The Plan

Well, it has been a while since our last actual post. Reasons being we really did not have any good updates as far as when we would be moving. So very frustrating for us! I have spent the whole last month waiting on pins and needles for any shred of detail that I might get about our move. Everyone has been asking, but still we have not known anything, and Earle has been in Calgary about every other week since the beginning of Nov. So finally, at last, we have a tentative plan!(susceptible to change:)

Earle is headed up to Calgary next week to spend one last week up there working before we all go. Our movers are tentatively scheduled to be at our house the 17th and 18th of December. We decided to go ahead and look at houses rather than condos...and in the process we have decided to go with an unfurnished house that Earle will be finalizing details on hopefully next week. So that means, almost everything goes, just like it would pretty much in a statewide move. But we are keeping our home in Mandeville, and our friend, Noel and her son, will be living there, house sitting and keeping up maintenance on everything. After the movers pack us and take our cars, we will have a rented car(possibly two) that we drive to my parents in Paducah with anything that will go with us on the plane. We will also be driving our dogs and their crates to my parents. We are going to have our dogs shipped by a dog transport company from my parents house. We will spend the week of Christmas with my parents in Paducah, and then, most likely on Tuesday the 30th, we will fly out of St. Louis to Calgary. We will then live in temporary housing for about 2 weeks or so, if everything goes as planned, and then around the 15th of January we will move into the home we are planning to rent.

Sorry to bore you to death...but that is the story as we know it today! We are so happy to have a tentative plan! It may have worked out better anyway. We get to spend the holidays with our families and Ben will get to finish this semester in Pre-K here in Louisiana. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Earle's family in Texas and are looking forward to a big family Christmas with my family! God's timing always has a plan...sometimes being patient is hard!

Confessions of A Busy, Tired Mother's Mind

Well, Earle is due back tomorrow night and I realized after the past few weeks that there are a few repeat conversations I have with myself somewhat frequently when he is gone....Please don't call CPS...I have the best intentions!

1. At night time it goes like this, as I am brushing Collin's teeth..."Wait a minute, did I brush his teeth yesterday, I am not sure, surely I did." At bath time, "Okay, Ben get in the bath...I think Collin is good for another day, I will just wipe him down with wipes."
2. After the boys are asleep, "Okay, I smell something not quite right, oh my goodness, is that my underarms? It can't be me. I know I showered this morning, I am sure that is not me, I could wait until tomorrow morning, Oh wait, I showered last night...(I take a deeper whiff..)
Oh my goodness it IS me...how embarrassing! I guess I have to muster up the energy to shower tonight!
3. Ben asks, "Mom, can I have pizza for dinner?" Not really feeling like cooking I reply,"That sounds like a great idea." As I pull the pizza out of the oven I quicky remember, oh, no, "Ben what did you have last night for dinner?" "Pizza!" says he. Ay-Yai-Yai!!!

3. HMMM... Now when was the last time I changed Collin's diaper???( Some days he gets changed constantly because I ask this all day and other days, I keep telling myself that I just changed it so we have occasional 2 lb. wet diapers. )

4. Ben constantly asks for snacks, if I am busy sometimes it does not sink in to me how many he has had, I give him pretzels, goldfish, cereal bars etc...some days I ask when Ben refuses to eat a real meal, "How many snacks have you had today anyway?" He replies, "A real, whole lot of them mommy."
"How about an apple," I ask.
"No, thanks," he replies.

5. When I wake up in the mornings...after going to sleep with wet hair I think to myself, " I'll just pull this back into a frizzy ponytail today...and put on my stretchy pants...on second thought why change, I think these pants I slept in should do the trick!"

6. The day Earle is coming home I think to myself.. "Okay, I need to pull myself together and I should do something special and straighten my hair do my make-up and put on some jeans with a decent t-shirt...so he won't come back to find a Troll has eaten his wife." That is my plan anyway!:)

Have a good one!!
CB

This week I am thankful for....

1. Starbucks!!!!! The new salted caramel signature Hot choc. with 2 shots!! MMMM....(Time change has been difficult! We are now up at 6:15!)
2. The beautiful weather so that Collin and I can walk and Ben can jog!!!
3. That while Earle is gone I don't really cook much! Crockpots are awesome and we can eat the same thing for days!!!
4. Preschool!!!!!
5. Good friends and family that endure my anxious and non-stop talking moments!
6. Early bedtimes and some relaxing time after:)
7. The good health of my family... at the moment.
8. The Wii and Noggin Games online for Ben to play!
9. For stretchy clothes...I know, it is a terrible faux paux but I am still working my way back into last years pants...summer was ugly on the hips!! The bright side, I have lost 6 of the 12lbs I gained!

10. That when I am about to lose it in the car with two loud screaming boys...I look back and see this and it can't help make me smile and everything a little better!