Who's Crazy Now?

Let's think back to June..... I think many of you probably thought I was crazy {my husband would agree with you} when I started looking for places to live and started to get organized....well now we are down to 20 days and we still have no place to live, so how crazy was I again? If we had it my way I would've signed a lease on the Arvada home I saw in June that was available for September....but no, that would be "crazy" we'll have so many more choices once it gets closer. Is this close enough? Where are all my choices? I don't see too many, sure their are some homes that I would settle for, but I rather have a home that I really WANT to live in {I know, I am crazy} And yes there is still "the house", the one I have wanted for two months now but the landlord likes to drag his feet and I still have no clue if we can rent it. I am going to tell him if we can't sign a lease this weekend then I give up, he can look for someone else to put up with his stories. Speaking of stories, if you are bored and want too much information from someone just start calling people with homes for rent on Craigslist. Today I was stuck on the phone with a guy who I think just wanted to "chat" his home was not even available when I needed it {and I told him this} He seemed to think that if I heard his life story I would decide to move two months later. 20 minutes later I finally got him off the phone {after he made sure that I would "call him back"} It is interesting talking to different landlords, you never know who'll be on the other end of the phone, and sometimes you know you don't want the house simply because of their attitude. I just hope that by this weekend I am either signing a lease on "the house" or that I have found a perfect rental online and I am signing a lease for that. As long as I know where I am moving by next week I will be happy. Then I can schedule the movers {thank god} As for now I have completely stalled in my packing efforts, with no place in mind to take the boxes to I have lost my motivation. And I am running low on boxes, which sure doesn't help. I think tonight I will focus on playing with trucks and blocks, and then have fun at bath time, aww yes that sounds just perfect.

Kelly Callahan

The Best Way to Clear Out

Want to know the best way to clear out all of your clutter? Just move. As you start packing you may just throw everything into boxes....but then you realize two things 1- you will have to carry every box you fill down three flights of stairs {this fact will vary depending on your location} and 2- You will have to un-pack and put away everything you put in that box. These things really make you start to question if you really need something that has been hidden in a closet for three years or more. Yes, it may be a very nice piece of fabric, but will you ever use it? Do you really need it? No. And those "skinny" jeans I have saved since before I had my son, will they ever fit? No. As I fill my home with lots of "stuff" with all my coupon shopping, I start to realize how much of my other stuff I don't really need. Why did we keep a broken humidifier? Would we take it in to be repaired? Ha,No.Lets just say I had to make many trips down to the dumpster once my new mind set kicked in. That is one perk of Apartment living, you can always take out the trash, it doesn't have to sit in the garage or in the side yard, you can toss it whenever you please. I don't think that small convenience is going to keep me from renting a house though. I am now less than a month away from living in a house, not sure what house, but that's just a minor detail :) The big thing is I will no longer have to walk the dog 4 times a day with a toddler, I won't have to get the groceries up three flights of stairs, yep, with a toddler. Max and I will have a back yard to play in, people can come to our house for dinner! Wow, this is going to be great for my social life! I just can't wait to use the phrase "I'll be upstairs" or "just put it in the basement" it'll be great! My husband thinks I'm a dork for being so excited, maybe since he isn't here as much he doesn't realize what a great change it will be, and oh yeah, he doesn't walk the dog, or get groceries, so he doesn't have those complaints. So as I continue to clear out our apartment I will be doing it happily, knowing that soon I will have a whole house!! Oh, and if you know any dumpster divers, this would be a good week to hit up mine :)

Kelly Callahan

Wanna Play?

So, last night as I ventured out to walk our dog {my only alone time outside of the house, most days} We did our usual circle around the apartment buildings. We started walking by the pool and volleyball area. As we passed the volleyball court I remembered playing in High school {just in gym, not a team, I suck at sports} I realized how long it had been and as my thoughts wandered I heard a girl in an itsy bitsy bikini yell out to me " Wanna Play?" What? Me? But I'm on my way back to my apartment to watch my crazy man and make dinner for the family. Then I realized she had no idea about any of this, to her I could be a college girl who lived here with her dog, and maybe needs some friends. I kindly said no, but part of me wanted to tie the dog to the tree and just sneak in a game. They wouldn't want me to stay long anyway, since I would be horrible, but maybe just one game.... but no, I needed to get back inside{can't leave two toddlers by themselves for too long } As I walked back into reality I saw my husband playing with my son and realized I rather play monster than volleyball any day. It was nice to be asked though, made me feel like I don't look like a
boring Mom, one who cooks and cleans, and considers a fun night out a trip to Chuckee Cheese. Nope, to them I could be a fun college girl....not to say I'm not fun, just not fun to them. I am sure a lot of people would find my routine boring, but if they knew how much fun Max was they would want my "job" in a minute. I saw how much my life had changed in what seemed to be like no time at all. I used to randomly go to the pool, or play volleyball, but now I take random trips to Target, and going to the pool is almost not worth the struggle to get there. I love how my life is now, and I know those girls wouldn't know why but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Kelly Callahan

27 DAYS?? Really??

The last time I actually sat down to post a blog entry I had 40 days until we are hoping to move. Now, I have 27 days.... that may seem like plenty,but after spending a half a day packing my closet I began to worry. How did I even fit so much stuff in there? And why do I buy so much junk? I mean, yes I do coupon, so I buy LARGE quantities of certain items, but not junk. I only get a lot of an item if it is free or cheap and if I know it will be used. But behind all my stockpile items were piles of...well just stuff. Some stuff I wanted, some I didn't, and some I just didn't know what to do with {like the baby stuff, no way to know right now if we'll be having more} I managed to dig through my closet and play with my little guy all at once, he was very happy to see my "treasures" and he even "helped" put things in boxes. Seven boxes later it was lunch time. We made some grilled cheese and took a break. I then tackled the medicine shelf....have you looked through all your medications in awhile? Well, for me there was a lot, I mean a lot of expired medicine to toss. And some may have not been expired but was tossed none the less {like yucky looking Pepto} I guess I just toss things in there and forget about them, and I guess I do that a lot. Now that it was nap time I got to my dreaded Monday task....cleaning the floors. I then cleaned the kitchen and put a chicken in the oven. As I looked at the clean counters I came to the conclusion that I deserved some ice cream. After my ice cream I knew there was much more to do. Next was to go through the cabinets under the sink in the bathroom. I am hoping when I have two bathrooms everything will be neater, but no promises. I managed to trash a lot of "stuff" and the rest is neatly organized into open top boxes, in case we need anything down there in the next 27 days. I am sure my hubby will notice the clean counters and he'll smell the chicken, but I doubt he'll notice how much has been organized and packed, too bad. He'll be happy once he decides its time to pack and notices how much is already done. As far as the house goes I think, think, we will get the house in Westminster that I have wanted the whole time. The land lord is very SLOW moving, but I think we will  be able to sign a lease in the next two weeks.....we'll see. I am not too worried though, since every day there seems to be a new listing on craigslist that is "available now" so if the house I want falls through {hopefully not} we will have "a" house to move into. As I looked at all the boxes I realized that I was a little, just a little, sad to be leaving. Why? Well, my husband purposed to me here, I came home from my wedding here, I brought my baby home from the hospital here, my little guy had his first Birthday here. So, a lot of memories were made here, but leaving doesn't erase the memories, it only opens the door to new ones.

Kelly Callahan

40 Days and Counting

As we know, I am very excited to move out of my apartment. But.... as time gets closer to our move out day {40 days now} I feel more anxious than excited, why? Because I still don't know where I am going to be taking all the boxes I have packed up. I have my mind set on one house, and there is really no reason we won't get the home, but I will not feel better until I have a signed lease in my hands. I am not sure why the land lord is choosing to take his time, he has someone {that's me} who is willing to sign a lease and write him a check, and he keeps putting off a time to meet. I figure by the end of this week I need to know for sure. So, if he can't make it a sure thing I will be looking for other homes. Of course I have already had my eye out for other places to live, but I feel I shouldn't spend too much time looking and driving around if in a couple of days I may be able to sign a lease on the home I want. There is only one downside to this home.... it doesn't have AC, now I can deal....even though I am sure you will hear me speak differently of this once I am typing my blog in a hot house, but as far as I know I'll be okay. The problem is only a problem because of my hubby. My husband is obsessed with AC, he blasts it in his truck, and in the apartment. I have to turn my vents away in the truck because he leaves it on so long and strong that I actually have goosebumps when it is 90 degrees outside. I am not sure why he has to have it, he never had it as a kid, and maybe that is why he needs it even more now. Who knows, all I know is that he was not too pleased when my little dream rental did not come with AC {although he should just be happy I stayed in our budget} I also think ahead 40 days and I am in shock, if it isn't the house I want it will still be a house that we are moving into. This is crazy, for the past four years all I have known is three flights of stairs and one level living. I will not miss the stairs, but at this point it is nice not to have to worry about my little man being at the top of the stairs and me being in the kitchen{ yes I know baby gates will be an instant fix, but its still a weird thought for me} And, I will have a backyard....you mean I don't have to walk our dog early in the morning or late at night? I can just let her out? Wow, this sounds great, when we first got our pup we lived in a town home, we had an outdoor area but no grass, so this yard thing will be new to Moxy too.  I think I am so excited about all the space I will have I haven't stopped to realize its really going to happen{REALLY!} for the past two years I thought we'd be moving but something always came up to make us stay, but this year the papers are signed and we are outta here, new home or not! The apartment people even came by to see the apartment and tell me what to clean, and they actually told me not to worry about the carpet, since they would be replacing it. Did this stop me from scrubbing the floor when my son dropped his red Popsicle last night? No, I figure I want it looking nice for my last 40 days! They seemed happy that I had not destroyed the apartment in the past four years {which I am sure many college guys do} They didn't come up with much for me to do....of course they didn't look very closely, and when the home is empty I am sure I will be scrubbing all the corners to avoid ANY extra charge. For now I will continue to get organized, and prepare myself as best I can for the move.....thankfully we will be paying movers for the hard stuff, but it will still be a pain in the butt. I better get back to my Monday routine.... Dinner is prepped, banana bread out of the oven, laundry done, floors done, but the dishwasher isn't going to unload itself so I better get to it. Keep your fingers crossed that I will have a signed lease by next week at this time so I can breathe easy { at least for a minute}

Kelly Callahan

Job Hunt, Mom Style

Okay, we have all looked for jobs, but looking for a job as a Mom is different. You either have to find a job the will pay enough to not only pay for daycare but to be worth your time { I personally do not want to put my son in daycare, so this was not an option}, or you can find a job where you can bring your child along {few and far between} My obvious mission has been to find a nanny job. I had a great job, but they so rudely decided to put there kids in daycare instead of paying me. Since I lost my job I have found it very hard to find families who are open to me bringing my son to work with me. Sure I've had an offer here and there, but there is no way I will work for next to nothing just because my son is with me. As I send out application after application I start to wonder why I am even wasting my time. Then it happened, two hours after applying for a job I actually got a response, now I did not get my hopes up, many of my responses simply say "thank you for your response but at this time we are looking for a caregiver who will not bring there children to work with them"  But this time was a pleasant surprise, someone actually loved my profile {did they somehow miss the part about having a 20 month old?} And, they wanted to talk on the phone later that night. I was very excited, even though part of me is not looking forward to working all week, the other part of me likes money {weird, I know} I have a long and what I thought to be a good conversation with the Mother, and she tells me she will talk things over with her husband and they will call me the next morning if they would like to set up a time to meet in person. The next morning I was very anxious to see if I got my phone call {silly because I don't even 100 percent know if I want this job} Well, I got my phone call and set up an interview for...TONIGHT. My interview is now in 3 hours and I am not too nervous. I figure if this job is meant to be then I will get it, and if I don't then there is something better out there for Max and I. I am only worried that my little crazy man will break something in their house, they have a 5 month old, so they have not yet baby proofed. I am sure they will get some tips tonight from Max on what needs to be put away or locked :) I will just be happy to be at the end of this process, if I get the job, great lets start work, if not, I will get back to my routine of sending in applications every morning. Now I have to relax and get dinner ready so we can eat before we go, hopefully the hubby will be home in time for our early dinner. Part of me thinks it is about time for things to go my way, I haven't had the best of luck lately so maybe I will get a job, and then get the house I want too. Maybe that is asking for too much, but it is all possible so we'll see what happens. Now it is time to play with cement mixers while trying to get dinner in the oven, and before I know it time will answer everything.

Kelly Callahan