toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

....so by now you've figured out that the big move went off as scheduled. do I miss NY at all? not so much. one more crazy neighbor story and then I hope that's it for all time. on the day we were loading the truck there was a piece of oak tag nailed to a tree at the front of the complex that read: "good bye white trash Jack and Sue" :-0 now if that's not the pot calling the kettle trash I don't know what is!

we're really loving the new house and neighborhood, stress level is nil

a few things I've noticed that remind me I'm not in NY anymore:

-people actually stop at stop signs and expect you to use your signal when turning

-handicapped parking spots aren't painted blue, just have signs that I don't notice until i've pulled in (they could use a few more street signs imo as well)

-they have coffee milk at school instead of chocolate milk

-the pizza sucks, not gonna even try a bagel

-there's a guy at the grocery store checkout that is there for the sole purpose of bagging my stuff!

-I get called 'sweethaht' a lot....seriously why don't they pronounce their R's?


-patriots, red sox and celtics, not giants, yankees and knicks


-the plumber sent a thank-you note

-the car pulled up next to me at the red light isn't shattering my windows with his bass

-people at the dmv were losing their minds because they had to wait 1/2 hr (I was jumping for joy at such a short wait)

-there is not a blessed thing open at 1 am, not even a bar!

Attention Blog Stalkers!

Just popping in for a minute to post a quick update!

We are scheduled to close on the RI house on Thurs the 27th! I hope to get it re-carpeted over the weekend so we can move in end of next week and have the kiddos in school the Tues after Columbus day....sounds good in theory doesn't it? hope it all goes according to plan

Looks like we'll be back and forth a lot over the next couple of weeks, in addition to what I already mentioned, we have to come back to NY to close on this house probably around the 15th of October

And no sooner do I get my clothes in the closet, I'll be off again to Chicago!

Thought I was gonna start feeling sentimental about leaving about now, but it still hasn't hit me. And I doubly thought I would feel a bit misty about leaving the kids current school, but as it happens Liam and Grace both have sadists for teachers this year and good riddance. Liam's teacher is making him cut out 300 letters from a xerox every night....the only thing I haven't packed yet is my paper trimmer~!

busy busy busy

packing packing packing!

the pile of boxes is swallowing us up and I feel i still have so much more to do!

no time to blog, must pack more!

getting my life off 'hold'

We've done not much more than think, eat, sleep house house house for the past 3 months....everything else has been on hold. I hadn't thought about what to do with the kids as far as summer rec, didn't sign them up for religious ed in the fall, didn't follow thru with the orthodontist for Colin.


Got most of that stuff taken care of yesterday. They're signed up for rec at school, relig ed will probably have to be home schooled because all the classes are filled now and the orthodontist doesn't take our insurance anymore so I'll have to find another and start over.


Still have to get my stuff out of storage, we put the bikes and a bunch of misc things into storage to de-clutter a bit, yeah that worked out well. Put the family pictures out again. Feels like home again instead of a staged house.


I've told the realtor after another abysmal weekend of open houses (one person showed up on sat and none on sunday) that I'm not showing it anymore over the summer. It's just too much to straighten up and get all the kids and the dog out of the house for a good part of the day....and now that summer is here, it's going to be impossible(and this fell on me because Jack is working weekends). I'm coming to terms with staying put. My mom and dad are relieved, I think.



Other recent happenings:



Colin graduated from Elementary school and had his 'Moving Up' ceremony...we got him an IPOD, glad he knows how to use it because I sure don't.....even funnier, my dad asked "what's that? you listen to music with that? how do you use it, like this (as he hold it up to his ear like a phone) Now I just have to put up with the constant off-key singing.



Got myself some new contacts for my birthday...haven't been able to wear them since I was pregnant with Colin 11 yrs ago, still trying them out

Liam will be 9, NINE in 2 weeks, where did the time go? my baby! He wants some kind of remote control giant mosquito or something, I'm thinking DANGER

Now to just make it thru the summer....I really think I dislike summer most of all the seasons. Everyone always gets so excited for it to be summer and I just dread it....I don't like to be hot or wet or anything to do with water like swim or boats....I'm afraid a stray ray of sunshine will set the lupus monster loose. No can't say summer is my favorite. Talk to me again in September!

which Harry Potter character are you?

take quiz here:

http://www.brainfall.com/test10_1.php (I give up trying to figure out how to add a link with just one word instead of the whole url!)




You are Fred and George. You're a joker at heart, but when push comes to shove, you know what's important.

what a tangle web!

So you know we're on the market, you know there are 2 other units for sale (or I should say 1 now as 1 is in contract) Did I mention the war between the realtors? The realtor for my competitor, the one that sold, kept bringing people from their open house over to my house....kinda icky IMO. So hopefully won't have to deal with them any more since they sold.

Part II of the story is....our realtor suggested we put a 'for sale' sign up at the road in front of the complex...no one has done it before, you can't post it in front of you unit according to house rules...we asked the board for permission and the management Co...got it in writing that we could so we did....then on sunday I played cat and mouse with the dang sign all day...someone kept pulling it out and throwing it in the bushes...I just kept putting it back up....today--GONE! what is wrong with these people!

GET ME OUT OF HERE!~!!!

Decisions, decisions

Drove 3 hrs to Rhode Island saturday morning...looked at 10 houses...drove 4 hrs back with 3 kids in tow

my house better sell quick...we found 2 houses we really could love, but I don't want to get attached yet....one is older and needs a new kitchen but on a great wooded lot with a river on the edge of the property...and the other is 10 yrs old, great condition, same damn cabinets that I have now full finished basement, 3.5 baths and 4 beds but of course pricier... decisions!

oh, and both have septic systems...um, eww...and just the idea of a big pool of poo in the yard grosses me out! I know its under ground, but I'm used to it all flowing away in the nice sewer with the rats, thank you very much....and neither has central a/c, just spoiled in that department I guess.

Would you buy this house? We're going on the market today....and it's scaring the pants off me because I just found out 2 neighbors did the same thing!



Here's my competition: http://www.century21.com/buy/property_detail.aspx?teasers=property-detail-pic+Property+Detail+with+Pictures&tr_key=33675534&bSite=N&City=Massapequa%20Park&State=NY&Zip=11762&PriceMin=400000&PriceMax=450000&BedsMin=3

.....and mine

Freecycle is a great way to get rid of stuff you don't need but don't want to throw away...you can post stuff you have or respond to others wanted posts.....some woman posted that she wanted Fisher Price Little People toys, I had a bunch and responded, she came and picked them up....easy peasy!

http://www.freecycle.org/


Had dinner with the in-laws last weekend, good times? NOT! They are so dry, I can't stand it! I sat there for 4 hrs wedged between Jack and his sister....not one laugh all night! When my family gets together it's always fun, my dad has you peeing in your pants every time....I don't know whats wrong with their senses of humor, I try to make some cracks and they look all weird, they just don't get it....they bring me down!

Holy Crapola Batman!

I never thought myself a pack-rat, my kids would even go as far as to say I might be a bit cavalier in tossing things, but the things I've been getting rid of lately, sheesh, good thing the complex has a dumpster! One more thing....am I the last person on the planet to have heard of Freecycle?

This kid owes me big!

Well after he pulled the pin out, the doc said it had to go back in because it was only in for 6 days...he sent us to the ER at StFrancis (the heart center) that should have rang some bells in my head right there....well we get to the ER and they sign us in and then tell me that they have no Pediatric unit and we will have to stay there for the night....the nurses were nice about it and put us in a little alcove and we got some sleep, the next morning however was challenging entertaining a well rested and very hungry and bored (no tv, only game boy and books) little boy that is hard to keep down under normal circumstances. I nearly jumped for joy, may have let out a little squeal of delight when the OR called for him at 10 am, I had visions of being there all day too! All in all it wasn't that bad and 18 hrs after we left we were home again with 2 pins in and a bigger harder cast!

On the house front...we were going to put in new kitchen cabinets to spruce up the late 80's style a bit, however they only have 30 inch cabinets in stock and anything else we have to order...I think 30 in cabinets will look like we did a half-ass job and don't think we have the time to order....Just don't know about that one, have to think on it some...all those HGTV shows say to do the kitchen

Back to the hospital!

In a fit of anger, Liam pulled the pin out of his finger....so back to the hospital we go! The Dr wants him admitted so he can get him on the OR schedule for tomorrow! I'm worried about the anesthesia, it was no picnic last time, but the doc says the pin has to go back in....wish us luck!

We're getting geared up to get this house on the market and get the hell out of Dodge! Actually got a call from a guy about interest our unit last week for his girlfriend that's getting a divorce and wants to stay in the area....that would be too easy

-fugly old lighting fixtures replaced

-We (as in all five of us) painted the hall last weekend, that was fun.

-Washed all the fingerprints off the white woodwork.

-Holly Hobby half bath has been spackled and primed for painting.

-Had our 'guy' come in and measure for new tile floor.....

-He's also gonna do new kitchen cabinets too

....then I think we're finished and ready to sell!

I've been averaging about 2 Hefty bags of trash a day! still need to get into the attic, God knows whats up there :-O When I'm done throwing stuff out, there'll be so much room that we might not need to move at all!!

That boy of mine!

He really did it this time! Monday afternoon Liam closed his finger in the bathroom door at school and broke it! Not only did he break it, there's a piece that's displaced and rotated and requires surgery....so that's where we'll be tomorrow (pre-surgical testing ) and Friday (actual surgery for wires to hold his finger together!

It truly is always something!