I had nothing to do with it

Guess what Robert decided this weekend.

He decided that since we are paying a full months' rent in May that we might as well take advantage of it.  I will be driving the kids to school in the morning and then coming here to work and they will walk here after school like they currently do.  It will be like working in an office.  Yoda will be coming with us too.  Then after work - I drive back 'home'.

The fact that I suggested that EXACT SAME FREAKING IDEA five million times had nothing to do with this idea suddenly popping into his head.  Normally I don't like sharing credit for my ideas, but since I'm getting my way I am letting him have this one.

I think me reminding him how early he would have to get up to drop the kids off at school on time made him come up with such a great solution - which I am remembering for further use in getting my way.

June is back to the taxi/after school care schedule and he'll be the one getting up extra early and doing the extra driving! (I will be too cause someone has to make lunches and supervise getting ready)

Today was the day

Today was supposed to be our closing date, but instead of signing papers and getting our keys, we signed an addendum to extend the contract.

Thankfully, our broker thinks we only needed to extend it by a little over a week.  He also thinks that we will be able to sign by next Friday.

We'll see. 

I am still trying to be patient. But I don't want to wait anymore! 

So anyhoo, looks like we're almost there.  Almost there. Almost there.  Sorry, repeating it might help me with the wait....maybe

The plan (now) is to be completely moved in by the end of May.

I kinda like that - it will help me get the kids through the end of the school year. 

I have to make it to June 17th. 

The news on that is that thanks to Barbara (Robert's mom), my neighbor Abbie, and my wonderful boss - afterschool pick up/care is covered. *knock on wood*

Getting them to school will be mostly on Robert's shoulders - I'm making the poor guy get up an hour earlier every morning so he can drive them to school.

Not much longer!!

No cookbook signed

Robert's mom wasn't able to come tonight so it was just Carus and I. We were kinda late. After getting off work I finished up dinner and we ate quickly, then Carus and I left. We got there about 5:30 and the signing was scheduled to start at 6.

We found out when we got there that they had handed out tickets and those with tickets would be called in batches.  Those without tickets (that would be us) had to wait until after all ticket holders had their signed books and then we could be called up in groups.  The highest number I heard was 323.

There was some waiting around.  But Powell's Books in tbe Beaverton Mall is next to Game Trader so Carus wasted some time playing one of the games.


The crowd.













Listening to Ree talk for a bit, sing, and then take questions from the crowd.


Carus wanted to ask what her favorite color was, but we didn't get the chance.


Carus had my little point and shoot and she amused herself for a bit while we were waiting.








I knew since I had Carus with me and didn't have a ticket I wasn't going to get my cookbook signed, but we walked around a bit and Carus nudged her way in a bit to take a picture. 

I had to call her back because she kept getting closer and closer - if I hadn't called her back she might have ended up taking a picture of her nostril or something :P

She was just going to sneak her way in and ask for a quick picture. I had to remind her that it would be cutting in line and that wouldn't be fair.

So she took a few more pictures. And pouted. 

Carus taking a picture of The Pioneer Woman.

Isn't her daughter so pretty?! And she is tall!

The Pioneer Woman's oldest daughter and mother-in-law came with her on this little book tour.  Carus was way too shy to ask for a picture with her daughter, so I asked for her.

Carus is very shy.  Once she's met ya and you've talked, she'll talk your ear off, but before that she is just flat out SHY.  I am too, except when I'm around my kids.

That's it.  We then came home.  No signed cookbook.  We still don't know Ree's favorite color.  Just some mother-daughter time, a memory of 'that time we saw a famous person', and a few pictures.

Maybe she'll come back again and we'll have another chance...

Another book signing

This cookbook came out recently and I'm so excited to finally have a copy (I was holding out since it was on my gift list, but no one wanted to get it for me).

I've been following The Pioneer Woman's blog for awhile now, and have tried a few of her recipes with several more lined up to try.

What I have tried has gotten great reviews.


I love how she shows her recipes with step by step instructions.

Her site is more than just cooking and recipes.  She has stories about her kids and her husband, their life on a ranch in Oklahoma, her childhood, her dogs, photography, homeschooling (which she does because she lives on a ranch in Oklahoma), and some other stuff thrown in. 

The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, is coming to Beaverton, Oregon on tonight (Monday, April 19) for a book signing.  I've invited Robert's mom to come with me - we got her a copy of the cookbook for Christmas - and I'm going to take Carus too, make it a girls night.

Will share pictures :)

I have all the patience in the world!

I have all the patience in the world! I swear I do. 

I've been saying for weeks that I don't have the patience to wait for our closing date for the house anymore and here I've been left waiting and waiting and waiting.  I have decided, I do have patience NOW JUST GIVE ME MY CLOSING DATE!

The news is that our closing date is being pushed out a bit further.  As of two days ago, word was that they hoped it we be mid May, but we got word Friday afternoon that the first step of our funding has been approved and that the papers will get forwarded to the second step on Monday.  This coming Friday, April 23rd was our original closing date, but hopes are that we will still close before the end of April.

We will see.

My mom told me before, many times actually, that sometimes God answers our prayers in ways that we don't want him too, or in the wrong way "in our opinion".  And that he has a sense of humor. 

A story I remember most, especially at times when my patience is getting thin is how she was taught patience when us kids (me and my brothers) were very little and her days were full of crying and dirty diapers and sleep deprivation, you know, motherhood.  She would pray for patience and it wouldn't be long before she was pregnant again.

You wouldn't think it would take four kids born two years apart to figure it out, but it did.  Lack of sleep. Its a bitch. She found her patience though!  Or she just got wise and stopped praying for it. HA!

That's why I've decided to stop saying to myself and out loud that I have no more patience.  I have all the patience in the world.

I've been dreading the teenage/puberty years - I've dreaded them because I've seen first hand through myself, friends, and siblings just how much of a pain in the ass teenagers can be, and how much trouble they can get themselves into - but they are sneaking up on me more and more each day.

Adam has had acne for awhile now, and we're working on it. It improves when he washes regularly and well, but it's a pain to get him to wash.  Soon I won't have to worry much about that; wanting to look nice for girls will take care of it. 

Not only does he have acne, but his voice is starting to crack.  Just a little bit, but I swear a month ago it wasn't. And by next month. BY THE END OF THE SUMMER! By his 12th birthday!

I am still taller than him. HA!

He is also getting a bit of an additude, being really snippy with everyone, especially with Carus.  We are constantly reminding him to watch his tone.  Last week he tried to get all up in my grill and have an additude with me because I told him to do some chores. (I know, CHORES! the nerve of me.)  I reminded him of his tone and warned him to watch it before he got himself in trouble, but it was all I could do not to just start laughing at him. I am finding it absolutely hilarious!

Ask me again in a few months to a year if I still find it funny.

Speaking of finding the kids funny, Carus has her first singer crush.  Justin Bieber.  Just saying his name in her earshot will make her blush. And if one of his songs come on the radio, "TURN IT UP, IT'S MY JUSTIN!!!"

In the checkout line at the grocery store the other day and she noticed his picture on People magazine - she nudged me, pointed at the magazine and grinned.  When I giggled she blushed, which made me laugh.  By then she was beet-red, telling me to shush and looking around to make sure no one else noticed.

Think she might kill me for writing about it? 

Who was your first celebrity/singer crush? - I remember crushing HARD on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Randy from Home Improvement).

It's Justin Bieber!

Carus has her first singer crush.

 Justin Bieber.



I heard he was doing a concert tour so I decided to see if he was coming to Portland.

He is.

So I looked up if there were tickets left.

There were.

So I checked the prices and lost my breath at the $250-$800 floor seat tickets! But, after some looking around for the best deal, way up in the nose bleed section I found a few cheap tickets left. So I talked to Robert and since it wasn't bad, I bought her and I tickets to see Justin Bieber on July 14 at the Rose Garden.

Then we called Carus in from outside.



Carus went back outside told Adam, jumped on him, then screamed very loudly a couple of times. 

I am so happy I get to take her to her first concert.

Boxes, tape, and .... a label maker

Friday both Robert and I got off work early so we used the free time to start cleaning out and packing downstairs. Our hobby room/guest room/catch all room.  We've been avoiding it.

FINALLY some packing got done!  Not much, but its a start.

I have 2-1/2 boxes packed, 2 bags ready to go to goodwill, TONS of stuff tossed and recycled.  Oh and a crate all sealed up for the move.  I have a crate full of fabric, I just added a bit more stuff to it and then we screwed it shut. So progress, YAY!

Robert did some tossing and recycling of his stuff too.

Robert did bring home a label maker - but it didn't get used...yet.  He might use it when packing his stuff.  I guess my Sharpie isn't good enough for him. HA!

As for the house stuff progress thing...

We've had our inspection and nothing was found that we didn't already know.  Foundation is good, roof is good, chimney is good.

The bank has done its appraisal and it came back just above our offer, which means we still can buy.  Bonus - it will lower our property taxes!!

We've meandered around Home Depot and priced a few things on our to get list and put a few million things on our wish list, and got a few paint samples.  Home Depot feels so different when you actually own (almost) a home.