Two Weeks Notice

I can not believe in two weeks we will no longer own this house! This house that we bought 3 months before our first son was born. So many memories have been made in this house. Great memories of family & friends sharing our lives. Birthday parties, St. Patrick's Day parties, pool parties, block parties...wow, I guess we like a good party! But, even just everyday life has been good in this house. I will miss the pool & outdoor fireplace, the back patio (but, not how the sun glared into our faces when we wanted to have dinner outside!), the "media room", the big flat driveway that the kids could scooter & ride their bikes around, the way the house looks with Christmas lights, the big kitchen....I'm sure there are plenty more I have forgotten! It is hard to picture someone else living in this house. I hope they love it like we have. Maybe they will be better at taking care of the lawn (it is hard for two Midwesterners to understand desert lawn maintenance! We never did get it quite right.) I am sad that the kids are just now at the age where they can play in the pool. I don't think we will have a pool in Memphis...I can't imagine what it will be like to go to a community pool after having our own private pool, we are SO spoiled!
I can't wait to go house shopping when we get to Memphis! I know we will never find a house like this one in Memphis, but, our possibilities are wide open at this point. It is exciting to imagine what will be!

Maybe if we click our heals!

This morning before school, Keenan looked at me & said..."Mom, I wish our house was all done selling & we were already moved to Memphis." I can't believe he is smart enough to know just having a sold sign in your front yard does not mean your work is done! While we were visiting Memphis last week the inspector & buyer came by the house to do their thing. The inspector tripped the breakers & turned off the irrigation system (it has been 100 degrees for the last 2 weeks) & neglected to re-set the system! Our poor flower beds with new plants didn't get water for almost a week before Andy noticed why our plants were dying! Then to top it off "somebody" used our master bath toilet & left a yellow spot on the back of the seat...I'll let you figure out what that might have been! I can't even tell you how much it bothered me to have to clean that spot! A little background...I grew up the only girl with 3 brothers & now I am the only girl living with 2 little boys & a husband...do all boys have bad aim & not notice spots on the toilet? Or am I just extremely picky about a clean toilet? I am guessing it is probably a little bit of both!
I am off to buy end of the year teacher gifts (I can't believe there are only 4 days left of school!) and a chimney cap for the fireplace....I like to picture the fireplace with a new top hat, but that is my crazy imagination!

SOLD!

House Proud

Yesterday we had our 3rd open house. That would be the 3rd open house in 3 consecutive weeks. I can not believe how many people have come through the house during the week. I have been trying really hard to make sure the house looks perfect when I leave to go anywhere! I have only been caught off guard twice...once when I had ground beef defrosting in the sink & once when I left the mop in the kitchen. Everything has to be in the correct place or adjusted just the right way, otherwise it drives me CRAZY! I wipe down the sinks & faucets every time I leave the house. I have to stop at Trader Joe's to get fresh flowers every week(something I think I will continue after we sell the house & move...Love having fresh flowers in the house!). I have officially become Bree VanDeCamp (think Desperate Housewives!) Before the "Memphis migration" started I had given up on having a clean house. That kind of house that people can just stop by & I am not shoving things into the closet or garage right before they get here. With two boys under the age of 6 and one husband who likes to relax when he gets home from work & would rather "take care of it later", I had just given up. It was too hard to care that the counter was full of clutter when every time I cleaned it...the next day the clutter would reappear in the same spot. But, now I know it is possible to keep the house immaculately clean for a whole month (that is how long our house has been on the market). I am taking a vow, right now, that my house will not fall into the "clutter canyon" again! It is too hard to climb out of it, & I LOVE having a house to be proud of when people come over to visit!
We might have an offer on the house! To be continued....

The truth doesn't really hurt that much

Me: Logan, how did you get to be so cute?
Logan: I don't know, I guess I'm just lucky! And I'm really smart at a lot of things, too!

20C

Today Logan came downstairs to tell me: "Mom, Dad and I were looking on the computer for houses in...Memphis twentysee....." "What?" was my reaction. Keenan says "No, Logan it's TENnessee not twentysee" Love the mind of a four year old & that my five year old can interpret for me!

I am thankful for laundry...

Now, notice the title of this post is not...I LOVE to DO laundry. I actually hate to do laundry. My dryer takes at least 2 or more hours to dry a normal sized load, & towels...don't get me started! Putting the clothes away is probably my biggest challenge. Clothes usually end up on top of a dresser for my husband, or on the floor for my boys. It never seems to get into the drawers!
But, I AM thankful for laundry...
...That I have clothes to wash.
...That my husband works hard to make money & I can stay home to take care of my family & buy their clothes & wash their clothes.
...That I have a husband & two sons who need laundry done for them.
...That my family is healthy enough to go out & get the clothes dirty so I can wash them.
...That I have clean water to use to wash the clothes.
...That I have a washer & dryer to do the laundry in my own house.
...That I have electricity to run the washer & dryer.
...That I have the physical ability to do the laundry.
...That I can pack my laundry(hopefully clean!) & move it to our new home in Memphis & know that whatever happens I will always have the love of my family, & their laundry to do!
...That my God loves me so much, He put me into this world and gave me all the things I really need...including laundry.