The Offer

Yesterday was the first day of our house showing. I had mixed emotions...sad because we have raised our kids here, and anxious for the next phase of our lives. We spent the last couple of days getting it ready for the showing (which was a nightmare). You try getting teenage boys to clean their room, I mean really clean...getting all the stuff out of their hiding places (under the bed, behind the dressers, shoved in the closets).

We had two couples come to look at it. Our Realtor walked out with the second couple & came back in and said, "We have an offer & it's full price." I was shocked, I wasn't ready to hear that. I didn't think it would happen that quick. I was planning on some time to deal with it and really let it soak in.

As she continued talking, I found myself trying to hold back the tears. Her voice began to sound like that Charlie Brown cartoon,

"WA WA WA WA,"

I started telling myself, "Don't cry, you stop it right now!"

When she left to print out the paperwork my hubby hugged me and said, "I'm sorry your sad, but everything will be alright...we'll find the perfect place to move to."

After signing all the paperwork, I wanted to go to the movies to get my mind off of everything. We ended up going to see, "The Book of Eli" starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis (That's 70's show), & Jennifer Beals (Flashdance).

OMG...I LOVED that movie! It was the perfect thing for me to see. It was not only entertaining but had a great message too. It gave a glimpse into the future...kind of an end of times type movie with a message. Not like the movie 2012, which was so ridiculous my husband and I were laughing through most of the parts.

Anthony said, "I could see that movie again." He never wants to see movies twice!

So as this new year gets going I find myself learning to embrace change, trust and adapt to new transitions...life is always an adventure.

A home is not just a place, it's somewhere that you can be you, safe & secure, surrounded by the love of your family.

Cleaning, Schedules...AND SLEEP!

Elijah & Donald called up together as OUTSTANDING Linebackers!

Da Boys-Ryan, Cooper, Donald, Elijah & Trenton

Ryan, Cooper, Donald & Elijah (STUDS)

Chowing Down at Edison's Freshman Football Banquet

Wow, I haven’t updated my Blog since the weekend. So here’s what’s been going on, Sunday we had Elijah’s end of the year Football banquet. They made a really cool video for each of the boys. At the end they added outtakes. We were all cracking up! It was really well done and I loved it because the showed all of Elijah’s touchdowns and interceptions.

Monday I had the day off because my boss was on vacation. I had a lot of stuff planned to take care of because my good friend Debbie is coming to stay with us for a while. But of course nothing ever goes as planned. I got up, ate some oatmeal, laid down to read my morning devotional and fell asleep until 1:00 P.M.!!

Then I spent the rest of the day cleaning Jullien’s room for Debbie to stay in while he’s gone. What a nightmare! I can’t believe how kids can find so many hiding places for all their crap when you tell them to clean their room! I even found clothes that he’s had since he was 12. That took me the rest off the day, but I finally got it all done. If Juj’s was that bad I’m afraid to see what is hiding in Elijah & Adams room. That will be a project for another day.

Josh has been staying in Juj’s room since he’s been gone. I told him he could move into Elijah & Adam’s room while Debbie is here, but I think he got mad that I asked him to move and said, “NO, I’ll just stay with friends for a while.”

Whatever...I’m not going to stress about it, he’s a big boy and if he wants to act like a baby I’m not going to let it get to me.

On a positive note, I fell asleep at 10:00 p.m. last night. I’ve been so worn out from going to sleep at 2:00 a.m. every night, (insomnia). I feel really good today...sleep is AMAZING!

I Did It!

I'm so proud of myself...I set a goal to clean all day Saturday so I wouldn't be a raving B***** by Thursday for the graduation, and I actually did it. I had Adam and Elijah help, they scrubbed the walls (I thought that might teach them to not drag their dirty hands across the walls & help me at the same.) I scrubbed the fridge...found lots of old treats tucked away far in the back, growing some fuzz (my family is not to big on leftovers)...cleaned floor boards, my room and the bathroom. All the deep cleaning that I put off week after week. I still have more things to do, but I feel happy that I wont be trying to do all of it on the day of graduation.

Last night after I finished cleaning, the little guys (yes I'm referring to my 15 & 14 year olds), brought two girls home with them from the beach (one goes to high school with Adam). I assumed that one was for Adam (15) year old, he loves the ladies and is always on the hunt for a new one. I thought Elijah was just entertaining the friend so Adam could get to know his "little friend" better. They went to the pool and then came back to watch a movie. I kept going into the kitchen to "get things" and check on everyone...the hormones are raging at that age and I needed to keep an eye on the whole situation, LOL.

Today I found out that Elijah liked the girl that goes to Adam's high school and Adam liked the friend. So here's the thing, Elijah's in 8th grade and I'm not to sure about the older woman thing! I know I NEVER would've liked someone younger than me, most girls go for the older guys.

Why do they have to grow up?

Oh guess what, I sold my very first item on EBay. I had the kids clean out their closet and I listed two pairs of shorts...the Quicksilver shorts sold for 3.99. I was so excited...until I noticed the snaps on one of the pockets was broken. So I panicked and thought, "GREAT...my very first item and if I send it out like this I will get a bad rating and no one will buy from me in the future. So I jumped in my car, ran to a few cleaners until one of them said they could fix it. Now I pick them up on Monday to mail out...and it will cost me about $5.00!!! So I'm going to be paying someone to give them some shorts!LOL! Only in my world (I'm quite the entrepreneur don't ya think?) Give me a call if you need some help losing money!!hahahaha! I definitely learned a lesson, and I will be checking and re-checking everything before I list it. I always have to learn lessons the hard way. Well enough of my ramblings, I'm going to actually try to go to bed early for a change!

New York, Cleaning & Graduation

We have a busy week ahead of us...luckily I finally got my massage yesterday, it was AMAZING! Now I'm ready for the crazy week. Jullien leaves for a quick trip to New York again. He has his last final tomorrow and then on Tuesday he has his MANDATORY graduation walk through. Which means he fly's out on Sat. at 7:00 a.m, may have a photo shoot on Sunday and then a HUGE audition on Monday (can't say who yet because I don't want to jinx it...LOL). Then jumps on a plane Monday evening to be back for his walk through.

I have tons of cleaning to do and I am the world's worst procrastinator. All the family and friends will be coming over for an Open House Graduation party next Thursday, immediately following the graduation ceremony. My house has gotten so out of control that I don't know where to even begin. Do you ever feel like that? You start cleaning and then get overwhelmed and think, "What's the use!" This happens to me just about every weekend. Now I don't have a choice, so Saturday I'll take Jullien to the airport and then come home and get started (window washing, dusting, shredding all the piles of stacked paper...you know, the fun stuff).

Is it time for my vacation yet?

Life Baggage...Clean Your Closet!

I have been planning to go through my closet and get rid of ALL the clothes I never wear. This can be a problem because I always think, "No not this, I might wear it again." Time after time and my bag ends up with just a few things in it, my closet is still a mess.

I also have a couple drawers next to my nightstand, they are overflowing with JUNK! Don't think this is a recent thing, when we moved 5 years ago, I was going to clean it out, shred the papers, get rid of old prescriptions...but I continue to just shove it closed, no one can see the stuff inside anyways, I'll get to it later.

This got me thinking, how many of us go through life carrying years of inner baggage...hurt, anger, insecurity, pride, jealousy...from place to place? We think that moving, hiding, cleaning the outside, pretending, will make everything okay. We wonder, "Why do I not feel better inside? It's been so many years since THAT happened! Whatever your THAT is, you still carry it around inside. Just like my closet and drawers, I can hide things by closing the door, but deep down I know it's there and it weighs me down.

I have some areas that need cleaning, people I need to forgive, insecurities, self doubt, anger and many other things to overcome. I have slowly been going through my inner "CLOSET" and "DRAWERS." We often find ourselves in the same problems and situations, over and over again, because we never get to the CLEANING process...running, hiding, and denying is much easier. We will never truly be free until we take a look at what we have been hiding behind our closed doors.

Start with something small, (hold your tongue when you want to let someone have it, smile when your feeling sad, don't gossip about others for a whole day, walk for 30 minutes today.) Changing the little bad habits, one day at a time, will help you to slowly get to the bigger things (forgive someone who doesn't deserve your forgiveness, forgive yourself, apologize to someone you owe an apology to, trust others, overcome self doubt, fear and anger) one drawer at a time. It isn't an easy task, obviously...you've been carrying it around for years. Yes, I know it can be VERY painful! Why not find a way to get rid of the trash buildup, it gets harder and harder to stuff your drawers closed. Things start to stick out of the sides, top and bottom. Stop blaming others and get to YOUR cleaning! YOU deserve the best...you can start fresh, one small drawer at a time!