Selling and Cleanliness

While in Monterey, we got orders to PCS to Ft. Hood, TX with a report date of July 10th. I don't know that I should ever go on vacation again. Between Laurel's hair-capades, a messy house to contend with, and unwanted news about moving, I don't know if my trip was worth it. Ha. Anyhow, we, Tim and I, both began to panic and wake at 2am with thoughts of "how will we manage to sell this house on time?" I looked at my house and saw all the things that we meant to upgrade but never had time or money. But we went to a Realtor and put it on the market. I worked and made sure that the house was very clean......that lasted about a week then everyone trashed it and I was just too tired to keep it up on my own. Then I had a burst of energy and recleaned it all and organized it all down to the closets. You can open most any of my closets and they look very nicely put together. I even decluttered our rooms and prepacked a lot of things. I have learned in this process, though, that when selling a house suddenly there isn't much privacy. People can look in just about any space. Weird how that is okay just for this period of time......Come on in folks and snoop to your hearts content. Want to look in all my drawers. Go ahead, just buy my house. Ha. We had our first looker today. I wanted to jump up and down in joy. I had to reign myself in and remind myself that we couldn't possibly get that lucky....our first looker also be our buyer. Murphy's law also came into effect and our blower fan motor to our heating and cooling system died......$152 we didn't have to spend now gone. I am trying not to be OCD now though. Even though my house is as clean as it has been in a long time, I still look at it and see more things that need to be cleaned....like I need to dust continually or polish the wood furniture or I keep finding little spots on the carpet. They are things that others would probably never see or notice but now they are really irritating me. Sigh.
In other news, Gavin is playing soccer again and having a good time. He was a little beat up the other day with a kid smacking his glasses off his face, but persevered and stuck out the rest of the game. I don't remember how it came up, but we also have recently had a conversation about french kissing. He told me how disgusting that was and how he would never touch someones tongue. I told me someday he would enjoy kissing his wife that way and that I loved it when dad french kissed me. He looked at me straight faced and said"you totally joking, right mom? You don't really do that?" I just had to laugh.
Connor is doing well with his piano lessons. Songs are actually beginning to sound like songs and not strange notes played out of order. He is excited because he is half way to his goal of getting 35 stickers. Once he gets there he gets the toy of his choice. Yes, I and his teacher bribed him to be more consistent in his practicing.
Laurel is loving preschool and asks me every morning if it is a High School day. Her preschool is at the high school. It still cracks Tim up when she says that she goes to high school. I laugh back and tell him that sooner than we think she really will be in High school. Time goes by so fast.....
Well, it is late and I am beginning to ramble. So, I am off to bed.........

Monterey and How I Paid

So, just recently I got the chance to go to Monterey, CA all by myself to visit my parents. I hadn't been home for a long time and I felt the need to see my father again before his Alzheimer's progress too much further. My mom was so sweet and even helped to pay my way there. I got to fly out of Fort LeonardWood directly too. What a boon that was.....I had been a while since I had last traveled on such a small plane and it was reminiscent of a ride at a theme park. Luckily I don't get sick. Ha. Anyhow, my next leg(and longest one) was spent talking to the lady next to me, nonstop pretty much. I have to put in a side note that I am amazed at the people we will meet when we most need them. Her name was Anne and she works for a company called Mayer-Johnson and they make a lot of products for children with autism and other disabilities. She also had a masters in special education or something along those lines. She had a lot of great insights and shared tools and methods that would help not only Connor, but my father too. There were 2 children sitting behind up that almost constantly kicked her seat. It was pretty sad and good thing she had a good sense of humor. My last leg happened to be on another small plane that had a return missionary coming home to my mother's ward. Small world.......My next couple of days were full of shopping with my sister and 2 nieces, eating out, and just really enjoying being home with no responsibilities. It was good to see my parents but also sad to see how much more my father has changed since seeing him last. He is almost always smiling and laughing now, although, most of it is to cover up what he isn't catching or understanding. I was sad to leave a bit, but it was also nice to see my husband and children. Until I saw Laurel.......she had a new hair cut. WHAT???!!! Tim had warned me that Laurel had cut her own hair while I was gone, but the way he described it, I thought it wouldn't be that bad. She had butched herself pretty bad. Think of Cyndi Lauper circa 1980's and you have the gist of what it looked like. So a good friend came over and cut it for me. We had 2 options for hairdo's....either she could have sported a really bad mullet or a short pixie cut. We opted for the 2nd option. She was fine with the cutting until she saw the end result in the mirror. She cried and wailed that she didn't want to look like a boy. I don't think she will be cutting her own hair anytime soon. I know she misses her hair too because that is how she now describes girls from her class....by hairstyle and length. So in the end, although I had fun, I paid for it too. (Above: pictures of Laurel with her hair before and after self imposed haircut)

How to Start a Blog

I never much thought that anyone would really be interested in what I would have to say, but it was pointed out to me today by a friend, Annalee, that since I am moving soon(and do so every couple of years), that this would be a great way to have people stay in touch with me and see what myself and the family are up to. So, here it goes, I am moving into the techno age and putting my life on the web for friends and family to see. I hope it is interesting or at least helps you keep up with the goings on of the Metcalfs.....so in the cliffhanging tradition of all great reads here is my first message-To Be Continued........