House and Pest Reports, done!

Well, the process is almost done, at least they buying part.
Today was our house inspection, he walked around, in, out and on the house. Then checked all the plugs and this and that. Basically, every little thing was touched and looked at.
He was a great guy and answered any and all questions we threw at him. Then he quickly typed and sent over the report to us tonight.

Everything came back great overall. There are a few minor issues, but nothing screaming.

At some point the ex-owners built a external wood chimney to go over the metal chimney stack, it's poorly done and probably holding water, so it needs to go.

The sprinkler system is not working properly, pressures off, broken heads and the rear is completely disconnected.

At some point there was a water leak under the kitchen sink, so the bottom of the cabinet needs to be replaced. Problem here is the cabinets, top and bottom are wonky, and cheap. So it looks like we may just replace all the cabinet and counter tops. (Yay, dream kitchen done cheap!)

The bathrooms need a little attention with the old shower backings. We may replace the panels in the front bath and then re-caulk the back bath.


The positives were great as well.
The sinks don't leak, even when completely full, and the faucets don't leak.
AC/Heating was new in 03' and it both worked great.
Roof is fairly new and done very well.
Wiring and electrical is sound.
Attic has good insulation and now water damage to be found from anything.


So now FIL is working on paper work, finalizing thing at the bank and hopefully moving up the closing date. Our only hold back might be the pest report. It came back with some dry-rot issues on the outside. But in reviewing those today, they are extremely minor and nothing is structural. So as long as the bank doesn't require a cleared pest report we can let it go. But if we have to have it fixed first, it will delay things a little.

I'm Corn-fused!

So I've started the process of designing the interior of our new place. It's been great consulting my new book, The Color Scheme Bible but it has my head spinning with the possibilities of what we can do. Then after consulting the Ikea catalog, it has me wondering if my furniture set that I've fallen in love with will look right. I know the couch and chairs set will look right, in Idemo beige, paired with pillows like this and this. So that's the easier part. My question falls if whether or not the white of this furniture collection will fit in with the rich color palate that I'm shooting for. So we'll have to see.

In the front house there is a small entry, living room and the kitchen that has the dining attached. My current dilemma here is trying to find something that doesn't clash for the living room and kitchen/dining because there is a window/half wall separating part of the main space. I've always wanted to do a deep red room, thinking the living room would be great. The palate I found is somewhat Asian inspired, which isn't bad in itself, but when paired with an almost country style kitchen is a little eclectic for me. So Earthy tones, reds, then blues and greens from the same scale for the other room. I don't know!

The floor in the kitchen/dining is a darker, antique wood which has to be taken into account as well, because it's part of the only flooring that we are leaving in the house. I personally love it. Keith thinks if we continued it into the rest of the living area and hallway it would be too dark. I may still try some convincing. We are putting new carpet in the rest of the house, a neutral khaki/tan color (think the in-stock colors from Lowe's).

Then we move onto our bedroom and it's going to be a challenge as well. I know that we'll probably go for a blue palate with some chocolate and white accessories. The issues fall in the way the bathroom is connected to the bedroom. The sink/vanity area is in the bedroom, then the toilet/shower is within closed doors. I think I've found some palates that will compliment, but it's hard to tell. Accessories will be the key, rugs and things.

The boys' are going into one room, after thinking about it over and over, it's a surf themed room for them. So nice colors, probably a yellow and blue palate, with surf board highlights. Then add in some cool pics like this, that, and other beach black and whites from Ikea. Boom! Insta cool room!

Their bathroom, which would also be the guest bathroom, is also one of my new favorites! I found this company online and decided their Out of This World set would be perfect for two little boys. So I hope to get the shower curtain, clock and their wall stickers to create a boarder/accents around the room. Add in floor rugs in bright blue, back curtain, and some matching towels and their room is done.

The toy room will probably be a yellow palate with blue and wood accents. As well as the beloved Nemo and Cars wall stickers it will be a fun place to play. I hope to add in a new shelf or two so that everything is easy to find and has a place.

Our office is troubling me as well. In some ways I want to use orange or yellow to inspire creativity, but I also found another palate of blue that is meant to inspire clear thoughts. But non the less, I fell in love with this table top in the black/white print, but keep wondering if it may be too much activity. There is also this option that is part of afore mentioned beloved set. So we'll see. One thing we are doing is putting the computer in the closet, adding in some shelving above it, a great space saver! This also makes space for us to put in a sofa bed or futon for guest (yep, thinking about you too Mom!).


So that's been my day today, totally engrossed in my color book and computer, scouring this and that. Can I get started already?

Insert Happy Dance here..

We got the house! We got the house! We got the house!

I'm off to consult my new color scheme book and Ikea catalog!

HOORAY!!!

ExsqueazeMe?

Jen posted this to me:
Oh and just to thank you for your complete and unparalleled awesomness, I'm tagging you for a meme. Heh.
Pick up the nearest book.
Turn to page 123.
Post the 5th sentence.
Tag 5 other people

I'm lame and don't have 5 other bloggy friends to post to, but I'm going to uphold my side of the deal and post.

From the WW cookbook, because I'm lame about books right now:
With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel; discard the liquid. (Corn & Bacon Chowder recipe)

My big kid...

Oh, how they grow! We had pictures taken at preschool a month ago and this is how they turned out......

I can't believe he's so big! The group shot turned out great as well, everyone looking at the camera, 90% were smiling and only 3 had hands up at their faces. Success for a preschool group shot!

Gimmi your booty, Pirate baby attacks!

Yes, I'm board, and I know, I'ma dork!

Happy Birthday Jen!

Happy Birthday to Jen!

Mmm, Cake....

I love it when birthdays roll around and I'm able to do something for someone I love. I know that Jen is currently working on getting a garden going, so I wanted to contribute by making her some name stakes. They turned out cute and I hope she loves them.

The backs:

The fronts: The brown paper slides out so you can write the vegetable or fruit on it.

So that was my weekend project! I need to do more projects, or just finish all the ones sitting in the drawer.

Over the river and through the woods...

Please Oh Please let this house go through! We found a lovely little house in the OV and put our offer in last night. Our agent seemed optimistic, so we are trying to be as well.
More to come.....

Now that's something to smile about....

Last night was our last parent's meeting for the year! HOORAY! (insert backflips here)


Yes, I'm ready to be done with the school year, it's been fun for Cody, but I need a break.



Okay, back to house shopping.

Plus and Minuses of the Weekend so far....

+ Tyler is finally getting in his other 2 bottom teeth, maybe even one of the other ones next to it as well, so 3 total. I wasn't sure that they would every come in!

- Keith has been in a pissy mood since Fri. It's obnoxious and annoying when he gets like this. I think most of it had to do with not getting the house and not having the best of hours at work. He pouted from the time he was home yesterday, then finally left for about 3 hours on a drive in his brothers BMW, pouted all morning as well. Get over it dude! We're still poor and we still don't have a new house!

+ We went to an kid's art day today for a family field trip. The boys were able to make some fun things; masks, chicken puppet, watercolor painting, bracelets and a bag to carry it all in. Plus it was a school thing, so I got hours.

- Tried to go to an open house that I saw, listed in more than one place, and it wasn't open. No one in site! We walked around the house because it's empty, and it won't work because there's no RV/extra parking, but still. If you post it you, had better be there!

+ I was only able to spend about $50 at the grocery store today, but I did it! I bought some healthy food and we will be fed for the week. We are mainly eating from the pantry and freezer, but we'll make it work!

- I'm very crabby and so are the kids today, we have been back and forth most the day. Luckily Ty will be in bed in about 15 min, followed closely by Cody. Then I have time to chill for a while.

+ Our racing friend called and took Keith away for the rest of the day. They went to a race in Redding, he didn't have to pay, and I don't have to watch him pout and sulk. Yay for Jamie!

+ We are looking at 4-5 more houses tomorrow with the realtor, so maybe we'll come across another gem.

-/+ I have a ton of sewing I need to get done. If I can get my booty in gear I probably have a significant amount of money sitting in my sewing drawer. But I'm being lazy and not getting too it.

- My house is a sty again. The dining/office/kitchen area needs to be cleaned desperately, but I haven't been up to it. I did clean the kitchen counters and loaded all the dishes, so it's a start. Maybe tomorrow.

+ Jelly Bellys make everything better!

No new house yet...

We got the call that a higher offer was accepted on our house. It sucks, we really like this house, even with all the crap we needed to do to it.
So we're on the hunt some more. Nothing is looking as good to me, but it will come. I'm struggling with location now. I'll find something but it's farther out than we were thinking, so I don't know if that would be any better a situation than we are in already. So we drove by some more today and will maybe go look at some of them on Sun, so here's to hoping something looks good.

Stupid people with more money! Probably some contractor that's just going to flip it, jumping the price up past our budget.

A day at the ice rink...

Today was our April field trip for school, a morning at the ice skating rink. It was a lot of fun, the kids all had a great time and nobody got hurt! Here's our morning in pictures, followed by a video of Cody on the ice.

Balancing after putting on the skate for the first time.

There he goes!

Doing laps in the center of the ice.

Playing in the snow pile.

Breaking for a snack.

See, I skated too. And no, I never fell!

(Don't mind the conversation, one of the dad's was trying to make small talk, blah, blah, blah!)

Cody did really well as you can see and I think this is going to be our new favorite thing to do. They also have a sled that I can rent to push around Tyler, so we can all go and have a good time.

Still going....

Our realtor sent over a Disclosure of Multiple Offers today from the bank that holds the house we are wanting. Bascially all it means is that there are multiple offer (could be one other, could be twenty!) and that we had to submit our final offer by close of business today. The other offers are not available, so we don't know what kind or how much the other offers are. So we decided to up our offer by $10,000 and hope for the best. Hopefully they will get back to us by the end of the week.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday (in a goofy announcer voice)

Yesterday we had another VW event, but this was actually work related. We had fun, there was a nice potluck bbq, Keith got to race a car, and the boys came home filthy and tired! The little track we went to has a program that you can rent cars and race them on a fun day. So Keith's company rented them for the afternoon for all the service/parts people. They were divided up into groups of 10 and each group went and raced 3, 10 lap heats. Keith had a good time running the cars, said it was a different type of thing to do, then ended up with his car spewing fluids after the final heat. Oops!

Anyway, a good time was had. Here's our day in photos:

Here we go....

OMG, OMG, OMG!

We are putting an offer in on a house that we all really love today. I'm excited but trying not to get my hopes up because it's fairly saute after, but we are laying down cash, so hopefully we have an advantage.

Wish us luck, I'll post more about it if anything materializes.

Cookies galore!

We are headed to another VW function on Sun and it was requests from Keith's service manager that I bring my sugar cookies. I spent about 30 sec being flattered, then I realized what work I had ahead of me. So it was back to my MIL's to mix the dough because my good mixer bit the dust over this past Christmas' baking spree. Then Friday morning was spent rolling, cutting and baking. Luckily my bestest baby sitter here (Tigger & Pooh on Disney) so Cody was occupied, but Tyler likes to help, so he spent the entire time on his chair trying to touch something every 15 sec. This afternoon, during a glorious nap time, they were decorated. I popped onto Yahoo and tuned into my favorite radio station (The Coffeehouse), and the decorating began. It went much faster than I had thought it would, and if I didn't have to get all fancy about, it could have been done in under an hour. But almost 2 hours later, *poof*, cookies galore! Enjoy!

Somehow, one of these days, I'll turn this into some money. I'm still trying to work out the details, but watch out, it may come sooner than I think.

Blog Tag, I'm it!

Yikes, I'm it! Jen was kind enough to tag me in the round of blogger tag that's going around. I'm going to do my best to full fill this task, but I can't guarantee anything!

Here's the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Okay so 7 facts of me:
1. I pretty much like all the moms at preschool, with the exception of a couple. I don't like most the kids at school, with the exception of a few.

2. My heart truly melts every time one of my boys makes the other laugh, that is the sweet sound in the world.

3. I miss my mommy.

4. For being a "car gal" I'm not the smartest when it comes to cars, I probably know more than a lot of people, but don't know as much as I should. Ratios and intricate things are way above my head.

5. I'm very OCD with the way I eat snacks, especially colored candies. It's a weird little thing and am truly upset if someone messes with my system.

6. I'm a TV junkie, I have way to many shows that I follow. Most the time I wish I could be in that world.

7. I really want to be in a choir again. I miss the music I used to sing.


Okay, so now I have to find some people to tag. This is going to be a challenge!

Kelly: http://heskettpartyof5.blogspot.com/
Tracey: http://www.thegarciagathering.blogspot.com/
Pam: http://legendofme.blogspot.com/

(See told you I couldn't totaly full fill my end!)

A night with the Piano Man

Tonight we went to a preschool PJ party with The Piano Man. It was a lot of fun and all the kids really enjoyed the music. This guy was a hoot and if I could, he would be at our next birthday function. He had well known and original songs, sing along, moves, and dancing.

Here's the Banana song, I missed the banana, but caught the rest. I was laughing so hard at the first part, too much fun! Turn on your sound and enjoy!

(Sorry for the full shot Jen, payback for the butt shot from the car show!...................Just kidding!)

Here's a few more shots from the night, lots of dancing and fun!

Cruisin to the Ranch

Sunday we had a benefit VW cruise and car show with DH's work to benefit Ride to Walk, which is an organization that does rehab using horses & riding. It was a good time, the boys loved walking around to check out all the cars, the bands were decent, and we had good friends to visit with. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but hey, it was an effort!

Have you hugged your Vanagon today?

Like I said, I'm sickly excited about this stupid Vanagon! I even sat at the DMV for a little over 1.5 hours, and that was after driving for 1.5 hours to get the title! Funny what you'll do for love, and necessity.

Then after finally getting home from our adventure, I spent some time cleaning it. It was filthy, and need a good wipe down. So out came the Armorall, Windex and the shop vac. It looks a billion times better and I can't wait to see it after Keith takes it to the car wash tomorrow (ie: Niello).

Yep, weird, I know.

New addition to our family....

No, we haven't adopted any puppies, kittens, or turtles. No we aren't preggo again.

As of this morning, we are the proud owners of a 91' Vanagon. I'm sickly excited about it. It will give me space, space that my car is seriously lacking. It also gives us something to pack and go camping on the weekends. It also gives me the ability to throw our bikes in and go to the bike trails to ride. Yay!

So you are not lucky enough to be involved the the VW cult and are asking, What's a Vanagon?

Mines not here today, so I googled and found pics of ones that are like it:

Jealous yet?

It's this same pretty blue with grey interior. The backseat folds flat to become a bed, so that's what makes it a great camping rig. The white board is a table that folds up, and ours actually works. It has jump seats so we can now travel with 7 people if need be. Yep, like I said, I'm sickly happy about this!

And no, don't call it a minivan, although I kinda think it's the same. The VW cult will come after you with all kinds of excuses as to why it's not the same. Weird.

Now we just have to get the title in our hands, take a trip to the DMV and we are in business!