesterday which was good for them. Ken is going to do them with us, too, since he also is guilty of lots of game time. I am also trying to make time for a walk each night, which just allows us to get some moving in.

I am happy that there is no homework this week. That might cause drinking in large quantities.

Tomorrow I get to hang out at Dax’s classroom much of the day. I am really looking forward to it. Ken is picking up pizza and we are both going to help hand it out to the kids. It will be a three class party, similar to last year since Mrs. Kelly is one of the classes. I am curious as to how many parents will be there. Either way, I think it should be interesting all around.

I don’t know that Friday will be a day in which they get out earlier than the 12:30 dismissal time. This means I may end up working much of the day. I will find out hopefully as the week progresses. Hell, if the boxes we ordered show up, I may just take the day off anyway and pack!

Let’s just hope that come Friday I will feel like celebrating!