Here We Go Again

  So the "one post a day" thing is going GREAT!  I  mean, just look at all the catching up I have been doing! SMH.  Oh well.  I am trying, which is proven by my many repeated attempts, lol!  So, we are going through another life crisis right now.  Looks like there is a good possibility that our house in Nauvoo will be sold out from under us again.
  *ASIDE:  To be clear, this is not at all like the situation last time where there was an immense amount of lying, cheating, and stealing, in the name of God, no less!  The Hasek's were very clear in the beginning of all this and this is what we agreed to, knowing full well all the possibilities.  We cannot fault them at all, they have been great the entire time we have lived here and we consider them friends. END ASIDE*
  I am doing my best to remain calm and not freak out but, it is a minute by minute thing. I way over-analyze every little detail of every little thing and that can be good to a point but, mostly bad for my mental health, lol.  The good thing is that we are not in the horribly crappy financial situation that we were the last time this happened but, our options are still limited.  We haven't sold our pain the ass Carthage house yet either which is the main kink in the situation.  That house has been the bane of my existence ever since I saw the damn thing. We are waiting on Lowe's to install the carpet and we are going to call it quits on fixing anything else in that house.  Really we did most of it.  The rest of the work is more cosmetic and something that most people do and change when they buy a house anyway. ( I wish I had taken before and after pics of the house from when we bought it to now....I don't know why I never remember to do that.) Anyway, we are meeting with a new lender today to see if we can go ahead and finance this house, while we still own our Carthage house.  We have been making two house payments, two electric payment, two insurance payments, two water/sewer/trash payments, two gas payments, and one payment to the lawn guy who takes care of our yard in Carthage for two years now and never missed a payment.  Obviously we can make the payments on both houses, we just wish it were that easy instead of making people come up with an absurd amount of money out of thin air for a ridiculous down payment.  *sigh*  
It's great timing too.  The mad rush at the end of the school year is in full swing, Cedric and Vivianne's birthdays, kids graduations, its the busy time of year for photographers, and a million other things.  I guess there is never a "good" time for anything.  I am trying to not fight the universe and let things happen as they need to.  We can only do so much, so we will do our best and call it good.

The Money Pit (not starring Tom Hanks, unfortunately)

The heat decided to not work at our Carthage house, I guess.  We stopped by there on Friday and found the heat off, an actively leaking pipe in the basement, and a mess.  Joy of my life.  We turned the heat back on (how it got turned off is beyond me because even if the power went off...which id did....the furnace should still kick back on....whatever), turned the water to the house off, and left it until we could get to it as we discovered it about 9:00pm.  I just can't even. 

Random Things

Jeremy and I made a decision to only shop at Aldi for food and whatever we can't get there, we get shipped to us on our monthly Amazon shipment.  So far, so good!  I love, love, love, that we get our basic necessities each month delivered right to our front door.  And shopping at Aldi is so much quicker and cheaper than other grocery stores.  And we don't end up spending extra money on those check out aisle purchases or whatever other junk we see at the store and think we need at the time.  The only problem so far is that I have not been in the mood to cook for months now.  Not that I don't cook.  Obviously, I have to with all these people in the house.  But, it has been rather lazy cooking, lol.  Last night was good though. I was in a super crappy mood.  Everyone was on my "Annoying List".  And I hadn't eaten all day except a leftover peanut butter and jelly that someone left on their plate at lunch.....so it was nice and stale.  Lovely.  But, somehow, after losing it and pouting in my bedroom for a bit, I went ahead and made supper.  I hadn't had my own pork chops in a long time so I made those with mashed potatoes and gravy, italian green beans, and a supper yummy watermelon.  It really, really hit the spot.  And everyone else liked AND ate it so that was a bonus!

Me and my fitbit are pretty much besties, lol!  I am seriously obsessed with it.  I wish it would talk instead of me pressing a button.  I get so annoyed if I take a shower and forget to put back on before I leave the bathroom.....oh no, wasted steps, LOL!  I am in a serious competition with myself.

So, I have been losing weight at a pretty steady pace(mostly) but, my main weakness is Brookside Chocolates.  Oh my goodness, I am seriously obsessed.  I had Jeremy go up to Casey's again last night and get me another dang bag of them($5 every time....I need to check and see if Amazon has them....or quit binge eating them, lol) and ate them all.  Dumb.  Whatever.  They are dark chocolate with fruit so they should be good for me, right?!!?

Another thing bothering me.  The Carthage house is consuming me, my time, my thoughts, my money, my everything. I feel like another summer is wasted dealing with that dang house.  And every time we go there, we find something else we need to buy, work on, or fix.  I am SO over it.  I wish a miracle would happen and it would all just be magically done.

On another note....I am all set up to take school pictures now!! I also have a web site complete with a personalized private password for client sessions where they can view and order photos from their packages....and even pay online!  I am pretty excited.  I know I probably won't get in to take any school pictures this year because the schools are already scheduled with whoever they normally go through.  But, I want to give them my information and at least get my foot in the door for future years.

The Crabapple Tree

 This is the crabapple tree in the yard.  I am in love with it!  From a distance and when it first started blooming, it was definitely lavender in color.  Up close and the more it blossomed, it became pink.  I went out one day to take pics of it.  I wanted to use my macro lens to get some super up-close shots of the blooms.  When I walked toward the tree a low hum got steadily louder as  I approached.  Once I walked under the tree I could see why.  There were SO many bees EVERYWHERE....doing what bees do.  They didn't bother me and one even let me take its picture.  ;)

Random Life Post

Last night I got to take Tristan and a group of his friends to his monthly Improv class.  He is taking voice lessons too.  But, all the kids really seem to love Improv nights. I took him, Hailey, Waylon, Dyllan, and Jordan to Carthage and dropped them off.  While I was waiting, I made good use of my time by going to the Carthage house and washing walls to prep for paint.  Washing walls may seem easy and all but, I am here to tell you that is is not.  At all.  And it is especially difficult when your mother goes to your house earlier in the day and takes the freaking ladder that you were clearly using to wash the walls and paint with.  *big sigh*  Ahhh, I digress. 
The ride with teenagers in the car is weird.  I went through a variety of emotions, lol!  Wonder, Annoyance, Funny, Curious, so many emotions!  They actually all seem like a pretty good group of kids.  Not sure what they thought of me or that fact that I had to school them on the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 
Today I have four prom sessions.  I am hoping they all go well. My first shoot is at 1:00pm and I hate shooting in afternoon full sun.  I am hoping for a bit of cloud cover actually.
My brain is scattered lately and I can't focus.  I have too much happening, too fast and it is making me insane, lol!  I have surrounded myself with lists upon lists and I can't tell yet if it is making things better or worse.  How did life get so darn busy and crazy busy!?!?   

More Sad Things

Well the last month or so has been a doozie.  So much going on, so much to do.  And nothing will slow down, much less stop to let us think and breathe.  This week the man that works for us, Bill, died unexpectedly.  He had cancer and was getting chemo.  He just worked on Saturday for us.  Apparently he had a coughing fit and had an embolism go to his heart and he died quickly.  Jeremy and I both were in shock.  Complete shock. It is just like when my Dad died.  Just BAM!  outta nowhere and you are left with your head spinning and don't know how to act. We are both supposed to go the funeral but, the funeral is today(Saturday) and we don't have a sitter.  I am not taking kids to a funeral again.  Nope. I am going to have to send my condolences through the air or something.  So not only is Bill dying very, very sad but, it does leave us in a tight spot.  Bill actually worked for us quite a bit.  He was available whenever Jeremy would call him.  And a good worker.  A while back, Jeremy decided to let Bill open the store on Saturdays for him.  Well, now we have people that know that we are open on Saturdays and rely on that because it is the only day that they can make it in.  Now, Jeremy is going to have to work the Saturdays or figure something else out.  One of the problems with that is that Jeremy and I were planning on taking Saturdays and getting our house fixed up so that it would freaking sell already.  We need to get in and paint, put up a back splash, clean up the yard to up curb appeal, new lights, etc.  We just never have time to go get anything done.   We NEED it gone fast.  Our contract is up here in July and at that point this house could be sold to someone else.  Not good.  At all. And it is making me freak the freak out.  I went over to the Carthage house on Monday with Vivianne and tried to do some things to help move the projects along.  Well, Vivi was having NOTHING to do with it.  She screamed and screamed until I got her out of her car seat and then screamed and/or got into every little thing she could.  It was pointless. 
Also to coincide or maybe because of all the recent craziness(it's not just the Bill thing) I have been going through major anxiety and mood issues.  I don't understand it.  All I know is that I hate it.  I feel so stupid sometimes(all the time, lol).  I just hope that if my kids read this later in life that they understand why their mom is kinda moody and cranky sometimes.  I love these kids with all my heart but, I am so overwhelmed right now.  I wish they knew how hard I try.  One day they will. 

Something that is awesome is that school is soon to be out for the summer!! YAY!! I am seriously contemplating homeschooling a couple of them next year again.  We shall see.  But, I need to work out these house situations first so that we have a home to have homeschool in, lol! 

Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Well, I am quickly losing my mind here.  It has been constant sickness of some sort at this house.  Ear infections, pink eye, sinusitis, bronchitis, colds, puking, head aches, etc.  Just done.  Done. Done.  and Done again.  Ugh.  Just when I get someone better and send them back to school, another kid or two come home from school with something else.  I am at my wits end.  Today we woke up and 56 schools had cancelled for freezing rain/snow that we didn't even know about!  Jeremy and Asher are still attempting to make it to his appointment with the doctor in Quincy.  I worry about that.  His appointment has been cancelled or rescheduled four times now though. 

I am working this week on getting sets ready for a big photo shoot I have this weekend.  It is three families from school that are all doing family sessions at the same time.  Since they all three work for the school, they are letting me set up my indoor studio equipment in the school and we are also doing outdoor sessions as well.  There are a lot of kids to consider and tons of sets to bring together.  It is a big endeavor but, I am hopeful! 

Jeremy and I both went to the walk-in clinic in Carthage bright and early on Saturday morning to get some medicine. We had been sick too long and had to cancel too many things to continue on and hope the sickness would go away.  We got the prescriptions and had to stop by the Carthage house to pick up a bill the Amish guys left us.  I got to see the counter top that they picked out for us.  I was worried about what they picked....but, I shouldn't have wasted the energy on worrying because it is great!  They did a super job! 

I Need A Vacation

Pretty sure I have gained everything back that I have lost so far especially after this past weekend.  I haven't weighed myself but, I don't want to.  I am so annoyed with myself.  I will weigh myself at the end of this week and face the facts then.  Right now, I will TRY to refocus.  Sooo, yesterday I finally made it to the Carthage house (I locked all of us out of the Nauvoo house after school....AGAIN....smh) and got to see what is going on there.  Nothing, right now.  They haven't been back since the snow-mageddon incident.  But, I got to see the new laundry closet and it isn't as weird as I imagined.  It is however very tiny and I wonder if the washing machine and dryer will even fit in it.  Omg, it better. 

I really want to get the other house done so we can do work on this house.  We have a couple of rooms and a deck we would like to add. I think that is it.  I really think buying another house as a vacation house would really benefit us better than a much bigger house would. 

Also, I plan on planting cool things around the yard this Spring that will make great photo sets to do photography sessions with too.  I'm looking forward to that. 

Asher is home sick from school today.  He was home yesterday too and puking all night long.  Eden just got sent home from school because it looks like she has pink eye.  Vivianne is congested and goopy.  If it is pink eye that they are all getting, then super.  I love the contagiousness of it all.  Looks like I am spending today sanitizing and cleaning the whole dang house and washing all the bedding.  Joy.  Today is Jeremy's Hannibal day which we all know, makes me crazy.  I don't know what it is, I think at this point my body is trained to freak out when I hear the word Hannibal day.  Anyway, I think Jeremy is getting sick again too. 

This winter is wreaking havoc on my psyche.  I can't even figure out why.  

The Carthage House

A couple of weeks ago we got a call on a Thursday night saying that the Amish guys would be to our Carthage house at 7:30 the next morning and could we be there to let them in.  What the what!?!?  Okay, well at least they would be there to get some stuff done.  So we figured it out.  We changed our whole morning schedules around and made it work.  Jeremy got there at 7:30 and had to pack up and load up all my photography equipment and bring it here to our Nauvoo house. The Amish stayed there all day and patched the roof, patched some of the drywall and plaster upstairs, built a new closet around the laundry area, and put some of the trim up.  A good amount done for the day.  That night/weekend we had a big snow storm.  Well on the following Monday or Tuesday Jeremy stopped by the house to check out the work.  He found that they had left our house unlocked.  Then he went into the living room and found that they had left one of the windows open with no screen in it and the living room was covered in snow!!! Also, our heat was left on and running, it ran so hard it kicked off, so it ended up being like 30 degrees in the house!! WTF!?!?!?!?  He was on his way to an appointment so he cleaned up the snow as best he could, shut the windows, reset the heat, locked the door and left.  Well, then we had someone that wanted to look at our house to buy.  We told them that it was in the middle of a remodel and it wasn't done yet but, they wanted to look anyway.  Ugh.  So, Jeremy met them at the house.  This was the following weekend when we had a big warm up and it melted a lot of the snow.  While they were in the basement they heard water running.  They guys asked if we had a ghost, lol!  Then water started running down on top of them from the kitchen!!! Holy crap! They found the leak, it was coming from the dishwasher.  Well apparently (after a call to the Amish guys, they called their driver and went straight to our house) the north side of the house did have the pipes freeze and the warmer weather finally let it melt enough to let out....right when we were showing the dang house! smh.  William(the head Amish guy) said he was so sorry and that they would cover any extra heat bill and make everything right.  Whew.  They are good people. I know that.  I just get so upset when people make stupid mistakes that could cost me a crap ton of money.  But, I know they didn't intentionally do it so it is hard to be too mad.  Anyway, hopefully that all works out.
The Amish also picked out new counter top( I seriously have not seen it, lol) and are installing carpet and fixing the cabinets.  I am actually really excited. And we have had a decent amount of interest in it too.  All good things.  But, also, all annoying things that require me and Jeremy making decisions and taking action, lol!
I can't wait for it all to be done.  Just done. Then we can focus on this house and our new vacation house, lol! 

Some Craziness This Morning

Oh my goodness.  Is it possible for your life to be both crazy and boring at the same time.  Or maybe it just full of lots of stupid activities that I don't really want to do or deal with?!?!  LOL!  Anyway, things have been happening.  I have just been in a funk!  Here are some of the things going on in the Kelley household now:

• I have booked my first ever weddings!  I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!  I have one on May 22nd in Nauvoo and one on May 23rd in Springfield!  I also get to do an engagement session on my birthday in March so that is awesome too!  I have so many ideas, I seriously cannot wait!  Today I am going to try to get out of the house and over to our Carthage house.  I plan on setting up a few different backgrounds and doing some promotional shots of Vivianne and hopefully squeeze getting Julianna's one year shots done this week or the next.  That way if anyone else wants to do some pictures, I can just have them come to my "studio" in Carthage! 
• Speaking of the Carthage house.  I have been waiting all month to hear back from the Amish guys to give us a quote on some renovations.  Waiting, waiting, waiting.  It doesn't help that they have to get themselves to a damn outhouse in the middle of a field to actually communicate with anyone.  I wanted this to be easy and stress free.  I just want someone to fix the things we want fixed in the dang house and be done with it, so we can sell the thing!  GAh!  
• I found my tooth!! Talk about stress!  I really don't try to be a prideful person but, there was not one way on God's green earth that I was going to step foot from my house without it! LMAO!  Jeremy and I took one night to tear everything apart AGAIN to make sure before I called the dentist and spent a ton of money on another one.  We took flashlights to our new furniture and tried to move it and clean and rearrange.  No tooth.  Finally we gave up and went to bed for the night and we decided to turn our mattress first.  Well, there it was in between the mattress and the wall!! No idea how it got there but, whatever! I am so thankful!  
• As for the weight loss....I was feeling really good about it all.  Lost 7 pounds.  Then last night happened.  I don't know how or why but, I ate half my weight in potato chips!! Of all things!! I don't even have a soft spot for chips!! WHY!?!?!?  UGH!  I hate it when I have a set back like that because it just makes me want to quit altogether.  Because somehow if I cheat like that on one day, then every day after that is ruined.  What stupid, crazy head logic.  Today I will try to remember that even though I ate every chip in Hancock County last night, today I won't do it again.  
• Cedric has been missing his Carthage friends.  And I don't blame him one bit.  He had a great group of friends in Carthage.  He was like the only one of us that did, lol!  So, hopefully this weekend or next we can have a few of them over to spend the night.  
• Jeremy is finally over his sickness and is just left with the lingering cough.  Thank goodness though.  Vivianne hasn't been sleeping well lately and we just can't figure out why.  We thought she has been teething since about three months but, a tooth never ever pops through.  What the hell is that all about?!!?  I think I know the signs of teething....pretty sure I have been through it a zillion times.  She is a mystery.  And so are her teeth!
• I have been typing this on and off throughout the morning as we all get ready for the day.  And now I am in tears, AGAIN.  I am so frustrated with Asher right now.  And I hate it because whenever I get mad and yell at him, I just sit and feel bad the rest of the day.  He seriously acts like every morning he has never heard of getting up and ready for school before.  We literally have to repeat ourselves over, and over, and freaking over again before he will get anything done.  He repeatedly does things that he knows he isn't supposed to do in the mornings.  It's like he doesn't remember that he got in trouble for that yesterday morning and does it again this morning.  Then today, I was screaming at him about something, and Eden came up next to me and started yelling at Asher too and it just made me cry.  I can't take it.  I don't know how to deal with him.  Even with his medicine, it just helps him focus.  Not act any better socially.  And obviously yelling at him doesn't work either.  I don't even know if this makes any sense because I am crying and just feeling like crap.  This will probably ruin my mood for the entire day now because for some reason that is me, all or nothing.  Ugh. 

Started Yesterday, Finished Today

I don't know why but, nothing is going my way.  The whole month of December has sucked and now we're headed into the dreaded months of January and February when the depression will really set in.  So over it.  I keep telling Jeremy that we need a second house somewhere warm and sunny to escape to for three months out of the year.  It would avoid this whole problem every.single.year.  Most everyone around me is driving me insane.  It is also nearing the end/beginning of the year when I start thinking about goals, dreams, and plans of the future and thoughts of the previous year.  I always have big dreams. This year I plan on getting healthy.  Not skinny.  But, healthy. 

We are waiting to hear back from the Amish guys with a quote for the remodel of the Carthage house.  I hope they can get it done in January.  Our lease comes up in this house in July and we want our Carthage house sold by then.  Although, I have been using it for studio space and it is just perfect.  The amount of lighting is great and the size of room is perfect.  Really I could have a different set up in each room.  That would be fun.  But, can't do it in reality.  We must get that house sold. 

I think another goal this year for me is to stay away from Facebook.  I just don't think it is good for me personally.  Yes, there are good things like being able to keep in touch with people you normally wouldn't but, the question is, if you wouldn't keep in touch with them normally, why the heck are we sharing our life and watching/reading theirs?!?!  It is also depressing sometimes to see how judgmental or critical people are of others so openly on facebook.  I have done it too.  There are happy announcements too but, negative weighs them out on my feed at least.  I always catch myself comparing my life, my parenting style, my views and beliefs, my kids, my house, pretty much everything, to other people's.  It's just not good.  I want to focus on what truly makes me happy.  I want to nurture real life relationships rather than these mostly fake ones on facebook.  At the same time, it is going to be super hard to stay away from facebook.  It is like a sick drug that you just can't stop taking.  I might have to make my account dormant or something.  I will log on to load and promote photography though through my Captured by Colista page.  hmmmm, I might have to start small and say I can only log into my personal account say like, once a week or something.  Maybe once a month?  I don't know but, something needs to change.  I could go through the whole "delete half my friends list" route too.  hmmmmm....

The Mailbox

I LOVE this new house and the property that it is on.  I do.  But, the mail box is across the street pretty much in a field.  And not only that but, during the warmer months, spiders live in there! Every day is a battle getting the dang mail.  For reals, I would have to carefully pull each piece of mail out while holding on to only the very, very edge of it and shake the tiny black spider off each individual piece of mail.  Stupid.  We sprayed the mail box multiple times and it would help for a bit, then the little black spiders would be back.  Like I said, they are gone .....for now.  But, the mail box doesn't keep my freaking mail dry!!! My mail is always wet and it has ruined quite a few things already.  Dumb.  Just dumb.  Operation "Find the Mailbox of my Dreams" has commenced!

Things of the Recent Past

A couple of nights ago, I got to go out with Trisha to Burlington for a girls night.  We do this sometimes and it is always nice to get away without kids and just hanging out.  We hit up Shokai Sushi place again, as usual.  It is always SO freaking yummy!! I never think to use my iphone for pictures but, I should start taking some because our food always looks like it came from a magazine or food show.  Anyway, I also tried sake for the first time.  There were two versions of it.  The first was served warm and burnt going down like drinking warmed up vodka.  Eww, who the heck thought that was a good idea!?!  The next was a plum sake and it was served cold and tasted super duper!! The kicker was it was served in the cutest little asian style flask and itty bitty little tea cups. 
Then we went to Target and shopped.  We both picked up some things for Eden's birthday.  I got some more school supplies, etc.  Then we had to stop at Sassy Strawberry before heading home because ya know, FRO-YO!  I love getting to hang out together and have some girl time. 

On Wednesday, Liam had a cub scout activity.  Grandma Trapp is his leader and had planned to visit the Kibbe Nature Preserve in Warsaw and go on a hike to cross some things off for their badges.  They went to the Hamilton Park afterwards and played and had a picnic.  He really had a good time!  Then, since I was gone with Tristan and Cullen at the doctor, he stayed with his friend Will Skog and rode bikes around the neighborhood.  He is super excited that Will will be in his class at school.  I think that will make the transition easier for him. 

Yesterday, Liam and Cedric said they found a bug in Liam's hair but, got it out.  I said, where is the bug?  They flung it off onto Liam's bed apparently.  I just shook my head.  Good grief.  I went into the bedroom and tried to locate the bug to see if it was a tick.  Couldn't find it.  Great.  So, I took all the sheet off and threw it outside.  Then started checking Liam for any others.  I told him to go check his crotch.  He came back and said he thought he had a tick there.  He let me look and sure enough there was a tiny tick there. UGH!  I got online to see how to get it off of him.  I followed the directions and but, still got the head stuck in his skin.  We had to call the doctor and they were booked full so we had to get him to the after hours walk-in clinic.  They were able to get the head out and sent him home, good as new! Whew!  Now, as I type this I feel like my head is crawling full of bugs!! EWWWWWW. Liam was a super trooper though and Jeremy even got him a Chips Ahoy Blizzard from DQ on the way home for being such a brave boy.  Apparently they had to dig around in a very sensitive area for a bit, lol!  Poor kid!!

Also, there is something wrong with both my hands and arms.  My right one has carpal tunnel so bad that it is pretty much painfully, tingly, numb all the time.  It is the worst I have ever felt it.  My left arm/hand is throbbing all the way from my hand, up to my shoulder and down my back. I can't put any pressure on my hand or arm.  It is slightly swollen and feels like it is broken....like a hairline or green fracture.  But, I can't think of how I would have done that without myself knowing that I had done that, haha!  I have broken my bones plenty of times and always remember it being very painful. Anywho, not sure what to do at this point.  But, last night it was throbbing so bad, I thought I should cut my arm off.  Ugh. 

Today, my new washing machine gets delivered!  I am thrilled because I have been having to go to the laundromat and it is getting old.  Really old.  Now, I will have a matching set of washer and dryer.  Sweet.  Tomorrow my new living room furniture gets delivered.  Finally the house my start getting my organized and nice looking. 

Still Moving

We are still only half settled in our new house.  Even with that being said, I am so stinking happy to have moved back to Nauvoo and I am in love with our new house.  I keep telling the kids that we bought a Tardis house (Dr. Who reference) because it is bigger on the inside! haha! It really is though.  The house looks like a cracker box from the outside and you wonder how in the world nine people could possibly fit.  But, somehow we do and we are happy!  The yard is perfection for me.  I always told Jeremy that I wanted a yard completely surrounded by trees and forest but, still in town....we both thought I was nuts!  Well, I got it!  We have had to buy and fix more stuff than we planned on but, hopefully it will all still go smoothly.  I will be posting pictures eventually.  We got a new living room furniture set that includes, couch, loveseat, chair, and rug.  We got a new tv stand for downstairs.  New rugs for the whole house. A new washing machine is on order too.  New (used) beds for Liam and Cedric. What else??  Hmmmm, maybe that is it.  Our Keurig isn't working right all of a sudden either.  It is still under warranty though so Jeremy called the company.  They are sending a new reservoir and hoping that fixes the problem.  If it doesn't they will be getting us a new machine.  Saa-weet! 

So last night Jeremy and I went to the Carthage house and picked up garbage laying around the house and set the garbage out for pickup.  We sorted some of the stuff still left there and fed/watered the cat.  Then we went to Macomb for a grocery run.  I am going to miss shopping in Macomb and Quincy.  Anyhow, we came back through Carthage on the way home and picked up Sookie in the cat carrier.  He made the most awful, strange sounds I had ever heard a cat make......the entire drive to Nauvoo.  He just hated the ride.  Right before Bluff Woods, there was an increase in the wackadoodle noises and some thrashing about in the cage.  Two seconds later, the most horrible stench straight from the depths of hell started to permeate the car and into our nostrils.  Dear God, the car ride had scared the crap right outta the kitty.  We got to the house as quick as possible.  I thought we were going to pass out from the overwhelming nastiness of it all.  Once in the driveway, we opened the back hatch and let the cat out.  He was covered in liquid poo.  We ran away from the cat and I'm sure, didn't make his transition to his new home very easy.  Jeremy's new name for the cat is Poopy Cat. 

It's Happening!

Today we signed papers to rent the house.  So it is final.  Money has exchanged hands and we are officially able to move into the house on Tuesday!! woot!!  So excited that this is happening!  They have been cleaning and getting their stuff out.  The house is looking good!  I cannot wait to move in!  But, I HAVE to wait because tomorrow is the other big day....Jeremy's vasectomy.  This is very strange to me.  Like it is so freaking FINAL.  And it needs to be.  But, it doesn't mean that it is an easy decision to come to.  I hope everything goes smoothly for him though.  It is weird being on the other side of things.  Usually I am the one going to the hospital.  Jeremy isn't allowed to eat past midnight.  We have to be to the hospital bright and early at 7:15am.  And then the fun begins.  He will be put completely under with anesthesia.  I cannot wait to see how Jeremy behaves when he wakes up and comes out of it!!  I hope, hope, hope he is funny!!

I have been eating the crap outta some oatmeal and taking the More Milk Plus pills.  It seems to be working.  Last night we left the baby with Debbie so we could focus on things to get done around the house.  I pumped regularly and got much more than I have been when pumping previously.  So with any luck, I can just do this the whole time I am breastfeeding and all will be well. 

The summer seems to be flying by again.  Gah! 

Stuff To Talk About

I decided that I don't want to move anything to the new house.  I just don't want to.  I am sick of all the stuff.  There is just too much of it and I don't want any of it.  My head is pounding again today.  What is with these headaches anyway?

On Sunday(two days ago) we had a good day with family(more on that later) in Nauvoo.  We left for home and as we turned onto Connable road I could see that we were heading into a pretty nasty looking storm.  We had just barely passed my mom's house when we hit wall of rain.  Like an actual wall.  And wind.  Jeremy was behind me in the Aveo with Asher.  I turned into a driveway and called him and we decided to turn around and go to my mom's house right away.  We backed out and couldn't see anything.  Like I couldn't see Jeremy right in front of me.  A car appeared out of nowhere with flashing lights.  They were trying to signal us that there was a tree in the dang road. I nearly hit it.  The wind was blowing the Expedition off the road so I really don't know how Jeremy made it to my mom's house.  When we got there, the trees were bending and I hopped out of the car sure that I was going to be blown away. As I ran in some drainage pipe from the ditch blew into the car! I ran to the porch, the mat was gone but, the key was still there, thankfully!  (My mom is in Idaho right now).  I unlocked the door and ran back to the car to get kids in.  They were scared.  Somehow we got everyone inside.  We were drenched.  Like dripping wet.  My mom's weather radio was going off telling everyone to take cover.  The power was out.  We grabbed a stack of towels and went to the basement.  We hunkered down and tried to dry off and get warm.  It was super scary.  The kids did great though considering everything we had to go through.  We couldn't get any signals on our internet on our phones at my mom's house so when there was a break in the weather we loaded up and made it safely home.  There was debris EVERYWHERE.  No tornado but, straight line winds I guess.  It was frightening.  When we got home we found our dishwasher in the yard!! Well, our old dishwasher....we had pulled it out of the garage on Saturday when we were taking stuff to the dump.  It was sitting by our garage but, the wind blew it into the yard.  Crazy.

Jeremy has an appointment for a vasectomy next Monday. He has to take Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off of work.  That is annoying the heck outta Jeremy because he doesn't want to close for three days.  But, Dr. Davis said that if he decides to get up on the second day because he feels okay, that he will regret it because then he will be down for two weeks.  He wants him to rest and relax for the full three days.  Which means that I will definitely be dealing with eight children instead of seven, lol!  Just kidding, Jeremy! (mostly kidding.)  But, we are supposed to be moving that same week.  Oh well.  Whatever.  We will move after he is healed.  I am so dreading the move.  Not because I don't want to move but, because of all the work entailed.  

Yesterday was a craptastic day for me.  I ate nearly everything in sight.  It was sad.  Today is going to be a good day though.  And I will eat nothing.  Well, you know.......something but, not in excess.  Hopefully.  Usually about half way through the day when I hit my afternoon wall, my brain gets all cloudy and I make bad decisions! lol! For reals.  Maybe I will leave the house today to keep myself away from food......but.....drive thru.  Curse it.  

On a good note, the Fourth of July is coming up!! One of my fave holidays.  Yep. I have tossed the idea around of camping in the state park that weekend.  Don't know though.  

A Little Update

Well, it looks like this is happening...we are moving this summer!  We were wondering what was going on because we hadn't heard from Hasek's but, they have just been busy.  We have to sign the contract and then it is go time.  I have so much to do!  Gah!  And then we have the worry of this house selling.  I really don't want to have two house payments for a long time.  So any prayers for a quick sale would be greatly appreciated.  We still have work to do on this house.....painting, cabinets, carpet, etc.  And then we will have to add on to the house in Nauvoo after the Carthage house sells.  It's gonna be bonkers.  Completely bonkers.  Whatever.  I am excited to move back to Nauvoo for some reasons and completely dreading it for other reasons. 

Next week is my 6 week check-up.  I can definitely tell that I am older now.....it took me a little longer to recover after having Vivianne.  I was just completely drained of energy.  I tried working out about two weeks after she was born (I've done this in the past with no problems) and boy did I regret it.  I hurt for days after.  Anywho, I am hoping to get the all clear to work out.  I do feel a TON better now. 

I still have a ton to catch up on the blog about but, I have a feeling it is going to take me all summer to catch up, if I do at all.  July and August are gonna be busy, busy, busy.  I also have volunteered to be a den leader in Asher's scout troop.  That should be interesting.  I want to be involved in Tristan and Cedric's school stuff too. 

My milk supply has taken a dip just like it did when I fed Eden.  I bought the Mother's Milk tea completely forgetting how GOD AWFUL it is to drink.  My stomach is churning as it glides down my throat every single time!! YUCK!  It has Anise (black licorice) in it and that is up there with pumpkin pie, ham and bean soup, and poop on my list of gross things to eat.  So, I bought some herbal supplements from a company called Motherlove.  I got the ones called More Milk Plus.  They are pricey.  It's about $35 for a 20 day supply.  I hope they work.  I just got them yesterday so  I have my fingers crossed.  I will do whatever it takes to keep giving Vivianne breast milk.  Including buying milk from another mother.  It think it is funny that society has trained us to think that another human feeding our babies is "gross" or "Wrong" or "unsafe" but, that it is perfectly fine or normal to feed your baby from another ANIMAL that you have no idea what has been injected into it or where it came from or whatever.  Humans were not made to drink cow's milk which is what formula is.  How many times has formula been recalled??? hmmm???? 

Passed With Flying Colors!

My test came back with good results!! Thank goodness!!  No gestational diabetes for me, whew!  I did talk to them about my "episodes" and they said it is probably hypoglycemia and to keep an eye on it.  that is much easier to keep tabs on then the whole diabetes thing.  I have to go back in two weeks.  Yay.  I told Dr. Jones that this baby is huge and I couldn't possibly go on and he seemed to think that I could, in fact, go on. *sigh*

 I signed the papers to get my tubal done.  I am on the fence with it because of all the side effects and what not.  Jeremy is seriously considering taking the plunge himself.  After I heard from someone that it was only $750 for a man to get it done, I might have sold him on the idea, lol!  And it is outpatient.  Anyway, for right now my focus is on this baby and getting her here.  I have 80 days left if I go all the way to term.  I am slightly freaking out.  I don't feel at all prepared.  I still need stuff for the baby to function once she gets here.  We have a ton of added expenses right now with the remodel, cars, baby gear, etc.  It is all a bit daunting to process.
I am really excited to see what she will look like.  I am half tempted to go to that ultrasound place again and get a 3D image of her cute little face.  I probably won't though.

Jeremy and I have Mt. Hamill Construction coming in a couple weeks to give us a quote on the house.  We bought a plane ticket for my brother in law, Matt, to fly out from Idaho on April 1st to come give us our second quote.  So, it looks like our remodel will be during the absolute worst part of pregnancy or right after.  Perfect.  Oh well, at least it will be getting done.  l am thankful for that.

Today's Update

I guess we are going to buy a plane ticket for my brother-in-law, Matt (Ginny's husband), to fly out from Idaho and give us a bid on our home remodel.  She called yesterday and asked if we had found a contractor yet and I said no.  We still have to get another quote but, I really think I would like to go with Matt as I would be way more comfortable with him here in my house and talking to him.  He wouldn't be able to do the actual remodel until the end of March or the beginning of April but that gives us time to get some other things out of the way.  Now, if the dang weather would cooperate. 

We awoke this morning to yet another round of winter weather.  A huge ice storm with snow on the way after that.  Joy.  The kids are already out of school for President's Day so at least it isn't another snow day. 

Saturday Jeremy had arranged for three of the kids to go to my mom's and three of the kids to go to his mom's so we could go out for Valentine's Day.  Turns out I started puking my guts out so we stayed in instead.  It was nice though to actually get a good night's sleep in.  That is always welcome, lol!   I just keep thinking that one day I will miss them crawling into bed with me or waking me up to scream at me about a missing toy.  Right?!?! I will miss that!?!?  That is what people keep telling me, LOL!!  Seriously, I actually do LOVE snuggling with the kids in bed when they are in a snuggling mood.  It's when they want to wake everyone in the house up or scream for no reason or play with toys or jump all over the bed that is annoying. 

I love our lazy Sundays together.  Jeremy went to get the kids early afternoon so we could all hang out together.  I made the kids Pink Cows when they got home.  (Pink cows are just strawberry soda floats.)  It's the little things. 

93 Days

I will be 27 weeks this weekend and today I looked at my pregnancy calendar and it said I had 93 days left! WHAT?!?!?!  When the freak did that happen?!?!  I am freaking out! Okay, I need to get ready already.  She feels rather large to me.  She was definitely bigger than the website said she would be when I went to Peoria for my last ultrasound. I swear there is no more room for her to grow!  I have been having braxton hicks contractions pretty much all the time.  I am excited and scared all at the same time.
 If this snow would quit already then maybe I could get the garage cleaned out and so that we can move our upstairs furniture into it so we can get the carpet and painting done upstairs.  Then we move on to the downstairs project which is gonna be wonderful/hell. 
I bought an Arbonne Fit Kit this week and a new blender to start getting healthy a little bit early.  I'm gonna do my two shakes a day and still eat whatever the heck I want for supper.  That is the way I like to do it so I don't really feel like I am dieting at all and there is nothing to keep track of either.  I'm sure my doc will be fine with it since my diet as of late has not been the healthiest!  This morning I had cookies for breakfast.  A protein shake chocked full of fruits and veggies HAS to be better for me and baby than that!! LOL!  I have to go do my glucose test this week.  Joy.  Also three days of Quincy doc appointments for Eden.  It's getting old real quick. 
Once baby Magoo gets here we probably won't be doing much visiting/driving to family and friends houses unless it is for something BIG!  Because we have to drive two cars everywhere we go now, if we go as a whole family.  Weird. So, people, if you want to see us, you are gonna have to come here, lol!  But, hopefully we will have a beautiful new space to visit in! 
OMG, 93 days.........