Family Visit Review

Rather than try to attempt to make this into a few posts I decided to make a summary post.  A couple weeks ago I mentioned that my in-laws were going to visit for Christmas and that I would most likely be otherwise occupied during that time.  Well, I was.  So here is a summary of what's happened with my family over the last couple weeks:

My in-laws visited for 10 days.  During that time:

• The kids went to the beach multiple times with Oma and Opa. Daughter got wet and sandy and son played with his trick kite.  They both had a blast and Mommy got some work done.
• My son went to his first sleep over (I think Mommy had a harder time with that than my son).
• I did lots of baking mostly as gifts but for us also.
• I had a few showings, inspections, etc.
• My in-laws were able to find a renter for the house they bought the last time they were down here (they bought it before prices went up even more, planning to retire in a few more years).
• Hubby started his night shift schedule.  It's really worked out well so far (even with family visiting).

Around 2AM the night / morning before my in-laws left town, my little brother got to our house for a 5 day visit.  So that meant we had 9 people, 5 cats, and 1 dog at my house for that night.  Hubby and I were in the camper along with my brother and everyone else (and all the animals) was in the house.  The more the merrier right?  While my brother was in town:

• My son played extensively with the small parachute my brother gave him.  My brother is a parachute rigger which means he packs and fixes parachutes so to make one wasn't too hard.
• One of my first cousins and his family came and visited for a few hours.  It was a great way for them to see all my family at once since they hadn't seen my brother in over 15 years.  In fact my cousin's wife had never met my brother.
• My parents, brother, and my family of 4 went to Busch Gardens 2 days before the New Year.  Yes, it was crowded but it was still fun.  My dad and brother hadn't been in close to 20 years so they were able to enjoy a couple of the new rides as well as our favorite from the last time they'd been there. My mom and daughter were able to see a couple of the shows too.  I must admit, I'd never been when it was that crowded before.  We got one of the last parking spaces in the farthest parking lot  (it was about 1.5 miles from the entrance of the park).  The good news though... it was so crowded they didn't charge parking because they didn't want to hold up the line taking money from people.

Disconnect

I am not a big follower of blogs.  They can take so much time and I have so many other things to do.  But there are a few that I follow regularly.  One of them recently decided to completely disconnect from all things Internet for 40 days.

Another one I watch is in grad school so her posts aren't as frequent as they once were.  And I get it.  Especially when I look at my blog and realize that it's been 12 days since I posted something.

Wow!  I'm sorry folks.  I'd say I've been slacking but not really.  I have just been busy doing things other than blogging.

For example, I've been doing things for work of course (showing houses, inspections, and trying to help hold deals together so they will close in the near future).  I've been prepping and planning for the next school year (and yes, I'm probably more excited than my kids).  I've been shuttling my kids to and from VBS and martial arts camp.

And I've been getting ready for my in-laws to visit for a week.  Yep.  We are going to have 8 people in our house.  Technically 6 will be sleeping in the house.  Hubby and I will be sleeping in our camper in the yard.

And I've also gotten hit by the knitting bug again.  Just about every evening I've been knitting baby hats.  I've been using different size needles just to see the differences in sizes they create.  I may sell one (with a baby blanket I made a while ago), but the rest will for the local hospital.

So, why the title of my blog post today?  Because I'm giving you a heads up to let you know that for the next week or so I will most likely not be posting anything.  Instead, I will be focusing my efforts on spending time with all the family that will be at our house.

Enjoying a Lull

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Needless to say in late December things were C R A Z Y.  Not only was there Christmas and Loot Day to prepare for, but we had my in-laws visit for a little over a week and then my parents came shortly after they left.  Then 4 of the 6 people in the house came down with a stomach bug (I was lucky enough to be hit the hardest).  I also had 2 houses close in the last couple days of the month which meant final inspections, and meetings for signatures.

So when I realized that I wasn't going to need to leave the house as often for inspections and such,  I wasn't getting many new leads, and I'd made contact with all my current clients I decided to take some much needed "time off."  Don't get me wrong, I'm still dealing with emails, phone calls, and such but it's not at the hectic pace it was just a couple weeks ago. 

So what have I been doing?  Playing board games with my kids.  Taking them shopping so they can use the gift cards they just received.  Reading books (yes plural).  Spending time with my parents.  And going on a date with my hubby for the first time in months.

I'm not sure how much longer this slow time will last, but I'm certainly trying to take advantage of it.  So don't be surprised if you don't hear from me again for a while  :-)

A Week of Surprises

This week we surprised the kids twice.  The first was a trip to Busch Gardens on Wednesday.  We have passes that expire Dec 31 and with schools being out for the next 2 weeks we decided to go when it would be less crowded.  Less crowded was right.  The longest line was 10 minutes for the front seat in the most popular coaster in the whole park.  Normally the wait for ANY seat on the coaster is 45 minutes or more. 

The second surprise started when my parents contacted me on Tuesday asking if they could show up today.  Hubby and I decided not to let them know Grandma and Grandpa were coming.  The surprise and joy on my daughter's face when they walked through the door was priceless (my son was in a different room).

Help From the Village

This time of year, my parent's (my mom in particular since she was born and raised in Florida) get stir crazy living in Virginia.  That's why, for the last 5 years or so, they have gone on a cruise in January or February.  Not ones to buck such a wonderful and warm tradition, my parents went on their cruise earlier this month.  They decided to extend their warm weather enjoyment by staying at our house for a week before their cruise as well as a few days after.  A couple days before they were planning on heading back home, they were in a car accident (a little whip lash for my mom, but otherwise they are fine).  The damage to the car however, necessitated that it be fixed before they leave.  They are now scheduled to be in the area for a week and a half more while the car gets fixed.

I admit, that fitting 4 adults and 2 kids (one of each gender) into a 3 bedroom house has been a bit difficult, but considering we stayed in their house for 6 months, it's the least we can do.  We figured out the best way to deal with the sleeping arrangements after their first week so that's all fine now.

The interesting side-effect to all this is that I now have extra hands.  I've been able to go grocery shopping without the kids (and occasionally with my mom).  My dad has even taken the kids to a local park a couple times so they could ride their bikes (which means I got stuff done and the kids got worn out at the same time - win win!).

I know I've had this kind of help before.  We used to live close to my parents and we had a few friends who I could count on to watch the kids when I needed the extra help.  My kids were also in school back then so I usually packed "school time" full of errands and other things that I couldn't do with the kids around.

I don't know why it took this long, but I really think I get the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child"  It's not that a child MUST have many people to help rear them to be productive members of society, but it certainly doesn't hurt.  It also helps the parent be a more productive member of their family if they have a little time to themselves.

Here's to hoping I find some new villagers to share the burden with soon.  I think we will all benefit from it.