Sleepless

So here I am at 6:30 in the morning, sick, needing all the sleep I can get and I can't sleep! I got up an hour ago and read for a while hoping that would make me tired, went back to bed and still couldn't sleep! The thing that really sucks is that Blake and Trevor spent the night at my parent's last night and I could have slept till 8:00 cause they are taking Blake to school, but here I am, bloggin on the computer cause sleep is so elusive!

I can't seem to turn off my brain, I have so much to do. We are loading up a week from today, moving into Crestwood Suites for who knows how long. My sister, Jennifer, took Trevor and Kade all day yesterday and will again for a few hours today. My mom came over and helped me pack and I am so glad she did! We went throught the boy's clothes and pulled out several outfits for each and put them in suitcases, then we packed everything else. This will help save my sanity because up till now I hadn't had the time to put away their summer clothes and they keep trying to wear shorts and t-shirts in 50 degree weather! Plus everytime I walk upstairs I find clothes on their bedroom floor. Their room is pretty much packed now, and I am going to start on Kade's clothes when I get off the computer.

The good news is that Chad is flying to Virginia Sunday night to interview in person with a company called ICF on Monday, they are the ones that want us to move to Boston. Then yesterday he found out after his sixth or seventh phone interview with CleaResult they want him to fly down the following Monday to Austin, TX to interview in person. We also found out that a company called Paragon (in Las Vegas) wants to do a phone interview sometime this week. We went the other day and got Chad a new gray suit. It has been eight years since he has had a new one and I FINALLY talked him into getting it for his interviews. I forgot how nice he looks in a suit...I will try to get a picture before church on Sunday.

If I wasn't stressed and overwhelmed enough I found out Monday that my father in law and Chad's grandpa are flying in today. I am not upset at all, I am glad they are able to come before we move, it is just one more thing to add to my sleeplessness I guess.

We're having a garage sale on Saturday, selling things I just don't have the energy (or boxes) to pack. For the past five months while our house was listed we lived with the bare minimum on the walls and shelves, and I got used to it enough that I am cool with not having as much to dust in the next house. We sold the boy's playhouse to my parents, the bbq and a bookcase to Jennifer, our plasma screen tv to my brother David and his wife Amanda. The refrigerator is staying with the house and we are selling the washer and dryer at the garage sale (hopefully). We are tempted to sell our nightstands and dresser, but we aren't sure we want to have to replace them, although they are hand-me-downs from Chad's great-grandmother and have definitely seen better days.

Enough of my endless rambling. I wish I had something witty or amusing to say...I guess I should have gotten more sleep or something!

Madness!

Some of you may be wondering what happened to the plan to move to Arkansas. We found out a little over a week ago that while Chad had passed the background check and they were ready to hire him for AR, someone internal had applied for the position, so they gave it to him, but they still want him for either Austin or Houstin TX. Meanwhile, another company has called and wants to fly him up to Boston, MA to interview...so we will see how that goes. Today I found a local hotel that it kind of like an Extended Stay, so we will move in there after the close of this house, until we know where we are going. Our stuff (of course) will go to storage. But I digress...

Yesterday I was in a packing frenzy...though when I look back I didn't really get much done! You will understand why when I tell you this story:

Blake and Trevor decided to go out in the backyard to play after Blake got home from school. I was busy upstairs sorting something-or-other, so I put Kade in his playpen to play with some toys. Everything was going pretty well when almost simultaneously I heard Kade start to scream and the back door open and slam closed. Blake ran in yelling "Emergency, Emergency! Trevor's bleeding!" To which I took off down the stairs (actually I don't really remember even going down the stairs...I must have been going pretty fast!). I passed Kade, who saw me and started screaming louder, and ran out the back door to find Trevor on the grass, blood all down his shirt, trying to drip the blood from his nose onto the grass. "Whew!" I was so glad it was just his nose! I could not fathom dragging all three kids into the ER at that point in time. I had grabbed a rag on my way out the door (don't remember that either...but I know it didn't just materialize in my hand), so I stuck it on Trevor's nose and walked him into the house. As I passed by Kade (still screaming) I picked him up and as I did that the doorbell rang...I thought, "If that is the Southern Baptist Sister missionaries again I am really going to give them a piece of my mind!" Instead I reached the front door (which my genius son, Blake, had already opened against family rules) leading bleeding Trevor and holding sobbing Kade to find some guy who is running for the TN Senate. He looked a little shocked to see my bedraggled group but still stuck around for a minute to congratulate me on the sale pending sign in the front yard and to ask me if I would put one of his signs out. At this point things are a little fuzzy due to the frenzy I was in, so I don't remember exactly what I said but it was something to the affect of "Why don't you just leave a sign with me and I will do some research and if I like what I see I'll put it out?" He then said, "Well, why don't you just check out my website and you can order one on there?" And at that moment I knew he was a Democrat without even having to look at his pamphlet. I said "Ok, have a nice day." and shut the door. I checked Trevor's nose and put Kade (not crying anymore) down. When I sat him on the floor he resumed his crying jag...which caused me to look down to see that the squirt gun he had brought with him out of the playpen (I noticed it when I got him out, but just thought he wanted to keep playing with it) was indeed stuck on his left thumb, and of course, that is his most important thumb cause that is the one he sucks on! It took me a few minutes to get it off, and he was much happier to have his thumb again.

If your life is ever boring or seems monotonous, you can come spend a day with me, or better yet, switch places with me!

Oh! I forgot the best part! So it seems that the reason Trevor ended up with a bloody nose is because Blake The Genius got the idea that it would be fun to take the Rubbermaid tote that is out on the deck to hold their outside toys and use it to sled down the drainage ditch in our backyard. He said, "Everything was going well till we hit a rock and Trevor fell out." I think I must have earned points in Heaven for not even yelling at him, right?

Good News...and a sleepless night.

After five months on the market we have gotten an offer on our house. Considering the way the market is right now, it isn't a bad offer either. They want our fridge (which is dented from a previous move) and window treatments (glad I took down all the curtains except the boys' rooms). We are losing money on it, but at least we aren't losing it, like everyone else. Apparently they had an offer in on another house and during the inspection a pipe burst and flooded the place...OOPS! So they scrambled to find something else, and we became second choice, which we are starting to get used to cause that happened with the rental house we sold a few months back.

I think I am still in shock. Part of the reason for this is that they want to close in three weeks. WHAT? It wouldn't be that much of a shock except WE HAVE NOWHERE TO GO. I asked my sister if it came down to it if we could crash in her bonus room for a few weeks, and she said yes [but I heard the scream behind her words...who wouldn't with the prospect of five extra people inhabiting your space?!] Chad kind of lit a fire under the company that has been dragging it's feet on where they want him, and they have pretty much narrowed it down to Austin, TX. He has a phone interview with the Austin people on Monday which could pretty much decide things for us. We need all the prayers we can get!

So now, here I sit at 6:00 in the morning, unable to sleep because I can't seem to turn my brain off, and every time I did, Chad started snoring again. Rather than punch him, which I admit did cross my mind a few times...ok more than a few times, but I never followed through, I got up to spread the news to the world...or at least the three people who read my blog! So you three are the first to know...you're welcome!

Domestic Diva

Lately I have been inspired to get things done. This could be that it is the only thing I have control over since I have no idea where we will be living this time next year (I am ok as long as it isn't a cardboard box), and for my type-A personality, this information doesn't sit well. So I am in a frenzy to get things organized, go through old kid clothes, and get ready for winter. Yesterday I was in the mood to do some baking, and though I love pumpkin bread, it just didn't seem right to make it when it was 85+ degrees outside! Instead I made banana muffins, using a quick and easy recipe I got from my sister. The warm, sweet smell of baking muffins filled my air-conditioned haven, bringing promises of many (hopefully cooler) baking days to come as Fall comes to Tennessee. Here is the recipe (I always use one cup of whole wheat flour and one cup of white, to bump up the healthiness and otherwise they tend to be on the too moist side):

2 c Flour 4 very ripe bananas (mashed)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine (melted and slightly cooled)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

-Mix dry ingredients in one bowl

-Mix bananas and sugar, then add rest of the wet

-Combine wet and dry

-Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes...yields about 24 muffins

I was pretty impressed with myself that I was able to find the time to make dinner, let alone let Blake help me make these! I spent the entire afternoon making cards to give out during my Relief Society lesson on Sunday. It is Lesson 20 in the Joseph Smith manual, and it focuses on the letters that he wrote to his family while he was in captivity and on his extensive travels for the Church. I decided to put most of my focus on the fact that despite all the problems facing him, he took the time (course what else did he have to do while he was in jail?) to write to his family and reassure them of how much he loved them. I always try to find a focus for my lessons, and sometimes like to have a little handout for the sisters. I like to say that it is my "Ice Scultpure" (anyone who has seen The RM will get that). So for this lesson I made each sister a card that they can use to send to a friend or loved one, or give to their husband or child. I enjoy making cards, it is like therapy for me to sit there for hours focusing on creating, and it lets me escape from things that bother or worry me. I think I must have been really worried and bothered because before I knew it I had made forty cards! They aren't all different, it is easier to assembly line it...but since I was trying to use mostly scraps I had to improvise on a few of them. I am proud of the results and I am hoping that there aren't forty sisters in R.S. on Sunday; one because it would really freak me out to teach that many, and two because I want to be able to bring some cards home with me! I am posting some pictures of my favorites. Now I need a nap.

Family Day...warning LONG

Chad was supposed to have midterms Thursday...but fortune smiled on him and the MTSU campus was closed for four days because some crackpot was making bomb threats and starting fires. So he got the rest of the day off, which we celebrated with pizza from Mellow Mushroom....yum yum yummy. Friday we went to Barfield Park and played frisbee golf, then we let the kids play at the park (Kade included, he LOVES the park). After lunch at home I went on a quest to find a bra (I was down to only one that fit, or so I thought).

I have to say, if you have never gone in for a bra fitting, you totally have to...unless you're a guy, then that would be weird. I went to Dillards and apparently I went on the right day cause they had tons of ladies running around with measuring tape around their necks, I chose one at random and she lured me back to a private dressing room type thing. She measured me in several ways and pronounced that she would return with a fabulous bra. And oh how she did! I couldn't believe what size I actually am...did you know that 60% of American women are wearing the wrong size bra? Anyway, I spent way too much on one of the bras she picked for me (cause I was a little worried I wouldn't find another one I liked as much) and then went looking to find more. Little sidenote: You don't have to purchase the bra from Dillards, the fitting is totally free...my girls are just a little larger than most stores can accomodate, so hence the nervousness. Long story short, I ended up at Kohls where I found not one, but two wonderful bras for less than the price I paid for the one at Dillards, so now I can take that one back! I didn't really intend to share this part of my Friday with the world...but it does "fit" (hehe) in with the rest of my Friday.

So after I got home we decided to go up to Smryna and play frisbee golf at a course that we haven't played in awhile. Chad bought me a new disc (aww, some girls get flowers, I get frisbees) and I have to admit I played an awesome round. Chad said that it was the new disc, but I maintain that it was the new bra...we agreed to disagree (but I still think it was the bra). After that we went to Bar B Cutie, the boy's favorite place to eat, and then on to a bonfire at my parent's house where Chad attempted to build a "s'more oven"... and his only success was at burning the graham cracker...so much for that senior project!

Yesterday was an awesome day as well. We headed up to Lebanon (about 45 minutes away) to a national park called Cedars of Lebanon, where there is a frisbee golf course that we hadn't played, we put in nine holes and called it quits. Then we grabbed some lunch, I headed into the outlets there to look for some hiking boots for Blake's Indiana Jones costume. Then we got back on the road and headed to Fall Creek Falls. The boys loved the hike down to the waterfall, Kade was sitting on Chad's shoulders and he kept leaning forward to point and tell him something in gibberish...it was pretty funny! I am happy to say I am not sore from the hike, but I may be tomorrow. My one regret was that I didn't insist on bringing the camera along, but it is pretty bulky and if I had fallen on the slippery rock trail and broken it I would never forgive myself...so we took a few pics with Chad's camera phone. This is a picture of the waterfall we visited...taken from the Park's website.

All in all, we have had a great weekend. It has been so long since we have done anything like this, what with all the wedding crud we've had to do. We got back to nature and enjoyed our family for a few days...and that is worth more than I can say. (Plus I got new bras that fit and I am SUPER happy with them!)

Wedding Madness

I am happy to report that my brother's wedding has finally come and gone. Now I can get back to normal crazy life. The reception was at my parent's house in the backyard, so I (along with my sisters and mother) spent over thirty hours cleaning, weeding, throwing away construction debris, putting lights up in maple trees, figuring out extension cords, setting up, taking down, etc. At one point I wasn't sure it would end!

To top things off, last Thursday (the day before the wedding) I got a call from the school nurse saying that Blake was complaining of stomach pains. My sister's family had all had the throw-ups over the past few weeks, but so far we had escaped. I went and picked Blake up at school, took him home to get his blanket, and headed back to my parent's to finish setting up and got four houses away and Blake threw up all over the inside of my car. He tried to make it to the window, so when I finally got it rolled down for him he proceeded to puke down the door of my newly washed car. Thanks Blake. I pulled into the driveway and ran into the house to get my mother (who will now be known as Queen of Stains and Puke Clean Up) and then stood in the driveway hysterical about not being able to take him to school the next day so someone would have to miss the wedding and stay home with him. I made him an appt with the Dr. (cause we hadn't paid a $35 copay in at least a week and I didn't want Dr. Rosser to go hungry), because the nurse at school also said it looked like he might have ringworm on his face. Thursday was a crappy day, for lack of a better way to describe it.

Then I got the stomach flu Monday and after I got my bro Mike and his family on their way to the airport I took half a Phenergan, turned on a movie for the boys in my room, put Kade in the playpen in my room and pretty much only came to long enough to tell Blake to make him and Trev a sandwich (which he did without leaving a huge mess, I was surprised to find) and tell them to switch the movie when it was over. At around 7 I got up to feed Kade a sandwich, ate a little applesauce, and went back to bed till 7:30 the next morning. I remember Chad coming in sometime and taking care of the boys. I would never have done that if I had any other option, and I am so glad Blake is getting to an age where I can rely on him for help. I'd probably still be asleep if I had taken a whole Phenergan...good thing I only took half!

I am glad I have all boys (at least at this point) because no matter how awesome the reception looked and all that, it was so stinkin stressful! I just hope that my boys will find girls to marry whose family is gung ho into doing their weddings, cause I don't want to do this again, ever. It would have been nice if the bride and groom had actually come to help set up after the wedding instead of disappearing for three hours. When they finally showed up they said that they'd been driving with the windows down so her hair was pretty messy...and if you believe that I have an oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you. I wonder if they read my blog? Well I guess I'll find out pretty soon, eh?!

A while ago I thought I might make a jar that I would call the "Swear Jar" and everytime anyone in the family said anything naughty or rude they'd have to put money in it...well I am glad I didn't go with that plan cause I would now be bankrupt! I am surprised my kids haven't taken my terrible swearing example...I am trying to do better...it is just a good thing the maple trees in my parent's yard can't tattle on me! Enough of my random ramblings, on to bigger and more important things...