Spread a little sunshine.....

Miss Mahoney and a little April sunshine!!

I am starting to feel like time is slipping away from me....three months from today...we could very well, be on our way back to Washington.  At the same time, I am feeling like things are starting to click together.  We will just have to see....turns out we may have a great lead on a house to rent.  My sister-in-law (I guess I should say ex...but I still consider her family), Kristin messaged me yesterday, asking when we would be moving back and told me she was looking for someone to rent her home.  She put a lot of work into it and was stressing about finding someone she could trust with it.  Turns out, the price would be better than perfect, the neightborhood was in our top 3, we would be 5.6 miles from Mason and Arrielle (and the princess), a mile from my niece and nephews, it has three bedrooms, a 2 car garage, a brand new kitchen done to Kristin's standards (which are HGTV worthy) and we saw the house last summer....sounds great right???   Only catch...this house is just under 1000 square feet.  

When, I look around this house we are in now...I see a lot of wasted space...and space we dont even use...but we have something in every space.  It is a huge 4 bedroom.  My laptop and desk have their own room...they share it with a lot of craft crap too.  We knew this place was huge...so we have a huge couch...really huge, like 12 feet wide!!  I swear it did not look this big when we bought it, it was tucked into the corner of a store. Shoot, we even have Mason's stuff here.  It freaks me out a little.

In reality though, downsizing a bit is good...soon it will be just Lee and I.  I know we can do it...we squished everything we have now into the beloved crack shack when we moved to Port Orchard in 2004.  It means as I prepare for the annual Coast Guard housing garage sale, that I need to really thin out all this crap we have!  Plus, that will mean more money to get the Corvette home...I want to ship it home, instead of drive it.  Now, my head is spinning with my to-do list...I need to go and jot this stuff down.

Geez, I hope the damn couch fits....

A little trip down memory lane......

Here is my sweet Mahoney (9 1/2 months old already!) wearing a pair of Oshkosh overalls I sent to Mason and Arrielle when Arrielle was pregnant...I sent them even before we found out they were having a girl.

Here is sweet Mahoney's daddy wearing the same overalls at 6 months old!!!!

I love it!!!!!

Time Flies...Even When You Are Not Having Fun

Well, I feel awful for not keeping up with the blog these past two months...between work, physical therapy, getting chores done...I have been neglectful of my blog and I am sorry.

Working full time is almost done...but not completely over, as I was asked to fill in a little more after April 15th.  In the last 9 weeks, I have helped register over 1000 tax returns!!  There is not a lot of time, to even sit down and wonder what to do next...I am moving from the second I get there until it is time to leave.  I have learned a lot and met some really nice people, and even though I am worn out, I can say I had some fun along the way too.

My arm....wow!!!  What a difference a surgery and lots of physical therapy can make.  I am so happy with the results, that if my arm did not get any better than it is at this moment I am still beyond thrilled.  The only thing I cannot do is put my arm behind my back...like to hook or unhook a bra.  That will be the last thing to come back and it still a ways away.  I have no pain, it feels stronger every day...and I can wave my arms like I just don't care!!!  Five more weeks and I get the last check up from my orthopedic surgeon...he was pretty happy with my 12 week check up!  I seriously feel like I got my life back...I had not realized how much the pain took away, until I noticed I could do things again.

No real news on the retirement front...we still have a couple months until we can even set up our move and plan Lee's retirement ceremony.  Lee had his last official weigh in last week....what a mood lifter!!  He can eat without guilt or fear of being tossed out of the Coast Guard for something as silly as a waist that is an inch too bigger than regulations.  He has heard from more than a few peers that they think it is messed up that he is being forced to retire...Lee even admits it is nice to hear.  He is really good at his job, and I am very proud of him!!

How cute are these pictures....I, as a mom....wanted to make sure that my boys grew into good men...like their dad and grandfathers.  I did not know that what I was really raising are good fathers.  Elliott still has a ways to go before he can even imagine being a dad...which is fine.  Mason, well...he took being a dad like a duck takes to water.  Nothing makes me prouder of him than seeing him with his daughter...my heart just melts!

Speaking of Elliott...he is enrolled in summer courses again...taking Intro to Business, Art Appreciation and Digital Storytelling.  We submitted his financial aide forms for Washington colleges...now we/he just have to narrow down the choices.  His courses end August 8th...so we call pull our tent stakes up anytime after then!!!  

I guess I better go...I decided to hop on the laptop instead of ironing some work shirts...back to reality...

Much love!

J