It's been two weeks...

Since we touched down on US soil and I have to say, it's great to be back. We arrived August 8th/9th and luckily didn't suffer any jet-lag. Okay, let me rephrase that: The kids and I didn't suffer any jet-lag. B however slept WAY too much on the long flight over and his internal clock was all sorts of backward. We departed Italy at 10:55am on Thursday morning, landed in San Antonio TX at 8:30pm Thursday night (or what felt like 3am to us). However, I hadn't slept the night before we left so I was up a good solid 24 hours by the time we landed in Texas. The kids napped on the plane, but no longer than 2 hours (long enough for me to watch 'Pitch Perfect' uninterrupted). B however was in a seat all by himself as they couldn't get us grouped together (we were seats A-F on the plane but that left him sitting by a stranger rather than in a set of seats with one of us) and was able to nap much much more than I.

And I'm not gonna lie, I was ticked off. I was doing everything for the kids because a) I am their mom and always the first choice when they need water/potty/break up a fight and b) I was in arm's reach for 3 kids at a time. Every time I looked over and saw B peacefully sleeping I hoped that the person behind him would kick his seat-back. 

But little did I know, this worked out in my favor. Once we got off that last plane and settled into the hotel, I was O-U-T. He however, was restless. And for the first 3 nights we spent in Houston, the kids and I went to bed between 9-10pm and slept soundly all night. B was up at 2am taking Rascal and Lucca outside because they were all awake.

So, the kids and I did fine off the bat. We left San Antonio for Houston, got settled into the hotel here. Now when we landed in Italy, were in the hotel for 7 weeks so we know hotel-living. The room we have here is a suite; a kitchen, living room, one bedroom with 2 queen beds and a bathroom and another bedroom with a king bed and bathroom. It's nice but it's small. And as eager as we may get to leave, we have to wait 6-8 weeks for our household goods to arrive regardless of whether we buy a home or rent. So we unpacked, established some rules (like where toys go) and settled in.

Ron was adjusted by the fourth day which was great because he started work that day too. While he was at work, I was setting up meeting with our Realtor to look at homes. (We did leg work before ever arriving in Texas and knew which school districts we would consider, which towns and we had already been in contact with a mortgage banker and had a pre-qualification letter to buy our first home. Our Realtor already knew our budget and our must-haves so he literally just needed to start showing us homes). It took two days and 12 houses but we found ''the one'' for us and submitted an offer on the 13th. There was a day of negotiations (the biggest issue was the closing date...they wanted to wait until October 8th which just isn't an option for us) and we wanted a standard 30 days. We ended up negotiating to a date of Sept 20th. We set up a date/time for the inspection for that Friday and hunkered down to wait.

It's important to note, we weren't alone. Wednesday afternoon, Nanaw and Papa came to Texas! There was no way my mom was going to missing seeing us now that we were stateside. So we kept very busy. Children's museum, Kemah Boardwalk, Galveston Beach, we did it all and we did it Thursday- Saturday. (Pics to come, I don't have my computer yet obviously). So while we knew the inspection was done, we knew what the report was going to say for the most part...we just stopped and enjoyed the weekend.

Well apparently this made the sellers antsy. They are in contract to buy another home and it's contingent on theirs selling. So when the inspection was through and they received a copy/summary from their agent but didn't hear from us, they started to get concerned that we weren't happy. (We totally were but we just hadn't had time...Ron was back at work and we had planned to get in touch with our agent after he got off work Monday night to discuss what was next). Their agent called ours THREE times on Monday. They were offering to correct things before we could say anything. So we talked with our agent and came up with an amendment...lowering the asking price for a few repairs as well as them fixing two things prior to us moving in). We sent it off and Tuesday morning got word that they agreed. No countering, no negotiating, they gave us just what we wanted. Our agent drew up papers, we signed. Then our lender sent over the final locked in mortgage rate and break down and we signed. We're getting the house!

In addition to all the new house excitement, on Wednesday I got Ryan and Logan enrolled for school. They have their meet and greet tomorrow where they will meet their teachers and see the school. Classes start Monday! So we scrambled and got their school supplies together and they are ready.

So in two weeks we adjusted to jet lag, moved into a hotel, spent 3.5 days with my parents, went sight-seeing, put an offer on a house, enrolled our kids for school, got back to school hair-cuts, and signed the final papers to buy our first home. And we did it all with one vehicle as we still haven't found a beater car for B to use to commute to and from work. But considering all we did get done, It's been a pretty productive two weeks!

My new little {kitchen} friends

When we moved to Italy, I sold most of my 110v appliances. We kept the Kitchen Aid mixer and the Keurig (we had to use a transformer) but the crock pot, toaster, etc...we sold. And then when we got settled in Italy, I bought 220v appliances knowing that I would have to take excellent care of them to be able resell when our time overseas was up. So that's what I did. I kept boxes and instructions and a few weeks before we left, I sold them to people who had just arrived. As I sold them, I held on to the money like a hoarder, knowing I would need to re-buy most of them once stateside. (Though some items...like the hand mixer and the 5 tower fans we owned I won't need again).

Right before we left, I also made the decision to sell my Kitchen Aid mixer...it was only six months old and a beautiful Aqua Sky color but it was a 5qt. When I upgraded to it from my classic white mixer last Christmas, We assumed it having a stronger motor would help me with my pizza dough and breads but I failed to take into account hat my biggest issue was making batches larger than the mixer could handle. You're not suppose to use more than 7 cups of flour and a single batch of my pizza dough uses almost 8. So I checked out the 600 series to discover that the beast can handle 14 cups of flour! Sold...at least in my mind. I knew I would have to get it stateside.

Today I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and to my great joy discovered they had a green apple in stock (aqua sky isn't an option in the 600 series anymore) and it's usually a mail-order item. Add in the 20% email coupon I had, a $50 mail in rebate and ta-da...mama brought home "the Beast" for WAY cheaper than normal.

And just to make sure he felt at home, I used a 10% off coupon for Target and got the funkiest Crock Pot (the French Bulldog collection for Target) I have ever seen to be his BFF. For now they are chilling like villains in the hotel kitchenette :)

Home Sweet Home?

When I posted about moving back to the states, I wrote about settling down, buying a house and putting down roots. Back in June, we got in contact with a realtor. By the end of July we were pre-approved by a mortgage lender and had started looking at homes online. We were fortunate enough to have a few friends and acquaintances who were familiar with the area and could help make recommendations. We knew towns and specific school districts and schools that we wanted to be zoned into.

However, the area we are looking in is in high demand. Several of the houses we bookmarked and "favorited" were already sold by the time we arrived in Texas. So we met with our realtor ASAP. We got here Friday and saw houses on Monday.

As it turns out, online listings can be deceiving! Shocker I know. But when you have a "favorite" online and it still available when you arrive, its exciting. Then you see it in person and it turns out to be filthy, has stained carpets, broken counter tops and power lines running in the backyard...it's a disappointment (all one house!). Or is on a busy street. Or the neighborhood is all people over the age of 70. It's a let down. As a first time buyer I expected a "House Hunters" experience. Three houses and BAM! dream home. So not real life.

That first night we saw four homes, all busts (for the above reasons). Tuesday Ron went to work, the kids and I went with the realtor and saw seven more homes! We really liked one, but more of the neighborhood that the particular house. Tuesday evening I showed Ron the house and neighborhood and we agreed he would want to see the inside. We saw a handful of homes for sale and wanted info on those too. When I went to email the realtor, I saw an unread email from him. He found a listing that fit EVERY requirement/wish on our list in that neighborhood. We were really excited after seeing the area and I set up a time to see the house Wednesday morning.

So on Wednesday morning, the kids and I set off once more to view a house and I loved it. They loved it! Damn near everything about it. And I mean everything. (Only complaint is the wallpaper in the master bath). So I was thrilled to call Ron and say "you NEED to see the inside of this house". 

Ron saw it after work and long story a little shorter, we submitted an offer. On the 12th house we walked through, we found "the one". After a bit of negotiating, they accepted our counter offer and we had a deal! If all goes as planned we will close on September 20th.

Today we had the home inspection and that went pretty well. A couple minor issues (corrosion on a pipe from the water heater means the pipe needs replaced & previous termite damage around the door) were found and our agent is working those out with the sellers agent. This could seriously...SERIOUSLY...be our "Home Sweet Home". While I am a firm believer in things happening for a reason (and I know this will work out the way it is suppose to) but man do I hope we get this house!

It's been a rough week...

If we're friends on Facebook, you know it's been a rough week. If we're not friends on Facebook than just know that I have four sick kiddos (upper respiratory infections so not too bad), that on Wednesday Bubba had an allergic reaction that resulted in an ER trip and he's now a carrier of an EpiPen Jr; both with us and at school. But all that aside, we're moving into our house! I figured the fastest way to show our house would be a video but on the sloooooooow internet connection here at the hotel, I had to split it into parts.

And I lied; Downstairs is the main entry to the house, as well as the laundry room and another bedroom. (and a very tiny [but clean and not creepy] cellar. We are tentatively planning on using this room as a guest bedroom but we have to see how hot/cold it gets/stays. 

 And part 2 (and rest assured that the ''uh-oh's'' at the end of part 1 were Pook's concern over his sissy opening all the kitchen cabinets). No one was in danger during  the making of this video.

And that's pretty much our house...

Part 2, getting settled!

**warning, I have started and stopped and restarted writing this post going on 4 days now. If it seems choppy, just know that it is! Sorry!**


So we have now been in Italy for two weeks. It's actually flying by already! We have spent these two weeks living in a hotel...it's on the Army post and while you may think "Geez, 14 days in a hotel?" there are others who have been here anywhere from one week to three months! How long you live in the hotel is dependent on how quickly you find a house. Initally, you can't go look at houses right away. It's a ton of briefings, getting ID cards, etc before the actual housing process begins. For us, it was delayed even more due to the holiday(s). So we're getting pretty cozy in the hotel.

It's a 'suite' I suppose; there is a living area, a kitchen area, a bedroom and a bathroom. Rascal is allowed and we are actually in the pet-friendly wing so there are other furry friends around too. Sleeping arrangements are quite comfortable despite the lack of space...Bubba and Pooks are on the pull out couch and Peanut is on the roll away bed, all situated in the living room. B and I are sharing the queen and Sissy is in the mini crib (who am I kidding...she's in our bed. Her blanket and stuffed monkey are in the mini-crib). Rascal sleeps in his crate and it's working out quite well. The most annoying part is the clutter/toys everywhere. It's not that the kids are messy, it's just there is no where for it all to go.

Well as luck would have it, this week B had his housing briefing. Then Tuesday I had to go with and we looked at houses on a website. It  has a pretty specific search and we could narrow down our must haves (pet friendly, extra bedroom) to our would like to have (close to post, not an apartment). We picked two houses that we ''liked'' (honestly I didn't like either but we HAD to choose two. Each day, sometimes several times throughout the day, the pickings change because as one family chooses a property to see, it becomes unavailable for others to view. Once they decide yes or no, it can be released and others can view it as an option).

So Wednesday we went and looked at the two that we weren't thrilled about and needless to say, we were underwhelmed. They were nice but each had an issue (the first had no grass. A yard of gravel and pavers...no grass. We have 4 kids and a dog, we need grass. Even just a tiny bit....the second was on the side of a cliff. Seriously the drop off was intense and the one laned dirt road leading to it was terrifying, I don't think the swaggerwagon could even make it up!). We returned to the office feeling defeated. While there, I hopped on the computer and started a new search to see if there were any new listings. There was one! And it seemed perfect. Four bedroom, 2 bath...it was about 5 miles away which might be too far for B to bike to work like we had hoped but otherwise it was perfect. And it was a house, not a duplex or apartment. We went and saw it later that evening.

It truly was beautiful on the outside and more space than I ever dreamed having on the inside. Seriously it was listed as 4 bedrooms but there is one downstairs off the entryway and another off of the kitchen that were considered ''entry'' and ''study''....in actuality they are just extra bedrooms. It's got everything on the required list (even has a fireplace and HUGE terrace...seriously it's like the biggest terrace you have ever seen. No joke, the terrace is bigger than the living room in our last house. The whole time we were looking at the house, the boys were running the terrace). It also has a private gate and driveway, there is even a little camera on the phone so when someone buzzes at the gate, we can scope them out before letting them in.

The two ''cons'' would be it's distance from post and how dated the tile is on the inside. The distance is do-able we had just hoped to find something closer so B could bike to work. It's not that he can't now, it's just these Italian back roads are narrow, winding and Italians drive crazy. I mean petal to the metal, making two lanes when there is barely room for one. They don't yield to pedestrians, or look twice for motorcycles. It is nuts. (and to think, I have to get a drivers license while here...eek!)

And the tile? Well, Italians love tile...and I don't mind it. Our last house was nothing but tile and I grew to love it. But this house was built in 1975 and it is full of bad 70's tile and it's everywhere. The backsplash in the kitchen is tile but it's not the same tile that's on the floor. And the kitchen tile doesn't match the hall tile, which doesn't match the living room tile, which doesn't match the bedrooms, etc. And it's not a solid color either but a gaudy print over and over and over. I have no clue how I'll decorate! B says ''Rugs...lot's of rugs". And the bathroom tile...geez, just wait til you see pics!

So as you might have guessed, we went with house number three. While it was a no-brainer to B and to our friends whom went with us, it took me longer to come around. I've always lived in a 'cozy' house. Nothing big, just enough for what you need. This house is not cozy. I had pictured a small Italian house that was cozy. This is nice, but big. There are 2 stories...the bottom floor is the entry, the laundry room, the spare room, a small cellar and then you go upstairs to a landing. Off of the landing is several doorways. One is to another spare room, one to the kitchen, one to the living room (complete with fireplace and wet bar), one is the hallway to the bedrooms. Once in that hall, there is a bedroom door, then a bathroom, then 2 more bedrooms, then on the other side another bathroom and the master bedroom which is so big we could EASILY upgrade to a king sized bed. Hell, we could probably fit the king and the queen bed in there together. (I kid but it would fit). So it's a lot of house and I'm not used to that. (Though I am extremely excited that one room will be my craft room/ an office!! WOOHOO, kid free zone!! Once I really talked it out, looked at the pics, thought about the cute cafe down the street, the school close by...I quickly decided that I didn't want to let it go.

We won't move right away. We'll probably be in the hotel for another month. We have a meeting on the 11th with housing for pre-negotiations, then we'll have a lease signing, then we'll get a move in date. Since our household goods probably won't be here til mid February, there really isn't a rush. (The army provides loaner furniture but I'm not wildly excited about that).

A New Year

Well it's out with the old and in with the new; It's 2011 and we're already off to a good, new, fresh start. We've now resided in TX for an entire month! We still have boxes in the master bedroom and garage but everything else is unpacked. When you consider that we are juggling four kids [one of which was a newborn], B has started a new job, and we had to contend with Christmas...a month isn't too bad. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself! Here are some pics of the house now with furniture and belongings, quite the switch from our previous post of emptiness.

Here is the living room, play area and part of the kitchen (isn't my new point & shoot camera AWESOME?)

 The boys room is completely unpacked, we're just needing to get their posters hung up along with the curtains..

   

Sissy's room is also coming along nicely. I haven't hung up any of her wall hangings or shelves and I still need to get curtains. The plan is to move Peanut into her room as well. We're waiting until we get his "big boy" twin bed, then they will {hopefully} share the room. 

This is ideal because then the little kids can nap in one room, while I work on home school activities with the older boys in their room. However we all know that Peanut is his own person with his own ideas and if the transition is too rough, then we'll bunk the older boys beds and he'll stay in their room. This seems silly...3 kids in one room, one in the other but realistically, the boys have a freakishly strong bond and they don't seem to mind at all. The fact that they don't know any differently works in our favor as well.

The spot where the rocker/glider is now, will be where his bed will go. The taller white dresser is his and the pink dresser (which was an Ikea steal for $30!) is Sissy's. I really want to find just a plain simple white headboard/footboard for his bed. Nothing ornate and girly but I would like it to match. We're hoping to find and purchase him a bed by February...Sissy just started sleeping through the night and I'm hoping that in another month or two, we can revamp our bedtime routine to include her. As it is now, the boys all go to bed around 7:45, Sissy not until 9ish. Obviously if they are sharing a room and we're trying to make this fun and exciting for Peanut, I want them going to bed at the same time. Wish us luck!

As for a New Year's resolution? As a family, we have a few goals in mind for this year. It was part of B accepting this new job and relocating our family. We want to do better financially. While taking this job was already a step in the right direction, we need to save more and spend more wisely. I am not one to cut out fun activities; after all that's what makes life worth living but we do plan on sticking to a budget. We already made the decision to not have cable...seeing how we did have the Digital cable with DVR package, this was a big step! But we've learned the magic of hulu and netflix and the kids have been more than happy with PBS.

We're working on spending wisely by more aggressively looking for deals before making 'big' purchases, shopping smarter using lists and coupons to cut down on those 'quick trip to the store' runs that always cost $30+ and making sure that when we do cook at home, we actually make things that we will want to eat the leftovers. I've always been a clearance shopper, I love Target for this, but I'm working on less impulse buys for the kids and B is learning to pass up a ''great deal'' on deal a day site, especially onsomething that we may be able to live without. Will we still go out to eat? Sure! But instead of spending $3 on each kids' meal, we've been ordering them an adult entree and splitting it up...not only has this saved us money but it's amazing how much better they eat! It's not ''so and so got chicken strips and I don't want pasta, I want chicken too" it's ''hey, dis chicken is good!".

I'm hoping that this year we can grow stronger in our marriage and as a family. Obviously we don't have very many distractions down here; we don't know very many people! Rather than B doing things with his friends and me doing things with mine, we're forced  blessed to spend all of our time together. So we're working on spending our time together peacefully; nit-picking a little less and compromising a bit more.

We're using our weekends as mini-adventures with the kids. We've done Sea World, the riverwalk, and the Alamo but there are even more! So many little towns nearby, so much history and then of course there are the amusement parks, water parks, shopping. And it doesn't have to cost a ton...we spent an entire afternoon at Ikea and even the kids loved it! Our annual pass to Sea World has already paid for itself, that was a great decision. We went back to Sea World for New Years eve and only spent $4.85 between the six of us...on a giant churro and 2 hot chocolates. We still have plans to go to the zoo, the rock caverns and we can't wait for Nanaw and Papa to visit in March! It should be a really fun year ;)

Our new hacienda...

 

Several people asked us what our house in Texas looked like and because it will be awhile before they are able to see it for themselves, I opted to snap pictures tonight. The movers are coming tomorrow to unpack our stuff and we plan on staying there tomorrow night. We do not have internet yet, so if there are several days before my next post, that is why. I'm warning you if you aren't family, you probably have no interest in this post; it's literally pictures of an empty house. But if you are family (or just curious) carry on.

So, here is our humble abode:

View as you walk in the front door

(Mom, the area near the window/kitchen will be the boys play area. Hopefully the back of the couch will help block it off a little. The TV/furniture will be centered under the first fan)

Opposite view of living room (door on left wall is a coat closet)

And the kitchen/dining room

Close up of kitchen (fridge is being delivered tomorrow)

My favorite part....the pantry!

Okay and for pictures of the bedrooms...I don't know how Realtors do it. I could not get a decent picture so I left the master out. It's a bedroom. It has windows, walls, a ceiling...you get the idea. I did get okay ones of the master bath/closet...

 

 and the kids being silly inside the master closet (which is huge!)

Here is a crappy pic of the boys' room (taken from inside their walkin closet)

 

and one of Sweetcheeks (and eventually Peanut's) room. Again crappy pic taken from a closet. And by this point the older boys had made it their goal to be in every picture. I believe they were saying ''Cupcake".

 

 Hall bath (also known as the "I'm so glad mom doesn't have to share anymore" boys' bathroom)

and the hall linen closet (which I didn't plan on taking a pic of but Pooks jumped in there and said "Cheese" so I did) 

There is also a 2 car garage that I didn't feel the need to take a picture of. There is a pretty basic backyard with cement slab patio as well. A laundry room as you come in from the garage. It was almost 8pm when I took pics tonight so they aren't the greatest. You can't tell by the pictures but all the walls and ceilings are the same color; just beige but nice and freshly painted. 

So, that's our house! Hopefully the move will go smoothly and we'll get everything unpacked quickly. I also really really want to decorate for the holidays so I plan on hauling ass unpacking so we can hang lights, put up a tree, etc. We have had a TON of mostly welcomed changes this fall: new baby, new job, new town/state...I'm not about to sacrifice the joy and fun of the holidays :)