Too cute not to share!!

I could not resist this mug shot of my favorite chocolate bandit! Christopher has discovered the wonderful world of NUTELLA and tries to eat his English Muffins that have been coated with a generous layer of ambrosia not as a pizza, as most would, but rather as an apple. The following is the result!

See? Two posts in a month! Aren't you happy??

If you can believe it, we still know nothing in regards to the car, the insurance or any pending litigation that will/could/may result from the accident from over two weeks ago! We did hear that the guy who rode the motorcycle was released from the hospital, so that part is good news. But the rest of story remains shrouded in mystery! Will the car be considered a total wreck? Will Steve be found 100% liable, or just 50% liable because the jackass other driver ran the red light? Will Steve ever be able to turn left again without a twinge of panic? Stay tuned folks...

Is anyone else in a quandary about how we went from Halloween to Thanksgiving in about a day and a half? Maybe I would get more in the mode for "Winter Holiday Season" if I were not still relegated to shorts and sandals because Mother Nature can't quite get it that it is FALL around here! I swear, it is in my DNA to want to wear long pants, wool sweaters and cozy shoes this time of year. But no - we are supposed to reach the mid-80's here today. Again. Which will make 26 days of "unusually warm" weather... meaning something with regards to Global Warming, but I am not sure what. Which is exactly what Arizona does not need; more warming! I know, I know - all of you who are holed up like moles because it is getting too cold to be outside are seething and sending me voodoo dolls telepathically... But keep in mind, we have not been "cool" or dare I say it "cold" for about 9 months now. Its time. We have 6 months of living like moles, too... THIS is supposed to be our cool season. I'm waiting patiently for that to begin.

On the housing front, it seems as though we have settled on a Realtor for this end, and have already procured Realtors for the two other possibilities of where we will/may put down roots. Since the meeting with Realtor #1, another house in our neighborhood has been listed. It's our same house - same footprint at least, and is priced so ridiculously high that it will make our house look like a steal in comparison, so that could bode well for us. As it stands now we will list our house in February most likely. Say a few prayers to the Housing Gods that things will begin to turn around. Our little part of Scottsdale has done a good job of holding value but our DOM (days on market) have gone up a lot.

The kids: They rock! We met with Parker's teacher this week for the conference, and she had a glowing report. He even took part in leading part of the meeting, and he was so impressive, sitting there speaking to us about what he has learned and what he thinks he needs to continue to work on. I was very impressed, as was Steve! Matthew is getting fewer and fewer cubes pulled each week, meaning his behavior is getting better in class. (ok, its not behavior like he is putting little girls' pigtails into the inkwell, but more the not listening, not following directions sort of behavior. You know, just to clarify!) Christopher adds new words to his vocabulary daily! He is still my "Klingon" and hates being dropped off at the sitters in the morning, but they assure me his rants are only for my benefit and once I am fully out of sight, he is fine.

I know I should drop and run in the morning, but I have a small addiction I am trying to stop: STARBUCKS. It's bad, and if I have time in the morning, I just can't seem to drive past without stopping. If I wait at the sitters, I don't have enough time to stop. You see, 'tis the season of the PEPPERMINT MOCHA and that is just too much to ask for me to willingly pass by... and they are SO not good for my relationship with the Scale. SO SO SO not good. This time of year, my will power needs a bit of a boost!

A whole month again?? EEK!

Or, more specifically,

"BOO!!"
"EEEEK!!"

as Christopher has been saying lately.

On Halloween, I was going to dress up like a witch... You know, my normal attire with a broom?? Well, Steve was in a car accident on Halloween (and for the family reading, he's fine - car is not so fine, but Steve is fine other than a smooshed finger) and that sort of thwarted my plans to dress up. Instead, I took some little glittered-out words that I had purchased for the boys and affixed them to my cheek. One side said, oddly enough, BOO and the other side EEEK! Christopher found them to be utterly hysterical and will still poke at my cheeks where the stickers were and go BOO, EEEK! It is really way too adorable for words!

So, we've been traveling, mending broken cars and going on with our daily lives. I came home from CT on a Sunday, blogged, and then packed up to go to North Carolina by Saturday. We were going house hunting... or really more tire kicking, except we were test driving neighborhoods and houses rather than cars. (Test driving cars comes later in the month as we prepare for the possibility of needing to find a new car for Steve).

The long and the short of the trip: Great homes, friendly folks, way-cool beaches, great time had by all... but is it home? Yeah - not so much. Who knows... we are extremely ready to leave this God-forsaken-heat-island lovely desert landscape for literally greener pastures, but whether that is North Carolina or some other East-coast destination has yet to be determined. There is much to be said for lovely and affordable homes, but there is also quite a bit pulling me specifically back to a very familiar landscape where perhaps the homes are older and smaller, but there is just that intangible, undefinable "THING" pulling me back. Time will tell - there is much to do prior to thinking about WHERE to go. Small things, really... like selling this house in a awful, depressed, slumping slower market and finding jobs. Will keep y'all posted, I promise!

So, the car - it looks bad. I know I am a mere layman and have an understanding of where the gas goes, and where the washer fluid goes, and that's about it! But from my perspective, the car is a total loss. The front end met with a motorcycle going way the hell too fast, and trying to beat the red light. By truly some gentle hand of God reaching down, this man survived the accident - after taking the front of Steve's car off, practically, and then hitting another car and then being tossed 50 feet or so without a helmet! Steve walked away, the other driver walked away, and while the motorcycle rider did not walk away, he lived when all sense would have put him as a goner! So that is all very good, but now everything is in the hands of the insurance folks and let's just say that does not leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling!! We have a rental - Steve is driving my car and I am driving a Kia Rondo.

Can I just say - its a great little vehicle!! I'm actually hoping the insurance guys call the Jetta a total loss, because I would love to get one of these- more room that the Passat - drives well.... and its pretty cheap!

As for the rest of us - we're doing well. Quite thankful that it was only steel and engines that were hurt... and now life goes in its constant forward motion! I simply cannot believe that Thanksgiving is rounding the bend with such astonishing speed but it is and so we dive head first into the HOLIDAY SEASON...

Would it be too much to ask for Santa to bring us a new car?

I've been poked again!!

It's a good thing Greta reminds me every now and then to update this thing... lately I've nearly forgotten all about it! I have been neglectful, and I know better than to let that happen because it irks me when someone who I enjoy reading does not post updates for a while.

Since we last saw our heroes, Mighty Mom and Champion of Cuteness left the the lair and took a trip of gargantuan proportions; we went back to New England for my high school reunion (the actual reunion number shall remain nameless because I flatly refuse to admit I have been out of school for t-h-a-t long!) We flew on a direct-non-stop flight from PHX to Providence via Southwest (who knew SWA flew anywhere direct-non-stop??) and he was perfect and adorable for the whole flight. In fact, he was perfect and charming the entire trip, save for one day in the middle there where he woke up heaving with a fever of about 102. Angie now knows there is an Urgent Care clinic in Lincoln, RI... and I now know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE her Honda Pilot with navigation system, without which I would probably still be driving around in circles trying to find my way home!!

Prior to this interjection into the trip, everything had been going swimmingly. The flight, while I tossed and turned into a stress-filled pretzel the night before we left, was easy as pie. My visit with Angie was lovely, as always! Chris and her son Evan got along like they had been friends for years! And, I had a totally delightful evening with this lovely lady pictured with me in the photo above. To tell it, it sounds strange - we have been friends since before Parker was born, but this was the first time we had met in person. Such is the world of cyber-groups now, and while it still may seem odd to many to have really great friends with folks you never actually SEE in person, the bonds are still strong and tight and allow for an evening of easy conversation and laughter, just like you get with folks you've known since way-back-when! Karyn is a rock-star, and meeting her in person was absolutely fantastic!!

Back to the incident that nearly ruined the trip... One Ear Infection diagnoses and scrip for Omicef later, and he was right as rain again! I have to give myself a shameless plug here... I don't, as a general rule, do vomiting children. If someone looks like they are going to blow like Vesuvius, I point them in the direction of their father and run for the hills. It's an agreement Steve and I have and it works well - he takes the barfing kids, I take everything else. I think I have the winning side of that deal....

Anyway - I was not able to throw hand Chris over to his dad because Dad was in Scottsdale, and while I probably could have improved on my performance during Chris's heave-fest, I think I did OK overall. Pat, pat, pat....

This little jaunt to the doctor stalled my drive to CT by several hours, but I did get down there on Friday. Stopped by Farmington to register for the reunion and then drove to Elizabeth's house.

All I can say is WOW... first of all, I had no idea that there was town where they live. Eons ago when I lived there it was nothing more than hills. Second, their home is absolutely lovely! Beautifully appointed, great yard, fantastic kids and a great big pooch named Max! Additionally, as evidenced by this picture, he really hated being flanked by two adorable young girls the whole time!

So, how was it to go back to my childhood home? Simply put, it was wonderful. I'll post more thoughts on that later... My fingers are pooped!

Free Style

Anyone besides me watch this show on TV? If not, let me give you a quick synopsis: These designers come into someone's home and give it a complete makeover using only the things they already have in the home - nothing new is purchased.

I like this idea... mostly because its FREE! I'm into FREE... FREE is good!! I like FREE! I also like the idea that most of what the designers do is de-clutter. Its amazing how clutter can creep into our lives. After 6 years of living in one place, its hard to see the clutter for all the clutter!! (Sort of the forest for the trees idea).

So, I called in the expert: Mom.

Her first request was that we remove everything from the family room. Literally - everything. We found dust in areas we didn't know existed, several toys we had given up for dead, some remnants of God Only Knows What, but finally were left with a couch and a rug.

The transformation of the Family Room is complete!! Everything is in a different place, and it looks fantastic.

But, (you knew there was a BUT coming...) these projects have a way of breeding in your head, and before you know it, you have not only redone the family room, but your husband's office, a major part of the Master Bedroom, the storage room and have developed plans to attack the boys' bedroom next weekend.

I can no longer fit my car in the garage (it's been ages since Steve has been able to get his car in) as it is full of cast-offs at the moment. But, the interior of our house has been given a lift. And we, other than arms that want to drag on the ground for lack of any upper body strength to carry them upright, have an uplifted spirit to go with our new rooms!