Big Decisions Ahead

To move, or not to move - that is the question.

This weekend, we are making our trip to Brookings (Oregon, not South Dakota!). Tony's been offered the office there, and we need to make a decision as to whether we want to take it or stay here. It's about a 4 hour drive from where we are now, which makes it 5.5 hours from our family.

We are leaving early tomorrow morning. We have a fun stop planned along the way at Prehistoric Gardens, which is a roadside attraction featuring 23 life size dinosaurs. My great-grandparents practically lived right across the road from this place, so I remember going there a number of times as a child and have always wanted to go back as an adult. I'm so excited to get to experience this with my own kids. I don't know if it will be as cool as I remember, or if it's just something I have built up in my mind and will all be sort of anti-climatic. Either way, it will be a nice break in our drive and something fun for the kids.

Then we are meeting with a realtor in Brookings in the afternoon, to get a better idea of what the housing market looks like there. From what we can tell, houses cost about 100k more in Brookings than they do around here in the valley. It's a beautiful coastal town, where people go to retire. Thus, the cost of living is higher. But that also brings in more clientele to the office there (Tony's a hearing specialist).

Sunday, we will spend some time just getting a feel for the town, and might meet with the realtor again to see a few houses. We will specifically be in town for Tony to work the open house that the office there is running on Monday and Tuesday. He's helped out in that office before, but it was before the kids were born. This will give him a chance to refresh his memory and decide if it really is a place he would want to work. After the office closes Monday, the plan is for him to come have dinner with the kids and me, but then go back to the office to count all the files/potential customers to determine the amount of income the office brings in.

To give you an idea of the difference, the office there has brought in about $40,000 more than his office here so far this year. Now we just have to determine if the income potential will be significant enough to offset the higher cost of living, and make it worth moving so far from family and friends. Ayden and Rylee are already saying how their new horsey is too far away. It could get even more further away real soon.

The positives to moving:

• has a very low crime rate, which also means drug usage probably isn't as high (one of my fears as a parent)
• we have two sources that tell us it's an outstanding place to raise a family
• it's a beautiful coastal town, close to the California Redwoods, which we love
• it's a significant pay raise
• will potentially allow us to raise our kids the way we want to, with me being able to continue staying home with the kids until they start school; and then once they start school only needing to get a part time job instead of a serious full time job
• we will have the option of moving back in a few years if we really don't like it there
• the climate is pretty darn perfect; it rarely gets above 80 degrees in the summer and very rarely gets below 40 degrees in the winter.
• we will be within driving distance of San Francisco, which would be an awesome place to spend a long weekend trip. 

The negatives to moving:

• the obvious is that it is so far away from family and friends (but at least still within driving distance)
• we most likely won't be able to buy the kind of house we really want to buy right now, because the market is so much higher there. However, the good part about that is that in real estate, you can always get that money back when you turn around and sell it.
• the schools aren't ranked on the high end
• moving sucks (but we are becoming pros)

While Tony is working on Monday and Tuesday, the kids and I are going to be playing around town. I plan on visiting the local library, find a few parks for the kids to play, go to the beach, and just explore what the town has to offer. The forecast says it's supposed to rain, so we might be a little (or a lot) limited, but we'll find something to do! I'll pack their rain suits just in case. wink wink

I'm hoping that this trip will give us a clear answer and make the decision easy. I'm afraid that it's not ever going to be 100% clear though. I fear that if we don't end up moving to Brookings, that we will always question the what if's. But I also don't want to go, and then feel like it's the biggest mistake we ever made!

Aaaaggghhhhh!!!!

Microblog Monday: A New Friend

The grandparents have been looking for a kid friendly horse pretty much since Ayden and Rylee were born. Whelp, it finally happened! Ayden and Rylee now have a new friend for when they visit their grandma and grandpa.

Lucy is 16 years old and such a sweetheart. She is extremely gentle and kid friendly. She doesn't kick (although we still teach the kids not to walk behind her), and she doesn't spook easily.

Ayden and Rylee spent Saturday afternoon riding Lucy, with Grandpa walking them around their property. They had so much fun! Rylee really thought we should bring Lucy home with us, but she gets to stay at the grandparents. It's perfect. Ayden and Rylee get a horse, but the grandparents get to take care of it! heehee

Grandpa enjoyed this just as much as the kids!

Feeding Lucy some grass.

I'm not going to lie. Even though Lucy is a gentle horse and I know Grandpa would never intentionally put Ayden and Rylee in harms way, it still makes me a little nervous. They are a rodeo family and he knows his way with animals, but we're still gonna need to find these kids some helmets!



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Consignment Sale Success!

Our local Spring consignment sale that I participate in was a few weeks ago. I love participating in this sale so much! I love the challenge of seeing how much I can sell and how much money I can make, as well as finding the best bargains! It's an added bonus that I am able to get rid of a lot of Ayden and Rylee's outgrown clothes and toys. This time around was my most successful sale yet!

All the consignors set their own prices for items in the sale. We also have the choice on whether we want to discount our items for the half price sale on the last day. I go into this with the mentality of trying to sell as much as possible and having very little to have to take back home when it's over. I try to price my things to sell, and I still make a decent amount! And I ALWAYS allow my things to be discounted for the half price sale. I know as a shopper, I go into that last day looking specifically for phenomenal deals and don't even entertain the idea of buying something that isn't half price. I mean, if you are selling an item for only $1 anyway, why the hell wouldn't you be willing to sell it for $.50? I get the big ticket items. Maybe something that has a lot more value that you are willing to let go for $40, but not $20. I get that. Although I personally still discount those items too!

Anyway, it's like a game for me. How much can I mark things for to make the most money, but still be okay with if it goes at half price instead?

I love the whole process of the consignment sale, including volunteering and working at it. This year I volunteered for three shifts. It's actually a lot of work, 100% being on your feet the entire time. I logged between 19-22,000 steps on my Fitbit on the three different days I worked during the week of the sale!

And the shopping! I love looking for great deals for the kids. As a consignor and volunteer, I got the privilege of shopping early for the pre-sale. Here's what I found:

• A puppy purse and princess purse for Rylee
• A "man purse" for Ayden
• A big dinosaur floor puzzle
• Minnie Mouse puzzle
• The movies Bambi and Planes
• A new truck for Ayden that makes obnoxious sounds all the time. I seriously questioned my sanity buying that truck, but he LOVES it so much that it was totally worth the whole $1 I spent on it, lol
• A pair of brand new, never worn Saucony tennis shoes for Rylee that only cost me $6
• And a pair of super cute StrideRite boots for Rylee

 We're saving the Minnie Mouse puzzle to go in Rylee's Easter basket, to match the Mickey Mouse one I got Ayden at the last consignment sale and have been holding on to! Otherwise, they've been given everything else. They have been over the moon excited for their new-to-them things! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited Rylee was over that puppy purse. I debated getting it, but I'm soooo happy I got it for her! And Ayden loves that silly little truck and the dinosaur puzzle. The movies were big hits as well.

After we put the new dinosaur puzzle together the first time.

I also found these things for Rylee at the pre-sale:

• A raincoat
• 2 fleece hooded zip up jackets
• 3 pairs of pj's
• 3 dresses
• 2 tops
• 4 pairs of shorts
• 1 pair of capri leggings
• a rashguard for this summer
• and a bucket hat

The things I scored on for Ayden include:

• An Old Navy coat
• a fleece 3/4 zip GAP pullover
• a Lightning McQueen jacket
• 2 Nike sweatpants
• jean shorts
• 1 set of pj's
• swim trunks and a rashguard set
• tank top
• and a long sleeve OSU Beaver shirt

The Lightning McQueen jacket is a size 6, but I had to get it for only $2 and in excellent condition! He'll be able to wear it next Winter, and I figure it will be timeless, especially with a new Cars movie coming out this summer. He also really didn't need new swim trunks or a rashguard, but it was super cute and perfect for 4th of July!

Rylee always seems to make out bigger when it comes to finding clothes. I think people tend to buy more girls clothes, so then they give away more and there's more of a selection for girls at the sales. I know that theory holds true for me, anyway. Poor Ayden...

One of my volunteer shifts was right after I finished shopping the pre-sale. Between shopping and working, I walked over 19,000 steps!

Please ignore the fact that I never get enough sleep! haha

I always go in first thing on the last morning for the half price sale. By this point, I don't NEED to find anything specific, but just browse for any phenomenal half price deals. I found a few things. It could have been so much more, but I they already have so much stuff, so I really tried to limit myself and ended up putting a lot back on the rack. Here's what I walked away with on the last day:

• A set of 4 wooden Dora the Explorer puzzles (inside the wood box)
• puzzle for my nephew's birthday coming up
• a Nike outfit for Rylee
• and a skirt, obviously for Rylee as well. lol

I spent a grand total of $4.50 for this stuff.

The Dora puzzles. I can never get a good picture without getting the glare from the overhead lights!

My total spending's at the sale was $116.50. BUT! But today, I just received my check for my earnings from the sale. It was for $427.50!!!! Eeeeeek! My goal was $325, which would have been a record for me! I knew I had done well, but I hadn't realized HOW well! Between what I spent and what I made, I profited $311. So happy. Seriously, I'm so ridiculously pleased with myself, I should probably be embarrassed. My addiction for participating in these consignment sales has reached a new level!

MicroblogMonday: A Few Favorite Pics

I'm a little stumped as to what to write for today's Microblog Monday post, so I'm just going to share some of my most recent favorite pics of my babies. Who doesn't love cute pictures???

My shopping partners

Snow White and Prince Charming

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St. Patrick's Day Fun

I'm not one that's real big into celebrating all the little holidays in a big way, but I do like to buy my kids cute shirts to at least recognize the day. I felt a little guilty on Valentine's day when I saw the gifts some of my friends gave their kids! I mean, it was almost like a full on Easter basket! Only it was Valentine's day.... I didn't even give my kids a box of chocolates or a card. They got shirts to wear to their Valentine's day party at Playgroup, and that was it!

Don't get me wrong. I don't have an issue with other people going big. I do the Elf on the Shelf in December, and I know that drives some people nuts. I think people should celebrate and have fun with their kids however they want!

I didn't realize that St. Patrick's day was a day for such big shenanigans! I knew some people liked to feed their kids green food, and that you're supposed to wear green or you get pinched, but that's it! I didn't know that a leprechaun was supposed to leave green footprints in your house and leave a trail of gold coins to help you find a pot of (chocolate) gold. The extent of my planning for St. Patrick's day was to get my kids green t-shirts! Ha!

The outtakes

We did have a little St. Patrick's day party at our Community Playgroup on Thursday. The kids all wore green, we had special snacks, and a craft for them to do.

Being crafty.

The extent of what I had planned for Friday, was to wash their shirts so they could wear them again! But then I saw someone post on Facebook the green pancake breakfast they'd made for their kids and I got inspired to do that too. I had some kiwis in the fridge, so I added that, ate off green plates, and used green forks!

Helping make the pancakes

We also had green milk!

I don't think I'll ever get into doing the whole leprechaun bit (watch me eat my words in a few years), but I can get behind feeding them green foods. That's easy enough, and different enough to stand out and be something special. They had fun, despite not really understanding what St. Patrick's day is all about!

Microblog Monday: Fevers Suck

Last Tuesday, the kids both woke up with low grade fevers, but they went away after just a few hours. But then Wednesday and Thursday they battled temps between 99.5 and 101. Friday afternoon, Ayden's temp got as high as 104 degrees! Rylee's never got any higher than 101.4, but you would have never even known she was sick! Ayden on the other hand, was pretty pitiful. He barely ate anything on Friday, and even crawled into bed and put himself down for a nap. That never happens!

By Saturday afternoon they were both fever free. They had coughs and runny noses, but I'll take a cold any old day over a fever! They were fever free all day yesterday, although a little cranky and took long naps.

This morning, they woke up with no temperatures, but Miss Rylee was super cranky!!! She pretty much was crying over everything by lunch time. I took her temperature right before putting her down for a nap, only to find her fever was back up to 100.4! Ugh! Thankfully she went to sleep pretty quickly. We'll see how she is when she wakes up from nap.

I'm so over them being sick. I'll take the colds (if I have to), but I don't like the fevers. Fevers can be scary. Fevers suck.


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Microblog Monday: Impending Time Change

I'm really dreading the upcoming time change and the extended daylight hours. Don't get me wrong, I love that it stays lighter later and isn't dark before 5:00pm. But not only will it still be light outside when the kids go to sleep, potentially messing with their bedtime, it also gets lighter earlier!

Ayden quite frequently wakes up between 5:30-6:00 in the mornings. I'm pretty sure he's waking up because he has to pee. I've been able to get him to go back to bed using the excuse that it's still dark outside, so it's still sleepy time. He generally will then stay in his room another 30-60 minutes.

I'm afraid that will be coming to an end this next weekend. Insert sad face.



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