Monday, August 8, 2011

Roller coaster

These past few months have been a little busier than usual. We've been up and we've been down. The kids and I survived without Vince around for 3 months. We were extremely happy to have him back home! The weekend that he got back, we went to Colorado on our househunting trip. We really needed to do that since we were moving 2short weeks later. There were no rental houses in the town where we wanted to be so we were kind of forced to purchase a house instead. We found one that we liked, made an offer and started the process. We knew we would have to stay in a hotel for a while until we could close, but it would only be a few weeks. Moving day came quickly. Luckily the movers were very efficient and had us out of there in 2 days time. One day to pack, one to load and our stuff was in storage the next day in Denver. We still had no offers on our old house, so we had to use the relocation company program, which means that there are a lot of hoops to jump through before you can get the house off of your hands. One market analysis, 3 appraisals, 2 inspections, 1 fallen tree, several small improvements, 2.5 months, and one ton of stress later the relo company made us a low ball offer. Which we accepted. At least we're out from under it. During that time, our family was bouncing from hotel to hotel, to relative's houses and back while waiting for our new house to close. We also stayed with a co-worker of Vince's for a couple of weeks, which was extremely generous of him. The house deal just got worse and worse. Vince and I started to feel like we were backed into a corner with this house. We liked it, but it wasn't what we had first said we wanted. When we had the appraisal done, it came back under the agreed price/loan amount. Which meant the deal was dead. Back to square one. This was good news and bad news. There were still no rentals available, so we had to change tactics. We started looking in another town closer to Vince's office. It's not ideal for us because we really wanted to have the kids in smaller schools and we would prefer to be in the country with a little more space, but at least the rental we found here is huge. It's been nice to spread out a little. Okay, a lot. Just the main floor of this house is bigger than our old house. Then add the finished basement and we have more space than we know what to do with. It all worked out in the end, but boy was I losing my mind there in the middle. I'm pretty sure I worked myself up so much I earned an ulcer.

We are mostly settled in now, but it still feels weird. Like I'm staying at someone else's house. I guess it's just because we're renting. The girls start school this week. Maybe when we get into that routine it will start feeling more like home. Audrey will be in second grade and Katie will start Kindy. The schools here do a 4 day week, so that will be different. I will have some time alone with Sam, which will be good. I am still looking for a job. Keep your fingers crossed that I can find something good. It has to be straight 8-5 kind of stuff because Vince's schedule is so wonky. And since the girls will have Fridays off and Katie will only go half days, I will have to find something part time or find day care for them. So this job will have to pay well to cover day care for 3 kids. Sheesh. That should be easy, right? We are so blessed that I am able to stay home with the kids, but I'm really ready to go back to work. I need some adult interaction. It has definitely been an interesting summer. I didn't even have to go to the amusement park to take a roller coaster ride!

We've been checking out our new town a little. So far, we really like it. The weather here is more like home, except at night it cools down enough that we can turn off the A/C and open the windows. We like the desert/mountain scape, it's really beautiful. And it's nice to have new things to do and see instead of the same old stuff. The kids are digging the little amusement park by the zoo. They have carnival rides circa 1960 and a cool vintage carousel that is cheap, cheap, cheap! Every ride is 25 cents except the train and the carousel, those are 50 cents. We can spend 2 hours riding for less than $10 for the whole family.

I forgot to mention the dog. Our poor dog. He's been through a lot. The week before we moved, he got attacked by the same dog that bit Audrey a couple summers ago. He had a gash in his neck that required stitches. (Don't worry, I did report it.) When we got here, he had his stitched removed. He seemed fine. We went to my parent's house for a couple weeks during which time he proceeded to chew and lick his left legs so much that he lost all the hair and developed sores. I thought it was all the fleas there. We got rid of those, but by the time we got back here his legs were worse and he continued to lick them. We had to kennel him for a time while we stayed in different hotels, so I called them to let them know about his legs. They told me that they would keep them wrapped so that they could heal. When we got there, a tech ripped him from my arms to she could wrap them up. Then she got pissed when he snapped at her for messing with him. I could have told her he didn't like other people messing with him and to be very gentle, but she didn't give me a chance. By the time we picked him up, his legs were much worse and he was so anxious, they informed me that he was "vicious" and needed some vet treatment and possibly some anxiety medicine. This dog has never been mean a day in his life. He's protective, yes. Vicious, no. Needless to say, I will not be taking him back there. I took him to the same vet that had taken his stitches out and they declared that he was a stress chewer. They gave him one of those cone of shame things and some antibiotics. I literally had to drag him into the exam room. After everything he'd been through, he was terrified of the vet's office. He finally healed and we've since gotten into this house, so I think he's calmer. Buuuut. His story isn't finished. Last week I had to take him back to the vet. I called a different one, hoping to find one that we really like. He was chewing again, this time at his tail and rear-end. It was really bothering him. He would try to run from it and bark at himself. He was crazed with pain or itching or both. I took him in, got him looked at. Ants. Apparently he got into a fire-ant den or something. The vet said that's what it looked like. More antibiotics, more cone of shame, more creams. The good news is that Buddy did not mind this vet at all. He sat for her, did not snap at her, let her give him treats. I was amazed. He seems to be doing better and his rear is healing nicely. Let's hope his story ends here, people.

Sam has news as well. He has potty trained himself!! Yes, the boy did it. Finally. I was beginning to wonder if we would both be in diapers at the same time. I didn't push him at all. He just did it. We still have accidents, mainly with #2. But even those are few and far between. He asked for a motorcycle cake after the first whole day with no diapers. That's exactly what he got. Now we have to stop him from peeing anywhere and everywhere. The park, the neighbors yard, off the upstairs deck onto the patio below...the joys of being a boy!

Since I still have things to unpack and put away (a month later) and the kids are clamoring for attention, I'll leave for now. Hopefully I'll be able to update a little more frequently now that we have internet. As soon as I figure out how to get the pictures off of my iPhone, I'll post pictures of the house too. Ciao!