How about "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star"?
And "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"?
I didn't think so.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Violet Sings
Is there anything cuter than a 2 yr old singing the "Alphabet Song"?
How about "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star"?
And "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"?
I didn't think so.
How about "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star"?
And "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"?
I didn't think so.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Eight More Weeks
Eight more weeks. That's how long we have left until we all move to Atlanta. It's so nice to say that with certainty. And given that my last post was a picture of the Sold sign outside our house, you might be wondering how it is the kids and I are not in Atlanta yet. Let me tell you a story. . .
One day in February, I got a call at work that a realtor had requested a showing that evening. I hate evening showings. It means I have to find a place to take the kids after school, and I also wouldn't have time to fix supper, so we needed to go out to eat. Because of the expense of running two households, we were on a rather tight budget, and rarely ate out. "This had better be worth it", I grumbled to myself as I hustled the kids into Applebee's. And it was! That showing led to an offer on Valentine's Day, and after a little back and forth, we and the buyer came to an agreement, and closing was set for March 25. After 5½ months on the market, the house was sold!
But. . . There's always a "but". Closing and moving was scheduled during Cy's Spring Break. That meant he only had nine more weeks of 3rd Grade left. Fred and I hated to take him out of school when he was so near the end of the year. We talked about it, and asked if the buyer would rent to us until the end of May, and he agreed. But (there's always a "but"), there was another plan lingering at the back of my mind. A wild and crazy plan. I ran it by Fred, and he agreed it was crazy, but doable. So we went back to the buyer and said "Take the house. It's yours. We have other plans." After a minor setback with closing, and writing a check for $1800.00, the paperwork was signed on March 27, and we moved out on March 29. Which leads us to Eight More Weeks (which was actually Nine More Weeks, but I forgot to blog about it last week).
For the next eight weeks, the kids and I are living with my in-laws. They very kindly agreed to take us in so Cyrus can finish out the school year, and I can carry on working through the end of May. And they are letting us live here for free!! My mother-in-law is looking after the girls, so we are no longer paying for daycare. No mortgage, no phone or cable bills, and no daycare expenses means we can actually save some money, and cover that check we took to closing. See, it's not that crazy! Except Cyrus and I now have a 57 mile commute to school and work. Yep, we spend two hours in the car everyday. Now that's crazy. But one week into it, I can honestly say it's not that bad. In fact, the first week flew by, and now we only have eight more weeks to go. Besides, it's always a treat to pull up in the driveway of this sweet little house.
One day in February, I got a call at work that a realtor had requested a showing that evening. I hate evening showings. It means I have to find a place to take the kids after school, and I also wouldn't have time to fix supper, so we needed to go out to eat. Because of the expense of running two households, we were on a rather tight budget, and rarely ate out. "This had better be worth it", I grumbled to myself as I hustled the kids into Applebee's. And it was! That showing led to an offer on Valentine's Day, and after a little back and forth, we and the buyer came to an agreement, and closing was set for March 25. After 5½ months on the market, the house was sold!
But. . . There's always a "but". Closing and moving was scheduled during Cy's Spring Break. That meant he only had nine more weeks of 3rd Grade left. Fred and I hated to take him out of school when he was so near the end of the year. We talked about it, and asked if the buyer would rent to us until the end of May, and he agreed. But (there's always a "but"), there was another plan lingering at the back of my mind. A wild and crazy plan. I ran it by Fred, and he agreed it was crazy, but doable. So we went back to the buyer and said "Take the house. It's yours. We have other plans." After a minor setback with closing, and writing a check for $1800.00, the paperwork was signed on March 27, and we moved out on March 29. Which leads us to Eight More Weeks (which was actually Nine More Weeks, but I forgot to blog about it last week).
For the next eight weeks, the kids and I are living with my in-laws. They very kindly agreed to take us in so Cyrus can finish out the school year, and I can carry on working through the end of May. And they are letting us live here for free!! My mother-in-law is looking after the girls, so we are no longer paying for daycare. No mortgage, no phone or cable bills, and no daycare expenses means we can actually save some money, and cover that check we took to closing. See, it's not that crazy! Except Cyrus and I now have a 57 mile commute to school and work. Yep, we spend two hours in the car everyday. Now that's crazy. But one week into it, I can honestly say it's not that bad. In fact, the first week flew by, and now we only have eight more weeks to go. Besides, it's always a treat to pull up in the driveway of this sweet little house.
Yeah, I can handle eight weeks in this place.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
A Tribute
After more than 13 years of loyal service, it is time to say goodbye.To a couch. Yes, we're getting rid of our couch tomorrow. We don't want to take it with us when we move as our apartment is on the second floor and we have a futon we can use as a couch, as well as for overnight guests.
It was our first piece of new-to-us furniture. Fred's parents bought it for us as a housewarming/Christmas/welcome to the USA gift when we moved into our first apartment. From there, it came with us when we moved to the 3rd floor of a high-rise, and to our next place, when we finally left university housing behind and found us a funky apartment in an old house in Fort Sanders where we lived for three years. Everyone raved about that couch. It was so comfortable. It hosted Superbowl parties, overnight guests and provided welcome relief to my heavily pregnant self.
We brought it with us to our first house, where we chose paint colors that complemented the warm tones in the plaid pattern of our beloved couch (yeah, I read too many interior design books).
Cy napped exclusively on the couch for several months as a newborn, and we spent many hours cuddled up, reading together. We took the couch with us when we moved to our second house. And when Ruby came along, there were more naps.
And more loving.
Enjoyed bedtime stories.
It was our first piece of new-to-us furniture. Fred's parents bought it for us as a housewarming/Christmas/welcome to the USA gift when we moved into our first apartment. From there, it came with us when we moved to the 3rd floor of a high-rise, and to our next place, when we finally left university housing behind and found us a funky apartment in an old house in Fort Sanders where we lived for three years. Everyone raved about that couch. It was so comfortable. It hosted Superbowl parties, overnight guests and provided welcome relief to my heavily pregnant self.
We brought it with us to our first house, where we chose paint colors that complemented the warm tones in the plaid pattern of our beloved couch (yeah, I read too many interior design books).
Even our big ol' dog, Gus, matched perfectly.
Cy napped exclusively on the couch for several months as a newborn, and we spent many hours cuddled up, reading together. We took the couch with us when we moved to our second house. And when Ruby came along, there were more naps.
And more snacks.
After several years, I got bored with our beloved couch. It looked old, and tired. I didn't like the plaid design anymore. It didn't match my vision of my dream home. But instead of getting a new couch, we had another baby.
It's never a good idea to get new furniture when there's a baby in the house. Especially when the baby is the most spitting up baby ever in the history of spitting up babies. So we hung on to the beloved couch, where it became the scene of more lounging.
And more loving.
Where our babies grew.
And learned.
And played.
And cuddled.
Chilled out with each other.
Enjoyed bedtime stories.
And got chatty.
Goodbye old couch. You might be old, and ugly, but you served us well. We'll miss you.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Six Months and Counting
If someone had told me six months ago that I would still be in Tullahoma with the kids, waiting for the house to sell, I would have laughed, told them to shut up and then cried. I might even have asked Fred to beg for his old job back and not move to Atlanta. I wonder if we wouldn't have gone through with our plans to move if we knew for sure things were going to end up like this.
But to be honest, it hasn't been that bad. While six months seems like an eternity, it also seems to have flown by. And the fact that we have made it this far makes the next four months seem easily doable. And now we have a definite end in sight, it almost feels like things are moving along too quickly. In May, we will have to start packing up so we can go ahead and join Fred in Atlanta when the school year is over. While that is exciting, it also puts me in a state of panic as I worry about the house not selling this year either. Plus I have to find a job. What if no school in Georgia will hire me? I feel like I have all the time in the world to send in my application to the local school systems, and also no time at all. I still have the TeacherInsight survey to take. I can't even seem to find the time to take a 50 minute "test". I'm looking forward to a time when my only worries will be making sure Cy gets his homework done and are the kids eating enough healthy foods. Hopefully I won't have to wait that long.
But to be honest, it hasn't been that bad. While six months seems like an eternity, it also seems to have flown by. And the fact that we have made it this far makes the next four months seem easily doable. And now we have a definite end in sight, it almost feels like things are moving along too quickly. In May, we will have to start packing up so we can go ahead and join Fred in Atlanta when the school year is over. While that is exciting, it also puts me in a state of panic as I worry about the house not selling this year either. Plus I have to find a job. What if no school in Georgia will hire me? I feel like I have all the time in the world to send in my application to the local school systems, and also no time at all. I still have the TeacherInsight survey to take. I can't even seem to find the time to take a 50 minute "test". I'm looking forward to a time when my only worries will be making sure Cy gets his homework done and are the kids eating enough healthy foods. Hopefully I won't have to wait that long.
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| Photo included for no reason other than it's a great pic of the three best kids in the world. |
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Sticker Shock
As we are now on an official countdown until we move to Atlanta, I decided to start looking at daycare options for Violet. I'd like to get her on a waiting list as soon as possible, in the hope that I will get a school library position in August. Now, I know we live in a very low cost of living area, and I know our daycare expenses here are cheap. I just didn't realize how much of a deal we were getting until I looked at Atlanta prices.
What we pay now:
$190 per week for both Violet and Ruby at a licensed daycare center. Includes breakfast, lunch and snacks. They are there from 7:30 am - 5:00 pm every day
$40 per week for after school care for Cy. Includes a snack. He is there from 3:00 - 4:45 pm most days (1:00 - 4:45 pm on Wednesdays)
What we will pay after the Big Move:
(At least) $185 per week for Violet at a licensed daycare center.
$65 per week each for after school care for Cy and Ruby
Now, I'm no math whiz, but by my calculations, we will be paying around $4000 more in daycare expenses each year even though we will only have one child in full time daycare as opposed to two.
Ouch.
Luckily, my income should easily cover these expenses (and my student loan payments) and we'll even have some left over each month, but it still hurts. That money could almost pay for a trip back home to England. Maybe it's time for me to figure out if we have anything we can sell. I need a London fix!
What we pay now:
$190 per week for both Violet and Ruby at a licensed daycare center. Includes breakfast, lunch and snacks. They are there from 7:30 am - 5:00 pm every day
$40 per week for after school care for Cy. Includes a snack. He is there from 3:00 - 4:45 pm most days (1:00 - 4:45 pm on Wednesdays)
What we will pay after the Big Move:
(At least) $185 per week for Violet at a licensed daycare center.
$65 per week each for after school care for Cy and Ruby
Now, I'm no math whiz, but by my calculations, we will be paying around $4000 more in daycare expenses each year even though we will only have one child in full time daycare as opposed to two.
Ouch.
Luckily, my income should easily cover these expenses (and my student loan payments) and we'll even have some left over each month, but it still hurts. That money could almost pay for a trip back home to England. Maybe it's time for me to figure out if we have anything we can sell. I need a London fix!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Catching Up
Ugh, I have been so terrible at blogging, haven't I? I'm trying to think of a valid excuse, and I think I might actually have more than one. Does Christmas, flu, and a non-working computer at home work as good excuses because that's pretty much all I can come up with right now?
So yes, we had a wonderful Christmas. Fred's family came to our house on Christmas Eve and we played games, watched movies, stuffed our bellies and oohed and ahhed over our adorable niece. The five of us spent Christmas morning at home, and then we packed up and headed to The Farm for a few days so we could spend more time with Fred's parents, his brother, sister-in-law, and niece. It was very mellow, which is exactly how I like Christmas.
Unfortunately, Christmas was also when the flu struck the family. At least, I think it was the flu. High fevers, lethargy, loss of appetite and just a general feeling of yuckiness were the common symptoms. Cy was hit first on Christmas Eve but he muddled through with the help of an abundance of new Lego sets.
Then Ruby became sick just after Christmas. We dragged her to the Tennessee Aquarium anyway, thinking this was just a short-lived virus. Um no. Once we got home, she didn't move from the couch for four days. Then both Fred and I came down with it at the same time just as I was going back to work, and he was driving back to Atlanta. Have you ever parented kids while sick? It is not fun. I ended up taking two days off from work (by which time I had actually run out of sick leave because of how sick everyone had been last year). I was looking forward to spending some time at home alone taking care of myself ie napping on the couch while watching a Law & Order marathon. But it wasn't to be as Violet was struck down too. I did get to take naps while she slept, but I also got to watch a whole lot of Scooby Doo. All told, I think this flu/nasty flu-like virus lingered for 10 days. And wouldn't you know it, I immediately caught quite possibly the nastiest cold I have ever had. I won't gross you out with the details, but I couldn't smell anything for a week. This also meant I didn't want to eat either as smell really does play an integral part in the taste and enjoyment of food. Let's just say I don't recommend the wicked bad cold diet even if it is effective.
Just as I thought everyone was better, Violet had another night of the multiple puking incidents last week, which led to another day at home. It never rains but it pours in our house. Luckily, that was a short-lived bug and nobody else got sick.
So besides the plague-infested house, nothing too exciting has been happening. No house sale, but we have had five showings in less than a month, including one on Boxing Day aka December 26 which we didn't find out about until after the fact due to a non-charged phone. Of course, the house was a disgusting mess as we left in a hurry on Christmas Day. But apparently the lookers liked it, but are still early in the house buying process. Things are picking up and I hope we get an offer out of it. We also decided that no matter what happens with the house, the kids and I will be moving down to Atlanta in June. There is no way Ruby is starting kindergarten in Tennessee. Of course, we hope it will be sooner than that (and if I wasn't such a dimwit and had checked school librarian openings down in Atlanta, I could've applied for TWO elementary school positions over the break), but we are now looking at just over four more months of being apart. We can do that.
I wish I had some more exciting news to share, but I guess too much excitement isn't always a good thing anyway. Having the whole family wiped out by sickness is about as much excitement as I can handle these days. Unless we sell the house. I will gladly take that wild ride.
So yes, we had a wonderful Christmas. Fred's family came to our house on Christmas Eve and we played games, watched movies, stuffed our bellies and oohed and ahhed over our adorable niece. The five of us spent Christmas morning at home, and then we packed up and headed to The Farm for a few days so we could spend more time with Fred's parents, his brother, sister-in-law, and niece. It was very mellow, which is exactly how I like Christmas.
Unfortunately, Christmas was also when the flu struck the family. At least, I think it was the flu. High fevers, lethargy, loss of appetite and just a general feeling of yuckiness were the common symptoms. Cy was hit first on Christmas Eve but he muddled through with the help of an abundance of new Lego sets.
Then Ruby became sick just after Christmas. We dragged her to the Tennessee Aquarium anyway, thinking this was just a short-lived virus. Um no. Once we got home, she didn't move from the couch for four days. Then both Fred and I came down with it at the same time just as I was going back to work, and he was driving back to Atlanta. Have you ever parented kids while sick? It is not fun. I ended up taking two days off from work (by which time I had actually run out of sick leave because of how sick everyone had been last year). I was looking forward to spending some time at home alone taking care of myself ie napping on the couch while watching a Law & Order marathon. But it wasn't to be as Violet was struck down too. I did get to take naps while she slept, but I also got to watch a whole lot of Scooby Doo. All told, I think this flu/nasty flu-like virus lingered for 10 days. And wouldn't you know it, I immediately caught quite possibly the nastiest cold I have ever had. I won't gross you out with the details, but I couldn't smell anything for a week. This also meant I didn't want to eat either as smell really does play an integral part in the taste and enjoyment of food. Let's just say I don't recommend the wicked bad cold diet even if it is effective.
Just as I thought everyone was better, Violet had another night of the multiple puking incidents last week, which led to another day at home. It never rains but it pours in our house. Luckily, that was a short-lived bug and nobody else got sick.
So besides the plague-infested house, nothing too exciting has been happening. No house sale, but we have had five showings in less than a month, including one on Boxing Day aka December 26 which we didn't find out about until after the fact due to a non-charged phone. Of course, the house was a disgusting mess as we left in a hurry on Christmas Day. But apparently the lookers liked it, but are still early in the house buying process. Things are picking up and I hope we get an offer out of it. We also decided that no matter what happens with the house, the kids and I will be moving down to Atlanta in June. There is no way Ruby is starting kindergarten in Tennessee. Of course, we hope it will be sooner than that (and if I wasn't such a dimwit and had checked school librarian openings down in Atlanta, I could've applied for TWO elementary school positions over the break), but we are now looking at just over four more months of being apart. We can do that.
I wish I had some more exciting news to share, but I guess too much excitement isn't always a good thing anyway. Having the whole family wiped out by sickness is about as much excitement as I can handle these days. Unless we sell the house. I will gladly take that wild ride.
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