Sunday, June 26, 2011

Planning the next phase....

Last week was a great week! Two desires of our family (or certain members) were fulfilled! In no particular order a house plan for our new house and a car for, soon to be 16, Haylee.
I will start with the house plan. We have been trying to sell our house since the new year began. We haven't had any luck. But we have decided that we will build "our" house as a spec. This is kind of complicated in the banking and building world, so lets just say I am finally very excited to see my "dream home for now" materialize. I say, "dream home for now" because this is what I want to meet our needs for now. As our life changes so will my dream home. Tim and I have searched and searched for a plan that will fit our family and fit on a weird shaped lot. Let me just tell you my criteria....1) pretty staircase in the entry(I love the movie, Gone with the Wind!) 2) two story living room and entry 3) isolated master with a bay window and a big bathtub in the middle of the bathroom with a fancy chandelier hanging above. So to find those things and accommodate a family of 8 is no small task. Well after many many hours of searching the web I found it and to top it off there is a model of the layout in Southlake, Texas. So Tim and I took a trip to the metroplex to view said model home and it is great! We are not so stupid as to build a 7 bedroom house, but with creativity everyone will have their own really cool space. Next step is to get it to the architect and make it work on our lot. Yay!!!
Okay, the car....we just so happen to come across, from my uncle who lives in Bedford, a great deal on a Toyota 4 Runner. Years ago Tim promised our kids to match what ever they made when it came time to get a car. Haylee came up a little short but we worked out the perfect plan. And.... remember earlier in the story we were heading to the metro, well everything just so happened to be in the same area. So we flew in, looked at houses and picked up the car.
I was so excited I couldn't sleep my mind would race back and forth from house to car, house to car. The things that pop into your mind when your first child is about to turn 16 are unbelievable, so many scenarios of our life is going to change. I will have to blog my thoughts later.
Its seems the next phase of our family journey is underway and I am certain there will be bumps, but every single person/family on this planet has their issues, so we are just going to enjoy this journey! Can't wait!!!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

One of "those" Mondays



Yes, Yesterday was one of those Mondays where I questioned whether or not I would rather be in school. It was really our first Monday at home since school's been out. The pool is closed and Monday is just really a good day for laundry and chores to prepare for the rest of the week. "Prepare" is the key word here! Which we weren't today when a realtor wanted to show the house.
I have a chore chart on the fridge which I think is the most fair way for each person to be a responsible member of our household. Basically we have 3 full time kids and 3 part time kids, but we are a family 100% of the time. Still, fairness is always an issue which you can imagine. Fairness is actually an issue in any situation where two or more children is involved. Anyway...I feel that I have created a chart that gets our house in order and ready for the week. The heavy chores and laundry take place on Monday and just freshen things up during the week. Chores have to be done by 3 P.M. I should just start by saying that I felt gross all day I think because of allergy medicine. We have my 3 kids only this week and 2 of them have extra chores to pay for the data plan on their phones. So I had 2 kids who got their chores done but needed to be touched up and redone and one who complained(about fairness) all day and never finished. I had to ask several times for laundry and one child never brought theirs down. So we showed the house today with clothes all over the laundry room and bathrooms that never got cleaned and someone got their Iphone taken away. So to sum it up it was a day of much nagging by me, complaining by others and we topped it off with that panicky unprepared feeling when we showed the house this afternoon. All of these things my brilliant chore chart is supposed to keep from happening. I'm sure there are other versions of this story, but mine is the one we will stick with since I am the Queen of this household!
This may not be one of my more positive posts, but we are blessed with the same imperfections as any other American family!!!

I will write a blog about cell phones, chore charts, fairness, etc...sometime when I am feeling a little braver...as I am sure toes will be stepped on and judgments will be made!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summer has Officially Begun!!




After our road trip to Sea World, I spent last week getting ready for our annual family reunion at Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma. The week also marked the beginning of countless dr., dentist, etc... appointments that we put off until summer. The girls also had dance camp to prepare for competition in Dallas later this summer.
Our trip to the lake in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma began Friday Morning. Tim couldn't go this time so it was just my kids and Haylee's friend Taylor and I. We made great time (9 hours) and got to Snake Creek Lodge just in time for dinner. We have stayed at Snake Creek for the past 8 years. My Uncle Eddie (dad's brother) always plans the reunion and we get the central meeting room to gather for meals, games, fellowship. It is truly one of the highlights of our summer. We spend time on the lake floating around and the kids tube. We also go to my great grand parents farm about 45 minutes away from the lake. My uncle Eddie owns the farm now which is great. It is just beautiful and there is a creek with a swimming hole. We love the lake but I honestly think that going to the creek the entire trip would suit everyone just fine. It is so cool for my kids to get to swim with their papa and his brothers in the same swimming hole that they swam in as boys.
It was a great weekend and I always dread the trip home. It is so far and we are usually tired, sunburned, and malnourished from sweets and lots of other food. We got a surprise extra hour this trip because we had a blow out just before we got to Oklahoma City. I called Tim and he was able to google a road side repair service who came out and got us back on the road. Sure it was tiring but no one was hurt, so it just gave us one more memory.
So, now we are home and it seems like summer has really begun. I have a very long to do list. I also want to catch up on my reading and movie watching and work out allot. I would love to get this house sold, too! I have the chore chart made up for the kiddos and our June calendar is full...no kidding.
We will see how it all goes!