Moving Day!!!

Ok, first, sorry I don't have pictures yet.  BUT, we are finally moving into our house!  So exciting!

Brian and Monica both got here by plane on Wednesday.  We went to Chuck E Cheese with the boys, also had fun bumming around yesterday with Aunt Shirley.  Today Brian and Monica headed over to the new place by 8am for the movers who didn't show up until 11:30ish...

All was not lost though, Monica got to see the kids at preschool and Brian and Monica met the previous owner.  When I left at 2pm, lots of boxes and furniture were coming in and some of the kitchen stuff was unpacked (me and Monica)....

More to come, but the boys love it so far - or maybe they just love the boxes, paper and bubble wrap.

:) laura

Good weekend, weird monday....

We had a good weekend...

I got out with other moms on Friday night.  On Saturday we went to a park/birthday Party -- Jaelin, who came to Joseph's party, had a party at a great park.  The kids had a ball while we talked to other parents and everyone had pizza and cupcakes.  Later after a car nap we showed the boys our new house while we did our "final walk through."  Sunday we went to La Brea Tarpits - which was cool and weird... all in all a good weekend.

We started the week relatively good - Brian was off to Herndon for business, but he and Grandma (his mom) are both coming back/here on Wednesday for our move on Thursday.  Ok, wrench(s!) in the system - there were issues that came up today (got clarified)- some confusion between us and the lender and misunderstandings about the contract - 

1. no washer/ dryer like I expected - guess we will be going shopping...

2. they current owners (well, for an hour or so..) are there until Thursday at 5, so we can't move in until Friday...

3. the lender is thought the money was coming from a different bank (we changed it to meet escrow's requirements) and I ran around getting paperwork from the bank.  The issue is resolved and the lender has funded our loan, but it might push everything back a day - Escrow is working on getting it recorded tomorrow instead of Wed...  grr...

Brian's safe in VA and everyone here is CA is good too - waiting up from nap as I type..  the good news is I got a cheap digital camera today before all the drama...  next time I write I should have some pics of the boys..

Joseph is 4!!

We had a party for Joseph at Chuck E Cheese's last night.  Although Brian and I were sad we weren't with family or friends this year, it was a pretty darn fun time anyway.  2 new friends (Jaelin and Eeman) from school came and with pizza, cake, tokens, tickets and games - everything was good.  Likewise, I enjoyed talking to the parents in a somewhat small setting.  We all ended up very tired though last night, but we hope to do more phone calls and presents tonight, continuing the party as long as possible.  I told Joseph today that maybe we can go back to CEC next week with Grandma to celebrate some more and he gave me a pretty big smile.

Ended up in Big Bear!

Saturday was Sarah's (6th!) birthday party (Brian's cousin, Kenny's daughter) and so before going out to Riverside on Sat, I was in Target on Friday night getting a present.  Aunt Shirley called me and asked if we wanted to go to her mountain cabin after the party - OF COURSE!  I had ideas for the rest of the weekend, but this sounded much better!

We wore the boys out at a great birthday party on Sat - they had the party at Castle Park, which is like a mini-Six Flags with a big arcade, pizza, and rides.  Then we drove to Big Bear, which is only another 1.5 hours from Riverside (about 2+ from LA).  It was a lot of switchback wild mountain driving, but it was beautiful and the boys surprisingly slept through most of it.

Once we were there it was relaxing and fun.  Squirrels and birds, walking by Big Bear Lake, trying on ski boots- yes, on the boys and yes, they DO fit!  hah, the biggest surprise for me was that the boys thought the bunk beds were some sort of playground equipment!

We always have fun with Aunt Shirley and this was no exception.  It was our (me and the boys anyway) first trip to Big Bear, but certainly not our last!

Dentist success!

Joseph got his tooth filled and it was a great experience!  I couldn't believe it.  I wimped out didn't tell him he was getting a cavity filled.  "Show me the dentist where Daddy took you."  He was excited to go show me the fish tank, video games, and toys in the lobby.  He showed me the toy display where he gets to pick a toy at the end (telling the ladies there that he got "bones" last time - a stretchy skeleton).  The hygienist let him pick a scented "nose cover" - purple/grape.  She connected it to the funny air (laughing gas) and showed him how to put it on.  They had TV on the ceiling and he relaxed and was very chilled out for x-rays and the filling - it was small enough and he was relaxed enough that they didn't need to use a local.  They both got toys and we went to a sports bar for lunch!

I only wish I could get my fillings done there.  I'm having 1/2 of them done tomorrow while the kids are at preschool.  Hmm, my dentist must be good to be able to do half of 5!  haha, just 2 I think.

Anthony's newest thing is falling asleep in the car before nap, then playing in the Pack N Play for 1-2 hours before going down for nap.  Weird, huh?  Hmm..  doing this for a week, I just we just get used to it for now.

Getting there....

The closing date and move-in date are getting closer, and it's all becoming more real! We are scheduling dates with the escrow company (don't get me started - what a racket!) and walk-through for next week. After that it's just move-in day - 9/25! (For closing itself, we don't have to do anything - the bank and title companies have their work to do)... I have utilities set, and it all looks good - we probably won't have a landline until 10/4 though because we are buying cable, internet and phone all in one bundle from Time Warner and they claim they need the extra time to set up 911 service. Another racket? Who knows!

So, the worrying begins - about our stuff fitting into our smaller space, how the boys will sleep in this, another new place, where the truck will park, and how I will figure out decorating and trash day, new friends and all.. yet I look forward to it! Monica/ Grandma might come out to help! Heh, my new hairdresser and the realtor are offering help as well, so I will probably be taking them up on it - as much as possible!

Meanwhile, my parents have also planned a trip out here for January - yeah!

The kids are great - they seem to look forward to preschool and enjoy flirting with the ladies who work the continental breakfast in the guest house. Brian has been coming home by 5:30 or 6 and gives me "breaks" for Back to School night or a ladies night out (last Friday night with a meetup group).

Love and "miss yous" to all our friends and family.

"Want to come back"

I guess Anthony is officially adjusted to preschool! He wants to go back. Joseph said a prayer after school without prompting today thanking God for the waaauurld. At first I thought he was saying "war," but no, it's "world." Apparently they like "Jesus time" at school along with the toys, teachers and friends.

On the bummer side, I went to the dentist and I have 5 cavities. :( That will teach me! If only I could quit sweet stuff, I'd be better at the doctor, the mall, and off weight watchers (not that I'm currently ON it). Easier said than done.

Hope your weekend starts off well!

Just an update

We are well here.  Missing family and friends a lot though!

Joseph is recovering well from his surgery last week - he never did have any pain, so the real meds have gone unopened.  The hardest part is keeping him from wild play with Anthony.  He is also supposed to stay away from swimming and bikes.  So far so good, but I'm not sure how long we can keep that up!

We were at Aunt Shirley's on Sunday - Joseph did not swim in the pool, which was initially hard, but (2nd) cousins Derek (16) and Josh (11) played catch with him from the pool and let Joseph beat them up with kick-boards while they play acted dying into the water.  It was entertaining to watch and Joseph loved it!

They are both adjusting to preschool, although Anthony still asks to go with me and whines a bit.  No crying anymore though, yeah!  We also checked out a couple of museums over the weekend and joined the Natural History Museum here...

Brian is working hard and I'm lonely for mommy friends.  Calling & emailing VA a lot!  :)  I really do have enough to do though with paperwork and doctor visits.  I'm still seeing the chiropractor several times a week since 2 weeks ago when my back hit an all time ouch.  We are still doing a lot of real estate paperwork and moving money around to be ready for settlement on the new place.

Well, that's most of the news here.  Got a couple fun pics around the hotel since I got a disposable to take pics of the mini-van damage (minor but annoying...)  Write or call to update me on your life!