I'm Still Here!

We're working away on house projects. We've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather we're having here to put the mulch out and get our lawn beautimous!

Aimee, Just for YOU, girl, I'm going to try and sneak a picture of the neighbor's house. Someone is ALWAYS home, so I don't know if I'll have the gnads to do it...but I'll try!

I'm hoping to be able to visit all your sites at some point in the next couple days. I'm so behind!

Mommy's Grumpy

I'm sure I've posted before that negativity drives me crazy...well...I'm about to throw out a whole lotta negativity. There's only so much screaming and crying mom can take before she loses all control, and I think that time has come.

_____________

Dear SA, When you see mommy on her hands and knees, cleaning up the green beans off the floor, it doesn't help the situation to then throw your sippy cup across the room, in turn causing the lid to go flying, as well as all the liquid in it. This might be that one thing that makes mommy snap.

Dear SJ, As sick as this sounds, thank you for laughing when mommy burst into tears after getting soaked with the contents of SA's forementioned sippy cup. Mommy had momentarily lost her mind and needed to see that sweet smile of your's. Again, thank you.

Dear AR, How long does it take to recover from a day of two missed naps? Seriously, I need to know.

Dear Hubby, When I call crying...NO...SOBBING because I want you to come home from your Grandma's, I mean NOW. You haven't heard me cry like this in a long time, so this should be a sign that the stress level is pretty high back at home and your presence is needed IMMEDIATELY.

Dear Neighbor Across the Street, We're putting our house on the market in two weeks, would it be too much to ask for you to get that rake and potted plant off your roof? I don't know why or how they got there, but I think the rusty tricycle (that you got from OUR DUMPSTER), blue tarp, jack-o-lantern, small boulders, folded up mattress, and broken down trailer in your driveway is enough, I think throwing your yard tools up on your roof is a bit much. I'm just sayin'.

Dear Family Member, I know how to feed my kids. I know what to feed my kids. If I'm not ready to feed them candy and soda, that is my decision, not your's. Just because you think it's perfectly okay to let your kids drink Coke from a sippy cup, doesn't mean it's okay to give it to mine. I promise not to tell you how to raise your kids, if you promise not to tell me how to raise mine.

Dear Loan Borrower, Considering we have loaned you a large amount of money, not once, but twice - money you still owe us - it might be a good idea to stop trying to give me all these things you bought off E-Bay that you decided you don't want. And no you didn't win it, you BOUGHT it.

Dear Kitty, Must you puke? Everyday? On the carpet? We have plenty of hardwood floor for you to yack on, but no, you choose to puke on the carpet. And this morning...on my one pair of clean jeans. Why? Oh why?

That's all my b*tching for today. I think...

Thank you. I feel much better now. Whew!

Happy Easter!!

After a very long, nap-deprived day, there's nothing like a little Baby Einstein to tame the babes...

Let there be light!

Thank you, Miki, for directing me over to Flickr! I can now post pictures! No, I don't have any pictures of the kids. I'm still sticking to my no-pictures-of-the-kids-on-the-Internet rule, but I might sneak in some non-identifying ones every now and then. Maybe some exciting back-of-the-head shots? ;)

I've posted some of the light fixtures we've picked out for the new house. I couldn't find pictures of all our fixtures, but here's what I've got...


Exterior Light - Next to front door and one next to each garage door


Foyer


Dining Room Candelabra


Kitchen Island Pot Rack/Light Fixture


Kitchen Sink Fixture/Butler Pantry Fixture


Breakfast Room Candelabra


Powder Room Fixture


2nd-Floor Hallway Fixture

I'll see if I can find pictures of some of the others - this is wildly-exciting, I know! ;)

*All Pictures Courtesy of Metro Lighting Center

Hair Four Days Ago, Gone the Day After That

I'm a little late posting this newsbreaking entry, but I got my hair cut. About five inches to be exact.

I have very fine, thin hair, so I have no business having long hair, but my husband loves long hair, and throws a big enough fit when it's time for me to get my hair cut, that you'll usually catch me with long tresses every couple years. After much frustration, I told him a serious haircut was long overdue.

I guess you would call it a short bob. It can be worn strait, curled under, or flipped at the ends - there's lots of layers. I like it. It's pretty easy to fix (I just dry it with a round brush) and the kids love to play with it (it was always back in a ponytail before I got it cut). I also had her color it a chestnut brown, with highlights on top (I'm naturally a blonde). The darker color made my blue eyes pop, unfortunately the color has almost washed out completely. My hair won't hold color for anything.

I think it looks great, but I've gotten some less than favorable reactions. What can ya do? I love it, RD says it's "okay," it's just going to have to be for now.

Can't please everybody. :)

In Sickness and in Love

Okay...so that's not how it goes, but the title seemed fitting for this post.

Thank you everyone who sent well-wishes for our anniversary! RD and I had a WONDERFUL dinner at The Melting Pot. We had the Big Night Out's Classic Feast and it was to die for!! When it came time for dessert, I lost all control.

Me: mmmm....MMMMMM...This is just delicious! mmmmmm.

RD: Do you have to make those noises?

Me: It's just so good! Ohhhhh!! Did you try the brownie? mm-mm-mmmm.

RD: You're making sex noises. It's getting weird. laughing Stop it!

Me: It's just so good! I can't help it!

By my slightly-orgasmic reaction to the Flaming Turtle Chocolate Fondue, it's safe to say the meal was a success. It was a wonderful ending to a not-so-wonderful day...

AR and SJ were sick. And still are a bit, but do seem better today. RD started the day off by taking his mom to her Neuro-appointment. They then picked up lunch and we enjoyed some French onion soup and roast beef sandwiches. As time was passing, AR was getting worse. SJ was obviously not feeling well either, but AR just seemed to be feeling awful. She just wanted to be held, and lied limp in our arms. Her fever got as high as 103.5. Luckily, she still had an appetite and thirst, so I didn't fret over her dehydrating.

RD and I had an appointment at Metro Lighting to pick out the lights for the new house - his mom was going to watch the kids. She was going to be watching them over naptime, and I have complete confidence that she could have handled them just fine, but it didn't feel right leaving sick kids behind - so RD stayed behind while I went to the lighting place on my own. I had already spent countless hours scouring their Internet site to get a feel for what we were wanting; I had a general idea of what he liked and disliked, so I went on. Let me just say...it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. First of all, the place was so darn hot. Not a surprise, considering all the lights they had on display. Duh! And second, it's quite nerve-racking picking out light fixtures worth hundreds of dollars on my own - 80% of which were marked 'Special Order Item - NOT RETURNABLE.' No pressure. Despite the gamble I took on a few items, I think he'll be happy with everything.

I need to figure out how to post pictures on here. I've been told repeatedly how easy it is to set up...I'm just so clueless to this stuff. I could put together a killer PowerPoint Presentation, but don't ask me to install software or...whatever else there is to do outside of the Microsoft programs. I'm going to see if I can find the pictures on Metro's site so I can post pictures of some of the light fixtures we're getting. Our dining room chandelier and foyer fixture are quite funky - either you'll love them or hate them. I'm anxious to hear people's reactions. I decided I'm tired of playing it safe; I have a "different" taste when it comes to decorating, and it's time to unleash it!

On the real estate front...I just found out the house nextdoor got a contract its second day on the market. WOO-HOO! Definitely a good sign. Our realtor is coming over Monday so we can sign all the paperwork, complete disclosure forms, etc. We were shooting for mid-April, but with the expected increase in the interest rate, I'm wondering if we should put it on the market a bit sooner. We'll see what her thoughts are.

Which leads me to the not-so-big news that I obviously made way too big a deal of last week. Again, big for us, but such a bore for you. Sorry to be such a tease! Since we're building, we won't have a set closing date for several weeks, if not longer, which leaves the possibility of a double-move being in our future. I had looked into several temporary leases available in the apartments in our area - some pretty nice, but let's face it, there's nothing nice about a double-move. Now comes RD's mom. She has been ordered not to drive for the next six months, due to the seizure she had a couple weeks ago. I had just gotten off the phone with RD, trying to figure out what days we would be driving MIL and what days his sisters would be, etc. That's when a lightbulb went off...

What if we go ahead and put our house on the market, not worrying about the timing, go ahead and put that it is ready for immediate closing -AND- then move in with his mom until our house is ready. We're already having to coordinate grocery trips, drives to her work...and every other thing, so wouldn't it be easier if we were right there? If we didn't have three kids it wouldn't be such an issue, but right now...I'm just going to say it...I can see it becoming a pain packing the kids up all the time to drive her around. I love my MIL VERY MUCH, so it's not that it would be a nuisance, but let's be real here, it sorta would be. She has plenty of room (well enough) for us upstairs and we would be right there. THEN, RD also suggested that once we do move in our house, she live with us until she can drive. Our new house is five minutes from her work. Fine by me. Before you all roll your eyes and tell me how not fine it's going to be...it would only be until September. And, it wouldn't really be her moving in with us, but staying with us several days during the week. We'd take her back to her house on the weekends, and whenever else she wanted, but it would be so convenient to be right there. And we'll have the space, so we might as well take advantage of it.

We had this whole plan worked up, but RD hadn't talked to his mom about it, so I didn't want to dish about our "plan" on here until he spoke to her about it. Other than still being obviously bummed over losing her independence during these six months (can you blame her?!), she said it did make sense. Nothing is set in stone at this time, but everyone is keeping their options open. When RD asked her what she thought of having the three kids there, she gave him an ecstatic, "Great!"

She then got a serious look and said, "It will be a full house." He replied, "Yea...three kids and us." "No," she said, "FOUR CATS!!!"

When we dance, Angels will run and hide their wings

Happy Anniversary, Darlin'.

I love you so much. You keep my laughing, keep me smiling, and make each day more wonderful just by being in it. Thank you for making me so happy.

And don't forget...

I love you MORE!

Designed to Sell

There's one special skill all mothers excel at. I'd bet you'd be hard-pressed to find a mother that didn't rock at this.

MULTI-TASKING

Men on the other hand...

Our new realtor was coming at 10 a.m. this morning. We got the bulk of things done lastnight - RD polished the hardwood floors (on his hands and knees, people!), painted the shop room in the basement and I worked on cleaning up everything else (scrubbed all the tiles in the kitchen, the cabinets, the stove, the pot rack above stove, cleaned up carpet stains, put tall piles of laundry away, put away random junk) - there was still some small things to do this morning. I had a plan - we'd first take turns taking showers and getting dressed while the other person watched the kids, then we'd work together (again, still one watching the kids) to get the duvet cover out of the dryer and put on the bed, the dining room table cloth found (in basement somewhere) and put on, bring the ficus tree up from basement and put back in dining room (it "makes" the room, but we removed it b/c the kids kept getting into the moss and pulling off the leaves), vacuum the bedrooms, and move the wine rack into the dining room, as well as some other minor things.

First I took a shower, then came out so RD could take a shower. He said he'd take one later, he first wanted to get some things done - he then escaped down to the basement. I thought he was just going down to bring something up or get something out of the dryer, but suddenly it was 9 a.m. and he was STILL down there.

Me: yelling down to basement RDDDD!! Are you almost done? You still need to take a shower yet...and we need to ____ and ____ and _____ still.

RD: Yep...I'll be right up.

He came up about ten minutes later. After some nagging on my part, he vacuumed the bedrooms, then took a quick shower, THEN WENT BACK TO THE BASEMENT!!!!!!!!!

I quickly changed the kids and put them down for their nap. I rushed downstairs to try and speed things up. I grabbed the duvet cover out of the dryer and started looking for the table cloth. All the while, RD is tidying up the shop room shelves. Not really looking like he's doing anything, just moving stuff around.

Me: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Do you really think Tina (realtor) is going to care if that damn shelf is tidy? Will you PLEASE help me? It's almost quarter to ten!

RD: Yea, yea...let me just finish this?

ME: PLEASE, RD. Take this (duvet cover) upstairs and put it on the comforter. I also need you to bring up the ficus tree and move the wine rack back into the dining room.

RD: Okay...okay...I'm going.

I go up and put away all the toys and move the bigger toys to the side walls to try and get them out of the way. I put the table cloth on the table then went to wipe down the bathroom sink and empty the trash. Noticing all the little finger prints on the front screen door, entertainment center, and tv, I grabbed some Windex and cleaned that up. Not seeing RD anywhere, I go in and get the wine rack and lug it into the dining room. I peeked into the bedroom...no duvet cover. Just as I headed towards the basement stairs I see RD coming in (he was cleaning up some tools he had on the back deck).

RD: I was just going down to get it!

Me: Forget it...I'm getting it. Hey...don't forget the ficus tree!

Just in time, (ah-hem) we got everything done and in place. So as you can imagine, I was all flushed from rushing around, while RD was calm as can be - as he had spent the entire morning moving crap around on the shop table. I'm sure he did more than that, but for the life of me I couldn't tell ya.

It seems most mothers you talk to feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. RD is a great dad...incredible! Yet...it's a lot of the little things he slips on. After asking him to grab something out of the kids' room for me, I saw him wandering from one side of the room to the other, completely lost. Our kids are over a year old and he still doesn't know where anything is. How is that? It's a small room! There are three drawers and one cubby - take a look around! When I tease him about it, his response is usually something like, "You're the mom...moms are supposed to be good at this stuff/know this stuff/be more patient/be better at this or that" Riiigggghhhht. No pressure.

As for the new realtor. Love her! LOVE.HER. She brought an assistant with her who took notes on every detail of the house. We talked about what should stay, what should go, price, timing issues, etc. Her confidence was catching. She gushed over how wonderful our house is and if I were a prospective buyer, I'd be sold! Again, loved her!

Next step is to get an inspection. The town we live in is really strict, so she offered up some tips on things we should do before they come. They were very minor, quick fixes, so we should have those things done in the next couple days.

Remember the big news I mentioned? I've got nothing to share just yet. But first I wanted to say it's nothing exciting. I guess I made it sound grander than it is. I should've said it's a big deal to us, but it will be rather boring to everyone else. I'm not pregnant, no big life decisions have been made - it's nothing like that. It's just something that involves someone else in our family, so even though I'm 99.999999999% sure no one in our family reads this blog (so help me God if they ever do), I still fear of them reading something on here before they hear it from us.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Until next time...

Dust in the Wind

Who would've thought such everyday tasks would be kicking my ass like this. The laundry, all the little get-the-house-ready-to-sell projects, the dishes, everything...it's just so damn overwhelming sometimes.

I need to get my butt up and start doing something. I need to polish the furniture, but I can't find the Pledge, so that's my excuse at the moment. I just keep sitting here staring out the window.

The kids will be up from their morning nap soon, so I guess there's no point in starting anything now. Right? Okay, you talked me into it. I'll just put it all off until this afternoon's nap. Great idea! Thanks!

Have it Hootie's Way?

Anyone else find the new Burger King commercial a tad creepy? It's like some crazy, sexed-up, Fun House freak show...then you throw in Hootie (Darius Rucker...whatever, he'll always be Hootie to me)...it's just too weird.

But there's a little part of me that's starting to like it...hmmmm....

St. Patrick's Day Randoms

Remember the dumpster we rented? Well, in an effort to help beautify our neighborhood (and in turn making our house more sellable!), RD told the neighbor catty-corner to us that he could use our dumpster to get rid of some stuff if he'd like. Said neighbor was very happy to hear this and told RD he'd be taking him up on the offer. As you can imagine, we were thrilled because we've been staring at this stuff for close to four years now. I woke up this morning, look across the street, and what do I see? The neighbor directly across the street must've seen his neighbor hauling this stuff to our dumpster and decided he wanted it. Now instead of it being catty-corner to us, it's right out front. GRRRRRRRRRRR.

RD and I have been hemming and hawing over whether or not to get the boxed bay window in the master bath for the new house. It's only $1,600 - and I say "only" because in the grand scheme of things it just doesn't seem like that much - but we KEEP SAYING THAT. It didn't seem like much to add the window in the kids' bath, the crown molding in the dining room, the open stairwell to the basement, the extension to the deck, the pedestal sink in the powder room...I could go on and on. See where I'm going with this? We've added so many seemingly "little" things, we're now close to $30,000 more than what we had planned on spending. We're thinking we're going to make a good profit on this house and it looks like we'll be getting some money from RD's aunt's (who recently passed away) estate, but we still need to furnish this place. My belly's turning just thinking about it. Ugh. The way we deal with things is through humor. Our latest saying has been (to say with a shrug), "What's money?!" Usually followed by nervous laughter. Sure we might not have furniture for this big house, but damn it's going to be nice!

RD pointed out something that made me hang my head in shame. And for him to say ANYTHING regarding my weight or eating habits...you know it's got to be bad. I've been eating non-stop lately. I've been lucky in that I haven't gained any weight, but at this rate it's just a matter of time. I don't know what my deal is! I just can't stop! I was doing so well for so long, but it's all been shot to hell. You know what the problem is? The kids are now eating real food...table food. What do they love? Cheese. Mama loves cheese, too. And Bologna...and pancakes...and chicken nuggets. Then I get this attitude that if I've already been bad today, I might as well go all out. I ran to Target lastnight and thought, "What the hell?! I might as well get some Reese's Peanut Butter cups!" Knowing I was spinning out of control, I ate them before I got home. I even hid the wrapper in my purse so RD wouldn't see. What's the matter with me?! I was doing so great and was just getting ready to buy a smaller pair of jeans and VOILA! I didn't just fall off the wagon I leaped off! I've soooo got to so something about this. I just don't care enough yet to do it. Bleh.

RD's mom is home. She's going back to work Monday and we've agreed to drive her to work as often as possible. We've got something big in the works....but I don't want to dish about it here just yet. I'll spill as soon as things are more final...maybe Monday?

Until then...Happy St. Patty Day to ya!

I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying

FINALLY! FINALLY! FINALLY!

I have had this song in my head for so long. I've been humming it, making ill attempts to sing it, but no one could tell me the name or singer of the song. I knew Sting did back-up for it...which was my favorite part...now I've finally put technology to use, and found my song!

You should take a listen (#9)...

"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" by Toby Keith* and the wildy sexy Sting

*The irony being that I kept telling RD that the singer sounds like Toby Keith...but for whatever reason I didn't think it was him.

I've got nothing to say

It's been a crazy week and I'm physically and emotionally drained. RD's aunt died (actually it's his grandma's sister) several days ago. My SIL called RD's mom to tell her about her dying and MIL was all confused. She didn't know what day it was and she had a large bump on the back of her head. We live only five minutes away from her, so RD rushed over and took her to the hospital. They're pretty sure she had a seizure. She used to have them pretty regularly when RD was little, but it's been something like 20 years since she's had one. They're sending her home with some meds and have instructed her not to drive for six months - which I can tell you right now is going in one ear and out the other. She's got a very stressful job that runs her ragged, and there's no way she's going to miss any more work than she sees necessary.

It seems the seizures she had years ago were brought on by stress, so it's highly likely this job she so loves is probably the primary cause of this latest episode. Now RD and his sisters are making it their mission to talking her into a less stressful position. I don't see them succeeding, but we shall see.

That's all I've got. I guess I did have something to say.

Now I'm off to eat some Girl Scout cookies. Those damn Girl Scout cookies!

Give the boy an A for effort!

We were breathing heavy, caught up in the moment, pulling our clothes off as fast as we could. I moved on top of him, kissing his chest, smiling as he moaned in anticipation. Then I leaned back, he sat up...*insert some crazy repositioning here*...

Me: Um...honey. I don't think this is going to work.

Awkward silence.

Me: I've...um...seen this in the movies...but I don't think it really works.

Clumsily move back into a safe position.

LESSON OF THE DAY: Don't believe everything you see in the movies.

Our house, that was where we used to sleep

I've had second thoughts about the realtor we met with the other day. I was really impressed with her on-line bio. She had some raving testimonials - and for what it's worth, she looked very polished and professional in her photo.

First gaffe was she was 30 minutes late. She did call first, but it was definitely not a good start. When she did arrive, I was admittedly very disappointed in her appearance. I expected a polished professional to walk in our door. You know, the one in the picture? In her photo, she had beautifully-styled, shoulder-length, blonde hair; and she was wearing what looked to be a nice suit. Stylish, not too stuffy. Her hair showed signs of once being blonde - it was dark brown, still shoulder-length, with blonde tips. I couldn't hold back saying SOMETHING.

Me: nervous laugh I almost didn't recognize you with the darker hair. You were blonde in the picture, so I didn't think that was you walking up.

Realtor: laughing Oh, yes! I was blonde. I just had a baby in October, so I stopped coloring my hair while I was pregnant. I've gotten so many compliments with my hair being darker, I decided just to keep it.

No, they're just trying to be nice. And you're keeping the blonde tips becuuuuuuzzzz????

She recently had a baby? Okay. That explains the clothes as well. She was pretty casual. Not that she has to dress up for us, but seeing that it was our first meeting, I did expect her to look more...yes, I'm going to say it again...polished and professional. Maybe she can't fit into her pre-pregnancy clothes yet, but still...

So she's not the fashion maven I am...that's funny...no, really, it is...that doesn't mean she doesn't know her stuff. Talking to her, she did seem to know her stuff, so I ignored whatever red flags were wanting to pop up. I mentioned in an earlier post that we were thinking we should ask more than what she recommended. Turns out we're not alone. RD ran into our self-appointed "Block Captain" earlier this evening. Come to find out she is putting her house on the market May 1. Though her house is up on the "nice end of the street," it is basically the same house. When RD told her what we were planning on asking...I guess there's no harm in me sharing - $155,000...she about blew a gasket.

Let's see if I can make this long story short...

She's planning on asking $185,000(!!!!) for her house. The house up the street from her (also comparable to our's...aside from the better view) was listing for $163,000. They received FIVE offers the first day on the market, all over asking price. The highest bidder actually said they would go as high as $175,000 if they had to. WHOA! Now...the Block Captain (isn't that silly?) said she heard that the people nextdoor to us are planning on asking $149,900, so she asked RD if he would talk to them to talk them up in price. This is getting hairy. She also then urged him to up our price - a minimum of $165,000. Because of course, there's no way she's going to get that high a price for her's if we go as low as $155,000. Makes sense to me. Maybe we should reconsider.

Sooooo....yet ANOTHER long story short, we're meeting with a different, seemingly more experienced, realtor a week from Monday. Thanks to neighborhood gossip (only thing our Block Captain is good for...just HOW DOES she get her information?!), we might be able to make a more-informed decision. I'm really looking forward to hearing what this new realtor has to say.

As for home projects, RD finished rebuilding our deck today. The wood was rotting out and would in no way pass inspection. It looks WONDERFUL. I love having a handyman for a husband. He's the best!

Go Babies! Go Babies!

Exciting news on the homefront today...

SJ took his first couple steps lastnight! He has since forgotten how to do it, but it's progress, my friends, progress! He was so proud - giggling away, looking back and forth at RD and me, making sure we saw his accomplishment. I just sat there with my jaw hanging open - in shock - eyes welling up with tears. I'm a sap I tell ya.

I think I've mentioned before...our babies aren't wanting anything to do with sippy cups. They chew on the spout, but they just aren't getting that they have to tilt the cup up to get anything out of it. At the recommendation of some other triplet moms, I purchased some straw-sippies. They still just wanted to chew on the rubber straw...loving it; just not catching on. We got excited when they'd get a mouthful of milk - but I think it was by accident. We'll keep practicing...

AR is still going around saying Duuuude, well more like Duuuuuuu-wah. I think it bugs RD, but I think it's adorable. It has replaced DeeDee (daddy) lately, so I guess I can see why he's not loving it so much.

SA had been really good at pointing out our noses. It looks like he's now catching on that mommy and daddy are not the only ones that have these funny-looking things, so he's now pointing out everyone's nose - news anchors on TV, AR's and SJ's, and the animals on their flash cards. Friends or family will be playing with them and they'll jump and say, "Ahhh! He's trying to pick my nose. " No, he's just trying to show you that you have one. That's my boy!

So that's what's new with the kiddos. Keeping us smiling as always.

Everyday Rubbish

First I must say that I'm so glad the whole gas incident happened - BECAUSE, thanks to that craziness, I was prompted to call the gas company to come check things out. He checked out our oven, and lo and behold there was a problem that needed to be fixed. It seems our igniter has worn out - so when turned on, the igniter would fail to click(?) and then the gas would just run and run; hence, the fumes that turned my world white.

While he was here, he said he was going to check the rest of our lines, and it should only take a minute. I got wrapped up in Dr. Phil (Did you watch that today?!) and RD was working on the deck...an hour later I check to see how RD's doing and realize - the gas man's still there. We got so consumed in our own little worlds, we were totally oblivious to the man hammering away on pipes downstairs while we went about our business. How the babies managed to sleep through that racket is a miracle in itself! Turns out we had pipes leaking gas all over the place. That explains a lot! Duhr. He said it's not like our house would blow in the next few weeks, but it's something that would pose a problem if we didn't tend to it soon. Thank God for small miracles. I'M SERIOUS! Just think - that craving I had for cheese fries just might've saved our house (and US, considering we never go anywhere) from blowing to pieces. Who'da thunk?!

So that was this afternoon...

This morning, the realtor came over to asses our house. The price she recommended is little lower than what we were thinking. I had looked at some comparable houses in the area, but she pointed out one major fault. If you know me, or have read any of my older entries, you know the problem. Da-ta-da-da...our neighbors. We have quite the diverse street, us being on the low-end of the scale. At the top of the street are $500,000+ houses, mixed in with modest two-bedroom homes. Our house is quite a bit nicer than these smaller homes up yonder, but their modest houses look out to these large, beautiful, Colonial-style homes; whereas our view consists of a truck up on blocks, PLANTED artificial flowers, large blue tarps, a black Mitsubishi of some sort with red bumpers and white Japanese (?) decals on the windshield...and I could go on...and on.

I knew our neighbors would be a problem.

Me: I guess there's not much we can do about it, but I was wondering about...our neighbors.

Realtor: Yeeaaaa. That's money. They're going to cost you. Now if you were at the top of the street.

Me: *sigh* Yes, the top of the street. The coveted top of the street.

Realtor: Sounding a little too excited... Those houses up there?! My God! They're beautiful! Ohhhh, how I'd love to walk out my front door to see that everyday! Now THAT'S a view! It makes you feel... Starts shimmy-ing shoulders back and forth and purses her lips out and let's out a giggle.

Yea, lady. We get your point.

So we decided on a price and started figuring when would be best to go on the market. The builder says our house should be ready by late-June/early-July, but that's never a sure thing. Both the realtor and builder have encouraged us to prepare ourselves for a possible double-move. Hell, nobody wants to do that, but if it has to be done, it has to be done. I don't want our house to be on the market forever, so we'll do whatever we have to...to an extent.

As of now, we're aiming for April 15; end of April at the latest. That will give us more time to get things ready (finish projects, get inspections, etc.), and our annuals should be up by then, which will make the house look even better.

Now I've got a hankering for some chocolate, so off I go!

Wisteria Lane

As if having triplets doesn't bring me enough attention. No, not nearly enough. Doing my part to create drama in order to give the neighbors something to talk about, with a quick call to 911 I had three fire trucks, four police cars, and an ambulance parked outside my house within minutes.

What happened, you ask?

Well, you see I was hungry. Very hungry. Due to RD's very long work hours lately, our cupboards are pretty bare since it's been a good while since I've gone grocery shopping. We've been making those quick runs to get "just enough" to keep our children from withering away to nothing. It was 8 o'clock and I realized I hadn't yet eaten dinner. I can count on one hand the number of times I've "forgotten" to eat. Don't you hate those people that always "forget" to eat. I think skinny people just say that to make us not-so-skinny people feel like pigs. I looked in the freezer and found we had half-a-bag of french fries. mmmm...with some cheddar?! CHEESE FRIES! YUM! So I preheat the oven...I'm putting some dishes away....and, "what's that smell?" We usually get a little whiff of gas when we first turn the oven on, so I decide to ignore it. Then I get a little light-headed. hmmmm...time to worry? I turn to face the oven and what do I do? Take a BIG whiff. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was trying to reassure myself that I wasn't really smelling anything. As quickly as I took that whiff, the room started to go white. I started rushing around the room in circles. I truly think I was delirious. These thoughts of me passing out and not being able to get to my unconscious babies were whirling through my head. I guess I thought if I kept moving (in circles?) I would be alert enough not to pass out. I opened up the kitchen window, ran to the front of the house to open up the screen door (almost all our windows are painted shut, so these were my only options), then grabbed the cordless phone. I first paged RD. I don't know what I expected him to do. I guess I was hoping he'd give me some quick instructions, so I could avoid what was to follow. Because obviously, I don't handle these emergency situations very well. And here I thought I was one who worked great under pressure! Humph!

I didn't know who to call. The Fire Department? I was still feeling dizzy, and in fear of something happening to the babies - and me not being able to get to them - I called 911.

Dispatcher: 911. What's your emergency?

Me: Well...I...uh...I turned on the oven...and it smelled of gas really strong....and I got dizzy......uh...I've got three kids and I'm worried. Could you send someone from the Fire Department to check for gas?

Dispatcher: Did you turn it off?

Me: Yes. Yes, I did.

Dispatcher: Are the kids acting strange?

Me: No. Um, I don't think so. Their door's shut. I opened windows...they're sleeping and their room isn't near the kitchen...the windows are open...I think they're okay.

Dispatcher: Make sure all the windows are open. Get the kids and wait outside. I'm sending someone over.

Me: Um...there's three. I can't.... Just hurry up.

So here's my biggest fear. I have to get the kids (who are all sleeping so soundly) all out of the house, and I'm home alone. F. F. F. I'm a big weanie when it comes to cussing. Especially the "f" word. It was drilled into me as a child that ladies never curse. I guess it stuck with me. I called my mom who lives five minutes away.

I start pacing, wondering how I do this. I grabbed the van keys, the phone, and RAN to the neighbors to see if they could help me carry the kids, and we hang in their house until things were all clear. Before you think I'm a horrible mother for leaving them, even for a second, I had turned the gas off, opened (all available) windows, and it didn't smell bad anymore - but I did still want it checked out. And their door was closed...and yes, I feel guilty...and yes I need to work on my emergency drills!!!!! Ugh. No answer. I ran back to my house and already a police officer was walking up.

Me: First...First....can you...will you please help me carry my babies out to the van?

PO: Yes. Are you okay?

Me: Yes. I just want to get my babies out to the van.

PO: Sure. Do you need help carrying them?

Me: Yes! Yes. There's three of them. Triplets.

PO: Oh...okay.

So we go in and wake my three, beautiful sleeping babies. AR was PISSED. SA was scared. SJ...he could care less - I think he was excited at the chance to get up for awhile. We carry my shivering babies out to the van, and I cranked up the heat. As we were walking out to the van, I heard sirens, LOUD sirens, coming from every direction.

Me: BIG SIGH That's not all for me...is it?

PO: Yes, mam.

Damn. Damn. Damn. All I wanted was someone to come out to check - JUST IN CASE - and the city's throwing everything they've got at me. UGH.

So now there are bright lights all up and down our street. Firemen running in my house. My God...this is crazy. It was just a little leak. Is this necessary?

VERY long story short...there was a minor leak. We're not allowed to use our stove/oven until someone checks it out. Just great. It's not like we have anything to cook anyway. I was told the gas level was back down to zero, and we could go back in. My mom was here by this time, so she helped me carry the babes back to bed. Luckily, they were exhausted and went right back to sleep without a fuss.

RD came home shortly after the last truck left. He just smiled and shook his head.

Me: I just wanted to be sure.

RD: Smiling Uh-huh.

Me: What if I passed out? What if I passed out and couldn't get to the babies?

RD: Uh-huh.

Me: Would you have rather I waited to find out the hard way?

RD: Still smiling No. Now laughing.

Still hungry, I offered to run up to McDonald's to get us a late dinner. I brought him a chicken nuggets meal and me a Big Mac.

RD: What's that?

Me: A Big Mac?

RD: Damn! Awful late for that, isn't it?

Me: You know me. When I go out, I go ALL OUT.

RD: Ain't that the truth.

We both laughed.

My Interview!

I am lucky to have been chosen by Cori to be interviewed! If you haven't met Cori, head on over. She's is a wonderful, sweet woman and a witty writer!

1. If you could have the same bundles of joy, would you choose to have them as single births spread out over the next few years?

I've been asked that several times. It has crossed my mind - then I wonder what order they would come in and immediately decide it's a horrible idea. I know this sounds silly, because if it worked out that way I wouldn't know any different, but having all three now, I think of how much I'd miss the other two. Plus, it's so much fun watching them interact with each other. In some ways, I wonder if it's easier raising them at the same age all at once, as opposed to spreading them out.

2. Single best feature of your NEW HOUSE?

Space! We are now living in a very small, two bedroom, one bath house. It's so hard to pick just one feature. I guess what I'm most excited about is the Bonus Room, which will give the kids more room to play; second, is the big kitchen (I'll actually have counterspace); and third, an extra bathroom (RD and I will no longer have to fight over space to brush our teeth!).

3. What do you like best about blogging?

My mind is constantly going. I overanalyze EVERYTHING. Blogging works as a release for me. Instead of obsessing on something, I write about it here and it seems to take a bit of the weight off my shoulders. Well...let's face it, I'm still going to obsess, because that's what I do best, but it does lighten the load a bit. :)

4. If you weren't a SAHM, what would you choose to be?

I can't say for sure. Real estate has always interested me. That's something I've considered getting involved in once the kids are all in school. If I was to start all over, go back in time, I'd go to school to be a teacher. I would want to teach at the Middle School or High School level. What subject? Ahhh...tough one. There are several that interest me, so I guess I should be glad I'm not in a position to pick just one.

5. What is your favorite movie?

Cousins with Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini. It is a wonderful love story. There are very few movies that I can sit through over and over again, and this is definitely one of them.

Thanks for the interview, Cori! Now I will interview the first five to comment on this entry! :D

My Gettin'-Ready-To-Sell To-Do List

1. Clean out my closet and drawers. Bag up clothes for charity.
2. Kindly remind RD 5-10 times to start going through his closet.
3. Windex all the windows. Have RD do the outside.
4. Wash the dining room curtains and hang them back up. Then remember to pull the highchairs away from the window so the kids will stop grabbing the curtains with their messy hands during mealtime.
5. Wipe down the outside of all the kitchen cabinets, the refrigerator, the stove/oven.
6. Clean the blades of all the ceiling fans.
7. Shampoo the carpets in the bedrooms.
8. Pack/Give/Throw away any knick knacks around the house so it looks less cluttered.
9. Basement. The basement. Ugh...the basement. A dumpster is being delivered next Tuesday so we can clean out the basement. It is a disaster. I started in the basement today. I can not believe the crap I have been holding on to for YEARS. Why? Just because that ten-year old sweater says Polo on it, doesn't mean it's a keeper! I have a box of about 200 cocktail napkins from our wedding. For some reason I thought I better hang on to them - sentimental reasons I guess. They're all yellow and gross. Time for them to hit the trash!
10. Buy some big Rubbermaid tubs to store stuff I want to take with us. I can't stand storing stuff in cardboard boxes. Spiders! Spiders! Spiders!
11. Label the tubs so I actually know what's in them (e.g., Halloween, Easter, Christmas, books, bags, etc.).
12. Dust the hanging pots and pans rack above the stove. I don't think I've done that since RD hung the damn thing. I should probably wear a mask!
13. Clean out the kitchen pantry.
14. Clean out the bathroom closets.
15. Buy new (updated) fixture for foyer and above kitchen sink.
16. Touch-up paint where needed.
17. Figure out what in the hee-haw hell I'm going to do with three kids and two cats when someone wants to look at the house.

I'm sure there's more, but my head's about to burst, so I'll stop here.

House For Sale

My postings in the next few weeks will probably be a bit sporadic. BOY, do we have our work cut out for us! The builder says our house should be ready mid- to late-June. I'm thinking that probably means July. So in talking to a few people, if we want to close on our house in June, we want our current house sold by May. The agent I spoke to said an "easy" closing will take about a month (allowing time for inspections, etc.) and a "difficult" closing will take at least a month and a half. Add that all up...we need to get our house ready for the market - FAST! We're aiming for April 1.

What we're struggling with is - do we use an agent or go 'For Sale By Owner'? If we didn't have three kiddos to deal with, I'd definitely do FSBO. But that requires a lot of work...there's advertising, finding a lawyer, hosting open houses on our own...just more than I really want to deal with right now. BUT, that's a big price to pay. 6%!!!! Ugh. I just don't know what to do.

As I've mentioned before, "I don't know" is RD's favorite answer for everything, so he says it's up to me.

I would really like to just hand everything over to this agent (whom I really like BTW), but is it worth the money? My sanity says, "hell yes," while my pocket book says, "are you kidding, me?"

So again I am looking to you, my dear friends, for advice. What have been your experiences? And as much as I'm hoping you'll say, "GO FOR THE AGENT," I really would like your honest opinion. Keep in mind we have three one-year olds and are building a house at the same time - no pressure - I'm not trying to sway you! heehee!

Cantcha throw the girl a bone?

We were going to meet the builder lastnight to go over our options (yes, we are officially building a house! WOO HOO!). I've been chained to the house a bit with the kids, so I haven't been out much. Most any occasion now calls for some gussying up. I had my little bag filled with new make-up from Lancome, so I thought I'd have fun experimenting.

I was feeling pretty. No. I was feeling DAMN PRETTY. I'm sure you ladies have been there. I walk out of the bedroom donning my new face - waiting for his reaction. Nothing.

That's okay. I didn't do anything drastic. It was very subtle really. But to me it was obvious that I was looking much prettier than I would on your average day.

Several hours later, I go up to RD and say, "Do I look different?"

He immediately got that panicked look men get when they realize they missed something they were supposed to notice.

RD: What did you do? Um...help me out.

Me: Nothing big. I just...my make-up's different.

RD: Leans in studying my face.

Me: Can't you tell?

RD: Looks the same. It doesn't look any different.

Me: Yes it does! It's better. The application is pretty much the same, but it's different colors, better make-up.... It's smoother.

RD: Scrunches up face as if to say he's sorry. Can't tell. Looks the same.

Me: *Long sigh* Oh well.

At least I feel pretty. All that work and...

RD: You always look pretty.

Me: Heart melting. Aw...you're so sweet. Thank you.

Great recovery!