Halloween (meet the neighbors) night

 We left Megan home to hand out candy while Sean was working (per tradition). I took them around the neighborhood and met a lot of nice neighbors. Even met one whose daughter-in-law I knew from Mt. Pleasant. I know this always happens to people who grew up in Kansas but it's a pretty big deal for those of us who didn't. Anyway, you will notice that Patrick's eye holes aren't quite lined up and he did fall going down the steps at the very first house. I'd also like to point out the lame decorating on my porch. I told the kids I wasn't doing Halloween this year, just trying to do regular unpacking, so they did it for me. I better bring it for Christmas this year to save face with the neighbors....

Here is Patrick as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for his school party and parade. He insisted on getting this overpriced costume and then almost didn't wear it at all. I'm pretty irritated. This is the first year Megan didn't dress up because junior high doesn't have parties and they just watch the parade. Saved me from buying anything and saved her from making up random costume from the dress up box. Plus, she got to stay home and play on the computer so everyone wins.

I am letting them eat their candy now and then I'm sure some of it will be recycled to army people. There was so much fighting after school today from that sugar crash that I needed a hard cider just to keep from losing my voice from yelling at them. Oh my word, go to your own rooms and stop bugging each other!!! It would be accurate to say that this is not my favorite holiday. Christmas is coming though!

Prepping for bathroom remodel

Just found this photo on pinterest to show to my remodel guy and then realized it is from the actual house I wanted to get in Nashville. Less than half the price, just copy the style...

T-minus three weeks!

Meghan and Kirk's Wedding

Sorry, sorry, I meant to post this weeks ago but it's been crazy. Also, I don't know as if the quality of the photos are awesome. We were traveling light this trip so I just took them on my phone.  We had such a great time seeing old college friends though and the wedding and reception were fantastic. Not only is Meghan a marathon wedding attender, but she had access to pinterest. Oh the pressure she must have felt. Well, it paid off as it was unique and elegant-- and the wine selection was top notch. Being in the healthy city of Portland, the food was fabulous but good for you so no one hesitated to get dessert cupcakes. I also have to say I appreciated that there was good music but not really any dancing. It was the kind of wedding where we wanted to talk to people, not be deafened by club music. Anyway, here are the photos...

 They held this blurry ceremony in the ballroom of the Portland Museum of Art

 Meghan may not appreciate this candid photo but it shows her dress so well. It was perfection. I would have picked it myself if I hadn't worn my grandma's dress.

 Tara, me, Meghan and Sarah. Other Lewis girls were missed but I know life gets busy.

 Clearest photo I have of this adorable couple! So glad we could finally meet Kirk, he is a hoot and compliments Meghan so well.

 Tom photo bomb. Meghan took Tom as her "plus one" to our wedding over 16 years ago and the gal he had just started dating ended up taking our wedding photos because we couldn't afford a professional (she worked for the Observer and could use their good camera). She took a lot of great shots and in the end I got exactly what I wanted... one amazing shot of us that still hangs on the wall. We look like teenagers but then again, we practically were. Oh, and Tom married Katie, our photographer, the day before Anna was born so we had a lot of visitors down in San Antonio before they headed up to the ceremony in Dallas. I remember driving them to all the tourist spots and pointing out Wilford Hall as we went by... drive me there if I go into labor!

 Less fuzzy shot without Tom. I rented another dress from Rent the Runway. I was relieved to find out that the hotel front desk did indeed mail it back for me.

Last candid of the night. you can see more detail on Meghan's dress, I just loved it. You can also see Sarah's husband Chris who is a perfect match for her. They are getting ready to move out to Portland too. Lots of friends on the west coast now, hope to have more trips soon!

Checking off my list

I was up late last night dealing with a poorly planned crock pot meal that wasn't ready until midnight and then needed shredding.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-for-a-crowd-big-game-day-barbacoa-165301

Spicy shredded beef for tacos... so spicy that I think only Sean will eat them so I froze most. Woke up this morning to this smell. Ugh. No idea which "safe place" I put the lighter but I found one random match to light a candle. That was a late night in my world so when Patrick woke me up too early I didn't have the energy for anything beyond some computer tasks on my to-do list. So I changed all our magazine addresses online and found out that most of the subscriptions go through 2018. Err, what? Too many Catholic school magazine fundraisers... have renewed excessively I guess.

Here is the random photo of the day:

Patrick's little soccer team. He is entirely motivated by participation medals, is so proud of them. He was grumbling about going the last night until I reminded him that they would get their medals. One more easy season and then we can decide if he wants to continue on a real team. I feel extreme guilt whenever he is playing baseball in the backyard because we aren't going down that road. We're explaining to him that golf is better because he will get to hit the ball himself every single time. That's the part he likes anyway. I like the part where Sean takes him golfing for hours...

Muffins and blues

The kids have been begging for pumpkin muffins, which I do make year round, but with the move I just haven't felt the motivation to get up early to bake for them. Conferences today so I decided to finally make them during our lazy morning and prep the mix for other mornings. I don't think I've posted this recipe before although I meant to... It's from my friend Linda whom I am super excited to have as a new neighbor! First day in and I was texting her to deliver me essentials like scissors. Anyway, I did tweak the recipe a bit to make it a little healthier, less sugar and more pumpkin (the only vegetable the kids eat these days).

"Practically Health Food Pumpkin Muffins"

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup ground flaxseed

Mix dry ingredients. (I make this part ahead in bulk... mix up 6 batches, put in freezer bags and keep in the freezer- flaxseed keeps best frozen).

In a bigger bowl mix up:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
15 oz can pure pumpkin

Then pour in the dry ingredients. I add chocolate chips, Linda adds nuts. I make muffins, she makes bread. You can do whatever you want, no judging.

Bake muffins 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Bake bread in 2 large loaf pans for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

As for the blues, last night I dragged Sean to the McCain for a blues show. I think it said they were well known, I figured what better introduction to blues than from a good group. I told him that if there was intermission and we weren't loving it we could leave. Then it's not as much of a commitment. Well, Fredericks Brown opened, amazing but mostly break up music, not sure I could be blasting that around the house without people wondering what was going on. Then Vusi Mahlasela came out to do his show, amazing again, just reading his bio and I can't believe we saw him. So then it was intermission.... and the main act hadn't even started. I wouldn't let Sean leave, I thought maybe it was worth seeing. Yes, anyone who knows blues knows The Taj Mahal Trio I suspect. I just previewed (a la Michael Scott) one of the albums on iTunes and YES, we've heard him, everyone has heard him. He just didn't play his most popular songs because he must be sick of them and his big fans come to hear the other stuff. At the end he had the other acts come join him which included his daughter in Fredericks Brown, Deva Mahal. I would love to find that song on iTunes. Anyway, the kids loved the music so I may put a playlist together, something different to listen to around the pool. Now I need to get ready for conferences though.

And so it begins....

Had my official meeting with the cabinet guy today and we will start on the master bath remodel in one month. Crazy! I just realized last night though that we need to have all major projects wrapped up before Sean goes full time with the telerad group. Might be hard for him to sleep during the day when there is a lot of construction noise. Had some initial discussion about the kitchen, will start that in May. Lots of planning ahead. In the meantime I am still slogging through the boxes of random stuff and placing the smaller furniture around. Wondering if the girls notice that their rooms are different every time they come home. Like doing a puzzle, trying to figure out what fits where.

I am taking some breaks now to enjoy the nice fall weather and also use the pool with friends. So nice to have a reason to invite people over to hang out.

 Snow day pool time with Heather and her boys! Blurry iphone...

Then on Sunday we wore out a bunch of little kids. I suspect this hot tub was never used like this before, kind of a different demographic these days...

Catholic School Morning Challenge

Megan reminded me that today is rosary day so a mad dash ensued to find a rosary. I knew I had seen one while unpacking because I remembered that they had rosary on the school shopping list but I hadn't found one. Sean texted me a photo of a table full of religious items at ND when he was there for an awful game and asked if I needed anything. I shot back, YES, a rosary! He had to confirm that I wasn't joking but then told me how much the rosaries cost. Hmm, move it along, not spending $50 on something a kid will lose. That was the last I thought of getting a rosary unfortunately so when I found one while unpacking I made note of it. It only took me two tries and I found it this morning. A major victory. I think it was from Grandma Koenig so I told Megan she must not lose it. Now I'm wondering if the other two needed rosaries also.... surely the kindergarten isn't participating? They only go to the Friday masses which I guess means they aren't going for 4 weeks in a row as we are in the midst of a long string of short school weeks. That is the real Catholic school challenge for me!

One of our many trips to Home Depot...

Emily really wanted me to get some Christmas inflatables for the yard this year. I feel this might be frowned upon in our new neighborhood but the kids do love looking at them. Going to be a strange feeling driving past all the great lights displays every time we leave our house this year as going through this neighborhood used to be the big treat at Christmas time. Guess it is our turn to step it up and decorate now but probably not with a Santa dinosaur.

The other night photos

 Patrick has been hard at work unpacking his Legos and arranging them... looks like some sort of showdown going on here. Yes, this is the vintage Keenan family table, still getting plenty of use in Patrick's room now. He requested lots of table space for Legos.

 I haven't even set up the shelves yet and he has them filled with more Legos. Sorry buddy, this probably isn't staying in your room...

 Final arranging before bed... I think he was staying up late playing most nights but I don't care when he is at least quiet.

 Emily has the sleep schedule of a teenager. Up late "reading" in her bed in the dark. Note also the clothes all over the floor, just like her sisters. I will decorate her room eventually...

More of Patrick's OCD arranging. The microscope featured here is the one he insisted on packing in his backpack for the trip to Portland. It's not lightweight. It also doesn't really work nor has he ever shown interest in it before. But he hauled it there and back...

LTC Keenan

I finally downloaded the photos from the real camera. I forgot about the Renaissance Festival, took a ton there that I may post someday... but in the meantime, I have photos from Sean's promotion ceremony from right after we bought the house, which explains why this has taken so long (obviously). I offered to have a real party but clearly life is chaos right now. So I just took in some desserts... the required cake and then some caramel bars because they actually taste good.

 So lame. Have you ever seen a cheaper grocery store cake? It was the only one that wasn't neon colors.

 Sean loves when people talk about him. This is his boss, LTC Ochoa who is over all the docs in the hospital. I think. I'm not the best military wife, except the part where I survived the deployment.

 I think Sean forgot he would have to talk too... also hates that part.

 A rare family photo, kids all ragged from a long day at school.

 There may have been some goofiness in the hospital conference room.

Here is Anna being the "good kid" and holding the door for me.

Anyway, can't believe we are at the point in Sean's career where he is a LTC, has been a long road. And now for my sisters, our Arrested Development tribute:

These are his awards from army: the horse is for tumor board and the walrus is for commander's investigations. (Buster got a seal for marksmanship and a gorilla for sand racing).

Random photos from the move

Makes me laugh every time I walk through this room. Beyonce wants to come in.

 I'm kind of embarrassed by how ridiculous this all is but boy are we going to have fun!

 Iphone photos are so horrible but so easy.... first time swimming. Love that we don't need sunscreen or swim shirts, perfect for my pale babies.

They left us this super heavy bathtub which I don't love but it will be nice for storing pool toys. 

Almost time for the fun part, hanging stuff on the walls!

You can't fully appreciate how much I have to hang up but here is a partial view. I told Sean I couldn't start tonight like I wanted and he thought I meant because the hammer would be too loud with everyone sleeping. Yeah, whatever. No, the nails are at the other house. So tonight I sleep instead.

The glamourous side of moving in

 Seriously, I found this when I opened up the cupboard. Delicious. Thankfully no mice.

 Oh dear me, the pool lesson... I took a ton of photos and notes and all I really know how to do now is do the chemicals. The whole pump and other stuff, ugh. Fortunately that stuff is rarely dealt with... or so I hope.

 Well, the ice maker works in this house at least but then it all melts into a big block. I give up. I surrender to the ice maker demons. I am going to buy a separate ice machine when we remodel. I will win.

Move in day the kids explored the wooded lot and brought back all sorts of treasures. I meant to throw them away after the kids went to school but I just realized that I never did so I bet it's all still sitting there...

Poor Anna's room

This is all Anna has in her room. So pathetic. She later lined up her stuffed animals along the wall. Having larger rooms and not having 3 beds in each room makes it more obvious that we don't have furniture for all the kids. Anna's room is the farthest part of the house so I haven't been very motivated to haul stuff down there. Out of guilt from neglecting the middle child (or even worse, just one of the middle children, not even the middle child outright) I got online and started putting furniture in a shopping cart. Then I let it sit while I considered what else to get and then I forgot until a few days later when I opened that tab up on my browser again and I had a "special sale just for you" banner at the top with a code for 15% off. Seriously? I love that they monitor my activity, I really do, because that saved me a lot of money. It is annoying though that I got no deals like this back during residency. So eventually furniture will arrive for Anna. In the meantime she has decorated with clothes all over the floor now too. UGH. At least I don't walk past it often so it doesn't annoy me as much anymore...

Stupidest phone call ever (and one photo)

I just got an automated call from Pottery Barn to set up delivery. So I pressed 1 to speak to someone to arrange that. I was on hold for 5 minutes and then I got to talk to a real person who told me there were no available delivery dates in my area right now and someone will have to call me tomorrow to figure it out. Umm, okay? Thanks for calling me tonight?

I am finally going through the stacks of boxes in the garage to find necessary items like coats and beach towels. We've been using bath towels for the pool and poor Emily had to wear a sweatshirt over a sweater to the preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch on Thursday. Snowed today, motivated me to find her winter jacket... Our lockers don't quite fit in the laundry room so the kids are currently storing their locker junk in boxes and on the floor. It is delightful. Back to it... just had to jump on quickly before the internet went down again.

This was the first day we moved in when Sean was in Dallas so after the movers left it was up to me to play tetris (with my one set of furniture slider disks) and get stuff where it needed to go. The brown stuff is heavy. There is your token photo for the day...

Go play outside

Andrea and I have been discussing how much we love moving, setting up the new house, decorating it, etc etc. As children our favorite thing to play was Barbies, but not so much the actual Barbies but the Barbie furniture and house and setting it up to play. I was lamenting to her about how annoying it is when my playing Barbie house time is interrupted with real life... the long list of things I signed the kids and myself up for this fall, before the idea of a new house was on the radar. This is when Andrea told me it was time to go play something else, put the Barbies away and go outside. Sigh. She was right.

And so this past weekend I power packed some suitcases and kid backpacks and we flew to Portland. I left the house in total disarray and tried not to think about it. I knew that boxes could wait but Meghan was only getting married once and I hadn't seen the ND crowd in so many years that I'm not going to figure out how many. Getting together for football games just isn't something this group can manage so this wedding was not to be missed. We also got to see the other Heather and Brian, back from Belgium, I guess it has been two and a half years since I saw them for Paris?? How can that be? So great catching up with everyone, I will post photos soon. We also went to the zoo there, Sean took the little ones to the children's museum, I took the big girls shopping, and we rode the train everywhere, so easy and cheap. Recouped some of the cost of food for the trip that way...

But now it is good to be home and at least play "Barbie house" for a few hours each day. I am still running the kids all over (last week for all sports, praise sweet baby Jesus, laying in the manger) and dealing with my school volunteer commitments (I may be regretting "all in" as my motto this year), but I did skip the McCain event last night. Sean is now working frequent shifts to make up for the three weekends in a row that they kept him off the schedule. I just keep checking stuff off my random and long to-do list and boy is it annoying when I do something and it's not on the list for me to delete. It's like it didn't even count! Or when I do something like buy a shower curtain rod but then it doesn't make it home with me, even though I checked it off the list already. Exciting times, I know.

And now for my brattiest annoyance this week.... I finally figured out the problem with the washer in the house and now if I want to wash anything in cold water I have to go to the pool house to use that washer. Are you weeping for me? Every time I lug yet another load of laundry out there I am annoyed but also smack myself on behalf of all of you because I know this is a problem other people would like to have.

Last but not least, I spent a lot of time today making an actual dinner and real dessert because it is Sean's birthday. The poor guy is working a double shift today so the least I could do was feed him something real. But it took a lot of time away from playing house and made a huge mess. I also decided to catch up on mail and school emails as it's about that time when I forget something really important like pumpkin patch tomorrow.... ha, like Emily would let me forget. She thinks every day is pumpkin patch day, a popular topic. At least I can take photos on my phone now because I'm pretty sure remembering my real camera for anything isn't going to happen...  I will upload some bad iphone photos next!

Making progress....

Although a shocking amount remains at the old house. I have been going non-stop all week after we got the furniture moved in. I am keeping most the boxes and junk in the garage until I have time to properly sort. My room was settled first to keep me sane but the kids rooms are still a disaster. I had to order more dressers. I also kept telling the movers to just put the various kid furniture in the first two kid bedrooms so needless to say Anna's room at the farthest point only has a twin bed and some stuffed animals lined up along the wall. I will post photos of this all later, so pathetic. Kids were thrilled when a TV was finally installed along with internet but more to come on Tuesday.

We are now taking a break from neglecting the children to take them to Portland for a 4 day weekend as one of my old roommates is getting married and we will also see the Benders. Trying to pack for the trip was difficult as I haven't bought them any fall/winter clothes this year due to wearing uniforms to school. So glad the kids aren't going to the actual wedding because I certainly didn't have any outfits for that, nor room to bring them. We will be taking the train around when we get there so we are just taking small, easy to carry bags and no car seats. It will be an adventure...

Quick update during week of crazy

I don't have photos from Sean's promotion yet because I used my real camera and the cord is at the new house already. That's how it has gone all week... need the glue for homework? At the new house. Need a platter for caramel bars for the party? At the new house. Need the camera? At the new house. So that's why when I called the movers to ask about availability and they said this Saturday, I said yes. Sean will be in Dallas for the ND game but oh well. I will manage. Megan will watch the kids at the old house with TVs and I guess I will run back and forth between the houses, saying where stuff goes. I have spent all week running loads of small junk over there and I should have dropped every other load at Goodwill. THIS move I will do better at purging! Really! Plenty of room to unpack and really go through stuff though. This whole moving ordeal really plays into my kind of crazy though. If anyone wants to do an in-town move, I can do it for you! Well, after I unpack myself, unless you want my old house then I will make it happen just to sell...

I did meet with our remodeler on Tuesday and set up our schedule of events there. We have to wait on floors until we do the kitchen in the spring so that's the real reason we are moving right in. No point in waiting now and the kids are eager to get their own rooms. Suddenly this house seems really cramped and I am ready too. Of course that might be because I have junk EVERYWHERE. It's shocking that no one has called to view the house, I thought for sure that would do the trick. I did fix the locks at the new house so the pool actually is secure now and I can unpack and not worry about the kids getting in there, although we have had many lectures about this issue. It is a keyed lock and only I have the keys so that should help me sleep at night.

Per tradition, Sean has ordered his new TV for the new house and has arranged all the media and internet stuff. He told me not to be concerned about the cost. Okay, glad to know that's the policy because I've got a master bath remodel going on in 6 weeks and then a kitchen in 6 months. I was talked out of painting the oak trim, we will just remove it and put in the kind I like instead. Oddly enough it is cheaper than paying the labor to have it painted the right way so it looks smooth. We're going to have a lot of stuff going to the Habitat for Humanity Restore.... although I am saving some carpet for Heather.

Well, now I am waiting for the call from Cox cable to meet them and then I am getting trained to be the pool boy, so a busy day ahead. This move would be way easier if I wasn't doing normal life stuff at the same time, like all the kid activities and Sean's trips and McCain shows and birthday parties and showering and promotion ceremony... Someday I will post photos, many photos. I will save the "before" house photos until I have the "after" ones. Can't wait for that!!! This is totally my kind of crazy.