Seven Years - No Itches

Yesterday Vince and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. And have I mentioned lately how awesome my husband is? No? Well, let me just take this opportunity to inform you all, that my husband, is awesome. Very awesome. Just what makes him so awesome? Well, many things, really. His uncommon good looks. His winning personality. His easy sense of humor. The list could go on and on. But what really made his awesomeness stand out yesterday were these . . .

Those are just a couple of pieces of my brand new, fourteen piece, copper core All-Clad cookware. All-Clad did I say? Yes! All-Clad! And could I be happier? Probably not. They are almost just too pretty to use. I did say, "almost". I am excited beyond words.

So after recuperating from my stunned silence at such an awesome gift, which was given to me by my awesome husband. Oh, I already mentioned that didn't I? That my husband is awesome. And that he gave me the most awesome gift. Sorry. Anyway, he headed to downtown Fort Worth to Texas de Brazil for drinks and a very yummy dinner. This place has a different concept. There is no menu. It has a really nice salad/vegetable station and Gauchos roam the dining room serving all kinds of meat from big metal skewers. Unlimited amounts of meat? Bring it on. We were warned by friends to not eat all day before going to this restaurant so we were starving when we got there. It's fair to say that Ketel One Martini started out my evening nicely. We had never been to Texas de Brazil before, but would most certainly go back. I'm looking forward to it actually. And if you sign up on their website, they'll e-mail you coupons. Since it was our anniversary, they sent us a coupon and we only had to pay for one meal. Bonus! It was the cheapest we've ever gone out for our anniversary before, and every bit as good.

So after a lovely evening of good food and good company, we came home, thanked our new neighbors who so kindly volunteered to watch our kids, (another bonus, no babysitter to pay), and went into a deep - meat - sleep.

And since my system has had about all the meat it can take, tonight I'll be making in my new cookware a nice vegetable curry.

She's Two! Well, She Was, 10 Days Ago.

On September 13th, we celebrated Francesca's second birthday. I know, I know. What do you expect, the youngest of four. Poor thing, getting jipped on her birthday announcement. Honestly, I don't think she cares. She was very laid back about the whole birthday thing anyway.

I made a nice dinner of Teriyaki Chicken and Sesame Glazed Bok Choy. Everyone ate with gusto, so I considered it a successful dinner. It was pretty much a typical Saturday, except with cupcakes and a balloon. She even got jipped with the balloon though. I normally get our kids balloon bouquets for their birthdays, but since we're living in po'dunked, I have no idea where to go around here to get one. So I ended up picking out a Mylar Winnie the Pooh birthday balloon while at Albertsons getting confectioners sugar for the frosting for her cupcakes. Blueberry, with blueberry-cream cheese frosting, in case you were wondering. She didn't mind the lack of superfluous latex balloons. She loved her Winnie balloon. That is of course until Harrison popped it. How do you pop a Mylar balloon? I have no idea, I never got a straight answer out of Harrison how he did it. It's a gift I guess. Francesca had such a good time blowing out the candles on her cupcake that Vince had to relight the candles. Again. And again. And again. And she wouldn't even lean in to blow them out. She would just purse her lips just right, and blow, not even hard, and those candles would go out every time. We must be easy marks, because she amazed us every time she did it.

Earlier in the week she received a birthday card from Granny M with a savings bond. And on the day of her birthday arrived a nice package from her Grandma DeeDee, filled with new clothes and a stuffed puppy. Annamaria, the Diva, was very disappointed to learn the new clothes were not for her. But we held our ground, and she has yet to get her grubby little hands on her sister's new clothes.
So no big event, no fancy party. But I think she had a good day anyway.

Going Brown

Have I mentioned that the weather here has been lovely lately? No? Well Monday was so wonderful, that we threw open the windows and let the fresh air blow in. When we woke up Tuesday morning, the temperature in the house was under 70 degrees. The house never got warmer than 73 yesterday. This morning the house was 53 degrees! It has been beautiful! Warm sunny days in the mid to high 70's. Cool lovely evenings. Perfect, perfect weather.

When we got back from California for the summer, I was invited to walk in the evenings with some of my neighbors in our area. I thought this was just what I needed, a little exercise, a chance to get to know my neighbors, and a little break from the kids in the evening. So most days after dinner, I put on my walking shoes and head out the door for our evening stroll. For the most part I'd say it has been an enjoyable experience and most of whom I've met are really nice people. It turns out that even when others weren't walking, I've decided that I needed the exercise anyway and headed out on my own.

Since we got Cooper back I've decided that I actually enjoy walking by myself. I can choose any route I wish, keep my own pace, and don't worry about it getting dark since I have my fearless companion with me. But last night I decided I was being unsocial, and decided to join up with the girls for their evening routine.

Sometime this summer while we were gone, a couple bought the house that was built on the corner heading onto our street. A young couple, married two years, no kids, lots of toys and new cars. And a motorcycle. And a riding mower. And two pure bred boxers. O-kay, so I wouldn't have a whole lot in common with these people, but that doesn't mean we can't be friendly. I must admit that I didn't get immediate warm fuzzy feelings for the female half of this couple, (Nor did I feel warm and fuzzy toward the male, but for entirely different reasons, and I'm sure that's a good thing.). During one conversation she asked me how many kids I had, and just seemed astonished that anyone would have the audacity to have as many as four. And while I admit that these days four is a large family compared to most, has she never heard of the Duggers? I'm not that out of line. She went on to say that she is in no rush to have children, if she even wants children, and doesn't want many, if any, at all. Fine. When I was young I never wanted children either, but I don't think I ever made anyone feel bad for having them, and if I did, here is my official apology. I'm Sorry. She just seemed too high maintenance for me, and lately I've had more than I can take of high maintenance people. But I decided to hold my final verdict until I had more interaction with her. She seemed like she was trying to be nice, I just questioned her sincerity.

Anyway, last night as I was headed up the street towards the corner to meet the girls I heard a humming noise and realized that it was High Maintenance Woman's air conditioning. It was 75 degrees outside! I saw her and asked if her air conditioning was running. She looked at me like I had just asked her the most stupid question in the world and said, "Yes". I said, "But it's beautiful out here." She said something about her house being so well insulated that it took a while to cool down. I suggested she try opening her windows. Then I noticed that her new BMW had been replaced with a new GMC Yukon. You know, for all those kids she's planning on having.

What Is Wrong With Cooper?

Last night Vince filled his food bowl, but Cooper wouldn't come to eat. I thought maybe he was depressed since I ran to the grocery store instead of taking him for his nightly walk. He looked a little hunched and his tail was tucked between his legs. He wouldn't even come up to the back porch. I thought maybe I hurt his poor little puppy feelings. So I went back inside and brought him two dog treats to try to cheer him up. He had no interest at all.

Was he sad? Maybe Francesca piling dirt on top of him earlier in the day while he snoozed in the yard made him feel bad about himself. Maybe he should have a bath. Still, he wouldn't come and say hello.

Was he anxious about the impending storm that was scheduled to hit early the next morning? Animals sense things better than us humans. Maybe it was the weather.

Was he concerned about the upcoming presidential election? Our country is in some serious trouble. Immigration. The economy. Fuel issues. The war. Are either candidate what our country needs to address these problems and truly be proactive? He's a sensitive soul, my Cooper, perhaps these things are really weighing him down.

Then Vince noticed a snake on our back porch. Not just any snake, but a copperhead. So it turns out the only thing wrong with Cooper is that he can't talk, and say, "Hey, watch out stupid. There's a snake on the porch."

Hey Braceface!

Last week Sophia had an appointment at the orthodontist where they magically transformed my little girl into a pre-teen, just with the simple addition of adding braces to her upper teeth. What happened to my baby?

And oh! We got Cooper back. That's what we did over Labor Day weekend. An extended weekend trip to visit with the in-laws and pick up our dog. It was sad coming home with only one, having dropped off two, but I'll save that for another post.

The First Day of the Last Year of My Thirties

Ouch! That's a hard one to swallow.

Saturday was a day pretty much like any other. Vince was still working on the floors. I had errands to run, groceries to stock up on for the next couple of weeks. I was planning on starting the kids school year on Monday, and knew that my week would be hectic enough without any extra things to get done. But my husband took a break from his hard and sweaty work to give me a few hours of "me" time. Those few hours gave me time to go pick out my birthday presents . . .

I'm pleased to introduce the newest members of our family, Luna and Sirius (Sirius Black, he's the black one, obviously).

Luna is a sweet gentle little girl, and Sirius is a frisky little guy who is always ready for a rumble. The kids just love them, and the kitties will curl up and fall asleep while the kids are holding them, so I think the affection is mutual.

And also for my birthday, my husband is tolerating all of this very well, this having animals in the house business. The best gift he could have given me. Thank you.

A Real Family Vacation

Giving that our family hadn't had a true family vacation in some time, our first week in California was something special. We did our most favorite things; the beach, and of course Sea World. Then after a too short time together, we headed off to Las Vegas for a couple of nights, where Vince would leave us to return to Texas. But the short time we had together just enjoying the sun and the fun was great.

One of the first things we did was hit the beach. My friend, Alayne, lent us beach chairs, an umbrella, and a bag of sand toys for the kids. What would we do without her? La Jolla here we come. Once there I realized that it was Francesca's first beach experience. Being our shy one, I think she warmed up to the sand and the surf quite quickly. Sophia and Harrison, are fearless when it comes to the water, which just makes me that much more nervous, and even Annamaria got used to the water quickly. I think she would have spent the whole time in the waves if allowed. But her lips turned blue, and she had to come up on the sand to warm up for a while. Francesca had fun in the water, and got a little too brave, until she got toppled by a wave. Those slippery little kids get away from you fast. After calming her down from her scare, she was back in the water liked nothing happened. Until the next time. But they all had fun jumping waves, playing in the sand, and burying their big sister. On the way home we stopped at Cold Stone for some ice cream.

What could make a day better?

Not getting sunburned, that's what. I covered those kids in sunscreen. And I reapplied throughout the day. And I made them put on shirts when not in the water. But still, everyone got way too much sun. I was embarrassed they got so burnt. Someone could have called Child Protective Services on me. But who got burnt the worse? Vince. Like glow in the dark burnt. Poor guy. It had been so long since we'd all been to the beach together as a family (of course we hardly ever went when we lived in San Diego), that he was having so much fun playing with the kids, and teaching Sophia how to body surf, that he didn't pay any attention to how much sun he was getting until it was too late.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jog

Thank you to my anonymous commenter, even though I have no idea who you are, it's nice to know someone misses us.

We are back in Texas, safe and sound. We left sunny California on Friday, August 8th. I was able to hold back the tears, but it was very sad to be leaving. The kids and I headed off to Phoenix, to pick up Vince from the airport, to drive back all together. I hit such a downpour somewhere in the California desert that cars and trucks were pulled over to the side of the road, the visibility was so bad. After getting through the rain, we quickly hit a wind/sand storm, that again reduced the visibility to practically nothing. So my wet minivan was quickly coated in sand. Kind of looked like a big cinnamon-sugar dusted donut hole. With a Toule on top.

Vince's flight landed about an hour before we hit Phoenix, so he was ready and waiting for us. It was a very happy reunion, after being apart for five weeks. We quickly stopped for dinner, so he could hug on the kids and we could get a bite to eat before our long, long all-nighter trip. Well, that was a mistake. A couple of hours back on the road and Annamaria started throwing up. Repeatedly. She ended up arriving back home in nothing but a diaper, and covered with a beach towel I had in the car. She had thrown up on everything else. Now, Sophia had some sort of stomach bug for a couple of days the week before, and it hit Francesca the Wednesday night before we left, so I'm still not sure if it was a stomach bug or food poisoning. I'm thinking a combination of a little bit of both, because I was pretty miserable on the drive home too. Harrison got sick the night we got home. At least we weren't stuck in the car anymore. And I woke up Monday morning at 3am to the sound of Vince retching. Nice. He was so miserable he ended up calling in sick that day, something he never does. But now we are all back to healthy. Thankfully.

The bags have been unpacked, the laundry has been caught up on, the refrigerator has been cleaned out and restocked, and I'm slowly getting the house back to it's normal state. When we returned there was a very fine coating on saw dust on everything. Even though Vince cleaned, it was still settling out of the air, so we have a dusty, dusty house. He was able to finish the floors in the kitchen, breakfast area and hallway. The formal dining, office and entryway still need to be completed. It was a much bigger project than he thought. Always is. And he has since discovered that he's going to have to refinish the kitchen/breakfast/hallway anyway. He used the wrong oil or something in the hand rub finish, and it isn't setting or something the way it's supposed to. Poor guy. Looks nice though.

We did many, many fun things while back on the west coast, but too much to post in one entry, so I'll have to get back into my blogging grove since there are at least a couple of posts worth. And lots of pictures.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation (At Least Yesterday Anyway)

1. Loaded the kids into the car to go visit with Granny M.
2. Discovered that the car wouldn't start.
3. Unloaded the kids from the car, and back into the house.
4. Made of couple of phone calls, trying to not let the aggravation get the best of me.
5. Got a jump from a lovely family that I haven't kept in contact with since we moved. Shame on me, shame on me, shame on me. Must send them a Thank You gift.
6. Dropped my car off at the local Toyota dealer, explained what's been going on with the car, and left instructions for them to contact my husband with the diagnoses.
7. Got a ride back to my mom's from the lovely family, and found out that their youngest son is entering the seminary at USD this fall. Feel like a great big ass for not keeping in touch with this lovely family, not knowing their big news, and offer many congratulations.
8. Sat around all day waiting to hear about my car.
9. Come evening, finally got a call from my husband, detailing the work needed on the car and what would be done and what would not.
10. Then asked the million dollar question . . . how much is this all going to cost?
11. Still reeling from the news that for around $1,000 I will have my car back in it's usual working order sometime today. Supposedly.
12. So much for my mulitple trips for sushi while I'm here. Looks like it will be more like tuna sandwiches.

On The Edge

Oh, hi. No no, I'm not there. Over here, head west. A little farther. Keep going, keep going, just until you're about to fall off the edge. Yes! Here I am, in sunny southern California. Forgot to mention that before I left. Sorry. There were people I planned on contacting before I left, but obviously never got around to it. So calling all friends/family, if I keep in regular contact or you haven't heard from me in a offensively long time, please forgive me. I'm here and I'd love to get together. Let's make plans, o-kay?

I'm spending a bit of time back in Cali this summer. You see, my mom is leaving for Alaska for a couple of weeks tomorrow, so I thought, why not raid her house and keep my grandma company while she's gone. You see? Two birds, one stone.

Vince drove out with us last Friday, but he's going back to the Lone Star State on Saturday. The kids and I will be hanging out west until sometime in August. So far it's been a true vacation. Sunday we attended mass at our old church. The church where we both went through RCIA. The church where we were married and all our kids were baptised. It truly was "going home". I loved seeing so many familiar faces, and so many people were happy to see us. It was great. Sunday afternoon we met some friends at Old Town for some much missed Mexican food. Stuff like Chile Verde and Pollo Mole, the kind of stuff we haven't found in Tex-Mex Texas restaurants. Monday we headed to the beach, and like true tourists got too much sun. Despite the reapplying of sunscreen. Tuesday was a full day of Sea World adventure. One of my favorite places ever. I'll have to post photos when I get home since I have no way of unloading them at my mom's. I think anyway, I'm going to have to take a closer look at her laptop.

Tomorrow morning we're headed to Vegas for a couple of nights. What better way to celebrate the birth of our nation than with alcohol, gambling, and Nudes on Ice? Happy 4th of July everyone!

A Zoologist I'm Not

So I've had it with the scorpions and the mice, but at least this one wasn't inside the house.


Vince noticed these prints in our yard the other day, and now I'm becoming more and more curious to what type of animal made them. I thought raccoon, but he told me, "no, no, that looks more like a skunk to me". Well, he's the country boy, and I'm the suburb girl, so really, what do I know? Then just today, the kids were told by the builders across the street that they saw a bear, and were trying to capture photographic or video evidence of it. A bear? Here? As our friend Dave would say, "Are you shitting me?" So now I'm wondering if they were just pulling the kids legs or were they serious in their warnings to the children. Either way, there were either two of these animals, or one fairly large animal since the tracks were spaced a good foot and a half away from each other. And Vince did see a bobcat a couple weeks ago, but even I know enough to know these are not feline. And they don't look like bear tracks either. But the claws are freaking me out. For reference, the tracks are about 3 1/2 inches long, and 1 1/2 inches wide. So, anyone willing to venture a guess?

Sunscreen

Who knew it could be used as such a great styling aid?

Stupid, Stupid People

This morning I received an e-mail from a friend, with a link to a news story regarding her niece. In her e-mail, she just stated that she wanted to share some news regarding her niece, but had to rush off to jury duty, so she included this link http://www.kitv.com/news/16626792/detail.html

I hope the link still works, but just in case it doesn't, it is to a local news station in Hawaii where her sister's family lives. The news story tells about how the family went to the beach for a birthday party, where her niece stumbled into some burning coals that someone had covered over with sand, instead of disposing of them properly. Her niece is now in the hospital being treated for second and third degree burns on both her hands, arms, and one leg.

It is criminal. This angers me to no end. The story states that there are disposal receptacles specifically for coals, but for whatever reason, who ever did this, just dumped their coals onto the sand and covered them over.

Stupidity? Laziness? I don't know, but one thing I do. That is what I call a Dumb Ass!

Quiet Time

Possibly my favorite time of day. Right up there with Bed Time, oh and of course Dinner Time. Nothing makes me happier than when 2pm arrives. Sometimes 1pm, depending on the kids behavior that day, but usually 2pm. That means the babies go down for a nap, and Harrison and Sophia have to be doing something quiet. Hence, Quiet Time. Now I will admit that just because the babies are down for a nap doesn't necessarily mean they will go do sleep, but I do not care. They are in their beds for two hours, they can sleep, or they can play, or they can fuss. It is their choice, I'll see them when 4pm rolls around. Quiet Time for me means a chance to get dinner prepped, laundry folded, make some phone calls, or time to just waste on the Internet. But today I have much more relaxing plans. I just finished my delicious lunch of carnitas soft tacos and will be grabbing my current reading selection and heading outside to do a little reading. There is a nice deck chair waiting for me. Granted the deck chair is sitting in the drive way, just outside the garage. Since we don't have a patio, and our yard consists of dirt, the drive way will have to do. But I'm not complaining, the surroundings are still peaceful and relaxing.

Facing East

Facing South

Facing West

So far, I'm really liking the boonies.

The Frozen Meat Mystery

I have always been one to plan our meals, shop the food ads to stock up on sale items, and read cooking magazines just for the pure enjoyment of it. I am a foodie. That is no surprise to anyone, I am sure.

In my latest issue from Cook's Illustrated (the best cooking magazine in my opinion), there was a recipe for Carnitas. I love carnitas, but they can be time consuming and involved to make at home. They are usually something I would just order in a Mexican restaurant. But since I currently live in the boonies, miles and miles away from Southern California, and most Texas Mexican restaurants serve "Tex-Mex", carnitas aren't really even a restaurant option anymore. Hence my being thrilled with a easy to follow, not a huge amount of work involved recipe for carnitas. Thank you Cook's Illustrated.

So lately I've been thinking about carnitas and decided to make them this week since I already had the pork in the freezer, and we bought a butt load of avocados at Costco on Saturday. What could be better than carnitas with homemade guacamole and salsa? Throw in a cold beer or margarita, and it's a reason for celebration.

Last night I pulled out a three pound package of pork shoulder, well wrapped in foil, to defrost. Vince was very pleased to hear that that "big package of frozen meat", was going to be used to make Carnitas. To say I've been looking forward to dinner tonight would be an understatement. I even ran out to the grocery store, with four kids in tow, to be sure we had fresh corn tortillas, and tomatoes, cilantro, and serranos for a fresh batch of salsa.

Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I opened that, "big package of frozen meat", to find out that it wasn't pork shoulder after all, but ground beef. Now, I usually wrap my meat in foil, then seal that package in a freezer bag, label and date it. But this package was so big, it wouldn't even fit in a gallon size freezer bag. I now remember thinking, "Oh, I won't forget what that it, it's too big". Yea, right.

So as I stood there, staring at all three pounds of now defrosted ground beef with my mouth hanging slack, realizing that all my pork shoulder was frozen solid, my taste buds thoroughly disappointed, it occurred to me. Tonight, we are having meatloaf. Nothing better than Old-Fashioned Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots & Peas, right? Throw in a good bottle of red wine, and it's a reason for celebration.

And We Couldn't Be More Proud

Annamaria's language skills have really taken off. I'm not sure if it's because she's turned three, and that is just when children really start speaking well, or maybe if it's because we don't let her walk around with her pacifier in her mouth all the time anymore, so we can actually understand the words that are coming out of her mouth. For whatever reason, it's not just her speaking more clearly, she's speaking in complete sentences, and using new words all the time.

Her newest favorite word it "dumb ass", compliments of her father I'm sure. And while I know I should be horrified and embarrassed, a part of me just wants to giggle when I hear her use that word in her cute little voice, and the other part is proud that she uses it correctly.

The first time I heard her use that word, Harrison was being reprimanded for something, to which she added her two cents by calling him a "dumb ass". She was quickly corrected and told that that isn't nice, and we don't call people names. Regardless of the fact that she was right in assessing the situation, but I didn't tell her that part.

The second time I heard her use this word, she was playing with something that was frustrating her, and she accidentally dropped it. She immediately kicked the object and said, "dumb ass!". Once again I told her to not use that word, but it was so cute I had to stifle my laugh.

Then again, just this morning, Harrison (yes, of course it was Harrison), did something that made her mad. So she called him a. . . wait for it . . . yes, a "dumb ass". Harrison came to me, telling on his little sister for her vile language. I think she knew he was going to tell on her, because she followed him, and immediately after he told on her, she responded by telling him, "Harrison you were mean to me, and I didn't like it, you were acting like a "dumb ass". How could he argue with that? And how could I not be proud of my teeny-tiny for standing up for herself? And so eloquently too.

Just Me and My Thoughts

Last Tuesday I had an MRI done to see what is going on with my back. I'm still waiting for the doctor to call me with the results, so I still don't know what going on, but hopefully will soon enough.

When the imaging center called to schedule my appointment, the woman on the phone asked me if I was claustrophobic. Now I wouldn't define myself as classically claustrophobic, but I do not like the idea of being crammed into tight spaces, especially with something very close to my face. I'm really not even very comfortable in the very back of a minivan, but with the window cracked, I do alright. So the woman offered to set me up with the open MRI, which helped put me a bit at ease about the whole thing. Unfortunately, once I was standing there in my scrubs, bra-less and all, I noticed that the contraption I was about to be loaded into was very much indeed sided. Just a great big metal box with a narrow, very narrow, tubal opening. And it was cold, very cold. But did I say anything? Of course I didn't. I never do. Well, I shouldn't say "never". I have a knack for speaking up when I should keep my mouth shut, but not standing up for myself when I should. What can I say? It's a curse. Then just when I'm being inserted into the narrow, narrow tube, the tech guy says, "If you need to get out, just start yelling and kicking your legs. Oh, and this should take about 20 to 25 minutes". Huh? What happened to the 12 to 15 minutes the woman over the phone told me? Was anything she said to me the truth?

I tried keeping my eyes shut, reciting Hail Marys in my head to pass the time. Freezing, with a thin sheet pulled over me, with poorly placed ear plugs in my ears to help keep out the banging, whooping, grinding noises that contraption made. Finally unable to keep my eyes shut any longer, I had to peek. Just how close was my face to the top? Uh, pretty close. But not so close that I'd loose my cool. But I had to keep peeking, just to make sure it wasn't closing in on me or anything. And the time passed, but I had no idea how much time had passed. Then my brain started wondering what would happen if they just forgot me in there. Would I be able to squiggle out? Would I get stuck? What do they do with large people, because honestly I don't think a lot of Americans would fit in there. I wondered if anyone ever sneezed in there. And how did they clean in there? Then my left hand fell asleep. Oh great. But I was told to keep as still as possible, so I didn't want to move my hand to try to get the feeling back, so I just lied there wondering how much longer could this take. What was going to happen if I didn't get to move my hand soon? Would I be able to not move my hand until this was over, because the desire to move it was starting to overcome my will to stay still. And who ever first came up with the idea of using a magnetic field to take internal images? I was going to have to look that up when I get home. And blah, blah, and some more blah blah blah.

Then it occurred to me, that I would not be a good candidate for one of those sensory deprivation tanks that are supposed to help you relax. All the crap my brain kept coming up with was not relaxing, it was stressing me out.

Oh, and Vince killed another scorpion yesterday. This one was in the garage though, no more in the house since the first. But I have warned the children to shake out their shoes before putting them on though, just in case.

Welcome to the House of Mouse

And spiders, and ants, and scorpions. But I'm not complaining, our builders warned us that when building the house, we drove nature away, and nature would attack back and try to move back in. So it seems they were correct.

As of Monday, May 19Th at 4:10 pm, the house has been officially ours. We were in the rental house, moving out the last of our stuff when we got the news. We decided to stay in the hotel one last night since all our belongings were crammed into the garage since Saturday, and we were hot, sweaty, sore and tired. So Tuesday night was our first night in our new home.

Wednesday morning, Vince woke me up before leaving for work, to let me know he had just killed a mouse in the pantry, so would I please bleach down the shelves. As well as cleaning in the pantry, I also decided to reorganize what I had just moved in, and put only canned and bottled goods on the bottom shelves. Boxed and bagged items would go on top. Thursday morning I awoke to find the label nibbled off a can of beans. Our little dead mouse had friends.

So Vince brought home traps. Friday morning he awoke to find another mouse in one of the traps. Friday night, while lying in bed, we both heard one of the traps go off. Vince got up, disposed of another victim, and reset the trap. There was another body Saturday morning, waiting for it's unceremonious disposal. So far, no more bodies found, but I'm sure they're still in the garage, though the trap in there has remained empty. Maybe they've lost their appetite for peanut butter.

I've seen the odd ant here and there, but yesterday while doing laundry I was collecting clothes for a load of whites, and our whites basket was crawling with ants. I took the bag out to the garage, shook it out, then just left it for the ants to scatter. Then last night when getting into bed I found an ant crawling on my pillow. Vince promised to spray for bugs this weekend.

This morning when I called Vince to say "good morning", which is our usual routine since he gets up at an ungodly hour in the morning in which I refuse to be conscious, he asked me to be sure to keep shoes on every one's feet today. He killed a scorpion in the kitchen this morning. Ugh.

So we're under attack, but we're fighting back. This is our new beautiful home, and we won't be driven out so easily. Who knew, it's not only the old manky houses that have bugs? Welcome home.

Vertical Hurts

Tuesday afternoon I was putting the babies down for their naps, in the hopes of getting much packing done during nap time. Now I call Francesca my "chunk of ham", and it seems she lives up to this pet name. As I was leaning over Francesca's crib to lie her down, my back, well I don't know what my back did. If it was a snap, a crack, or what, but suddenly I was reduced to a hunch back and was unable to stand upright. That pretty much ended my day. The rest was spent with me lying in bed, unable to move. It is now Friday evening, and while I'm no longer crawling on my hands and knees to get to the bathroom, I'm still pretty useless around here.

Good thing Vince planned on taking Wednesday and Thursday off so we could pack everything up, because he needed all the time he could get since he had to do it all on his own. Yes, I feel very very bad about this. I don't know how many times I've thought, especially when the kids are running me ragged, that I'd love to just lie on the couch and do nothing. Well, lying on the couch and doing nothing isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when there is so much to do.

Tuesday I got a doctor's appointment, and made it to the car and into the office on my own. I was prescribed muscle relaxers, told to take ibuprofen, use heat pads, and lift nothing heavier than eight pounds. That means I can't even pour my kids a cup of milk, since a gallon of milk weighs eight pounds.

So the Father Of The Year award goes to my husband, for not only packing up the entire house, my himself, but also taking care of four children at the same time. Anyone have any stellar Father's Day gift ideas?

As for me, I'm off to take another Skelaxin move into a horizontal position, my back is seizing again.

Oh, and as of tomorrow we will be heading out to the boonies, so I'll be without the freedom of the World Wide Web until the connection in the new house is established sometime late next week. So you all take care now, ya'hear.

One Week!

No, no, I'm not one week pregnant. Let's just not go there, alright?

One week from today, we should be living in our new house. One week from today, we will be signing the papers, waiting for the bank to transfer the funds, and resting our heads on our pillows in our new house. It is finally becoming real to me. Yes I know, I'm a little slow.

In the meantime it's time to pack, pack, pack and eat, eat, eat. I want my freezer cleared out by Friday. Also, the plan was to pack a room a day, but I've tried that plan previously, and failed horribly. So Vince is planning on taking a couple of days off this week so we can just pound it out together.

Everything won't be finalized until Monday, but the builders are letting us move our belongings into the house this weekend, since that is when our friends will be able to help us (us meaning Vince). So for Saturday and Sunday we have reservations at The Worthington in downtown Fort Worth. I love staying in hotels so I'm excited. And a bonus is that Vince's sister works for Marriott, so we got a killer rate. She's saving us like 75%. She will be receiving a "Thank You" gift for sure.

Saturday we went by the house for Vince to drop off some hardwood flooring he purchased, and it was a hot day. It was Texas hot. My car thermometer read 98 F., and that was in the shade. The builder came by to let us in the house since they keep it locked up once the appliances are in, and I was shocked by how cool the house was. We didn't get there until two in the afternoon, and didn't leave until five, and the house was at least twenty degrees cooler inside. Why I find this so amazing is that the house we're renting, even though I close all the windows and shut the blinds early in the morning, once 11:00 a.m. hits the house starts to heat up. And this isn't even on particularly hot days. But the new house stayed cool. Cool with everyone opening and closing the doors to come in and out. Cool even though there is an open plug in the front door where the dead bolt will be installed. Cool without any window coverings at all. Cool even though the house faces East/West. Oh, and the AC unit isn't even on the property yet. Not that it would keep the house cool just sitting there unhooked up anyway, but still, I'm just so impressed. I'm looking forward to much savings in the AC department this summer, because a $600 AC bill is not uncommon here for one months worth of cool comfort.

So this week the house will be a happening place. The propane tank is being installed and the blinds are going in today, the driveway is being poured on Tuesday. Wednesday the mailbox is being build, the AC unit is going in, and the rest of the baseboards are being installed. Thursday the painter is coming back to finish up the painting/staining. Friday the carpet is being installed and the cleaning crew is coming in. I'm sure there is more going on, but I can't remember what. I know the yard is being leveled and topsoil is being brought it, but when I don't know.

So some last photos before the house is cluttered with all our crap. I don't know if I'll get a chance to get any photos after the cleaning, but before the move in.

Entryway with coach lights installed

Coach light close up

Dining room light

Entryway light

Kitchen backsplash