3-1=Chaos!

I am pretty sure I wrote a blog just like this last year when Leah started back to school.  I realize how much I need her here helping me corral these two little goobers.  I get so used to her having an extra eye on them when we are getting ready...saying things like:

"Blake's got his head in the toilet again, mom!"

"Autum just threw her shoes in the toilet now!"

"Autum's biting Blake!"

"Autum just pooped on the basement floor...didn't you just take her to the potty?"

"Oh by the way, while you were cleaning up the basement mess, Blake got out the back door and is swimming in the moss-covered baby pool you forgot to clean out 2 months ago...with his new school clothes on!"

"Mom! Autum is hiding in her closet eating all the suckers out of the diaper bag! (as I was thinking that explains why she had death grip on the diaper bag at naptime today...couldn't figure out why she was koala-bearing the bag while asleep--makes perfect sense now!)

"Mom, (as we are halfway to McPherson, running late, while I take Leah to school!) Bobby (aka Blake) stinks BAD-he pooped!" (and this is when I remember I left the diaper bag sitting on the front porch)

10:30 pm---"Mom!! Autum is hiding under my bed, she woke me up!"

"Blake is drawing all over the side of daddy's white truck with his sidewalk chalk..."

"Oh Mom...that outfit looks terrible!  You look WAY uglier than me today, did Autum pick out your clothes?"

"Autum is standing on her bed pottying!"

"Blake is trying to jump off the top of the playground set at the park."

"Autum is dangling from the monkey bars, how come you can't hear her screaming?"

"You cookies look like hockey pucks in the oven, the beeper's been going off for 5 minutes!"

July and the End

We only go to our County Fair for Blake to sit on every lawnmower display.

...and see the goats.

...and he hates the chickens.

Leah's first day of school! She looks so grown up!  And has her breakfast to eat on the way!

Strolling with our babies..

While Blake works his little heart out trying to get Mr. Monkey to sit in the tailbed of his truck...

He just won't stay...

SO he concludes to just hold him instead.

Jerad made the mistake of putting Leah in charge of the hose...this was the only dry picture of him...

Blake trying to figure out Leah's bike helmet.

Ta-da!

These are the only snapshots of July that I have, unfortunately.  June was busy with T-ball, swimming, doctor's appointments, etc. And July flew by because of moving, packing to move, transferring every detail with doctor's, schools, dentists, banks, insurance, homes, money....blah blah blah.

SO I feel like we missed 1/2 our summer.  Leah's back in school already and its all over.  All the fun I had planned to have and things we were hoping to do...*sigh*

We have 1 1/2 weeks left in the 'boro it looks to be.  So we are cherishing every last walk, last visit to our favorite spots on Main Street, playing on every piece of equipment at the park, saying our goodbyes to familiar faces...pretty much preparing to say our goodbyes to the familiarities that have become the 'norm' for us the past 6 1/2 years living here.

 I think its going to be harder than I thought it would be to leave.  This has been home.  It has been the longest we have lived anywhere together yet.  It's all our kids remember as home so far in their young lives. So we will cherish these next few weeks amongst the chaos and stress, because this is it.  The end of this phase of our lives.  Onto new places, new jobs, and new faces.

And new memories!

Going Out with a Bang!

Well, ever since I posted my last blog about us moving, life has quickened pace.

Here is a dose of our life lately:

Jerad gives 2 weeks notice.
Jerad works 16 hours.  Rests 4.  Works 12. 
Rests 8.  Works more.
Meets with home inspector at our current house.
Works overtime. (darn storms/wind/lightning)
I enroll kids at McPherson.
We have a quick dinner date.
Jerad sleeps....works...I have decided since Jerad is moving out of the lineman line of work (no pun intended), I believe God is providing him with one last hoorah of working around the clock, before it's all over!   And testing my patience and will during it all...
I work.  Leah goes with me all day...
She and I get sick after sharing a meal/drink.
Spend all of Wednesday morning and day--"cleansing"
Jerad works all day because he can't take any days off during his 2 weeks' notice.
Autum and Blake watch 10 hours of TV.
Jerad works more overtime...yet another storm..
He meets home inspector at our new house.
I order back to school clothes and bags online.
Leah's bookbag arrives as a miniature version of what I thought I ordered.
This leads to panic overload on her part...
Blake's new shoes do not fit.
I find out Leah will be going to a different school than I thought, so the school supply list I first shopped from is different than her new one.  Will be needing to make those returns now...or later.
Kids need physicals before school starts and we switched doctor's, so that requires a few visits beforehand. And a few blood draws and needle pricks.
Which equates to lots of bribing I have to follow through on...
Dentist appointments, check.
Sorting...
Packing...
Selling...
Throwing away...
Making arrangements for Leah and the little ones as I will be driving the kids to school everyday and picking them up for the few weeks before we move...
We will be going to bed at 7 pm starting this weekend, for as early as we will have to get up to get ready and be in McPherson by 7:50 am...oh boy!

For fun, though, the kids and I have spent most of our days jumping in water puddles.  Playing in the rain.  And watching movies.  I think Leah has rented every American Girl movie twice now.  Autum almost has them memorized.  Blake just climbs in his laundry basket of goodies and tinkers.  He's not so much into those movies as he is Elmo and Curious George.

But... we are surviving. Really well, actually.  Through many whispered prayers.  Reminders of thankfulness and glimpses of hope of this all slowing down soon. 

Life is a journey, right?

This one morning where the sun broke through the clouds long enough for Autum to tell me she wanted to go on a walk "just like mommy!" Hmmm...still pondering that one...

She LOVES playing in the water puddles...

We Are Moving

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders this week.  I can finally share the news that we are moving.  You see, I have been only able to share half the truth, with most of you that have been asking, the past few weeks, as you saw the 'for sale' sign in our yard.

We are moving. Yes. (just like I told you)
We (were) planning to move to the country. Yes. (just like I told you)
We (didn't) know where we were moving too. Yes. (just like I told you)

I can now finally fill in the gaps of the rest...

We are moving to McPherson.
We are moving for many reasons, but the main one being that Jerad took a new job there.  One he has been going through the interview process for, for over a year.
We weren't lying in telling you we wanted to move to the country.  We honestly did and still do.  But a few things have changed since then.  We sold our house in 2 weeks.  We have 30 days to move out. We were planning on it taking a while.  We were planning to rent until we found a place we really loved with some acreage.  There are absolutely no rent houses in McPherson for a large family to rent, none!  School starts in McPherson a lot sooner than Hillsboro.  We are in a hurry.  All of the sudden.  We learned of a house for sale that was not on the market in McPherson, only through word of mouth.  We looked at it.  We looked at it again.  We signed a contract on it.  Things are moving quickly.  I'm enrolling the kids in McPherson school district, Saturday.  Holy smokes!!

Here we go!  Only a week ago I was planning to enroll the kids in Hillsboro, stay here awhile longer, and Jerad and I drive to work each day.  But now everything has changed.  I honestly didn't have all of this information until a week ago.  And I thought I had a plan, had it all figured out.

So there.  Now you have all the details.  I can breathe again.  Phew.
We have one month left in the town that has been our home for 6 1/2 years.  But that is a post for a later date.
Not ready to let my thoughts go there yet...