Tooth #3...

Well, it looks like Matthew could very well be asking for his front teeth this Christmas...well, his front tooth that is. Any of you that have seen him know that he's had a lose tooth for a while now and he was looking like a crazy person because it was going in every direction at any given moment! So today when I got a call at work from him telling me that it was out, it was a happy moment for me! The funny thing is that he accidentally knocked Makenzie's (his cousin) tooth out when they were playing tug-of-war with the remote and he let go and it hit her in the face and knocked that lose tooth right out. Well, today he was trying to get a wet wipe out and when he pulled, it tore and his very own hand flew up and hit him in the face and he knocked his very own tooth out. So if you know of anyone who needs help with a lose tooth just send them our way, maybe this means he'll be a dentist one day. Ha! I've attached some pictures of his funny new smile to share with all of you, and I couldn't resist the swimming picture because the goggles, new toothless smile, and watered down hair was just too much(picture to post later)! Then of course there was Kenzie, as competitive as she is....she insisted that we should pull her tooth out too, though it's not even really lose, but she swore it wouldn't hurt and that it would be okay (my Crazy girl!)

Until my next post...Ang

Off to work I go...

Okay, today was the first day of my new job here in Orlando and I can't even tell you how excited I am about it. It started off that it took me 15 minutes, YES 15 MINUTES and that included my stop at Starbucks (which happens to be right on the way and didn't have a single person in line)! As if the commute alone wasn't good enough, my new boss walks in and introduces her self and then goes on to say "oh, by the way, we are both over dressed and I only did it because I knew I would be meeting you today...so you can dress casual from now on, even jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes are okay". No, wait....it gets even better.....the employee lounge is right across the hall from my office and they have snacks (healthy snacks even) for all project employees for free. Then she told me that I don't really have a standard schedule or hours and if I get all my work finished and want to take off early some days or an extra day that it's fine with her, she's "very flexible".....I felt like I had won the job lottery. Not that I didn't have an awesome job in VA because I did, not to mention I had the best office mate a person could ever ask for (I do miss BJ and our chats and lunch runs already) but I did have a long commute there so I was usually too tired to appreciate my job by the time I got to it. There are some things that are going to be an adjustment, like the kind of work I'll be doing, lots of deadlines, reading, and pressure....not to mention that most people there that I'm working with are not SAIC employees...that will take me a while to adjust to. I am happy to report though that I just love my new job! It seems like I've just been so busy though, and up so late every night and still not able to accomplish half of what I set out to do.....I am still taking 2 classes a quarter by the way and even the ones that I'm currently taking are pretty cool....but a lot more work than any others that I've taken in the past. I'm having to actually log on early in the week and work on the tasks well before the due date....that's not typical of me at all. I don't have much more time until I get my degree though, so I'm going to keep chugging along.
As for the house, they sent a counter offer of course because we have to play this little back and forth game of numbers, which I've never understood by the way. But we countered their offer so hopefully we'll be able to meet somewhere in the middle. Not that it helps us all that much, we still have a house in Leesburg, VA (I note that because we're close to Leesburg, FL here too) to get rid of. Hopefully we'll start getting more showings and sell soon...it's not even been on the market a week but I am starting to panic just a little. Anyway, I miss all my friends in VA and will be coming to visit very soon....until my next post....Ang

Okay, signs of brighter days...

Well, we literally weathered the storms and believe me when I say there were many of them! Oh, let's just say it rained the entire day of the 4th of July while we were at the resort and then my sister's kids both ended up with the stomach flu and had to go to Urgent Care so their trip was cut short, Hunter wasn't feeling well so he ended up in bed by 4 in the afternoon, and Matthew was in bed by 9. Sean did go out to dinner with some friends that were at the resort with us and brought me left overs, I figured someone should still enjoy the holiday. Matthew and I did sit up and watch fireworks on TV though, ironically they were the ones in DC that we've never gone to see in real life when we had the chance. Ha!

So now, it's a whole new day....the kids are all feeling better, Sean and I have put a contract on a house finally after looking at just about everything for sale in the entire state it seems...I'm sure Ray and Jim (our awesome agents) would agree with that. I don't know if it's that we're very indecisive, or that we're just extremely picky....but we did finally make a decision on one house that was really above our budget but we loved it so much and we found out after Ray wrote up the contract that the selling agent forgot to mention that it was in pre-foreclosure. So we decided not to pursue that because from what we hear it's a total hassle and takes a long time to come to terms and closing and we'd really like to have a house sooner than later. So Sean was set to fly out tonight at 9:20pm, meaning he had to be to the airport by 7:20pm and we literally signed a new contract on a new house at 7:00pm....nothing like racing the clock huh? We're extremely excited about the new house though and hope all goes well with the contract. The only thing this house didn't have that we had wanted was a pool but we've already gotten the name of a guy to install a pool once we move in so we're all set if we can get them to agree to our terms. (Picture attached is of our possible new home) Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for us to get this house, I know I'll be doing a lot of that myself.

Hunter ended up going home with Sean because his allergies with my sister's cats were just too much and we don't like to see him sick and struggling to breath. Matthew ended up staying though, but I know we'll be making a trip to VA either this coming weekend or the next because I'm already missing Sean and Hunter and they've only been gone for 4 hours now....3 weeks to go, it'll be the longest 3 weeks of my life I'm sure. Anyway, I just wanted to post and let everyone know that I've regrouped, taken a deep breath and ready to give this FL thing an entirely new shot.....that could all change after my first day of work on Monday though. Ha!

Until my next post...Ang

What were we thinking?

Okay, so yesterday proved to be more of a challenge for us. Matthew was up all night sick and throwing up and at about 7am I called Kaiser to get advice and they told us to take him to the nearest ER or Urgent Care. He was literally throwing up every half hour all night long, he was so pitiful....and he and I slept (or tried to sleep) in the floor of the bathroom all night long. I woke my sister to find out where the nearest Urgent Care was and turns out they don't open until 1pm so I sort of started to freak out at that point...but then she said, "why don't you just take him to his new doctor"...why didn't I think of that? So the office opens at 8am and we were there at 7:53 and they let us come on in. Turns out he has strep throat, and to put a positive spin on things, the doctors and nurses there were absolutely awesome! So then we brought him home where he just slept the entire day and Sean, Hunter and I went to the coin laundry to wash all the sheets, blankets, pillows, and everything else that had been a victim of that night. We did find time to drive though some neighborhoods as well, but I was so tired, starting to feel a little home sick, and just started to mope from that point on. Then we had seen a dead snake right in the road in front of my sister's house...had the worst thunder and lightening storm I've ever seen, saw that there was a pipe bomb at Disney (the same day Matt and the rest happened to be at Downtown Disney for lunch and at the water park), and Hunter has had so many allergy problems.....I just looked at Sean and said "what were we thinking"! Is it too late for me to go beg for my job back in McLean? My house doesn't hit the market until noon today, so I'll try to stick it out but it's very tempting to just pick up the phone and say "no, stop, I love my house there, I miss my friends....don't sell our house". Sean can't believe I'm already having 2nd thoughts, I would be the last to cave surely......I'll do my best, maybe I'm just tired...that's all. I just hate when my kids are sick, so it can only get better right? Matthew is starting to show signs of life today so it's already a better day....until my next post. Ang

Rick's Surprise Party!

We celebrated Rick's 40th birthday on Saturday.

The guys all went out to play golf to get Rick out of the house and when they returned there was a house full of guests all ready to celebrate. He appeared to be really surprised, and the kids were so excited to hide and all jump out when he entered the room. It was so hot, but I guess that's to be expected in FL the last day of June. My sister had hired a life guard and baby sitter (who Matthew was flirting with relentlessly, he's into older women as she was 15) so there were no worries about the kids so we all got to relax and had a GREAT time! I had gone out with Janet and one of her friends to Chuck E. Cheese to get the kids out of the house that morning as well so my sister could clean and prepare everything for the party. The kids had a fun time playing, thanks Janet for inviting us! We did manage to fit in a little house hunting, we have found a new construction neighborhood that we like a lot but we still want to see what else is available before we make a quick decision. We ended the day Saturday after the party with cards, which of course is one of my personal favorite things to do, then games, and it wouldn't have been a good night without making a run to the border....so off to Taco Bell I go for about 50 tacos, nachos, and cinnamon twists...all for under $30, does it get any better than that? Ha! Today was a catch up day for me with my school work, so I spent many hours working on my 2 new classes, they seem to be a little harder than any others that I've taken, well....not really as hard as just a lot of work. Hopefully I'll be better about trying to finish my work at the beginning of the week...but that would be so out of character for me. Ha! Matthew went to Blizzard Beach (Disney Water Park) with Sis, Kenzie, Sholl, Casey, Lexy, Pam, Carter, and E....from what I hear they had a great time, though they had to get out of the water for extended periods of time due to thunder. They ended up buying season passes, so I guess we'll be going there a lot once Matthew gets down here for good. Until my next post....Ang

So far so good...

Well, we all made it here alive...now what? I arrived yesterday at the auto train station around 2:30pm and no sooner than they drove off in my car, it started pouring rain. I got in line and got checked in with no problems and while I was there a guy offered me a great deal to rent a DVD to take on the train and return at the station in FL....boy am I glad I took him up on the offer. With 17 hours on the train to kill, it worked out great. The train took off at 4pm, I had dinner at 5pm where I ensured a good nights sleep with a couple bottles of wine...that's a lot for a light weight drinker like me...(I'm sure Deanna and Sis would be proud). Ha! Anyway, back after dinner to watch 3 movies and then I was knocked out for the night. I woke up about every hour to flip over because the seats weren't that huge but it really was quite cozy, not bad...I would highly recommend the train, but I think I'll get a sleeper the next time. I slept in until 7am when the crowds walking by woke me, so I was off to breakfast. After that I watched one last movie and the train came in to the station ahead of schedule so I was in FL by 9am. It took a little while to get the cars unloaded and I was really happy about that so I could finish watching my last movie, Deja Vu, pretty good movie. Then I got my car and was off to my sister's house. I got here, moved all my stuff in out of the car, except my safe (which came in handy at the DMV) when I went to get my FL driver's license. I had lunch with family, took Kenzie, Keegan and Lexy back to watch them swim for a while to kill time until Sean and the boys got here on the plane. They landed right on time and Carol went to pick them up for me so Sis and I could go to get my FL license. That was pretty quick and painless and I'm glad I had my birth certificate in the safe in the trunk because I had forgotten that I would even need that. So I'm official now, Sean says there's no turning back for me now. Ha! If only we had a house I'd feel a little more official, but we love staying with Sis and Rick so as long as they can stand us we'll be okay. Sean and the boys came in, we all had dinner and then back to the pool the kids all went. Haven't even been here a full day yet and Matthew is already going underwater (which he's never done before) and swimming all the way across the pool...that's exciting! Hunter had fun hanging in the "hot pool" because anyone who knows him knows that he's not a fan of cold water at all. It's been a great day so far so I hope it will just continue on this way forever here. I'll keep you all posted....hopefully I'll be better about my daily post promise but I'm still EXHAUSTED and I have school work to catch up on...ugh!

2 days left...

Well, I already missed a post on my blog but honestly it wasn't until 12:30am that I finally got the chance to do it and at that point I decided that it was already the next day so I might as well just skip it and go to bed. I have found an entirely new level of exhaustion and if I never have to pack or move another box again in this lifetime it'll be too soon. Ha! We made great progress yesterday, our yard is weed free, our garage could probably actually hold 2 cars now, and all the scrapes, markings and stickers are removed from our walls. Now I see just why we bought this house to begin with, it really is a beautiful house. But after working all day the entire weekend we still have one level left to pack up. I feel bad for anyone with these big huge homes that they will have to pack up one day....ugh! I think I did finally talk Sean into having someone actually move us rather than us having to do any of the work. So we're getting estimates now to have movers come in, load the truck, drive it to FL and unload. I'm hoping it all works out and won't require me getting a 2nd or 3rd job to pay for it...but I'd be willing to get an extra job if it would keep me from having to move all our furniture out and back in, that's for sure!
As for the kids, they managed to find a way to hide some little plastic tree frog toy under one of my plants on the top shelf of my kitchen and as I was dusting I stumbled upon it. I know they didn't do it on purpose, but I just can't get used to stumbling upon these crazy creatures hiding under leaves. I was happy that I didn't take a dive off the kitchen counter that I was standing on when I saw it, that could have been tragic....it would, however, have gotten me out of a little bit of packing. Ha! Poor Hunter wrecked on his scooter too and now he has a huge bruise and scrape on one side of his face and a fat lip from his dentist visit (he bit a hole in his lip while it was numb for anyone who wasn't aware of that bit of info....it was so bad and needed stitches but they couldn't because it was just a chunk missing so there was nothing to stitch). He looks exactly like I feel...all beat up! Matthew has just kept low key and quiet and stayed most of the weekend with the Cosgroves, he'd probably just move in with them if we'd let him...he and Raymond are like twins separated at birth...
My co-workers took me out to lunch today to celebrate my last days here in the McLean office. They took me to Maggiano's where I of course over ate to the fullest degree! I had at least 2 servings of everything and as if that weren't enough, I think I went back for 3rds on the desert....what was I thinking? They also gave me $100 cash as a departure gift and I thought for a minute that I was going to have to use it already to go through the mall and buy me some bigger pants. Ha! My stomach is still hurting and full, but it was so worth it! I have the most amazing group of friends around here, and none of them are making it any easier to pack up and leave....the only thought that keeps me positive is that they have all promised to come visit us in FL! I'm getting it all in writing too so I'm holding each of them to their promises!
Off tonight to meet with our realtor and hopefully get our house up on the market and sold.
And I just realized today that with all these gatherings and postings there's no pictures...I'm such a slacker! I haven't been taking any pictures of these gatherings and I think it's because I'm just too tired to actually lift my camera to my face or I'm too tired to think of taking it with me. So I have no pictures from this weekend at all....how can I do a moving scrapbook with no moving pictures? UGH!