what's new?

I know it's been awhile since I've written a post. I'm finding it difficult to do anything from my laptop - I really miss my Mac. I don't function well with PC's anymore, to say it nicely.
Also with our lives in limbo the past month or so, it's been hectic. But there is good news!


I think I mentioned that Joe found a job - it took him a couple of weeks and he got right out there, and did his thing as usual. He's great that way - very much a social butterfly - the opposite of my characteristics. 


I had an interview lined up for the end of April, that had been scheduled for over a month - so I was a bit nervous about waiting that long for the interview - the pressure was building leading up to that day. But I did great, and it was a very comfortable interview. I received a job offer and accepted, and I am absolutely thrilled and excited to be going back to work. Full-time!


And completely scared.


I will be fine. I can't help but think about my kids and husband. I may sound bad by saying this - but they've been spoiled the past 4 years having me at their beck-and-call. I didn't mind it {most of the time}, and grew to enjoy those household and mom duties. I am definitely going to miss being able to spend all of my time with my family. And I'm also going to enjoy having some "me" time, even if it is in a working environment.


There are going to be a lot of changes as I head back to work. The kids are coming to the end of their school year, and will begin summer soon. So that means sometimes they're going to be home alone. Which should be fine - I have an almost 14-year-old who should be responsible enough to keep an eye on his younger siblings. And we're going to have to believe that he is capable of this, trust in him, and pray that he can handle that responsibility. He needs this responsibility - that's what I keep telling myself. I also need to lighten up, and realize that my kids are older, and fully capable of being independent for a few hours in the daytime. But it is so hard to realize they're not babies anymore, and that they're old enough to handle this. 


Going back to work full-time may be harder on me than anyone else in the family. 


And then there's Joe. Boy has he had it nice the past 4 years {love you}. He has already agreed that everything around the house will now be divided 50/50 - those tasks won't solely be mine anymore! I'm confident that he will follow through on this - while I was in college and working full-time he did everything around the house and with the kids. He's not your typical dad. He will vacuum, clean, do laundry, and cook dinner just as much as I will - it's one of the things I love about him! {I may need to leave notes everywhere in order for those things to get done, but they will get done!}


I will start work on Tuesday, and will be headed to Orlando, Florida for a week of training. {sounds more like a vacation to me}! I'm really glad that we have family here who can help support us during this time in our lives - I can rest knowing that while I'm gone everyone will be okay and taken care of. Joe leaves really early for work, and while the older two can get ready for school on their own, Ty needs a little supervision to keep him on task and focused. 


Now that we've secured employment - we started looking for a house to rent. Not an easy task when you're in a highly sought after school district. There were plenty of beautiful homes outside of the school zone in our budget - but paranoid patty here really didn't want to make the kids have to start a new school all over again come August - they're just now getting settled in their schools here, so I knew we needed to make that a priority. 


We finally found a house that is right in the area we need to be in. It's a bit small, but it will work and we'll make it home! We're all really excited about it. We should be able to start moving in by the beginning of June. Gag me....moving again. Thankfully our belongings are already packed and waiting for us in storage, so it shouldn't be too difficult of a move this time!


Everything with this move has gone so smoothly, it has helped reassure Joe and I that we've made the right decisions the past three months. We've moved our family across the country, have been staying with family and been sharing a bedroom and still maintained our sanity, we both are employed, and we found a house. I feel like I've just been going down my to-do list in my head and checking everything off. It's a very nice feeling!


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And a quick little side note - Today I received 2 full bottles of Palmolive Soft Touch in the mail from Influenster to test out. Since we're staying with family right now, I'm going to wait to review them - but I just wanted to let you all know about this company - if you're even somewhat involved in social media networks, sign up for influenster - they'll send you products to review and in turn you have to take a few surveys and talk about the products on your social media sites. 

I can't wait to try it out. I'm a loyal Palmolive customer, it's just so much softer on my hands and doesn't completely dry them out while doing dishes - so I'm excited to try this one. 

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Everything is NEW! {completely random post}

The thing about moving to an unfamiliar area, or rather, a place that is brand new to you, is that EVERYTHING IS NEW. In your day to day lives, you easily forget about how everything around you is familiar - you take it for granted because it's just the same place and the same things you see everyday.

Well, so far that has been the hardest, most challenging part about our move for us. At the same time, it's all very exciting to see these new places and things. In California I became so comfortable in my day to day tasks that I forgot what it was like to get out there and meet new people, and I didn't mind being a homebody - it was just that I got too comfortable.

So last week when Laura from Walking In Memphis in High Heels asked if I'd like to join her and a few other ladies for a 5k on Saturday, my shy self wanted to crawl into a cave and hide. You see, I've been a stay at home mom for the past 4...almost 5 years. I've lost those valuable socializing skills that took years to build upon. And instead of shyly bowing out of her offer, I decided to put on my big girl panties and join in on the 5k and meet some new people!

Meredith, Janessa, Laura, Lora, me, and Jaime.

I'm really glad that I did too, because all of the ladies that I met last Saturday were so nice and welcoming! That's a first - because most people just aren't like that in California - people just aren't as nice there as they are here - it's a big difference [it's hard to explain really]. When I told Joey and the kids about the 5k, they all wanted to do it with me [maybe not Joe, but where I go he goes right now].

Ty, R, and M - they all did great! R finished in about 24 minutes!

After the race. 

My time was 34:18 - which isn't too bad since it usually takes me 40 minutes to do 3 miles :) 

Progress.

Anyways, I know that I need to venture out more often, especially if I'm going to get back into the working world. That my friends, I am most nervous about! I did a few substituting jobs here and there over the past few years, but it wasn't even close to working full-time. I'm excited for this change, but also sad. I keep wondering how will this affect the kids? What will all of our schedules be like? What about Cody?! 

The kids will most likely LOVE the fact that I won't be around as often - they get away with so much more that way. And the dog? We got him right after I stopped working last time - so he's always had someone at home to hang out with. I know he'll be fine, the kids will be fine, it's my routine that will be changing. I'm a routine junkie - I need it to feel normal. But the last month has been everything but normal, filled with change, change, and more change. Which is good - just unfamiliar. Everything is new. Everyday. 

I can't seem to get my bearings either. At least with the area - there's no ocean to direct me north or south, east or west. I get so completely turned around driving, that I waste gas just going in circles. Think about it - if you know where you're going, you can plan out your route...in order to be the most productive and not circle around town all day running errands. But...for me, I've found myself doing just that! And why is everything considered Memphis, but yet there's towns called Bartlett, Cordova, Lakeland, Germantown, etc? Is it all considered Memphis? This is confusing.

And in the near future we're going to be looking for a house to rent - and I don't know what areas to look in and what areas to stay out of....any suggestions, Memphians?!

Cody turned 4 on the 17th!

Someone has stair phobia...

...this morning he took his 3rd fall down them :(

Now we try to walk in front of him, so if he slips we can stop him from barreling down. 

Happy 4th Cody!

Finish the Sentence Linkup!

1. I laughed so hard I cried when...I read Hubby Jack's post yesterday. Humor is the best medicine!
2. My high school...is featured in the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. I loved my high school!! 
3. It really pisses me off...when boys pee on the toilet seat because they have horrible aim - those who do that should be punished by having to sit from now on.
4. In ten years...Joey and I will be empty nesters!!! Maybe. We can only hope!
5. If I could erase one thing...it would be my face right now. I have acne - and the past 2 weeks I was eating those Think Thin peanut butter protein bars covered in CHOCOLATE and couldn't figure out why my face looked like it got hit with a bb gun. No more Think Thin bars for me!!
6. In 1999...I was a know it all brat, who laughed at everyone who was freaked out about Y2K!
7. Honestly...I'm SO nervous about the 5k race this Saturday - not the running part - but I get to meet Laura, Lora, and Meredith! I'm a shy person and awkward person sometimes - let's hope I can hide those nerdy features for one day.
8. To me, Sushi...is extremely disgusting. It reminds me of the seaweed that washes up on the beaches in CA, and the smell alone is enough to gag me.
9. Someone really needs to invent...a way to comment on blogs from my iPhone so that I can stop feeling like a stalker who never comments - someone make me an AP for that!
10. The first time I drank alcohol...I was ten and I thought my dad had a glass of water in his coffee mug, but it was no H2O - just straight Vodka! I haven't been able to drink Vodka since!
11. The one question I would ask God is...Can you explain it all to me please?
12. Lindsay Lohan...'s "twin sister, is she a hot mess just like Lindsay?" Maddie asked a few months back. Me:"Uhm, she doesn't have a sister - in that movie they just digitally duplicated her."

Maddie: "Oh THANK GOD! I'd hate to know there were two of them out there." 

Day 5 and Settling in...

The past week has been a whirlwind.




Thursday was our last day of driving, and it was a short day from Little Rock to Arlington, Tennessee. [We'll be staying with family here for now].




It was my first time meeting this side of Joey's family, so I was really nervous. As soon as we arrived, I felt so welcomed and excited to finally be here.

After lunch, we headed to the storage facility to unpack the truck and cars, and turn in the moving truck. It went as well as could be expected after 5 days on the road - and it was raining. It was also cool out and I thought "okay, I can handle this weather, it's not that bad."




The kids have all started school, and all I can say is there's NO comparison to the CA schools they came from. The schools here are on steroids compared to the little shacks they were attending out there. We may need to make some adjustments with Ty's placement at his school - Special Ed departments are different for each state, and we're just not sure he's in the right place yet. I know it'll all work out though!

So that's about it for now. Ironically I lost a couple pounds on the road - probably due to stress. I haven't been able to run the past 3 weeks with so much going on, but I'll pick it back up again soon.

The two things we are all having a hard time adjusting to is the weather and the GINORMOUS bugs! On the CA coast our hottest average day was 70 with zero humidity and a nice coastal breeze. Here - holy hot - and I KNOW, I KNOW - it's not even really hot here yet!!



Lunch at Cracker Barrel. Hahaha- some of the names of these restaurants are hilarious!


Waiting to get new licenses.


Ty crashed while reading - his new class is wearing him out!

The job hunt is in full force! I don't know how often I'll be blogging right now with all of these changes in our life - but I will do my best to update it when I can!

Happy Wednesday!

Purse link up - from the road!

I'm doing a super quick link up with Mel and Erin today, and I wanted to share because my purse is PACKED full due to this road trip.

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All of that stuff is in my purse! My step daughter once told me it's a grandma purse - and well, she is having a baby girl so I guess now I really can call it a grandma purse!