Ugh... burgled... again

Last night was quite eventful. I was in some pain around bed time so I took a Vicodin to relieve the pain and help me sleep... this was around 10:30 and I fell asleep around 11:15. Jason was studying for his insurance license test and went to bed around 1am. Around 1:45, I thought I heard someone banging on our door. Usually, I wouldn't have to wonder if it were real or not but because of the Vicodin, the lines between dreams and reality were pretty fuzzy. When I heard it louder (people banging on both the front and back doors), I knew it was real... which meant something was wrong. Jason got to to the back door to find our neighbor who informed us that Jason's scooter had been stolen. Our neighbor had called 911 on his cell phone while trying to wake us up. He handed Jason the phone, got in his car and took off after the thieves. A few moments later while Jason was still on the phone with 911, I heard Jason's scooter start (not in sight... because it's been upgraded, it has a distinct running noise) and moments after that we saw the lights of a police car turn on maybe 3 blocks down the street.

Apparently, our neighbors are night owls for which I am very grateful. A lady that lives (or maybe was just visiting) next door was outside smoking in the dark when she saw the thieves walk up to our place. I guess it didn't click to her that they were stealing something until after they left when she got the other two guys out of the house which is when they came and woke us up. We found our lawn mower in the alley behind our house which is where they ditched it to come back and get it later. They rolled the scooter down the street and hot wired it which is when I heard it start. Jason had forgotten to put the wheel lock on it obviously. They also carried our weed eater with them. We got everything back. There is some damage to the scooter from them breaking open the front cover to hot wire it but Jason fixed the wiring they pulled apart so it drives just fine.

The whole event was over by 2:20 am including filing the police report and getting our stuff home. There were three guys arrested and taken to jail. Jason plans to prosecute them. The policeman who seemed to be the primary guy says he recognized one of the men arrested which makes me sad for him but then just makes me angrier. Seriously, we work hard for the things we have (as do most people) and this guy has been arrested multiple times for being an overall lazy bum.

I was pretty shaken up by the combination of an abrupt awakening, being robbed AGAIN and having taken a Vicodin. I didn't really get back to sleep last night so here I am absolutely exhausted and needing to make the most of today in preparation for our move... in SEVEN days. Which somehow makes me just a little angrier at the thieves, lol. Jason is at work all day today, I'll be packing and baking cookies for our neighbors. Cookies hardly seem like a good enough reward for their quick action (and helping us getting back nearly $2000 worth of merchandise) but I'm sure they're not expecting anything anyway... right? lol

Have I mentioned how ready to move I actually am? Our neighborhood isn't on the awful end of the crime spectrum despite us being robbed three times in the last year. The first time was when someone stole our hose and nozzle before we even moved in... not really a big deal. The second time was our car and now this. Yep, ready for a change. Sorry this is kind of rambling but I'm tired, lol

Happenings

Well, I guess I'll start with Mother's Day. Mother's Day started fantastically. Jason got the kids up, changed, dressed, made them breakfast and all while I was just chilling in bed. It was glorious. I'm going to be honest: I did not want to go to church on Mother's Day. It's not that I don't love church but lately, church is a fight to get through. David cannot sit through Sacrament meeting and Ainzley is walking now so she doesn't want to sit anywhere for any length of time. David gets to go to the magical land of nursery but Ainzley doesn't yet so she spends the next two hours wiggling everywhere and fighting me because she's exhausted thanks to church being during lunch and nap time. So yes, the one thing I actually asked for was to not go to church. Shame on me.
So we went for a drive after breakfast. Then we had lunch and the kids took naps. Oh, did I mention I didn't have to change any diapers up to this point? I didn't? Well, you should know that, too : ) I got a fantastic back massage during nap time and then continued to lay around in bed. Jason was studying for his insurance license exam and started feeling yucky. So he decided to lay in bed while I cooked dinner which I didn't really mind. The kids woke up, we ate dinner, hung out and then Jason got sick - stomach flu : ( So Mother's Day ended pretty much the same as any other day except that I was taking care of a sick husband, too. So I ended my day by making a single serve coffee cake in the microwave and went to bed... and it was glorious : )

So, since Mother's Day, Jason and I finished our semester and are out for the summer. It's been so great! Jason brought it to my attention that I am truly a stay at home mom for a few months which I just love thinking about. I get to do nothing but play with my kids. oh, and move across the state in two weeks from today... yeaaahh, lol. But we are very excited about the move and the new job and our upcoming Branson vacation. In the mean time, I'm working my booty off finishing sewing projects and packing and playing with my kids. I've found that when I'm not stressed about school, I can be the kind of mommy I always wanted to be. Doing super fun stuff with my kids in between the errands and laundry, lol. Today, I took one of the biggest boxes I could find (intended for our move of course but I'll replace it) and two strands of Christmas lights. I spent 20 minutes poking the light bulbs through the box then plugged the strands into the wall... It was magic. David now keeps taking about how excited he is for Christmas (aren't we all, son : )) and Ainzley keeps talking about the "pretties". I love the fun, creative moments I get to spend with my kids  : )

It's Official!!!

We're moving! JASON GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!! :):):):):) We are beyond excited! So, Jason will be an agent for Farmer's Insurance in the St. Louis area. He gets to open his own agency, hire staff and be the boss man, lol. I don't think we could be more excited right now. So, Jason's working on getting his insurance license, we're waiting on the ok from his big background check and then we'll be out of here. Oh yeah, and selling our house... still working on that but it's competitively priced and move in ready. The market in our neighborhood/city is actually really good so we're hoping for a quick sell. Fingers crossed!! :)

MIA

Hello dear readers,
I'm so sorry I've been absent for awhile - it's been a crazy few weeks! Firstly, we have decided to move. We're selling our house and moving back to St. Louis. We are so excited about it! Secondly, Jason has been working so hard on getting a new job. We found an incredible opportunity and he got an interview... and then a second interview... and has a third interview in just over a week! We have been driving all over the state lately and haven't had a weekend at home in forever. The third interview is where I get interviewed (imagine my joy about that! ;)) and where a job will be offered. I can't believe we're moving after only having lived in our house for a year, but buying this house has given us lots of learning opportunities and a good amount of equity so fingers crossed for a quick selling process!

That's all for now... I'll be sure to update when we know more :)

House pictures

Living Room


Dining Room

Master Bedroom


Master Closet

Master Bathroom





Pantry


Back Hallway - the folding doors on the right is the laundry room

Guest Bathroom featuring the penny floor :)





Upstairs storage closet

Upstairs Bathroom



Loft area






Main floor guest room


Main floor guest closet

Beautiful 2750 sq ft, 2 story home on corner lot. 11 foot tall ceilings. Features 4 LARGE bedrooms with large walk-in closets and 3 spacious baths. Original hardwood floors in living and dining rooms. Brand new carpet in the master and guest bedrooms on the main floor. Wainscoting in dining room. Upgraded kitchen with oak cabinets, new countertops and stainless steel appliances. Guest bathroom on main floor features a penny floor, modern countertop and spacious shower. Extra wide staircase to upstairs. Second story has loft living space with vaulted ceilings. 1st bedroom is HUGE with an extra large closet to match. Room also has vaulted ceilings. 2nd upstairs bedroom features architecturally interesting ceilings with walk in closet. 3rd bathroom is also upstairs. Energy efficient windows throughout. Lot size is 11,000 sq ft with large privacy fenced back yard.

My heart is a little heavy right now :(

Nursing school is going to be put on hold until the fall... again. Things just aren't working out for it right now. I was really hoping otherwise, but, it's just not happening.

We do have the opportunity to go to California for the summer for a job for Jason. It will allow him to make 2/3 of his annual salary in about 3 months so that when he does go back to nursing school, he'll be able to spend more time studying. It sounds like a great opportunity though it will be a hard 3 months. We're still deciding if we're going to go. Right now, we're not sure where we belong and it's tough. I think that's what I'm struggling with the most is finding what we need to be doing. We've been praying about it for awhile now and still don't feel prompted toward anything.

On the bright side, the kids' birthdays are next week. I'm pretty excited! Jason has to work all day on David's birthday but not on Ainzley's so we're going to celebrate them both on Monday. I'm really looking forward to having some great fun with them :)

I thought I'd do a quick family update :)

School is in full swing! Jason and I are in the same 2 online classes as well as Jason's seated Microbiology class and I've got an additional online class. We've been having lots of computer problems so it's not exactly been easy but we're getting through it. Jason's doing well at work and I'm still home with the kids. I'm considering getting a part time job (like, 8 hours a week, lol) once Ainzley's weaned so I can get out of the house for a little while... but we'll see.

We're still working hard on the house. Yesterday we took up the old ceramic tile in the back entryway, guest bathroom, laundry room and coat closet and put down laminate wood flooring. It looks fantastic but the wood was slightly warped so it didn't install exactly right. I'm going to all the company and see about getting some of the money back. We also have the tile picked out for out master bath remodel - wahoo! We're still deciding exactly what we want to do with the garden tub, though so we haven't started demo or anything. And we're having carpet installed in the bedrooms on the main floor next monday! Things are coming along. Oh! and I've picked out a playset I want for the kids so I'm just waiting to see if I can get a better price at the lawn and garden show and if not, I'll order it and we'll be set :)

The kids' birthdays are next month and I cannot believe it! David will be THREE and Ainzley will be ONE - where has the time gone?!?! My kiddos are growing up so fast! David is just so amazing. He loves watching Backyardigans, riding his bike and playing with his puppy. Ainzley is a crawling maniac and can stand up now, too. She says mama, dada, baba (bye bye) and LOTS of other random noises, lol. She folds her arms when we get ready to pray, waves bye bye and covers her mouth and her ear when we play peek-a-boo. She just cut her 8th tooth and had a rally hard time with it. Probably because she was fighting a cold at the same time.

We are just having a terrific time lately. The weather has been great. We're making progress on the house, in school and the kids are growing! Keep checking for more exciting updates :)