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Merry Christmas!

Envious

I envy the bloggers that have been able to post something during the past month -- for I have not.  You didn't get to hear about my son's 3rd birthday (and I am ashamed to admit that I didn't take any pictures). You didn't get to hear about my 33rd birthday -- and the cool beach cruiser bike my husband bought for me. You didn't get to hear about our Christmas shopping and gift-wrapping, or our large family's Christmas Eve (which is always celebrated on the Saturday before Christmas). You didn't get to hear about the fact that I am on vacation from school AND work for two weeks. I didn't get to tell you that Alex was hurt at school last Friday, and he now has to go to a hand specialist - he might have a Salter-Harris fracture in his thumb (that's okay, I don't know what that means either).  I didn't get to tell you that Isa washed her brand new cell phone, or that the husband and I got new Blackberry Storm 2s (love them!)...

I will leave you with this, though... a breakfast of Dr. Pepper and Doritos is a fine way to start this cold, frothy morning!

Hope to be back to share some of our Christmas with you!

Is it weird...?

...that I started packing today for a move that may or may not happen in 11 months?


Obviously, I hope it does happen.  I want to start house shopping now.
Although, I like the idea of preparing for a big move. We have a lot of junk laying around the house, so if nothing else - we are containing the clutter.  :)

33 is almost here...

I have some plans for this next year... come back to read all about them.

Weird Feeling

I get such a weird feeling; almost sad....
When I got to the mailbox
This is sometimes what I find...

Nothing :(
I am so used to having an overload of mail (both junk and bills) - but now that most (90%) of the bills are paid off, and the rest are electronic, there are days when I get nothing.

Sometimes I wish for a bill in the mail, just for the satisfaction of opening it and paying the sucker off!! :)

Am I weird?

And the countdown to three begins...

I cannot believe my BABY will be three in just a matter of days.
It's surreal.
It's sad.
It's exciting.
It's a new daycare discount!!
Grow baby, grow!!

More than anything...

I know it's been a minute since I last posted something worth reading; the past few weeks have been crazy - beyond belief. From crazy monkeys (okay, only one) jumping on the bed and landing teeth first on the wooden headboard to helping pull off Alex's middle school Harvest Festival (all while working, taking care of the family and going to school)... I am tired.

One other thing that has kept me busy the past few weeks is our credit reports. Yep, you read that right. No subject is off limits here - especially one I hold dear to my heart. I ♥ Personal Finances. We have recently paid off all of our credit card debt... and are now working on a few medical bills leftover from when Nic was born. Once those are finished (January?), we will be debt free except the Van and my school loans, which are still deferred. It's time to buy us a house, people!

We are in this lease until November. We are thinking we MAY want to build, so we will start working on the pre-approval process in June or July. The pieces seem to finally be falling into place. I've been working on our credit reports for the past two weeks - disputing erroneous information, requesting validation, and checking to make sure everything is how it should be. Finally got a mortgage removed from DH's credit file (for a house in Wisconsin, um no - not us!). However, now the credit reporting agency (CRA) is reporting the other guy's name on my husband's file. What a mess. I've sent off a dozen letters trying to get it cleared. Patience is a must when fighting the CRAs.

More than anything... we are so excited about the home buying process. We cannot wait to see what the next 11 months brings us!

I have a....

huge headache. It's been a crazy few days, I am glad that today is a holiday and I get a day off. Also, thanks to all of our Veterans (my dad included).

The kids are killing me... I had to pull everything out of their room - and put it in piles in my living room. I have pictures, but I decided against posting them. It's bad. Their laundry situation is a mess. Hopefully it will all get straightened out after today; they know better.

A Sneak Peak @ our Trick or Treat

Yesterday was Alex's 14th Birthday - we spent the day at Pioneer Village and had a wonderful lunch!

For Halloween, Alex went off to his cousin's house to scare little kids and play fun pranks on the neighbors during a block party (all in good fun). I guess that's what 14 year old's do. We missed him.

Isabel was Jessie from Toy Story.

Nic was her Woody!

We had a wonderful day and a lovely night. This was our first time ever dressing up and Trick-or-Treating (more on that later).  Nic knew EXACTLY what to do.

He was adorable.

Almost a Birthday Boy

I woke up early this morning and took Alex out to Starbucks before school this morning.  He was pleasantly surprised since we do not do it all that often.    He did not like, however, the fact I took my camera and how I proceeded to snap shots when I could.

Or that fact that after he ordered his grande Double Chocolate Chip Frap, I told the Starbucks chick that his name was "The Birthday Boy!"  But, it was super cute to hear them call it out!  Everyone in the shop wished him a happy birthday.

Brrrr.

The high today is only supposed to get to 65 degrees. It was well over 80 yesterday; talk about a change in the weather. Thankfully, I went out and purchased Nic some warm weather clothes. Here's my little man on his way to and at daycare this morning.

Blog Mash-Up

As you may notice, things are a bit jumbled around here. Please excuse the mess. I am working to import old posts from old blog to this new blog -- to provide a bit of history! :) I am also working to add information to my top links (such as About Us and House Crazy). 

Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we will all forget that I created a new blog AGAIN. :)

cRaZy sOx

This week is Red-Ribbon Week at school; you know - Say No to Drugs!  Well, to show some school spirit, the middle schoolers were asked to wear crazy socks today. I had to pretty much force Alex to wear some. I bought them especially for him... and purchased a matching purple shirt (he begged me for it).

I think he looked pretty darn cool this morning.
And when he's speaking to me again, I will let you know what he thought! 

34 Things to Do Before I am 34

Make a list of things to accomplish over the next year. Post on my B-day

Still Here...

Rug doctor did not get the best of me! :)

So, I am working with a fab company to design a new blog. I am hoping to take some of my old posts from older blogs I had to mash everything together.

I should be revealing the new blog and URL within 2-3 weeks!!

Stay tuned... I am soooo very excited about it!!

Our Money Makeover

Test

House Crazy

Test

Big Day for Us Tomorrow

Looks exciting, huh?

Edited to Add: Woke up to the dining room & hall way already done. Marcos must have stayed up real late...I was gonna help but Nic and I went to bed! I must have fallen asleep when I was putting Nic to bed.

Love my man!

Picture from Back in the Day - Mexico 2008

A wonderful 3-day vacation in sunny Mexico... I love this picture.

 

A little diddy for ya!

Just a swipe of the debit card

and the tickets are bought

yes, the tickets are bought

Just a swipe of the debit card

and the tickets are bought

in the most delightful way!

This post by one of my favorite bloggers, Sarah, got me thinking this summer. I had never once considered taking my daughter to go see a play. Why not? Not sure. I thought, when I read Sarah's blog: What a great bonding experience!

So, I scoured the net for local shows... and FINALLY tickets for Mary Poppins went on sale starting Sept. 13. I snagged us 3 tickets... Isabel and I decided we also wanted my mom to go. Unfortunately, we have to wait until February - but I am sure, once it gets here, we are going to have a blast!!

When I am alone...

...I love to burn candles.

I have a hard time burning them at other times because of a 2 1/2 year old (who shall rename nameless). He LOVES to blow out candles. I am just so afraid that he will try to touch one, or knock one over. I won't take chances...

spit on

So I only burn them when he is out of the house.

Take today, for example.

I dropped him off at daycare... I am back home, working. I decided to light not one, not two, but 4 candles.

There are two apple cinnamon in the kitchen, a clean cotton one in the bathroom,

and divine country flowers one in the living room.

My house smells heavenly.

Until the kids come home, that is!

Prescott

Yep... Welcome to Prescott. What a beautiful town. I have been before, but when I was still in pigtails. So, everything was pretty much new to me. The Victorian houses were to die for, the people were so friendly, and the weather was perfect. And here I thought I would have to move across the country to get those things; I could move 2 hours NW and bamm... right in the middle of perfect!

Take a gander at a sampling of the pictures I snapped during our day trip.

The best $2.96 ever spent at Wal-Mart. The worms kept Nic happy the entire time!

This was at a scenic stop on the way to Prescott... Look at those clouds!

I think I took well over 200 pictures in all. You can find the rest here.

We had such a fun trip. Prescott is a lovely place - The husband and I are already planning a return trip, without the kids!