I walked from IN to KY with my KS visitors!

Always the entertainer!

It was super awesome to have my bf from Kansas, her Mama and 3 of her kiddos come visit. They showed up late Saturday night and left after breakfast this morning! It was nice becuase they brought some of the wonderfully WARM and sunny weather from KS with them! We decided to spend the day seeing some of the sights of Louisville. (I have finally learned to say it correctly! Lo-uh-ville. It is like you are vomiting up the word!) Wichita sister even asked why I was calling it Lo-uh-ville and not Louisville, but when all else fails, you can always call it Louis (as in the guys name) and Ville. That really gets heads to turn. HA! 

Wichita BF with her middle daughter

The museum is pretty cool. You even get a minibat at the end of the tour. It is amazing to think they only JUST stopped carving them by hand in the 80s! WOW. They make a lot of bats at this place. 

I'm not really a baseball person and neither are the boys, but the visitors from Kansas enjoyed it! After the Louisville Slugger Museum we ventured to the Four Bridges Park. It has four bridges (Creative name, huh?!?!) you can see from the walking bridge over the Ohio river. Right in the middle of the river you go from Indiana to Kentucky. Kinda cool to say I walked ALLLL the way from Indiana to Kentucky in a day! Muwhahaha. 

 After we played at the Four Bridges, had a picnic lunch and counted how many tires were floating it the SWOLLEN river, we went over to Bricks and Minifigs. Man, oh man, how we do love that store! :) I left Wichita BF, her mom and the kiddos and went to find gasoline for the car. I hadn't had to put gas in it in TWO weeks. This is unheard of for me. I really do need to get a life! While searching for a gas station I found a Dunkin Donuts. HIGHLIGHT of my day---well, besides having visitors from Kansas...of course! Wichita BF and I adore DD! We got us some donuts and scarfed them down right then and there. I'm not even sure she tasted her Boston Kreme filled.

Tomorrow is one of my FAVORITE food holidays! Make sure you wear green and I will post pics of my most amazing Corned Beef! (If you want dinner, come on over....)

How to hang a picture Step One

So, with all my extra packing paper around, the Portland sister suggested I trace/cut out my pictures and put them on the wall prior to hanging them. What a novel idea! Portland sister is a genius....she later admitted she learned this nifty trick from Pinterest. (Where does everything creative come from these days???)

In order to photo bomb me he ended up crashing directly into me.
I think he was trying to fly. Boys are so odd...

I am happy to say this trick worked like a charm! It allowed Prince Charming to see what the pictures would look like on the wall. We left it this way for a few days to get a feel for the collage. I didn't want it to feel to overwhelming as this seemed like a lot of pictures on the wall.

I was going to put a picture of me and the hubby up on the wall, but the boys dominate our lives, so it was only appropriate to have a wall dedicated to them. I think everything at this point is dedicated to them, but this is what parenting is all about, right?

BooksandWhatNot--I got a job!

So, since I moved here I have been in search of a job. I have a few requirements of said job:  it cannot require I leave the house before 8 a.m., one that gives endless vacation (for sick kids, snow days, husband traveling, etc), it must allow me to be home by 3 p.m. to meet the bus; it must allow me to never fix my hair or makeup. I need to be able to cook, clean and chauffeur the two Jedi Knights whenever they need me. I have to be able to cancel my shift at work on a whim as my husband may not be able to be home to take care of any of the household responsibilities, i.e: kids.

We have only been in Kentukiana for 11 weeks and after SEVEN snow days and having one of the Jedi Knights get sick for THREE days I would have had to miss two weeks of work! Not to mention the drama of owning a house, living in a rental property and trying to buy a house. Then there was the drama with the Stupidhaus' who bought the KS property, the inability to close on the property in Indiana when we thought we would and NEED I EVEN BRING UP THE BMV drama this week?

So, that brings me to BooksandWhatNot! Beth Golay, an amazing woman, who I met five years ago at a Watermark Books, is the owner/operator of the website. She was a Manager for Watermark Books for many a years and branched out on her own. She manages  to work a FULL time job, has two daughters, a hubby who loves WSU, manages the website, writes a DAILY newsletter and has a passion for books! I am now reviewing books for her website and I LOVE it. It meets all the requirements above and it gives me the opportunity to review books before they even go mainstream?!?!? Can I say awesome?

I recently read this book, A Spool of Blue Thread, and discovered it made the Indie Bestseller list for February. WOW! It was super cool to read a book before it even made it on the shelves--and NOW you can buy it at Target. Check me out.

I cannot thank the good Lord ENOUGH for placing me at a book club meeting at Watermark Books five years ago to bring Beth into my life. She is super woman! It is because of these people we find along our journey in life that allows us to stay sane!

I cannot afford fancy vacations. I cannot afford therapy. I cannot afford to leave my boys at daycare. I cannot afford a maid, cook or chauffeur. Therefore I READ. Gotta love the new job!

Another visitor! (We're just so popular!)

Check it out! His name was Dewie and he was awesome! I was out in the garage, cleaning the "beer fridge" and Gabby starts barking. I look over and there is little Dewie! I was shocked to see someone, even a DOG, standing in my garage. The weather was so nice and my gym bf was painting and cleaning out his garage, so I wanted to be just like him. (My heart aches to go for a long run with the gym BF!) 

I bring little Dewie into the house and trap him in the laundry room. He has a collar and two phone numbers on him. I am trying to call the number on his collar when I hear the boys come in the door from school yelling for me! I try to wait at the end of the drive for them everyday, so they knew something was up when I wasn't waiting for them.

The owner was relieved to hear from me. Her son forgot to put the wireless collar on him and little Dewie was foot lose and fancy free. We kept him for about an hour until the irresponsible son came to claim him.

J-Bird trying to catch the speedy dog!

Dewie stealing some water!

What a great day to have someone who has LIFE in them....little old lady is worthless these days, other than eating a HALF a pound of chocolate and being lethargic for a full day. Idiot.

10 days till Kansas!! Woot. 

A Deed, a BMV and tears

Indiana BMV

I have a LOT to do today! Before I lay down with the Jedi Knights, we compose a nightly list of what Mom needs to do while they are at school for the next day. Obe Wan has been extremely worried about my time while he is away at school. So thoughtful! Although it wasn't on my list today, I decided to head to the BMV and get my driver's license and car tags. I research ALL the documents I need, find the address and hours of the Floyd County BMV. I also look up where to file my Deed for my house! They don't do that for you here, so I needed to make sure and file with both the county recorder and the auditor to ensure I would not be taxed additional money. Go government!

Documents needed:

• Current out of state drivers license
• A bill reflecting your current address
• Social Security number/card and/OR passport
• Birth Certificate
• Title and Registration
• Proof of Car Insurance

EASY! I put on real people clothes! (I went to the gym once today, and knew I was going to run later, but why not dirty two pairs of sweats???)  I do my hair and PUT ON MAKEUP. I want my picture to look great! 

I arrive and I am third in line. I get a nice little lady who tells me that I have the incorrect documents! I must have TWO bills--only one shows my real name and the other is to my alias. I also have to have a MARRIAGE LICENSE. This is after she asks me how many times I have been married. (Apparently, you need to have divorce paperwork if you have been married multiple times.) 

AND I need the title to my car. KANSAS FILES IT ELECTRONICALLY--I haven't seen the title, oh, say EVER?!?!?! So, she calls over the manager and she says it is super easy. You go to Kansas DMV.gov or the IRS.gov, print the form and bring it in to them. No problem. Super easy. As I rise to leave, the lady says to me, "THANKS FOR NOTHING." And then laughs. Seriously?! WOW. IT is because of the stupid people in the world who make identity theft a reality that I am having to go to ALL these pains to show the correct documentation. If I were a criminal it would be easier. Swear to goodness. Are there honest people left in the world? If so, please step up!

I go over to the County office and this was simple. You just complete your mortgage deed and sign your life away for taxes. Easy enough! (Oh good. There are honest people. Maybe some anyways, as I had to walk through a metal detector and two security guards to get into the court house. Not to mention the shady people out front....)

I go back home. Find said forms on KS.gov and find my marriage license. I head back over to the BMV. Wait for five people ahead of me---all the time studying for the Indiana written comprehension driving test. Don't worry! I didn't have to take the test because---Yep, you guessed it! I had the wrong forms.

1. You cannot show a "duplicate" marriage license. It has to be the official one with a stamp and a notary signed you got hitched! (After going to KHDE.gov/vitals, I learned it would cost me $26.00 and 7-10 business days for them to find it and then mail it through the USPS.)

2. It is the lien holder who holds your title, not the state of Kansas. You must contact your Lien Holder and this is not necessarily the place where you send your payment.

Needless to say, I started crying. I just was so mad and frustrated! I DID MY HAIR FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Why did they NOT tell me this the first time I was there. This time the woman (a different one....) says to me in a SOUTHERN dialect, "Oh honey, I'm a crier too. It'll be okay...."

Whatever people. I'm going back to Kansas in 11 days peace out you whackadoodles....

Another visit!!!

Toothless today! 

This one is by the tooth fairy! J-Bird lost a tooth---ALL on his own! He has had SEVEN teeth pulled, so this was super exciting for him. He refused to eat most of yesterday and part of today because of his darn tooth. Too funny. It was super painful to yang it out---says the boy who would prefer to have them yanked by a dentist....

Under "laughing gas" he dances. It is SO funny!

These are THE ROOTS ON THE LAST four teeth he lost!!! 

Wart the size of a grown adults tip of the pinky finger! OUCH!

He also has a HUGE wart on his foot that has been extremely painful. He told me it was 3D and it had to be removed. I don't know how the tooth was painful compared to this horrible wart. We scalpel it every night and then soak it in Cider.We have been diligently treating the wart with Apple Cider vinegar. It is truly a miracle drug! I have discovered Apple Cider vinegar has SO many wonderful attributes for curing everything. I'm thinking it may be the next weight loss diet I try!!!

Sisters!

Wichita Sister, Portland Sister and Ms. America!

 So, during the week we moved (going back in time...) both my sisters came to visit! It was a blessing! They both helped me unpack, offered me advice (mostly solicited) and just hung out with me. It is hard to move so far away from everyone, but having them with me for a week was wonderful!

The Nephew is addicted to sugar. He crashes hard when he is on empty!

I had GRAND plans of a sister's night out, shopping, eating some awesome food in Louisville and just some hang out time. Well, The Nephew and the weather had other plans. Portland Sister handled all the children great! She was patient and kind and went to her room when she wasn't. It was perfect. I had them both together for 2 days and one-on-one for a few more days!

We managed to get 80% of the house unpacked! Swell. Obe Wan was truly sick of The Nephew by the end of the trip and I think The Nephew was done with him as well. These two pictures were taken on our last day together. They capture the moment perfectly!

 The Nephew was sitting so calmly. I believe this was during one of his crashes. He had just eaten half the box of donuts. No, I take that back, he doesn't eat the donuts. No, he just picks off the glaze!

 I have No idea what Wichita Sister did, but Portland Sister is posing for a pic! Portland sister is always stealing my camera through the years. One year my MIL made the mistake of telling her to take pictures and GAVE PORTLAND SISTER HER CAMERA. She quickly learned you get random selfies and who knows what else?!?!

Kansas Bound in 17 days....