Whats New? =General Discussion
Edited Oct 22, 2006 4:52 pm
whats new with you? were enjoying some nice weather and a good tomato crop, we spent the last few days doing a Harry Potter movie marathon and crocheting up a storm due to the bad weather. Being stuck inside for 4 days straight has really brought out the "terrible two's" in my daughter but with the first day of sunshine, she wore herself out on the trampoline and in the kiddie pool. Annemarie enjoys going out every day to check on the tomato plants and water them with her elephant watering can. she counts how many there are and gives them a kiss to help them grow. the one large, fist size tomato will be ready to pick tomorrow and I'm not sure how she is going to react to eating her favorite plant. cross your fingers that it will all go well! I dont want it to be a traumatic thing! any way, whats new with you?
(291 previous messages)Lori VIens - Oct 11, 2006 3:48 am (#292 of 461)
I was going to ask about when you guys are coming up..... the boys have been bugging me. we briefly discussed going down for thanksgiving but my mom has her surgery scheduled for nov 20 and will need my help so that is out. who knows, we'll figure something out. when does aj leave for idaho?
amy wallace - Oct 11, 2006 9:00 am (#293 of 461)
Hello all!
Things here are good! I've begun making some Christmas decorations, a new craft for me. Also knitting a blanket for my niece for her birthday. This weekend the State Fair opens in Raleigh and we may go. J if you all want to come up for the day and go let us know we'd love it! And let us know when you are doing pumpkin picking we'd love to come down for a day to do it. Still looking for a place to stay in october at the beach. We can't wait!! When are you all moving to Boise? Wasn't sure if you are going to visit to find a place to live / work or will just move all at once.
Not too much else to report, oh wait yes. I got the results of all my bloodwork yesterday and the 1st and 2nd sets had completely different results. I've tracked down a specialist in Chapel Hill and am going to try to see her. We'll see what happens with all that!
My dog Simon has been a bit under the weather, his tummy has been bothering him. He has been acting like he is going to throw up but hasn't, think we may go see the vet to make sure everything is ok. He is otherwise in great spirits. But he eats anything so he may have eaten something he should not have.
Well my break is about over now, talk to ya'll later.
amy wallace - Oct 13, 2006 3:53 pm (#294 of 461)
Whew the week is finally over! It's been a crazy week, we have had a bunch of birthdays so far this month and have been having problems with our phone so we haven't been able to make or recieve calls from the house phone. Not sure whats going on there but we have no dial tone and people calling get a busy signal. Work has been busy this week and the TA for the other class on my side of the pod was out today so I had to help fill in for her.
I have to do some on line shopping tonight or tomorrow to order my husbands birthday gifts. His birthday is on the 17th and i need to get moving on my gift buying!
We are currently trying to figure out why we can't get the heat to turn on. zit is getting cold in here and we are not sure what the problem is.
Crazy week!
how is everyone?
Lori VIens - Oct 14, 2006 4:18 am (#295 of 461)
I am so glad it is the weekend. Work is so cazy lately, I am getting burned out!!!!! We have a new girl this year that is so difficult and plain out irritating. she sets the mood in the room. the teacher in our room is just being b@tchy and she is biting everyones's heads off. plus we have a boy and girl who are siblings. well their mom is dying from a brain tumor and the girl just got out of the hospital from pneumonia. so the boy (who i will admit is my all time favorite) has been unbelievably depressed. it's aweful!!!!! i wish i could just help them and there's really not much we can do. i leave there daily in a mood and i don't like being that way.
so today i will start my other "job" at home. toma and andrew are off to a uconn game for the day. so i will get the help from david and jonathan to get stuff done around here.
david is yelling for me to find the "right" socks so gotta go have a good day all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Oct 14, 2006 7:23 am (#296 of 461)
Lori - I remember you telling me about that family, it's so sad. honestly, Im suprised that the mother is still alive, you told me about her quite a while ago. Not much new here, just cleaning house like everyweekend. we have to go thru the attic and garage today too, because AJ has to turn in all of his gear to the unit and it is just scattered all over the place, some of it has been in storage and moved around so I think it will be an all day project.
Amy - wow, we didnt know wally's b day was comming up! good luck with the online shoping, i did all my christmas shopping online last year and it was SUCH a life saver! no stress! how are you and Simon feeling? anybetter? I think of him all the time when i see the commercial with the pomerainian jumping up and down at the sliding glass window! anyword on the house next door that was forclosed?
it's starting to get colder at night here and even though I have DOZENS of blooms and baby tomatoes and peppers, I have a feeling Im going to loose them to the weather, it's a bummer, the garden is such a peacefull distraction for me 
anyway, I hear AJ stomping around in the attic with out me, I had better get up there and make sure he dosnt destroy anything!
J
amy wallace - Oct 14, 2006 4:53 pm (#297 of 461)
Simons belly is still upset. He wants to eat grass and his stomach makes lots of gurgleing sounds but he has not thrown up and he doesnt seem to feel sick. Not sure whats happening with him. I think we will go see Dr. Baily this week and see whats going on. I am feeling much better, my cold is gone and my knee is normal again. All of which I am very happy about :)
I do most of my shopping on-line also. It is easier than fighting crowds at the mall and we can ahve stuff shipped directly to our families since we don't get to see them all on holidays. Yup Wally is going to be 32! We're getting old fast!
We've had a frost warning here for the last 2 nights, but we've managed to keep all the plants. I don't think we've had a hard frost despite the warnings. I was thrilled the other day to finally get some green peppers from my plants and see some more blooms on the tomatoe plants too :)
So we are thinking of heading to the coast the last weekend in October, do you guys think you will be around then?
Hope AJ in the attic alone turned out ok. Wally never throws anything away, usually if he is stomping around without me it is because he can't find something that is in plain sight and he is having a fit about it.
Lori sorry to hear about that family at work. That is so sad, it must be hard for them to deal with all the illness.
The house that was foreclosed nextdoor went on the market for 174,900 way more than it is worth. We've been shopping around in Pittsboro and really like what we've seen out there. We could get a few acres and have a nice house built by a more reputable builder than who built the 1st 2 phases where we live now. These houses have terrible electrical and phone problems. Among other issues so we have decided we do not want to stay in this neighborood.
anyway off to have a glass or few of wine after a disasterous day at the fair. we sat in traffic for 4 hours, there actually isn't any parking for the fair, other places allow fairgoers to park at colleges etc as long as there aren't events, well there were events today. Then I asked a lady is she could (and I quote) "scoot her chair a little to the side so I could squeeze by" (i was trying to get out of a tent where we ate lunch) Anyway she started yelling at me that she wasn't moving and was just nasty rude, so wally started yelling at her and eventually i just shoved her chair, with her in it, toward the table and walked by. SHe was actually seated in the middle of a row and no one could get by. I was so upset after that that I wanted to leave, i toughed it out but the fair was nothing more than a giant carnaval and a total waste of time and money and we wll never go back. anyway i think a glass of Reisling will help me unwind a bit!
- Oct 19, 2006 6:53 am (#298 of 461)
AJ left yesterday to go to Boise to take the Police test, I hate having him gone so soon after getting him home! but to find a silver lining, I got a full nights sleep with no snoring to listin to!!! I swear Im going to make him get his deveated septum fixed it I have to punch him in the nose and re-break it myself! 
I could claim sleepwalking couldn't I ? or temporary insanity from lack of sleep? anyway, Annemarie was VERY upset to see him go, at first she was more upset that she didn't get to go on the plane (she loves them) and then when she came home and got in trouble for playing with the paper shredder (dont worry, I keep it unplugged!) she had to go to time out in her room and she just kept calling "Daaaaaady! Daaaaady!" she thought he would come and bail her out! she seems OK about it today, we called him so she could say goodmorning to him. anyway, thats about all thats new here! hope yall have a good day!
amy wallace - Oct 19, 2006 11:23 am (#299 of 461)
We wish AJ luck on the police test. glad he was able to get in to take it, i know a kid frim high school waited forever for the opportunity to take the test in boise, i guess he alwasy had conflicts or something. When will he be back?
Heheh i know just how you feel with the snoring, jasons make me nuts!
Well i had a puker on Tuesday. One of my kids threw up at the lunch table. On a positive note he was able to throw up completely onto his lunch tray so i did not have to clean anything up. Today i had one fall off the money bars and say he felt sick afterwards so the nurse called his mom and sent him home.
my my Annemarie is playing the daddy card to get her out of trouble already!? She is cute.
Other than excitement at school things have been pretty quite around here.
Lori VIens - Oct 20, 2006 7:04 am (#300 of 461)
not much new here. house is coming along time to get ready for peanuts b-day and halloween
- Oct 21, 2006 12:44 pm (#301 of 461)
Yay! AJ did great on his poliece test! he scored highest in the room for the written portion and it was pass/fail on the physical which of course he passed! but they didnt tell us the written part and the PT test were in two seperate locations, so at the end of the test they said, OK... everyone meet us at Timberline Highschool for the Physical test! AJ was like where? but he didnt want to say that out loud and seem dumb for not knowing there was another site, so he was trying to drive and get directions from me at the same time! to top it off this is a school not in the area of town I grew up in, so my directions were foggy at best, but we got him there.
anyway, on to my scary story from last night.... I was in bed reading and at 11:30 the doorbell rings like 5 times in a row, first Im mad because DUH! who rings the doorbell in the middle of the night! dont they know what it's like to get children back to sleep?!? then Im worried... a whole list of bad things go through your mind. for a moment I had to remind myself that AJ was in Boise and not in Iraq and this WASN'T the dredded knock on the door when your husband is overseas. Then I was a little scared... it's not like we have a lot of crime here on base, but hey, I grew up in a big city and at the moment Im technically a "single" woman home alone with her baby, you just dont go answering the door in the dark for no good reason! long story short (to late ) someone had left a "Phantom" halloween gift on my door step and it came with a note saying that i had to photo copy the phantome note 3 times and put them on 3 different gifts and go out in the middle of the night and put them on 3 strangers doorsteps and tape the origonal note to my front door so that no one else gives me another one! Then I felt all bad for being a pesimist when all somone was doing was giving me a gift! anyway, off to check some other sites!
amy wallace - Oct 21, 2006 4:12 pm (#302 of 461)
YAY!!!! Tell Age we said congrats on the Police test! That's awesome that he did so well, knew he would though.
Yikes I would have been scared about the late night doorbell ringer too but that is a cool idea. I read it to Wally and he said he thought that was a cool idea.
We drove to a pumkin patch down ear Sanford today which is like an hour south. So we get all the way there and notice that we don't see signs for the pick your own patch. So we ask around and they say we don't have pick your own this year but we did last year. The pumpkins were so expensive so we left and drove home. We stopped at Lowes along the way and got some supplies to clean the leaves and brush in the backyard. So we spent about an an hour and a half tonight raking leaves, burning brush, and clearing brush and junk out. The yard is already looking much better!
Well time to go relax for a while. Bye everyone!
- Oct 21, 2006 5:45 pm (#303 of 461)
We got that same thing Lilly P., but here you get "Boo'ed". My oldest daughter Joy did up a bag of Halloween goodies and came by after dark (about 7 PM) and left it by our door - she parked up the street and sneaked down here, knocked and hid until we closed the door back. It was so cute and my granddaughter still hasn't figured out who did it. We have fixed up a bag (we do just one according to the note) and plan to "Boo" a little friend of hers. It's a cute idea.
- Oct 27, 2006 3:10 pm (#304 of 461)
Strange/Spooky things are happening......it must be the halloween season. Hubby Voulenteered to make dinner, then cleared the table, washed the dishes and is giving the kid-o a bath. I think the pod people have landed and taken over his brain. If I'm found tomorrow, in a cocoon, incubating the spawn of extra-terrestrials, look to him first, he is not acting normal!!!
wink,
Jamie
amy wallace - Oct 27, 2006 3:37 pm (#305 of 461)
hmm VOLUNTEERED to make dinner??? hmm...strange, very strange. Maybe it was all that Mountain air in Boise? If so, I am sending my husband there!
- Oct 27, 2006 4:38 pm (#306 of 461)
I guarantee you he wants something. LOL
Lori VIens - Oct 29, 2006 12:40 pm (#307 of 461)
he definately wants something!!!!!!!!!
- Oct 31, 2006 3:51 pm (#308 of 461)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO EVERYONE.
Lori VIens - Nov 2, 2006 4:58 pm (#309 of 461)
It's been a pretty long week. Last week my kids at school's mom passed away. It was very hard seeing them at the wake and funeral And of course during school. The boy is still having quite a hard time as he still lives home and he is with dad who is trying to deal with his own emotions. one of our rather large kids moved about two years ago to new mexico and now he has moved back. he started the other day and boy is he even bigger. i would take a guess at 6"3" 250lbs oh boy!!!!! he likes to pull hair and squeeze hands. not to mention when he acidentally steps on your feet about 10 times a day. on top of it today when i was changing our girl in the wheel chair, it tipped back and then the wheel came down on the edge of my foot. OUCH!!! so it's a little bruised and sore. but hey I'm a woman, I can take it he he he!!!!!!! So tomorrow is FRiday, THANK GOD!!!!!!!!
The kids had a blast trick or treating! David looked like eddie munster in his costume (it was the round cheeks that got me) Jon loved going up to houses and saying "hello treat treat" he wasn't in it for tricks. and he held onto the same piece of candy for about an hour. (T>G> it was a starburst and not chocolate)
oh, and jon got his first hair cut on Halloween!!! He is no longer mullett boy, he looks adorable tho, i do kind-of miss the hair when it curled!!!!! He was a trooper, no crying or anything.
Andrew's team starts playoffs this weekend and then super bowl next weekend I think. Tonight they were picking the all stars team and I think he was hoping to be picked. Who knows though, there are 8 coaches and usually their kids get picked.
Hopefully we can get the rest of the staining and varnishing done this weekend so we can start putting furniture in the family room and empty out our storage unit.
Jamie, do you want "the" hutch? Otherwise I was going to paint it black and use just the bottom. But if you want it I would be glad to pass it on.
I hope everyone is enjoying the start of November!!!! Have a great night or day!!!!!
amy wallace - Nov 2, 2006 5:40 pm (#310 of 461)
Lori, I am so sorry to hear that the kids mom passed away. Hopefully family will be able to get them through this time. I can't imagine how difficult that must be for the kids.
Glad the kids had fun on halloween. J- loved the pics of Annemarie. I noticed there wasn't a 192 pumpkin this year :) Wally was supposed to make one, but as usual procrastinated until there was no time left to carve it. Now I have 2 extra pumpkins sitting in my dining room.
Things here have been hectic. The kids at school have been acting like Demons all week. Unbelievable! They have been horrible! I think it has been a combination of Halloween, too much candy and staying up late this week. Tomorrow we have a cultural enrichment assmbley in the morning where a story teller will come and tell folk tales and then we are going on a field trip right after that to see the childrens musician Red Grammer. Hopefully the kids can get a handle on their behavior before tomorrow!
Things at home are good. I finally got a Nissan Xterra last week. I had wanted one for a while but when my old car died I had to take the first thing I could and that was a toyota Rav 4. I drove it for about a year but did not like it. Then my neighbors came to tell us they were selling their house because they are seperating. It stinks because they are so nice, we love living next to them :( ANyway they offered us the house and would sell it for unke 200K and it is a 4 bedroom with bonus room, dining, EIK, formal living and family room. A good buy. So we sent some time thinking and talking it over but decided against buying it. We LOVE the house, it is beautiful but the builder who built this phase cut a lot of corners on wiring and things and we really just didn't want to get into a house we would have to re-wire.
The weather here is awesome, nice an warm during the day with cool crisp nights ;) Perfect for me!
- Nov 3, 2006 5:27 am (#311 of 461)
Halloween was pretty good here, we just went around the block and to a couple of friends houses, not much else. I'll pass on "the hutch" it will look good black though. anyway, im off to a dentist appointment this morn. so I had better get ready. send up pics of the boys!
Lori VIens - Nov 3, 2006 5:32 am (#312 of 461)
congrats on the new car Amy!!!!! good luck at the dentist Lilly
amy wallace - Nov 3, 2006 1:34 pm (#313 of 461)
Thanks Lori. Hope the dentist went well Lilly.
Well I am so glad it is friday! I have to say the kids at school finally got back to their normal selves today and were awesome for the storyteller this morning and then the Red Grammer show this afternoon. They had a great time and sung along to all the songs. Red Grammer had all the teachers and TA's get up on stage for one song, the kids thought it was awesome, we of course were less than thrilled. Anyway I was able to get home and get a jump on housework. I have to say sometimes I impress myself. I got home at 3pm and I have cleaned 3 bathrooms, done a load of laundry, did some dishes, cleaned the kitchen, dining room and living room, went though piles of mail and vaccumes, all in 1.5 hours. I wish my husband could experience this, since it takes him literally 2 days to do the laundry. I guess I should be glad he does the laundry sometimes!
So lilly did you ever find out why hubby was being so helpful?
- Nov 3, 2006 3:36 pm (#314 of 461)
No clue why he was so helpfull, but it seems to have been one of thoes 24 hour viruses. He is back to his normal self now. the dentist went well, i have to go back and get a new sealant and I booked Annemarie for her first visit next month. just hanging out doing house work this weekend, AJ has to get all of his gear together to turn in to the unit and thats about it.
Lori VIens - Nov 4, 2006 5:47 am (#315 of 461)
Amy, I am inpressed!!!Doesn't it feel so good to get so much done? My vaccuum broke the other day so my house is dirty dirty dirty!!! I think it's just the belt so I am going to try and get a new one today.
What a day yesterday, I took jon for his physical and david came along. they both got the flu shot and jon has to go for allergy testing. the doctor thinks he might be allergic to milk, not just lactose intolerant. soemthing about the sugar in it?!?!? not sure. but then we ended back at the e.r. because andrew ripped his ear open on a rusty gauntlet at football practice. they couldn't stitch it because of the possitioning of it so she glued it. he broke down when she told him she didn't think he should play in the game this weekend. the nurse and i talked after and we think if it's pack and taped he won't rip it open again. but we'll see tomorrow how it looks. then he wanted to go to the rest of the high school game. we missed them announcing andrew's team but he got to see a bit of the game. it was so cold last night!!!!i couldn't sit on the bleachers because they were so cold. so today we have to call and check when andrews last tetnus was and maybe go get one. hubby is taking the dog to the vet for his shots. (which surprised me because he usually won't go to the vets because of his allergies) i think he'd just rather do that then go to the pediatricians and my neices cheerleeding competition. who knows?!?!!?
so wish me luck that we have a normal rest of the weekend!!! yeah right!!! have a great day all.
amy don't put too many miles on the new car!!!!
- Nov 4, 2006 7:14 am (#316 of 461)
I dont know how you do it Lori! it's one thing after another with boys! They are always getting hurt! Im so dreading the day she gets her first "big" hurt. so far it's just been little things. boring day here, just finished balancing the check book (boooooooring) but since I was good this month and have a little extra chash, I think Im going out to try and do some early x-mas shopping. any hints for your kids or hubby? How are you liking the new car Amy? lets try to hook up next weekend for sure.
Lori VIens - Nov 5, 2006 3:35 pm (#317 of 461)
Well The boys won the palyoff game today 43-13 so they play the "superbowl" next weekend. I brought andrew for warm ups before the game and just dropped him off while we went to Benny's. I figured if I was there he might cry when they put his helmet on. I guess they had to deflate it and put it on him and then inflate it again. But by the time I got there he was good. I guess he drank 2 red bulls. i think one of those things would be good enough for me not to feel any pain. but anyway, he played most of the first half and then they put the "little guys" in. until the last quarter. so he was thrilled. he made it without opening his ear like the doctor thought he would. Jon was adorable yell ing for the team until he fell asleep in grandpa's arms. i love that my kids can sleep through almost anything!!!!
Jamie, I don't have too many ideas for x-mas. jon likes thomas trains and trucks david loves animals and legos and andrew...???????????? any ideas for the princess?????? or you guys??????
Lori VIens - Nov 7, 2006 6:09 am (#318 of 461)
SSDD nothing new around here I guess all the excitement in my house is on the weekends!!! Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!
Lori VIens - Nov 10, 2006 5:23 am (#319 of 461)
ok did everyone go and vote the other day????? I am a little dissappointed having talked to a lot of people that didn't. Most people have said there was nobody good to vote for so they didn't vote at all?!?!?!?!?
amy wallace - Nov 10, 2006 6:29 am (#320 of 461)
Sad to say I did not. Ordinarily I do because i think it is important. Back in Sept / Oct we realized we needed to register so we wondered when the cut off date was. Just them i wasopening the mail and said oh here is voter registration information. I looked and the cut off was 4 days prior, so a lot of good that little notice did me! I am pretty irritated about it.
- Nov 10, 2006 11:34 am (#321 of 461)
I absentee voted in Idaho
amy wallace - Nov 10, 2006 12:36 pm (#322 of 461)
so have you been a resident of Idaho while you have been stationed here? I know lot's of people do that, sometimes it works out pretty good when it comes to taxes. I am not sure if we could have absentee ballot voted in VT or not...
- Nov 10, 2006 4:04 pm (#323 of 461)
it works out great for me, but lousy for AJ, we have to pay over 350 bucks a year in taxes for him to be a resident of CT and carry a CT drivers licence, it's a pain.
Lori VIens - Nov 10, 2006 4:23 pm (#324 of 461)
well that will change soon!!!!!
amy wallace - Nov 10, 2006 4:38 pm (#325 of 461)
Yuck! My grandparents used to live in CT and complained about the taxes all the time, then they moved to my parents town, quit possibly the only place in the country with higher taxes than Trumbull, CT!
Well this will be your last tax year paying anything to CT :)
I think wally is going to call AJ to try to see what you guys are up to this weekend...who knows he was going to call on Tuesday and Thursday and never did. I don't know why I let him handle these things!
Lori VIens - Nov 13, 2006 6:08 pm (#326 of 461)
So my boys are flying high. Andrew won the "superbowl" yesterday. It's the first time since 1977 that our town has won. The kids got a police and fire escort into town after the game. David got to join in on the festivities too because he is their "mascot" I am thrilled because now we don't have 2 hours a day practice. yeah!!!!!! other than that, nothing new around here. Is everyone getting excited for turkey day?
Lori VIens - Nov 13, 2006 6:09 pm (#327 of 461)
p.s. ct taxes are pretty high but it is a great state to live in!!!!!
amy wallace - Nov 13, 2006 6:30 pm (#328 of 461)
:) Congrats to Andrew!!! I hear he had 2 fumble recoveries! (I was in the car with Lily P when Tom called yesterday).
Not much to report here. I am getting things rolling for our trip to NY for thanksgiving. I am trying to find a hotel to stay in for the night on the way up and then getting all the packing etc. organized. Hopefully iy all comes together without a hitch. Tomorrow I have a vet appointment for Simon. He had some blood in his mouth yesterday and on his toys and I want the vet to check his mouth. He is missing 2 teeth and he may have lost another. His teeth are so tiny they don't have enough root to hold them into the gums so some are loose and have fallen out.
anyway i am going to try to get a little knitting in before heading to bed. have a great night everyone :)
- Nov 14, 2006 7:14 am (#329 of 461)
YAY! for Andrew!!! and David too! The pictures on the sports website were so cute! We went up to Raliegh for the day to visit with Amy and Wally and we went to the farmer's market and bought some good stuff, then we watched the NASCAR race and went to this awsome resturant, when you go inside it's like being inside the hull of a ship, and it's all sectioned off into different rooms like a realy boat, your dad would love it Lori! It was a long drive home because AJ made me drive while he listened to the Giant's game on the AM radio, it was all static-y and was boring to drive to, we got home at like 11:30. we had a great time and Annmarie is still talking about Wraith (she says "Rafe") and Simon. let me know how his appointment turns out Aim. anyway, im going to take advantage of AJ taking her with him to the store to get a nice quiet Looooooooong shower, so Ill talk to yall later! :)
amy wallace - Nov 14, 2006 12:50 pm (#330 of 461)
What is it with men listening to static-y radio?! Wally will listen to it when the words are barely audible because he "loves that song"!
We had an awesome time with you guys. it is so good to finally live near you (even if it is only for a little while). We love having Annemarie around too, especially Uncle Wally. He is such a sucker for kids :) He is still talking about what a good girl she is and how smart she is too :) Wraith has fun licking her and I think even simon was warming up a little towards the end.
I am leaving for the vet soon, but figured I will let them clip simons nails while we are there. So I figured I should trim his paw fur because his feet look like grinch feet. Seriously you would think I would torturing him. He started drooling and panting and crying, and i was trimming them with and electric trimmer! He finally calmed down enought for me to dremel 3 nails. Now he is realxing, I have to go sneak and put his little car seat in the car in a min. So far his mouth has not bled again since sunday, but I think he may have lost another incisor on the bottom, that would make 3. But they told us 3 years ago he would loose all the bottom incisors within 6 months and he has lost about 1 per year so not too bad.
I hope you had a nice long relaxing peaceful shower!
Well I will update you on Simons vet visit when I get back.
Bye all!
amy wallace - Nov 14, 2006 3:56 pm (#331 of 461)
Whew! Ok I am back from the vet. She said she saw some inflammation on the left upper gum, but that it did not look like infection or gum disease. She said she thinks he either hurt it on food or a toy. AT least this was her best guest since Simon would not cooperate and let her look in his mouth. She really was only able to pull hi lips up and look at the outsides but she did not geta clear view of his throat. She did say he is in desperate need of a teeth cleaning, his molars are really bad. The teeth cleaning will be extra expensive because he will need extensive precautionary steps, like antiobiotics before and after because of his heart murmur, bloodwork and urinalysis before that because of his previous history of kidney problems and then he will need special sedation that rapidly metabolises plus valium so when the sed. leaves his system he doesn't get too freaked out, this is all because he doesn't handle sedation well and then he will have IV fluids to help keep his blood pressure stable to lessen stress on the heart. So all of that stuff added up to like $300 plus the regular amount for the teeth cleaning for a total of $500, $620 if they find anything unusual in his mouth and want to biopsy it.
Thankfully we have pet insurance, thought I don't expect it to cover more than 1/3, but anything is better than nothing. ANyway he was not happy about being at the vet at all. He shook and was scared until we got in the car where he instantly became relaxed again. I did get them to clip his nails a little bit and he was pretty good for that.
So now I just have to check my schedule and see when I will have all of this done. I want to be home the day after to take care of him, so I am thinking after thanksgiving but before christmas.
- Nov 20, 2006 8:10 am (#332 of 461)
My brother is comming home today! It's been 2 years! Since "home" is Boise, I wont get to see him until we move there in Jan. But he is home none the less, and I couldn't be more happy, for the few of you who don't know, my brother got into a bit of trouble with alcoholism as a very young man and it caused him to get into trouble with the law. He was very lucky to be sentanced to a brand new counciling program within the jail that is designed specificaly to help alcohol and drug addicts change thier habbits. with 2 years sober under his belt and a lot of counceling I think he has a good shot at making his sobriety stick on the outside. I am saying lots of prayers, because he is such a wonderful person when he is not under the influence. anyway, I had better get off line, I am expecting his call sometime mid morning! I hope everyone is having/had safe travel durning the T-Giving season.
Jamie
amy wallace - Nov 20, 2006 12:26 pm (#333 of 461)
Our best goes out to your brother! I hope he has a great homecomming and is able to make the most of his new start! Sounds like he got into a good program.
So how was your anniversary?
- Nov 21, 2006 6:08 am (#334 of 461)
We had a good Anniversary. we went and saw "Happy Feet" at the movies and Annemarie was dancing in the isle and making everyone laugh, then when we went to dinner she was entertaining the whole staff by telling them about her happy feet and giving them a demonstration! Molly was mad though because we made her sleep downstairs for the night, she gave me the cold shoulder the whole next morning and wouldnt sit with me on the couch until I gave her my left over steak from the resturant, then she forgave me. anyway, my brother sounded good, he has a job interview on Wednesday! He is moving fast, he says he dosnt want a lot of "down time" to get bored and do something negative to fill the boredome. that sounds like a great plan to me! I braved the commisary this weekend, it was a fricken MAD HOUSE! and you know how you sometimes get stuck behind someone and you just cant get away from them, because they are going on every isle just like you, well I got one of thoes and she was coughing up a storm (into her hand), like she had bronchitis or pnemonia and then being a lable reader, she kept taking cans and boxes off the shelf, reading the label and then putting them back! I was like GROSS!!!!!!!!! If you are sick, dont be touchy-feely with the food!!!!!!!!!! So I shopped for like 3 weeks worth of food, because I dont want to go back untill WELL after Turkey day, too crazy with too many people! I want the thing Lori has where you can shop online for your grocceries and they put them together for you and you pick them up at the store! Where do you do that Lori, by the way, is it at Big Y or Stop and Shop? AJ asked me that the other day. Ok, ive got lots to do, Amy, I hope you and Wally and the kids have a safe drive today, watch out for the idiots who dont know how to drive in "weather" they are the biggest hazzard on the road!
amy wallace - Nov 21, 2006 12:34 pm (#335 of 461)
Good for your brother!! Sounds like he has a good idea of what he needs to do.
yeah there are idiots on the road already. the drive home from work was a trip! Well I have some last minute things to pack up and then we are off.
Have a great holiday everyone!
Lori VIens - Nov 22, 2006 5:51 am (#336 of 461)
great for your brother jamiie!!!!! shopping>> peapod thru stop and shop. i haven't done it in a while, i need to start again because i find myself going to the grocery store too often. though we found out jon is allergic to eggs and nuts so now i have to read everythings ingredients
- Nov 22, 2006 10:20 am (#337 of 461)
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. I wish you a bountiful table and lots of family and good friends to share it. {{{Hugs to all!!}}}
- Nov 23, 2006 10:03 am (#338 of 461)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I just have a quick minute here between cooking and laundry, I hope everyone has a wonderfull day!
Jamie
amy wallace - Nov 23, 2006 10:41 am (#339 of 461)
Hey Lilly!
We made if to NY! Just getting ready to sit down to dinner here. Bad weather followed us the whole way!
We hope everyone is having a safe and wonderful day of celebration :)
amy and wally (aka Jason)
- Nov 23, 2006 3:01 pm (#340 of 461)
Look what I learned to do!!!!!
•*´¨)
¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)
(_¸.•´ ¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)
(_¸.•´
Lilly P.
cool huh!
- Nov 24, 2006 10:09 am (#341 of 461)
Very cool. You must teach us how to do that. :-)
- Nov 24, 2006 11:42 am (#342 of 461)
I actually learned it from John Bumbldore! it's on the "how to and practice new techniques" thread on the Lex/fourm!
amy wallace - Nov 27, 2006 5:19 pm (#343 of 461)
Hey all!
Well we have returned from our Thanksgiving travels. What a long weekend, we drove for 14 hours yestrday and got home around 11:30pm and it was back to work today. SImon cried for 10 of 14 hours in the car yestrday. Not sure what that is all about, he has been having a more difficult time traveling with each trip. Mostly he cries unless i hold him in the front seat with me. I don't like doing that since it would be really dangerous, especially if we got into an accident.
Wraith did great on the trip and has been sleeping all day. They tend to be awake a lot more at their grandma's house than they are here.
ANyway how was everyone holiday? how's everyone doing?
- Nov 28, 2006 6:47 am (#344 of 461)
Hey! glad to hear you are back safe!we had a nice relaxing TG. I scored some points with the mother in law by sending a centerpiece for the TG table since we wouldnt be there, so YAY! for me! They left a few days after TG for thier annual winter cruise, I think they went back to the carribean again this year. it must be nice. I FINALY convinced AJ to help me clean out the garage and it wnet so well, we are both total pack rats but we were frustrated at the mess and it prompted us to actually part with a lot of junk. I started in the attic yesterday and got a good bit done. the hard part was having AJ go through all the clothes in storage, were talking High school era clothes that are NEVER going to be in style again! but he didnt want to part with many of them. this reminds me of an off the subject complaint.... yesterday I cleaned out like 9 pair of AJ's old GAP jeans from high shcool out of the attic, all in perfect condition. I bought him a 60 dollor pair of GAP jeans last month, and the pockets were already tearing away at the corner and he ripped the crotch out. Things cost more and much cheaper made these days!!! the old ones were worn twice as long and show almost no wear, just a little at the pockets, but thats a guy thing always pulling a wallet in and out (not to mention his tin in the other pocket). /rant
anyway, I hear you on the dog issue Amy, Molly dosnt like the car as much as she used to either. she is much better on the plane though, go figure. although she still freaks out when they try to x-ray her here at the local airport. 
glad you are home safe! better get going on the rest of the attic!
Lori VIens - Nov 28, 2006 10:01 am (#345 of 461)
fun cleaning lilly P we've been trying to do the same. well just talked to my mom. she had her surgery on her arm last week and now has to go back in tomorrow. so she's a little frustrated. otherwise it's nice an quiet as the in laws are away. tho they insist on calling 10 times a day!!!!!!
amy wallace - Nov 28, 2006 4:04 pm (#346 of 461)
Yuck for the cleaning but glad it went well, oo bad you couldnt get AJ to part with his old clothes. Jason is like that too, he has these shirts that are too old and small and are just plain ugly but he still keeps them! Before we moved here I parted with most of my older clothes. Jason has hauled junk around to nearly every place we ahve ever lived, but before we moved here I put my foot down and we gave a pick-up truck full of stuff away to a consignment shop, sold a bunch of big stuff on craigslist and threw out a TON of stuff!
Oh i feel the same way about the jeans! It seems like every time i get jason a pair they rip around the back pockets within a month!
Glad to hear the in-laws are on their winter cruise and that your centerpiece scored you some points :)
I am finally catching up on some sleep from the weekend :) Good thing because I have to sub on Thursday and want to work on Christmas lights and decorations this weekend.
Lori VIens - Nov 30, 2006 6:00 am (#347 of 461)
ok i seriously need to start x-mas shopping!!! i was just looking at the calender!!!!!!!!!!! ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! i don't even have a clue what i should get half the people on my list.
amy wallace - Nov 30, 2006 12:15 pm (#348 of 461)
hehe, i haven't done much either and stupidly agreed to go in on a gift with my sister and her boyfriend. the prob isn't my sister it is her new boyfriend. I shouldn't get started! Anyway Lori there is alwasy the gift basket, fruit of the month club or gift card route :)
we have to get a tree, tree skirt and i think a tree stand. I ruined the tree skirt washing it last year and the tree stand went to the dump when we moved...
- Nov 30, 2006 2:09 pm (#349 of 461)
!!!! I only have 2 more gifts to buy! !!!!
Lori VIens - Dec 1, 2006 7:02 am (#350 of 461)
I'll trade with you Lilly P!!!!! Hey, when you come up you can take the kids for me and I'll do my shopping!!!! JUST KIDDING!!!! we have our football banquet tonight so that will be one less thing in the way. I am planning on shopping on Sunday, Tom's day off. Hopefully I can get a lot done. I have some stuff I need to just go online and order. I just don't want to part with the $$$$$$$...... anyway, we're thinking of getting my parents a dog so that will be a time consuming hunt.
- Dec 1, 2006 8:59 am (#351 of 461)
wow! what kind of dog?
well, they moved our timetable up on us.... we will be moving the 11-13th of dec. so that means we will be comming up to CT with our u-haul trailer and leaving for boise from waterford. I hate the military movers!!! anyway, it's a good thing I got the shopping out of the way when I did or everyone would have just gotten money or gift certificates, well some people did because they are hard to shop for any way.
amy wallace - Dec 1, 2006 3:16 pm (#352 of 461)
Well that stinks that they moved you date up like that. Well i think that leaves this weekend or next for us to come down for a visit. let us know what works for you.
SO will you guys take the northern route instead of the one you'd hoped to take through TX?
Things here are good. I subbed 2 days this week and today was one of them. The kids were bad today! They could not stop talking in class, i felt like a broken record telling them to stop talking. It's not all their fault, they were really good today and it rained today so they were stuck inside all day. Either way I am home now and relaxing :)
I have to do my on-line christmas shopping this weekend and start decorating the house at some point too. I am always excited about doing all of this, until it actually comes time to do it! This year I will have to ship all of our gifts, I only have a few here at the house and the rest I will have delivered directly to people. Hopefully sending the ones I have here doesnt go the way of my chirstmas cards, which last year I sent out in January. Wow did I feel like a looser, especially because i bought them in like October!
Well i guess i should figure out what we'll do for dinner, talk to everyone later!!
Lori VIens - Dec 2, 2006 12:57 pm (#353 of 461)
uh christmas cards!!!!! i tried a few weeks ago to get a pic of the kids on the boat but that didn't work out. they started arguing. now jon has two bruises on his forehead, i think from his crib. we went and got 2 x-mas trees today one for up and one for down hopefully we won't follow in the past tradition of x-mas trees falling or wires on fire!!!!esp with 2 trees. i really need to clean my house and finish decorating, ughhhhhh we're looking for an english springer spaniel for my mom and dad. they are atleast $800 from breeders around here so that will definately be the only thing from us for them this year. that's if my one sister is in on it too!!! she's away in Aruba right now so we can't really ask her opinion. life's ruff!!!! (he he) Hopefully tomorrow I will get to the shopping thing, atleast I'm coming up with some more ideas.
- Dec 2, 2006 4:12 pm (#354 of 461)
finished the LAST of my xmas shopping today and mailed the x mas cards. (Amy, yours is still sitting on my desk because I need the exact street adress and zip code, I can't tell the mail man "the house at the end of the circle"!) call me or email me! also, do you have any of "the guys'" address'? I need like, Eric Ras., Matt Murano, and Chris Brooks if you have them, for xmas cards. Reserved the U-haul today, got boxes for the clothes that we are taking with us in the car. I went shopping for new "work" clothes (boy was that depressing!) it's only "casual" but, casual to a stay at home mom is like dressing up! anyway, time for the munchkins bath. good luck on the dog hunting Lori! which sister is in Aruba by the way? Amy, call us about next weekend, we soooo have to make it happen before we go!
amy wallace - Dec 2, 2006 6:51 pm (#355 of 461)
we juat finished shopping for christmas decorarations, we threw out all the ghetto decor we used to have before we moved :) i also bought a great art set for my niece so now she is done, so i only have 1.5 kids left to buy for then my sister and my parents, we will buy jasons parents an airline ticket when they come visit in april so we don't have to worry about that yet. Lori 2 trees!! Trees are so expensive here, like $75 each! We just ordered one from LL bean because Jason really wanted a Balsam Fir and it ended uop costing the same as the trees around here which were not balsam.
J- Sorry about the addy, thougt I had sent it.I'll e-mail it later. I think I has Rasses address, i can check with yangco for muranos and i don't know brookes but rass might I will have wally call him or I will text him.
well I am off to put up more decorations and paint this x-mas village i bought today.
Lori VIens - Dec 3, 2006 5:56 am (#356 of 461)
trees aren't too bad around here. One of the tree farms in town is pretty nice. One of their sons in in Iraq right now so my father insisted that we support them in some way. I guess last year when he went to pick up his tree my dad talked the guys ear off!! We actually got one there tagged one for my parents and then got the other at home depot. the trees are still in TOm's truck Let's see if he can get off his duff and bring them in. Our friends are coming over today for a late thanksgiving dinner so maybe john will put them up for me. Hey he's even cooking the turkey for me!!!!! Well they are doing that Lisa and I are going SHOPPING!!!! I'm a little ocd about the deocorations so the kids will have to wait til i get home. Plus I need to buy more lights. As jamie knows I never use old lights inside anymore after the year they set fire. Well the cat is calling, gotta go let him in. Hey Does anyone have a good remedy for a stye??? I think I am getting one. I've been doing the compresses.
- Dec 3, 2006 7:25 am (#357 of 461)
you would have to know Lori and her trees, Amy. she does these HUGE trees with all these beautiful ornaments! they are soooo pretty, but accident prone. I wasn't there the year of the fire, but I watched in slow motion horror when the one in the living room fell.(it was like 15 feet tall!) and the worst part was, Lori wasnt home, and AJ said, there is no way I'm call her, and I couldn't make Andrew do it, so I had to be the bearer of the bad news! we tried to sweep up as much broken glass as we could before she got there, but I think she broke the sound barier in her mini van getting back to the house! No tree for us this year, just too much going on with the packing. which by the way I should be getting back to!!! talk to ya all later.
amy wallace - Dec 3, 2006 3:58 pm (#358 of 461)
well the lights are up outside and all my inside garland is hung. i have gebun painting my new christmas village pieces and that should take the week. we bought some of those fake candle things for the window and they are organge lights not white so i have to take those back tomorrow, but my husband did a nice job with the lights outside. i am missing a box of christmas stuff with the dogs stockings and there advent calender, also know as the treat tree. it is a felt tree with pockets that you put treats in, then take one out each night as you count down to x-mas. i have to figure out where it is, it is their favorite part of the holidays. last year Wraith climbed up on the loveseat when we were at work and ate almost all the treats out in one day! the few she didn't get she tried to get after i got home and started cooking dinner. she pulled most right out of the pockets and those she couldnt pull out she justknibbled down as far as she could! So this year we will find a less accessible place to put the tree :)
well i have to go find some dinner, good luck with the late turkey day and the decorations / lights Lori!
- Dec 4, 2006 4:02 pm (#359 of 461)
wow, that advent calender sounds so cool! I think that would be a fun project for me to make for next year! movers are such idiots, they quoted us 19,991 dollors to move us to Boise! we of course are not paying that and the way we have it now, it'll probly only cost about 4 grand instead. it was a stressfull day! anyway, we are all going for a walk so I will check in again tomorrow!
amy wallace - Dec 9, 2006 7:07 am (#360 of 461)
Lily P: Did your myspace account get hacked? I am seeing a ot of bullitans posted by you but wasn't sure if they were from you.
Lori VIens - Dec 10, 2006 8:37 am (#361 of 461)
x-mas trees up 50% of shopping done and 14 more shopping days!!!! we went and got my parents a puppy yesterday and I think we're giving him to them today. we figured we give him early so they can enjoy him that much longer, plus they are leaving x-mas afternoon with my oldest for Florida. so we didn't want to give him to them and then they would have to turn around and leave him that day. he's the best!!! he so cute and calm. he seams house trained already. my sister gets to be the lucky one to keep him while he's in hiding because of jon's allergies. i can't wait to see my parents response!!!!!!
anyway we're off to the firehouse party adn the light parade tonight have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Dec 11, 2006 7:44 am (#362 of 461)
The packers are here!!! I don't really have to do anything but supervise and answer questions about what I want packed and what I don't! It's nice to actually have a free min. to check the forums! I feel like I've lost touch with a lot of folks! especially on the HP/Lex forum! We were so glad you guys came down to see us Amy! Annemarie was asking me today when we were going to go visit you again! Lori, I bought your christmas present like a month ago and then lost it in all the chaos with the packing, but AJ saved the day and found it yesterday! We had this HUGE pile of stuff that we were going to donate to charity, but we gave some to Amy, then Jeremy came and got some and then the packing ladies came and took the rest! so now we dont have to bother hauling it out into town to the thrift store to donate! finally, something went our way!!! anyway, I do have one or two things to wrap up, I might not get a chance to get back on before they pack the computer, so Everyone have a Merry Christmas, safe travels and I will check in sometime after we get to Connecticutt! Love to all, Jamie
amy wallace - Dec 11, 2006 3:47 pm (#363 of 461)
Hey all!
We've been busy here too. We've been applying for a mortgage and negotiating with the owners of the house next door. We put in one offer and they came back higher, we gave them our final offer tonight and should know tomorrow where things stand. The houses on either side of us are for sale. The one we are making the offer on is a 4 bd with bonus room. a huge house for a good price! Anyway if all goes well we would close in January and start moving in mid-january.
We had a nice visit with the Lilly P familiy yesterday. Annemarie is so adorable :) Wally set her up on his computer and she made movies of herself, then she watched them, it was absolutly adorable! AJ and Wally packed a bunch of stuff into the U-haul. Hopefully the packing went well today and your stress level is starting to decrease Lilly :)
School has been good, today I had 8 of 21 kids out. 6 were sick all with fever and headache, one with confirmed strep. Yuck! Tonight I will go to bed early in an effort to stave off any illness.
Well I have to go finish my rice for dinner and then call my sister in law. Hope you are all having a nice December!
amy wallace - Dec 12, 2006 4:22 pm (#364 of 461)
Well things have turned pretty interesting around here in the last few days. Our neighbors are seperating and selling their house, we were talking to one of them 2 weekends ago and he told us how much they could sell for, and what they could sell it for was in our price range. So we have spent the past week and a half talking to lenders and on Friday made an offer on the house. They did not accept it and gave us their rock bottom number which was still pretty reasonable and within our price range. SO we made another offer last night and they accepted :) We signed the contract tonight. This is our first house and we don't have a clue what we should be doing but the realtor has been helping us and telling su what we need to do next and giving us names of people to contact, etc. If all goes as planned we will close on January 8th or 9th.
it is all pretty exciting. The house is fairly new, built in 2003-2004 and is huge! I am hoping my parents are able to come visit for christmas so we can show them the house. IN the meantime I have a ton of documentation to dig up, tax returns, pay stubs etc for the mortgage people and I have to schedule a home inspection too. Plus work is crazy because we are on a completly different schedule because of the holidays, with different guest speakers comming in and kids out for travel or right now because of illness.
Anyway Lori glad you got all the trees situtated and that your shopping is done :) I have to finish mine and then wrap and ship everything.
Guess I better get to work on all of these things!
Lori VIens - Dec 12, 2006 6:02 pm (#365 of 461)
Congrats and good luck with the house!!! it's such an exciting but tough time!!!! when you fall asleep the first night in your own home, it will all be worth it!!!!!!!!!!
amy wallace - Dec 13, 2006 12:53 pm (#366 of 461)
I hope so because right now I am sifiting through loan offers and researching everything on line! I was completely unprepared for this :)
Lori VIens - Dec 14, 2006 6:35 am (#367 of 461)
If you can, stay away from teh online mortgage company's I've heard of a lot of people having problems last minute with them
amy wallace - Dec 14, 2006 1:30 pm (#368 of 461)
I am glad you told me that, because i was wondering.
we had started with lending tree, and they took forever to get back to us and the rates were high but they were the only ones we'd heard from. But yesterday we talked to Herrington Bank which is a local bank that brokers loans. They got us a great rate and have been good to work with. I asked them a ton of questions and so far they seem legit and upfront. The closing costs are a bit more with Herrington but the rate is so much lower.
I scheduled the inspection today, we will have it next thursday which worked out because i don't have to work that day. Our closing has been set for 3:30 on January 8th. SO i guess we are getting closer. I will have to start making some calls to have services switched over like phone etc.
ANyway we are still missing a bunch of kids from school. Almost all have been to the doctor and they all have been told they have a virus. SOme of the kids have been out for 4 days already. They have terrible coughs. One parent said they have been up every night with their child. SOme have come back for a day and then been out again. It has been pretty brutal for the kids, and we are all hoping we don't catch whatever it is. I personally am exhausted!
I think tonight we will just relax and have grilled ham and cheese and soup for dinner :)
Did mr. and mrs. lilly P arrive in CT today?
- Dec 16, 2006 4:11 pm (#369 of 461)
We are here!!! Annemarie got seriously sick our last night in NC and we spent the night in the ER, and the next day in the hotel. then we only drove half way the next day and took her to the ER again in VA. she had 104 temp and was throwing up buckets. she is better now, just down to a small temp and no appitite. we are staying with Lori. the trailer did great, nothing moved or fell, it was great. we got better gas milage than we were expecting, anyway, we will check in every couple of days. Congrats on the house guys, we are sooo happy for you!
amy wallace - Dec 17, 2006 7:37 am (#370 of 461)
Oh my gosh, that is terrible. I hope she is feeling better. This Monday at school we had a ton of kids out with headaches, fever and cough, no vommitting. Though my sister in law said that my niece came down with a really bad stomach bug friday night and was up all night and morning throwing up. This has been one harrowing move for you guys!!
I am glad that you've made it safely to CT. Yay! about the trailer and the gas milage! Jason did pretty good with gas milage on his way down here if i recall. I am so glad nothing shifted or fell or anything.
We are getting more and more excited about the house. We talked to one of the owners yesterday and he said he was so happy we bought it and as soon as he saw our name he signed the contract he didn't even look at what we were offering. His wife was who we were negotiating with on the initial offer.
Glad you are staying with Lori, and i bet Molly is too. PLus we know how much Anemarie loves her cousins!! We have been laughing all week about how cute Annemarie was when she was talking to herself on the computer :)
Well we are just about to head to church and then home to clean! My parents really are coming this week!
Have an awesome visit :)
amy wallace - Dec 21, 2006 11:23 am (#371 of 461)
Well we are finally on winter break. I am so happy to have some time to sleep late and clean my house. I am a bit of a clean freak and I can never get it as clean as I want it during my normal cleaning sessions. So these breaks from school are nice because i can actually scub the floors and do the baseboards and things. We have the house inspection today at 3:30pm. I was supposed to have a repair guy here this am but there was some miscommunication and he is supposed to come next week now. I called the property management company we rent from to tell them we bought the hosue next door and want to end our lease, they won't let us out. we have to pay rent until the place is re-leased to someone else. Wonderful! Our lease expires on April 16th and we were asking to get out of it on Feb 1st. All this for 2.5 months of rent. So I listed the place for rent on Craigslist today.
My parents will be here sometime on Saturday. They are staying until Tuesday morning. I expected them to stay longer, but my dad has all these things planned so they won't stay long. It kind of stinks because we wanted to show them around the area and everything, but we won't have time. Tonight I have to pick up a standing rib roast the the store. Jason has decided he will age the meat and make the roast himeself this year? He saw it on Good Eats!
Well i hope that you are all doing well, the forum seems a bit quiet lately hopefully we can all catch up again after the holiday season!
- Dec 23, 2006 10:46 am (#372 of 461)
I have been cooking up a storm and have more to do today. We are having our big dinner on Christmas Eve, so everything has to be ready for the oven by tomorrow morning. I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy Christmas!! I love spending a few minutes here with you each day - I treasure you all. May the blessings of this Christmas season be upon you and your families. {{{Hugs}}}
- Dec 23, 2006 5:30 pm (#373 of 461)
Merry Christmas to you all! We had our Xmas brunch at the inlaws house today, it was great. lots of food and family, some I had not met before. My husbands cousin works at an oyster farm and he brought dozens of fresh oysters that he shucked right there for us! it was sooooo fresh! I can't wait until tomorrow, although it will be a long day, we will evening services at my mother in laws church and then I will make the trek to midnight mass on my own as I am the lone Catholic in the family. althogh I love going to midnight mass, why o why cant it be ten o clock mass? anyway, so Choices... what do you think of the new HP title??? It's good to hear from you by the way, we have all been so busy over the holidays! Im glad you are getting some rest Amy, hope you have lots of fun with your folks! anyway, im turning in for the night! have a great time with your familys!! Merry Christmas!!!
Jamie
- Dec 25, 2006 9:41 am (#374 of 461)
Happy Christmas Day to everyone. Hope Santa was good to you!!!
amy wallace - Dec 25, 2006 11:04 am (#375 of 461)
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are all having a winderful day, wether you celebrate the holiday or not.
We are having horrible rains here today, but thats fine with us since we are all just spending the day together inside.
We had a great time opening presents this morning and the dogs were really into it this year. Simon had tons of fun unwrapping everything. Wraith was doing great until she opened a duck that made a sound that scared her. She ran and hid upstairs and we've coaxed her down a few times but i think the trauma was just too much and she's gone back upstairs to take a nap.
We are having a great time with my parents, it's too bad they are leaving tomorrow.
Have a great day everyone :)
- Dec 25, 2006 12:45 pm (#376 of 461)
Merry Christmas to you all! Annemarie had a ball opening all her presents this morning, Molly hasn't opened hers yet. It cool here, but not cold. No snow, which is just fine with me. Glad all your get togeathers are going well!anyway, much cleaning up to do, happy holidays to you all!
Jamie
amy wallace - Dec 26, 2006 10:23 am (#377 of 461)
Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday. We had a great, but late dinner last night and my parents left this morning. Jason helped a lot with diner which impressed me beyond belief! He made gingerbread cake and lemon sauce to go with it, and made the standing rib roast himself. The roast was outstanding! We figured we didn't need all the leftovers so I kept some to make Jason a lunch or two and sent the rest with my parents. I thought they could eat it in the hotel tonight and bring a piece of roast home for my sister. The dishes are pretty much cleaned up now so I really do get the chance to relax today. My husband, unfortunatly has to work today :(
amy wallace - Dec 27, 2006 10:09 am (#378 of 461)
Well we are getting closer and closer to the closing date on the house. The inspection revealed a few minor problems, such as loose banisters and railings and one loose board on a step comming off the deck. We opted not to have the owner fix those things. However the pad that one of the AC units sits on is not level and there was a ppe clogged in another AC unit (the house has 2 central air units). The owners did not have the gas turned on for the inspection so the heat could not be tested. SO we responded to the inspection by asking the owners to have the gas turned on and to pay for an HVAC company to come and inspect the systems, including the gas log fireplace and to fix the clogged pipe. They had the gas turned on today and the gas people are there not checking for leakes and things like that. I guess the HVAC people will be here later this week. If everything with those two inspections goes well then all we have to do is wait for the closing which would be about 12 days from today.
Unfortunatly the property management place we rent from will not let us out of our lease and we will have to continue to pay rent until the lease ends on April 15th. We had asked to be let out of the lease on Feb 1st. quite frankly i think this is rediculous. they would not even let us out if they kept the security desposit! Their advise was to send them a letter ASAP and they would begin to list the place for rent but we would still have to pay rent until a lease is signed by someone else or our lease expires.
So I am now trying to work the logistics of moving out. moving next door seems more complicated than moving a longer distance. Instead of packing a truck and driving someplace we will have to walk everything across the lawn! I think Jason and I can move most of the stuff but some of the really heavy stuff I don't think we can do alone. So I will have to figure something out there. Anyway, that's the story here!
So Mrs. Lilly P when does the great westward drive begin?
- Dec 28, 2006 6:04 am (#379 of 461)
good luck with all the final inspections! we are starting the drive on jan 2. I cant wait. aj and his brother and sister in law and thier kids all went up to vermont until friday, so im just hanging out here at the house getting laundry done and watching the dogs. Its very relaxing with just Annemarie and I here. hope all goes well with the move!
amy wallace - Dec 28, 2006 10:00 am (#380 of 461)
Up to Vermont without you? Well I guess the break is probably nice since it can be nerve wracking to be without your home for so long! Aj should call Rass when he is up there. We talked to him the other night. Gene is at school and Brooks lives in southern VT, i think.
Well enjoy your peace and solitude! If I don't talk to you guys ahve a great new year and drive home!
- Dec 28, 2006 5:56 pm (#381 of 461)
ya, I wasnt up for the drive and the snow, and they went all the way to St. Albans, practicaly to Canada. it was a nice couple of days just relaxing. it sucks not having all my "stuff" around. it makes you discocerted (sp?). anyway, I had better get Annemarie off to bed, the crew will be back tomorrow, so she needs her rest. Happy New Years to you guys too!
amy wallace - Dec 29, 2006 8:33 am (#382 of 461)
Yuck, St. Albans. Talk about desolate. There really is nothing up that way, it it is freaking cold there too! Man am I glad I don't live in VT anymore.
Lori VIens - Dec 30, 2006 4:32 pm (#383 of 461)
Haven't had much time to type lately. With the holidays and all. Iwas really sick for x-mas and most of the following day. then as you know we went to vermont. Contrary to popular belief, St ALbans is a great town. We have friends up there that are basically extended family. We spent one of the days at a pizza put in Burlington. The kids had a blast, esp. AJ. The men played games a lot which gave me a chance to sit and relax with the girls. Plus the kids had friends to play with. Anyway, I guess the crew will be leaving soon for Idaho. so it should be winding down aroun here well, as much as possible before the birthdays start. My oldest comes home from florida on Tuesday too, which I can't wait for!!!! I miss him like crazy, even though he sounds like he's having a great time. Well it's off to the world of cleaning.... I have so much x-mas stuff to put away and we made pizza tonight...... Have a happy new year all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
amy wallace - Dec 30, 2006 6:06 pm (#384 of 461)
Happy New Year everyone!
Lori, glad you had a good time in St. A. Maybe it is nicer when you get to go visit. Living in VT was no fun for me, it seemed like it took forever to get to anywhere, and was so cold. But then i think i recall you saying you like snow :)
Jason and I went and got some groceries tonight so we can make some food for tomorrow. We always make a spread of appetizers and watch the ball drop on TV. Sure it seems boring to most, but it's nice to be able to hang out at home with eachother and talk to our moms right after the ball drops, a tradition we both have. Plus it is our anniversary tomorrow, so we can spend a nice quite night together. Assuming of course, he snaps out of his Mr. Crabby Pants mood :) He's been PMS-ing for like 2 days!
We took down the outside lights today and tomorrow I will begin to dismantle the tree. I am trying to consilidate decorations into two giant boxes, one for bulbs and things and one for lights. We'll see how it goes.
I hope everyone have a safe and Happy New Year!!
- Dec 31, 2006 10:14 am (#385 of 461)
Happy New Year to everyone. I wish you peace, love and happiness in 2007. :-) Jess
- Dec 31, 2006 10:39 am (#386 of 461)
It must be a guy thing, AJ has been crabby for like the last week! He had a great time in VT though. we re-packed the trailer yesterday but did it wrong so we unpacked it again this morn. and repacked it. this time it is much more balanced and we have room for everything and dont have to put anything in the back of the car, which means more room for us. AJ and I went to the casino last night. we took some friends out to dinner there, it was the first time in 8 months that they had been out to dinner. They have twins who were very early and very little. so it was nice to see them out and having a good time! it was funny, they had 2 baby sitters! The Grandma and a high school girl to just help out with the feeding and changing. AJ had fun, but lost 300 bucks. i had a great time and lost 4 dollors! I guess thats the difference between black jack and the penny slots! we stayed at a hotel next to the casino because the cheapest room at the casino was 340 bucks! we are getting ready for the drive, but are so not looking forward to it! I think we are just going to hang out tonight. we did our celebrating last night (it was AJ's last official day in the Marine Corps!) Im now married to a civilian!!! so tonight we take it easy and then tomorrow is the Fiesta Bowl!!! GO BSU!!!!!! and dinner with the in laws. anyway, enough rambling, I hope you all have a safe new years and a wonderfull 2007!!! best wishes to you all!
Jamie
amy wallace - Dec 31, 2006 2:41 pm (#387 of 461)
Wow two baby sitters! That's awesome that you guys took them out, I bet they were thrilled! I know I would have been.
Glad to U-haul is finally situated. I LOVE penny slots! That's what I played when I went to New Orleans :)I played on $20 for like 4 hours,
Hehe, married to a civi finally! Tell him Wally said "Get a job!" (he's just kidding!).
Well back to putting together my Antipasto platter. Have a great New Years Eve and New Year everyone. Be safe!!
- Dec 31, 2006 5:49 pm (#388 of 461)
Happy Anniversiary you guys!! I cant believe I forgot to say that earlier! Just got done researching the pet friendly hotels along our route. quite a few, so I think we should be ok in each of the areas we were planning on stopping. Hope you all have a great night.
amy wallace - Dec 31, 2006 7:08 pm (#389 of 461)
Thanks! 2 years married and 9 years together! We're having a nice night, Simon and Wraith are thrilled about all the treats they are getting tonight. We try to just give them the healthy stuff, so they've had some carrots and little bread and some shrimp.
Awesome about the hotels! I am sure you will have a good drive.
Have an awesome night!!
- Jan 1, 2007 1:07 pm (#390 of 461)
countdown to the Fiesta Bowl! 4 hours!! Go BSU!!!
amy wallace - Jan 2, 2007 9:04 pm (#391 of 461)
Hey everyone!
Well it's been a long day here. it was the first day back at school and i did not sleep at all last night. then after work Jason and I went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. My mom sent us money so we could have a nice dinner out, which was awesome! When we got back I was ready to go to bed! I checked my e-mail one last time and there was an e-mail from the realtor. She said the sellers of the house left her a message that they think their payoff on the house is higher than they originally thought. she is still trying to get back in touch with them (or so she says) she is working as both the buyer and the sellers agent, jason feels as though she is not representing us well, but is representing the sellers better. anyway she says she is trying to find out what the actual pay off is from the attorney and will get back to us with whats happening. PLus the repairs we wanted have not been done and they have not moved any more of their personal property out of the house and we are set to close on Monday. They also have to have the heating system inspected before then and a letter from the builder that the builder will replace a faulty fireplace.
We both think they are trying to get more money out of us, or have another offer for more money. my mom agrees she thinks they are trying to get out of the contract. My instinct tells me to give them an out, have them pay back all expenses we've incurred to date and move on. I've sent an e-mail to the mortgage broker to find out if we can carry the mortgage to another property and if so how long we have to purchse another place. We should know more tomorrow. Tonight I went on line and looked for houses and found a brand new subdivision in Raleigh where we could get a brand new and larger housse for less money. So if things don't work out we will go look there.
well i should get to be, i have to be up in 6 hours!
amy wallace - Jan 8, 2007 3:11 pm (#392 of 461)
Hi All!
Well the deal with the house did not work out. The sellers are having a hard time comming up with the money to pay off the mortgage. They got a pay off amount when they listed the house, but have not made any mortgage payments since then and had not accounted for the accrued interest. This has been dragging on for about a week, and today would have been the closing but that did not happen. The realtor call me today and said that the sellers bank wants to do an appraisal of the house. after that they would decide if the wanted the sellers to re-list the house for more, would sell the house short, meaning they would have to work to pay the mortgage off via some weird arrangement, or would allow them to sell and give them a different loan to pay off the difference. Either way it would be at least 3 weeks before we would know the banks decision. Meanwhile our rate would expire, unless we paid money to extend the mortgage. The realtor said we shoudl make them pay up front for that. I said look we know these people and we do not want to make their financial situation any worse than it is and making them pay for that makes it worse, plus if they pay for that and it ends up the bank won't let them sell to us then what? So we told her we want to cancel the contract with contingencies. she has already re-listed the house. We have looked over the contract and we basically had an out because the did not meet several of the necessary reqirements in the contract. So basically now it is just a matter of getting our money back.
Oh, well. It is what it is, not much you can do about it. Meanwhile my husband has the flu. he woke uo in the middle of the night last night and has been sick with vommiting and fever ever since, his temp has been between 100.8 and 101.5. Poor guy. needless to say he was home sick today and probably will be again tomorrow. he is sleeping now, i am trying to get him to eat some but he just isn't up for it.
Also today, we had a kid puke in the classroom, she actually threw up on another kid. In the mele i ended up holding her hair while she threw up in the garbage can. I do not do well with vommiting, i can barely keep myself from throwing up. so she was throwing up and i was gagging. luckily she stopped and we were able to get her to the nurse.
It's been a crazy day today!
So how's everyone doing? Lori, any word from Lilly P, are they there yet?
- Jan 10, 2007 2:15 pm (#393 of 461)
Hey! we just got here the other day and this is the first chance Ive had at the internet! unpacking is a pain, but going well, Annemarie LOVES her new bedroom and she got a sponge bob fish tank for christmas and set it up in her room, AJ interviews next week, and I am starting work soon. anyway, much to do, just wanted to let you know we made it safe, it will be a few days untill we get internet at the house. I sure hope wally feels better soon and that you dont get it from him or the kids at the school!
Jamie
amy wallace - Jan 10, 2007 4:07 pm (#394 of 461)
Yay!!!! I am so glad you guys made it ok without any problems!! So glad Annemarie is making the transition well. Is AJ interviewing for the police or another job?
Wally is much better now, in fact he is sucking down some subway as we speak! I had the flu shot this year so hopefully I will be ok.
We finally got the realtor to understand we were serious about terminating the purchase agreement for the house today. She said we weren't clear that we wanted to cancel. So we have the paperwork and shoul have the deposit back soon. We are going to look around and see what else is out there and maybe we will buy a house but then maybe not.
Well i'm going to go eat my dinner. Talk to ya'll soon. Tell AJ and Annemarie we said hello and we miss you guys!!
- Jan 18, 2007 8:14 pm (#395 of 461)
I was just sitting here listening to a new CD I got before Christmas and I just have to make a recommendation to those of you who know of and love Josh Groban. His new CD called AWAKE is absolutely fantastic. His voice (and his music) is so beautiful and he can sing one heck of a love song. This is a must have if you enjoy pop-classical music - he is wonderful.
- Feb 4, 2007 7:43 pm (#396 of 461)
Ive heard great things about him, but havent heard him yet, ill have to pick one up next time i go to the mall.
- Feb 5, 2007 10:48 am (#397 of 461)
Better grab them all - once you hear him you will want more. It's like Harry Potter and potato chips - once you read/eat one, you can't stop. :-)
amy wallace - Feb 10, 2007 6:56 pm (#398 of 461)
My nephew has arrived in NC! We are so excited, we have not seen him in 9 months, since he was 8 weeks old. He is so much bigger and he just smiles constantly, he is so cute! My sister-in-law and her husband and my nephew arrived this morning, and tomorrow we are planning a nice day out seeing the area. So far Wraith loves the baby and Simon is doing pretty well, at least for him. He does not like and it terrified of children, they are usually too rough with him and hurt him. Babies are no different and Simon is so small he gets hurt easily. We've been doing out best to keep them apart but without making Simon edgy. My nephew is amazing when we tell him "doggie no" he just turns and crawls the other way. That said it is going to be some work keeping them apart for the next few days!
amy wallace - Feb 28, 2007 6:16 pm (#399 of 461)
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. We've been doing well here, pretty busy! We finally closed on a new house yesterday! We bought a house in the town of Pittsboro, NC. It is brand new, it was already completed when we put our offer in so we did not pick anything out but we are still the first people to live in it. We started moving a few things in yesterday and will keep moving in over the next few weeks.
So how has everyone been?
- Mar 1, 2007 8:59 am (#400 of 461)
Congrats on the new house Amy. I hope you have many happy years in it.
amy wallace - Mar 1, 2007 4:33 pm (#401 of 461)
Thanks Choices!
I hope everyone is safe this evening, I know there is really bad weather south and south west of us and that you all up north are supposed to get more snow. Keep safe and stay warm everyone.
- Mar 1, 2007 7:23 pm (#402 of 461)
I'm in Mobile and we got some wind and rain, but most of the severe weather went north and east of us.
- Mar 8, 2007 8:42 am (#403 of 461)
congrats on the new house!!! I cant believe it took me this long to get to a computer! Glad to hear you are OK choices, I was thinking about all of you down there. we have a lead on a house thats going up for auction, I hope it pans out, it's a great little starter home! anyway, gatta run! miss you all tons!
Jamie
amy wallace - Mar 8, 2007 6:04 pm (#404 of 461)
Hey girl! Good to hear from you again :) Keep us posted on the house! How are things, did Age get the letter from the PD? How's the little lady :)
- Mar 14, 2007 11:55 am (#405 of 461)
AJ got his conditional letter of acceptance, he just has to do the medical and psychological and then he can start the academy in june!
his jeep got here and he and my bro. are having a lot of fun messing with it. not much else new, Annemarie is doing great, loves being here, she spends the night at Grandma's every friday, so thats fun for us! whats new with you all? how is it being a home owner? having lots of fun decorating?
Jamie
amy wallace - Mar 14, 2007 5:33 pm (#406 of 461)
Awesome about his letter! Glad his jeep got there too, gives him and your bro something to do :) Homeownership is expensive! We got out first mortgage statement today and an estimate for fencing in the yard! Our movers come on Saturday to move our furniture, we have the majority of our other stuff moved over there. Starting Sunday the unpacking begins! Our big plans are to put the fence up and plant trees this summer. Not too much else happening here. School is good, and i am trying to get a position working in summer school this year. So how is work going? Well tell age and annemarie we said hi!!
- Mar 23, 2007 3:05 pm (#407 of 461)
yay for moving! I cant wait to get a house! how are the dogs adjusting to another move? Molly is L O V I N G being here where she can spend all day out side and not worry about tics and heat stroke! come to think of it we all love that! good luck with the summer school. I just got promoted at work last night, to section manager, no increase in pay, but it's full time with benefits! yay! talked to Matt Murano the other night, he sounded good. wants to come out and go camping. I took a Basque cooking class downtown the other night and it was fabulous! Ill have to post the recipe on this page when I get the chance! how are yall fairing with the weather? anyway, much to do, better get going, say hi to Wally for us!
Jamie
amy wallace - Mar 23, 2007 5:25 pm (#408 of 461)
YAY! today is the first day with internet in a week! I am addicted to the internet so the last week has been hard :)
The dogs are adjusting so well to the new house. We think they like it a lot because they sleep well and run all over the house like two puppies. I can't wait until we get a fence around the yard so they can go play outside, they are going to love that :) Wraith is still scared at night though, she is still sleeping in our room and not on the guest bed like she used to, but she is adjusting better than the last time we moved. Last time she would not eat at all for days at a time.
Owning a home is cool but you need stuff like a lawnmower and window coverings etc. basically it is expensive.
It was pretty hot today, probably 85, it seems to be heating up and the ticks are out in full force. I have to get the dogs in for their heartworm tests and also start them on their frontline again. I hate putting those chemicals on them :(
Congrats on the job promotion, that is awesome!! You sound pretty excited about work, which is great! You will have to tell me about your Basque cooking class, I'd love to learn some recipies.
We haven't talk to anyone in a while. Right now all the guys from Wallys year are planning their trips to NU because their 10 year is in Sept. It is going to be crazy! Oh yeah check out Yangcos myspace, she has a pic of all of you guys looks like it is from one of your freshman dining outs. Man, everyone is so young in the pic!
Well I think I will go, I have to work on a baby blanket for Jason Mascuilli and his wife (he is NU'97). IS in in Quatar and she is here in Apex right now and I want to bring the blanket before she has the baby in May.
Tell Age and Annemarie we said hi and we miss you guys!
amy wallace - Mar 30, 2007 12:12 pm (#409 of 461)
So Tazzy you are a LOST fan too!! I love the show, I DVR'd this weeks episode, hopefully i get to watch it tonight.
How's everyone doing? Today was our last week of school and now spring break has begun! I am so happy, i really need the break, it's been a long time since Christmas Break! SInce then one of my kids broke his leg at school (he's been in a cast for about 5 weeks and has at least 2 more to go), another girls parents were in a terrible car accident, the dad is ok but the mom was very seriously injured, and i was sick for like 4 weeks with a bad cold and then tonsilitis.
About 99% of our stuff is in the new house, we have a few things left at the old place that we need to make some space for here. I am trying to unpack but it is going slowly since we have less shelf room here, we have more closets but they don't have shelves yet. My in-laws are comming late tomorrow night until Thursday. It is their first visit since we've moved here, so i am trying to get the chaos a little more organized before they get here. The weather has been awesome the last week or so and is supposed to be nice for the next week too. I am so glad about that!
Well thats the story on this end how is everyone doing?
- Apr 3, 2007 2:31 pm (#410 of 461)
Well, we are OK here, just getting into full spring mode. we had an incident at work last night, the poliece had to shoot a man in the store, but he was a bad man and was trying to hurt one of our workers. it was right at closing so we all had to stay until 2 am to give our statments to the county sherriffs. it sucked, the bullets went through my department so I have a long day ahead of me writing off all of the damaged clothing on the books and my walls were damaged by the CSI people who had to dig bullets out so a lot of my clothes have no where to hang! every one was ok but the bad guy, he ended up dying at the hospital. I feel bad for the polieceman, the media is crucifying him, but we all saw that he had no choise, he was going hurt our cashier, and he wounded him in the arm first and he got back up and went after a hostage again., so the second shot was center mass. (in the chest). anyway, enough depressing! Im so glad you are all moved in and the dogs are adjusting! we are still house hunting, I know the one I want, but they are asking just a little too much for it, Im hoping they will drop it down, it has been on the market for months. it is a double lot and has 1/2 acre of garden that has underground sprinklers built in that run off the irrigation canal! do you know what I could do with 1/2 acre garden!!!!!!!!!! keep your fingers crossed for us! anyway, better get going to work, I have a huge mess to deal with. :(
- Apr 3, 2007 4:59 pm (#411 of 461)
What an awful, scary thing Lilly P. I am glad everyone is OK, except the bad guy, that is. I have no sympathy for criminals. If you try to hurt other people, you deserve whatever you get - in his case, killed. Glad you were not hurt.
amy wallace - Apr 4, 2007 8:01 am (#412 of 461)
Oh My gosh, Jamie that is horrible. I am so glad that you and your co-workers are ok. That must have been very frightening though. Is Age freaking out? I agree with Choices, I don't have a lot of sympathy for the bad guys, espeically when they are trying to hurt others. I hope the media gets the story straight, it's not an easy job that cops do.
The house sounds wonderful! You should make an offer, my mom always says make an offer of at least 20K less than what they are asking and then negotiate from there. In reality people usually list for more than they are willing to sell for in the hopes that they can make a profit. But 1/2 acre garden, thats is almost the size of my entire property! I can imagine you would grow everything!!
My in laws are here visiting, though today Jason drove them down to Jacksonville so they could visit a friend of theirs that moved there. We've been busy and the weather has been awesome so thats nice. There was a snow storm back in Maine (where they are from) yesterday, but it was 85 here! I am glad the weather is cooperating.
Well I am spending the day catching up on house work, so I better get back to my laundry!
- Apr 8, 2007 4:47 pm (#413 of 461)
Edited Apr 8, 2007 5:48 pm
The Easter Stork brought me a very special present - a new grandson. Tyler Brian was born April 6th (Good Friday) at 11:16 PM by c-section. He weighs 8 pounds, 2 ounces and is 20 inches long. My daughter got pregnant by IVF (Invetro Fertilization) and we have a picture of Tyler when he was only 5 cells - just before they put the fertilized egg back inside the womb. Isn't that just amazing. :-) Talk about a miracle!
amy wallace - Apr 8, 2007 6:27 pm (#414 of 461)
Congratulations Choices! What a wonderful Easter gift! How is your daughter doing?
- Apr 9, 2007 8:49 am (#415 of 461)
She is doing just great. They may be coming home today! I am so excited. :-)
- Apr 16, 2007 1:27 pm (#416 of 461)
Congratulations Choices!!!! What a great day to be born on!!!
We are all doing well here, the weather is taking a turn for the worse, but thats ok, I have to work all week so I wont get to be outside anyway, the Easter bunny brought us all tennis rackets, so we have been trying to find some good weather to get out and learn to play! anyway, how is the house comming along Amy?
amy wallace - Apr 16, 2007 2:41 pm (#417 of 461)
Things are coming along with the house. The fence guys came and installed the posts for the fence on Saturday. They will be back in about 3 days to put the rails and pickets up and then the dogs will be able to go out and run around all they want!
We had some errands to do Saturday and when Jason got hom Wraith was walking on 3 legs and would not put her front leg down. So he called me and I called the vet who said we could see if it improved or take her right to the emergency vet. By time i got home she had improved and would put some weight on the leg but was limping and would hold the leg up when she sat down. SO off to the ER vet. $241 and 2 x-rays later we don't have a real diagnosis. We know it is not broken but we are not sure if she has a sprain or if this is related to a screw she has in this leg from surgery 3 years ago. The X-rays showed the screw where it belongs so that was good. She is on Rymadil now and is doing fine running and being all crazy. We have a follow appointment with our regular vet tomorrow afternoon so we will see what he says. In the meantime our regular vet has put her on a diet because she has gained 10 pounds since last summer and is over weight. SO we are cutting her food down and i think once the yard is fenced in and she can play she will loose some weight. she is not happy about having less food :)
I haven't been doing too much around the house this past week or so. We are going to buy some decking to put on the trusses in the attic so we can start moving stuff up there. We apparently have a huge attic, though I have never been up there! I have to get some shelves for the linen closet too so i can put some of that stuff away too. Once that is done we will just need to start adding some furniture.
Right now I am working on a baby blanket for a friend from college, Masculli. I am hoping to make one for Murph too if I get the chance, but we'll see.
Tennis rackets, sounds like fun!
Choices, how are your daughter and new grandbaby doing?
- Apr 16, 2007 4:39 pm (#418 of 461)
Edited Apr 16, 2007 5:40 pm
They both are doing great, thank you Amy. Tyler developed jaundice, but it was mild and he has finished his light therapy. We did the treatment here at home. He is almost back up to his birth weight, eating and sleeping well. He is a very laid-back, content baby and we are all madly in love with him. :-)
amy wallace - Apr 17, 2007 4:23 pm (#419 of 461)
I'm glad to hear Tyler is recomvering from his Jaundice and that he was able to do the therapy at home. He sounds very cute and good!
amy wallace - May 14, 2007 8:53 am (#420 of 461)
well it's been an interesting few weeks here. We are moved in and have spent a rediculou amount of time mowing the lawn and doing some landscaping. We had company in both April and May and then some friends of ours who are kind of living nearby had a baby so we've been visiting them. He is deployed to Quatar and she is here while he is deployed. He was able to take leave around the baby's due date and it actually worked out that the Dr. induced her when he got home.
Jason is in the market for a new job. His company decided not to continue the product he has been working on and last week they laid off 21/30 people from the Raleigh office. The 9 people who were left figure it is only a matter of time before they lay the rest of the office off. It was a total surprise, at the most recent quarterly meeting the CEO announced that the rumors of lay offs and resturcturing were ot true and that they would not make a decision about the products furture for another year and a half. Plus 3 weeks ago they bought and rennovated a new huge office space and moved everyone over there. So far though he has made a few contacts about jobs and some of the other people he worked with already have jobs so we have faith that he will find something soon.
So Jamie, are you preparing for the little Misses birthday? How is work going? IS Age getting excited about starting the academy now that he has his letter? Wally talked to himAge last week but only for a few minutes while we were in the car, I was driving so I didn't get to say hi.
Well I think I am going to go watch some TV, I am home today with the stomach flu and and going to get some rest before Wally gets back from basketball. Hope everyone is well!!
amy wallace - Jun 14, 2007 10:21 am (#421 of 461)
Hey everyone!
It's been quite on the general discussion thread lately so I thought I'd update. Lets see, school finished last Friday for me. I was sad to see the kids go, they were a great bunch. I secured a slot working summer school and that begins on June 25th. I will be working with 1st grade this summer, so I will actually have a few kids from my class. I am also trying to pick up an afterschool position working with latino students while their parents take english lessons from our ESL teachers. The position may or may not be paid but I think it is a worthwhile cause.
My husband is still looking for a job. He lost his job on May 8th. He has an interview tomorrow and then another company is trying to set up an interview for next week and a 3rd position will begin the interview process after June 18th so he's hoping to hear about that one to. Keep him in your prayers.
I talked to Lily P's husband yesterday. They are doing well in Boise and are in the process of getting internet hooked up. He says we should see her on-line again soon. Yay!!
So how are all of you doing? Any great plans for the summer?
- Jun 15, 2007 11:22 am (#422 of 461)
Yay! we are getting internet at teh house on Monday!!!!!!!!!! we ordered a lap top from dell and it should take about a week to get. Im soooooo excited to be able to talk to you all again on a regular basis!!!!! anyway, I have much to check on and they only give you 30 min. here at the public library!!!
- Jul 2, 2007 5:09 am (#423 of 461)
yeah! its our anniversery today! 7 years! I cant believe it went this fast! with life so busy, we dont really know what we are going to do toinght but im sure it will be fun, maby we will try a new restuant downtown, they have one that served really good keylime martinis! anyway, have to run to work! have a great day!
- Jul 2, 2007 7:31 am (#424 of 461)
Congratulations and Happy Anniversary Lilly P! Hope you day is wonderful and your evening is romantic!
amy wallace - Jul 4, 2007 7:39 am (#425 of 461)
Just got a message from a college friend of mine and Lilly P's. Yangcos husband is coming home early!! He pulled an OCS slot, which means he gets to go to Officer Candidate School, so he can become an officer. SInce that school starts in late fall the military figured why make him go back to Iraq after his two week vacation this month. This is like unheard of, usually they don't care if you have a month left they will send you back over because that is where your unit is. So when he comes home for R&R on the 15th he gets to stay!! I am so excited I had to share the news :) Please pray for your friends (if you pray) or keep them in your thoughts!
- Jul 4, 2007 8:45 am (#426 of 461)
Done! :-)
- Jul 4, 2007 4:13 pm (#427 of 461)
Edited Jul 4, 2007 5:14 pm
wow! I'm so excited for them, it's such a great oppertuinity for them. OCS was great for Mr. Lilly P. and being an Officer's wife is kind of nice in some ways (not so nice in others, especially if you are not a "Betty Crocker/Donna Reed" type of wife, which we NU girls are defiantly NOT!) it is amazing that they wont make Jason finish his deployment over there. Im glad for Christinas. anyway, what a zoo work was today! I have come to the conclusion that women in general are the worst shoppers ever. and we are talking, of course, about the majority of women who we are nothing like, because we are perfect they destroy a fitting room in 20 min. flat. they take in 20 swim suits and leave them all inside out on the floor! and what I cant figure out is how they all go in the fitting room on hangers and when I clean the room out, I have less hangers than clothes! do people actually steal hangers? /rant.
Annemarie went off to the parade with Grandma (my Mom) to see Papa (my Dad) in the parade, we are too tired to go in this heat (102) so we are staying home and having a quiet dinner. which I had better go and check! talk to you all later!
Jamie
- Jul 7, 2007 7:04 am (#428 of 461)
well, we are here in CT! we are exhausted and on the run for the bbq now. talk to ya all later!
- Jul 12, 2007 8:30 am (#429 of 461)
Well, AJ got sworn in yesterday as an official Boise City Police officer! it was a nice ceremony. the chief announced thier names one at a time and had them stand at the front of the room and he gave dicription of thier bios like where they went to college, what degree they had, how old they were, married/single/kids and what thier previous job was. AJ was the only prior military, then they got to interduce us all to everyone and then I got to go up and pin on his badge. it was great. the cheif gave a speach, the mayor gave one too and then it was a small reception with cookies and punch and we got to meet everyone elses family. it's only a class of 5 so there werent that many people. and ya know what AJ did on his night to celebrate? he suprissed me with tickets to opening night of Harry Potter! I had planned on not going on opening night since this was "his" day. he's so sweet! Movie was good, a lot was left out though that I thought could have easyily been included, you just dont get all the detail of the books. anyway, I had better get ready for work, I have the closing shift tonight and have to be back to open at seven am !
amy wallace - Jul 12, 2007 10:49 am (#430 of 461)
that's great about AJ, now he is officially the Police! He is so sweet to have gotten tickets for the movie. He said on IM you guys were going but he didn't mention that he had surprised you with tickets. too sweet!
same old same old here. We are having a 2 day reprieve from thunderstorms. It has been really stormy here for week, mostly just in the afternoon. Yuck!
Jason has head from a few places this week about jobs. One place said they finally formed the review committe and would be calling for interviews soon, another said he will be having a bunch of jobs comming up on Wednesday and he has been e-mailed about his resume too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the 1st job will call him for an interview soon. That one is at UNC-CHapel Hill and is a lot like the job he had before we moved to NC. I also interviewed for a part time job at Michaels, i figured it might be a good idea to add a job until Jason has something. EVerything there looks good, I had to take one of those personality profile tests and they have to run a background check.
Well I am once again exhausted so I am going to take a nap. I need all the energy I can get I am substituting at school tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day everyone!!
- Jul 12, 2007 4:49 pm (#431 of 461)
Help Lilly P - we need a new thread for Word Games. We have maxed out.
- Jul 15, 2007 6:50 am (#432 of 461)
OK, fixed the word thread, it will now hold up to 3000 posts.
not much going on today, we are building a new cedar fence down the side of the yard, it will look so nice and will block out the neighbors mess of a back yard, he's been gone for 2 weeks on vacation and before he left we asked permission to be in his back yard to tear down the old fence and cutt a lot of the trees and brush from around the fencline he said he didnt care what we did back there, so we went to town! the brush pile is at least 6-8 feet tall and 30feet in length! we have also been watering the !@#$% out of the lawn (front and back) and it's actually gone from dead straw to green in this 105 degree heat! we used our water though because we didn't think it was fair to use his with out asking, it's going to be a lot of money on the bill, but hey we dont have to worry about the yard going up in flames! I can't wait for him to come home and see all the work we did! Then we have a birthday party at 4pm so that will be the rest of our weekend anyway. I hope you are all doing well. AMY- congrats on the new job, I wouldn't be able to restrain myself working at Michaels!
- Jul 15, 2007 8:08 am (#433 of 461)
Yikes, you all have been working up a storm. Wish I could go away for a week and my neighbors would fix up my backyard. LOL With four dogs, it is a mess. Thanks goodness it is only the little dogs that dig holes - theirs are only about 2 inches deep. The two Rotties are too lazy to dig. One day I did see one of the Rotties digging, but thank goodness you can't dig much of a hole laying on your side. LOL
amy wallace - Jul 15, 2007 8:46 am (#434 of 461)
You will have to send some pictures of what it looks like when it is done. It sounds like you have done a ton of work!
yeah yard work is so much work. We had a fence put in at this house when we first moved in, then we dug out all the pine needle mulch that was here, laid down landscaping fabric (supposed to keep weeds out for up to 25 years) put down cedar mulch, then ripped out the dead tress and planted some new ones. Most of the landscaping that was here died through the winter. We also did the lawn watering thing and the lawn filled in pretty nicely. In the fall I will cut, thatch and reseed again to get a thicker lawn. OUr current issue is massive colonys of ants setting up house on the front lawn, some may be fire ants. either way I big ant hills all over the lawn.
- Jul 15, 2007 10:55 am (#435 of 461)
Burning them out with gasoline was the only way we could get rid of the fire ants in NC. we tried all the other products, but burning them out worked like a charm, it stinks though.
amy wallace - Jul 15, 2007 12:47 pm (#436 of 461)
CRAP!! Seriously? I hope we don't have to go that far...I really put a lot of work into my lawn and would hate to have to burn it :(
- Jul 16, 2007 7:21 am (#437 of 461)
For small beds of fire ants, we used to put a big pot on the stove and boil water, then take it out and pour it on the beds. It does the trick.
- Jul 20, 2007 6:29 am (#438 of 461)
Edited Jul 20, 2007 7:30 am
15 hours and 32 min. untill Harry Potter 7!!!
but hey, who's counting 
- Jul 23, 2007 6:15 pm (#439 of 461)
Done with the book. Can't decide if Im happy with it or not. Im going to re read it now and catch all the little stuff that I missed in being in such a hurry to find out what happens in the end, I'll let you know after that
Jamie
Steven Bollinger - Jul 27, 2007 12:51 am (#440 of 461)
Here's a short video I made, I thought maybe some of you would like it:
http://one.revver.com/watch/341782/flv/affiliate/98766
- Jul 27, 2007 4:59 pm (#441 of 461)
Just curious Steven - who are you and just what is this little video you want us to watch? Do you mind introducing yourself?
- Jul 28, 2007 5:59 am (#442 of 461)
I checked it out before I let it stay on the thread. It's innocent.
Jamie
amy wallace - Jul 28, 2007 7:29 am (#443 of 461)
Choices I was wondering the same thing, so I checked it out. Innocent video of a moose. But still who is Stephen?
So I finished summer school on Thursday, it was happy and sad. One kids mom lost her license the day before so can no longer drive the bus, she lives out of district so unless they move or she can get a new job with the schools he will have to go to a different school, for another kids his little brothers trasnfer has not been approved, so we may not see them either next year. It is not easy to have kids leave the school.
But the real kicker of the summer came after the kids left. This summer I worked in a POD (a building) that housed both K and 1 classes. Basically we have a big open room and teach two classes in. I worked 1st with teacher on the other side of the room was a girl named Amy K and her asst Courtney. Courtney was mean to the kids, she said mean things like she hated them right in front of them, she singled out the minority kids as behavior problems and rode them all day every day. Then she started getting physically rough with the kids. The very first time i saw her grab a kid by the arm I went to Amy K. she did nothing i kept going to her to say it was inaapropriate, Amy K's response was to take over recess so Courtney would not be alone with the kids. Not what Amy should have done. On the last day at the playground Courtney yanked a child off the jungle gym by his arm, yanked him up off the ground and shoved him over to a picnic table. I went directly to the principal. The principal was at a meeting so I came back to school when they got back and told them everything. I asked Amy if she wanted to come with me and she said no i hate confrontation. then said i don't want to make courtney mad at me because we work in the same building. I was floored. I said well your job is to protect and be an advocate for the kids not to worry about your personal friendships. So i went into the office alone. After I had started she popped her head in and decided to join us. and in true Amy K fashion the drama ensued. she cried and shook and went on and on about how she was uncomfortable making any statements against Courtney etc. it was pathetic so i told the story. and in the end they thanked me for doing the right thing, they ignored amy. they called the teacher i work with in the summer to ask her some questions and called some other teachers from the regular year to find out more. Meanwhile Amy K is calling everyone under the sun to say that I went above her head and then forced her to say things she did not agree with etc. basically she has made a huge ass out of herself. The Principal and Asst. Prin have told her they are disgusted with her actions and everyone else is shunning her because they feel like the but kids in danger. The entire situtation is pretty unbelievable. I used to respect this girl but now I don't. I realized she worries about herself first and not the kids. This is not the right field to be in if you are self absrobed that is for sure!! Anyway that was my drama for the week. Next week I'll be heading home to visit with my family for a week. Should be pretty fun!!
Jamie, hows AJ doing at the academy? We talk to Rass yesterday, guess he is doing well. Gene is still at OCS. Whats new in AM's world??
- Sep 3, 2007 8:19 am (#444 of 461)
Happy Labor Day to everyone.
- Oct 16, 2007 6:49 am (#445 of 461)
yeah! the computer is fixed!!! it's sooooo good to be back!
- Oct 16, 2007 9:21 am (#446 of 461)
Mercy, I was beginning to think this forum was dying. It is great to see increased activity here.
Congrats Lilly P on getting your computer back up and running. Welcome back!
- Oct 19, 2007 4:24 pm (#447 of 461)
not dying, just on hiatus while the computer was being fixed. :)
- Oct 24, 2007 1:43 pm (#448 of 461)
wow, what a week! Annemarie hurt her foot last monday and it was a "wait and see" kind of thing with the doctor. well, it developed into a bone infection! she is doing great on antibiotics, but cant walk on it so it's like having a 30 pound baby to lug around!!! I wanted to stay home with her all day today so I pulled a graveyard shift last night to make up the difference and I am wrecked! Im hoping she will take a nap soon so that I can to! Anyway, how are you all doing? Ive been so out of touch the last month! I hate it when that happens!
- Nov 21, 2007 5:02 pm (#449 of 461)
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow. Love to all, Choices
- Dec 28, 2007 5:49 pm (#450 of 461)
Mercy, this forum is too quiet. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May your blessings be abundant. :-)
Happy march 13th. Tomorrow is Pi day! ... oh, well.
- Mar 17, 2008 4:59 pm (#452 of 461)
Hum.....actually tomorrow is my birthday since today is Happy St. Patty's Day!!!!
- May 15, 2008 6:45 pm (#453 of 461)
Happy Belated b day Choices!!! Im sorry I missed it! it was also my grandparents anniversiary, what a great day!!!
I feel so bad about neglecting this page while I was moving and settleing in the new house. I missed all of you terribly!!! Hope to hear you are all doing well!
- Jun 11, 2008 7:38 pm (#454 of 461)
Edited Jun 11, 2008 8:39 pm
Reckless Kelly's new album Bulletproof comes out June 24th!!! 
amy wallace - Jul 30, 2008 7:54 am (#455 of 461)
Hi Everyone! Sorry I have been away for so long, but I was having the worst problems with World Crossing and only just got a new e-mail registered! I hope everyone has been well since I last wrote!
We have had a crazy year here, some not so good things and some good things. We lost our Pom Simon in September. It was very sudden and I've been pretty heartbroken since. Wraith, our Akita, is doing pretty well. She was having a rough time of things for a while, but she seems to be doing well now and is getting twice as spoiled as before :)
We also have a baby on the way. A boy, due in September. We've been busily preparing for his arrival and have many of the preparations complete. I've just finished up working at the school and will stay home with the baby for a while. I think Wraith is happy to have me home when I am eating something and otherwise annoyed that all my cleaning and oraganizing is interfering with her napping :)
We're still in NC and it is really hot here, especially when you are almost 8 month pregnant!!
- Aug 6, 2008 7:12 am (#456 of 461)
Hi Amy - I am sorry about Simon. It is so hard to lose a pet you love. I'm glad to hear that Wraith is doing well and hope the improvement continues.
Congratulations on the coming baby. How wonderful! I hope all goes well and you have a smooth, easy delivery. Have you chosen a name?
amy wallace - Aug 6, 2008 1:36 pm (#457 of 461)
Thanks. I never realized, before I had dogs, how much you grow to love them. They are really like my children!
We think we have chosen a name for the baby, but we are not sharing it. I want to make sure we have room to change the name if we feel like it doesn't fit him when he is born. We've got about 7 weeks left and we have our maternity ward tour next week. I will feel better once we do that, since the parking at the hospital is impossible to figure out! I have to park pretty far away when I have my appointments, but I know there is a closer place to park when you are in labor, I just need to find out where!
- Sep 26, 2008 6:23 am (#458 of 461)
Edited Sep 26, 2008 7:25 am
Just when I think this forum has expired, it takes another breath. LOL
Amy, your baby must be here by now or soon to be here. Be sure to share the name with us when you can - hope all is going well with you. :-)
amy wallace - Oct 13, 2008 1:54 pm (#459 of 461)
Hey! The baby is here! Liam Robert Tessitore Wallace arrived on September 26th. He weighed 6lbs 13oz and was 21.5 inches long. He is adorable! I am starting to get used to his schedule and today was our first day alone together, up until now we have had my family or my husband home with us. We went for a visit to the school to see the teachers, Liam is still too young to meet the kids yet, so we went after school.
It's a very exciting and nerve wracking time, but I think we are getting the hang of everything :)
How is everyone?
- Oct 19, 2008 12:29 pm (#460 of 461)
Congratulations, Amy!
Ah, a peaceful, quite refuge.
**chirp, chirp, chirp**
Too peaceful, perhaps?
Hello?
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