Our School Supply List

    Before we know it the Hubs and I will be sending our little Miss off to Kindergarten. She has been ready for nearly a year! Poor thing thought that when she turned 5 that she was going to go but unlucky for her she was born a few weeks after the cut off - which makes her the oldest of the young.
    Kindergarten registration here has been such a process (here as in Western New York). I had to take her to get her eyes and ears checked. Then a few weeks after that she was finally screened to see what she knew - insert proud mama moment here - she tested at a reading level of "end of Kindergarten/ start of First Grade"! Now in a few weeks I get to take her back to do supply drop off and ride around on a school bus and meet her teacher, oh and lets not forget enjoy some juice and cookies in the lunch room. That's right! Three visits to the school - all during weekdays - all during odd times. Not a working mum's dream - then again since my department was dissolved at work I have the time now but didn't back for the other two visits.
    And the school supplies list is a bit tacky if you ask me. There are large quantities on there for "classroom use" like 20 things of glue sticks and even some teacher use items like low odor dry erase markers. Back in the day I remember getting my supplies and they were own. I was in charge of making sure they lasted and that I kept them all. I guess it's a free for all with classroom sharing eh? The only thing we bought for the classroom/teacher was a box of tissues. Now I have to buy things for the entire class to use and the teacher?

 

Here is our list (click to see it larger)

    Lets not forget my favorite - baggies. Boys bring in gallon sized, Girls bring in quart sized. Oy! What kind of items are on your kiddos back to school list that is odd or a bit silly?

Wordless Wednesday - New House Progress!

Baby Bear's Room

Baby Bear's Room

Big Sis's Room

Status Update with New House Pics

    So it's been one week since we closed on the house and we frantically moved from a two bedroom ranch to a four bedroom split level. We have been doing our best at raising three kiddos while unpacking and organizing. (I'd rather go through natural no epidural childbirth again than do that - for real - that was way easier than this!)
    The bedrooms for the most part are organized and settled. The only wallpapered walls are in my son's room and that border has yet to be removed. Paint colors have to be finalized but that's the least of our worries right now. Speaking of paint I also want to repaint the front door which is a plummy-reddish color. The front door also needs to have a new sidelight - the current slot is boarded up and just looks wacky.
    The office area is still in pieces but the desks are up and starting to be established. The dining area is looking ok but honestly I cannot wait to get to Ikea for that room!!
    As I sort through these boxes that lay scattered throughout my house and all in the basement I get a tickling reminder every now and then that we have an entire storage unit FULL of more boxes that we packed away from when we listed our house.
    Yes, we have more rooms and technically more room in itself, but we have half the size of basement and half the size of garage that we use to have. That's the dilemma but I suppose in a round about way its an "okay" dilemma to have. It's going to make me downsize which is something I tend to struggle with.
    So I will leave you with some pics of the new place before we moved in.

Entry Stairs

Office Area

Dining Room

First Floor Living Room

Kitchen

Our Fancy New Shower

Boarder in Big Bros Room

Upstairs Hallway

Our Groovy Basement aka The Red Room of Pain -

My SIL said that it reminded her of some room from Fifty Shades of Grey

(I haven't read it yet so I don't know)

We Moved!

    Don't worry - the good ol' blog hasn't moved - just our family has moved!! Yippie!!! I am so drained and sore. We did a ton of moving Sunday and finished up 98% of it Monday with finishing up on the 2% today. The new house has boxes EVERYWHERE!!
    It's weird that it doesn't feel "home home" yet to me. I just hope I can make it a bit more like home for the kids when we pick them up today. I did a lot of work in their rooms and the living room.
    Ok, back to the grind. Who knew moving was going to be so sucky yet awesome?!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Patiently waiting

 

Tweedles and the Hubs on the jet ski

Boxed Up and Waiting - Still

    Yes! Another post about friggen waiting to move. How annoying right? Never did I know that this whole selling a house and buying a house process was going to be so drawn out and nearly down to the wire! What the hell?!
    We have until July 20th to close before our mortgage rate expires AND the buyer of our house drops us. I am on the edge of tears as I type that. That is four days away. The pessimist side of me knows its not going to pull through but the optimist side of me is telling me that it will all work out.
    I continue to box and bag of up the house all while trying to keep things organized. I continue to keep putting ideas together for the rooms in the house. The kids keep asking to drive past the new house (which the seller has officially moved out of as of July 6 so it's totally move in ready -but that doesn't help at all)
    Ahhhhhh!! What is taking the lawyers and the bank and the agents and everyone so long??!
   
    Ok - I am done with my temper tantrum. I'm going to go work on my freebie find. I'm almost done and can't wait to share it with y'all. That's all I can say or else I'll give too much away.

    Have you ever sold and bought a house at the same time? Was the wait this long??!! How did you manage?

#20factsaboutme - Blog Edition

    I saw this morning that #20factsaboutme was trending. Then I thought "well, I'm kind of trendy, lets do this!" and here we are. Haha. Enjoy!

Fact #1 - I despise the winter snow and cold! I don't take part in any activities out in the cold aside from running from my car to the house. (yet we still remain in WNY)

Fact #2 - I always wanted 2 girls and 1 boy. So glad with the luck of the draw - haha

Fact #3 - Sometimes I wish we would have chosen a different name for our first born since it is now widely popular.

Fact #4 - I HATE getting food stuck under my nails when picking up after meals or wiping the kids down.

Fact #5 - I dream about opening up my own coffee shop - ever since 7th grade.

Fact #6 - I almost moved to Virginia with my cousin. (If I did I wouldn't have married the Hubs or have my three wonderful kiddos)

Fact #7 - I LOVE getting mail and packages; which is making me slightly addicted to subscription box companies.

Fact #8 - I am horrible at keeping up with my clothes. My closet looks like it constantly barfed up some outfits.

Fact #9 - My degree states "Human Communications" because the "General Communications" track was switched right before I graduated and I can't stand it.

Fact #10 - I love the smell of breast fed baby breath!

Fact #11 - I tend to ramble.

Fact #12 - If I can plan something I will, right down to the times. (I get made fun of for doing this but I think it pays off!)

Fact #13 - I look for "signs" and hidden meanings behind almost everything. (Most recently choosing a house and house numbers)

Fact #14 - I always dreamt of owning an old, Victorian house with a wrap around porch and an attic (apparently the Hubs dreams otherwise)

Fact #15 - I keep a strict eye on cashiers when they are processing my coupons and I will point out if they skip one (yes I am one of those couponers)

Fact #16 - I love to cook and think that I am a big time chef (in my kitchen)

Fact #17 - I hide a box of Lucky Charms above the fridge so the kids don't know there's a box open

Fact #18 - I was jealous when my brother was offered a scholarship to play soccer for Potsdam - he was an awesome soccer player.

Fact #19 - I have a bag of frozen breast milk I kept from my son (who is now 3.5yo)

Fact #20 - At least once a month or so I have panic attacks in the middle of the night because I am scared to death of dying.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

    If you read my last post about the dining table set "debacle" ( as seen here) you would know that the seller of the house we're buying offered us the chance to buy some furniture - one of which was his dining table set which was paired and not to be separated from some god awful credenza. In other words, he wouldn't split the two up and we definitely did not want the credenza so we had to pass. A few days of house stalking trying to catch a glimpse in the window to see if he left the set when he moved out over the weekend, we (or mainly the Hubs) figured out he took everything including the table and chairs even though we were holding onto a hope he would have a change of heart.
    After plenty of web searching we drew the conclusion on what we wanted to invest in - a rectangle dining table that seats six with a butterfly leaf and a pedestal base that has storage under. Oh and we didn't want it dark or black but also not a honey color or birch. Somewhere in-between but on the lighter side. Can you image being the store clerk dealing with me??! haha.
    On a whim last night I decided to check out Ikea's website (since there is one in Toronto and one in Pennsylvania I just can't hop in the car and go - as much as I would LOVE to be able to I cant). It was there that I was able to find a table and some chairs well within our estimated budget - in fact its under our estimated budget (double score!) that the Hubs likes. (He really is the driving force on this decision, but I honestly can't blame him. Once we saw the previous owner's dining set we loved how it fit in the room. And in his defense the current dining table set we have is my Grandmother's that we have had for over 8 years after she moved then passed away. This table set is probably as old as me if not older. Then again it was built when furniture was built to last. Anyway, so we never really chose our dining set and now is our chance.)

    Here is our current set (check out those moving boxes - whoop whoop):

 

 

    Here is the set we're going to road trip for!!



The picture is from the Ikea website and it's showing their STORNÄS extendable table with KAUSTBY chairs. Both in antique stain. Swoon!!! And apparently the extra leaf can be stored under the table - which is totally sweet.

    And just in case you were wondering - here is the set that was the previous owner's (I think it's either a Jofran or a Broyhill)

    Obviously we're going to change out the light fixture to something a little more modern and higher up instead of dangling down by the food. I get a laugh about the wind chime that is hanging in the corner.., I wonder if its a drafty corner., lol!
     What do you think? Is our choice worth the 4 hour or so road trip?
   

Update on the House & Master Color Reveal

    So the wait continues for the big move. I KNOW!! It seriously feels like it is taking for-e-verrr!! We are currently waiting for the lawyers to tell us the closing date. We are hoping to hear that on Monday we will be closing this up coming week.
    I am dying as I wait! In fact this fine evening I walked Bear by the new house. (And I also wanted to check out the side, see if any of the neighbors were out and spy on the dining table and chairs) Yeah, you read that last part correctly. Spy on a dining table and chairs. So the seller asked if we were interested in any of the big furniture at the house. We totally were heads over heels in love with the dining table and chair set BUT he wanted to sell us the "matching" credenza. (We totally did not need or like or want the credenza and there was no way I knew I was going to be able to sell it to off set his asking price - which was pretty high in my opinion) So because he wont split the items up I was keeping this tiny, little hope that he was going to have a change of heart and just sell us the dining table and chairs.
    Well.., on my walk I confirmed that the one side of the house could totally rock the shrubs that are currently on the side of our house (the one we are moving from and the buyer has confirmed that all the landscaping will be redone so we can take what we want that's in the ground - whoo!) I also did not see any neighbors sitting out. Darn. We think there might be an older couple to the one side of us.
    And the chairs that are part of the set he was trying to sell us were up against the front window. I couldn't see through the dining room because the shade was down so I couldn't tell if the dining table was still there or not.
    Why am I holding onto this idea of hope? I guess I should just take it for what its worth. Now we know what kind of dining table and size will fit and look amazing in that space. Now we can figure out what we want and start to save up for it or scour Craigslist for likeness versions. Maybe he thought he was cutting a great deal but I felt he was on the high side and since he was resistant to separate I wasn't going to be pressured into buying a piece of furniture I knew we wouldn't use or didn't want. Besides I already purchased a dual sided desk for the Tweedles to put where this infamous credenza is sitting. So good luck moving all your stuff through 4 states dude.
    On a related note - as we wait to hear on a closing date - I am busy trying to pick out paints for the rooms and even for the exterior. I cant wait to get in there to take before and after pictures for yall!! I have fallen in love with a completely different color palette since living in our current house. This is perfect timing. I think we're due for new towels and linens and curtains and more!
    I'll reveal my first color palette - I'm thinking for the master bedroom. I saw the fabric at the store and HAD to buy some yards (and there was a huge sale on the fabric so I got it for nearly 80 percent off!!) I'm thinking a valence and some pillow covers.

My fabric and paint swatch spread

 

Yellow with thin lines of darker yellow

Yellow, grey and white design on teal.

    What do you think? What is your master bedroom color palette? Are you thinking its time for a change? What would you alter in your room?

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

    Maybe I should have just titled this "(Not So) Wordless Wednesday with Shameless Plug" BUT I was cleaning off our desk that is a total dumping ground lately for mail and other things while we pack things and wait for the big move and found my Conscious Box stuffed to the gills with goodies!
    Do you get a Conscious? (Oh Jiminy I went there - it's still early in the morning can you tell? heh) Check out the loot! And check them out for yourself here!!

 

 

Ps Just in case you were wondering, which I know you were, I'm thinking I'm most excited to try out the Flavrz drink mixes - I'm not a huge fan for the ones on the market right now so hoping these are better. They look cooler so props on that part! They even have a liquid soda mix! Swoon! I love seltzer water.

Pizza and Skype

    At the start of this year my Hubs pursued a new career. He left the place that he has worked at for over 17 years and started down a new path. He was given an incredible opportunity and has been doing amazing at it! For the third month in the row he has been on the top 3 nationwide for work. (whoohoo!)
    I knew he would succeed. He has the focus and the drive. Given my background of design and PR, I have been able to help him out with some neat promotions and getting the word out.
    At least once a month he has to travel across state to edge of his territory. It's about a 3 hour or so drive. Figuring out it was easier and cheaper he stays overnight so he can meet with his dealers both days. The kids are doing okay with it all. They know it's a "cheat" night for dinner and we get pizza (cheese and half mushroom - that's for Big Sis) They get to Skype with the Hubs during dinner telling him all about their day and that we got pizza for dinner (shocker). They also get an early bath time so they can watch a little movie or something.

    So - this fine evening we enjoyed our pizza as we Skyped and the kids talked about their day and that we got pizza (again a shocker). They jumped in the bath and got to watch one of the movies I picked up at the library this morning. We all gave our hugs and kisses and said our good nights as I tucked them in. I cleaned up a bit and now I'm sitting in the silence. I miss my Hubs but I am very proud of him.
    Does your sig. other ever spend time away from the family? What do you do with your little ones while they're away?