Busy, busy, busy

Storey wearing her brother's helmet backwards. She finds herself very amusing.

This past week I:

• packed stuff. A lot of stuff.
• sold Zak's commuter car (for more than we bought it for a year ago!)
• spent hours looking at houses online
• dealt with a number of moving-induced meltdowns and night terrors
• purchased flights for three of us (while Zak drives the truck) because I would rather eat attic insulation than have to ride with the kids all the way to Houston by myself. Flying solo doesn't sound all that appealing either, but in this case I believe it to be the lesser of the two evils. Could I be wrong? Most definitely, yes. Ask me again in a week.
• bought a bright pink suitcase covered in Dora and Boots for our flight to Houston ($2 at D.I.)
• taught Storey the word "hideous" (see aforementioned Dora suitcase)
• reserved a moving truck
• talked with a couple of district offices and educational advocates about Jak/school. Got nowhere.
• panicked about finding a house in time for school to start.
• panicked some more that the timing of the move/lease/school/job will not work out.
• set up last minute doctor/therapy appointments
• took a much needed break to see Harry Potter and say goodbye to Cafe Rio
• finished the second week of my Bountiful Basket volunteer site coordinator training
• picked up a 16 lb box of peaches that we ordered before getting this job. Looks like we'll be canning this week. In our free time, of course.
• panicked when our computer just.stopped.working.
• made a very expensive semi-impulse buy: a new computer. We've been researching, saving, and talking about it for over a year, just never actually done it. Hey, I had to find a house online!! Hard to do without a computer.
• suffered from buyer's remorse for about two days (without fail, this happens every time we make a big purchase).
  
• sent my mom into the blistering heat with a realtor to look at a dozen houses, none of which had the air conditioning on.
• witnessed the absolute worst meltdown Jakson has ever had. I can't wait until we settle down again and he's not feeling so anxious.
• found these awesome calming drops on Abe's Market. I wish they were going to arrive before the flight next Tuesday.
• rehearsed what will happen on the plane for Family Home Evening. Most repeated instructions? Don't kick the seat in front of you and no screaming on the plane.
• found a house!! Sight unseen, but I trust my mother's opinion. So glad to have that done.
  

And because Storey has the worst timing of any child, she has decided that this is the week o' potty training. I believe in the method of potty training that requires no method. As in the kid is ready and does it their own dang self. I'm a sideline observer and an occasional cheerleader. Unfortunately, I have found her stripped down and sitting on the toilet numerous times recently. Though I'm not real keen on the timing, I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. I may not believe in potty training methods, but I still firmly believing in a good bribe. So, I've promised to trade diapers for a princess bike helmet because this girl has been asking for a princess bike helmet for months and I aim to please.

I'll take that Mother of the Year Award now.

It's official

We're moving to Texas!

It's been a long time coming. We are so grateful that after two years our prayers have been answered. The Lord's timing is not always ours (definitely not this time), but we are thankful for the strengthened faith this experience has given us.

10 days to pack, sell a car, find a house, and move. Whew!

More details soon...

Home again, home again

We've been vacationing in Nevada and Arizona for the past 10 days without internet access most of the time (it was kind of nice!). We are now back in UT, surrounded by mounds of laundry and the smell of rotten potatoes (rotted while we were gone). Worst. smell. ever.

Fun times were had by all. Pictures to come.

Our last stop was Snowflake, AZ-the location of many summer memories as a kid. My grandmother still lives there, so we went to see her. I love it there.

My grandmother

Whenever I visit, I wonder what it would be like to live in a little town. Would I love it? Hate it? I know I like the idea of it, but the reality is probably much different. Only one grocery store in town, but no traffic. No Target, but local businesses that know you.... It would be interesting.

It's funny how driving is tiring. And I didn't even drive-I just rode and yelled at kids who were yelling at each other. Sound fun? It wasn't. I often wish that "Beam me up Scottie" actually did something. Especially on car rides with children. Someone needs to invent that. Along with the glass partition available in cars between the front and back seats I wrote about a couple of years ago. I'm telling you, these are money makers.

Back to real life (and lots of laundry) tomorrow.

Pick your battles.

During our drive to Vegas, I decided to tackle the Halloween question with the kids. Normally, I make the costumes and like a little bit of notice before October 31st if I have to come up with something elaborate.

Last year at some point, Jakson determined that princesses are extremely scary, which complicates things since Storey heard "costume" and immediately told me that she wants to dress as....you got it, a pink princess. I am already anticipating the meltdown this will cause. She loves to bug her brother-do you suppose this is all part of her evil plan?

Jakson's always been a little wary of Halloween, but apparently he has decided to boycott the holiday entirely this year. He explained that he already finished Halloween and if I push the matter further, he just yells "nothing!" A typical response when he's done with a discussion. Even my suggestion to dress as a paleontologist was met with a negative reply. He doesn't even want to pass out candy.

Oh well. It's just a holiday. There are a lot worse things he could refuse to do. Like go to school, acknowledge his sister's existance, pee in a public bathroom.... Been there, done that. Glad we're over those stages. This one I can live with. He is a lesson in learning to pick battles.

Truth be told, I am going to try and convince Storey to be a pink owl like this one. That's a battle I might win.