Day 1, A Reset on Priorities, Goals & Life

Dear Diary,

Well it's finally come to the day... moving day that is. Already there has been much reflection over choices from the past and I'm slowly trying to make amends with them. We have been busy moving this weekend. Andrew and I started at 7:00 am yesterday morning and then continued moving until 4:30 in the afternoon. With that done, we have only about 70% done. We were going to sell our refrigerator, but ended up keeping it (now I think it was the right choice). We also tried (and did) to sell our stove. Now we have the fridge that came with the house to sell, but if nothing else it will become the 'beer' fridge. :)

We are very excited about the potential hiding in the house. It's definitely a 100 year old house, but that is where the character comes from. We have a lot of work to do before we can get the Christmas decorations up. Our 'Honey-do' list is growing extremely fast, but that's the fun... right?

Big excitement for today: we got supplies to turn a tiny room off of our bedroom into a walk-in closet. There is also a closet inside of the room, so that will become a shoe closet. Every woman's dream, right? Pictures (before and after will come soon).

Lessons learned this weekend: we are BLESSED with truly wonderful friends who made time for us on their Saturday. We had so many people helping out, we felt their love and generosity... and it warmed our hearts. THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HELPED!!! ... a million times over!

The Prequel!

Dear Diary,

Well, we are calling this the prequel...

I have slowed down on posts, just like with telling people... I didn't want to put up anything until I knew what was going to happen. So here we go!

First, the rules... my goal is to have one post a week on the life reset that is about to happen. I will have lots of changes happening in my life over the next year and I want to make sure that I share the experiences.

I have posted that we will be getting a house and I found out tonight that we will be getting the keys on Friday! I thought that we would get the keys on Sunday, which meant big move in wouldn't happen for almost another week. WELL, I have called upon the group... call them Ho-goers... call them the 'Traveling Work Crew'... or call them family! Either way, we are hoping that they will be coming out in full force to help us. The move in date has been up-ed a week!

So the house is transforming into a city of boxes. The cats are LOVING it! What I am learning is that those I / we can talk freely with don't look at us with eyes of judgment, instead they are offering to help. This is relieving when I'm already passing judgment on myself. I feel so VERY lucky to find out who our true friends are.

Please stay tuned for more details and along the way we ask for some good vibes to help us in our journey that's about to begin.

Not official... but close enough!

Dear Diary,

We got a call from Mom last night letting us know what the counter offer will be for the house... and our investor will accept the terms. It will take at least 30 days for closing (really hoping for sooner) and then we get possession 12 days after. We were hoping to move in the fall, but it's a house that we will be able to buy from the investor. It doesn't look like anything fancy, but it has some wonderful farmhouse features. More details will come, but this is VERY exciting news!!!!

Thank you for the good karma vibes!!! Want to see a few pics? Click here. I will warn you that a few pics might seem a little weird, but once you get in the house it all makes sense. :)

Really? We have to have THIS talk?

Dear Diary,

So this is the second time in a month... we had POOP on the floor today. It wasn't in the bathroom, where you might have guessed. Instead, it was on the floor in the classroom. UGH!

The first time (yes, I'm including details) it was a slice summer sausage lying on the floor... a poo poo patty if you will. Today, it was a streak. I thought I smelled something, but I couldn't pinpoint where.

We had the talk last week about not peeing on the toilet seat... I used such sayings as, "If you sprinkle when you tinkle... be a sweetie and wipe the seatie." I also explained that this was a boy issue because girls just sit and aim directly into the hole.

Now, what clever saying do I have? Can't explain that it was a "shart." A shart, if you don't know, is when you think you have to fart, but oops... took a shit. The two together is a shart. We are having issues with sharting. Is there a picture book for this? I could use... Maybe I will read the book pictured and go into more details.

This for sure will create some giggles from the audience.

This is my child... well, as close as I get (for now).

Dear Diary,

I know that I am now practicing for having a family of my own... making tough decisions, worrying, and stress. On Thursday Loki had surgery for a torn ACL. When we first found out, our vet said they didn't do the surgery, but they got us estimates. $1600... $2500... $3500 (and a referral to MSU). Money is tight for us and many would first ask, "how old is he?" Well, I would normally go with that thought too, expcept he is 6 and still has MANY good days left in him. Well, I got talking with my principal one day and he said that his dog had the same surgery and told me how it worked. A couple days later, he said that he talked with his wife and she KNEW that they didn't pay that much. So he told me his old vet's location. I called and the estimate was between 800 and 1300 dollars. I made the appointment.

It was an all day thing... in Ludington. We had to be there by 8:00 am, which meant we had to leave by 6:00 am. I talked with the doctor and finally left by 9:30. I found a coffee shop downtown to begin my day of hanging out...

By 3:00 I could go back to the vet and check on Loki. He was in a kennel on a blanket (as seen in the picture above). He was still out of it but was happy to see me. We were back on the road by 3:45. The vet and a nurse helped get Loki back in the Jeep. He did try to snip when the vet took the muzzle off. He sent the muzzle home with me, just in case.

We got home by 6:00 and when Andrew I went to attempt to get Loki out of the car, I noticed that the incision was showing. The nurse who checked us out said if that happened to get him back in immediately. So of course, I FREAKED. I hit my stress point. I called vets here and there. I was able to get an appointment for our own vet at either 9:00 or 11:40. I had said 11:40 because I thought I would need Andrew to get Loki back in the Jeep. Well, as it turned out we never took him out of the Jeep. A 98 pound dog, still heavily drugged, who might bite, is not easy to get out of a vehicle. We finally decided that he was completely comfortable in the Jeep. I put some garbage bags under his blanket... and called the vet at 8:00 am the next day for that 9:00 am appointment.

Now in there was LOTS of tears, frustration, loss appetite and indecisiveness. Rockstar wasn't quite sure what to do with me.

The next morning, Loki was more with it. He was sitting up and wagging his tail. When we got the vet he was such a trooper. I thought they were going to have to knock him out and put a whole new cast on, but they just ended up adding to the top of what was there. Since this was just a cast out of gauze and on his back leg, it had just settled. We were home by 10:00 and Grandma came over to help me get him out of the car and into his new doggie quarters (aka the guest room).

Since then, he has been up and down, in and out. Well then this morning I could see about two inches of his incision. I started to panic (again). I called our vet and rambled a bit... they said the doctor was gone for the weekend. I called the 24 hour vet clinic in Traverse and the woman who answered the phone talked to the doctor. They suggested not to come in, that because of the casts location this would keep happening. They said to keep an eye on it and make sure it seemed cleaned and not swollen. They also said that they have seen this many times... We only need the cast on until next Friday, but OH MY GOODNESS!!!

This is a lot of stress... I know it's not the same as your child... but for now, this is as close as I get. Oh and the final bill for the surgery, $978.95. A much better price for the same surgery. Now we just some extra puppy prayers for a an easy recovery!