house update

I've gotten several questions about what's going on with the house, so here's the update.

Our house is sold. That is completely finished. All we have to do for that is sign the papers at closing. We have to be out by June 8. I think we're going to sign papers with the buyers of our house on June 2.

The house we're buying is pretty much done too. We just got the appraisal back from the bank, and all is well. All we have to do in order for the loan to be accepted is have a few shingles replaced on the roof, so we called our realtor yesterday, and he's going to make sure that the owner/selling agent get that taken care of ASAP. As soon as that is done, the bank underwriter will do a final inspection, and we're on. Our planned closing for that house was June 5, but we were supposed to be doing simultaneous closings on that date with both houses, so I guess that date could be changed too. It'd be awesome if we could get it all taken care of on the 2^nd; that would give us more time to move stuff.

So if I haven't told you about the new house yet, here's the description. It's a rusty brown color stucco. It looks tiny from the front, but it's like 2800 SF. It's on an incline, so the front makes it look like one story, but around the back, you can tell it's at least two story, because there's a little porch with stairs coming to the lower ground. It's actually four levels (not full stories, like half levels, for you LA people who don't have a lot of experience with the many-leveled house). The top level is the master suite and a loft room we're going to use as an office/Xbox room. From both the loft and the bedroom, you can walk out to the back porch and down to the ground. The second level (the one you walk into from the front door) is basically almost a completely open great room that has the kitchen on one end, the dining area in the middle, and the living room on the other end. The living room has a gas log fireplace. The third level (which is half underground) has two big bedrooms (for the boys), a full bath, and a small laundry room. The bottom level (the basement) has a bedroom, a ¾ bath, and another living room (where all the toys and the ugly furniture will go).

Between each level are like six stairs, so there are no massive lengths of stairs for me to fall and injure myself on, although I'm sure I can fall down six steps. Most living areas are like a creamy colored Berber-type carpet, and most other areas are those large ceramic tiles in a light color. All we'll have to buy is a washer and dryer. And it sits on a little over an acre of land… although the entire back part of that (most of it) is deserty dirt. We're probably going to pour concrete for a big patio in the back, so the boys have somewhere to ride bikes and somewhere for us to sit and hang out. It's about 12 miles from our current house. Further from daycare, but about fifteen minutes closer to UCCS.

Other than the fact that it's new and I won't be somewhat embarrassed to have people come over like I do in my old somewhat cheesy seventies house, there is one major benefit: separation = more quiet. Like, the only thing over Liam's room will be either our bedroom or the office room, so we won't have to be fussing at Aidan to stop stomping over Liam's room anymore. There are two major areas where we can keep toys, etc., that won't have to infringe upon the areas where guests might come over and hang out. The kitchen is over the guest room, where Jordan will be staying, but we walked around and I didn't hear any creaking. I think it's going to be much more peaceful, particularly if we can enforce the "all toys stay on the bottom two levels unless you're actively playing with them" rule that we want to have.

So there we are. We should have specific moving details by the end of the week.

tony’s sonnet

Tony's taking this poetry class this summer--it's the only grad class the program offered here. Anyway, he had to write a sonnet, and it rules, so I thought I'd share.

Mortal Gods

My gods spoke to me when I was a boy
They cupped me with shelter and taught me of
The world. Immortal, young, none could destroy.
I thought they did no wrong; I felt their love.

As I grew up, my gods grew old and died.
They breathed as before, now flaws plain to see:
A sight all too human, unwelcomed, pried
By eyes not as young as they used to be.

Now I'm the god, with two- pair eyes who watch
My every move; the wonder they mirror
Is sometimes too painful to bear. Too much
I see, I saw before my gods' detour.

Their loss, transformed, exchanged for mortal years.
My flaws, no worse, what cause have I for fears?

my trip

Here's my brief recap of my trip, since a few people have asked me how it went.

Kristi, Aidan, and I took off at 3 am on last Wednesday. The day of driving went okay, but it was a little much for Aidan, and Kristi was about to tear her legs off by the time we got to Gonzales. We arrived at my mom's house at 1 am or so, central time, and passed out.

Aidan was up at like 6 am, of course, so I was too. We hung out with my mom, and then with my grandma, who had come over for a hairdo. After getting dressed and hanging out for a while, we heard Kristi get up (she slept till 11, lucky dog). After she got introduced to everyone properly and got dressed, she and I headed to Tanger. We walked around and bought a few things after stopping at Starbucks, and then headed back to Mama's. If I remember correctly, that night we just hung around Mama's house… it seems like we had to have done something else, but I can't remember.

Friday morning we got up and went with Mama and Candace and Shannon and Tiffany to get stuff for Jordan's graduation party. We hit a party store, ate at Cain's, and then Kristi and I headed out on our own. She and I went to Borders and got stuck there for a while during a downpour, then we went back to Gonzales. We changed our clothes and left early for Jordan's graduation. On the way there, Aidan fell asleep in Daddy's car, so we went into the Lamar Dixon rodeo place to sit in the stifling heat and hope that Aidan wouldn't wake up cranky. HA. After sweating our yayas off for an hour, he woke up when a large woman nearly knocked Mama clean off the bleacher she was sitting on. He was miserable (as was I, in the heat), and he didn't want anyone but me, so I took him and we went to sit in the car in the AC. Daddy followed with a drink for Aidan, and we sat in there for a while and chatted about the new house while Aidan watched Tom and Jerry on the car DVD player. We went back in after a while, but we didn't make it up to the bleachers. Daddy took off with Aidan and I lurked waiting for them, but they didn't come back, and then Jesse came up with Aidan. After talking to them and realizing that the bleachers were jam packed, I texted Kristi to head down, and we left. I didn't get to see Jordan walk across the stage, which I mainly wanted to see out of the entire thing, but it was blazing hot, it was getting dark and the bugs were starting to carry me away, and Aidan was ready to go. So we headed to Mama's and waited until it was time for Jordan's party, then we went there and hung out for a while.

Saturday morning, after we got dressed and stopped for coffee, Kristi and I went to the home of Micah, hairstylist extraordinaire, for my haircut. We chilled there while he cut my hair and gave me a few styling tips and heard what each other had been up to for the past several years, and then Kristi and I went to pick up Aidan. We went to Jenny and Mike's for lunch (poboys!), and stayed there for a few hours. Then it was Jordan's family party time, which we went to briefly and then went back home to try to nap.

Saturday night was supposed to be our hang out night, where a number of people were going to meet us to have a drink. A few people had mentioned The Loft in Perkins Rowe, so we had planned to go there. Can I just say… Perkins Rowe is so weird to go to after having been away from LA for four years. It was like being in another state. The Loft seemed cool, but it was really more a date night place. There was nowhere to sit with more than two or three people. Kristi and I were there for a while, eventually joined by Kari and Michael, Jenny, my cousin Erin, and Kimberly. We had appetizers and discussed how pretentious the place was before deciding to head out. We had waited two hours, but no one else showed up, and the Park Place calendar online said that Saturdays was karaoke, so we headed there. It wasn't karaoke (way to update your website, jackasses), but we stayed there anyway. It was pretty full of people, and Kristi got a real taste of "Gonzales" there (LOL). We left at the band's first break.

Sunday my mom didn't wake us up, and we ended up all sleeping to at least ten. After church, the entire crew came to my mom's house (my parents, my grandma, my Aunt Toni, my cousin Gregory, my Aunt JoAnne, Kimberly, Maddie, and Hannah) for lunch. We ate and chatted for a while, but it was getting a little loud and obnoxious, so we headed out. We went to get coffee and then called my mom and said we were going to the mall. We walked around there for a while (I got those awesome leopard print shoes, and Kristi got gifts for family members), then went back to Mama's, after picking up Brewbacher's for dinner. We watched TV and packed our things and loaded up some of the car before bed.

We left Monday morning at 6, stopped in Texas for the night, and drove in to Pueblo on Tuesday at around lunchtime.

just in case you thought our children were safe under governmental watch…

So as some of you know, my sister and her psycho ex-husband have been fighting a pretty gnarly custody battle, most of which had been settled until he married a girl my age who apparently hasn't mentally left high school. This week, we had more crap happened that has reaffirmed my complete lack of belief in the legal system as far as protecting children from abusive situations.

I've blogged about this situation before, so for a more thorough description of what was going on before, read this: http://fourfieldpeas.blogspot.com/2008/12/more-reason-to-hate-people.html.

This week there was another, just as disturbing, more violent incident.

Jordan (who anyone will tell you is incredibly easy-going) went over to his dad's house (he's been staying with his mom) just for a second to bring something to one of his brothers (after having been asked to do so by them). When he got there, Jake and Jason (the dad) were in a physical altercation, apparently over some stupid argument that escalated way too much.

Okay, first off, YOU ARE THE PARENT, ASS. At what point do you think it's appropriate to be in a physical altercation with your CHILD? And they were outside, for anyone on the earth to see!

So Jordan jumps in to try to get Jason off of Jake, who is, AGAIN, the child. Jason then throws Jordan. Throws him. Enough that later, when Candace takes Jordan to the emergency room, Jordan has a concussion and a ruptured ear drum. Thankfully, Jacob didn't have any physical injuries.

The cops show up (I think Jake called them), and after talking to Jason and adolescent wife and then talking to Candace and Jordan about it, they basically do nothing. NOTHING. Candace asked the cop, what does he have to do in order to get in trouble with the law? The cop says, physical violence. Candace says, no, that's not the case, because we have that here, so WHAT EXACTLY does he have to do? No real answer. No consequences for Jason.

The ER reports the incident to child services. Then the next day, Jake talked to his counselor at school about it, and she called child services. Child services talked to him, and then later this week, talked to Candace and Jordan. And apparently, again, NOTHING is happening. Candace said it sounded like they weren't doing anything about the situation. Candace's attorney is going to file for another custody hearing to be held quickly, but really, the judge let him have the kids before even after seeing the video where Jason called his own children names that you normally wouldn't even SAY in front of your children, much less TO them.

Jason is pretty much useless and deserves to have a can of whoop ass opened on him. And I just have a question for psycho wife. Didn't you say on the video where you cussed out and screamed at the top of your lungs at your stepsons that you "would die for your son"? How would YOU feel if someone inflicted a concussion and a ruptured ear drum on YOUR son?

I am so done with this whole system. I will be posting that video when I get home, if I can get it to upload on here. If you watch it, you will be shocked at the way abusive parents talk to their children.

house

So here's the 411…

We've had the house on the market for six months, with hopes of moving to P. West to a newer place. We got a call today that someone was bidding on it. We're counter offering tomorrow, and we'll see if they take that. I had already just gotten nonchalant about the sale and the move, since it's been a while, but here we are, back on the stressful house hunting train. And just when I'm about to go out of town… Great timing!