We Made It...

Yes! We made it to Arkansas in one piece. Sorry the notice is a few weeks late but we arrived back in "The Natural State" around two in the morning Monday, November 15th. Then Brannon got up for work that morning and later that night we crammed all of our belongings in our garage. I must say though; it's a strange feeling seeing your whole life packed up and stored in one small space and not knowing exactly when you will see it all again. Sitting here thinking about it I have completely forgotten about my plants! They have been sitting in there without sun or water since then. Hmmm, I wonder if I should do something about that? (lol) If anything I'll have to handle that tomorrow. Hopefully I'll remember. Anyhow, it shouldn't be long now until we are ready to paint and install the floors but it will still be a few weeks until we are ready to move in and unpack or even think about getting settled in our new/old home. Actually for the past two weeks things have been pretty slow going since everyone in the house has been getting the nasty virus that has been going around that Charli had right before we left town. Tuesday evening I tried to work on the house and was over there for maybe an hour until it felt like I hit a brick wall. Let me just say that it wasn't pretty and that I got to know the upstairs bathroom at my "in-laws" on a personal level that night. It was bad enough that it took all of Wednesday for me to recoupe and that I didn't even really feel one hundred percent until mid morning Thursday. Thank heaven for my amazing "mother-in-law" who helped nurse me back to health since Brannon was having to work overnight out of town. It would have been miserable if I had gotten sick with "B" working away and not have anyone there to help let alone with me but also with Charli. I wouldn't have made it for sure. Since I finally got my feet back underneath me, we were actually able to put a full weekends worth of work on the house this last weekend for the first time since October. The rest of the windows have been cleaned, prepped, and caulked. All of the carpets have been pulled up and staples have been pulled out of the floors. Brannon's dad Les has finished out the closet and installed the pocket door in the master closet. The kitchen cabinets have been stained, sealed, and sanded and are waiting for their final spray down of finish. Brannon even actually already has Destiny's room painted so she can see it for herself what the paint will look like over this Thanksgiving holiday. As you can tell we are getting really close for the most part. The weather the last few days has even been nice enough for me to get back to work on the rest of the bushes on the front of the house. Yesterday I trimmed them up to match the other side and today I was even able to set the stones back in place and spread mulch even though Brannon has been sick since Monday night. I also even managed to clean up around the backside of the house and haul about a half dozen full trash bags to the curb in between doing that. I just can't wait  for all the fun stuff to begin. As soon as we get the paint on the walls and the floors installed we can begin to worry about the little details and other future projects like changing the master bath into having a walk-in shower, re-painting the exterior of the house, re-doing the landscaping int he flower beds, then eventually hopefully expanding the deck on the back of the house. We even have plans in place for us to install a garden and hopefully a compost by early this spring. I must apologize though for not postin gany pictures again this time. But obviously things have been just slightly hectic. I do plan though to go over to the house tomorrow and will take lots of pictures to post of what things are looknig like especially of the landscaping that I am so proud of accomplishing already. So, until then, just in case I don't post anything before then... Happy Thanksgiving everybody and be super safe.

The Final Move...

Ok... So we got everything situated with the property management company. It turns out it was a weekend of panic due to an accounting mess up! So thanks One Prop for all the stress for nothing. This last week we managed to get a little done here and there on the house but we are getting there. For the most part the kitchen, dining, and upstairs living areas are ready for paint and the floors to be put down. The last two days alone I have already pulled enough staples out of the floors that by the time we are done I would prefer not to see another staple for at least a year or two. Those little suckers are stubborn and I have the blisters to prove it. All that's left is to finish out the master closet, pull what's left of those damned staples and prep the windows in the bedrooms. Hopefully we'll be set to move in before 2011. As of this moment we are driving back to Texas with a couple of Brannon's buddies Johnny and Jason to pick up the rental truck and load her up. I almost didn't come along for the ride since last night our sweet little girl actually got sick for the first time. Poor little thing had caught a stomach bug and literally upchucked all over Brannon... twice actually. It was the saddest thing ever, she would get so mad afterward and I don't blame her, it wasn't very pretty. But it seems that it was just a three or four hour bug. The whole time she was still active as usual, I'd almost say she was more active. Nothing seems to slow that little love bug down, God bless her. By bed time she was fine and slept throughout the night and held her fluids down. With her feeling better I didn't feel as guilty leaving her for the weekend for the first time with her Nonnie and Papa. So the plan today is to haul bootay to DFW load up the truck, clean, paint, and shampoo the carpets so we can go meet up with friends this evening before heading out and head back to Arkansas sometime Sunday. I must say it will be nice to finally be done with the trips back and forth and be able to solely focus on getting the house done and not have to worry about our stuff back in Texas. The best of that also is not having to put Charli through all the hectic stress of the road trips too. I still can't believe how good she was with all the trips we made in the month of October alone. So this is and will be our final trip to Texas for a bit, or at least until Christmas or so to pick up Destiny.

One day to vacate...

This past week in Arkansas was very nice but I must admit work on the house was not as productive as planned. We took the weekend to recoup from the road trip and the previous few weeks of gong non-stop. Monday I did finally knock out work on some bookkeeping that absolutely had to be done and I was also able to do some things around Nonnie's house to help our week there go smoothly but no work done really on our old/new house so new pictures this go round.

Tuesday Charli and I began to get a little stir crazy so we got out of the house and went into town for a bit. We went to the grocery store, filled the car with gas, ate at our favorite place to eat (Chick-Fil-A) and then even had time left to browse Toys"R"Us for a little while before heading back. When we got back we pulled into the garage to find that one of these past few days when Brannon had even made mention that the beer in the fridge wasn't that cold the breaker had flipped and the refrigerator in the garage had stopped working. Like a super hero I single handed with child in tow unloaded all sorts of thawed out food and quickly dispersed of what could be saved into the other freezer and what needed to be tossed out and then unloaded all the new groceries we had just purchased into the house. Then later that night instead of the three of us having steak and veggie skewers we had lasagna for 8-10. I also tried cooking some other things that had thawed earlier that couldn't be re-frozen to save but almost lit the whole place up in flames when the grill caught fire. What a day!!!

Wednesday Charli's Aunt Katie came and picked her up to run errands with her and watch her while I managed to finally get next door to clean one set of windows before having to head back to Nonnie's because I had gotten a massive migraine. After about an hour into it had to quit and go lay down because I became nauseous enough to the point that I felt as if I would have lost my breakfast right there all over or maybe even passed out over there by myself. After a short nap I began to feel better right in time for Charli and Katie to get back for us to go get Charli's cousins Owen and Kamryn from school for me to watch them for a few hours in exchange. Those kids are the greatest! They love our Charli soo much and they play so well with her! We picked tomatoes from Nonnie's tomato plants, jumped on the trampoline out back and just all hung out until Katie came back from her meeting. Wednesday is also one of the two busiest days of Brannon's work week where he works anywhere from 16-20 hours in one day and then turns right back around four hours later to do the same thing again Thursday. So needless to say, I practically didn't even see him those days but I did still cook some dinner for him to have when he got home. Charli and I tried to stay up until he got there but we didn't quit make it.

Thursday was a pretty mundane day in Arkansas. Charli and I just hung around the house and played  until eventually we couldn't take the quietness and headed to the mall to go take Charli to play at the little play area there. She had a good time. It really amazes me how well she plays with kids older than her. Then about 4-ish to our surprise we got a call from Brannon saying he was on his way home early and we loaded up and headed back home. When we got back Charli and Brannon took a nap and I finally got a chance to sneak away next door and do some work! It wasn't very much, but I did get a few hours in on the place to finish up the windows in the kitchen/dining/living areas and got the majority of them taped off and ready for painting.  About one in the morning I finally called it quits and headed back next door for the night.

Friday was a good day overall! Charli woke up around 6:30 and we watched the sun come up and then watched some cartoons on PBS while eating breakfast. After getting her fed and going for the day I then proceeded to clean Nonnie and Papa's house top to bottom. I thought Linda and Les would really appreciate coming home to a clean house after allowing my husband and I to invade it over the last month and with Charli and I coming back and forth. I of all people love coming home to a clean house myself so I'm sure they'll love it being in order and us not being there for a couple of days. Later on in the day around three Brannon got home right in time for me to finish up cleaning and for Charli to wake up from her nap and eat lunch before we had to get back on the road to head back to Texas. The road trip this time was really nice for me with having Brannon there to help keep Charli happy while I drove. On our way we stopped by to pick up Destiny (our older daughter) from her mom's in Hurst on our way to our house in Fort Worth. We finally made it to our destination right around midnight. Do take note thatt I did not call it home since it already does not feel like home anymore. We all piled out of the car to get everything unloaded and emptied from the past weeks craziness when I realized that a letter in the weeks worth of mail that had piled up is from the property management company we rent our house through in Texas. I opened it immediately fearing the worst because i just knew things have gone way too smooth up to this point for this transition to be happening like it is. Now let me fill you in a little bit... before this recent  move we had just moved into a lovely newer home in the Crowley area of south Fort Worth about six months ago for more room after having our little girl. Planning to be there for at least a few years while Charli grew up we agreed to sign a two year lease to live there. When the opportunity came up for us to move to Arkansas we did have to terminate the two year lease early but we followed all the directions the lease agreement states to a tee such as providing the management company with a 45 day notice, a forwarding address, as well as 180% of one months rent for early termination fees for the management company to re-rent the home. We have even paid rent on time every time and had just paid our current months pro-rated rent up to the time for us to be there to finish packing and load everything up and clean up the place just so that we might possibly get our deposit back. Well the letter we received states this:

I mean really... of all the things!!! I knew at the very moment we signed the lease with a management company that I would probably regret it in the long run. Guess my gut feeling was right all along. Thank goodness the opportunity for us to move came along when it did. Could you imagine if we had stayed through out the end of the lease what kind of wackiness they would have come up with then? Tell me what you think...

On the Road Again...

Just like Willie Nelson's song, Charli and I are on the road again! Ok... so Friday is really when we were on the road but today we are safe and rested after being on the road for a full ten hours. That is actually good timing for us having to go two hours the opposite direction to take "Pam-aw" to Weatherford before we could even head toward Arkansas which is completely two different directions. After a week in Texas packing and Charli not seeing her daddy and my not seeing my husband we drove back to Arkansas to spend the week with Brannon and to do some more work on the house. Charli was beyond excited to have arrived back in Arkansas. I just can't decide whether she was more excited to see her daddy or just super happy to be out of the car. She and I both are getting this whole traveling thing down though. I've figured out that as long as I have plenty of munchies for her to eat while we are driving she is as content as can be. It's a bit messy at the end when we finally get to our destination but that's what vacuums were invented for and as long as she has an enjoyable trip that's really all that matters to me. The plan for now is to get as much cleaning/prepping done on the old/new house as possible this week before Brannon heads back to Texas with us next weekend to finish packing everything up and doing the same thing there. We hope to get all of our junk moved to the garage so that all we have to do is go back the next following weekend and load up the truck and do some final cleaning touch ups on the place and be done with it. That will then be the end of that chapter of our lives and we'll be able to focus completely on finishing things up here and getting our home ready for us to live in. Until then we will be staying next door to the old/new house with Nonnie and Papa Maestri which is like staying in a luxury suite compared to both of our two past homes. I just hope we don't get too accustomed to living with them that they have a hard time kicking us out when the house is done. Ok, back on to the topic of the house and the move... we must stay on track here!!! So Charli and I arrived roughly about 9:45pm and Brannon was soo happy to see us girls. It was already dark out so we didn't get to go see any progress that has been done on the house but Brannon said that they installed the new garage door earlier that day. When I make it next door I'll get plenty of pics for all to see.

Saturday we all slept in for the first time since I don't know when. When we finally got up and Brannon and Charli took McKinley and Nonnie and Papa Maestri to the airport since they were flying to see The Olsen family for the week who had just relocated to NC a few months ago. I had to stay behind not only because there wasn't any room left in the car for me to go but also because I needed to stay back and work on some of my bookkeeping work that has begun to pile up with everything going on with the move. After Brannon and Charli saw them all off, Brannon took Charli over to The Pack household to spend some time hanging out there with her Papa Joe and Nonnie GiGi. When they finished up, Brannon actually took Charli to the mall for some daddy daughter time shopping for shoes at the mall. There he found Charli some of the cutest little brown Osh Kosh boots and he had gotten Charli her very first pair of pink Converse Chuck Taylor's. And all for a very decent price. I do have to say he made some great choices. When they came home it was too cute watching Charli waddle in her little boots. She would slip and slide all over the place since they hadn't been broken in yet. She would sit down eventually and take them off and then try with all her might to put them back on. That little girl and her shoes!!! I can predict already that that's going to become a problem for mommy and daddy!!! The rest of the day Brannon and Charli just took it easy while I finished up some of that pesky bookkeeping work.

Sunday Brannon got up with Charli and let me sleep in until around 10am. While I was sleeping they made my favorite egg sandwiches for breakfast with eggs of course and mayo, tomatoes, avocado and ham or bacon. For the majority of the rest of the day they took it easy while I proceeded to clean up around Nonnie and Papa's house hoping that we can manage to live here for the week and keep it clean so that when Nonnie Linda and Papa Les come home they don't come home to their house all torn to hell.  I also managed to spend some time re-organizing the kitchen pantry, hopefully Nonnie doesn't mind and she likes what I did. I just had to do something to rummage through what was in there so that I could make a mental inventory of  everything that there was to eat so that I could figure out what of it we were going to eat that week. Later that day we finally all got cleaned up and ready to go take Charli "Trick or Treating" for the very first time ever. We had went over to our friends Jason and Kelly's house to meet up with them and their little boy Landon. By the time we got there Kelly had come down with something and wasn't feeling well so Jason, Landon, Brannon, Charli and I headed out to Bentonville to meet up with a friend of theirs Johnny at his parents house to start our "trick or treating" event. Charli and Landon were too adorable all dressed up in their costumes. Charli was the cutest little ladybug, and Landon was the yellow "Transformer". Those too had a great time. Charli was so good at holding on to her little bag. It was too funny the first few times because the first house we had gone to was Johnny's parents so we knocked on the door, said "trick or treat" and then went inside. But when we went to the next few houses Charli kept trying to go inside the homes all because we had gone into Johnny's parents house first off. She was just a little confused at first but after a while she got a grasp of what was going on. When we finished up we all went back to Johnny's parents and had brownies and ice cream, yum, yum. It really turned out to be a great night. It was the perfect temperature, it wasn't even the slightest bit windy and the streets really weren't very busy at all. I'm still not sure though as to whether or not we will continue the Halloween tradition like everybody else does. I'm just not sure if the idea of what the holiday has become is what I want to teach my child. I believe in the existence of souls and spirits and the concept of the observation of All Saints Day and All Souls Day but do I really want my child going door to door to strangers homes asking for cavities? It was a good time but I bet it does begin to get more overwhelming as the years go by having to keep up to societies ideas and expectations of certain holidays throughout the year. Hopefully I can come up with a good creative way to celebrate the living and the dead in a healthier manner like going camping and telling stories or browsing through photos of loved ones, something like that. Any who... I've gone off course again so that might as well be it for the day.  Until next time everyone have a wonderful "All Saints/Souls Day" and remember to give remembrance for those you love who are here and those who are lost.