Things that Make you Go Hmmmmm...

My Facebook friends are probably aware that I have been having a rough week at work.  I've been called a liar and been threatened with a lawsuit for the supposed lie.  Anyone who knows me knows I don't lie.  In fact, growing up, lying was punished more severely than anything else I can remember.  Although I know I didn't lie and I know they don't have a case, it still hurts that someone accused me.

This year we signed our kids up to participate in 2 group classes.  One was science and the other was also a bit science related but was based around Lego's or K'Nex.  This week it was decided the science class was going to be cancelled for the rest of the year.  Apparently a few of the families who were participating just couldn't make it anymore and we couldn't hold the class with the few people remaining.  The group is still going to try to get together once a month but it's going to be a bit more laid back.  A part of me is sad and another part of me is happy because my schedule only seems to be getting busier.

This week I ended up teaching my daughter's Lego class and my husband ended up teaching our son's K'Nex class.  I've taught the Lego class last year so it wasn't that big of a deal.  Technically it was the second time my husband filled in for the K'Nex teacher, but it was the first time he actually taught the lesson rather than just helping the kids build something with K'Nex.  Not only did he enjoy himself, but the kids he taught enjoyed the class too.

My husband is also in the process of figuring out the feasibility of teaching a class starting in January about building and programming robots.  They wouldn't be competing with other schools or groups like some of the robotics groups out there, but this would be the first step toward that (we hope).

One night this week, my daughter and I were reading a book.  I read a page and then I had her read a couple pages.  Then my son volunteered to read!  Not only was that a surprise in and of itself, but his reading has improved.  I know he's been reading in his room at night and I was hoping it would help his reading improve.  It was nice to actually witness it.

I don't know what's going on, but my husband is really getting into the whole stay-at-home Dad thing.  He's been enjoying the time with the kids.  He's volunteering to teach their classes if needed.  He enjoys cooking and he's getting good at it too.  He's even getting to the point where cleaning is becoming part of his routine.

A little over a week ago we let my daughter's hamster go free.  It was a hard decision to make, but his brother (from the same litter) passed away suddenly a few months ago and the remaining hamster seemed to be getting sick.  He had a growth on his neck that kept getting bigger and bigger.  He only cost $5 so taking him to the vet just wasn't in the cards.  We though about putting him out of his misery but no one was willing to do it and no one wanted to watch him slowly die.  So my daughter decided to let him go in a secluded and safe area in the back yard so that he could live out whatever life he had left in the wild.  We have seen no sign of him since and that's particularly important since we have an outdoor cat that likes to leave us presents.  In fact, the first few days after we let the hamster go, part of my morning routine was to check the present location before the kids might stumble across something.

I think the lack of small furry things has finally hit us.  We got a call from a woman who runs a cat rescue the other day asking if we would be willing to take a litter of kittens.  Being the suckers that we are, we said yes.  They will be joining our family this coming week.

Gonna Take Some Getting Used To

Today is Sunday, but it doesn't feel that way to me.  Why?  Because we aren't going to church.  Why?  Because we went last night.

We recently decided to join a life group (aka, small group or Bible study) at our church and it happens to meet on Saturday evening right after the Saturday night church service.  So we decided to try the Saturday night service yesterday. 

It truly was a lot like the Sunday morning service we've been going to with one exception.  There were fewer people there.  And for my family, that's a good thing.  You see, the main reason we joined the life group was because the church is so big it's easy to get lost amongst everyone.  Don't get me wrong, there were still quite a few people there, but the difference was noticeable.  Especially for my kids.  They've never liked big crowds and church is no exception. 

In fact, till we found this church, my kids would give us a hard time when it was time to drop them off.  The fact that there were 50+ kids at drop off didn't seem to matter at this church because at drop off there is a bounce house in the gym.  Last night with only about 20 kids, drop off was a breeze. 

 The other thing I noticed... my kids remembered more of their lesson.  The lesson discussed wasn't something that I would consider that memorable (it wasn't any of the typical stories we read our kids so they didn't have that memory to fall back on).  My theory is that fewer kids leads to fewer distractions and that leads to better concentration. 

As odd as it may feel for a while, I think I may enjoy going to church on Saturday evening.  Except for the fact that we don't get to have dinner till 7:30 at the earliest.  Now to start planning one meal a week that I can have ready when we get home.

Working Hard For the Money

The hectic, non-stop pace that I endured over the weekend hasn't really stopped.  Luckily most of the busy, has been work I can do at home.  Being able to read to my daughter at bedtime today was the first time in many days and boy did I relish it.  Not to mention the cuddle time I got with my son. That's probably been months because he's getting to old.  Maybe Mommy being gone some makes it more ok.  Whatever the case, I'll take it.

What do I have going on right now?  I have been working on hashing out a sales deal since Sunday evening.  I hope that wraps up tomorrow.  I've also been showing 3 other eager buyers homes on a very regular basis.  We were in the process of getting a contract together when I found out the seller had just accepted an offer.  I have another buyer that wants to buy a property if only they can get the financing in order before someone else scoops it up (there were other people there when we were looking at it today and they seemed just as interested).

Add to that, trying to get regular stuff done around the house such as grocery shopping, laundry, and keeping up with the kids.  Oh, and I worked in my pineapple garden for a couple hours (boy did it need to be weeded).

And hubby has been pretty busy lately too.  He's obviously stepping up (and waking up) to watch the kids when I have to go out in the middle of the day.  This is a big thing especially since he's been working at night lately for one of his clients.  He's also been very dedicated when it comes to going to the kids homeschool classes.  He's also been working on helping the kids with there handwriting and math.

A Whirlwind

Have you ever had those days where it was so busy it felt like a whole week?  Well, I've had 3 of those days back to back.  Add that to the 4 other days this week and it's made for one busy couple of weeks this week.

This week:

•  I've had 4 days with showings.  One of which had 18 houses and another day with 14. 
•  I taught my daughter's Lego class.
• We attended 2 different small group meetings from our church to try to pick one
•  Tonight we went to a church-wide party where we got to spend some time with the group we decided to join.  After a wonderful picnic dinner we got to listen to Christian comedian Bob Smiley.  What a wonderful way to end such a busy week.  It was glorious to laugh for pretty much 1 hour straight... to the point tears were flowing down my cheeks.  Look him up on Youtube... you will not be disappointed.
• Apparently my picture was in the local paper today.  One I my local clients told me about it.  I didn't get a copy though.  Probably a good thing since I wasn't a big fan of any of the pictures they had to use.
• And the buyers who saw the 18 houses (and 7 of the ones on the day with 14), are in the process of putting in an offer on a house.  So nice to see all that hard work and time away from my family the last couple days is paying off.

Long Overdue

I am a list person.  I have been known to break down what some would put as one item into multiple items just so I could check off more items (think: wash laundry, fold laundry, put away laundry rather than just laundry).  Or maybe I do that because the clean laundry has been known to sit in the basket waiting to be folded and put away for a couple days.

I digress... I'm a list person.  And I LOVE to check things off.  That's why when I am finally able to check off something that's been on my list for a while I feel extra accomplished (I know that's not correct grammar or whatever, but I don't care).  The last couple days I've been able to check off some things I've been wanting to do for a while.  Some fun, some practical, and some absolutely necessary.

For example I baked cookies.  I LOVE cookies and have been craving some good homemade cookies for a while now.  It's a good thing I freeze most of the dough so we can have fresh cookies every couple days or they would probably all be gone by now (I made them yesterday). 

I also vacuumed and washed my car.  As a Realtor you have the potential to drive people around in your car.  My car is a bit small so unless I'm dealing with one person my clients tend to follow me around.  That doesn't mean my car wasn't in dire need of a good cleaning.  I have a white car and it was starting to turn a light brown.  And of course there are the hand prints from closing the trunk (you know the area my clients see when they follow me) that were really getting annoying.

And the one I am most (and least) proud of.  I cleaned my bathroom.  And I mean cleaned!  I even scrubbed the tile ceiling in the shower.  I am not going to share with you how long it's been, not because I think you would think less of me for telling you but because I honestly can't remember how long it's been.  Yes.  It's been THAT long. 

Needless to say this Realtor / homeschool mom thing still has a few kinks to work out.  We're making progress.  Hubby helps in the kitchen a lot now.  If only I could convince him he enjoys cleaning toilets too.

Week in Summary

Not much to share for this week.  Here goes:

• I've had a lot of showings this week, but no new contracts.  
• The kids had science class where we got to make plastic out of milk.
• We have been watching 2 cats while a couple we were put in contact with were out of town (the lady we fostered for recommended us as people to board their cats).  They are going to be picked up this week.
• I've almost gotten the books for the company I've been bookkeeping for to the point I've been shooting for since I started.
• Hubby was finally able to diagnose a problem with our pickup truck so now we have 2 vehicles again.
• Have I mentioned how much my hubby enjoys cooking.  It's been great for me!  He cooks dinner and I get to make phone calls for work.
• After closing on the house a little over a week ago we went out to celebrate at a Japanese steak house.  We knew it was risky with our picky eaters but the novelty of the chef cooking in front of you made them willing to try numerous things I didn't expect them to.  They even claimed to like some of them (yippy)!  It's extended to our meals at home too.  Maybe they've realized that trying different foods might help them find something new they like.  Or maybe they think Daddy is a better cook... hmmm.....

In His Time

... all things are beautiful, in His time.

The last few weeks, this chorus has been going through my head quite regularly.  That and the Bible verse that says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  (Jeremiah 29:11)

When I first started college, I was required to take a test that was supposed to help me find the perfect career.  This was done by asking a bunch of (strange) questions about my personal and working preferences.  When it was all said and done the computer spit out a result that said I should be an entrepreneur.  It shouldn't be any surprise that I ended up getting a business administration degree.  After all, what better way to be prepared to run my own business some day.

I've had numerous jobs over the years that ranged from shipping, project management, training, to bookkeeping.  In fact, I've been doing the bookkeeping for my husband's business for 8 years.  Until I became a Realtor, the closest I've come to running my own business is selling jewelry as an independent distributor. 

As I've been watching our savings account get smaller and smaller, I've had a few thoughts.  The first is that I'm so thankful that we had been able to save up some money for the proverbial rainy day.  The second thought is that I wish we could have saved up more.

The third thought is that it is only because of God that it hasn't dried up before now.  Every time we seem to need money something comes along.  Maybe not enough to cover all the bills but enough to help our savings account last a little bit longer.  For example, this week we got the deposit check back from the rental house.  I also closed on my first house.  Now I know I have enough in the checking account to cover our bills for October without dipping into the savings account.

Anyone who knows me, knows I believe God will provide.  Do I wish we would have money sooner so I can breathe a little easier... sure.  But you know what.  If I were in that position, I wouldn't be depending on Him to provide for my needs.  I would be thinking I could do it all on my own.  If it means I can be a witness for His provision and love, I will happily wait for His timing.