What a crazy, exhausting fit of cluster-filled days....
Christmas, we of course spent on the road and then with family.
Then we dedicated a full day to decrapifying our former home.
Then we dedicated a full day to attempt to sign paperwork on said former home, see friends, load our car, and celebrate our niece's birthday.
To be honest, Techy just asked me what day it was, and I only know because my phone told me.
Life is a blur right now.
Oh did I mention that Techy came down with strep throat in the midst of this?
Yeah.
Ultra megazoid, fun, Scoob!
The real kicker?
Today is my baby's 2nd birthday.
And being the totally awesome mom I am, we are celebrating by spending 6 hrs in a car and then praying that an ice cream cake magically appears on our doorstep.
I totally rock at life.
And mommyhood.
And celebrations in general.
Don't you wish you were my kid?
But despite the blur, we did relish the time spent with friends and family.
Despite the illness, we did enjoy cups of hot coffee and the flavors of Christmas cookies.
Despite the anxiety of emptying our former home, we did have the sheer satisfaction of making someone's day, who was in desperate need of a house full of furniture.
And despite the frustrations, we did, if just for a moment, have the opportunity to reflect on what our saviour did for us.
I don't think anyone who has been pregnant at Christmas, doesn't sympathize with the young virgin mother who managed to travel for days, if not weeks, on end just prior to delivering the world's greatest gift. But with all this travelling that we've done this year, I feel a bond with her.
And with that tiny baby who grew into the strongest man the world has ever known. The One. The Saviour of the world, made his entrance in an animal crowded cave in a town overrun with tired tourists.
Today, as we travel, with our little family in tow, I can't help but be thankful for the fact that they were willing. That the prophecies were fulfilled and the Saviour came for us.
A few weeks ago, I heard this song for the first time, and today I can't get it off my mind.
Saturday alone I spent about 72 hours unpacking boxes and settling into this temporary rental abode.
And no sooner than the last box was unpacked and the last load of laundry was done, it happened.
Yesterday, Techy, Little Man and I went out house hunting with our realtors...
Just like every other Sunday afternoon for the last two months.
No big expectations.
But then we found it.
Our dream house.
Twice.
Two different houses five minutes apart.
Two completely different lifestyles.
And both with recent price drops.
Making them both amazing deals.
And ensuring that both of them got more traffic this weekend than any house should get the weekend before Christmas.
The stack of realtor cards on the counters spoke for themselves....
And totally stressed me out.
We knew we wanted one of them.
But couldn't decide which one.
And I spent a semi sleepless night being silly and agonizing about it.
Then posted on Facebook about it.
When my friend, Katie, reminded me of something my mom says all the time....
These are rich man's problems.
Meaning this isn't a problem at all.
There are other people out the who are agonizing over real problems.
And if there is anything I have learned over the last few months, it's that as long as I have my boys (and the soon arriving girl) it doesn't matter where we are.
And I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be reminded.
Yes, we did make an offer.
And no, we haven't heard back.
But it doesn't matter either way.
Because I'm already more blessed than I can imagine.
Unless I grow alot this week (which, considering the fact that all I want is pizza and taco bell, is a possibility), I am pretty sure that the difference is apparent.
But I'll leave that to you to decide.
(For those of you who may or may not be keeping track, I am 31 weeks and as of yesterday have only gained 30 lbs. - I blame the illness that kept me strapped to the bathroom floor for a good 12 hrs last week...but I'll take it!)
And surprisingly, being sick with a big baby in the belly isn't that different from getting sick every other time.
Needless to say I'm typing this from the comforts of my pillow on the bathroom floor.
Go me.
But today I have bigger things to say than just "woe is me I'm puking".because about the same time as I started getting sick last night our best friends in Delaware were rushing their one week old to the emergency room where they were told that he has an issue with his heart and will require emergency surgery today.
Suddenly praying to the porcelain god for a few hours isn't so bad....
So I've been using my "comfort"time here on the bathroom floor to pray for little Rocky,
and I'm sure they would appreciate it if you would do the same...
Now please excuse me while I get back to what I was doing before...
The past 24 hrs have been an exciting roller coaster of emotions.
Allow me to recount.
Move into house. High.
Wait all day for cable man and miss your prime romantic dinner opportunity. Make the best of things by going to dinner in your hobo outfit with the love of your life. Mid level drop.
Go to awesome new church's awesome new Sunday school class and make lots of new friends. High.
Rush home to put your cranky kid and hubby down for a nap. Low.
Go to ikea. High.
High.
Super high with a barrel roll.
Come home 4 hrs later to a cranky hubby, already sleeping toddler and an empty cupboard. Low.
Go to bed because your aching back and feet cannot take any more. Low.
Awaken to the sound of your husband looking for a trash bag to puke in. Low.
Spend the next 6 hours trying to sleep between all the bathroom visits and the knowledge that you and the kid are next. Super low.
Just as you are finally starting to drift off, getting a knock on the door from your almost-no-longer-housemates who've been up all night doing the same thing as Techy. Low.
Blogging about the excitement at 3 am rather than sleeping because, if nothing else, at least you still find it humorous...for another 6 hours or so until you get it.... Priceless.
I knew you would appreciate being in on it with me....
But wittiness aside, I figured you would be hankering for a Black Friday recap from someone who seriously enjoys this almost as much as that dang Target lady.
And since I wouldn't want to let you down...
Most of you, I'm sure, were aware of the ridiculousness that was Black Friday shopping this year. And by that I mean the Black Thursday/ Thanksgiving craze.
So many mixed emotions about the retailers'decision to do what they did by starting things on Thanksgiving...but I'm not here to talk about the degradation of family holidays or the fact that I willingly took part in such a fiasco....
8:30 pm found my sister in law and I in walmart trying to find the items on our wish list....
And at 10 pm, I had scored a $30 storage ottoman, 6 sets of fleece pj's for $4.97 each, an elmo back pack for $7, a kiddie chair for the little man for $18, a $20 train set for someone who may or may not be a little obsessed with choo choo's, and a wide variety of uber cheap chick flicks.
Then we headed to Target. Where this very round, very pregnant, very cranky momma stood outside for over an hour without a coat in subarctic temperatures with my Michigan toughened sister in law who barely noticed the frost forming on the ends of our noses. But soon enough, we were in the doors and hunting for the bargains.
Within 10 minutes we had scored $3 kiddie hats, a $25 king sized duvet with a free cover, a $25 fire pit, and more cheap chick flicks.
By that time I was feeling very much like Jack from Titanic...you know, before the ice berg blew everything up. I was unstoppable. Queen of the world, even. Less than 12 hrs and enough money saved to make China think twice about questioning their investment.
Next came Belk. You northerners won't know what I'm talking about, but think a middle aged Kohl's sans Kohl's cash. It's a happy place. And I scored some pretty epic deals...including but not limited to $90 boots for $20. I had to suffer through a few moments of severe claustrophobia that only the likes of a twi-heart waiting to meet Robert Pattinson on opening day could ever understand, but $20 boots are soooo worth it.
Next it was Penneys for another few epic deals-I mean seriously, pashmina's for $6....
And then, finally, breakfast.
And guess what? I totally pulled a Jack from Titanic and fell asleep in my ice water.
Because apparently, momma can only handle so much excitement on 1 hour sleep.
There's an end in sight...or a beginning... However you would view it.
What I'm trying to say is that as of Thursday, we will be living in a house.... As in by ourselves.... As in unpacking our stuff and calling the place home until spring at least.
No more living out of a suitcase.
I know it sounds less than awesome, but trust me, when you've been watching youtubed mickey mouse on your ipad for 3 months, a real live house with a real live tv to watch Disney channel can really be heavenly.
I wish I had a pic to post of our new home, but this baby is stealing my brain cells and in case you haven't noticed, I keep forgetting I have a blog. Oops!
Please pardon yesterday's post...I promise I can spell better than that.
You may also have to pardon today's post as well since typing on my iPad tends to lead to less than accurate phrasing or autocorrects that make people wonder why I even bothered.
For those of you who wondered about the house situation, here's a little info in what's going on in our world.
We listed our house for almost $20,000 less than we bought it for, knowing that this market was horrific.
Luckily, we had it some money down when we bought it, though. Something that may never happen again...
So when the original offer came in a good 15k lower than our asking price and with 10k settlement help, we could at least consider it.
And just to keep things interesting, what's say we add in an FHA inspector?
Fun, right?
If your idea of fun is a picnic in a fire ant infested park with a screaming 2 year old....
Or maybe having a cavity filled?
Anyway, you get the idea right?
We were dreading the inspection.
And rightly so.
Because at the end of the day, we were facing something we had never even considered...
A garage floor would have been expected...
But they wanted us to replace all the pipes in the house because they were prone to leaking...
Read that again...
PRONE to leaking.
As in not actually leaking.
As in this type of pipe may leak and therefore, blah, blah, blah....
And the price tag?
$5,000.
Oh and that doesn't even factor in the costs of drywall repair...that's just pipes.
Now, here's where I tell you the reality of it all.
You see, part of me, a very small part, believed deeply - to the core of my soul - that this crazy endeavor of ours was an ornate plan designed by God for something bigger. I don't know what, but SOMETHING.
So on Friday, when we got the call I sat in stunned confusion.
And yet, I still believed.
I refused to give up.
And on Sunday, when the chords of "Our God is Greater" started, tears were rolling down my face.
Because I knew.
I believed.
I was so sure that this was Him.
Giving me the opportunity to trust.
So on Monday when that phone call came, verifying that the would-be buyers had accepted our last ditch efforts of throwing another (our last) $2,000 at them, I wasn't surprised.
I was thankful.
And when I pulled into my kids non-Christian daycare and saw that they had updated their sign to say this...
My only thought was, "He really is, isn't He?"
No one promised this journey would be easy or leave us not wanting for anything.
Thanks to Swagbucks, I have managed to sock away almost $100 in Amazon Gift Cards over the last few months to help with Christmas shopping.
And for those of you who are like, "How on earth?" I'll tell you.
Referrals - when you post the link to Facebook and get referrals, you can earn some major Swagbucks.
Searching - I do alot of my searching at random times of day. Like if I wake up to go to the bathroom (that happens alot these days!!!) in the middle of the night. I have the app on my phone and will usually only have to search once or twice to win some bucks.
Surveys - Here's where I cash in the most. If you have access to a computer throughout the day, and you have time to check back at their site randomly, you can almost always find a survey or 2 that you will qualify for. (Hint: make sure you complete your "survey profiles" so you are almost always pre-qualified for the surveys that are available to you...)
Freebies - These are the random onesies and twosies that you can get throughout the day. Read the Swagbucks blog for free swagcodes. Fill out the daily poll. And finally, click through the No Obligation Special Offers every day....
2. Redeem Those Points.
For those of you who can be trusted with credit cards, you probably know that they can be major money makers for you.
Most credit cards offer some type of rewards programs.
And if yours is anything like mine, they occasionally have promotions (sales) on their rewards....
And if you are watching, you can earn yourself some really good deals when you hit those sales/promo's.
I.e., last week I scored $135 in free gift cards for Christmas shopping when my rewards program had some gift cards on sale.
Again, not alot of money, but momma can make it go a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG way.
Especially if I hit up some of my favorite stores....
Who happen to have amazing sales and (duhhhhhhhhhhhhh) COUPONS!
In the past few months, I have gotten Amazon gift cards for half off, gift cards for free, as well as the Target deal that I mentioned above.
And I can only imagine that over the next few weeks, we will see an increase in discounted gift cards as suppliers are trying to ramp up for holiday sales...
Be ready to take advantage!
4. Shop the Big Sales!
I know, I know. It's a given.
But we are {eagerly} approaching one of the best season for sales all year long.
And some of the best sales are before Black Friday.
(I will never forget the year that Walmart offered laptops for $199 two weeks before Black Friday. My mom stood in line and bought 5 of them, then turned around and sold them on Ebay thus making enough money to pay for Christmas. Just saying...)
