The Relief, The Shocking & The Ugly

The Relief

We closed on the house yesterday morning. From our end, everything went well. Kreg and I are both relieved to be through all of this.

The Shocking

Hmmm....how shall I start this? My parents have had a trampoline for 3 years now. They were planning on bringing it to my house for the boys to enjoy. We all love getting on there & playing. Yesterday, Justin watched the boys for me while Kreg and I did everything we needed to in Austin. Kreg got to my parents house to get the boys before me. Justin, Hunter & Jayden were playing around on the trampoline. Nothing new. Until something happened with Hunter. What, we have NO idea. If I tried to even put together a story, it would be concocted. But Hunter is in hysterics that his harm hurts and both Kreg and Justin who have broken their arms notice it is bowing out. Justin is trying to get Hunter to move his arm and fingers. Kreg decides we need to take him to the ER. I'm still on my way into La Grange so I meet them there a few minutes after they arrive. Poor Justin feels horrible. I try telling him over and over it isn't his fault. This could have happened to any of us. Well, x-rays confirm our suspicions. He broke one bone in the arm and it was bowing out and cracked another. They have to hook him up to morphine via anesthesia to try and re-set it. Thankfully he is young enough that the bone will heal the most on it's own. Kreg has to leave the room but I stay and help try and get him through the setting process. It wasn't pretty. But, things look great and we have a temporary cast on at the moment. I'm waiting on my pedi to call me with an orthopedic who he thinks we should see.

Hunter is doing great and did great. I've been a ball of nerves and full of panic but trying to hold it together for him.



All the while we are dealing with that in the hospital, this is looming over our heads........

The Ugly

Notice I said everything went well with closing from our end. Back when we signed the contract, we agreed to pay X number of dollars in closing costs. Well, after the settlement statement was drawn up, there was $600 left out that they could not apply anywhere from our end. Meaning, we would get it. The buyers felt that they were owed that money and wanted us to write them a personal check. Yeah. Thankfully, Barbara knew were we stood and dealt with everything without even having to contact us. So in the midst of being in the hospital, Kreg calls to find out if we had funded yet. Our mortgage loan has to be paid off today or we get charged around another $1000 in interest. Turns out we didn't fund yesterday because the buyers didn't sign something because they were still fighting for this $600. They wanted a check or a gift card or something to amount to it. I don't know exactly what took place, but they did end up signing last night and we are suppose to fund this am. Thankfully!

I've got some pictures on my new cell-phone but haven't had the time to sit down and try to work the thing. I'm off to figure it out.

Austin American Statesman 5.27.07

Our house in Leander was featured in "What's for Sale in Leander"

Too bad it's already sold.....

yes...more time has passed that I would have wanted, but for the record, moving sucks.

last saturday we, kreg, me, my dad and kenny, loaded up a 26 foot u-haul and my dad's 16 foot trailer. my dad packed the u-haul to the brim. I cringed when I looked inside. we managed to get it all down to La Grange and un-packed. we were all left exhausted.

sunday we had to go back to leander since we only brought my car down and jayden had a dentist appointment. there we had NO beds, TV, fridge, so we were in for a real treat. borrowed blow-up mattresses and a TV it was.

we had to head back to la grange on Monday since I had to be there for Verizon on Tuesday and DirectTV on Wednesday. finally my own bed. but then I was called back to Leander on Wednesday to wait for an electrician on Thursday morning. we also received a call on Wednesday that my uncle had passed away. so I knew I would be heading out of town soon. but I was scrounging for ideas for when the kids and I would be in Leander. it would only be raining buckets, we had nothing to do and I had to be there from 8-12. we made it. thank goodness for my mom's portable dvd.

we made one last trip up on Sunday with both cars while my parents took the boys to the movies and have our shop-vac and a trash can left. PHEW. FINALLY! We sign tomorrow morning at 9:30.

we've all really enjoying being in La Grange. I've had to spend my days running to the feed store or the lumber yard because if our tiny HEB or tiny Wal-Mart doesn't have it, that's where you go. the boys look forward to Popo getting off work everyday so they can sit down and enjoy cookies and milk with him. Justin has become the little brother Kreg has always wanted and has taken up residence with us to eat our food and drink our soda. but he is being a BIG help. he re-arranged his schedule to be off tomorrow morning to watch the kids while we go sign off on the house.

kreg and I both adore NO longer having stairs, having a house that was built in the late-50's to early 60's, less space and bathrooms to clean, and enjoying a slower paced life. it really is nice.

the only problem we have are these GI-NORMOUS snails.
WARNING. CREEPY PICTURES.




but hey, that's what snail and slug bait is for. so I get my package and I spread it around on Sunday. only to then read the package that it attracts dogs and it's FATAL to them. Great Job. we've just become better at taking Jezabell out in the yard instead of right outside. and the snails seem to be drying up and leaving my plants alone.

Wednesday the 23rd was a particularly hard day. not only did my uncle pass away the night before, but it had been 10 years since I lost my Meme. 10 years ago that I spent my last week of school ever mourning. instead of taking finals and enjoying senior days, I was preparing for a funeral. and that year was going to be Meme's proudest moment. For the 1st time ever, she had 3 grandkids graduating that year. my Meme was very well-known in the community. and being in a small town people come out of everywhere to help when someone passes away. everyone knew Meme had 9 children, 9 spouses of her children, and 20 grandchildren. she raised those 9 children all alone because her husband passed way before the 9th child was born. during those hard days, the food was pouring in. and we grandchildren were left at the house to receive it. I remember one elderly lady called to see if we could come pick up some lasagna she had made for us. we all looked at one another and licked our lips. and about 12 of us hopped into Meme's old blue suburban and look off. we brought the lasagna back and devoured it right out of the pan.

you think having 20 grandchildren would be hard but for Meme it was a blessing. we all used to joke about Christmas time. what would it be that year, new stocking hats or flashlights from Santa. the same Santa came every year with a big bag and handed out the exact same thing to all of us. new stocking hats to keep us warm as we played hide and go seek outside in the pitch black or new flash lights so we could play ghost in the graveyard outside. all the girls would receive some sort of doll and all the boys would receive some sort of vehicle, action figure or something. we loved it. and back then we never realized how she treated everyone of us the same. we all always had the same number of gifts to open. she made sure of it. we would have all taken notice if something was different. i've taken that and passed it on with my kids. so have all my aunts and most importantly, my mom. we never once sat down to eat a holiday meal. you graised around the BIG table set up in the dining room overflowing with food. each Easter every single one of us participated in the Easter egg-hunt. you can't even imagine the amount of candy that was out there.

I could write forever and a day about all the wondeful memories I have. but I will save some for later. I've got to get the kids up and going so they can go spend the night at my parents house while I head up to Leander.

signing off....for the moment

we are packing up and moving! well, the rest of our big items. which would be our TV, fridge, bed, and yes computer!!!! our new service isn't scheduled to be hooked up until next Wednesday so I'm off until then. once I get everything squared away, I'll let everyone know our new email address.

let's hope my dad and kreg make it through the weekend. god love them.

gonna miss St. Thomas More

really and truly. where else would you find a priest kicking back with beer during teacher appreciation then dresses up like Willie Nelson and sings a rendition of Luckenbach, Texas just for us volunteers.

Father Elmer is the best!

The Blogger's Plague.

It's going around. And I thought I was the only one. Now I don't feel quite so bad.

Since it's our offical start to summer with no more school, we spent the morning at the park feeding the ducks.

Hunter feel in love with the baby ducks and Jay was feeding them out of his hand. And Jezabell......well she really just wanted to chase them.

Phew.....

Time is flying by. Last week was very hectic. There are some things that need to be 'repaired' on the house that where done wrong in the 1st place. Dealing with anyone at Centex Homes and the Warranty Department has been a nightmare. But we don't think that we should have to pay anyone to fix WIRING and ELECTRICAL problems that are the builders fault and knowing these things are FIRE hazards doesn't sit well. And much to people's horror, we would like to get these things fixed for the new owners. Kreg and I have decided we will NEVER EVER buy a house from a cookie-cutter home builder or anyone who builds homes in the masses. Thank goodness I have 2 uncles who build homes.

Loading a 26-foot u-haul by ourselves wasn't the most amount of fun we have ever had. And then Kreg got to drive it to La Grange, without a working a/c, and attempt to unload it. My dad was able to come over for a little bit on Saturday morning to help.

But arriving in La Grange on Friday put me in a panic mode over whether or not we were doing the right thing by moving to La Grange. In reality, I guess everything was a little surreal until we actually loaded up 1/2 of the house. But the panic quickly disappeared when we went to dinner at a little hole in the wall and realized how nice a slower paced life is. And just pulling a u-haul onto the street brought out neighbors from 2 blocks wanting to meet us, introduce themselves and just 'chat' with the new neighbors. Kreg got the biggest kick out of it. Heck, here in Leander we barely know the people 2 doors down and anything beyond that, we DON'T know.

Mother's Day was nice and relaxing. We bought about 10 pounds of shrimp and Kenny bought about 15 pounds of crawfish and we did a nice shrimp/crawfish bowl and enjoyed the day outside.

Today was bittersweet as it was the boy's last day of school. We are really going to miss everyone at Treasure Patch Kids.

Here's a few pictures:

I am sad to be leaving my beautiful wisteria behind:


but I am getting what I've ALWAYS wanted in my backyard:


Kreg took turns giving the boys a ride on Popo's tractor:



Enjoying watermelon:


The boy's wanted bubbles in their pool and of course Popo gives them what they want:


Lunch, YUM!



Who really unloaded that u-haul:


What's great about living in a really, really OLD house:



King of the mountains! (or look what we get to spread!)

The house is coming along and starting to feel like home:

Sorry.

It's been the week from hell and I've been dealing with people from hell.

And there's nothing quite like being woken up at 6:30 in the morning by your little brother calling to ask if him and his buddy's can get ready for prom at your house. See, their playoff game in Humble got rained out last night so they are playing the next 2 days in Austin. And with prom being tomorrow night, they didn't want to go all the way back to La Grange and then back to Austin for dinner.

The best news yet, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE HOUSE. Today we rented the biggest u-haul you can get so I don't have time to catch up that much. Gotta go pack it up.

These are the days of our lives.......

Where shall I begin......let's see I left off at Monday.......so Tuesday. Ah, Tuesday, the day I decided we needed to take in and love 2 more dachshunds. Nova, who is 3 and Aspen, who is 2. Really and truly, this was my birthday surprise for Kreg. So Tuesday after school, the boys and I went to pick up the newest member of our family. We got them at home and Jezabell was so happy. Considering we had a contract out on the house, we've been a little relaxed. Not worrying so much about all the little details. Of course it would happen that we'd get a call to show the house. And of course, they were already in the neighborhood. I begged for 30 minutes. I'm running around making beds, throwing dishes into the dishwasher, trying to get the kids to pick up their toys and round up 3 dogs. We all make it to the front door with seconds to spare. I open the door and each dog takes off a different direction. I get the kids in and buckled up and take off after the dogs. By time I get one in and try to get another, the 1st one is out again. Finally, I am triumphant, but I'm drenched with sweat. Now, what am I going to do with 3 dogs and 2 kids in the rain? We manage and all the while I can't really tell Kreg whats going on, because it's a surprise. We get home and in walks Kreg. I think hits heart skipped a beat and he just looks at me with "what have you done?" Truth be told, he actually fell in love with the dogs. After they manage to tear apart 2 of our pillows and eat through a blanket.

So we are on to Wednesday. Kreg gets up in the morning and let's all the pups out while he showers and gets ready for work. He leaves, I grab Jezzie to come inside for some one on one time. Well, I go back outside about 30 minutes later and Aspen and Nova are gone. The boys and I hop into the car and start circling the neighborhood. We go down every street calling their names. Nothing. Nada. I've got an appointment downtown at 11:00 that we make it too and head back for more looking. We have NO luck. I've figured by now someone has taken them in. We spend the night bracing for the storm that never was.

Thursday we celebrated Kreg's 32nd b-day. I don't really know if you would call it celebrating. We had to have Jezaball in Georgetown at 8:00 for her spaying appointment, I d be at school at 9:00 for mom's and muffins, the inspector was scheduled to be at the house at 1:30, the exact time I pick up the boys from school in Round Rock and then we couldn't come back home for about 3 hours. Thankfully Kreg took off to take Jezzie and let the inspector in. (Our realtor is out of town and she's the only one that can access the lock box code!) I spent the morning receiving the cutest scrapbooks from the boys and enjoying muffins. The rest of the morning was spent going to the Humane Society, driving around the neighborhood, searching craigslist, and calling shelters. No luck. We take the kids to Inflatable Wonderland to pass time. We got home, ordered pizza and crashed.

Friday actually brought us more luck :) Someone posted on craigslist that they found the pups. But Wednesday and Thursday actually brought the realization to both Kreg and I that we couldn't go from having 1 dog to 3. Thankfully, the wonderful Amy had mentioned on Tuesday, when I told her about the dogs, she'd love to find one. When I called her with the excited news that the pups were found and I'd love if she could care for one. She was delighted and she took Nova into their home. She also said that her parents might be able to take in Aspen if we decided not to keep him. Since Jezabell's surgery on Thursday, she's pretty much lost control of her bladder and we have to start completely over with potty-training. Trying to do that and take care of 2 kids and move, I knew Aspen would be better off with someone who could give him more. So we are hoping that it works out.

I'm sure their are a certain many of you cursing me for not emailing you back. Please remember that I love you :) and that's what I'm going to focus on tomorrow. You aren't the only one waiting ot hear from me. Finding time at the computer these days isn't easy. So please forgive me. I'm not ignoring you.