What a crazy 10 days!

Last Sunday (the 21st) we woke up to no electricity. That wouldn't be a real big deal but we had the night before picked up two bearded dragons (lizards) for Evan for Christmas. These particular lizards need 100 degree heat lamps on them. Since we didn't know how long we would be without electricity we decided to pack up a day early and head back to Middlebury. We were staying with my brother and his family. They don't have Internet so I was going through some major withdrawal.

We had Christmas with Mike's family on Monday night and Morgan still had school on Tuesday. We basically just hung around Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday night we spent the night at Evan's apartment. We got up Christmas morning and had a wonderful Christmas with all the kids. I made lunch for us and we spent most of the afternoon just hanging out. THat evening it was back to my brother's for Christmas with my dad and his new wife, my mom and step dad and my brother and his family. That night we went to my dad's to spend the night because my mom was staying with my brother. Friday we got iced in most of the day. We finally made it back to my brother's to spend more time with mom. Saturday we just hung around and that evening we got to Evan came over with his girlfriend and we got to meet her for the first time. We enjoyed the evening with all our kids.

The next morning dark and early Mike took Morgan and I to church to board a bus. The two of us were on our way to Grand Rapids Michigan for a three day youth conference (I was one of the chaperones). It was a great and very tiring three days. When Mike picked us up this afternoon at church we made a beeline for home. I am so tired of living out of suitcases. I am tired of sleeping in different beds. I am tired of not being able to cook in my own kitchen. It is so nice to be home.

I hope to be posting some pictures in the next couple of days. My camera is dead so I will get to it soon.

Tomorrow Katie is coming along with one of her college friends and Sunny her boyfriend. They are spending the night in OUR apartment and then on New Year's Day taking the train to Chicago for the day. MORE CRAZINESS! :)

Olivia's new best friend....

Olivia has a new best friend here in our new town. We had her over

for a play date the other day.

Happy Birthday Mike!

Morgan made daddy's cake for him.

Thanksgiving Happiness

Thanksgiving was really nice this year. We got to see Michael's family for dinner. Then headed to my brother's to visit with them and my mom and stepdad who were here from Iowa. Then we went to my dad's to spend the night so we got to see him and my stepmom. Evan came over when he got off of work to visit with us too. The following day (after I braved the 4:00am rush of shoppers-yes I am one of those idiots that goes out uber early) we headed back here to Crown Point. My mom and stepdad followed and we got to show them around and take them out for supper. The next day Katie and Sunny came over to see the apartment for the first time. We put up the tree and other decorations. Then we went shopping-yeah baby! We went out to eat to celebrate Mike's birthday and then after homemade cake Katie and Sunny headed home and took Morgan with them so I wouldn't have to drive her back today. Today was just a slow relaxing day. I wrapped some presents, cleaned and pretty much chilled out. Mike has been sick for the last week so I told him he wasn't allowed to do anything but lay around and watch westerns and try to recouperate.

All in all it was a pretty nice weekend. It was hard not having Katie home with us (she wanted to stay in Middlebury cause that is where Sunny is). Evan worked most of the weekend but we got to spend a couple hours with him. Being out of the area for the first holiday was a little strange. Mike was really sad last night when the girls left. Things just seemed empty. He said "I am going to bed to sulk." We got to see pretty much all of our family though so that was nice.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Apartment Living Part III - Movin storage

We have a 10 X 20 storage unit that is full. (This picture doesn't show how far back all the stuff goes). We have decided to move everything to a storage unit at our apartment complex. It is the same size, $20/mo cheaper and if I need anything all I have to do is walk across the parking lot instead of driving 8 miles. As of today we have moved 8 loads and are not even half way. This is gonna be a long weekend.

Apartment Living Part 2

Well a couple nights ago while watching TV we hear some sirens and see the flash of lights out our window. I run out the door to see what is going on. There is an ambulance and an emergency vehicle. Then a firetruck comes down the highway. Wait a minute. They are all stopping in our parking lot. Wait another minute they are running to the second entrance to our building! Uh oh- here comes the ladder truck next. Well, I was freezing so I ran in to get a blanket. It must not have been too serious because they never evacuated our building. When I came back out a few minutes later one of the firemen rolled a fan on wheels out of the building. I am assuming someone had a cooking mishap and caught something on fire. (At least it wasn't the schmucks...you know....the idiots who let their horn blow for 40 minutes at 4:00 am.)

Apartment Living Part 1

So the other morning about 3:45 or so I wake up to a very annoying sound. It is a car horn. Long, continious and irritating. I roll over and ask Mike "What in the heck is that?" He says it is someone's car alarm going off. We lay there for 35 minutes listening to this. At one point I ask him if it is one of his trucks. He says "No, I don't have an alarm on either one of them." By now we are getting very irritated. I cannot believe the schmuck that owns this car is not turning it off. Finally we get up (cause Mike had to get up in 20 minutes anyway and we weren't getting any sleep). It is really bugging me that this horn is still blaring. I suggest that he go out and check things out. He agrees to appease me.......he is gone for 5 minutes or so. The blaring stops. He comes back in and says sheepishly...."It was my truck." UGH! When he got out there, there was a cop standing by his truck and he asks him if it is his. They pop the hood and find the fuse to stop the horn. They both get a chuckle out of it. Mike tells the cop "My wife was in there complaining about the schmuck that wouldn't turn his alarm off-and she even wondered if it was our truck." The cop laughs at him and says "At least you didn't call it in...and then find out it was yours."

I am suprised there wasn't a lynch mob in the parking lot waiting for him. We haven't even seen any damage done to the truck. Go figure.

Settled!

Well we are all moved into our little apartment. We were unpacked the same night we moved in. HAHA! That is just the way I am. I kept thinking I have all week to unpack but I just kept emptying one box after another. Mike worked on our bedroom and closet. My big job was the kitchen. The apartment really isn't too bad. Better than living in a camper for sure. Two big adjustments I had to make was drawer space in the kitchen. I went from 10 drawers in my "house" kitchen to 2 drawers in my apartment kitchen. WHAT??? Only two drawers??? Heck I had 4 junk drawers at the house. Where was I going to put everything? The bathroom was another issue. My bathroom at the house had 4 drawers and a linen cabinet. Here I have no drawers. Just the vanity. Yesterday I had to go buy one of those cabinet things that sit over the toilet. I think that will help alot.

Today I think Olivia and I are going to venture out to the library. See if we can get signed up. I am hoping they have some kids computers there so we can kill some time there and maybe get a few books and computer games.

We are also trying to find a day/twin bed with a trundle under it for the girls room.

Morgan is doing good at home with Adam and Esther. I miss her a bunch though. I can't wait to see her on Friday when I go get her. We are going to celebrate her birthday this weekend and shop for the trundle bed.

Well, time for a shower! Bye for now.

Twas the night before moving....

and I am a glutton for punishment.

Morgan's birthday is next weekend. So, I decide we should have her birthday party this weekend...the last weekend at our home. I say "Have as many friends as you want. Make it a great bash!" DUMMY!!!

We have 9 teeny boppers running around. DANG are they loud! We played Truth or Dare balloon style. We ate pizza, we ate puppy chow, we ate cake, we ate oreos and popcorn and went through five 2 liter bottles of pop! Talk about a sugar high. Plus in the middle of this I am trying to do last minute packing and washing of clothes and bedding. I have to get up in the morning and make french toast for all the girls and get them packed up to leave before the trailer comes at 11:00 to start loading our stuff.

I am really glad to give this party for Morgan but now I need a sleeping pill and my earplugs.

My house is a MESS!

BIG NEWS...We are moving!

In case you caught the "Tagged" entry and the line about the apartment (good catch Steph) we are moving. No, our house has not sold yet. (SUCKS!) Mike and I decided about a week ago that he needed his own place. Living with his brother is not working out. Mike wanted to get a 2 BR apartment so the girls and I could just move over there with him. I didn't want to leave our house empty or rent to strangers. Mike mentioned it to our youth pastor and his new wife. They said they would love to "rent" our house and finally not be living with other people. They are going to keep our home occupied and clean it for showings. They have even offered to let Morgan stay with them until Semester break in January.

This last weekend I went apartment shopping and found one. A small one. Dang...apartments are tiny and not so cheap. We filled out an application.

I gave my two weeks notice at work today and started the dubious task of sorting out what goes to the apartment, what goes to the storage unit and what stays here at the house.

Mike is relieved that he won't have to live with Greg anymore, Olivia is excited to move and be with daddy, Morgan is stressed about changing schools and I...well...I am still a little numb cause this is all happening so fast.

Pumpkin Carvin'

Help Bring Sweet Owen Home

Rebecca and her family are so close to bringing sweet little Owen home! They still need to come up with some major funds though for their trip. Here is your chance to hop over to her site and enter into a drawing and win great stuff while helping them to collect some big bucks for their trip! Use the box to the right to get there.

Tagged!

I have been tagged by my good friend Lee-Anne from Australia

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules.
2. Share 7 random or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link to them.
4. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I am a tightwad. My husband used to tease me that I was so tight you could hear my buttcheeks squeak when I walked down the isle of the grocery store. I buy Sunday papers just for the coupons.

2. I love crime shows. CSI, NCIS, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order NY, Bones, Criminal Minds etc. The gorier the better.

3. I HATE haunted houses and horror movies. You wouldn't catch me in or watching either one.

4. I love Spongebob. I think he is a cool little character.

5. I hate having painted nails because I hate nails with chipped paint on them. I don't like taking the time to paint my nails either. Katie will do her nails 3x a week and it seems like such a waste of time to me.

6. I have never lived in an apartment before. At the age of 40 I am about to live in an apartment for the first time in my life.

7. Have had MANY pets. Dogs (can't even list all the breeds), parakeets, cockatiels, hampsters, gerbils, guniea pigs, ferrets, cats, horses, pony, goats. A few other animals that I wouldn't call pets: pigs, chickens, ducks, calves and sheep.

Now, to tag the seven people I am suppose to tag:

Melissa at An Invisible Thread
Julia at Trawick Family Antics
Regina at No Greater Joys
Rhonda at Worth the Wait

That is all I can come up with at the time. Many of the blogs I read are either password protected or they have already been tagged.

Trunk or Treating at church

New Motto

This last week I watched an Oprah show. I used to love Oprah. Now I watch her cautiously. I am not too excited about her values and her beliefs. I believe the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. I do not believe this is something I can do myself or even using the power within to get there.

That being said, I do like some of her shows. This last week she had a show on etiquette. At first I thought "boring!" I am nice person with a courteous attitude. Well, I started to realize I have some work to do. A couple of the items that struck me was a convience store clerk being interviewed. She talked about how she gets blamed for things that are not in her control. She also said that people will come into the store talking on their cell phone, conduct their business and never even acknowledge her. I thought ""Oh my goodness-I am sure I do that." Not so much so that the person behind the counter means nothing to me but I am just too wrapped up in my own busyness to acknowledge other people sometimes. So, I am vowing to not use my cell phone and when conducting business with any clerk I will look them in the eye, ask them how they are doing, smile and say "Have a nice day." Hopefully someone who might be having a bad day will come away feeling a little better that I have noticed them.

One other thing that I need to work on is conversations with waitresses/waiters. I am not real comfortable striking up a conversation with strangers but I have realized that a little bit of small talk and kindness will go a long way. I really want to work on being more aware of the people around me and making sure everywhere I go I am leaving some kindness behind.

Christened

Well we have decided on a name for our new little guy. He is now known as Sir Chester Kolby Stahley. Affectionately known as Chester. (Kolby was his daddy's name.) He is a little imp. He started out very shy and skittish. That lasted about one day. He now romps, chews pounces and begs for food. He looks much bigger than he really is. Full grown he will be 7-8 pounds. I would guess right now he is a 3-4 pound fluff ball. Miss Annabelle (our Yorkie) is still not too sure about him.

Two days until my dad's wedding. Today Morgan gets to leave school early and go have a manicure date with Grandma Susie. A chance to spend some special time together. Tomorrow night is the rehearsal dinner. I am in charge of the meal. (God help us all!)

Katie is coming home for the wedding. It will be her first trip home since leaving for school two months ago. I know she is more than ready to get away and see us. School is going great but she is having some difficulties with her housemates. She needs her mama to take care of her for a couple days. :) She is bringing a friend home and her friend's one year old. We are pretty excited. It should be a busy weekend.

REMINDER! Today is the last day to go over to Rebecca's blog and sign up for her really cool Raffleaway.

Newest Stahley

Haven't decided on a name yet. He is a 10 week old Maltese. Soft as cotton.

CASA

So, I have decided instead of sitting around and sulking about our house not selling, I am going to go out and do some volunteering (You see driving a school bus, homeschooling a preschooler, driving a middle schooler to her activities and keeping up the house and yard while hubby lives two hours away is not enough).

I have signed up to be a CASA volunteer. If you don't know what that is I am going to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate. I am going to be the voice for a child in the court system. Children who are either removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect or in the court system for the same reason need someone to speak for them on their behalf. I will be assigned a child(ren) and my job is to get to know them, talk to their teachers, foster parents, doctors, therapists, case workers, biological parents and anyone else involved with them or their case. I gather information and spend time getting to know the child(ren) then I go to court and give my opinion on how their situation should be handled and also tell the judge what the child wants.

I am on my second week of a nine week training session. I am amazed at what kind of power the CASA's have. We can ask for ANY documentation that has to do with the case and medical or psychological records etc. The judge looks to the CASA just as much as they do the caseworker. If I don't agree with the caseworker I can actually take a stand against them because my job is to express what the best interest is of the child(ren).

Mike and I were foster parents a few years back. I would love to do that again, but Mike is not going for it. We had some pretty wild situations that came our way and he is not interested in getting involved it that again. (He knows his wife has a really hard time saying "no" and would take any child that needed a home.) I figured this was my way of being involved and helping out children that are in need without dragging my family into the middle of it. Hopefully I can keep it together and not get to emotionally involved......