Let's Throw in a Wrench

Have my posts been mainly negative lately? I feel like every single one since June has been negative. Sorry, if so. It's not my intention.

HOWEVER, I have some good news and some... wrenches.
Aldo and I went and looked at the apartments on Wednesday and Thursday last week like we planned. Apartment #1 was right off the highway in a closed off neighborhood, but the lady immediately turned me off from it because she was snooty and didn't seem to care (or maybe she thought it was out of our price range). Even so, because she didn't try to "sell" it to us... Aldo and I picked that place apart! We were so skeptical, which hopefully surprised the lady into treating the next couple differently. Truth be told, the corner kitchen was almost non-existent and I need room in my kitchen. I don't want dishwasher on top of oven and fridge hidden in a weird place. So Apartment #1 was a big, fat NO. The next day we went to scheduled, Apartment #2. The lady there was much nicer, the apartment wasn't terrible per se, and they had a fishing pond as an amenity as well as the usual outdoor and indoor swimming pool, which was really cool. But, on the downside they couldn't show us a two bedroom and they have over 30 different floor plans. I want to see what I'm buying! That way I can plan for it. How do I know if I can get my couch in the door? So, that was a red flag making Apartment #2 a NO also. Driving down the street, Aldo said that a friend recommended one that was close by, so just in passing we decided to drop in unannounced and check it out. Apartment #3 lady was so sweet to us and to Mila. (A good sign.) She showed us a model that was almost the exact floor plan of what was available. It was nice and open. The kitchen was big. Large closets in both rooms. AND the apartments are gated and after doing a search, I found that they're across the street from a brand new elementary school. AND, in the right price range!!! I got so excited leaving. It was an actual possibility. The more and more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. Luckily for us, someone put in their deposit that day so we couldn't. As I type, we are on a call list. When the next apartment opens, we're putting in our application and deposit. !!!!! Finally, we will be adults again. On our own. No one judging what we do. No one complaining. No one getting upset because we didn't offer our to help out of our free time or family time.
I am so eager, I can't contain it!

But, like we agreed, we are set on not moving in until February (tenants must give 60 days notice), if an apartment opens. And of course, after we test to see if it's affordable. My guess is - we can make it happen.

Now for the wrench. So we've got the ball rolling... this week we moved around Jerad's furniture and dusting, preparing for a carpet cleaning and to get our stuff moved in hopefully by next week. Then, last night... mom said she was taking the downstairs room that's closest to the door. THAT'S LUKE'S ROOM. You know when you plan for things and then... someone else throws in a wrench. There have been so many wrenches in 2016, it's like a nightmare for someone like me. So... I've been perturbed to say the least.

1. There's only two open rooms downstairs. The third room needs a lot of cleaning. I don't think it's going to be open by December.
2. ALDO and I have been prepping and talking about this. Nobody else has said a word.
3. I have barely dealt with living with my mom above us. And I was worried about living with another relative (male too!) and it ending up just the same. How in the world can we live with my mom in the next room? 

:|

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Whenever I get on here my mind is literally blank on what I should write. So much happens week to week, there's absolutely no way of catching up on all of it. This past week/month/year has been no different. I can't even begin to cover it all. So forgive me with the things that I'm writing on or the things I have missed...

Since Aldo and I caved in October and bought our first flatscreen tv (finally!) with our first credit card (yikes!) I've been able to keep up-to-date on all the happenings in the world. I'll tell you, I'm not impressed. It's wearisome. Today is Election Day. For the past 500+ days, everything has been this candidate and that candidate, accusation after accusation, this "tweet" and that document... It's hard to take seriously. But tonight there will definitely be a new president in the White House. It really opens your eyes to what's in store for the next 4 years. How is this going to look for my children? How can I teach them to be "informed" when they are surrounded with a ton of bipartisan and/or fluffed up media?

I had to have a conversation with my 6-year-old a couple weeks ago on politics. They were discussing who to vote for on the bus. First off, why can't our kids just be kids for a while longer!?! Second, how do you discuss with your kid the hard issues and topics? The ones people get really passionate about and even offended? I don't want to downplay it, but I don't want to burden them either. And I don't want to make the decision for them either. I explained to him what each candidate planned on doing, simply, and told him it was his choice to pick who would lead the United States best. My son is so brilliant, he told me it was a tough choice because he didn't agree with either one of the candidates fully. (This year the runners are Donald Trump [Rep] and Hillary Clinton [Dem].) 

If I Were President...

"I would say that it's a law to take showers weekly."

"I'll try to be a good and wise president."

I will be glad when this is all over. I feel cautious... There are so many people that have become hardened, I think. There is "Black Lives Matter", "Blue Lives Matter", different communities... and last night I just heard the phrase Divided States of America. This is scary folks. Our nation is on the brink of change. So where do we stand when all the pieces fall?

Another change has been the sale of this house, and the move to <fill in blank>.
Mom projected that the house would sell in October and her goal was $334K. It was an outrageous amount so we didn't think it would sell as quick. Every other weekend it felt like there was an "open house" without anyone seriously buying. And every other weekend we had to clean the house top to bottom, following our kids around AND making improvements on top of that. It was exhausting. AND some of those weekends we had to take care of the animals alone. It was beginning to be a fun-sucking process. Mom lowered the price (a total shock) and started getting some real bites. At the end of October, she came to an agreement on an offer $273,500. We had inspectors come... a ton of them... all on the same day! It was nuts. They checked EVERYTHING! (The lagoon, upstairs, downstairs, light sockets, water damage, mold, the roof, the dirt and poisonous air that might come out of it, etc.) It looked promising until the gentleman said he wanted the lagoon moved. How would you move a lagoon? Mom didn't cave; she said no. They agreed that mom would clean the garage roof (because Ollie pooped on it) and would have it patched where it had been leaking.
Starting in November, it appeared that we wouldn't be living here after December; we won't have Christmas here. I wasn't really torn up about it... a house is a house... but the more I think about it, the more it kind of saddens me. It is a basement, but it's difficult to imagine having Christmas at a new place. Anyway, November we began searching FOR REAL for apartments. The obtaining of a home loan without credit seemed too far-fetched when we didn't have the "alternative stuff" that they wanted specifically, and we didn't have enough of a downpayment either. So, option #2... rent an apartment. It's been a while since we looked at the apartment market, but geez... it's expensive. Our rating system for apartments was on a scale of 1-10... 10 being everything we ever wanted and 1 being better than a box. I googled, Zillowed, apartmentsearched, mapped, etc. every apartment in the area. There is hardly anything. It was overwhelming. It has come down to... you are paying the extra money to live in a neighborhood with less reported crime, drugs, shady people, and extra appliances.
To cut a long story short, we made appointments to look at two apartments this week that, at the time, I had a feeling we can't afford.
BUT THEN... I prayed. It seemed we had two choices:
1. Live with Jerad and save. But we wouldn't get the "alternative credit" for renting so we would have to get more credit cards (that we don't want) and open our own phone lines or pay for internet or some other utilities (that we don't necessarily need). And yet, Luke would easily remain in the school he's attending and I wouldn't need to worry about driving him.
2. Rent from a way over-priced apartment and go through our savings, as well as have to wake up early and drive Luke to school daily. Or rent in a questionable neighborhood and fear for what may be going on around us and who, and still drive Luke to school. Is it worth it?
After I prayed, God spoke to me. He said, "Why don't you live with Jerad in December and pay him what you agreed on and the difference put straight in savings? Pretend like you are renting." I thought about it and went through all the pros... Luke still goes to school; if we go negative on budget, it's not like we actually lost the money; we get prepped for how this will look; if we can make the budget work in December when it's Christmas then we can make it work any month, etc. But then I stopped and had to ask, "But is this still faith?" And He said, "Is faith being OBEDIENT?" When I told this to Aldo, he agreed that we weren't going to argue and we'll do the December mock-renting at Jerad's. It's wise, right? Like, why didn't we think of this earlier?
So, we are prepping to move to Jerad's. This week we are still going to the apartments to get our numbers to budget on, and next week we'll probably clean Jerad's basement and get it ready to move into. Then we'll move over the things that we don't use everyday. And by December the rest of it.
A quick side note: I never thought she would do it, but it looks like Mom is selling the chickens. I was beginning to think she was taking them with her to Tennessee. She said that the only reason she wanted us to stay as long as we have is so that we can let out the chickens in the morning. (!!!) Well, thanks for that.

At the same time... I don't want to put all her dirty laundry on here, so I'll leave out the details... Maecy and Mateo moved in. I have been watching Mateo a few days out of the week. He's a good kid, but two babies at the same time is almost too much. I look forward to when Aldo or Mom or Maecy, or Luke even, come home. I'm beginning to get the schedule down, like when nap times are and when to eat, or check for poop. But when they cry and you're tired from apartment hunting and cleaning and other small annoyances... it's like nails on a chalkboard. Thank you Lord, that this isn't going to last too long.

Our First Day with Mateo

(He was crying, and at first Mila tried to cheer him up, 

but when he just got louder, this is what followed.)

So the next few months and 2017 are going to have a whole new look. It's almost like earth got hit and is revolving on a new axis. Well, I'm not being dramatic or anything... <sarcasm>. I think I need to follow up this post with a few pictures maybe.

Halloween 2016: A Poke-Family

Luke was Infernape (a level two pokemon that is a monkey and catches on fire. 200 attack points.)

Mila was Pikachu. I was a Pokeball, and Aldo was the guy who throws the Pokeball.

I guess I didn't get to talk about it... Halloween was alright. Luke, Mila and I went to the Cubbages and trick-or-treated with them for a road and a half, and it was kind of stressful. Then we went with Maecy and Mateo, Mom, Jerad and the kids, which was also difficult but only because the kids are heavy when you're carrying them and wearing a gigantic Pokeball. It only happens once in a lifetime though. Enjoy your family when you can! 

When Papa Visits

Hair Long Enough for Pig Tails!!! <3