checking in...

Hola! The cable man came today {yes, on a Sunday} and we are now re-connected to the real world.  I have really been missing Handy Manny the past four days...

Speaking of the real world, I go back to work tomorrow.  Right now I'm actually thinking work will be more restful then home, but check back on Thursday for a re-assessment.

I wish I had taken more pictures of our new house empty, but well, it was never actually empty.  Friday was a long and hectic day.  It actually worked out well for my emotional side.  I didn't have time to linger over all the memories we were leaving.

Why is seeing the house that you wanted to sell empty so sad?  I only cried a little, but I'm going to miss it a lot.  I wish we could have lived there forever, but unfortunately we outgrew it as our life changed.

My sassy toddler deserves a safe, non-busy street to ride bikes on, a yard to play in, and lots of room to spread out inside.  He quickly found a home for his shoes.  And forgot to inform us...

How fortunate we are that this new house plopped in our laps?  We have lots of work to do.  And in all honesty I don't mean we.  Lofton won't allow me to paint {i'm evidently too messy} and electrical work isn't really my niche.  Basically I'm the supervisor, but either way the project list is growing exponentially.  Painting, wall paper stripping, wall moving, door replacing...  My husband is a rock star. And I'm a great cheerleader.  Like this morning, for example, while he replaced one of the fans, I said things like, "I find it really attractive that you can replace ceiling fixtures."  See?  I'm super encouraging.

With the help of our amazing moms we conquered painting the family room and hall this weekend.  They also sanitized my kitchen, stocked my cabinets, organized Reese's room, and helped entertain the toddler.  Moving with a toddler?  Not so easy.  Moving with a toddler who suddenly develops stomach problems?  Borderline nightmare. I was so, so sad to see my mom go.  She worked from sunup to sundown to help get us settled.  Moms are the best.

And so now we begin again the process of making a house our home.  Bear with me the next few weeks as I start school {why so exhausting eight year olds?}, swim through piles of boxes, and try to breathe.

Adios summer!

fun in the sun 2011

Let's take a little break from this:

that would be the contents of our attic

And recap our trip with Lofton's parents to the beach.  It was our second annual pilgrimage to Sandestin and I can honestly say I enjoyed it MUCH more than last year.  {In case you need a refresher, last year Lofton had to work so he couldn't come and Reese hated the sand with a bloody passion.}

In true Beasley/Hurst/Richter fashion, there was lots of laughing, lots of eating, and three crazy tots to try and keep up with.

The kids l.o.v.e.d. the pool, two of the three loved the beach, and Tiffany and I loved our afternoon alone time at the pool.  Right Tip?

I hate just dumping pictures on here but I am bound and determined to get Reese's room packed today.  Enjoy the captions!

two peas in a pod

carousel riding-- he insisted on the rooster

loves of my life

got a bit too much sun so we borrowed Analee's sun shirt-- real men wear pink

cousins

after dinner dancing

the ride home-- stinker

{A special thanks to Mimi and Big Daddy for our vacation.  We love you, love the beach, and love our time together.  Especially little man. Sorry we had to leave a little early.  Next year we won't sell our house last minute then decide to buy another one.  Cross my heart.}

a little tease

Our home inspection on the house we are purchasing {next week!eek!} was this morning.  While Lofton walked around with the inspector I made myself busy snapping iphone photos.  They aren't the best quality, and clearly the homeowner hasn't moved out yet, but they are a peak into what is to come for our family.  I'll take better photos next week once everything is cleared out.

Front Room/Family Room

Half Bath

Hallway

Master Bedroom and bath

Guest room

Reese's room

Backyard

It's almost time to get moving.... Ready, set, let's get this over with!

i hate public meltdowns

Who needs a good Reese story to kick start their Tuesday?  Umm, okay.

First of all you need a wee bit of back story to appreciate this one.  Friday, oh Friday.  Friday morning was a train wreck at the Beasley house {and with the exception of Cassie arriving Friday afternoon was pretty horrid too}.  First of all, I realized that our credit card number had been jacked.  Yes.  To the tune of almost 1000 dollars and lots of overseas charges.  Do you know what a pain it is to deal with the credit card people?  After that disastrous start I should have just called it a day BUT I really needed a few things from the grocery.  Reese and I loaded up and headed to Publix.

While in route he asked if he could have a treat.  To which I replied that if he was super sweet we could get some new Popsicles.  That request lasted about 2.4 seconds because he spotted cupcakes as soon as we entered the store.  {I mean really Publix? I'm not stupid.  I know what you're up to.} We re-negotiated our deal: cupcakes in lieu of Popsicles and set off through the store.

At this point I can only surmise that some type of evil demon overtook Reese's body because he lost his toddler marbles.  There was yelling, kicking, throwing things out of the buggy, and even some spiteful nose picking.  As we approached the eggs, I very calmly told him that he had one chance to get himself together or there would be no cupcakes.  Well, he kicked me again.

Out of the buggy the cupcakes went.  Right there in the egg section.  I'm sure you can gather what happened next so I'll spare you the deats..... Let's just establish that it was ugly.

So YESTERDAY we made yet another Publix run for some essentials {i.e., stuff to make cookies, yogurt, and frozen pizza-- don't judge}.  When we got to the egg section of the store Reese sweetly says, "Mama, where are the cupcakes?"  I obviously look clueless because he says again, "The bad cupcakes Mama."  Oh those cupcakes!  I tell him, "I guess someone put them up." Reese then says, "Cause they weren't sweet?"  Well kind of.  He continues, "so they had to go back to the mama and daddy-o cupcakes?"

Oh child, you both entertain and exhaust me.

{Especially considering that I had carried the forty pound sack of potatoes through the parking lot in the heat of the day because he insisted his legs "not work no more."  Why?  According to Reese he shot a big bear in his room and it bit his leg.  Bonus points for being so clever!}

de-poufing

{Bad news.  I'm probably not going to be doing a lot of blogging over the next two weeks.  Too much going on here at Casa Beasley...}

our new house

Wednesday night Little Boo and the Hubs got much needed haircuts.  Little Boo was in the midst of a curl explosion and the Hubs was bordering on a Lower Alabama type mullet.  Not attractive.  {The Hubs, not Reese-- Reese always looks good.}

Here is the before:

don't judge us for hanging in our undies

And now the after:

seriously, can I have my baby back?

And aside from stressful house business that was the highlight of our week.  See, you aren't missing much. 

hodgepodge

It's no secret our current life is a whirlwind.  The job switch, the house selling, and now the moving.  With moving comes packing and I hate packing.

Oh I hate it.

I've set a goal to pack one room per day.  We have eight rooms {plus an attic & shed, but those are Lofton's responsibility} so that makes it more manageable.  Mentally at least.

Today I packed the dining room.  All the china, crystal, silver, and linens were wrapped and stuffed securely in boxes.  I had to fend off the naked toddler in the process because he wanted to help {duh!}.  Umm... my wedding china plus his clumsy self?  NO thanks.

handy man attire: goggles, gloves, mesh bag full of tools & undies

In the midst of all the chaos we welcomed my whole crew to town for the fourth.  My parents, Jackson and a friend {Mary}, plus my aunt and her entourage came to town for a visit.  We partied at the lake Sunday.  It was our second foray into a mingled family celebration, and we quite enjoyed it.  Reese delights in the blended family festivities more than anyone.  Both sets of grandparents in one place?  That's a no brainer.

competitive games

peeing off the rocks

fireworks

Reese was {and is}, unfortunately, a tad bit under the weather.  He seems to have come down with what we hope is a lingering fever virus.  Boo on that.  We sent a stool sample to the hospital for testing-- to rule out ecoli from the splash park-- but we have yet to hear back.  He is still not up to snuff, so no school this week. He's real broken up about it.

Tomorrow I tackle the front room.  And the appraiser is coming.  {Deep sigh.}