Halloween Part II

Happy Halloween! and Happy Birthday to Uncle Richard if you're reading this. Lise' says she wants to go to your party, so be sure to invite her :-)

Last night we completed our 3rd and final Trick-Or-Treat of the year. Once again we headed to sorority row at UA. I tried to talk Uncle PJ into escorting Lise' with a t-shirt that read "Uncle and Available", but with Halloween on a Wed night, it just didn't work out with work. Maybe next time.

Instead, we joined our friends Ira, Flossie and Miss Jennifer. It was a grand night, and the weather couldn't have been better. I figured I'd include a few pics b/c Lise' decided on a costume change.




Abri decided to forgo her ladybug costume in an effort to remind the Tide fans what's about to be on their doorstep. She ran into a little controversy with a little man on a tricycle in a crimson football uniform, but she held her own. The effort did take all her energy though.


As for tonight, I decided to stay home and tackle the door to door thing next year when B can join us. Instead, we watched THE GREAT PUMPKIN Charlie Brown, and both girls were down by 8:30. yeah!

Happy Halloween Part I

Halloween this year was spread out over a week or so. You've already seen Boo at the Zoo, so here are a few pics from the Fall Festival at FUMC in Tuscaloosa. We "Trunk-Or-Treated" around the parking lot and headed into the gym for games and jumping on spacewalks. Everyone had a grand time.

Our little bumble bee and ladybug.


Flossie and Lise' Trunk-Or-Treating


This one Jennifer insisted I take for B. I did get her to say GEAUX TIGERS!



Too cute not to post


This one is for Daddy. How could you not miss us?

Mommy's Lil' Helper

As mentioned before, the house is on the market, so each and every time I leave the house, it has to be show ready. With two girls that can destroy a room in 10 seconds flat, I had to bring in some help.


I'll have to report this one for sleeping on the job.

We're back.

Really, I've been back in Alabama for 5 or so days, but it feels like forever. This separation of us from B is starting to wear on all of us, and we're just ready to be under the same roof. We'll keep chugging though. Just know that I'm doing my best to upload pics, but it may be a little slow.

That being said, we've been up to a lot. Right after Critter Creek, the girls and I headed to Louisiana. We hung out at Grandma and Papa's house for a few days. Lise' always loves the extra attention. I took the girls to have their pictures made. Unfortunately, I was dealing with Lise', who hasn't sat still for a picture since she could sit up, and Abri, who was a little under the weather. We still don't have all the proofs, but here's a sneak peek.



We also got to join in the new Baton Rouge phenomenon of "Jump Zones." You basically pay a nominal fee for your children to jump in 5 or 6 different spacewalks for 90 minutes. We went with my friend Christy and her kids, Maddie and Ben. They all had a ball. Lise' is hooked! I'm not sure we'll ever be able to visit without taking her. I only wish I had brought my camera. Sorry!

The big moment came on Friday when Lise' went with Papa to the airport to pick up her Daddy. (I was back at the photographer w/ Abri), and I'm sure it was a happy moment all around. It definitely was a great thing to have him back within arms length. There's no doubt about it, we love our daddy!

On Saturday, the fall weather in BR was absolutely beautiful! The newly rejoined Swindell family and Grandma headed to Boo at the Zoo. What fun. It was trick-o-treating around the zoo. Lise' was more adorable than ever, and Grandma's costume was pretty great too.


What fun we had! That night, B and I ran on over to the LSU vs. Auburn game. What an ending. ON Sunday, we packed up the car and drove to Hammond. All good things must come to and end, and B flew back to NJ that Monday. The girls and I hung around Hammond for a few days before heading back to AL. One of the things Lise' enjoyed doing while there was playing with blocks. She insisted that I take this picture to show her Daddy. Isn't it great that you can see how her mind works through the placement of the blocks. If my memory is correct, she was building a train.




I hope that fills th need for now. I swore I'd get to bed earlier tonight, but once again, I'm behind. It's just too much fun watching all the hype on the news over this weekend's game here in Tuscaloosa. Tomorrow night is Trick-O-Treating at UA's sorority row, so I'm not sure I'll be able to fill you in on what's been going on, but look for it in the near future. Hmm...maybe Lise' should go as an LSU cheerleader tomorrow night :-) Nah, guess I won't completely ruin my child's Halloween. Maybe Abri would be up for it.

Coupon Alert!

Thanks Angie for the link to Tylenol's ultimate coupon.(Click here and scroll to bottom left of screen). For all my friends out there who don't read Angie's blog, here's the link to $5 off Tylenol. For those of you with kids, you can have one for every diaper bag. You can print the coupon twice, so happy printing, and pass on the good deals.

We Miss Our Daddy!

We're now going on 8 days without him, and all 3 of us look forward to his calls each and every day. We're hanging on though, although at times it seems like there's no end in site. We have 5 days left until our 2 day visit, then we do it all again.

There is some good news. It appears that the owners of the house in NJ have accepted our full price offer, we've made it through attorney review, so that means the house is ours, pending inspections. I'll believe it when I see it though. We still don't have an official closing date, so the big move is still up in the air. Right now, it appears the soonest the truck will arrive is the week after Thanksgiving.

For now though, I'm still hanging tight in AL with side trips to LA. As I mentioned earlier, Lise' loves talking to B on the phone. Exhibit A.

Then, as many of you know, I haven't gone down the road of potty training just yet. I had been all geared up to do it in July when things had calmed down for us, but then B came home with the news that USG was closing and we would be moving on. At that time, we never imagined we'd still be here in Oct, so I told Lise' that when we got to the new house, she could learn to use the potty. I know, I know, I accept my mistake in that aspect. To make a long story short she basically refuses to learn here, so I gave up. Then, a few weeks ago, all signs pointed to the fact she was ready. Any book, image or anything relating to a potty grabbed her attention. I continued to ask if she wanted to go for it, but she kept telling me she would learn at the new house. So, I left it alone. I had too many other things to worry about. Then, last week I found her in the bathroom on the potty. Yeah for her! She didn't want me anywhere near, and insisted that I stay in the den. I followed directions, but Abri enjoyed investigating what was going on. Every once in a while, I'd stick my head around the corner to make sure all was well. The jokes on me moment came when I rounded the corner to see Abri playing in the toilet, Lise' sitting on it, and half a roll of paper in the bowl. It gets better, and those without kids won't understand.....Abri was grabbing the drenched toilet paper and putting it in her mouth. Aah...only a mother could love that! It topped the day of all days for me. (and no, as far as I could tell, the bowl didn't contain anything of the nature you're wondering about) I did manage to catch a few pics, so enjoy.



And, last but not least, yesterday the girls and I, along with Lise's friends Ira and Flossie went to Critter Creek. It was loads of fun for the kids. They were able to feed ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. They were also able to see raccoons, foxes, mountain lions and bears. It was quite the menagerie, and it was all on Bubba's farm. Let's just say the only thing between us and the predators was 2 rows of chicken wire and a sign saying don't pet the mountain lion. There were bounce houses and play sets and for the big finale we rode on a hayride down to the "pumpkin patch" (read cleared field where pre-bought pumpkins were placed to look as if they magically grew all in convenient take home sizes). The kids had a ball, and we managed to get home without any ticks.

And the stress continues

Well, have we mentioned that New Jersey stinks????? Of course that isn't referring to the entire state, but there are a few weird quirks about it that have come to haunt us. Remember I mentioned in our last blog that we were keeping our fingers crossed that the offer for the house went through without any hitches. I'm sure you've figured out that we didn't cross hard enough, and we're fit to be tied.

Apparently in the state of NJ, only lawyers can write contracts. That means that even though we put in a bid for the house and it was accepted by the owners (one being a licensed real estate owner) with the add in that they would only accept back up offers and all parties signed, the contract is not binding. The piece of paper means nothing until both parties present the information to their lawyers, and the lawyers draw up the contract. In the time between when the price is agreed upon and the contract is drawn up, the owners can accept as many offers as they want, in effect backing out of their word-and handshake in our case-and screwing you over. That's the most delicate way I can put it. We found the house, we mentally moved in, and now the not so nice people have accepted another offer meaning we have to make the decision on whether or not to offer more. We have made the decision to go ahead and offer full price, but only b/c due to this we've missed the opportunity to bid on our 2nd choice house, and we haven't seen anything close to the size vs. price. At this moment, we're sitting on our hands waiting to hear if they've accepted our second offer and then to see if the other buyers counter. It's the most frustrating thing ever, and it doesn't help that I'm still in AL and B's up there still looking at houses in the event that this all falls through. By the time we find a house, he may be transferred again!

So, that's the unfortunate update from here. If you have a voodoo doll out there, stick a pin in it for us!

And we have a winner

The search for a new house has concluded with success. With no further ado, here it is. Our new 3 bedroom (will be 4 by the time we're done with it) 2 full bath home.








I know, I know, it's not the most beautiful thing from the street, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The interior is exactly what we need for now. It may come as a surprise to all, but we chose Atlantic Highlands to call our next home. We had all but given up on it due to the high prices of homes compared to the size available. In fact, we were with 3 different realtors Tuesday thru Friday, and we came close to cancelling our visit to AH on Fri b/c we had found a home near Cranbury that felt good. We were just hesitant b/c it was still more than we wanted to spend for the short time we plan to be there. Thank goodness we didn't. Our new home, hopefully, was the first one we saw on Friday, and we knew it was it. It was the least expensive one we had looked at over the past few weeks, and it had the most to offer. We like the area, and we're looking forward to moving in.

We had the opportunity to meet the owners too, and it turned out the husband (a true Scottishman) built the house on his own for $13,000 almost 40 years ago. I don't guess I have to tell you that they're making a fortune. Anyway, they've cared for the home like it was one of their own, and it shows. Of course, it wouldn't be like us to leave everything alone, so you know there will be changes. Lucky for us, it's a house with good bones. Oh, and did I mention the park next door is practically in our house. (look closely in the outside pic of the house) Lise' will love that! I may learn to regret that.

We'll have to get more pics online as time goes, but the area really is like being on vacation. For anyone who cares to mapquest it, our new address will be 59 Navesink, Atlantic Highlands, NJ. I don't know the exact number of blocks, but the shore is just a few blocks away, and we'll have a view, on clear days, of the NYC skyline. If it isn't crystal clear, you'll just have to settle for boats on the water.

B and I are just exhausted and clearly happy the search has ended. Of course, it's not over until we get the keys, but we'll keep our fingers crossed that it goes smoothly. We're thrilled we didn't have to spend half a million dollars too! Yeah, we can eat.

Back in New Jersey

We're back in NJ, at least I am, B's here to stay. We've spent yet another week trying to decide where to live. This is by far the most difficult relocation for us. I guess when you're about to spend half a million dollars, it should be difficult. For right now, we've narrowed it down to 3 houses. Two of them are in a town called Cranbury/East Windsor. The other one is in North Plainfield. The struggle is deciding on the community. If the house in N. Plainfield was in E. Windsor, we would have already made an offer. Tomorrow, we're heading down to Atlantic Highlands/Red Bank. We had previously ruled the area out, but we're giving it one more go tomorrow. I do have pics of two of the houses we're considering. For 1/2 a mill, you'd think we'd get waterfront!

PS, if anyone has been trying to call me (Julie), I forgot my phone in BR. I'll be back on Sat.

Lil' Red turns green

Just wanted to share a pic of a cute little baby we have who discovered her sister's crayon box.

The house is officially done and on the market!

Need I say more? Enjoy the final pics.