UGH.
We got a call late last night that the house we were hoping to make an offer on after having our contractor look at it is now Conditionally Sold.
Back to the drawing board, er, MLS listings.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Is that my life rolling away?
Have you ever felt like your life was rolling down a steep hill and you were running behind it frantically trying to keep up? Man, that's what the past couple of weeks have felt like around here. Between house-hunting, meetings with bankers and 6 different contractors, organizing the new scrapbooking classes with Michaels, a three day water shortage and miscellaneous other life events I honestly don't know which way I am going. It has been two weeks since I have made a menu plan and I have been winging it which I HATE! There has been far too much takeout for supper. I was so excited for Library of Memories to start, but I have only made it into the online classroom once and haven't done a thing with my photos or albums yet. I have 500+ new items in my Google Reader that I know I won't get to. And I am missing my God-daughters birthday because I am so unorganized.
When I am overwhelmed with events like this my first reaction to to shut down - I just want to go to sleep and wake up when it's all over. But, then I shake myself and get to each of the items in order of priority. I find that focusing on one thing as it needs to be dealt with is my best way of getting it all done. Most of the time I am a multi-tasker - I always seem to have 15 things on the go at any one time. But in time like this I seem to be able to focus in on getting only ONE thing completed before starting on the next. Deadlines are very good motivators for me.
On the good news front... I think we have found a house that will work for our family and we got great news from the bank that we don't have to sell our present house after all. We are going to rent it out which will make the move so much easier not having to coordinate posession dates etc. I am meeting one of our contractors tomorrow at the potential house to see if a few renos can be completed and what the ballpark cost would be, and then if all is well we'll go ahead and make an offer on it. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
On to a meal plan for the week...nothing fancy but at least I know that it is done.
(See, even a totally optional Menu Plan Monday in blog-land is a great motivator for me! Of course, when I have time I check out all the amazing menu plans on http://www.orgjunkie.com/, I will!)
Monday: Fish and Chips with Coleslaw
Tuesday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread and Salad
Wednesday: Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Veggies and Dip
Thursday: Baked Teriyaki Salmon, Rice and Broccoli
Friday: Pizza Night!
Saturday: 2-Step Pork Chops, Mashed Potatos, Mixed Veggies
Sunday: Someone, please take me out for supper!
Hopefully we'll make it through the week! We are having flooring installed on Wednesday and the painting begins on Friday, so I am going to try and take some before and after pictures to post, but please forgive me if I am an absentee blogger again for awhile.
Make sure to head on over to Sharing Memories though...I AM making time to post all the fabulous creations the new design team is sending in!
When I am overwhelmed with events like this my first reaction to to shut down - I just want to go to sleep and wake up when it's all over. But, then I shake myself and get to each of the items in order of priority. I find that focusing on one thing as it needs to be dealt with is my best way of getting it all done. Most of the time I am a multi-tasker - I always seem to have 15 things on the go at any one time. But in time like this I seem to be able to focus in on getting only ONE thing completed before starting on the next. Deadlines are very good motivators for me.
On the good news front... I think we have found a house that will work for our family and we got great news from the bank that we don't have to sell our present house after all. We are going to rent it out which will make the move so much easier not having to coordinate posession dates etc. I am meeting one of our contractors tomorrow at the potential house to see if a few renos can be completed and what the ballpark cost would be, and then if all is well we'll go ahead and make an offer on it. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
On to a meal plan for the week...nothing fancy but at least I know that it is done.
(See, even a totally optional Menu Plan Monday in blog-land is a great motivator for me! Of course, when I have time I check out all the amazing menu plans on http://www.orgjunkie.com/, I will!)
Monday: Fish and Chips with Coleslaw
Tuesday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread and Salad
Wednesday: Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Veggies and Dip
Thursday: Baked Teriyaki Salmon, Rice and Broccoli
Friday: Pizza Night!
Saturday: 2-Step Pork Chops, Mashed Potatos, Mixed Veggies
Sunday: Someone, please take me out for supper!
Hopefully we'll make it through the week! We are having flooring installed on Wednesday and the painting begins on Friday, so I am going to try and take some before and after pictures to post, but please forgive me if I am an absentee blogger again for awhile.
Make sure to head on over to Sharing Memories though...I AM making time to post all the fabulous creations the new design team is sending in!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Weekly Menu
After cleaning out the pantry and freezer in January and serving soup all week last week to sick boys, I am finally back to planning for a "normal" week! Here's mine...but make sure to go to http://www.orgjunkie.com/ for hundreds more ideas!
Monday: Perogies and Ham Sausage with Veggies & Dip
Tuesday: Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken, Rice, Mixed Vegetables
Wednesday: Speedy Salsa Chicken Quesadillas, Veggies & Dip (We have a lot of leftover veggies from Sunday's birthday party!)
Thursday: Shane at a meeting so the boys and I will have buffet of leftovers!
Friday: Homemade Pizza, Green Salad
Saturday: Girls night out! The boys are on their own! (My bet is they'll have Kraft Dinner or Soup)
Sunday: Ham, Schwartzies' Potatos (I make a half recipe when it's just the family) Peas & Carrots, Homemade Dinner Rolls
I won't have a big grocery shopping list since I did a big stock up shop last week. CO-OP was having their 10 for $10.00 sale and although I spent $236.00, I still saved huge! Drum roll please....
Between the great sale prices, value savings card, gas coupons and vendor coupons, I saved $98.53! Awesome! I even got some free items...just like my money saving friends in the US! For example, Bush's Baked Beans were on sale for $1.00 and I had several $1.00 off coupons. FREE BEANS! It was great watching the total come down and down and down! And yes, I know this is still a very large amount of money, but the pantry and freezer are now once again well stocked after last months Eat From the Freezer cleanout! Wow...it was a bit of a high saving all the money...I can see whay people get "addicted" to couponing!
Did you get any great deals this week?
Monday: Perogies and Ham Sausage with Veggies & Dip
Tuesday: Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken, Rice, Mixed Vegetables
Wednesday: Speedy Salsa Chicken Quesadillas, Veggies & Dip (We have a lot of leftover veggies from Sunday's birthday party!)
Thursday: Shane at a meeting so the boys and I will have buffet of leftovers!
Friday: Homemade Pizza, Green Salad
Saturday: Girls night out! The boys are on their own! (My bet is they'll have Kraft Dinner or Soup)
Sunday: Ham, Schwartzies' Potatos (I make a half recipe when it's just the family) Peas & Carrots, Homemade Dinner Rolls
I won't have a big grocery shopping list since I did a big stock up shop last week. CO-OP was having their 10 for $10.00 sale and although I spent $236.00, I still saved huge! Drum roll please....
Between the great sale prices, value savings card, gas coupons and vendor coupons, I saved $98.53! Awesome! I even got some free items...just like my money saving friends in the US! For example, Bush's Baked Beans were on sale for $1.00 and I had several $1.00 off coupons. FREE BEANS! It was great watching the total come down and down and down! And yes, I know this is still a very large amount of money, but the pantry and freezer are now once again well stocked after last months Eat From the Freezer cleanout! Wow...it was a bit of a high saving all the money...I can see whay people get "addicted" to couponing!
Did you get any great deals this week?
Birthday Party Recap
We survived Grayson's party. Whew!
No, actually it was really great and all this kids had a super time! We held it at the VRRI, a local recreation facility and the kids had an hour with an instructor in the gym with lots of equipment and games and fun. The trampoline was a big hit as were the parachute games!
The kids ran off a whole bunch of energy and were pleasantly tired when they were fnished in the gym! Then we had a great private room for the rest of the party. I had crafts ready (yeah, you know me!) but with lunch, cake and a few presents, the time was up before we knew it. (As a matter of fact we didn't even get all the presents opened before moms and dads were arriving to pick up the party guests.) Grayson wanted a construction theme for his party so we found plates and decorations with diggers on them and there was a great cake with removable toy mighty machines.
Everyone enjoyed themselves (especially the birthday boy!) and the best part for me was no mess to clean up! We headed home for an afternoon rest and then had Grandpa over for supper (and finished off the cake for dessert!) It turned out to be a really great party for my big five year old boy!
No, actually it was really great and all this kids had a super time! We held it at the VRRI, a local recreation facility and the kids had an hour with an instructor in the gym with lots of equipment and games and fun. The trampoline was a big hit as were the parachute games!
The kids ran off a whole bunch of energy and were pleasantly tired when they were fnished in the gym! Then we had a great private room for the rest of the party. I had crafts ready (yeah, you know me!) but with lunch, cake and a few presents, the time was up before we knew it. (As a matter of fact we didn't even get all the presents opened before moms and dads were arriving to pick up the party guests.) Grayson wanted a construction theme for his party so we found plates and decorations with diggers on them and there was a great cake with removable toy mighty machines.
Everyone enjoyed themselves (especially the birthday boy!) and the best part for me was no mess to clean up! We headed home for an afternoon rest and then had Grandpa over for supper (and finished off the cake for dessert!) It turned out to be a really great party for my big five year old boy!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Weekend Reading for Mommies (and Daddies too)
I sat down tonight to relax and catch up on the blogs I follow using Google Reader (I love using Google Reader...I can see just what I want to all in one place! If you don't already use it, you can check it out here.) Anyway, I had no intention of writing a blog post, but so many items I read tonight resonated with the Mommy in me (like feeling guilty for not spending enough time with the boys, keeping things organized, documenting this precious time in their lives etc.) that I had to do a quick post as a place to capture and share them. Hope you can make time this weekend to read (and watch) these and be inspired.
1) Sherri at Simple Mom was talking today about allowing yourself Your Parental Permission Slip . This rang true for me...in so many ways. I'm so sleeping in tomorrow.
2) & 3) Even though Grayson is only five years old and in pre-school, I already have hoards of STUFF that comes home with him - some of which I want to keep and incorporate into his scrapbooks, some that could be documented in other ways and some that can just simply be recycled. Ali Edwards talks about scrapbooking with your kids school stuff here, and Rachel at Simple Mom has a great idea for photographing your kids stuff here. And although I don't have a link to specific post about it, I also love Stacy Julian's School of Life philosophy and have already set up two Rubbermaid file bins (one for each boy) with a hanging folder for each grade of school...hopefully it will keep the school clutter corralled. (Speaking of Stacy I am so glad that Library of Memoires has started at BPS again - this is my second time taking it and I am as pumped as the first time!)
4) Although I often make use of a timer for time-outs and for taking turns, Tiffany at Simply Modern Mom shares five positive uses for a timer here. (This is a lovely blog that I just came across recently and I am having a great time reading through the archives - I especially like the spin on Date Nights!)
5) Katrina Kenison, the author of one of my favorite books "Mitten Strings for God" published a new book this past fall - "The Gift of an Ordinary Day." In this video she reads one of the chapters from it. Get your tissues ready and then go order yourself a copy of the book here. Mine is on it's way.
Have a great weekend...I'll report back on Grayson's birthday party on Sunday!
1) Sherri at Simple Mom was talking today about allowing yourself Your Parental Permission Slip . This rang true for me...in so many ways. I'm so sleeping in tomorrow.
2) & 3) Even though Grayson is only five years old and in pre-school, I already have hoards of STUFF that comes home with him - some of which I want to keep and incorporate into his scrapbooks, some that could be documented in other ways and some that can just simply be recycled. Ali Edwards talks about scrapbooking with your kids school stuff here, and Rachel at Simple Mom has a great idea for photographing your kids stuff here. And although I don't have a link to specific post about it, I also love Stacy Julian's School of Life philosophy and have already set up two Rubbermaid file bins (one for each boy) with a hanging folder for each grade of school...hopefully it will keep the school clutter corralled. (Speaking of Stacy I am so glad that Library of Memoires has started at BPS again - this is my second time taking it and I am as pumped as the first time!)
4) Although I often make use of a timer for time-outs and for taking turns, Tiffany at Simply Modern Mom shares five positive uses for a timer here. (This is a lovely blog that I just came across recently and I am having a great time reading through the archives - I especially like the spin on Date Nights!)
5) Katrina Kenison, the author of one of my favorite books "Mitten Strings for God" published a new book this past fall - "The Gift of an Ordinary Day." In this video she reads one of the chapters from it. Get your tissues ready and then go order yourself a copy of the book here. Mine is on it's way.
Have a great weekend...I'll report back on Grayson's birthday party on Sunday!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
5
My baby is a big five year old boy today! Wow...where has five years gone?
Like many moms I wax poetic every year on my kids birthday. I recall all the cute, precious, funny, crazy and adorable things they have done in their little lives. Their accomplishments and milestones. Their challenges and shortcomings. Most of all their blossoming personalities.
In honor of my BIG boy's special day here's a Five at Five list all about Grayson.
1) You are a HAM! As soon as you see the camera coming out you pose and smile. Your sense of humour is developing and you tell a mean Knock-Knock joke!
2) You are curious. Yes, just like your favorite monkey George, you are always questioning and wondering. "Why" is one of your favorite words.
3) You are sweet. I love how you still want to hug and kiss mommy every day. And you can creep into my bed for sleepy cuddles any morning for as long as you like!
4) You are sociable. You love to go to school to see all your friends. You love playdates. You love to chat to everyone you meet. (Hmmm...this might be a problem down the road!)
5) You are smart. Your vocabulary is expanding. You can do basic addition. You are reading short words. You can figure out how things work and you love to build. I hope you always want to learn more and more and more!
Unfortunately, Grayson is sick today of all days! He came down with a little flu bug on Monday and is still running a temperature. But, we will celebrate with family and friends this upcoming weekend and his lovely teacher has assured me he can be the helper in honor of his big day when he returns to class tomorrow! And, I think we'll have to send cupcakes...because what is a special day without cupcakes?!
Happy BirthdayLittle Man!
Love mommy
Like many moms I wax poetic every year on my kids birthday. I recall all the cute, precious, funny, crazy and adorable things they have done in their little lives. Their accomplishments and milestones. Their challenges and shortcomings. Most of all their blossoming personalities.
In honor of my BIG boy's special day here's a Five at Five list all about Grayson.
1) You are a HAM! As soon as you see the camera coming out you pose and smile. Your sense of humour is developing and you tell a mean Knock-Knock joke!
2) You are curious. Yes, just like your favorite monkey George, you are always questioning and wondering. "Why" is one of your favorite words.
3) You are sweet. I love how you still want to hug and kiss mommy every day. And you can creep into my bed for sleepy cuddles any morning for as long as you like!
4) You are sociable. You love to go to school to see all your friends. You love playdates. You love to chat to everyone you meet. (Hmmm...this might be a problem down the road!)
5) You are smart. Your vocabulary is expanding. You can do basic addition. You are reading short words. You can figure out how things work and you love to build. I hope you always want to learn more and more and more!
Unfortunately, Grayson is sick today of all days! He came down with a little flu bug on Monday and is still running a temperature. But, we will celebrate with family and friends this upcoming weekend and his lovely teacher has assured me he can be the helper in honor of his big day when he returns to class tomorrow! And, I think we'll have to send cupcakes...because what is a special day without cupcakes?!
Happy Birthday
Love mommy
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