Making Friends

I just did the math in my head, and I figure we've been in our new house for about seven-ish months. Wow, it doesn't seem like that long. It has to be true though, because just yesterday I pulled out the ol' paint fan to flip through the 950 thousand or so colors to select something for our hall bath, kids bath and kid's bedrooms. It's pretty much like clockwork. Every time I've gotten the inkling to paint, it takes me about six months to actually get after it. So here we are.

I got to thinking about paint Thursday evening while visiting with another mom at basketball practice. I had every intention of dropping Will off and heading home for the hour and a half, but decided instead to seize the opportunity to make a friend with the only other mom sitting and waiting. I had met her before, but I got the chance to talk to her that night at length and just visit. It was fun! I've really been making an effort to meet and talk with other parents every chance I get. Ben gets annoyed with my questioning him every time he comes home from a kid's practice, "Did you talk to any parents?" His answer is usually "no". Hmph. I also question our kids a lot - trying to figure out who their friends are so we can plan some play dates or something. I feel a little like the friend nazi! :-)

So today, I'm feeling pretty good about stuff. Will's having a friend over after basketball this morning, and Charlie's going to a friend's after baseball this afternoon! Is it no coincidence that I've introduced myself and chatted with both kids' parents at practices? I think not! It's worrrrking!

We're In!

WE ARE IN OUR NEW HOUSE!!!  Whew  Talk about an eventful week.  We have been so busy around here that I hardly noticed we didn't have DSL until last night (haha right!)  The move started last Friday with only Ben and me doing the work – MAN’s work.  I lifted couches, mattresses, furniture – everything!  I was seriously dying and whining a lot.  Of course, it was the hottest day so far – heat index of 105 degrees.  105!!!  Nikki + humidity +hotness = one crabby girl.  I HATE HUMIDITY.  Ugh.  By the time Friday night rolled around, I had four layers of dried sweat covering my entire body, and I was so exhausted that I couldn’t really appreciate the greatness of our new shower. 

Saturday was better.  It was still freakin’ HOT and STICKY, but at least I didn’t have to do as much manual labor.  We also had a lot of help – THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!  I stocked our new bar fridge full of beverages (adult and kid friendly), which made the entire day a whole lot more enjoyable.  I think everyone appreciated the frequent beer breaks ;)  It was also very fun to get all the new furniture delivered – the house actually looks like a home.  WOW.    

I've also already met at least ten people from the new town.  All of them were men and all of them were from the Shellsburg Fire Department responding to my 911 fire call.... but it still counts, right?! HA.  That's right.  I had to call 911 the first time in my life - after being here for only TWO DAYS.  I was standing in the kitchen, minding my own business when I started to smell a 'smoky' smell.  I thought it seemed odd, but I also knew the DirecTV dude was downstairs installing stuff, so I immediately figured it was him creating the smell.  After it didn't go away after a few more minutes, I went down and asked him if he was doing anything to cause the smokiness - he said "I haven't done anything yet" (go figure).  As I rounded the corner into the rec room, I could actually SEE a haze of smoke and it reeked down there!  The DirecTV dude started trailing me around, trying to locate the source of the smoke - we couldn't figure it out.  DirecTV dude, who used to be a volunteer firefighter, tells me he thinks it smells like electrical burning.  WONDERFUL.  So, after reporting it to Ben on the phone (like what's he gonna do at work?), I reluctantly called 911.  

After the first fireman went in the house, I heard him say into his radio, "it smells like electrical or plastic burning".  Great.   All I could think of was all the new wiring inside the walls slowly smoldering away and turning into a massive fire, engulfing our new house.  UGH! When I heard more fire trucks barreling up the drive (WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!) I headed out to meet the captain of the department to explain what was going on.  He killed the power and headed inside with a couple more guys.  A few minutes later, they emerged holding a round, flat charred thing, reporting they think they found the 'source'. I had no idea what it was and after inquiring, I wanted to hide under a rock.  Chief's reply: "Someone turned on the bar microwave with the instruction manual still inside".  What!?!?!? I immediately blamed Jacob since the microwave is right at his level, which made me feel a tiny bit of redemption... but not much.  As they searched the rest of the lower level to be thorough, I stood outside 'visiting' with all my new buddies and feeling like a big ASS.  They reassured me to never feel 'stupid' about calling the fire department, and I suppose I it's true - the one time you don't call, you end up with a crispy house.    

Outside of the lower level still smelling a little like charred booklet (which is also a nice daily reminder of my embarrassment), things are shaping up pretty well around here.  Our garage looks like a cat 5 blew through, but the inside is looking relatively organized.  We are even having people over tomorrow to celebrate the 4th - I can't wait!  I'm making four kinds of salsa and a signature 'drink' to enjoy on my deck and patio with friends!!!  YAY!

HAPPY 4TH TO ALL.

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Stay tuned for the conclusion...

I'm starting to feel like the host of American Idol's final episode when he says "We'll announce the winner when we come back" - and he says it like 20 times before they ACTUALLY announce the winner.  That's me today.  Still not in the house.  How long does the 'eve' of moving last? Seems to be about a three day eve around here.  I realize it's difficult to tie up all the loose ends, patch any tiny paint problems and address random things here and there, but come on already!!!

The cleaning crew was scheduled for the house on Monday morning, but they got tied up somewhere else and got moved back one day.  This put it rather close to the wood floor dude putting on his final coat of poly that night, but they were planning on it anyway. Turns out, floors were too sticky when they got there to clean - so it was put off again. The next day, we stopped over to check out the progress and view the dried floor.  My heart sank when I saw BUBBLES all over the place.  Teeny tiny bubbles were dried in the finish of the wood floor in almost ever room, and lots of em.  GREAT.   When I called the builder (in kind of a huff) to ask if he had seen the finished floor yet (he hadn't), his response to my report was this: "ohhh no..."  oh yeah!  I do have to say, one of the things I really like about our builder is it's impossible to ruffle his feathers.  The man is calm about EVERYTHING.  I think I could tell him part of our house got blown away in a tornado, and his reaction would be the same logical, CALM voice methodically listing step-by-step instructions on how to get back on track.  No biggie.  I guess why that's he's in the business of building houses, and I am not.  I'd be going "What?  Are you kidding me!? I'm gonna have that wood floor guy's ass in a sling!"  ha   

If all went according to the 'new' plan, the floors should be dry and perfect this morning. Wood dude was scheduled to come last night for his final FINAL coat on the floor.  Cleaning peeps were there yesterday, and the house is SPARKLING clean.  Yes!    Meeting grandma at noon to give her the kids for three days (WOO HOO!).  Final walk-through with the builder is TODAY in the afternoon.  Furniture comes tomorrow.  *whew* I can see the light!

The final countdown!!!!

I haven't been able to sit down at my computer much lately due to all the PACKING and  moving we've been doing.  Our house is almost done!  In fact, if all is going well today, we should be doing our final inspection tomorrow!!  I can't believe it!

YAY.

The fact that I might be sleeping in my new bedroom by the end of the week just hasn't sunk in.  

YYYYAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

I'm a little excited.

True BLood, Ew Blood!

Yes it's true - I am obsessed with Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire mystery books, and the HBO series True Blood (which I watched the entire series on DVD in one week - finished last night *sniff*) so, it's not too terribly far of a stretch that when I went to write about my son's dirt bike crash last night, resulting in every bendable part of his body covered in B L double O D - that I thought of vampires... right?  Ha.   And no, I did not consider licking his wounds. 

I have to admit though, that the most unnerving part of this whole story I'm about to tell is not the fact that Charlie crashed, was hurt, crying and bleeding.  Nope.  It was that he was delivered to our doorstep by a random man driving a VAN.  I repeat - a grown man (stranger danger) driving a van - did it even have windows?  OMG!     

We took the kids over to our new house yesterday so they could ride and test out yet another dirt bike, as our oldest son is outgrowing his.  We headed over in kind of a hurry, kids in shorts - but they were at least wearing boots, so I figured all was good.  They also wear helmets and chest gear and all that too fyi.  Anyway, a farmer was planting stuff in the field, so they had to stick to our long gravel driveway and another private drive (gravel) that extends back about a mile or so. Ben rode with them for a while and then headed back to the house while they drove back and forth a few more times.  We have a rule that if one of them breaks down, runs out of gas, gets stuck etc - they park and wait while the other boy drives back to fetch help.   Ben and I were standing on our deck discussing yard options when Ben mentions to me "Gee, they've been gone kind of a long time...  if something happened, the other would come get us, right?" Before I could answer, I spied Will walking through the house towards us... followed by a strange MAN and a crying and injured Charlie.  What the....?  I didn't really listen to the guy as I whisked Charlie away to the bathroom (thank goodness I grabbed first aid stuff on the way out!!!).   However, as we hustled through the house towards the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of the man slowly driving away in his van.  Agh!

**SPOILER ALERT: Before I continue, let me just say Charlie is FINE (settle Grandma).   After a healthy dose of antibiotic spray, a few glops of ointment and an entire box of band-aids, Charlie was pretty much good to go.**

Back to the story...

So, it turns out this guy is a website developer.  He was back on the lane taking pictures of the tractor in the field (which was planting popcorn, how cool is that) for this website www.kandkpopcorn.com (pretty cool, check it out).  While he was standing there minding his own business, our kid comes driving up like Evil Kinevil and dramatically dumps his bike in the gravel.  Then he sees the other kid up and take off on his own bike, leaving a screaming and bleeding Evil in the dust, limping alone down the road.  Of course when I heard this version of the story, I went from being creeped out to grateful.   Whew!  The guy admitted that he thought twice about it before offering Charlie a ride (in the dreaded van),  but since Charlie obviously needed medical attention - he couldn't just leave him there.   Sad really when you think about it.

So this brings me to my last point of the story. VANS.  No matter what the size, shape or color, vans have gotten a bad rap.  When thinking of the type of person who drives a van, I usually come to one of three conclusion, none of them good: 1.  the soccer/hockey/baseball/whatever mom who drives the vehicle out of pure practicality while wishing they were driving anything BUT a van (that's me) 2. Libyan terrorists (think Back to the Future) and finally 3. THE MURDERER/KIDNAPPER/CHILD MOLESTER.  Jeez.   This is why the following clip made both Ben and I burst out laughing when we saw it on TV.  Not only because this is our EXACT vehicle, but it hilariously tackles the van stigma.



 After rewinding, viewing and laughing about three more times, Ben looked at me and said "whoever came up with the marketing for that is a genius".   I couldn't agree more!  In fact, as I gaze out the window at my pimped-out Honda Odyssey, I see it in a whole new light.   Well, okay that might be a stretch - but at least I'm gazing ... instead of glaring.

RESPECT THE VAN.

Color Confusion

Whew!  Back from the out-of-town Birthday weekend, and on to prepping for our own birthday/moving extravaganza this weekend.  When I originally planned this party, it was SUPPOSED to be at our new house.   Our conservatively estimated completion date of MAY 1 has come and gone, and at this rate we'll be lucky to be in the new house by the end of June.  Gee what a shocker - why did I actually believe my builder (and ignore all my friend's contrary logic) that he'd be the first builder in the history of mankind to finish up the project when he said he would?!  grrrr.  And to make matters worse, we sold our current house in ONE DAY.  I know, I know, it's a good problem to have, but if I end up having to move in to an apartment for even a single day because our house isn't done, it's ain't gonna be pretty!!!!  

So that brings me to my next problem. COLOR.  I hate color.  At least I hate picking it out.  It took me months to pick out just the right shades of BROWN for each room.  While I technically do enjoy color, I am terrible at picking it out.  Since our rooms are quite large over at the new pad, a bad color could really screw stuff up.  Sooooo I played it safe.  Here's the scary part.  I went out on a limb and picked out a multi-colored (sort of) glass decorative tile in our bathroom (see the pic below).  I picked this tile and the designer dude there matched up my floor tile and grout and the kitchen and bath peeps basically picked the counters for me.  I was feeling good about it all when I left.   Here's the tile samples:

And here it is installed in our shower, I like it.  Definitely different, but it does look very pretty - much prettier than the picture shows

Fast forward to yesterday.  I got my first peek of the installed bathroom counters and I'm officially beyond nervous.  (I'm going over there today, so I'll post a picture.)  I love the counters, but the strip of glass tile that will be going above it has me slightly cringing at the potential busy-ness.  yikes!

I'm hoping it's just because the counter looks so HUGE to me in comparison to the 3x3 inch chunk I've been toting around for the past months, or maybe it's because the walls are currently brightly primed white with no trim or lighting or door fixtures yet in sight.  *sigh*  Ben tells me to quit worrying about it.  So, I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!