catching up

wow....can you remember the last time i posted on this blog?  i can't, unless i look, which i'm not going to do.  :)  for any readers left....how about an update?  (and a blog post riddled with links just for the fun of it?)

life here in the cornnut household is pretty crazy.  princess just turned two (which is insane....remember when i couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong with me...and i ended up being pregnant?)  little buddy is three and a half now and in preschool.  (ALSO hard to believe he was only six months old when i started this blog.)

i am in school, hooray, and have officially been cleared for graduation in may.  i will be graduating with my associates in general studies, which is a nice way of saying i got all of my crappy general ed classes finished in community college so i can take the fun classes at a university.  i'm so stinking excited to have that piece of paper that says i did something with my education.  i've worked hard and so far have a 4.0.  yay me :)  too bad i left my math classes for my last two semesters.  i hate math.

hubby got a new job, he is now a forensic investigator with the local police department.  real-life CSI, which means i refuse to watch CSI with him now.  apparently TV is nothing like real life.  sheesh.  i'm so proud of him...new job, and he graduated with his bachelor of psychology degree in june, and he's just kicking butt all around.

i'm working too...as a photographer.  for lifetouch, in one of their JC Penny portrait studios.  people pay me to hold their adorable babies.  so if you live in my area and need a photographer, look me up.

hubby and i celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in august.  hard to believe we've been married five years....we've had a lot of ups and downs, but we're still here, still working together to overcome the downs.  we've been through and dealt with a lot.  thanks babe...for sticking with it and helping me do the same.  i love you.

for those of you who remember...i've made peace with my parents.  some really tough stuff happened a few months ago and we were able to reconnect and overcome our issues because of it.  i'm really grateful to have a good relationship with them again, and for everything they have done for me.  my kids love being around them too.  we were able to spend some time with them yesterday, and i am just so glad we've worked things out and have been able to move forward.

my baby brother (who really isn't a baby anymore, so i should probably stop calling him that) is currently in the MTC (missionary training center).  he is serving a mission for the LDS church, and will shortly be headed to Peru.  i can't believe how grown up he is.  it's kind of giving me an identity crisis, because it makes me feel so OLD.  i'm only 25, you know....even if i look 30...and feel 50.

my youngest sister is a STAR and plays volleyball for a pac12 team!  i'd tell you which one but since this blog is supposed to be anonymous to anyone who doesn't actually know me in real life i'm not telling.  :)  if you do know me, you've already heard be brag about her, so i'm pretty sure you know where she plays.  she is aiming for the olympics...rio de janeiro, baby!  guess i better start putting my pennies in a jar.

new obsession: pinterest.  holy cow, is that thing awesome or what?  love love love finding new inspiration and fun projects to do.  (and i've actually done them, not just pinned them!  accomplishment!)  plus facebook and saving tons of money shopping....i'm a couponer!  (NOT like extreme couponing on TLC.)  i do save anywhere from $100-$200 on my monthly shopping trips, which is pretty darn cool.  i am teaching classes on how to do it, too, so if you know me and want to host a class....you should!

next month we are moving again.  same city, new place.  we got new management in our apartment complex and things have really gone downhill, plus we've had issues with our neighbors and our rent is pretty ridiculous.  we are moving into a townhome that is nicer and $300 a month cheaper.  i'm really excited, even though i hate packing, and unpacking, and moving, and the mess that is associated with it.  we are also downsizing to a two bedroom so the kids will be sharing...that will be interesting.

as many of you know.....halloween is coming, and it is my favorite-est holiday EVER.  this year's costumes are fun.  hubby is a banana again, mostly because he's not into dressing up the way i am, we don't have a lot of money, and we have a banana costume.  i got a snow white costume from freecycle (freecycle=awesomeness, find the one near you!) that fits perfectly and looks pretty cool, if i say so myself.  (in fact, we took the kids to a halloween festival our city puts on and i had moms stopping me to take pictures with their little girls....kind of surreal.)  little buddy is super why, and i made his costume myself.  while i am a perfectionist and will accept the quality of the costume, he loves it.  that's all that matters.  princess is a pirate.  why?  because my little two year old loves pirates.  she is the cutest little buccaneer the world ever did see.  she goes around saying, "arrrrr, matey" in her adorable toddler voice, only she does it deeper and gravely and sounds just like a pirate toddler should.  everyone fawns all over it, including her mama.  the kids are falling in love with halloween, probably thanks to me, and think witches and ghosts and skeletons and bats are the coolest things ever.

and, for your viewing pleasure, the pretty awesome sign my mom helped me make yesterday:

i saw a sign similar to this at Michael's for $20.  it was on a stake.  i loved the concept (i do have my own little monsters, after all) but flat out refuse to spend $20 on something like that.  and i wanted one to hang on my door, since i don't have a yard.  so....with three pieces of scrap wood (my mom had them and cut them for me), a little acrylic and puff paint, wire and ribbon (also all thanks to mom's supply), i have an adorable sign for my front door.  it's about a thousand times cuter than the one at Michael's, and we added the hands to it. that was also mom's idea.  we traced little buddy's and princess's hands and turned them into monster hands.  so not only is it cute, but in ten years when i pull it out for halloween i'll get to see how small their little hands were when i made the sign.  i really love it!

so i'm pretty sure that's about it...at least i hope so.  :)  i kind of miss my blog, even though its purpose (to help me heal and hopefully help others) has been mostly served, at least on my end.  i hope i still have new readers coming across the blog and finding some kind of inspiration and maybe comfort in knowing they aren't alone.  i definitely don't want to start over with a new one.  after three years with this blog, and several hundred posts, it's hard to imagine a new one.  i've probably lost most of my readers, though---if you're still there, still reading, let me know you're here, and how you're doing.  it would be nice to kind of catch up with a lot of you.

until next time!

moving means unpacking.

wow. it's been a long week and a half. we were without internet for a week here in our new apartment, and since then i've been really busy!

moving day was the 25th, last thursday. and...well...it was a long day, as moving days usually are.

the movers were late, which wasn't that big of a deal. what was a big deal? the fact that they couldn't get the truck up the driveway. yeah. the driveway, which is dirt, and steep, and about 100 yards long. and wet and slippery because it had snowed. so the poor movers and hubby got to haul all of our crap down a slippery driveway in the snow to put in the truck. hubby was stressed beyond belief because he was worried it was going to cost us way more than we had budgeted, due to the stupid driveway. after all was said and done, we were actually under budget, yay! 5 1/2 hours though. sheesh.

i am really liking our apartment. it's so quiet here. i haven't heard our neighbors at all. the kids have their own rooms, and i've started painting a cute border on little buddy's wall. (i will post pics when it is done, i'm so excited for it!) i also started teaching piano lessons last week. things are going pretty well here. i finished unpacking yesterday, which is nice, and everything is put in its place. until we empty our storage unit, which shouldn't be as big of a deal because most of it is staying in boxes.

my depression has been rearing its ugly head again, though. i am now going back onto my celexa, which i haven't been taking because i've been nursing. i can still nurse on it though, which is good. hopefully it will help.

also since moving day, princess has learned to roll over from back to front. she rolls all over the place now. she has also cut her first two teeth, her bottom front ones. she is learning to fall asleep on her own in the crib (which means lots of crying) and is doing better. last night only 20 minutes of screaming! yeah! nap times have not been successful, and for some reason i can't deal with the crying during the day the way i can at night. so the swing is becoming a crutch. i will start with naps more consistently once she gets falling asleep at night down without a problem. (if anyone has any suggestions, i'm definitely open to them.) little buddy is adjusting to nap times, too, and staying in his bed...and not playing with the toys, which are now in his room instead of the living room. (so nice to not be falling over toys in the front room!)

now on to find a job. i haven't gotten enough piano students to cover our extra bills now that we're in our new place so i need something part time. keep your fingers crossed for me!

can't hardly wait!

moving day is tomorrow.

we signed the lease, got our keys. movers show up at 9 am.

i am so excited i can hardly stand it.

once we move i'm going to do something i've talked about doing for a long time: teach piano lessons. i've been playing for about 20 years...makes sense i should teach, right? i already have one student, and a mom bringing her daughter to meet me to see if she wants to enroll her kids. (possibly three of them.) i am really, really hoping i can get a bunch of students, so i don't have to get a job outside of our home. it would be a lot easier schedule wise, and with the kids. plus it will be fun! i'm teaching both kids and adults, and looking forward to it.

so if you know me in real life, and want to take lessons, or know someone who does, please let me know!

busy busy

whew...it has been a busy week.

as i mentioned before, princess has been sick. congested and such. she is doing better today, thank goodness. but we did have to take her to the hospital twice to have her poor little lungs suctioned. i felt so bad for her...she was pretty pissed. i would be too, if i had a tube stuck up my nose and down my throat!

well just as princess is starting to get better, buddy is coming down with the same thing. poor kid is coughing and congested too. but unlike his sister, he is a snotty mess. i've never had to deal with runny noses and toddlers before but let me tell you...gross.

i've also had two (that's right, two) separate cases of food poisoning this week. NOT. FUN. i swear i will never eat chicken again.

wednesday was little buddy's birthday party. we had it at the local cabela's store and it was a blast!

friday was his birthday. i cannot believe that he is two already. my baby is growing up!

also on friday we did the final walk through of our new apartment. i cannot even begin to tell you how stinkin' excited i am to move out of this basement and have our own place again. it is so nice, and so much space! i can't wait!

moving day is now less than a week away. i have lots of packing to do. so i guess i better run and get to it!

moving again!

i know this is hard to believe....but we're moving again. we've lived here in my in-laws' basement for about eight months now and we are very ready to get out. we have been looking at local apartment complexes as well as basement apartments and homes for rent. we finally found one that we like, that is in a nice area that we can afford. hooray! we put a deposit down on a three bedroom apartment and we'll be moving in less than three weeks. we've already started packing everything up again. moving is stressful and expensive but i can't wait to get into our own place again.

this complex is fairly large but is nice and quiet. the apartment we got is really close to the playground, barbeque areas and sand volleyball court. there is also a wildlife reserve right smack in the middle of the complex complete with a pond, geese and ducks. our building is right by this, too. there is also a big park right across the street with more playgrounds, lots of grass and a baseball diamond. the complex has two swimming pools and hot tubs, too.

our apartment will have a big roman tub in the master bath, washer and dryer and a bathtub for the kids. andrew has been taking showers because we don't have a tub here. occasionally we can go upstairs and use my in-laws' tubs, but little buddy will love having a bathtub again. they also allow you to paint your walls in this complex so i'm looking forward to painting cute things in the kids' rooms.

hubby already met our downstairs neighbors and he said that they seem nice. i also talked to another family in the complex and she said there were a bunch of kids and that everyone is nice and it's quiet. all major positives!

we are taking a huge leap here. going back to apartment living will be a change. hopefully we won't have issues with noise, parking, or maintenance. money will be tighter but i think that it's worth it. as of now, we have two rooms: the living room/kitchen/little buddy's room, and our bedroom, which also has baby's crib in it.

so here's to space! our OWN space! hooray!

we're finally moved in

so the move is over.

it went rather smoothly, with the exception of my mom being a pain in the butt for the hour that she was there. after a long and exhausting day....i've had more long and exhausting days trying to put everything together. it's been kind of a challenge to figure out where to put all of our stuff so far. hubby and i have taken a few trips to wal-mart to pick up things to set up the apartment, baby-proof the tvs, and generally get things in order. there is still some work to be done, mostly finish work like moldings, mirror/towel rack/etc. to be put up in bathroom, hang doors, blinds on the windows, and the entry way is still just sheetrock. half of the cabinets need to be put in. the kitchen has been the biggest challenge because we have a lot less space. we are going to get a new table that has storage under it to help. mostly i have to figure out where to put our ginormous microwave and toaster oven since we don't have an actual stove or oven.

it's kind of weird how quiet it is up here. very nice.....no thumping music, screaming neighbor kids, people yelling, cars revving engines, doors slamming, freeway noise, train whistles, construction noise......just silence. the only noise we get is the noise my in-laws make upstairs which is really minimal.

moving day, i didn't get a chance to "say goodbye" to our house. yesterday we went back to pick up four or five things that were left behind. i'm not going to lie....it was hard. i cried. i sat in my son's room and sobbed. two and a half years in that house, and we worked hard to make it a home. it's the only home my son has ever known, and it was obvious how much happier he was in the twenty minutes we were there yesterday than he has been in a few days. that was hard. it's going to take time for him to adjust to a new home, and eventually he won't even remember that house. but i will. i'll remember all of the memories we had there. everything we learned and experienced there, both good and bad. it is a relief to be out of that neighborhood. i know we made the right decision in leaving, but it was a hard decision.

unpacking has been going slowly, it seems. i did finally get our pantry put together, so at least our food is unpacked. i've got piles of boxes that i still need to go through and figure out where to put them. i've got a huge stack of boxes full of baby clothes. i think that sometime soon we are going to need to get a dresser (or two) for the kids. little buddy's clothes are shoved in a three-drawer rubbermaid thing right now. and as he gets bigger, his clothes get bigger, and the drawers don't get bigger. with another baby there will be nowhere to put her clothes. we're also trying to figure out what to do with little buddy's crib, and eventually a second crib, and then toddler bed, and then two toddler beds......hopefully we will be out of this apartment by the time our second is in a toddler bed, but the future is always uncertain. it will be interesting to see what happens with our one-bedroom situation here.

well. i'm off to take a nap. i've been sick today, on top of the exhaustion i've been feeling. luckily hubby will be coming home within the next half hour and little buddy is going down for a nap, too. hooray for nap time.

moving on

so tomorrow is moving day. it's weird. i'm not quite sure how to feel about it, i have so many mixed emotions sorting through them is difficult. it will be nice to have this whole move thing OVER....i'm tired of packing, of the piles of boxes everywhere, and of the huge mess that comes with a move.

it will be sad to leave this house that we have made a home for the last two and a half years. we have put time, money, and effort into making this house look nice. somehow it seems kind of a waste since we're leaving it behind. but while living here it was worth it. it will be sad to leave the place where we have learned so much about ourselves and our marriage, where we have found out we're expecting two children, where we brought the first home.

it will be hard to move from our own home into an apartment. and harder still to move into an apartment that is in the basement of my in-law's, and much smaller than our house. it will be interesting trying to figure out what to do with two kids in a one-bedroom apartment. we don't know how long we will be there at this point. i'm concerned about keeping family relations intact.

but it will be nice knowing that if i ever need help, people i know, love, and trust are just upstairs.

it will be a huge relief knowing we are in a safe place. leaving the fear of crime behind, leaving the annoyance of loud music, obnoxious parties, and stupid neighbors here with our house. having a lot more space for little buddy, our new baby, and even the dog to run around in. the sanity and peace of mind of my husband, who stresses beyond belief over our safety in this neighborhood.

ultimately the most important thing here is doing what is best for my family. this move is the best thing. being able to take my son for a walk, to go outside, and not having to worry about what may happen will be nice. where we're moving we will be in a quiet place, removed from neighbors, on two and a half acres of land. with this move will come many new challenges. but also with it we will be leaving some challenges behind.

so off to finish the last of the packing. off to getting the last few things in order. tomorrow morning, bright and early, we will be loading up the truck and saying goodbye.

the weekend is over....another busy one ahead

i officially have five packing days left until the big move. and i am really pretty stressed about it, although i don't think i have all that much to do. moving is just stressful. my house is a mess, and i'm slightly worried about our apartment being finished by the time we move in. then i get to unpack. ugh.

for those of you wondering, my sister's shower went rather well. of course my mom spent pretty much the entire ride home complaining about ten different things, but overall it was pretty good. i got to see my grandma and my great-grandma, as well as my aunts and a few cousins. my sister C did a great job with some additional games.

father's day was a great day too. i think my husband had a good day. little buddy and i made him french toast for breakfast in bed, and he got some cool gifts. a new shirt and tie, and some flag cases for some collector flags we have had for a long time. now we can properly display them. he also got a hat with little buddy's hand on it that says "#1 Dad." we went to the park, and had a delicious dinner of grilled skewers. we also watched the movie gran torino. (if you want to know what my hubby will be like in 50 years, watch that movie......a crotchety, stubborn, foul-mouthed old man with a strong sense of right and wrong, who would do anything and give anything for the people he cares about.)

so now i'm off to make a list of everything i have to do to get ready for the move. then when little buddy goes down for a nap, i'm taking advantage of it and sleeping too!