This is the place

(I am on my phone and typing with fat fingers so excuse any typos)
We are here. Finally in our forever home. However, I still have no internet, tv or cell phone reception. (We have zero bars and no service in the house) I have to go get a cell tower.
Moving, not so smooth. The movers were slower than molasses and of course they are paid by the hour. So it cost us double what we paid for the last move and what we had budgeted. And they put all the boxes in the front two rooms and I had to carry them upstairs to their final destinations. (they would have taken them upstairs, but I figured we would have been there another 5 hours and I didn't have time or money for that.
We still have to get the swing set taken apart and moved and put back up. We are waiting on a trailer. Mikes uncle is going to help us move it but we have to get everyones schedules aligned. In pretty sure that thing will make my life much easier. The kids LOVE being outside already, I can't imagine what it'll be like when they have a swing set.
My mom from Utah is here. Thank heavens. It was perfect timing because I really needed help with kids and boxes. The goal is to get the kids rooms done while she is here. Oh yes, and it's good she's here to take care of the kids because I have strep. I'm pretty sure I have had it for about a week but I just didn't have time to go to the Dr. I've been running myself ragged and so maybe it's a good thing it finally knocked me flat. So I have no choice but to slow down a bit.
Furnishing a house without going into debt is hard. It's really hard. But we are determined to do it and so if that means that a few rooms sit empty for a while, so be it.
So craigslist and garage sales have been my go to. There are a few things in the house that I bought new like a lamp and pillow covers, but all on sale and all with a coupon. However, this is what am most proud of at the moment... My $5 garage sale leather chair.
We aren't talking like cheap bonded leather either. This is the good stuff.
I originally wanted to purchase a little lounge chair from Ballard. But it was going to set us back about $1,000. (I cannot stand fake bonded leather so I was not going cheap on that piece) so I searched craigslist and found one that was suitable but it was still $500. A good savings, but I couldn't bring myself to buy it. It was just too much money. I knew I could find something else. And so sure enough we (Sarah, and my brother in law Barrett) were out garage sale-ing on Saturday and I spotted this thing from a mile away, jumped out of the car almost before Sarah had time to stop it, and asked the lady how much, praying it wasn't sold already. "$5" the lady said. I almost died. I was thinking at least $100. I quickly paid the lady and hauled that thing off happy as could be. So, that's where we are at. Still trying to unpack and get settled. I'll post a few pictures when I get the Internet hooked back up.

Our walk through is tomorrow. We are scheduled to close the Monday after. 1/2 the house is in boxes, And the other 1/2 I am just pretending it will pack itself. There's a few things that still need worked out on the house, {The fence is the only one that I am slightly concerned about, But it will get worked out} I'm kind of stressed, But not really. I probably should be, But I think I am just not facing reality. It's easier that way. 

We have a Halloween party almost every night this week, And I still have to finish one more costume, I'm just going at life as normal, like the whole moving thing isn't happening. After all, I can't just skip the Halloween festivities, It does happen to be my FAVORITE holiday.

Want a sneek peek?

Cutest sidekick ever right??

 Plus the regular school scheduel, and you know, packing the house up. So I will resume the blog after we get settled. Thanks for the help. Thanks for babysitting. And hey, If anyone wants to join me for a paint party on Monday the 29th, Holla at me. I'll pay you in pizza, soda and love. And you can come see the house. {Am I the only one that likes to creep and see other peoples houses? Does that make me a weirdo?}

One mans trash is my treasure.

I am really up to my earballs in stress, boxes, projects, and kids.

Our walk through is a week from monday. And we close a week after that.

Holy cow. I have a lot to do.

The house is beautiful. It's more than I could have ever imagined it would be. Mike and I went through yesterday and it was the first time I had seen the correct backsplash, {The first one that was put in was the wrong color, And it looked terrible. just a little miscommunication, But they fixed it quickly and without issue.} And the wood floors were put in... And my stove. Oh my stove.

I was fighting as hard as I could to not burst into tears. I was so overwhelmed and grateful, and couldn't believe that this was going to be ours.

Here was the list we were waiting on and here are the things that have been completed.

The garage door and front doors need painted. {They were doing that today}

The shutters need installed

The lawn, landscaping, irrigation, and fence need done

The backsplash in the kitchen

Glass inserts in the kitchen cabinet doors

wood floors need installed

carpet needs installed

stairs need stained

stone work on the fireplace 

We are so close. 

Sarah and I went garage sale-ing today.

It was one of the best, most successful hauls I've had. 

I got blake a bag of boy dress up clothes for $5. Retail new - at least $100.

 Including 

optimus prime

bumblebee

swat team leader

army dude

firefighter 

police

pirate

spider man

a knight

A disney store sleeping beauty dress in fantastic condition.
I paid $5. Retail new $45

A Barbie Jammin Jeep power wheel for $40. Retails new - $290

{I got Blake and LaLa a power wheel on target clearance last year and paid $75 a piece and so this one is for Kynzi because we all know LaLa would never let Kynzi drive}

A pair of sperrys for LaLa... get this... I PAID ONE DOLLAR. Retail new is $50

  A pair of Gap zebra print shoes for LaLa -$1.00 Retail new $29

3 Gap shirts $1 each. Retail new-$13 each

Pair of cowgirl boots for lala $2. Retail new $15

A mirror for the girls room-$10. Retail at least $40. {And thats with a coupon from hobby lobby}

An old school desk $20

But my best deal and favorite score of the century... 

This swing set. 

We were going to buy a new one when we moved anyways so finding one at a garage sale was beyond awesome!!!

I paid $500.

Retail new for this particular one is $1200. 

And bonus... I don't have to put it together from a million pieces. 

So, Total saved by buying other peoples "junk"... Instead of new.

$1,241.

The only advice I have is to be picky. VERY picky, Don't just buy junk. Know what you want and don't settle. It's so easy to get caught up in the moment and buy junk just because its a good deal. Or to buy something you will never use just because its a good deal. Only buy it if you need it and will use it.
That being said. I have no shame in proclaiming to the world that I buy used things. I buy other peoples trash.  And you know what? I save a LOT of money doing it.
I don't know why some people think they are "above" that, But they are missing out!

The washer broke two weeks ago. And our less than fantastic land lord will not fix it. I can't even talk about it. This lady makes me so mad. 

However, It just makes reason number 450 that I won't be getting a front loader for the new house. 

They are really expensive to fix, and break down quite often. 

So, I have 3 more weeks without a washing machine. Awesome. Especially since we cloth diaper. Now I am having to buy disposable diapers. I am not a fan.

So far on the house we are waiting for...

The garage door and front doors need painted.

The shutters need installed

The lawn, landscaping, irrigation, and fence need done

The backsplash in the kitchen

Glass inserts in the kitchen cabinet doors

wood floors need installed

carpet needs installed

stairs need stained

stone work on the fireplace

Pretty sure that's all we are waiting on. The house will be complete in 16 days. We will move in 24. 

Projects have been at an all time high.
I painted the boys dresser {free dresser from my moms house}

I painted a 2 ft by 3 ft mirror for the girls room {its been sitting in the garage waiting to be used for two years} I used left over paint from their dresser so that was a no money out of pocket project.

I got/made some throw pillows for the living room

But my favorite "project" was our bed. Michael and I have always slept on a box spring and a mattress that sat on the floor. So this was a big deal. I finally feel like a grown up. We have a real bed!! We have carried life insurance for 5 years, But the bed is what finally made me an adult ;)

Remember this post. When I said it was killing me that some sucker was going to get a steal of a deal on the Pottery Barn sleigh bed I wanted... Guess who that sucker was.... 

I hadn't asked Mike to buy it when I first saw the ad because I assumed that he wanted me to wait, because we had just spent a lot of money on the couches, And so I put off calling the guy because I figured surely the ad was old and the bed was gone and he hadn't taken it down. Well, It was killing me so much that I just had to know... So I inquired. He told me it was still available. So, I picked it up the next day. I would have picked it up that night but the bank was already closed. {That's the one bad thing about craigslist, All cash. No card, Which is actually a really good thing I suppose depending on how you look at it.} So, $1250 Pottery Barn Valencia Sleigh bed for $400. It isn't the exact one I wanted originally, The one I wanted has different feet, But for a $850 savings, I can live with those feet. There was a small ding where the wood had chipped a bit, But I just took a $5 wood stain pen to it, and now you can't even tell that it was there.

 We need new bedding obviously, We have never even had a duvet cover, and we sleep on clearance Target sheets. So I will be getting that after we move. And when you come over to my house, You don't even need to ask me where I got something, because the answer 99% of the time will be Pottery Barn Via Craigslist. And I really cannot tell you how fantastic the quality of Pottery Barn is. There really is a difference between them and the cheaper versions. Obviously not enough of a difference for me to pay full price, But enough of a difference that I will pay a little bit more on craigslist and get PB quality instead of even cheaper cheap crap from craigslist.

 Here are my grand plans for our master bedroom retreat. I wanted to keep it very neutral with just a few accents of my favorite color. 

I was "thanked for my service" as a Sunday school teacher and my replacement has been called. {I will officially be released next week.}
I bawl like a baby thinking about it. I love that calling. I love my kids. I was terrified of the calling when I started. {When these kids were 13 years old! Some of the kids I taught are sophomores in college! And some 6 months into their missions!}
I could never describe what that calling did for me, And what it gave to me. It taught me so much. It taught me to love the scriptures, It gave me an unquenchable thirst for the wisdom and knowledge contained in those sacred records. It taught me how to search the doctrine and gospel of our Savior. It gave me a friendship with the Holy Ghost. It gave me an understanding and a compassionate heart to those sweet {sometimes irreverent and rowdy} teenagers. It gave me faith and a sure knowledge that I can do all things through Christ. I was SO SO inadequate for that calling. I still am. But I know that those kids feel the spirit in that class and I know that they love being there, not because of me, But because they love learning about our Savior and his teachings. This calling was by far the hardest most challenging calling I have ever had. But it has been by far the most rewarding and sweet experience of my life. I love teaching the scriptures.
To my kids, I hope that you know I love you. I am so proud of the choices that you make. I am so proud of who you are becoming. Know that I love the scriptures. Know that to every question you have in life that on those pages there is an answer that was written for you. Know that Jesus Christ is our savior and that through his atonement all things are possible. Through his atonement, He knows you. He has engraven you upon the palms of his hands. He knows how to help you. He will never give up on you. He will always welcome you into his arms. He knows that you will make mistakes, That's part of His plan. None of us could learn if we were already perfect. That's the purpose of us being here. To be given hard things in life, to gain a stronger relationship with him.
I am so grateful that we got to share those lessons together. To learn from you, and to learn with you.
Be good, Make good choices. Don't be in a situation you know you shouldn't be. Where the adversary will have power over you. Don't you dare give him that satisfaction. Don't pick a fight with him, You won't win. Search the scriptures. Really pray. Don't just say prayers. Take the small things seriously. They really do matter. Listen to the prophets. There is a reason we have been given counsel. They are the watchmen in the tower. They see more than we do down here in the trenches. Learn the doctrine behind the counsel in the FSOY. There is protection and power in obedience.

And P.S. We are so having a party at the new house and we are going to watch corny living scripture movies and eat all the chocolate chip cookies, smarties, twizzlers, and crunch bars we can get our hands on.

I've been stewing over a lot of things recently. Mostly with how different I want to be living my day to day life with my children. I have been feeling {For quite some time} That my life just isn't what I want it to be. I mean with the things that we are spending time on, and the things that we aren't spending time on.
Our days usually look like this {This is since school started about two months ago}

7:30am wake up rush to eat and get kids dressed and out the door by 8:30
9:00 drop kids off and go to gym
11:30 leave gym to pick up lala
12:00-2:30 waste time doing who knows what while we wait to pick up Blake
3:00 pick up blake
3:30 get home get snacks pick up a little bit, fight to get homework done
5:00 start dinner
6:00 eat
7:00 bed.

Then we do it all again the next day.

Growing up all I wanted to be was a mom. I wanted to be the mom that did crafts with the kids, and helped them with their numbers and letters. I wanted to be the mom that taught them music lessons, I wanted to be the mom that read books to them all the time. I wanted to be the mom that threw fun parties. I wanted to be the mom that surprised my kids with little presents on random days. I wanted to be the mom that my kids deserve.

But recently, "Life" Has gotten in the way. I hate that my kids aren't with me during the day. I hate that we fight for two hours to get homework done after he is exhausted from being at school for 6 hours with only a 30 minute recess.

I have come to the conclusion that I want my kids home with me at least for a little bit longer. We will fight for those two hours and do the numbers and letters and then we will spend the other hours doing the things that I think are important for them to learn. Music, cooking, scripture stories, and having fun together.

I have decided that after the move I am going to home school them. I want these years with them.
I want to stop spending hours wasting time running from one school to the next. And when the school on our street opens and everyone is on the same school scheduel and we aren't spending crazy amounts of time in the car, And they are a bit bigger and I have had a bit more time with them, Then I will send them back to public school.

There is also another reason I have come to this conclusion.
Blake is dyslexic. He needs some special therapies to help him get to where he needs to be. So we will start those as soon as we get to the other side of town and can find someone who can do help him with that, But my mom taught 5 of us that had this problem, So I will be using the same method at home with him that she used with us.

32 days left of living in a 2 bedroom townhouse with 6 people.

The house is 26 days from being completed. 

32 days until we move in. 

 

 All the stone work outside is done... She still needs some shutters.

This is the color the kitchen and breakfast nook will be. I will be painting the night we close.

There's my hammered copper sink... That Michael Neal doesn't ever have to wash a dish in. That was the deal when he let me get it.

 

This is a close up of the vent mantle. 

 

The cupboards still look a little naked. Thats because they still need the hardware and the glass inserts. The glass inserts give me a headache. There were 20 emails back and forth about them and they still weren't put in. But whatever, It will get fixed.

The counter tops went in today. Its hard to tell in the pictures what color they are, But they are a sandy beige-y color with copper and brown specks. This top picture is the actual color of them. {That's the kitchen pallet}

 

The master vanities, well, One of them at least.

The master vanity with the counter tops. Believe it or not, These are the same cabinet. The lighting was different.

Remember those brick floors I mentioned... They are by far my favorite thing that has gone in so far. This is the mudroom entry from the garage.

Eventually, this is what the mudroom will look like. Minus the wood floors obviously. But the cabinets have to wait a little while. The builder wanted something stupid like $7,500 to put this in. So we opted out and have gotten a few different bids, and unless someone can get it down to $1,000 {Which you cant even buy the wood for} Then it has to wait a while... But I was planning ahead:)

 

 Or this is the other option... {It would save us quite a bit of money,} I'm pretty handy and I'm fairly certain I could build this. {Note that I said I...Mike's theory is that he funds the projects and I carry them out, It's a good system that works for us.} And if I can't, Well, I can always stop mid project, fly my dad out from Utah, and make him finish it. {Or build the whole thing} Either way, as long as it gets done, I'll be a happy camper.

  To see it go here. {A CHARMING NEST}

 So there we are. I'm ready. I way past ready. And with the washing machine broken, a landlord that is in NO hurry to fix it, some stupid vertical blinds that are constantly falling down, and a neighbor who always slams their door, and kids who are constantly waking each other up because they sleep in the same room, It makes me wish it were yesterday that we moved. 

However, that being said, this has been a really fun process. And I think I will be sad to have it end. It's like Christmas every day something new gets done. But one that I hope I never have to do again. It's been stressful, and still is... and it's been long... VERY long. But we are closer than we were yesterday.

Why I am voting for Mitt

I am writing this post, not to persuade anyone or to start an argument, but because I want my children to read it one day in the future and know where I stand and what I stand for. 

How proud I am to be an American. 

I love my country. 

 I love, respect, admire and am so grateful to those who serve our country to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. 

We live in the greatest nation on earth. 

I will never vote for a man who won't put his hand on his heart in front of that sacred flag that so many have given their lives for. I don't care if it was "just" for the the national anthem that it wasn't there, It should have been. 

I will never vote for a man who apologizes for America and what she stands for. {here}

I will never vote for a man who wants a communist society. If you want a communist society, Get out of America. There are plenty of other places you can go. 

I will never vote for a dishonest man. 

I will never vote for a man who wants universal healthcare. It is garbage. It doesn't work. Check other countries track records, or talk to someone who has dealt with that system.

I will never vote for a man who wants to "spread the wealth." You are not entitled to a car, a house, or even food. Yes, I said you are NOT entitled to food. ^" In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,"{Genesis 3:19} God's way is that you work for what you get. I am not cold and heartless, On the contrary, I would and do help anyone that is struggling, but trying.

 I will never vote for a man who wants to force me to give. Hey, Guess what? If you want to help people, and give them your hard earned money. You still can! But we should never be forced to "help" those who won't help themselves. That's a disgusting thought to me.

I will never vote for a man who's policies go against the constitution. Who's policies go against the foundation that our country was built upon. 

I will never vote for a man who is friends with people who hate America. 

If you have anything but love and pride for this country, We are going to have issues.

I will vote for a man of integrity. 

I will vote for a man who knows how to manage money.

I will vote for a man who is a man of God. Who's actions reflect that.

I will vote for a man who loves his country and the freedoms we enjoy. 

I will vote for a man who knows how to take companies that are in the crapper and make them successful. Hey, That's the boat that America is in right now. He has the track record, to PROVE that he knows how to fix economic issues.

I will vote for a man who will not fail. 

This election will be a turning point for America. 

I want my children to live in a country that is free, successful, And respected. 

The Book of Mormon states that America will remain a free land as long as the people worship the God of the land. It also assures us that “unto the righteous” this land “shall be blessed forever.”

AS LONG AS. 

I am not voting in ignorance. And neither should you.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
  --  Thomas Jefferson

38 days and counting... Here's where we are.

 All the wood trim is in. And all the interior doors are in. Ceilings and walls are all painted.

 Upon the paint drying, it looks much less orange-e terracotta-e. I don't hate it quite as much. Don't get me wrong, it's still more yellow than I'd like, I don't LOVE it, and there will be lots of new paint colors going up, But I can live with this color until I can get to all the walls.

 All the tile is in. {Bathroom floors, showers, food storage room, and the laundry room} I drove out today not really planning to, But I made a run to whole foods and the two little ones were asleep and they needed a nap before we had to get Blake so I decided to take a drive. It's a good thing that I did because the guy that was laying the brick floors in the mudroom didn't know what pattern he was supposed to be laying them in. As I was walking through he asked me if I was the owner and he said he had a question. {Thank heavens he spoke English. I'm not really sure what he was planning to do if I didn't show up?}So it was good that I was there so I could show him a picture. Any how, We got it all figured out, and hopefully those went in this afternoon too. And hopefully they are in right.

 They were working on the stone outside while I was there too. It looked like they had just started on it. There is a ton of stone work that is going on. And the fireplace will be this stone as well. Oh and I love love love the exterior paint color and stone color. The stone color goes so great with the roofing color. {I was slightly nervous when I first saw the roof color, it's a reddish brown and all of our neighbors have grey or black shingles. We stuck out like a sore thumb. But it looks so great together. {Not to toot my own horn. This was all dumb luck that they go so well together. Because I'll be honest, I was terrified as I was picking all these colors and trims. And I am so lucky that the outside color is what I was hoping it would be. It is so so different when you are looking at 2 inches of this color and when you are looking at an entire house of this color. It's a lot of pressure picking all these things out man. If someone hates the curb appeal of your house its 100% your own fault. If the neighbors think your house is the ugly duckling of the street, that's your fault. Or when you are trying to sell it {Not that we are ever planning to do that} if someone hates it, It's your fault. I seriously got so dumb lucky. The only things I am kind of worried about now is the front doors and the garage doors. They are going in brown. We did this so that we could have a faux wood paint treatment done to them. {as much as I wanted it, real wood in Florida is just not a good idea because of the humidity and warping} But now I am looking at it, and I really think I'd be okay with white. {Don't tell Mike that, Because we had to pay extra for the brown. He is probably going to shoot me!} Oh well, Maybe I will love love love the brown. Who knows. I think I just need to see it.
So, That's where we are. Part of me is like, what the heck do they need 38 more days for? Extreme Home Makeover does it in like a week, Just hurry up and get my floors in and my kitchen in and let me move in! But it is really exciting seeing all the little things going in. It's like Christmas everyday that something new gets started!

The ugly bombe chest

I found a new app for the Ipad. And let me just say that I have wasted  spent way too much time on it. It's called moodboards. Basically you can do whatever you want with it, But I have discovered that it is the perfect app for making design boards for each room in the new house. Here's a peek at the one for the girls room. {mind you it's ever changing as I find things, But you get the idea.}

  

So I have been slowly collecting things for their room. In looking for the "dresser" I ran into a few problems... one I wanted a mirrored furniture piece. Well, as I was looking at homegoods I saw a mirrored table in the store and it was already shattered in a few places. Yeah, This is going in a kids room. Not an option. I'm sure that thing would be destroyed in seconds. So I decided on metallic instead. And problemo number two...Money. I had in mind a very specific shape and feel for what I wanted to act as the dresser. I wanted a bombe chest. Well, The only metallic bombe chests that I could find run about $1000. Like the one pictured below. Some of them ran up to $4,500. {Layla grace} Really? Who spends that kind of money on a piece of furniture?

So I got to craigslisting. And what would you know this bad boy was listed. I called and picked it up that night. $100. Now, I don't know if you have priced regular dressers lately, But for a "dresser" for the girls room this was a steal of a deal. Most new dressers I have found on the cheap side run $400+. So I happily paid the lady $100. {I didn't have the heart to haggle with this lady.}

Here is what this beast looked like before. Oh man, Talk about seeing the potential. But the lines were absolutely perfect. I knew I could make it work.

 

I had a "helper"

It took about 3 coats of primer to cover the black. No joke. 

 

 This is what made the magic happen. And it only cost me $4 at hobby lobby. It's normally $7.99 and I used a 50% off coupon. And one container did the whole thing. {It took two coats}

 Drum roll please....

 

 My Iphone pictures do not do it justice. This thing is beautiful in real life.  I used some crystal knobs I have had laying in a drawer for years waiting to be used. I think my mom got them for like .25 cents each when pier one kids was going out of business at the town center. So, Total cost for this awesome piece for the girls room... $104. I'm pretty happy about that.

 
Today started off just so awesome that I can't do anything but laugh.

I put my pants on inside out and had to walk the kids into school like that. No big deal, everyone does that every once in a while right?

Mike was going to take the day off and we were going to let the kids play hookie and skip school and take everyone to the splash park. Well, Mike went into work for the morning and we decided to send them to school and just go afterwards since today is early release. Well, that doesn't seem so bad right? That part wasn't. I make the kids lunches the night before. I hadn't done that. And I had not taken Blakes lunchbox out of his backpack from the night before. Well, When I went to go get it to put todays lunch in it, I opened it only to discover that he didn't finish his rice, and didn't put the lid back on, and instead of putting his half eaten yogurt in the trash at school, He put it back in his lunch box. It was a nasty stinky mess. Not to mention I didn't have anything quick to throw in a lunch for him. So my son went to school today with a bento box, not in a lunch box, filled with a frozen brownie, pretzels, a piece of homemade bread, freeze dried yogurt from our food storage, and some organic FROZEN chicken nuggets. Fully cooked obviously. Man alive. Awesome mom right? At least it's an organic lunch right?

Today while I was taking my vitamins and pills, I was rushing, and didn't realize that I grabbed the melatonin bottle instead of my allergy medicine bottle. Until it was too late. Yep. I took a 5mg melatonin at 8am. It's made for an awesome morning. Hey, Well, I may be tired and can barley keep my eyes open, But hey, my stress levels are at an all time low!

Happy Wednesday... and it's only 10:30am! 

Showing the townhouse is a really weird thing. I hate knowing that random strangers are walking through my house.  I was totally thinking, What if they are just robbers scoping to see if I have anything good to steal, Or the best way to get in my house, and where the obstacles are and how to avoid them...And I took all the pictures down. Am I a weirdo? Paranoid? Maybe... Probably. 

I have been craigs-listing a bunch too... Well, I was... And then Mike put me on craigslist restriction. I'm not allowed to buy anything else right now. And UGH! When I looked today, the sleigh bed I want from pottery barn was listed for $450!!! Normally $1,200 plus. BAAAAHHH! And a side table from PB and the matching coffee table for $500. Thats like a 70% savings! I can't tell you how much it killed me to know that some other sucker was going to get that deal and have those beauties sitting in their home and not me!

I haven't been out to the house for about a week, So I am sure there's more progress, But I won't have an update until tomorrow.
I got a call today from our builders office wanting to confirm our closing date. We had originally thought that the closing date was going to be October 20th. Well, It's now October 29th. This is a pain in a butt for several reasons.

1- The days are dragging on and an extra 9 days seems like an eternity
2- That means Mike will be at work while I deal with the move. Taking time off at the end of the month isn't an option.
3- I have the 2 days to have everything moved and the townhouse cleaned, carpets cleaned and fresh paint. Extending the lease with our less than awesome greedy landlord is not an option. We have to be out and have this place clean by the 31st.
4- Um, Halloween is smack in the middle of this mess. My poor kids.
5- Painting the new house before we move in so the kids dont touch wet paint, Yeah, Don't have time for that now.

It was just a huge disappointment when I got that news today. But all things considered, Whatever, It's not a big deal, there's nothing I can do to change it, And stressing about it wont help, fix, or change it. It's just going to make my life a little more chaotic. But I'm used to that. And I will totally forget those crazy 2 or 3 days after we are in and settled... Well, Until a kid touches wet paint and I think back to how I wish I could have painted before we moved in. {If you're wondering why I am painting, It's because the builder wanted an extra $200 or something stupid like that to paint each room a different color. I got to pick one color that they will paint the entire house. Or it would have cost me a billion dollars.}

Alright, Random ranting is over. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. 

Its starting to dawn on me

Piano room.

family room

garage

This is the view from the front door

upstairs kids bathroom

The view from our master bedroom to the loft upstairs.

We are making progress. Fast. We were there while the crew was there and they holy cow, they made it look so easy. And I totally want a pair of those stilt things they get to stand on, Those things looked like fun. We haven't been able to make the drive as fast as they are making progress, So many thanks to Ashlar and Valerie for stopping by the house for me.

 Brent did end up in the hospital, his breathing was really terrible, and so he was on some steroids for a few days, and of course breathing treatments every 3-4 hours. At first he hated them... But he's getting used to them I think.

 Thats almost a smile.

This is pretty much the only benefit of him being sick. Because I'm not gonna lie, He's the neediest whiniest sickest baby ever. There is a reason that baby was the last of the Mohicans, He single handedly has guaranteed that there will be no more Hicks babies. I don't think Mike or I have slept a whole night through in the last 13 months. It's totally not his fault, He is just constantly sick and needs a ton of care and attention.

 These little jokers pulled out all of my jewelry and shoes and mind you, This is right after I had organized the shoes so they weren't just in a huge pile. They sure were cute though!

 This is Blake, My tree hugger. He loves recycling trash and making it into new things. Yes, That's a little Caesars box. Don't judge me.

So, I think it's starting to dawn on me that we are really moving. And is this terrible, That I am almost wishing something would happen and we didn't have to move? I mean, Don't get me wrong, I am so excited for the new house, But at the same time I am terrified. I hate change. I love our ward, I love the people there. I love my calling. (I teach the 16-18 yr. Sunday school) I have such a great relationship with the kids I teach, and I have known them since they were basically babies, and I love that I have the opportunity to be a part of their lives during the most crucial years, while they are deciding for themselves if they are going to devote their lives to the Lord for themselves. We just got some of the coolest neighbors you could ever ask for, They have 3 gorgeous little girls that are Blake lala and kynzis age, And of course it's like two months before we leave that they move in. So that sucks. My best friend who I see basically every day will live 45 minutes away from me. Blake and LaLa are just getting comfortable in school. Not to mention that on Sunday I will have to have all of my kids sit with me during sacrament meeting, because the Wilkes won't be there to entertain them. {Alisa, I promise the beach isn't that far away, and the schools are so awesome... Please move by me?! Pretty please with sugar on top???} I think right now I am on autopilot. Just going through the routine and trying not to think about what's going on, But I know when that day finally does come, There's going to be lots and lots of tears. Sad tears, and happy tears. {Poor Mike, I will be a hot mess, I'm not a cryer, and so Mike never really has to deal with me crying, But when I do cry it's months and sometimes years of built up emotion, he just doesn't know what to do} I am excited for new adventures, But also terrified of the unknown. However, The good news is, It's only 30 minutes away and not across the country, I have Michael Neal to walk with step by step, {Is it just me or when I said step by step did you just think back to TGIF? Oh man, that was quality entertainment my friends.} We have these 4 gorgeous children in tow, The schools are awesome, {Whichever one they end up at} the neighborhood is positively delightful and our neighbors seem very friendly and so welcoming. There's lots of good in store. It's just that whole "You gotta step out onto nothing" Thing that scares me. But We've already been over this, In this post. {Skip to the last paragraph} 

If your dreams aren't big enough to scare you, They aren't big enough. So here goes nothing. 

This really is my dream. My dream family, My dream house, And my dream life. But taking  that first step scares the living day lights out of me. {If all of you military friends who have moved a billion times are reading this thinking I'm a sissy for being scared to move, I don't necessarily think that's the reason, I think I'm terrified because This is absolutely permanent. We have no intentions of ever moving again. So I think I am also terrified because I am a slight commitment phob} 

Well, I am off to make and prepare a lesson on how to bake chocolate chip cookies that I will be teaching to the 16, 17, and 18 year old scouts. This is going to be interesting if it's anything like our Sunday school class. Wish me luck trying to control the chaos!