Our stuff has arrived!  It must have had a lot of fun in storage because it's MULTIPLIED!  Our new house USED to feel big.  LOL

 

I'm exhausted from today, it was hard keeping up with the movers, telling them where to put stuff (and DECIDING where to put stuff, especially when it started getting crowded), keeping the kids out of the way and out of the street, and talking with Roofing Dude, who came to double check Roofing Sales Dude's measurements and condition assessmen.  We also had lots of phone calls and people coming to the house trying to sell me stuff.  Um, DUH!  I'm not inclined to listen to your unsolicited pitch in the first place, but if you approach me when I am OBVIOUSLY very busy and you're liable to have your head chewed off.  Stress makes my teeth get sharper.

 

We heard from Coco's school - she is the first in line on the waiting list for 1/2 day Kindergarten.  There is an opening in all day Kindergarten, but it costs $265 a month.  I told them I would call back 1st thing tomorrow with my decision, hopefully a space opened up in 1/2 day but if not, we're going to pay the tuition, the whole reason we bought the house here before the one in NC sold was so that Coco wouldn't have to switch schools.

 

The dude from Movers Specialty Services was supposed to come this afternoon to assemble all the stuff they took apart in NC (kids' toddler beds, Shawn's desks, our sectional couch - they literally removed the backs all around!), they called at 11am to see if everything was off the truck (they won't send them out till it is) and I told them that almost all of it was, and to send him on out.  They said it would be in the afternoon but by the time Shawn came to get us (7:30ish) he had not showed up, NOR had he called, so we figured we'd hear something tomorrow.  We had turned off all the lights and were locking up the house when he pulled up.  Thankfully he was willing to reschedule, because we really wanted to eat dinner and Shawn had to get back to an internet connection so he could work on a presentation for tomorrow morning. 

 

I'm a done tom turkey.  So exhausted.  I want some sort of treat - ice cream, chocolate bar, something.  But I am too tired / lazy to put my shoes back on and go out to get it.  They say that weight loss success depends on motivation.  I guess for me it depends on my LACK thereof.  har har har 

 

OK better run.  Time to attach the picture that inspired me to write the post... it reminded me of the dude who is going to assemble our stuffs.

 

Love, Jen

 

 

 

It was 3pm today and I started feeling panicked that I hadn't gotten anything done today.  When I get very stressed I go take a shower.  Water calms me. :)

 

When I was in the shower I decided to list all of the things I had done today to see if my panic was warranted.  Once I listed them out it seemed like an awful lot, so I'm writing a post about it.  Because I like to brag, basically.  :P

 

#1. Dropped Shawn and kids off at 8am to meet asbestos abatement dudes at "Princess House" (Colleen's term for the new house)

#2. Got Starbucks, donuts and gas from Safeway, went back to pick up Shawn and kids, met asbestos dudes. 

#3. Said prayer for asbestos dudes' lungs.

#4. Took Shawn to work.

#5. Came back to apartment, made sure I had Coco's school papers in order, called school office to be sure they were there.

#6. Dropped off school papers at Coco's school.  They still can't tell me if she will get to go to our neighborhood school.  They are processing all of the paperwork and will call me as soon as they know.  I'll know by next Thurs the 28th at the latest.  Fingers crossed!

#6a. Almost forgot: Went to the library and got a library card and three books.  yay!  new books!

#7. Went grocery shopping at Top Foods.  Pretty sure this will remain my grocery store of choice because they have a supervised kids play area that Coco and Wes LOVE.  Colleen loves just about anything, she is so easy going.  Wesley pretty much only loves me and has a cow if he is somewhere I am not.  He was so excited to go in that he didn't even say bye to me. 

#8. Brought groceries back home to apartment.  I didn't get much because we'd just have to move it to Princess House on Tuesday / Wednesday.  Hurray!

#9. Researched lawn maintenance companies in North Carolina, submitted quote requests to a couple to have a biweekly mowing schedule set up.  From what I hear the back yard is getting pretty high.

#10. Called mortgage company for NC house to see if there was anything we could do to lower our payment till house sells.  After they finished laughing they politely told me No Way, Jose!

#11. Started making a list of the qualities we want in a sellers' real estate agent, with the idea that I will email it out (like a help wanted ad almost) to all the realtors in our area and see if anyone is willing to take me on.  I'm a tough customer to keep happy, some might even say "high maintenance". 

#12. Saved list of qualities, but abandonned real estate agent want ad idea.  Called our company-assigned relocation real estate agent coordinator type person.  She's going to try to find us someone tomorrow, but she also encouraged me to find someone myself.  I'm a little worried that I scared all of her agents off.  Maybe word got out about me?  LOL

#13. Researched sales statistics for NC and WA.  Our house in NC should be ok at the listing price I want and I am not going to let the next agent bully me into lowering it like crazy (fat lot of good that did anyways!).  The WA house does still appear to be a bargain, but only if no more big repair projects present themselves.

#14. Read my Hollywood gossip and funny / cute websites.

#15. Freaked out about wasting time and took my shower.

#16. Blooged about it.  LOL

 

Now I'm off to take a short break with one of my library books before the kids wake up from their nap.  Wish I hadn't been feeling all health-foody during grocery trip, could really go for some junk food right now. 

 

Hugs!

 

-Jen

... perfectly describes the work that the new house in WA is in need of.

 

Fix crack in fireplace and chimney so that it is safe to have fires and rebuild damper system so that most of the heat from the furnace doesn't go up the flue?  $930.00

 

Replace roof with mid-grade "50" year composite shingle roof, upgrade vent system, and replace current "coffee can and duct tape" bathroom vent pipe with product specifically made for the purpose?  $15,800

 

Replace gutters and downspouts, including properly connecting them to the house and ground drains?  $2500

 

Add "grills" to the gutters to keep leaves and debris out?  ANOTHER $2500

 

Replace 20 windows and 3 patio sliding doors with high mid-range windows?  $33,500  Too rich for you?  OK, replace 20 windows and 3 sliding patio doors with lower mid-range windows for $17,000.  Still too rich for you?  Replace each kids room window and the TV room window for the bargain price of $1,750.

 

The roofer we had out today also measured the insulation in the attic crawl space.  We've got 5 inches of blown wool insulation.  The current code requires 19.5 inches.  I have no idea how much 14.5 inches of blown fiberglass insulation is going to cost.  By that point I was in sticker shock and wasn't ready to hear it.  If it only cost $200 it still would have felt like too much to me at the time, and I can promise you it is going to be a heck of a lot more than $200.

 

At this point I also feel like we can't put off calling in an electrician to evaluate the system.  While I was taping off the TV room today in preparation for painting it I discovered two issues that I just can't overlook.  #1.  Whomever installed the electrical box (in the family / tv room for crying out loud!) cut the hole in the wall too big.  I know this because instead of patching it up, it was merely taped over with duct tape.  Yeah, you read that right... DUCT TAPE.  Give me a flipping break.  How can I possibly believe that a professional installed that electrical box when the mis-cut hole in the wall was patched with DUCT TAPE.  I see red every time I think about it.  And then there is lovely #2.  The TV cable and/or speaker wiring... well, it's definitely a custom job.  I know this because the wires weren't fished behind the wall, or even tucked behind baseboard moulding.  They were taped with masking tape to the underside of a little wood ledge about 2 feet up from the floor, ALL around the room.  And this is not a small room.  MASKING TAPE!  I kept saying "you've got to be kidding me" under my breath as I worked my way around the room with my roll of blue painter's tape.

 

Not to mention that I still can't find the switch to turn off the floodlights in the back yard, or to turn on the coach lights on either side of the garage, or to turn off the crappy do-it-yourself landscape lighting.  And we probably ought to have an outlet installed for the garage door opener so that we can retire the ancient extension cord and eliminate that fire hazard.  Ooooh don't get me started on needing to upgrade the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm systems.

 

The funny thing is that I still love the house.  I don't blame the poor neglected house for all this stuff.  Honestly, I kind of blame the home inspector for not alerting us to more of the not-obvious-to-the-casual-observer issues.  I whole-heartedly blame the previous homeowner for the slipshod work.  If you aren't willing to do something right, then why do it?  Part of me wants to track the previous owner down and ask her about it.  Why have a garage door opener if you aren't going to have an electrician install a proper outlet for it?  Why install a bathroom exhaust fan if you are going to vent it directly into the attic above using FREAKING COFFEE CANS?  And isn't the added safetly of night time illumination from the landscaping lights sacraficed by all of the electrical cords crisscrossing the flower beds and step riser?

 

Shawn helpfully reminds me that I wanted a project house.  Careful what you wish for, huh?  LOL  I just hope that purchasing this fixer-upper doesn't prove to be a foolhardy decision.  At any rate I feel better now that I have complained about it.  Go figure!  :)

 

Hugs, Jen

Ahhhh.  My days are completely booked with appointments.  I've got appointments clear into October.  I feel better now.  :)

 

Tommorow I have an appointment with the Home Depot window sales guy.

Tomorrow I am also going to stop by the elementry school to drop off Colleen's enrollment paperwork.  I got choked up when I filled out the shot record.  She has grown up so quickly.  I remember each of those shots like they were yesterday.  Coco doesn't do well with needles.

Wednesday I have an appointment with the Home Depot roof and gutter sales guy.

Either tomorrow or Wednesday the owner / estimator from Anderson roofing will come by and take a gander at the roof.

Thursday and Friday the abestos abatement crew will be at the house, ridding us of the horrible popcorn ceilings.

Saturday I have an appointment with State Roofing (thanks for the recommendation, Heather!) to get an estimate from them for both the roof and windows.

Tuesday the 26th our stuff is being delivered to the house.  YAY!

Thursday the 28th the kids have their New Patient appointment with their new pediatrician (thanks to Kelly for the recommendation!).

Thursday the 28th we also have the Meet & Greet at Coco's school (provided that there is room for her at our neighborhood school, fingers crossed!)

Then we've got a few days to get settled before school starts on 9/2.

The kids have their first appointment with their new dentist on 10/8 (thanks again to Kelly for the recommendation!)

The fireplace is being repaired/rebuilt on 10/22.

 

I feel useful now.  I have things to cross off a list again!

 

I've begun painting Wesley's room.  His colors are very bold.  The most saturated colors I've ever used on a wall.  Three of his walls are blue, the official name of the color is Buzz Blaster Blue (from the Disney collection), but it is also the same color as The King from the Disney/Pixar movie Cars.  The accent wall (the one that his window is on) is going to be orange.  The name of the color is Donald Orange, also from Disney.  It matches the orange in the "95" and on the side of Lightning McQueen.  I just keep reassuring myself that if I don't like it I can always paint over it.  It'll probably take a coat or two of primer and a couple of coats of the new paint, but hey!  Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.  :P  Wes likes it, I guess that is what really matters.

 

Shawn's watching a TV show on the Roman Gladiators and it sounds interesting.  The high school we went to focused on a classical education and we both had to take 3 years of Latin, during which we learned all about the ancient Roman empire.  I'm going to sign off and pay attention to the program with him.

 

Hugs!

 

-Jen

 

 

 

PS: Fish aquarium decision has been reached.  We decided to go with this set up.  Super easy!  :)

Hi everyone!

 

Question: Does anyone reading this have experience with larger fish tank set ups?  We are considering salt water because the kids are dying for Nemo and Dori. 

 

I have only kept small freshwater aquariums, and only easy fish like tetras, beta sharks, goldfish, etc.

 

I've been crusing around on craigs list (my new favorite - eBay's gone to you-know-where in a handbasket).  Ideally, we'd like a bow front or hexagonal aquarium with mid to high double digit gallon size (i.e. 50+).

 

Does anyone have any advice?

 

I'm not 100% sure I'm going to go through with this (so no lectures yet, ok Dad?)

 

I'm just putting this out there to see if anyone has any advice or opinions for me.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

only COOLER!  LOL

 

Finally, I'm not cold!  Although, I did get cold last night.  Looking forward to the nice warm weather.  :P

I'll be at the new house all day tomorrow (and probably Friday as well), if anyone wants to come see it.  Tomorrow I am going to start painting so if you wanted to see a "before" to go along with the "after", the time has come!

 

Otherwise - our stuff is getting delivered Tuesday 8/26 and I figure I should be unpacked enough for company by the weekend.  Well, maybe.  That is a pretty bold statement for me to make.  Some of you have offered to come help on delivery day, and you are more than welcome to.  One word of warning: I am terrible at giving directions to others and I will likely be flustered and not know what to ask you to help with.  But hey!  The more the merrier!  And we know the kids will be in great moods because they'll have their toys and books back.  :)

 

Shawn and I are planning on having a housewarming party in early-mid October.  I picked then so that I could have my Halloween decorations out.  LOL

 

Earlier today I was rear ended by a big honkin SUV.  I was coming from Home Depot and was stopped at the light by the Dairy Queen.  The guy must not have realized the light was red until too late.  He didn't hit me hard and MY CAR IS FINE.  His license plate was messed up and his bumper was scratched.  We didn't exchange info because my car was fine.  If there were extra scratches it was hard to tell because there were so many already.  It shook me up though.  What made it worse is that we were going the same way for quite a bit after that.  I was heading up the hill to new house and he was behind me all the way until he turned into the Safeway parking lot.  I was starting to get paranoid about why he was following me.  Alls well that ends well, I suppose, but my knees didn't stop shaking until I had talked to Shawn.

 

OK I had better go, the natives are getting restless.

 

Hugs, Jen

I ordered the unicorn wall mural for Colleen's room two nights ago.  I may still get her the "life size" Optimus Prime one as well, if she seems well and truly dissappointed by his absence.  We'll see.

 

I spent the morning over at the house working.  I finished clearing the old caulking from the tub and wall surround in the main bathroom, ugh what a chore!  I'm going to clean all the areas to be re-caulked with bleach this afternoon and then depending on how patient the kids are, I may do the caulking today - otherwise tomorrow.  I also finished taking down the two remaining "bracket holders" for the 70's metal shelving that was in the family room.  The previous owners were kind enough to position all but one of the bracket holders in the grooves of the "wood" paneling.  LOL

 

I also did the first round of cleaning in the master bathroom shower stall - Scubbing Bubbles didn't make a dent.  Oh boy! 

 

Last - but not least - I started the wall prep for the painting I have planned this week.  I got my trusty bucket of spackle and a little plastic putty knife and set to work.  I started in the master bedroom because that is the room that had the most brass hooks in the wall.  After a couple HOURS and 4/5ths of a bucket of spackle and I had finished the first round!  What in the world could they have possibly hung on all those walls?  Seriously?  The kids' rooms were the worst.  I did Colleen's room first, it was also the previous owner's daughter's room.  There were dozens and dozens of small "thumb tack" type holes in the standard places you'd expect for posters.  The original daughter is 6 years older than me, I spent my time in there wondering if she was too old to be a fan when New Kids On The Block were big, or if she had their posters all over her room too.  Good Times.

 

Wesley's room (also the original boy's room) was a bit more puzzling.  There were WAY more holes, they were in groups of two and they were perfectly evenly spaced.  The mystery was solved when I found a couple of STAPLES!!!  No thumb tacks for that kid, he STAPLED his posters to his wall.  Lord help me.  I couldn't get the few remaining staples out of the wall.  I'll have to wait till our stuff is delivered and take the staple remover to them. 

 

 We're back at the apartment for now, the kids needed a nap and I could use a little rest myself.  No naps for me (wouldn't want to make Shawn jealous - Hi Hon!), but my arms are pretty tired.

 

After naps we have big plans: grocery store, Home Depot (for primer), and get gas.  Can't believe I think $3.88 is cheap for gas.  Wierd.  Once errands are done it is back to the house for more work. 

 

Ta Ta For Now!

 

Jen

Holy Moly!  That's the most comments I've had in a long time!

 

I have been taking my medicine and I am starting to get myself back under control.  When I look at the big picture I can see that our situation is temporary and not that bad.  I do not handle change well, but even worse is uncertainty. 

 

The changes in our life are (duh!) moving from North Carolina to Washington state.  We have bought a 1968 tri-level, our first not-new home.  Let's just say that homeownership if a brand new place is a lot different from an older home.  There are so many things to address in an older home that we've not had to deal with before.  So there's some of the uncertainty: how long will the worn roof hold out?  How much will it cost to replace?  How long can we put off replacing the windows?  Is the crack in the back of the firebox / chimney of the wood burning fireplace unsafe?  How much will it cost to repair?  For the most part, these uncertainties are tolerable - I love organizing projects and getting things taken care of.  Of course money is a concern, but as long as we plan and prioritize, it doesn't keep me up at night.

 

What keeps me up at night is worry over the house in North Carolina.  It's been on the market since my birthday (6/30) and we have not had a single showing, despite lowering the price significantly.  I made a snap decision on the realtor and it turned out to be the wrong decision.  He and I do not see eye to eye and there are personality conflicts.  I realized the mistake after about the first week, but we kept trying to make it work because it seemed like too much of a hassle to try to break the contract and find a new agent in the middle of trying to move.  It wasn't until our current realtor responded to an email I sent him with my concerns with an email of his own complete with termination agreement attached that I finally admitted to myself that we needed to make the change.  I felt such relief upon admitting it to myself that I know deep down that it is the right thing to do. 

 

I am intimidated by trying to find a new realtor from out of town.  I'm also worried about finding a lawn care company, carpet cleaner, cleaning service, and probably a real estate staging firm so that the house isn't vacant in the new MLS pictures.  The uncertainties that stress me the most are just not knowing when the house will sell, how long we will have to pay two mortgage payments, how much of a loss we will have to take on the house, etc.  My angst has calmed considerably once I started taking my medicine regularly again and the decision to find a new realtor has also helped.  I'm still pretty worked up over though.  Shawn says he can tell when I am thinking about it because I buzz with nervous energy.  The thing about OCD is that even though I KNOW IN MY MIND that there is nothing to be gained by worrying over things I have no control over, I literally CAN NOT stop the thoughts from racing through my head and growing to unmanagable proportions.  Another part of it is the superstition, which I also KNOW doesn't have any impact over the end result, however, the online Magic 8 Ball said that our house will sell in August, and I'm holding that virtual plastic ball accountable for it's prediction.  I also worry that the Magic 8 Ball could be wrong.  And sometimes, I worry that I am worrying too much and putting too much bad Karma out there over it. 

 

I'm a basket case.  I am laughing at myself over this latest rant.  I guess I'll leave it.  If you all don't know how bonkers I am already, then you found out today!  I'm crazy, but I'm lovable!

 

*Deep Breath*

 

OK I guess that is all for now.  I'll try to write about all the fun stuff and progress that I've made since moving to WA later.  There actually is quite a bit to report.

 

Love, Jen

1. Sweet Tea

 

OK that is all I can think of for now, but I REALLY REALLY miss it.  Anyone got a good Sweet Tea recipe they want to share?

 

I haven't posted much because I've been in a tizzy / bad mood.  I've written lots of bitch-fest type blogs and then I don't post them because who wants to read a novello of my grumpy-ness?

 

Promise to take my meds and write nice normal posts in the near future.

 

Love, Jen

 

PS.  If anyone has one of those old tacky "rain" mineral oil lamps, I'm dying for one.  I've got just the place for it in my tacky WA house.  Seriously.