And the countdown begins...

We made it through the weekend; it went by fast enough.

We are scheduled to close on our loan on Friday morning @ 10:30am.

And then do our final walk-thru on the house at 1:00.

Knowing that... I didn't think we'd get through this weekend - but we have.

Now we just need to get through the next four days.

Another beautiful view from out there...

Seriously... This is the stuff that keeps me up at night...

Blah blah blah...
the kids are good.
work is good.
the husband is good....

On to more important things.

I cannot, for the life of me, decide where we should put our [not-yet-purchased] American Flag.

Not sure if I like it under the coach light... Come to think of it,
I think there is a law that states the American flag must be higher
than the state flag. I wonder how that works now since there is
an Arizona flag in the background.

Think the FBI will come and arrest us?

Where the heck should we put the flag?
I need medicine, huh?

Lost in Space

I got this picture from the appraisal dude.
Totally different angle than the ones I took
 (#1 is appraiser dude's, #2 and #3 are mine).
See pics below.
What the heck do I do with all of that space on top of the cabinets?
I don't want fake plants... Do I?
This is where life is going to get very interesting...
So much space to fill... I need ideas, people!

I don't really like the color of the counter-top.
I think it missed the boat in coordinating with the cabinets and the floor.
So I have to factor those in when I think about colors.

If you had this kitchen... what would you do with the tops of the cabinets... ?
And what color would you paint the walls?!

Think traditional, craftsman, chunky, comfy... just right!

The kitchen is right next to the family room (shared wall), so it has to coordinate...
with what, I don't know yet! lol
Decisions, decisions...

Head in the Clouds

What a day!!
Nic ended up staying home with me today... but lo and behold, he actually let me work! Which is great because I had 3 major reports due today. Sweet boy! Wonder what the living room looks like... Hmmm.

The appraisal came back on the house.
It appraised for more than we are paying.
Not by much. But still.

The husband sent me this shot from the road.
It's near the new house - way out there.
But my, my, my look at them clouds.

It's simply gorgeous in that neck of the words.

Not for the Faint at Heart

I got online this morning and was welcomed by emails from our loan peeps.
They needed updated statements.

They said the appraisal should be back soon.

And they said they should submit everything to manual underwriting today.
I thought they already did that. =(  This is sooo scary. I have a tendency to feel guilty, even when I've done nothing wrong. So now I am scared that I moved too much money around, or we ate out too much.
I am sure everything is going to be okay (please!!), and that they just need paper-trails.

I don't think I can stand it any longer. I think I am going to burst.
I am trying so hard to keep moving... to keep doing anything besides thinking about the house.

Home buying is not for the faint at heart.
Not. At. All.

Oops! I did it again...

I am so sorry. Distracting, aren't I?
The blog design just wasn't right...
I like this one better.
Imagine if you had to LIVE with me!

Just a few things... and then I need to get off of this computer and start getting the family ready for the upcoming week.

1) Alex had his scrimmage yesterday. We also had a team potluck and a parent meeting.  The real games start on September 1.

2) We are set to do our closing walk-thru on Friday, September 3. We stopped by the house this weekend and looked around. We will be bringing our painters tape. There are tons of little things that need to be taken care of. Someone did touch-up paint... using a shade darker and FLAT paint. Smart.

3) I have so much to do to figure out the logistics of this move! Thank gosh we aren't due out of this place until October 15... That leaves us with almost a month to get moved and to clean up this place. I think a To-Do list is in order! Yay!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Odds & Ends : Befores & Afters

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.

Wasn't it just yesterday when we were enjoying summer break and all that it brings?

Countless hours of swimming.

Hanging out at the farm, dealing with not one, but two mamarazzi's.

My Graduation.

[love this pic]

 Visiting the lake. Doing a little fishing.

Being lazy at the beach.

What a great summer we had.

Now, it's back to being busy, hitting the books, and, of course, counting down until next summer.

Speaking of hitting the books...

Alex brought home some tests/quizzes yesterday.

An A on his Spanish test.

An A on his Science test.

And an "I am not sure yet" on his Language Arts test.

Very proud of that kid.

Isabel tried out for, but did not make, her school's first play of the year

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

She took it well.

Heck, she auditioned well.

She now has the experience of auditions under her belt,

and she will knock 'em dead next time.

Very proud of that kid.

Nic went with us to check out the new house yesterday.

We just wanted to make sure it was still there.

Here's a before and an after for ya.

BEFORE

AFTER

Ain't she pretty?

=D

Alex SieteCinco

First time wearing his FB jersey to school.

=)

Too bad I can't get him to actually look towards the camera.

=)

Handsome devil, regardless.

=)

GO PADRES!

First scimmage is tomorrow evening at 5pm.

I'm too Excited to Sleep

Things I can't wait for.... Of course, it's all dependent on the loan going through.

There's a Tornado in my Brain

 

We are chugging along.

This may be really happening, folks.

Update: La Casa

Well, I got an update from my broker dude.
It's been a long and trying ordeal, but I am sure most people go through similar situations when buying a house.

The loan application went through automated underwriting today.
And it was APPROVED!

For what I understand, the manual underwriter needs to review and sign off on it.
My broker says we are in really good shape.
I am sure there will be a few more hurdles... but he said I could start to breath again.
He did! I asked.

We are supposed to close on 9/9...

Who wants to place bets regarding that date?
Anyone?

Gosh darn it, I want this house!
I am so excited.
And nervous.
And excited.

Will keep you updated.

One time, at Band Camp...

Yesterday was super busy...

Full of odds and ends...

Errands to run, things to get.

Including this one:

Finally able to mark that bad boy off of my To Do list.

Isabel is now a happy [band] camper.

Shoe(t)!

What a Monday morning... What an adventure.

Something you might not know about me...My motto is "ABP."
Do you think the kids take me or my motto seriously? I think not.

I am constantly reminding the kids that they need to Always Be Prepared (or Patient, Professional, Punctual, or - well the list could go on)... You never know what's going to happen.  I told them to make sure their backpacks were ready last night, that Alex took a shower last night, that all the football gear and gym clothes were ready last night, that snacks for before Football practices were ready to go, last night.

Why?
Because...

And to prove my point? The electricity went out for about 30 minutes this morning... and while no permanent damage was done, it did set the kids back a little. Only because they didn't do anything that I asked of them last night.

A mother is always right.
When will these children learn?!

Maybe taking showers in the dark is a lesson learned?

Ready for another adventure? [I prolly should have taken my own advice.] 
I got dressed quickly this morning, and then worked to get the three monkeys out the door by 7:30.
Isa off to the bus stop, Alex to school, and Nic to daycare. I got back in the van after dropping a very sad Nic off and drove home. I am happy. Yeah, it's Monday. Yes, I have a lot of work to do this week for the J.O.B. - but I was in a good enough mood that I didn't let either of those things get me down.

I was still smiling to myself when I pulled into the garage, got out of the van, and made my way to our front door. That's when I looked down.  And then did a little tipping back and forth. Looked down again. And gasped. Or maybe I chuckled.

I realized I was wearing two different flip-flops. One was black and the other was a metallic gray.
Similar, but no cigar.

Worst part? Only one of the flip-flops actually belongs to me.

The other one is Isa's and a totally different size.

Hope you have a better start to your Monday!
=)

Oh No!

As you can see, I've made some of the changes I mentioned yesterday.
Unfortunately, I lost some of my links (including my Blog Roll) during the transition.
I will spend some time tonight adding it back, link-by-link.
I don't want to miss anything from my favorite bloggers...

One of the changes I decided on, besides the name (more on that later), was to change my header out each month. So I've designed 12 headers, with color themes that are specific to each of the months. Should be fun! :D

Changes...

Over the next few days, there are going to be some changes around this here blog. Looking to make things a little more charming...

Here's a little hint:

Changes are going on in real life, too...
We put in our notice today - we are officially vacating this apartment on or before October 15!
We even got some Goodwill dropping off done and some boxes packed.

The new loan/lender for the house is looking okay... but we've had to jump through some hurdles. We should hopefully know for sure this week - which is great, because we are scheduled to close on September 9.

Continue to cross the crossables.

Friday the 13th...

I don't normally like to drive on Friday the 13th's...

It involves this chica...

12 years ago...

I was pregnant with her...

I decided I NEEDED McDonald's...

I was hungry...

So I left work at 8am -

and on my way to McDonald's...

I got into a car accident.

[my fault - indirectly of course]

After being strapped onto a board,

loaded into an ambulance...

sped to a hospital...

and

monitored for a while...

we were deemed fine.

[Little did they know... hahaha!]

That was Friday the 13th...

November 1998.

The pictures were obviously from today...

Friday the 13th...

August 2010.

We survived our first week of middle school.

Yay for us!

So Tired...

Last night was the second night in a row where I've had to stay up until 11pm helping Alex with homework.
If he had it his way, he'd be done with it - and in bed.
I [how dare i?] double check ALL of this work... and if it isn't right, I make him re-do it.

New Rule: All Math homework must be done on a separate piece of paper - and ONLY once have I checked it and he's corrected any mistakes can it then be transferred onto the Math worksheet.

[This was taken the 1st day of school in 2008. Alex dropped Isa off, before he made his way to his new Jr. High.]

We have some Science and Spanish flash cards to make tonight... and some studying to do.

First Spanish quiz is on Tuesday...

Not sure about the Science test...

In other news...

Work has been... tiring.

Nic has been...tiring.

Dealing with our lender has been...tiring.

The sty in my eye is... tiring.

Thank gosh tomorrow is Friday... Maybe I can sleep in on Saturday morning...

Maybe

The Third Day wasn't a Charm for Us

There was a lot to do today... so much so, I tried to get us prepared for it last night.
It didn't help much...

I got up early and made sure the kids had stuff for breakfast.
By stuff I mean bagels, or toast, or Frosted Flakes.

I ended up helping Isabel straighten her hair. Alex got dressed then helped to get Nic up and ready.

We all had somewhere to be by 8am.

Isabel had NO interest in posing for me today... =(

But Nic did...

He wasn't really posing...
Just standing there with his hand in his pockets.

And look at his new shoes.
Super cute.

We left the house...

Alex and Isa went to school...

Nic and drove to his Pre-School screening.

Look at this sky on the way to his school... 

This was at 7am.

It was a bit brighter out than the picture lets on,

but still so stunning to look at.

We drop off the older kids, and Nic and I make our way

to the Pre-School room.

We are having him checked out by a Speech Pathologist.

We think there might be some articulation issues.

There are about eight other kids there...
After we get the kids settled, the parents are

sent off to an adjoining room.

Fifteen minutes in, the loudspeaker comes on.

"Attention: The school is in a lock down...
Staff, we are in a lock down!"

Next thing we know, teachers come flying in,

turning off the lights, locking the doors,

and covering the windows with paper.

No explanation.

I texted a few peeps (mom and the husband) to see

if maybe they had heard something or if they could check the news.

Nothing.

No one knew what was going on.

In the next room, the kids kept playing... there was some light

by which to continue to evaluate the kids.

After about an hour, the lock down ended...

Eventually my mother found out that there was

an intrusion in the neighborhood...

they weren't taking a chance.

Worse part of it all?
I couldn't connect to Facebook via my BBerry.
Not sure why.

/sigh.

We are all okay!

Nic, however, wasn't really cooperating today - I don't think he feels well still.

We are going to take him for a 1:1 session.

They weren't concerned with his speech;

rather, they saw small issues in the Cognitive and Social areas.

After all of that craziness, mom called and said
"Let's do lunch!"

So I picked her up in my swagger wagon...

and off to Chick-fil-A we went.

Gosh, I love that place.

After a tasty meal...

We decided to head to Barnes and Noble.

Nic was tooo cute...

For all of 5 minutes...

Then he turned into a very energetic rascal.

I think between being tired and not feeling well,

it was all too much for him.

I had to leave the stuff I planned on purchasing

in a stack somewhere

(sorry B&N peeps... won't happen again)

and take Nic to the car while mom checked out.

He was behaving that badly.

Of course...

a mile from home, he fell asleep.

So, he's a cutie pie again - all curled up in his bed.

I think I am ready for a nap...

I cannot believe it's only Wednesday...

/sigh

Jack Sparrow ain't got nuthin' on him.

Day two went off without a hitch.

Nic is still not feeling well (neither is Isa for that matter)...

So, after a breakfast of Banana Nut Muffins

thanks to Marie Calendar

We left the house.

First a few pics of my so so so cute daughter.

Who is feeling awkward in front of the camera...

Get used to it, baby!

The camera and your momma are going nowhere.

Good. Got a few shots, and she was on her way!

 Her and Hannah declined a ride to school; they wanted to take the bus.

Because we haven't figured out Alex's bus situation yet

(he has the option of walking almost half a mile in either direction

to catch a TOO PACKED bus),
I think I will be driving for a bit...
 =) 
Gives me more time to tell him

how wonderful he is, and if he makes a decision that's going to disappoint me -

OFF WITH HIS HEAD! 

Look at this Pirate?! Ain't he something?

He's upset that he can't find his eye patch or his sword (made of foam, of course).

Instead, he's carrying around a black, plastic knife.

The kind you would get from a take out restaurant.

The kind where the

sharp is soft, mommy!

A Pirate in flip flops... Love it.

Down below, another pic of the Pirate.

Prolly wishing he could be on a Pirate Ship right about now.

I am sure he's also thinking about walking the plank;

if our Odyssey had one, that is.

One last shot of Alex.

Okay, there were about 10 of these...

he kept asking me to stop,

so I kept on going.

I'm mean like that.

Hopefully Isabel will get on a bus this afternoon...

After yesterday's episode, I don't care if it's the wrong one -

Just pick one and get on.

Any bus will be an improvement.

:)

I kid.

Kinda.

And hopefully, Football practice won't be cut short

considering they have a game less than a month away.
Yesterday, because half of the freshman team

hadn't been cleared to start...

they cut practice short...

Very short.

As in

 mom, come get us...

Argggh. It's a Pirate's Life for Me.

First Day of School ~ 2010

Well, it's here.

Today's the first day of school...

It was a busy morning:

• I made some breakfast
• Helped Isa get ready
• Ironed Alex's jeans (the kid's didn't even KNOW we owned an iron... can you believe that? Mom, don't faint!)
• Called Nic in sick @ daycare (yes, he's sick... = ( both him and Isa, actually, but she's not missing school), and
• Took Alex and his cousin Amber to school

 ALL BEFORE 7AM.

I am going on 3 hours sleep. I've been working on Isabel's school's PTO website. I love doing that type of stuff, but I tend to forgo sleep to fit it in.

My children look wonderful today!

Here is Alex (and Nic!)...

And Isabel and her BFF Hannah...

Hope you have a fabulous Monday!