Photo Friday

Forget Closet - I've Got A House Full Of Skeletons

Glamour Shots

NO WAY It's Already November!!!

Time Flies When You're..... Well Time JUST FLIES!! 

So who would have guessed that I would actually have survived the summer!?  NOT ME, that is for dang sure.  Of course looking back I had a little help from my friends.  No I didn't make a whole new group of gal pals out here, not yet anyway, but rather my 'liquid friends' - Corona, Margarita, Barcardi, Patron - you know those friends in low places kinda friends!  HAHA - before you go contacting my local AA, I never actually got drunk, just needed my nightly 'drink' - of course all that stress + stress eating washed down with + stress eliminating beverage = 10 extra pounds - YAY just what I wanted another project!!  SO I kicked my nightly habit and now have focused my 'stress release' in the form of walking or doing a work out video - in the end it is a much better choice then the 'liquid friends' but it definitely requires a lot more up front motivation.

November 1st, it seriously blows my mind - but it's here regardless so what's going on now?! Well for starters it's still FREAKING HOT, UGH, I hate to keep whining about this point, but OH my Sweet Mercy, at some point it has GOT to COOL off!!!  We are averaging high 80s - low 90s now, which I guess technically is better than 110 that we had back in August but really it does NOT feel much different.

The Big Boys

The good news is with the 'fall' did come the eventual (not till last week of Aug & 1st weeks of Sep respectively)  return of everyone to school.  Of course Kaiden misses the Kindergarten cut off by 9 days, just like he did back in GA, so we enrolled him in a private Pre-K program which of course I didn't know where to even begin looking this summer so I just let google be my guide and the first school that had an opening in his age range is where we enrolled him.  Luckily it also happened to be a great little school, he loves his teachers and the program and they love him, so that makes a momma happy happy.  What I could do without is the 45 min round trip commute, but like I said beggars can't be choosers.  So Mon - Thurs I load all 3 boys up and do the drive to Kaiden's school.  Then Pierce, Dax & I hit up the park on the way back, we walk the loop, P plays for a bit and then we head out to finish the rest of our schedule.  Two days a week we leave from the playground and drive 20+ minutes back across town to take P to his physical therapy appointment and then from there to his school which goes from 12-3.  Fridays 'should' be great days since K doesn't have school and P doesn't have to be at school until noon, but with all 3 home it usually ends up that by 9:30 I have had to isolate them in different rooms on different floors because what I didn't know about boys is that when in the same room they are locked in a continual epic MMA match to the death OR until I bust them up and redistribute their hinneys to opposite ends of the house.

My Baby Boy

What about Dax? Well good news is the third kid is flexible, he has to be, because no matter how you try or intend to raise them all the same it is just impossible!!  Because when Kaiden was just 11 months old he was our ONLY child so he got to take his 3 scheduled naps each day in his crib with his snacks, meals and milk all on a daily schedule.  Pierce well he had his own schedule but since he & K were so close in age it was easy to just tweak both of their schedules to get them to line up.  But not for Dax.  Oh no, poor third child has just got to get in where he fits in - so he usually naps in the car - he eats his breakfast almost everyday at the park, and some days his snack in the parking lot while we wait on P and you can dang forget about his 3 daily naps.  He gets little 'cat naps' here & there and on those few rare instances when we're home taking a nap in his crib is sheer luxury - which I guess is good, teaches him to appreciate it, right?

The Hubs

Dave LOVES his job, loves it!!  Which is great cause I'll be the first to jump ship and head the crazy train right on back to GA if he was miserable, but thankfully, things are going great for him in the Big D - he his tearing up the forensic accounting world - woo hoo!  Other than that not too much to update on him -

Me

It's all about ME, right?  NO, OK well either way - here's what's up with me......  For starters I don't cry everyday (any more) about losing Trooper - usually just once in a while - however as crazy as it makes me sound I still talk to him, tell him (his ashes) how much I miss him and how I can't believe he's gone and when ever I go in the one cabinet that has his paw imprint in it I hold it so I can remember how big his paws were.  I feel like that's a start right?
I've learned where the good grocery stores are and even found a shopping center that has a Bed Bath & Beyond, The Chilldren's Place, Kohl's, Michael's, Bath & Body Works & an Old Navy - seriously that is shopping GOLD, what more could I ask for!?
I 'sorta' know my way around - at least to those places I visit on a weekly basis I know pretty well. I wouldn't go so far as to say anything feels 'normal' or like home, but I keep thinking that will come when we find our 'forever house' out here.
AND since moving has forced me out of my comfort zone (to say the least) I've decided the better option is to grow where I'm planted so I'm trying to embrace my new 'Texan' way of life, considering a pair of fancy boots, may have to get a wall of crosses going, that is VERY Texas thing, and last I'm on a mission to start making new friends.
They say, and I'm a firm believer, that you are the friends you keep - well right now, "I ain't got NOBODY" - and I'm thinking that no matter how much you love your kids 24/7 with them exclusively is NOT a healthy thing!   OK well I guess that isn't entirely true, I do have one friend, Lindsay who works at Dave's office, she and I have hung out a few times, and I am SO happy to have met her.  And I am sorta friends with Pierce's teacher - she is quirky and funny and she gets P so that always goes a long way with me.  It's funny because when you really think about it, HOW do you make new friends?!  I mean really HOW does it happen?  Think about if you have to say run into the grocery store for two or three quick things for dinner, and the girl standing in line with you starts chatting with you - if you're not too busy with your phone you may chat back, maybe even share a laugh or two, but then once you check out you head on your merry way right?!  AND THEN WHAT!?  Do I say "I just moved here and am DESPERATE for friends, please give me your contact info so we can get together some time....."  YEAH you've probably already broken into a dead sprint now wishing you had sprung for that auto-remote start key fob from the dealership right!?  I mean meeting NEW people ain't easy.  SO I figure this can be added to my other projects which include; updating my blog, getting my fat ass back in shape and finding where we want to live and oh yeah a new house.

Enough For Now

That shouldn't be too much to ask right?!  And I can't end this post without saying regardless of how much crazy came with the move at least we are all together, healthy and happy.  I can NOT say how heavy my heart is for all the people in the northeast who had to suffer the awfulness that was Sandy.  Thankfully my family and friends who live up in NJ, NY, CT & PA survived with minimal damage, even if they were or are still without power, but some of their neighbors have lost everything, so if you have anything to give maybe find an organization you trust and make a donation.  I know it may seem like a small token but every little bit helps.