Scoop

I'm feeling lots better. In fact, I felt a huge improvement just hours after starting on my prescriptions. Steroids can work wonders. And, keep you up for 28 hours straight. I got a lot of reading done.

With this little episode nearly behind us, the entire fam will be drug in for flu shots this week. We're taking no chances on anyone else getting sick. Lack of routine and normalcy creates illness. Exhaustion, too. All in the forecast for us.

And, according to this site, this year's shot WILL include 3 strands, including the H1N1. Wonder if those opposed to it last year will not get one this year? We vaccinate. If it's available and recommended by our doctors, we do it. But, I know lots of people had questions last year. No doubt, the media helped feed those uncertainties.


In between making enormous life changes, we've done our best to keep the punks in their routine. Carter's in school. Lainey and Jack are up to their usual nonsense. Blake took them to the KC Zoo, the Deanna Rose Farmstead, Union Station, Crown Center and Kaleidoscope. All while I was sick at home recovering.

Blake = good dad and husband.

The week prior, we enjoyed a lovely morning at the Farmer's Market.....just one of the many things I will miss about Overland Park as we venture west.

Jack's bounty.

And, Lainey's.

Cutie pie.

Yall know I'm big on markets like this and supporting local business.....especially farmers. Take pride in where you live, peeps!


Want to know one of the hardest parts of this move? Parting with old loves. (Not Blake....he's making the move.) I'm talking about furniture we've been hauling from Texas to Colorado to Kansas. Carter used this collection, below, upon exiting the crib and until we bought the bunk/loft system currently used by the boys today. I kept the armoire and dresser that go with this because it blends well with the bunks. But, these......have to go.

And, this. The rocker used to rock each of our babies to sleep. Started with Carter and moved down from child to child. I will be sad to see it go.

Blake and I are big on keeping furniture and buying simple, quality pieces that will last through the years.......and hopefully decades. I'd much rather re-paint something (as we did with this rocker with each nursery) than buy something new.......not only to save money, but because it's yet another extension of recycling.


So, we've made a lot of money from a garage sale on Saturday and lots of CraigsList buyers. And, no one got murdered! Awesome.

New subject. Donuts With Dad.......last Friday at school.

Blake said the PE teacher, whom directs traffic and sets up the cones in the parking lot, went up to Blake and said, "Man, I hear those carpool lanes out in San Diego are really tricky. You ready for that?"

Caroline has confirmed with me that we are the laughing stock of the teacher's lounge right now. Can't blame them.


The littler punks are busy resurrecting toys from areas we're cleaning out. Meow Meow got a ride on the train.


Packing starts tomorrow, bloggies. Our ticker shows 13 days until we move. Pretty close, although we're not absolutely sure of the exact drive out day. What I do know is that the freight carrier will drop off the trailer next week. For us to fill with the contents of our lives, now scaled down about 40%. We've accomplished a lot so far.

Place to live? Still working on it.

Jobs? Still working on it.

Quit worrying about the little things! :)

Questions, Answered

Where are you going to work?
*Not entirely sure yet. Blake and I are both looking at our options. I'd love to find something immediately that will work with the kids' schedules (Preschool, Pre-K and 4th grade), but that almost seems to good to be true initially.

How many Red Bull/Vodkas are you and Blake consuming a day?
*Not enough. Stressful days around here, peeps.

We look like this a lot of the time. Yes, I'm the white cat. You'll see why.

How you like dem apples, boy?!

What will you do if you get there and can't find a job?
*Good question. And, one that seems to be of the utmost concern these days. I had to finally tell my Aunt Mary to quit being so practical and that things would fall into place. Silly.

But, seriously. Although we don't have jobs lined up right now, I have no doubt Blake and I will find work. We've been married for over 10 years and have yet to ask for a handout. Blake will cut grass and landscape (Californians love private gardeners)......I'll wait tables.....we'll bag groceries before a bill goes unpaid.

So, the option of us not finding jobs really isn't an option, as we're moving to set roots and stay. Our initial findings may not be perfect, but we've weighed this possibility and are ready to take that risk.

I don't mean to sound over-confident or completely jaded in our thinking. We've received all sorts of responses to this move and we've considered everything. Blake and I are both hard working people and I have faith that we'll make it happen.

Aria wants to know if her and Batman can be BFFs?
*Absolutely!

Out of all the wonderful sites to see in California, what are you most excited about doing with your kids?
*How much time do you have? California......lovely, natural California. I'm most excited about getting outside again and finding those things that we loved in Colorado....on the west coast. The mountains, beaches, hiking trails and state parks. I'm giddy just thinking about it.

I have an old college friend who lives in San Diego and we've been in touch since we decided to move out there. We were discussing places to live and his question was, "Well, what's your flavor? Ski, skate, surf or fruit.....avocados or grapes.....something in the middle?"

Love that.


Where are you currently working?
*I'll say it now because we're about to leave.....as I don't typically throw out specifics......but I'm currently working at an upscale resale shop in town called Children's Orchard. I absolutely love it. And, I'm a huge believer in resale now, after finding this store. It's a cut above the rest and the quality is fantastic. The best part? There are plenty of locations in California!

What jobs are you looking to apply for in California?
*Management, retail, buying, U.S. Customs and Imports, writing, editing, accounting, and more. Are you hiring?

Do you believe in ghosts?
*Absolutely.

Are you crazy?
*Absolutely.

Where you gonna live?
*Working on it.

Are you going to have a guest room for me?
*Of course!

Aren't you afraid to fail?
*If Blake and I were afraid to fail, we would have never gotten married in the first place. We take huge leaps of faith together. We believe in each other and we trust each other to make this happen. And, I know it will!

A Comedy of Errors

We're a total mess right now. In 2.5 weeks, we will drive out of the Midwest and into the unknown. I think the anticipation of it all is causing us to lose our minds a little bit.

Examples:

1. We forgot to pick up Carter on his 3rd day of school. Forgot. Totally. We were sorting through the kitchen and Blake noticed the clock at 3:30......then drove hysterically to make it there on time. Carter did not notice due to the massive carpool pick up cluster always present the first week of school. But, we felt like terrible parents.

2. In said carpool lane......the very next day......I ran out of gas. RAN OUT OF GAS. I've done this once in my life and that was in high school.

After our mishap the day before, I was there bright and early, first in line......at 3:00. It was 95 degrees outside, so I sat comfortably in my air conditioned car reading my book. Once the parking lot opened, I scooted up to mark my territory, claiming I love my child more than anyone else because I'm so early........and then my car stopped. Had to get out and tell the principal what happened and to please wave people around me until my husband shows up with gas. Awesome.

3. Yesterday, Blake went to pick up Carter and somehow drove our family truckster straight into a poor, unsuspecting tether ball pole.




It ripped the pole out of the ground and punctured our tire with a 4 inch gash. He said the cones threw him off......and the sign poking out of one telling parents which lane to use......took a sharp turn and plowed into it.




That's 3 parking lot incidents in less than 2 weeks, folks. I have a feeling that the school district here in Overland Park can't wait for the Starnes family to withdraw Carter.

In other news, I think the kids have started to sense the lack or order around here and are becoming pretty brave. Blake was fussing at Lainey a few days ago......she stood and listened.....and then responded, "Daddy. You yook so cute when you talk yike dat."

You want more drama? I'm sick. My lungs look like this:



I have Bronchitis and a sinus infection. For the past 2 days, every inch of my body has hurt like hell. My teeth even hurt at one point.

I went to the doctor this morning. I passed out while giving a blood sample and the guy (about half my size) had to push me back into the chair so I didn't fall out.

I came to and acted as though it really wasn't a big deal. Because, right now, people......it doesn't seem like a big deal. Humiliating? Yes. But, it honestly felt par for the course at this point.

I left with:

antibiotics
steroids
nasal spray

And, then bought:

ibuprofen
ibuprofen pm
mucinex

I'd love to be napping right now, but the steroids are making me nutty. One steroid pill can send me over the edge and I have taken 6, as prescribed to me today. My doctor knows about our venture west and wants me healthy asap. I am appreciative of his intentions.....but now I'm stuck in our room until the 24 hour antibiotic "you're not contagious" rule kicks in. I finished a book in nearly a day and am well through another right now. Hopefully, I'll calm down soon enough and sleep this evening.

Phew! I'm worn out. How about you? Sass says we need our own reality show. I'm starting to understand why.

Hope your week is less eventful than ours!

Got Questions?

Let me know! Regarding our move, the kids, Batman, work, Meow Meow, etc.

Click "ask anonymously" if you want to keep your identity to yourself.

I'll be back tomorrow with yet another Starnes fumble....we are a comedy of errors these days......it's getting pretty ridiculous. Stay tuned!

Scoop

Sweet baby Jesus, I'm losing my mind.

House is almost sorted. Meaning, I've touched EVERY SINGLE PIECE of our inventory. Playroom will be done tonight and then the albatross hanging from my neck (I feel so smart writing that) will be gone soon. Goal for the end of the week is to have everything donated, up for sale, trashed, or with the intention of keeping. Pray for us.

That leaves 2 weeks to pack. I think I can. I think I can.

Movers have been secured. The truck has been reserved. We're buying space on a freight carrier, rather than driving a U Haul, for several reasons. It's about the same price after you factor in gas money, food on the road, a few hotel nights with the fam, etc. Plus, our sanity has a better chance for preservation if we're not driving one of those trucks.

So, onto jobs. A few prospects are looking good for Blake. I'll feel great when we're "done" in that department.

I've been thinking of working at Dash. But, then, Kim might want to be BFF and things would get awkward once she read my blog and saw this pic and all my "Ooh lah lah" talk about Reggie Bush:

Remember? Yeah, I don't think that will work out.

The search continues.

We hope to also have the home/apartment/condo/townhome/any livable space search done by the end of this week, too. Californians love the color white. And, granite. And, palm trees.



I know the map of southern California quite well now. And, we've extended our search up to the O.C. (Pretty sure they don't call it that out there. Must consult, Cam, cousin extraordinaire.) This will give us better availability for Los Angeles should we find work there.

With all that being said, I'm considering narrowing down our options to who takes photos with the toilet seat down. Seriously? I start screaming in this house of 3 children when the seat is up. Why would an agent not put it down in an empty condo?

Moving on to the Starnes kids.....

Jack and Lainey got married recently. Their first dance:

Jack hauled Lainey's baby changer upstairs just for the occasion because it plays music and people hear music when they get married. THAT is love, people.

Then, he lost interest and our bride was left to do pictures on her own. No worries. They get married a lot these days. To each other. We haven't had that talk, obviously.


We've also been skipping naptime in an effort to put kids down earlier and do more drinking work at night. Hence, a recent shot of our damn good parenting skills.


In other news, Carter is successfully boring every one at school with our moving plans. Hell, even I'm sick of hearing about them. I can only imagine what his teachers are going through.

He's also a head taller than most kids in his class. Supposed to be 6' 4". Blake's gonna get his booty kicked soon enough by one of his sons. Awesome.


How do we know this? The doctor did some calculator-type-formula when Carter was 4 and it showed he's going to be pretty tall. We don't know about Jack. Because he wouldn't stand still long enough to measure his height at his 4 year old check up. I'm thinking this contributed to the "behavior misconduct" label in his file. I think I will conveniently forget to have those forwarded to our new pediatrician in California.

Clean slates for everyone! Woo hoo!

Lainey has more dress up princess outfits than she has clothes at this point. And, I honestly don't care. If she's happy, we get more done.


I think that's it, folks! Back to house hunting......