The Newest Addition to our Family

So remember our gerbil troubles? We lost a gerbil and bought a new one. Well, shortly after moving that gerbil went crazy one day and was dead the next. Then a week later the other gerbil we had went crazy one day and died the next. So we got to thinking something's up in this house and maybe it wouldn't be wise to bring another gerbil in. So of course the kids were disappointed. So we decided we need to do something. So here's what we did...








We found a dog! Meet Buster! He's a 3 year old Pekingese mix. He's such a happy little guy. Always looks like he's smiling. Just seems to go with the flow and could care less about those six little hands coming at him in excitement trying to pet him. He just fit right in. He takes CJ in stride so far. Doesn't seem bothered by him. As a matter of fact until we brought him home today and then had to leave him for a little while we had never heard him bark.

Here's Buster with all the kids

It's amazing all three kids and the dog are looking at the camera. How often do you think that will happen?

We are hopeful we have a good night with Buster tonight. So far he's just been watching us and following us around. He's loving all the cuddles that's for sure.

And now we have a new member of the family for CJ to fight with over what's his. This could be interesting. CJ claimed Buster's crate today.



He crawled in and then didn't want to get out.



We tried letting him out, but he just closed the door behind him. Yup, this definitely could be interesting. CJ did share his cheese with Buster tonight though. I'm thinking Buster might just follow CJ around waiting for him to share his food with him. And for CJ to give up a piece of cheese is a big thing.

Long time No Post

So I forgot my Week In Review post from last week. It's sitting in my list of posts in a draft state only half done. I think I've forgotten just what I did last week though so I'm going to have to skip it. I think I'm skipping this weeks Week In Review post too because the week is almost done and I've written nothing down for that one. And my days are just beginning to mush together. I can't say I've been super busy. Today was a crazy day. I was out of the house by 8 a.m. to bring the kids to school and start popping popcorn. Did that until about 10:30 or so and then sent Joe off home with CJ to meet with my PTA officers and spend our Scholastic money on Bingo Prizes for March. Finished that at about noon and went with my PTA VP to Sam's Club to buy cups, napkins, and bags for our movie night tonight. She dropped me off at home around 1:30 and I finally got to eat lunch. Did a few things around the house before going to pick the kids up at school. We took my friend's son for the afternoon too. Went to Walmart to price some things and get a few things. Then stopped at Wendy's to grab some dinner and brought the kids home to eat. After eating and getting the kids in PJ's we went back to the school for movie night. Being one of the people running the event we had to set up and clean up. We watched G-Force which was cute from what I saw of it. Cleaned up, waited around for some parents to pick up their kids because in spite of our rule of parents must accompany their children they still don't follow that rule. Then we left. Finally home for the evening to relax. It's a crazy weekend ahead though. Lots of fun stuff is going to be happening over the next few months for the Barnes Bunch though so even with my lack of posts I do hope you keep reading to see what's in store for us. I'll try to be better about updating, or at least doing my Week In Review.

Stages of Life

Every different age group in a child seems to have it's own challenges. Newborns never sleep when you want them to sleep and you are so sleep deprived and wonder how could anything be any worse than this. Then they become toddlers and are into EVERYTHING. They are defiant and love testing the waters, but they still want to please you. Then they start school and pick up on all sorts of other children's bad habits and you've got to deal with homework and whether or not they are succeeding in school. You've been through the ringer with these kids up until now. You've dealt with a lot. You can handle anything when it comes to them, right?

Well, then you have to start dealing with the preteens with changing hormones. They are moody, but at the same time still very much a child. They can throw a temper tantrum just as good as they did when they were 2. The mood swings I think are what gets me. I don't know how I'm going to handle the teen stage. I suppose the same way I've dealt up until now. With lots of talking to my friends who are dealing with the same things.

This is why they tell you parenting is the hardest thing you'll ever do. Just when you think you've seen the worst of it kids will throw a curve ball at you and have you shaking your head and pulling out your hair all over again.

My name is Monica, and I have survived newborns, toddlers, and school aged children. I am in the midst of preteen madness. I only hope that I still have hair on my head in 2 years when Natalie is officially a teenager; and I only hope I haven't been locked away in a mental home in 10 years when CJ is about to become a teenager.

Drama Woes

The 5th grade here puts on a drama production at the end of the school year. A few weeks ago they started practices. They have just been learning what the parts are and stuff. They will be performing the Jungle Book this year. They got their parts today. Natalie is a rock, a plant, a tree, and a flower. Needless to say she is not at all pleased with this non speaking part. She came home today very upset and just kept saying but why me? I tried to show her the good in it, but she was having nothing of that. She was just completely upset. I later found out that they picked the parts based on the child's personality. So I think that's a big part of why Natalie is upset because she thinks the teacher thinks she's dull like a rock or something. I explained to her that it's probably because she's shy and quiet and she thought that she wouldn't want a speaking part. I told her to be the best darn rock, tree, plant, and flower that school has ever seen. And that her part is just as important as all the rest because she has to make it believable that they are in the jungle. We cheered her up with a little Subway for dinner. She's better about it now, but I think she's still disappointed. I'm excited to watch her play a rock, a plant, a tree, and a flower. I mean really she's gotta be very versatile to switch to all those different parts. I'm really looking forward to this. Hopefully she comes around and sill finds Drama fun. I was totally not prepared for this being her first real taste of rejection though.

CJ-isms

I do not remember Natalie and Kaitlyn coming up with some of the things CJ does. Now granted Natalie was 3 before she really began talking and with help of speech therapy there weren't too many mispronunciations of things. I mean she called Snoopy Moo-hee which is the only thing I can remember of her funny words. There were probably more, but I did not document them. Kaitlyn did the typical turning words with tr at the beginning into fr words. So trouble would be frouble and truck was fruck. We got a big kick out of that I remember. She seemed to like the f sound come to think of it because ketchup was fretchup. So a few more fun Kaitlyn-isms I guess. I'm determined to not forget the funny things CJ says though. He has us cracking up a lot.

So here are a few that I can think of off the top of my head:

If you are in his way and depending on how much of a hurry he is in he will either say scoo mee (excuse me), beep beeeeeep, or MOVE. Move comes out really clear, LOL.

One of our favorites that he says is NoINot (no I not, but it sounds like one word). He actually told Joe the other day NoINot when Joe called him Christopher. Which is actually his name, but that just goes to show you how often we actually call him Christopher.

Yesterday he told me he was a brat. "I a b-at!" And no it was not him calling himself a bat or batman or anything like that. We had called Natalie a brat and he informed us that he was in fact the brat.

His name for Natalie is Na-Nat. We figured it would be easier for him to call her Nat Nat (repetitive things like mama, dada, and all that you know), but he turned our calling her Nat Nat into Na-Nat. So now Natalie is forever known as Na-Nat. Good thing she likes it. Although, from time to time he'll call Kaitlyn Na-Nat too. He knows she's Kate Kate though.

And my absolute favorite thing of all that he says is...

I ove ooo (I love you). I still try to get him to say mama after that, but boy do I love the sound of that. He doesn't say it often. Usually only when he's going to bed. He's a bit stingy with hugs and kisses. So I have to gobble up these little bits of affection as often as he gives them.

Okay, those are all I can come up with now. He's always doing things to make us all laugh though. He's quite the little ham. He's also a handful. His favorite word is definitely no. He likes to shake his head yes while saying no. That's always fun trying to figure out exactly what he really means. Gotta love 2 year olds :).

Week In Review: January 10 - January 16, 2010

Here is this weeks Week In Review for January 10, 2010 - January 16, 2010

Sunday: Got up and fed CJ breakfast. Joe had to go back to work. It was just me and CJ for half the day. I unpacked the bathroom. Gave CJ lunch. Put him down for a nap. Did some more unpacking. Took a shower. Straightened up the kitchen. Then the girls came home. CJ got up from his nap. Chatted with my parents for a little while and they left. Joe came home from work. We ordered a pizza for dinner. They messed up on the order. Had to wait for another pizza to come. Ate dinner. Got the kids ready for bed. Sent them to bed. Joe and I watched some TV and then went to bed.

Monday: Got up a little late. The girls were arguing over who's fault it was that their alarm did not go off. Had to tell them to stop numerous times. Joe brought them to school, but they were late. He came home and we hung around. Gave CJ lunch and put him down for a nap. Then we did some things in the kitchen we've been meaning to get around to. I prepared for my PTA meeting. We went to pick the girls up from school. Went to the store to get something for dinner. Came home and got the girls going with their homework. Then we made dinner. I went to my meeting. Came home. Put the kids to bed. Joe and I watched some TV. I took a shower and went to bed.

Tuesday: Again the kids got up late. They were dragging their feet. I brought them to school. Told them they have three choices. I put them in the school they are districted for, set their alarm for an hour earlier, or they get up and get ready on time. They chose the last one. We'll see how it goes. Came home and hung around the house. Fed CJ lunch and put him down for a nap. Brought Joe to work and picked the girls up from school. Came home and started on homework. Cleaned up the kitchen and got dinner started. Got together a load of laundry. Washed and folded laundry. Ate dinner. Got the kids ready for bed. Went and picked Joe up from work. Came home and sent the kids to bed. Joe and I stayed up watching some TV. I fell asleep. We went to bed.

Wednesday: Had to get up very early to bring Joe to work. Brought him to work. Came home. Got the kids ready for school. Brought them to school and CJ to playgroup. After playgroup CJ and I came home. I fed him lunch and put him down for a nap. Watched some TV. Rested on the couch. Went to get the girls from school. Went to pick Joe up from work. Got gas in the car. Picked up some groceries. Came home. Started homework. Cleaned the kitchen. Cooked dinner. Fed everyone. Played with the kids for a little while. Sent them to bed. Joe and I watched some TV. Took a shower and went to bed.

Thursday: Got up and got the kids ready for school. Joe brought them in. When he came back we hung around the house for a while before going out to run some errands. Went to Sam's Club to buy more popcorn bags for PTA. Went to Walmart to get a few things. Checked out some furniture at Bobs. Got some lunch. Went to Sprint to check out a new phone for Joe. Came home for a few. Went back out to get Kaitlyn from school. Back home. Started homework. Joe went back out to pick Natalie up from Drama. She came home and did her homework. I searched for some old pictures. Got dinner going. Ate. Got CJ ready for bed. Put him to bed and hung out with the girls for a while. Sent them to bed. Joe and I stayed up watching TV before going to bed.

Friday: Got up and got the kids ready to go to the school early for popcorn Friday. We started the popcorn and the kids went and ate breakfast. We had a really big week with popcorn and didn't finish until after 11 when we're normally done before 11. After we finished we came home and had lunch and put CJ down for a nap. We relaxed for a little while before having to bring Joe to work. Brought him to work and then went and picked up the girls from school. Came home and they played. I did some stuff on the computer. Then I washed dishes and cooked dinner. Then we watched some TV and went to pick Joe up from work. We rented a movie. Came home and sent the kids to bed. Joe had something to eat and then we watched our movie. After the movie we went to bed.

Saturday: Got up kind of early. Had to get Natalie ready for her Science program. Brought Natalie to her science program and then went to the bank to make a deposit. Came home for a few before having to go back out and pick Natalie up from the science program. Came home so she could show everyone what she learned. Then we all went out to the library to get the girls some new books to read. After the library we went to the store to return our movie and rent another one and get something for lunch and dinner. Then we came home and had lunch and put CJ down for a nap. Then I took a shower. I got dressed and ready to go meet my cousin. Brought Natalie with me to go dress shopping for a bridesmaid dress for my cousin's wedding. I found a few I liked, but they didn't have the right size. We looked at some shoes for my cousin too, but she has hard feet to buy shoes for. Then we went to another store and ended up finding a dress there. It was a little more than the one I found originally and was just going to order online. We decided to see if we could find me a new bra that might help me decide if the dress was the one. We found one. Decided to go ahead and get the dress. Looked at some more shoes and some jewelry to see what would look good with the dress. Then we left. It was 8:00 by the time we got home and Joe was not happy because we had been out so long. I talked to him about it and modeled the dress and all was good. Natalie and I ate dinner and then we watched the movie. Then we sent the girls to bed. Joe and I stayed up a little while later before we ended up going to bed.

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Monica's Musings #2

Well, I really have nothing to talk about. Nothing of great importance anyways. Kind of felt like I needed to post something on the blog though. I guess I've had a bit of a case of bloggers block. Either that or else nothing exciting has been happening in my life lately. I'd prefer to say it's bloggers block, but truth be told things have been pretty boring around here.

*We're still unpacking and getting settled. We are enjoying the new place very much. Well, except for the stairs. It's a lot of stairs. But I guess it will help me to lose some much needed weight ;). One can hope anyways.

*As I'm typing this CJ is pushing his toy box out of his room AGAIN. We need to get some carpeting so things aren't so easy to push along the floor.

*The girls have been having a very difficult time getting up and out of the house in the morning. Since we are no longer in district for their school we had to get special permission to stay where we are. We were granted the special permission, but if the mornings keep going like they have been, then I had to tell the girls I will put them in the school we are districted for. We'll see if this lights a fire under their butts.

*Natalie got into the gifted programs Saturday Science Program. One hour every Saturday for the next seven weeks of Science for her. This should really be a lot of fun I think. She'll get to meet other kids from other schools and do some fun science projects.

*I received a book in the mail today about ADHD. I found the priest of my church from when I was a child on Facebook recently and found out he's no longer a priest, but instead gives informational classes about managing ADHD. Couldn't possibly have been better timing to come across him. I discussed Kaitlyn with him and how the school doesn't see what I see and he said that's very common with girls since generally they do not have the hyperactivity portion of ADHD. They fly under the radar so to speak. He wrote a book which he sent to me. I've only been able to read a few pages of it between distractions of homework help and disobedient little two year olds, but so far it's very interesting. Can't wait to get further into it.

Huh, well maybe I didn't actually have blogger's block. Looks like I had a lot to say. Just not your normal typical post I guess.

Week in Review: January 3 - January 9, 2010

Here is this weeks Week In Review for January 3, 2010 - January 9, 2010

Sunday: Got up sore from our exhausting move. The kids had spent the night at our friend's house since we finished so late and had to get the beds together. Joe and I walked across the street to the store to get something for breakfast and a few other things. It was soooo cold. We came home and tried calling U-Haul to rent a hand truck to get our fridge up. That wasn't working. Our friend was getting it for us and he ended up finding one somewhere else. Joe and I started putting together CJ's crib when our friend showed up to help with the fridge and to get our couch in. We got everything in. Our friend left. Joe and I got beds put together and a few other things done. Then we went over to the old place to try to get a few things we needed and to the grocery store for something for dinner. Then we picked up the kids and brought them home for dinner, baths, showers, and bed. CJ was so overtired. He cried for about half an hour before going to bed. The girls were a little nervous about sleeping in our new place. They all did good though. Joe and I took showers and watched some recordings since we couldn't watch TV. Then we went to bed.

Monday: Got up early. Joe had to run back to the old place to get our modem and stuff. I got the girls ready for school. They were dragging their feet. We had to leave early because I had to wait for the gas man to come to the old place to turn off the heat between 8 and 12. We managed to get there on time. I told the girls to get the rest of their stuff together and I cleaned out the bathroom. Then I rushed them to school and came back still waiting for the gas man. Joe was at home waiting for the cable guy and dish guy. I cleaned out the living room and my bedroom. Finally the gas guy came around 11:30. Once he came I loaded some stuff in the car and headed home. I let Joe mostly unpack the car. I did help though. Then we put some stuff away and I had something to eat and checked my e-mail and stuff since we had internet back. Then we went to get the girls from school. Came home and did homework and worked on unpacking some more. I ran to the store to get something to eat and we had dinner. Then we got some more of the kitchen stuff unpacked and got the kids ready for bed. Sent them to bed. CJ cried again. I guess the new place is taking some getting used to. He didn't cry as long though. Joe set up my washer/dryer for me so I could do some laundry. I got the laundry going and then Joe and I stayed up and watched some TV. I did more laundry and then Joe and I went to bed.

Tuesday: Got up early and had to bring Joe to court for Jury duty. So got the kids all ready to go and then we brought Joe to court and I rushed the girls to school. Then I came home with CJ where we did some more unpacking. I fed CJ lunch and then Joe called and said he got out of jury duty early. I went to pick him up and then we went to Goodwill and Salvation Army to see if we could find something to put the TV on. We couldn't find anything though. We went to get something to eat and then went home. Gave CJ a quick nap before having to go pick the girls up from school. Got the girls and went back to the old place for some more stuff. Came home and got the girls started on homework. Tried to get our other fridge in the pantry. It wasn't working. So we put it out in the hall. Then we went over our friends house to go to Sams Club with them. Did some grocery shopping and then came home. Unpacked the car and made a quick dinner. Sent the kids to bed. Joe and I watched some TV and took a shower and went to bed.

Wednesday: First day we didn't have to leave the house by 8 a.m. for anything. Got to sleep in a little. Got the kids ready for school and brought them to school. I went to talk to Kaitlyn's teacher about her homework and then went down to playgroup. We had a good time at playgroup and then went home to get some stuff. Went back to the old place to get more things cleaned out and put the junk out to be picked up. Got what we could get done there. Our friends had to pick the girls up from school for us. We unpacked the stuff and then went back to get the kids. Then we went to Walmart for some things. Got dinner and then went home. Got the kids ready for bed and sent them to bed. I did some laundry. Watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday: Got up and got the kids ready. Grabbed some boxes on the way out the door and rushed the kids to school. Brought CJ over to a friend's house to watch for the day. Got our seats out of the van and went to the old place to get the last of our stuff and clean it out. Four loads later and an entire day we finally got everything out. What a relief. Our friend picked Kaitlyn up from school. Natalie had drama so she stayed at school late. We went to get Kaitlyn and CJ and get our seats back in the van and then picked Natalie up from drama. Then we went home finally. I helped Kaitlyn with her homework. Joe started dinner. I put the meat in the freezer finally that we had bought on Tuesday. Helped Natalie with her homework. Brought some things up from the basement. Did some more laundry. Ate dinner. Got the kids ready for bed and sent them to bed. Then Joe and I relaxed for the night. I did some more laundry. Took a shower and went to bed.

Friday: Got up late. Was hoping for a delayed opening due to the snow, but no such luck. So tried to get ready quickly to get to the school for popcorn. Had to search through boxes for the cash box. Got everything together and brought the girls to school. Sent them to have breakfast while we got the popcorn going. Being 15 minutes late put us behind. I had hoped others would get there on time, but no such luck. Scrambled to get the popcorn finished. Then left and went back to the old place to get the last of the garbage and do a quick once over of the cleaning. Got all the garbage loaded in the car and brought it to the school to dump. Went back to the place and took a video of the condition we left it in and some pictures and then left. Came home. Fed CJ lunch and put him down for a nap. I cleaned the bathroom. Joe and I had something to eat and then just hung around. We finally did some unpacking and then I went to pick the girls up from school. I brought the girls home and got their room in order. Made sure they were packed for grandma and grandpas. Then we waited for my dad to arrive. He came and we showed him around a little and then he took the girls. Then Joe, CJ, and I went to Walmart for some stuff and to get something for dinner. We came home and put together our bathroom shelf. Put CJ to bed. Then Joe and I went into our bedroom and watched a movie. We both ended up falling asleep though.

Saturday: Got up to the girls alarm clock going off. Went and shut that off and then went to bed. About and hour later or so CJ got up. Joe went and got him and brought him back into bed with us. We laid with him for another hour or so. Then we got up and had breakfast. I unpacked some more stuff and then we went out. We had to go back to Walmart to exchange something we had gotten that was broken. Then we went to the post office to mail something. Then to the mall to exchange one of CJ's Christmas presents that didn't fit him. Then we came home. Fed CJ lunch and tried to put him down for a nap. He wasn't really having much to do with that though, but we needed him out of our hair. Joe started installing the blinds in the kitchen and I started working on the trim work in the kitchen. It took a while. CJ finally fell asleep, but got up very cranky. I finished up the painting and then got CJ out. I chatted with my cousin about her wedding dress and my bridesmaid dress. Fed CJ. Got him in PJ's. Joe and CJ laid on the couch together while my cousin and I chatted some more. Then we put CJ to bed and I did some things on the computer. Got ready for bed.

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Monica's Musings

So I just had some stuff on my mind. Random things that I wanted to share. Maybe I'll do this from time to time and make it a whole thing. I'll take suggestions for what it should be called, but for now Monica's Musings will have to do...

1. Our new neighbors get up at 6 in the morning and make all sorts of noise waking me and Joe up. We don't like being awake at 6 a.m. thank you. I hate to be a complainer, but seriously if this keeps up I'm going to have to talk to the landlord I think about asking them to not scream at 6 a.m. I can't believe no one has ever complained. It's been two mornings now this has happened.

2. Joe had jury duty today. It figures we've got a million things to do and he'd have to go. So I had to drop him off at the court at 8:30 a.m. and then quickly run the girls to school for 8:55 a.m. I got them there with a minute to spare. Although, since they weren't in their classrooms and I know the snails pace they walk at once they are out of my site I imagine they were still late. Good news is Joe was done with his jury duty by 11:30.

3. Some lady clipped my mirror today. I was stopped at a stop light on my way to bringing the girls to school and this lady in this big SUV(not that it was much bigger than my mini van) decided to make a turn lane where there was not one. She pulled up along side of me and our mirrors clipped. Thankfully she wasn't going fast and there was no damage done or anything, but I found the lady very rude. I looked in her car to see if there was any reaction or apology coming from her, but no she put her hands to her mouth as if to say oops, but never once looked over at me to even mouth an "I'm sorry". We were sitting side by side at that traffic light for a good minute too. When the light turned green I had to get out of the way of getting hit again too. Some people.

4. I am getting reimbursed from U-Haul for not getting the truck I had reserved. I'm actually getting back more than I was expecting. I would have been happy with the cost of mileage back, but they are giving me $50 back. I'll believe it when I see it I guess, but it's definitely nice.

5. I had a moment of panic today when I couldn't find my debit card. I completely forgot I had given it to Joe to pay for our gas today before I brought him to jury duty and he didn't give it back. So I was going through my purse and wallet worried that I had left it behind somewhere or some how it fell out of my purse and wallet. It was a relief to hear from Joe and confirm that he did still have it and hadn't handed it back to me and I forgot where I put it.

6. Unpacking is going slow. I do have my kitchen mostly unpacked, but that's about it.

7. CJ is very 2 these days. This morning he opened up his box of blocks and dumped them all over the living room floor and then proceeded to spread them all around and then got up to play with something else. I told him numerous times to put them away. He started to, but was playing with it a little and then would try to distract me with his cuteness and left them strewn across the floor. After numerous requests to get him to put them away I finally just did it myself and now I have blocks and he doesn't, but he doesn't seem bothered in the least. He also then told me "No" when I said it was nap time. Yup, he's definitely 2.

Well, I think that's about it for now. Tune in next time for more of Monica's Musings...

The U-Haul Saga

I don't know why I bother with U-Haul for our moves. When we had moved up here 6 years ago we had reserved a U-Haul, but never got it. We ended up having to get a Budget truck instead. Little has changed with U-Haul in six years.

I had hoped I wouldn't have to post about our move. I was hoping all would go off without a hitch and I wouldn't have been totally stressed out. But I went with U-Haul for our moving truck.

I had reserved a 17 foot truck for 10 a.m. on Saturday at our local U-Haul. Everything seemed fine when I did it Monday. We got to the U-Haul location shortly after 10. They were supposed to open at 10 and close at 6. There was no one there. We tried every single door to the place, but nothing. And of course neither Joe nor I had our phone on us. So we had to drive home to get our phone and try calling. I couldn't find the number in the phone book so I called the number on the door, but it was a fax number. So I called 1-800-GO-UHAUL. I was on hold with them for a while. I explained that no one was there and checked to make sure I had the address right. I did. They tried calling the number and they got a busy signal. So they were assuming someone was there. I said there is no one here we have tried every single door. So frustrated and already cutting deep into our move time I asked if there was another location near by that had the 17 foot truck. There was and they were transferring our reservation. So over to the other U-Haul we went. They were actually open. We went in, but they DID NOT have a 17 foot truck. It was reserved for noon so we couldn't have it. Grrr! All they could give us was a 14 foot truck. I was ticked. But it was a truck. So we took it. It was smaller though so therefore wouldn't fit as much. And you have to pay for mileage. So needless to say I was frustrated to no end at that point. But we had a truck. We went and loaded the truck and ended up doing the moving well into the night. So late into the night that our refrigerator did not make it up the stairs because everyone was too exhausted to do it. So we went to return the truck with the hopes of renting an appliance dolly the next day. However, the battery was dead. So we had to go get jumper cables and jump the U-Haul with our van. Then we were able to return the truck.

The next morning we got up all sore from our exhausting move. Went to get something to eat and then called the U-Haul place to rent the dolly. No answer. Hmmm, so I called 1-800-GO-UHAUL again. I found out that the place we were trying to rent the dolly from was open, but only for 15 more minutes. I asked why they weren't answering then. The lady didn't know. She said she'd try to reach them on three way to see if they'd stay open a little later. I guess she couldn't get anyone because the next thing I knew I was back in the automated system. I got a new person who told me they don't rent just the dollys without the truck. I was getting a little ticked off at this point in time. This lady felt the need to tell me she's worked there for 12 years like I care how long she's worked there. Whatever. She ended up transferring me to the regional office. There I was told if they aren't open they aren't open. Uhhh, that's just it they are open. Or at this point they were open when I called, but they weren't answering. I lost it and told them they didn't know how to run a company because of all the trouble we've had and I simply would like to rent a dolly so I could finish my move. Well, I got put on hold again. Then the person came back and told me I could go to this other location and gave me the number. They are open until 2 and if I called the guy would work with me. Well, we ended up going with someone else for the dolly entirely after this because I was just too fed up. All of the big stuff is now up. I have a few things left at the other place. But because we lost an hour of our move and 3 feet in our truck we are going to be making a lot of trips with our mini van to get the rest of the stuff here. I guess you get what you pay for with U-Haul. Next time I move maybe I'll have enough money to just hire movers to move us.

Week In Review: December 27, 2009 - January 2, 2010

Here is this weeks Week In Review for December 27, 2009 - January 2, 2010

Sunday: Got up to the kids playing with CJ's toys. CJ was crabby. So I laid down with him for a few. Then he was in a better mood. I have the feeling the girls woke him up. He can be hard to get going if he doesn't wake on his own. We had breakfast and then brought Joe to work so I could have the car. Came back home and washed dishes. Put CJ down for a nap. Then I got all of the stuff up from the basement to put the tree away. I wrestled with that darn tree for a few hours, but I finally got all the ornaments off and in their place, the lights down and in their place, and the tree apart and in it's box. Then I wrapped a birthday present and got CJ up from his nap and we headed to a birthday party. It was at Randy's Wooster St. Pizza which means a make your own pizza party. CJ had fun with that and playing peek-a-boo with everyone. The girls had fun too. This wasn't really new to them though as they've had their birthday there before. I had to leave the kids there so I could go get Joe from work. Got him and went back to the pizza place for the end of Mia's party. Joe called his sister and was still talking to her when we got there so I went in to let him continue talking to her. We hung out a little while longer and then we left. Joe had found out that his grandmother's wake is tomorrow. Nice of someone to tell him. That despite telling his sister we have no money she was still expecting $600 from him. I was livid about the whole situation since we had no say in any of the arrangements and yet she was expecting all of this money that we just do not have. Joe and I ended up getting into a fight. We went home, but ended up having to go back out to get food for dinner. We went to the store and got the food and came home to cook. Looked up Joe's grandmother's obituary. Noticed that some information was left out like the name of their mother, Nanny's only child. That might have been important information for anyone who would have known their mother to have read even if she has passed already. Anyways, I called my mom to tell her when the service was in case she wanted to come or send flowers. I cleaned up the living room. Put CJ to bed. The girls stayed up playing their new game and watching some TV for a little while before they finally went to bed. Joe and I stayed up a little later and went to bed.

Monday: Joe had to leave early in the morning for work. I got up after 8 and the house was very quiet. I enjoyed the quiet for a little while before I began working on some laundry and more packing. The kids finally got out of bed. I called public works to set up a bulk pick up. I called the Uhaul place to rent a truck for Saturday. Did more laundry and more packing. Made lunch for the kids. Put CJ to bed. Washed dishes. Cleaned up the kitchen a little. Went and took a shower. Got ready for Joe's grandmother's wake. Joe came home from work. I got the kids ready to go over my friend's house. We left and dropped the kids off and then headed down to the wake that Joe didn't even want to go to. All because of the drama with his brother and sister. They didn't even say anything, but one of his other sisters was carrying around a water bottle that was not filled with water. She was drunk and making a scene. Joe got into a small scuffle with her. Nothing big. He was trying to get the bottle out of her hands and she didn't want him to so she slapped him a few times and bit him. He let her go and she stayed away from him the rest of the night. The wake ended and we headed home. Stopped at the grocery store to get something for us to eat for dinner and then went to pick the kids up. Got them and brought them home. Got them ready for bed. Put CJ to bed. Made dinner for me and Joe. Ate. Sent the girls to bed. Joe and I watched some TV before we went to bed.

Tuesday: After not sleeping well I got up to CJ crying. Got the kids breakfast. Packed up some books. Paid some bills. Got the girls working on packing up their bedroom. Joe left for work. I did some more packing. Fed the kids lunch. Put CJ down for a nap. Laid down for a few. Got up and washed dishes. Started cooking dinner. Ate dinner. Joe came home from work. He ate dinner. We put CJ to bed. Let the girls stay up a little and watch some TV. Then sent them to bed. I did some laundry. Took a shower and went to bed.

Wednesday: Got up early and got ready for Joe's grandmother's funeral. We left for that. Stopped at the store to get some flowers and then went to Joe's sister's house. We went to the cemetery. Had a tearful morning. After that we headed back to Joe's sister's house for a few. Had to leave early though because Joe was late for work. Came home and had some lunch. Put CJ down for a nap. Joe left for work. I dozed for a few. Got up and washed dishes. Started cooking dinner. Fed the kids. Did some more packing. Sent the kids to work on their messy rooms. Folded some laundry. Continued packing. Joe came home from work. I still had the kids up because their rooms were such a mess. Had a little breakdown because I have no help. Put the kids to bed and tried to pack more. Joe helped a little but he was tired. We went to bed after clearing off our bed.

Thursday: Had to get up very early to bring Joe to work so I could have the car. Came back home to snooze a little before getting the kids ready. Got everyone out the door later than I wanted. Stopped at my friend's house so she could watch CJ for me. Brought the girls with me to the new place with me to wait for the gas man. I set them up in their bedroom and went to work on painting the kitchen. The gas man showed up and finally we had heat. I continued to paint. Got the second coat of one of the colors and all of the first coat of the other color on the walls. Left around 12:30. Had to clean snow off the car. Got the kids loaded in and drove back to my friend's house to pick up CJ. Hung out there for a few and then came home for lunch. Put CJ down for a nap and I crashed on the couch exhausted. Had to go pick Joe up from work though. So I got CJ up from his nap and we went to get Joe. Got something for dinner and came home. Made dinner. Fed the kids. Watched some TV. Got CJ ready for bed. Put him to bed and watched a movie with the girls. I soaked in a nice hot tub. Tried to stay up until midnight, but with the long day it was too hard.

Friday: Got up early. Joe was getting ready to leave for work. He left and I hung around for a while. Then CJ got up so I got him and fed him breakfast. Natalie got out of bed shortly after and Kaitlyn followed a little while later. They ate. I sent Natalie to start getting me her board games. I got dressed. I packed up some stuff in the kitchen. Then I packed up the games and taped up some of the boxes the kids were bringing me. Took some garbage out to the garbage can. Tried to tackle some more packing. CJ kept getting in the way. I got the girls bedding packed up and then made lunch for everyone. After lunch I put CJ down for a nap and then I went and worked on packing up my bedroom. Got the girls to get some of the board games from under the couch. Packed up some blankets while they did that. Then they needed my help. I had to hang Kaitlyn over the back of the couch to reach some of the games. Got that done. Freecycled some stuff. Continued to pack. Had dinner. Went over to the new place to unpack some stuff so we could have more boxes. Came home put the kids to bed and packed some more. Did a load of laundry and packed some more. Finished the laundry and called it a night.

Saturday: No internet. Will write a post when I have internet telling about our move. Well, assuming anything exciting happens. If it's just your normal typical boring move then I'll keep that to myself. But basically my day will be get up early, pack up last minute stuff, take apart beds and furniture, go get the rental truck, load the truck, go to new place, unload the truck, back to the old place, load up truck, back to new place, unload truck, and hopefully that will be everything and we will return the truck and go back to the new place to set up beds and begin to unpack everything. Without internet until Monday according to the cable company.

Check out more Week In Review posts!

The things I WILL NOT miss about our old place

I will NOT miss...

An absentee landlord

The lead walls

The ugly orange counters

The sliver inducing wood paneling walls in my living room that weep sap

The windows that fall out

The broken window in my bedroom that has been like that for a year

The leaky toilet

The basement that fills with water every time it rains

The rickety stairs we travel up and down every day

The fruit trees that have overtaken our side yard (at least the plastic huts are gone)

The snow not being removed

and the number one thing that I will NOT miss when we move is...

The entire house rocking when our upstairs neighbor has a male guest over.