No Kidding.... Really?!? & Other Reactions

One and A Half Years Old

I never finished the sale of the house story.
Mom stayed at the house with all of her belongings except a few things packed away in her trailer, Jerad's horse stall, or in her camper in Tennessee. Daily she would go to the library to use their internet to work from home, and I would even run into her on my days to work. She gradually cleaned the house to her standards of perfection (cleaned under stoves and fridges, re-painted almost all walls, wiped down all wood borders, etc.). She had an appraiser come back to give a second opinion. I know this because I was there the night before painting the basement with Granddad, Nancy, and Mom. Another last minute decision from mom.... let's paint! The next day I went back to help her before the appraiser came at noon. Jerad and I painted Luke's old room. The paint was still wet when the guy arrived. And guess what didn't make a bit of difference?? Paint. He only measured rooms and made sure everything was counted correctly. <sigh>
The good news eventually came back. Mom and the new buyer talked and made arrangements. He said basically, "Let me take you to dinner and I'll pay the closing costs, the cost of a survey, and I'll convince your guy to take a cut in commission so you can get the money you need based on the numbers you've cracked." Mom agreed. She went on the date. They signed papers on Monday, January 30th. So now mom and Bullet are staying at Granddad's.

This is not the end.
Mom has continued to go on dates and text back and forth with the new owner. She even left him little notes and words of encouragement hidden around the house. He has since confessed his feelings to her and they are now "courting". Mom has a decision to make... (and this is what it appears to me) that she will cancel the move to Tennessee. ?!?
On one hand I am glad that she'll be around for the grandkids. On the other I am completely caught off guard and questioning motives of both parties, but thankful that..... we are in our own apartment and I'm not in the middle of anything nor do I have to deal with awkwardness or drama. :)
Find the irony though... if they get married, she'll be in the house again right back where she started. It almost makes me sick to my stomach.

On another note: Luke had his first bad day at school. He told me that he missed his old school with his old friends and so he cried on the swings at both recesses. It broke my heart to hear! I could just picture him, sitting there all by himself, not swinging, no teacher paying attention, all alone in the world, tears running down his face. So we took him to T-Rex, paired with Maecy's birthday.

And another story: Apartment living has its pros and cons. For instance, we had to wait forever for our mailbox key which turns out they were fitting for the wrong key all along. The same happened with our storage key. And, that same day we realized that the pointer on the furnace is off. (It's freezing in our house when it says 80 degrees.)
However, today I had one of those days.... I was ready to take a shower and told Mila "let's take a shower". In the minute it took me to plug my phone in, she locked herself in the bathroom. I tried earring backs, small screwdrivers, metal hangers, shimmying a flat scraper in the crack to hopefully push the lock down... til I had to call maintenance (all the while trying to remain calm). Mila didn't cry much but I heard her open and shut the toilet lid. When I called the office, they were at lunch.
In total, she was locked in the bathroom about 40 minutes. After, when I had gotten us in the shower I couldn't help but cry. All the emotions came flooding out. I was reminded of when Luke was in the hospital for drinking cough medicine. I could imagine Mila getting a hold of any of the sprays and cleaners, or pesticides, that are under the bathroom sink. Or getting hurt attempting something. She's so curious!!! She isn't scared of anything!! I felt like a bad mother. Other moms don't let their one-year-olds lock themselves in the bathroom. And they don't leave cabinets un-babyproofed. And they have a key on standby just in case. I promise my head is screwed on right. I'm not negligent. It happened in one minute.

One minutes can be the scariest things sometimes.
So, I think I'm going to write a thank you card to our apartment office. They really are nice and understanding. And haven't reported me yet.... <sigh>

Is "crazy" hereditary?

A Year of Promotion (Retold)

I wrote this post once and accidentally deleted it. I'll be brief....
I mentioned to someone a while back that I felt this year, 2017, is a year of promotion. Days later, and the next day after we got a bit of news, one of Aldo's co-workers unknowingly confirmed my belief by using the words verbatim, "Aldo, I just feel like this year is a year of promotion for you." Wow! Here's my list of reasons:
• We're in a new place. Physically. Aldo and I have our own space. Our family has its own space. And we're already looking at the next step: a home!
• Aldo could possibly get the job as Sales Manager at work. NFM is going through a major manager shift and Aldo fits the part. If this is true, we're looking at his position change in the next 3-4 months. And that adds another point to the list...
• Aldo's looking at going back to school. First to get a BA in Business. And then continue on the pathway to becoming a chiropractor and having his own business. US having OUR own business. Because he wants me to finish also. !! We're looking at scholarships and FASFA's now.
• Mila is sleeping in her own bed. (Half the night anyway. About 3:00 am, she's been waking up and I'll go get her out of the crib and lay her down next to me.) We're also working on weaning her. She's doing better. There are times when she'll ask for her bottle. And times when she'll be so cranky for a nap that I'll hold her down and that'll wear her out and she'll fall asleep without mama's leche. (I count it as a promotion.... it's a step forward....)
• And last, this is a big one... the "bit of news" we had just found out... Aldo and I were offered and have accepted the position at our church as Children's Church Directors. That makes us Pastors!!! Official Pastors!!! We were just getting used to the idea of Dr. Aldo. Can you imagine Pastor Aldo? Or Reverend Aldo? Haha! Crrrraaaazzzzyyyy! This has been the craziest year already, and we've only completed one month!!!