The post will lots of pictures of my messy house.

I promised pictures of the new house, I know. But our house still looks a lot like this.

And this.

But don't worry. Even though I haven't finished unpacking, I did manage to find time to ROYGBIV my closet. Although, I still haven't gotten them back into sleeve length order or ironed all the clothes that are hanging in there. I know. The shame.

We are settling in despite not quite being unpacked. There are things I really love so far about this house.

Like this little craft and computer area for the kids.

And the kitchen. Although this kitchen is on our to-do list. The black appliances will be gone oh-so-shortly. Actually the new appliances are sitting in the garage. But we still have boxes everywhere, like we have had time to put in a new oven.


And that I can see the TV from the kitchen. I suddenly like cooking so much more.

And I love that we have doors to our office that is way at the front of the house. I can actually talk to clients on the phone after the kids get off of school.


And how our dining room table is no longer the drop off spot for bills and backpacks and such. Although, you wouldn't know that now with a stapler and paint samples all over it. But for real. It is clear of junk almost all of the time!

And the kids' bathroom actually has drawers. The bathroom itself is smaller, but it is more functional. Plus, we have a third bathroom and upstairs attached to another bedroom. I am sure when Jill gets a bit older, she will move up there.

On my to-do list for today is buying the paint for the girls' rooms, the dining room, and the living room. The plain beige walls are driving me insane. I have great, big grand plans for the kids' rooms.

After pictures coming soon.

Don't hold your breath. Soon = sometime in the next year.

Where the hell are my pants?

Basically, a lot has happened in the past week. So much that my poor head can't hardly make logical sentences, let alone a full blog post. Behold, bullet points. A side note, I used to love making outlines in school. Love. Why don't I ever use outlines and bullet points here? Hmm? Moving on.



• Obviously we moved. I took pictures of our empty, old house, planned a whole blog post about all of our happy memories, then promptly put the camera somewhere and have yet to find it.
  
• Most of the house is unpacked. If most means, not the upstairs, all the random shit still in the garage, half of the kids rooms, the missing box that contains my checkbooks and my good jeans.
  
• I did not realize how much traffic and massive amounts of people everywhere put me in a bad mood. Everyone kept telling me how much I would hate having to drive far to the grocery store, Target, Starbucks (two towns away, y'all). Except? I don't mind, because there is never any traffic!
  
• I think I love the guards at the gate. They smile at me. They wave. Yes, they are paid to do such. But it makes me feel special. It doesn't take much, obviously. My old neighborhood gate? Nothing. Generally, the damn thing would not even open for me, let alone smile and wave.
  
• My dog is freaking the fuck out. One of the them is all, "WHOA! Check out the huge backyard! Look! A squirrel!" The other is hiding in the laundry room, under the desk. She won't come out, except to eat. I bought them bones to lure Macy out of the laundry room. They are currently growling at each other over one, while the other bone sits untouched. My children do the same thing. Not with bones, though.
  

Now, I need to go find those jeans...

Moving on up...or over.

Seriously. I never want to move again. Or until I forget how hectic this has all been. Whichever comes first.

Everyday something new pops up. A problem at the new school (although, I have to admit, I am kind of in love with them. Two phone calls, and a major crisis was averted. Two phone calls. Less than an hour. That never would have happened in our current district, which also happens to be good...just HUGE.), a problem with the loan, and problem with the move. You name it.

Our moving day is fast approaching. Thursday. Kenny brought the first load up today, while he goes to meet the cable guy. All of our framed pictures and breakables are going ahead of the moving van. Tomorrow, I am going to stock the fridge, finish cleaning, and bring a few more things. Then the actual move begins. I am already ready for this to be over.

Somebody stop me the next time I think this is a good idea.

Boundaries

Let's discuss boundaries.

See, I sometimes wonder if it just me. Or does everyone around me really lack boundaries, and something is wrong with them.

I know that because I work (I use the term "work" loosely. I now answer the phones and do the billing for Kenny's company. Work = 2 - 3 hours per day. But still, these things must get done.) from home and Kenny has his own company, people tend to think we are available all the time. Sure, Kenny is home a lot during the day, but that doesn't mean he is camped up on the couch watching TV. Sometimes, he is doing work from home. Imagine that. But none the less, we are home. So we get called upon to babysit during the day or unclog drains or whatnot. Either that, or my friends want to come over and hang out all day long, like I was just sitting around with nothing to do. Hardly. And probably this would not be an issue if it was just one person, but someone asks something of us everyday. I have taken to not answering my phone. Which one would think would solve the problem.

But no. Because apparently nobody has manners anymore. Did you know if someone doesn't answer the phone, you should call them back immediately. Maybe even four or five times in a row. If that fails, send a text message. Don't even think about the fact that you might be interrupting a phone call with a client or an appointment with a doctor. No way! You have something important to say, like, "Let's do lunch!" And? If you can't get through by phone, well just stop by. I mean, someone not answering the phone is not a clear indicator that they are busy. Nope, it means they are craving an unsolicited visit from you!

You would think that my friends and neighbors would have figured out by now that I have a formula. The more times you call me in a row, the longer I take to call you back. Seriously. I add two hours for every additional phone call. For real. Ask Kenny. He laughs at me when I actually time it. Just doing my part to teach people boundaries, since, obviously, their mamas didn't.

But maybe I am expecting too much of people. Maybe this is normal. The cell phone age and instant message era and so forth.

Send more boxes.

The move is quickly approaching. A few days ago, I was talking about how it was a little over three weeks away. Then, while checking Jill's assignment sheet and looking ahead at her test schedule, I realized it was two weeks away. TWO. As of today, one week four days. I had not done anything. Not one box packed.

This weekend? All about packing. For three hours, I pulled everything off the shelves in our bathroom. I cleaned out old makeup, shampoo, and crap. I packed clothes. I packed shoes. I left out only what I need for the next week. Three hours.

Then, I stepped back, surveyed my work, and realized it looked I had done nothing. Three hours of nothing.

I am never going to finish.

Grass Emergencies

I have always managed the billing and scheduling for our landscaping company. But since recently becoming unemployed, Kenny decided I should take on a few more duties. Like answering the phone calls. You know, for all the grass emergencies.

Most of our clients are great. Our commercial clients never even bother to call. They fax in work orders, and I do nothing more than schedule the service for the appropriate crew. I never even have to talk to anyone. Awesome. The residential clients? Oh Lord. They call for everything under the sun. Some just to tell me they mailed their payment. Great. I'll figure that out when I receive it. Some to tell me to schedule extra services. Score! Extra money! And some? Because well, they have a landscaping emergency. Like a blade of grass out of place. Or a rogue weed. Or oh my God Santiago mowed in a circular path instead of straight lines! For real.

We have this one customer. Let's call her Sally, because, well, that's her name. Let's also hope Sally doesn't read this here blog. If so, Hi Sally, I swear I am saying all of this with love. Anyway, Sally calls me, I kid you not, at least three times a day. We mow her yard once a week. That is fifteen phone calls per mow. At first, I thought Sally might be a bit lonely, so I humored her and talked to her. Then, I decided Sally is actually crazy. But crazy still pays the bills, apparently. Yesterday, Sally called to tell me we should not mow, because it had rained. A few days ago. Fine. Then she called back to tell me we should mow on a later day. I scheduled it for another day, just like she asked. Then she called to ask me to trim her hedges and the hedges at her daughter's house. Then she called to tell me not to trim her hedges, just to trim the hedges at her daughter's house. Whew. Done.

Today, she called to tell me they were getting a new company, since we did not show up to mow.

Um. Okay.

Do you think this means she will really quit calling me, or do you think she will call me next week and wonder why we didn't show up?

Zany

Emmi's kindergarten class had their first project today. They picked a word, defined the word, made a poster showing the word and the definition, and then dressed up like the word.

Emmi's word?

Zany.

Her poster?

A bunch of crazily patterned papers cut into odd shapes all glued haphazardly to a poster board with ZANY in bold letters.

Her outfit?

Remind anyone of anything?

Anyone?

Perhaps this is coming to mind?