CA-RA-ZY!!

Happy Friday!

This has been one CA-RA-ZY week!  Seriously!

Monday, Clint left for Savannah for the week for a business trip.  I have been DREADING this week for quite a while because I knew I’d be in charge for 4 whole days/nights!  Thankfully it hasn’t been that bad and the kids have slept pretty good!  Oh, and we put an offer on a house we love!  We had to raise our offer due to finding out someone else put an offer down too.  We shall see!

Tuesday, we get a call from the lawyer’s office that is handling the closing on our house in Thomasville.  Well, basically they waited until the very last minute to get the papers to us to sign, notarize and overnight back to them.  It was a big ole mess because Clint was out of town.  And on Tuesday he was on a 15 passenger white van going on a farm tour, farm to farm to farm.  He was at a loss as to how he was going to get his stuff signed, notarized and over-nighted.  Thankfully people overheard the 435 phone calls he took and helped him out.  They stopped in Vidalia (The Onion Capital) and he was able to go to the courthouse and the post office.  Long story short…we closed on our house!  All the little details worked out and with a wire transfer of a chunk of money…SOLD!

Wednesday was normal.  I got to watch the new Nashville!  It is amazing that I now can stay up until 11:00!  Don’t have to be up as early with my new job and I just sit at a computer so I can be dead to the world for a little bit!

Thursday rocked my little world.  Well, God rocked my happy little Samantha world!  I had an 8:00 appointment for Worksmart which is through the hospital to get my drug screen and physical since I am a new hire with the City of Tifton.  WELL….looong story short…the doctor comes in and small talks for a bit.  He tells me about his 80 year old mother and his mentally challenged adult sister and the fact that he too is trying to find a house so he can move them from Alabama to Tifton so he can take care of them.  One thing led to another and we found out that HE IS THE OTHER OFFER on the house we put the offer on.  I’m not joking!  We were flabbergasted!  We even had a little church up in that doctor’s office.  God did that.  He did that for me.  For little ole Samantha!  I want that house so badly…In my mind, I KNOW it is perfect for us.  We are still waiting to hear if we got it or if we didn’t.  But now, after my experience yesterday, if we don’t get it, I will not be sad.  I will not be disappointed.  I will know that someone else needed it more.  I will put my head on the pillow and thank the Lord for my healthy children.  I love HIM!

See, I told you it was crazy!

Until next time,

Sam

Randomness

1-      Millie got her first order from Scholastic book clubs today.  She was THRILLED!  Made me happy to get to do that for her.  Well…to be honest…I didn’t.  Her Nana saw her looking through the order form and threw $40 on the kitchen table and said “order you some books baby!”  That she did.  My plan was to stick a few away for Christmas, but she got to them before I did.  Makes me smile!

2-      My sweet Tucker boy has a photo shoot on the 23^rd for his picture to be in a calendar.  It’s a fundraiser for newspapers in education so that is neat.  The only not neat thing is that the professional photographer that is doing the pictures called and said I have one time slot, one day and one place I can take your sons picture.  If you can’t be there, then he is out.  RUDE!  On a Monday at 12:30 in the afternoon, 20 miles away.  Clint is going to make it work.

3-      Almost…ALMOST fell in love with a 2400 sq ft house.  Realized it was in the Historic District of Tifton…which apparently comes with a lot of rules and regulations about what you can and cannot do to the house.  Fell out of love when I realized it was built in 1948.  That scares me!

4-      Our house closing has been changed to September 25^th.  UGH!  Just want to get out from under this house!

5-      Going home this weekend to visit my family.  My grandma is over the moon excited and cannot wait!  It has been a while!  My mom has officially retired from teaching due to all of her health problems.  Makes me sad.  I just hope she doesn’t  take it as an excuse to sit around all day. 

6-      Found out another pastor left from my old church/school.  I will say it again…I got out just in time!  There are other awesome people still there, and I know God has a purpose in them being there.  I’m just glad our purpose was to move on.

7-      I’m excited Xfactor is back on!

8-      In fact…all the good shows are coming back.  I keep asking Clint to sit down and make a schedule.  We don’t have DVR anymore, so I know it would help.

9-      I would love some pizza right now.

10-   Clint is covering football tonight.  I sure miss him when he is gone, but I know he loves to do that, so I just deal!  I need to pack anyway!

11-   13 minutes til I can go home! YAY!

12-   Need to contact my sister in Denver to see if she is okay with all that flooding.  Sad.

Until Next Time,

Sam

The House Hunting Begins

It’s Friday, Friday…….

I forgot how much I looked forward to Friday’s while I was home all summer.  Now that I am back to work…I totally get it!

Still working hard at learning all the ins and outs of the natural gas world.  My boss is admittedly off the charts, scatter-brained and CANNOT stay on task, so things are being learned at a slower pace.  It’s all good.

We are going to look at our very first house tonight to start the house hunt.  It is a nice home, only had one owner and has about 700 more square feet than our old house.  The main catch is that it has 4 bedrooms.  I am desperate for a playroom/office area, but we shall see.  My other preferences is a pantry…because our last house didn’t have one… and a laundry room rather than a laundry closet.

I know that “beggers can’t be choosers” so I am just thankful that we get to entertain the idea of buying another house.  I am thankful that all of our stuff is in storage, and that we have a place to stay until we can move in.  There shouldn’t be anything “hurrying” us like it happened the last time.  No apartment lease to be out of or stuff like that.  I know my in-laws are ready to reclaim their home as their own,  but they are the most patient and giving people I’ve ever known.  I can only hope I am half as awesome as they are when my children are grown.  They are the definition of “we will help in any way we can” type of people.  It also helps having really cute grandchildren for them! ;)

Millie went to her second day of preschool today and I am anxious to get home to her to see how that went. 

Last night, she was pitching a fit in the bathtub about washing her hair.  I told her that she was being unkind to mommy and that it wasn’t nice.  I asked her if I should tell her teachers that she was being a mean girl.  She absolutely straightened up!  It was kind of neat.  I’ve had parents tell me as the teacher that they have used that tactic, but I got to witness the power first-hand.  Kind of funny.

I know that every parent thinks their kids are the cutest/greatest/smartest in all the land.  I get it.  But my Millie is SO SMART!  Even Pre Preschool.  Her reasoning skills and thinking skills blow me away.  Yesterday, her Nana was on her way out the door to go to WalMart.  The night before, Millie’s Dora soap in the bathroom ran out.  On her own, clear as day, Millie asked her Nana “Nana, I need you to buy me some new Dora soap, mine’s all gone!”  I don’t know why that catches me as being so smart, but it just does.  I can’t take it!

Alrighty…..

Until Next Time,

Sam

Thursday

Happy Thursday!  I love Thursdays.  I always have!  You can feel the weekend and the excitement of that, but it isn’t SO close that it is practically gone.  Does that make sense? 

I am currently at my desk, eating tuna and crackers, “working” through my lunch break to make up the time that I missed yesterday from taking Millie to school and leaving early for a doctor’s appointment.

It is REALLY slow during the 12:00 lunch hour, so I am trying to pass time. 

Tucker is 6 MONTHS OLD today!  I am amazed at how fast that happened.  He is such a sweet sweet sweet boy!  His favorite thing in the whole world to do is sit on the front porch swing and look around.  He doesn’t need a thing with him either.  I, along with his Nana, am convinced that he says “Hey” to us.  It sure does sound like it!  He is an eating fool…well except for the whole bottle thing.  He really acts as if he cannot be bothered by a bottle…except at 2:30 a.m.  He is eating veggies AND fruit which I started a little early due to the fact that he acted as if I was abusing him by stopping at ½ a container of veggies.  Im not sure how long he will last on ½ veggies, ½ fruit, but we shall see.  He still doesn’t have any teeth, even though he is drooling like a mad man.  Very strange since Millie had 2 teeth at 4 months old.  I just know he’d love some puffs, but he has to have teeth for that!  We are taking him on Saturday to get his 6 month pictures taken.  I am excited to get some good shots since Millie’s 6 month pictures were my all time favorites!  I know, I know…stop comparing! J

I found out this morning that my Grandma has been diagnosed with Dementia.  I am not sure what all that entails and will be catching up with my mom this afternoon to get more details.  It really makes me sad.  Especially knowing the kind of woman she has been all her life.  I do love her so much and want nothing more than for her to be involved with my babies, but it isn’t looking like that is going to happen.  She is very paranoid and cannot handle loudness…which is hard to control with 2 little ones.

I am just praying that she is peaceful.  What a scary thing to have to deal with.

Well….I must run.  Picking up dinner tonight while Clint and Larry are picking up the VERY LAST load from Thomasville.  Things are happening!

Until Next Time,

Sam

First day of Preschool....Millie Kaye

Um.  Excuse me.  I just dropped my baby girl off for her first day of preschool. 

I’m not screaming and crying like I expected, but I did tear up just a bit.

Her teacher’s are sweet as pie and were there to greet her with big smiles.  She already is calling the kids in her class her friends, and she sat down by a girl named Natalie.  She was eyeballing mommy and daddy as we made our way out the door, ready to boo-hoo, but she held it together and ate the froot loops at her table.

She really wanted to read the books on the shelf.  Her teacher told her no.  I get it, I really do.

When I went in to wake her up this morning she asked where we were going.  I told her it was her first day of school.  She replied first with asking  where Tucker was going to go and that she was going to miss him.  Second she said…and my heart smiled…”I just want to sleep some more!”  Gave me a glimpse into the future for sure.

I made some cute little tags to put on bottles of lotion for her teachers.  They said “Here’s Hoping for a SMOOTH year.”  Millie put them on her teacher’s desk.  She unloaded her snack into her basket and her change of clothes (in case of a potty accident) too.  She hung her bag up.  Smiled by her cubby for her daddy.  Hugged mommy.  And that was that.

Unreal.

I’m at work.  Headed to the vending machine…I need chocolate.

Who, What, When, Where

Weekend: This weekend we had the opportunity to take a little trip to St. Simons Island for a wedding.  Clint grew up with the groom so we decided to make it a little family get away.  Clint’s parents, brother and his family and us went early Saturday morning.  We enjoyed lunch at a place called Iguana’s.  I had broiled shrimp that was to die for.  This place had free ice cream with all the fixins for dessert.  It was the neatest thing!  We checked in to our hotel and had about 2 hours to get rested and ready for the wedding.  Clint’s brother wasn’t going to the wedding so they offered to keep Millie and Tucker for us.  It was a nice little break.  The wedding was beautiful.  It was held in a small room at The King and Prince with the beach in the back ground.  The craziest part though was when they announced that the Bride and Groom had been married since March due to having to live together.  I felt a little duped, but it certainly wasn’t about me!  It was also pretty neat to see them ballroom dance together and surprise everyone with their skills.  The food was delish, but way WAY too fancy for me!  Sunday we took Millie to a big play area where she had a blast.  I believe she would have stayed there all day if she could have.  We had lunch at Outback to celebrate Papa T’s birthday and went to a little mall before making the trip back home.  It was a very enjoyable trip and made us look forward to our beach trip over labor day!

House: We got our very first offer on our house on Friday, August 2^nd.  We countered, they countered, we countered, they accepted!  Hallelujah!  They just had the inspection on the house yesterday and we just found out that there is nothing that they are requesting for us to do!  Another Hallelujah!  The next step is the appraisal!  Hoping and praying for continued smooth sailing!  Clint and my father-in-law are going Friday of this week to get the rest of our stuff out of there!  We had to rent another storage building to store it all in, but that is a small expense compared to a mortgage on a house that we aren’t living in!  Once everything is said and done, we will start the search for a house in Tifton.  We have a little more time to be picky…pantry, toy room, laundry room etc.  We shall see!  We are just so incredibly grateful!

Job: I started my new job with the City of Tifton about 2 weeks ago.  I am an assistant to the director of the Natural Gas department.  It is certainly not teaching, but it is really interesting.  I answer the phone, and do purchase orders, fill in information about pipe lines and do a lot of editing.  Sometimes it feels like grading papers.  It is nice to be able to go to the bathroom, have a snack at my desk, get my work done and even call home to check on my babies.  I even get to have lunch on a regular basis with my husband…who needs date night when you can have date lunch!  Haha!  I have no idea where this will take me, but I am content!  Millie and Tucker stay with their Nana and Papa everyday.  Another thing that I am just so thankful for! 

Millie:  Oh my sweet Millie!  She is so full of life and drama!  She has recently been having a hard time going to sleep without pitching a fit.  She wont let us turn on her night light because it “makes monsters on her walls”…the shadows.  We’d let her look at a book so she wouldn’t cry, but now she can’t even see a book!  She is so funny!  She starts preschool next Wednesday.  I can’t believe it!  She is going 3 days a week from 9-12, so it is very minimal, which I am thankful for, but I just know she is going to love it!  We also signed her up for dance classes.  We have her open house this Saturday.  We will be purchasing her dancewear that day too.   I’ve been told to bring my checkbook! Ha!  The things that I dreamed about are all right in front of me and I am so so very thankful!  I am so thankful the Lord saw fit to give me a little girl!  My heart could just burst!

Tucker: Tuckerboy, T-man, Tucky, Mommas baby!  Oh.my.soul. do I love that boy or what!  I had NO CLUE it would be like this!  I will do whatever that baby wants me to for the rest of my life! HAHA!  He is so so sweet!  He is nothing like his sister, whom he adores.  He is still not sleeping through the night.  He LOVES baby food.  He is irritated by having to drink a bottle.  I swear he’d chew food with no teeth right now.  He watches every bite we take.  He is scooting around army-style and is so ding-donging cute doing it.  He is getting up on all fours, rocking back and forth and then collapses.  I just love it!  He goes on the 29^th for his 6 month check up.  I cannot wait to see what we can do about the bottle issues and the non-sleeping issues.  Momma needs her sleep!

Life is good and we are blessed! 

Until next time,

Sam

"So, what do you do?"

This is the first time in a while that I have been asked this question.  I went to the eye doctor this morning. (Not a good appointment.  Something is wrong with my left cornea, so I have to go back Saturday after not wearing contacts for three days to see if it has healed itself. UGH!)  Anyway, as the doctor was writing things down, he asked me..."So, what do you do?"

And for the first time in 9 years, I had to pause before I answered. 

I rambled around and finally spit out that I start a new job, working for the city, tomorrow.

I've taught for 9 years.  It is all I've known for 9 years.  And, starting tomorrow, I have a whole new way of thinking to learn.  Like, not shoving my lunch down my throat since I get a whole hour.  Or, to get in my car in the middle of the day to run an errand isn't a weird thing.  Of course this list could go on, but I won't bore you.

I'll be honest, I'm kind of having an identity crisis.  I know for a FACT that it was time for me to be done at my last school.  I know for a FACT that God opened the doors for us to move where we have family.  I know we've done the right things and that we are where we are supposed to be.

However, I can't shake the whole "not-teaching" thing.  I am hoping once the shelves are cleared of the school supplies and once school is officially back in session, I will be over it.  Maybe I will be over it when I can walk in the door at 5:15, drop my stuff and hug my babies and not worry about grading this or writing that or reading this or calling that parent. 

I love being a teacher.  I really loved what went on in the classroom...all the rest of the nonsense, not so much, but actually teaching, I loved.  I hope one day to get back to it, but for now am anxiously anticipating what our new life looks like. 

So, from now on, when I am asked what I do, I will say it proudly and hold my head high. 

Stay tuned for details on my new job...

Until next time,
Sam