A Bit of a Change

We are 3 months shy of our 15 year wedding anniversary and we've decided it's time for a bit of a change. Check that, a big change. We've decided that it's time to move to the part of the country that Brad grew up in, the South. The DEEP South to be exact.

Ever since I met Brad and flew to Georgia for the first time to meet his family, I've been in love with the deep south. It is so very different from the part of the country where I grew up. Tornado Alley, Oklahoma to be exact. He moved out here to Oklahoma when we decided to get married. He eventually grew to like Oklahoma, but he's never loved it. Don't get me wrong, he loves me and the kids and his job, but he doesn't enjoy the oppressive summer heat, the gale force winds nearly year round, or dodging tornadoes one-quarter of every year.

We've moved from a university town, to a big city suburb, to an historic neighborhood in the big city, and finally 6 miles south of a tiny town 45 minutes from the big city. This is where our kids have grown up, in this small rural town of 6,000 people. We live in the middle of nowhere and I have loved it, but it's had it's negatives. I have become more and more withdrawn and I've realized it's not healthy for me. The kids are at an age now that they crave interaction with their peers and we don't think it's fair to keep them out here in the boonies with no one their age around.

We want to live near a grandparent that will be active in the kids' daily life. We want to live near the ocean. We want to live near friends that we miss dearly. We want to have an adventure. This is the adventure we are choosing. We are moving to Alabama. We will live within an hour of the Gulf of Mexico, which means we can drop everything and be sitting on a beach as fast as we can currently drive from our current home to OKC. That is an absolute dream for me. I have loved the beach and ocean my entire life and have always wanted to live near one. When I was born my parents lived across the street from the beach, literally, so I spent the first two years of my life sitting in the sand and playing in the ocean water.

Moving to Alabama puts us near all Brad's (and now my) close friends. It puts us back in a part of the country he is comfortable in, puts us near family, and puts me and the kids near the ocean. To say the kids are excited is an extreme understatement. They are excited to live near their Nana, to live in a neighborhood, to live in a house with a pool, to be able to ride their bikes/skateboards, to finally get a basketball goal. I think they are excited for a change, to meet new people, to have fresh start. At least Charlie feels that way. Maggie, well, she is moss. She latches on to things and has to be scraped off, but once free she floats down stream and enjoys herself.

So, here we are. We are waiting to find out how Brad can retool his job so that he can work from home and we can move to Alabama. Until that is finalized I am a bundle of nerves. Life always seems to be a waiting game for me. At least for the really good things. It seems I'm supposed to be learning patience in this life. I struggle with that.

And so we wait.

Damn Idiot People

So, we've figured out over the past year and a half that the people we bought this house from, the ones that built were fucking ignorant or just didn't give a damn. There have been so many things done in a half-assed manner that it could blow your mind. Here is a short list:

1. We had issues with the zoned HVAC system and had to disable the upstairs zone.
2. We realized that there is only ONE electrical outlet in the kitchen. So the toaster, coffee maker, etc., all have to be in the same area.
3. Every single light fixture in this house is a cheap, one-bulb fixture. This is a 2600 sq. ft. home with very large rooms. Lit by one 60 watt bulb. GAH!
4. We had to replace the well pump and piping as they had used a hose and a cheap pump.
5. Only certain electrical outlets work. There are several that will spark when used!
6. They put an outside door knob with key lock on the bathroom door. When realized that when Beans locked the door and shut it from the outside. Hubs had the pleasure of kicking that door in.
7. They installed the dryer vent hose and then installed the pressure pump tank directly in front of it making it completely inaccessible. We realized this two days ago when we found out there was a hole in the hose and we can't get to it to replace it.
8. You can hear every single step anyone or anything takes upstairs. There must be NO insulation between the floors. We can hear the cat walking up there.
9. NONE of the doors are plumb in this house. None.
10. We have had no less than 3 people come to our door looking for the previous owners wanting to repossess large equipment (tractors, bulldozers, etc.). We have also been woken up at 3:00 a.m. by the county sheriff serving a bench warrant and trying to arrest the man. Turns out he wrote a hot check for over $30,000.00.

Oh the joys of home ownership!

Time Flies ...

How on earth did I get here? How did I get to be a 38 year old woman with 2 children, a husband, assorted pets, and a mortgage on a nice piece of land in the country? How is it that Beans is already 4 years old and we are planning his first summer vacation with Nana (my MIL)? He will ride on a airplane for the very first time in his life and be away from him mommy for 3 whole weeks. ACK! I am trying to remain calm but honestly I'm a nervous wreck. I mean aside from the fact that he will be out of my control for 3 weeks (even though I trust Nana fully), I am going to miss that little guy terribly. He will be all the way in the Deep South, over 900 miles away from Mommy & Daddy. The thought of it terrifies me. However, at the same time I am excited for him. Nana has a pool so he will get to go swimming EVERY DAY. Also, the second week he is there, my sister-in-law and her family will be going with him & Nana to the beach for almost a week. Beans LOVES the beach, he is so stinking excited about that part. I know Nana will spoil him rotten, but I'm still nervous, sad, anxious. Take your pick.

In other news, I take Sprout to the eye surgeon tomorrow morning. She had ROP surgery while still in the NICU and this is her 3rd or 4th follow-up since being discharged. We may find out this time if she needs glasses.   Oops, sorry I got sidetracked reading a micro-preemie blog. BUT, I found this little gem of a website and as soon as Hubs gets his bonus I will be ordering one of these dolls for Sprout!

The bookcases are done!

Finally our new built-in bookcases and entertainment hutch are complete! WooHoo! Now I just have the task of staining them so we can get all our books off the breakfast bar and back onto shelves. Here's a peak at them pre-stain.

Nice huh? Yeah, we are very happy with the end result. There were a few delays due to illness (us and the carpenter) but in the end it was well worth the wait!

I received an email from the MIL this morning. She is trying to plan out Beans' trip to the deep south this summer. We are letting him go spend 3 weeks with her. He is VERY excited because she has a pool and lives near the ocean and he is constantly talking about going back to the beach. He loved it there when we went for vacation this past summer. Guess he takes after his momma because I LOVE the water! Sprout and I will probably drive down to Big D to meet her with Beans so they can fly out from a major airport. No problem, as Sprout and I will just visit my dad, step-mom, and brother while down there. Also, we will hit some museums and maybe a little girly shopping! WooHoo!

Today was 'Hat Day' at Beans' school, it's part of Homecoming Week. He was very excited to wear his baseball cap to class. He loves it because it has a 'W' on it and we told him that it stands for our name. We actually have no idea if it's for a sports team or what, but he loves it so that's all that matters! :) He is always so excited to go to school and does the same thing every morning when he gets out of the car. He jumps out, runs halfway to the door and turns around to blow me a kiss. Love that kid!

Let's Do This!

After too many years of not writing I've decided that I need to start blogging again. I know, I know, mommy bloggers are a dime a dozen these days but I need a place to vent and this is a lot cheaper than therapy. Trust me, I've been down that road.

So, where are we now? Well we (me, hubs, son, and daughter) live in a very rural setting between two small rural towns. We have a nice, warm home on a few acres and share it with two pug dogs and two cats. On any given day you can walk outside and see a cow or hear the coyotes sing their night songs. There are more stars in the night sky than I could ever count and the wind is strong enough to blow you over. I love it out here!

Our son (we will call him Beans) started Pre-K this year and loves going to school everyday. It was truly the best thing for both of us this year! He has an amazing, loving teacher and the school is more than I ever realized I could want for him.

Our daughter (let's call her Sprout) is now 2 years old and growing healthier by the day. She came into this world on January 1, 2009, at just 1 pound, 6 ounces. She was born 3 months early and had a VERY rough start in life. I became sick with HELLP Syndrome and it was either deliver her early or lose us both. The choice ended up being quite easy and we were very fortunate to live downtown and so close to our Children's Hospital. Over the next 3 and a half months I spent all day, every day at the hospital with her. It was a tough time for all of us, but she was well worth it.

Hubs works hard for the money and that allows me to stay home with the kids and keep him in clean unders and hot cornbread. I love him more than life itself and would be lost without him. As corny as it sounds, he has filled a place in my heart I never knew existed.

So, I'll just be writing about our day to day lives and showing you little snippets via photos.