The Greyhound Experience

I really suck at blogging lately don't I? I'm sorry. Everything has just been so crazy since the cross country move. We went from being a family of 5 to a family of 10! I can hear many of you screaming in horror, but it's actually not so bad. More on that in a later post though. 

Today you came to hear about our greyhound trip. Let me just start by telling you that it was the LONGEST TWO DAYS OF MY LIFE!!!!!! I never ever want to have a repeat of those days. And whoever is reading this and thinking "Aww, it couldn't have been that bad." should be shot! Just kidding...maybe!

So we get to the bus station at around 6:30pm for a 7:30 bus. This is after spending the weekend visiting in-laws and trying to say our good-byes. Not an easy feat. Especially since Miss Holly has been sick all weekend. Kind of sucks the joy out of visiting when you have a cranky baby constantly screaming. Anyways, about 8pm our bus finally leaves. Holly still isn't too happy. Hunter is tired and keeps saying he doesn't want to go to Arizona anymore he just wants to go home. And Jordyn, as much as I love her, is as clueless as ever and getting on our nerves. Our first stop was only an hour or so away and wouldn't you know it, Holly stays awake the hole time until about ten minutes before we get there. Add more crankiness to the mix now.

Some of this is such a blur that I don't remember all of it, but here's something I do remember. The bus station in Nashville, Tennessee freaking sucks and so does one certain employee!!!!! We get there just before 3am. Our bus driver gives us our reboarding pass and tells us to line back up at 3:15. So that's exactly what we do. Now add in an employee on a power trip who doesn't know how to speak clearly over the PA. We go to the door to get back on the bus, along with another couple and one other guy. Mr. Power trip tells us the bus is full and we have to wait three hours for the next bus! I tried explaining to him what the driver told us and show him our reboarding passes but he kept interrupting me. So we ended up sitting there for three more hours with tired, sick, crying children. And have I mentioned just how grumpy the hubby gets when it comes to moving or traveling? It's NOT a pretty sight!

A lot of the details are a little foggy for me now, I must be repressing the memories! But I can tell you that I now hate any state that begins with the letter T. My ass went numb from having Holly on my lap or in my arms for so long. I don't think once inch of my shirt didn't have Holly's snot on it somewhere. And passing Hunter off as just under two years old to save money on a ticket may not have been worth it. I don't know, you'd have to ask hubby that since he was stuck with the older two kids. HeeHee! I also know that by the end of this trip I had sore muscles that I never even knew existed from holding a 30 pound baby almost non stop!

Finally, at about 8pm Tuesday night we finally got to the bus station in Tucson. And our luggage wasn't there to meet us. Yep. Doesn't that just figure?! Luckily it showed up the next day. So there's a summary of what our cross country bus ride was like. Doesn't it just make you want to take a trip like it too? 

 

Hunter in Nashville

 

Jordyn in Columbus

 

Holly in Nashville

 

Going Home

I hope that everybody has at least noticed that I've been missing the past month or so. It's defiantly been a CRAZY time! Where should I begin even? Well, as you all know the hubby and I had been looking for what feels like forever for a bigger place to live, hopefully before the lease ran out where we were already at. Do things like that usually go in our favor? Nope. So did things magically change this time? Nope. We ended up spending months weeks sorting and packing all of our belongings, putting the majority of it in storage, and then moving the 5 of us into a tiny, pay by the week, 1 bedroom apartment in not the greatest area. Let me repeat...5 of us in a 1 bedroom! Crazy right? I know! But we tried to keep thinking positively and remember that it was just temporary until we could find something better. In our second week there, hubby got laid off! Does the craziness never end?!

Okay, lets backtrack for just a second. I grew up mostly in Tucson, Arizona. Even though I've spent more of my life in Ohio, where I'm actually from, Tucson is home to me. I wanted to go back so badly. I have so many true blue best friends in the world in Arizona. These are friends that are better than any family members because you actually get to choose them and you're not just stuck with whatever you were born with. Friends that would go to the very ends of the earth for you and vise versa. That's what made me want to go home again. It wasn't so much the place as it was who was there.

Well, hubby wasn't so keen on the idea. I got him to go to Tucson once for about 6 months when Hunter was a year old. To say he wasn't impressed would be putting it mildly! He says everything there wants to either stab you, poke you or eat you! Our first week there we got in an argument cause he wanted to leave Hell as he calls it and go back to Ohio. He went for a walk and in his anger he kicked a jumping cholla! Anybody familiar with this? It's a cactus that has barbs on it and when you get too close to it, it actually jumps out and sticks you! I was picking those things out of his foot and leg forever! I had warned him before we got there not to touch anything he didn't recognize but obviously he's hard headed. He also says there's no real trees, grass or bodies of water to go fishing in. Sum it up that he did not want to go back to Arizona.

Back to the 1 bedroom in Ohio. After finding out about being layed off and knowing that we couldn't pay another weeks rent and still afford all the other things we needed to live, hubby made some off hand comment about moving back to Arizona. I jumped on it! I told him if he was serious I could make it happen really quick. He agreed though I don't think he really believed me. In the span of a week our bags were packed, my awesome friends pitched in together for the bus tickets and we were off!

Check back with me for a post on the Greyhound experience!

Blogging Pet Peeve

Just a short vent here. I've discovered a new pet peeve. I absolutley hate it when people leave comments only saying that they are  new follower and asking for a follow back! I love finding new blogs to follow, and it seriously makes my day each and every time I get a new follower. But please, offer a little more of a comment! I know it's difficult sometimes finding something meaningful to say especially if you've been leaving comments and following a lot of different blogs that day. I have been guilty of this before too. But I try to find something insightful or encouraging to say. It's even worse when you have multiple blogs that you do, and you see the exact same comment, word for word, from the same person, on all of them! I'm not trying to be rude or offend, but seeing this makes me go from excited, to depressed to really irritated very quickly! Please, a little equiette here!

Let's Review

Is this week FINALLY over?! Oh thank goodness! Now please, somebody promise me next week will be better. Go ahead, lie to me if you have to, it will still make me feel better. But make sure to leave your name and address so that if it turns out horrible too I can hunt you down like a dog thank you properly!

So here's what the longest week in the history of the world is like. 

Monday: Hunter, who if you're new here, is my 3 1/2 year old son, acted like a mini asshole all day! Yes, I just called my son an asshole. Hey if the shoe fits! This made him mean and hateful not just to me but to his 19 month old sister too. And let me tell you, Miss Holly has no problem being mean right back to him! She holds her own and then some! Spent the day stressing over finding somewhere to move to and trying to pack while both little meanie children unpacked everything I put into boxes, yelled at and beat each other up, and just essentially drove me absolutely batty!

Tuesday: Repeat of Monday x 2

Wednesday: Repeat of Tuesday x 3 (here's some proof) plus went to look at a 3 bedroom house that would have worked out great if it wasn't completely nasty and the landlord wasn't a major slum lord.

Thursday: Repeat of Wednesday x 4 minus the slum lord but add in tears of frustration from me and the fact that in this small ass hick town, Trick-or-Treating was that night. Refer to this post to hear about Hunter's little cry baby butt during this supposedly fun event and to see some cute pics. 

Friday: Repeat of Thursday x 5 minus the Trick-or-Treating. Add in that we still can't find a decent place to move to and our time is QUICKLY running out. We ended up renting a one bedroom apartment at a pay by the week place until we can find something better.

Saturday: Kids were slightly better behaved then the days before, but add in some arguing with Hubby. He says I don't do anything during the day. So since Jordyn was gone at a bday party, I took my mp3 player and went in her room to pack stuff, while completely ignoring Hunter and Holly leaving him no choice but to look after them. I only put one ear bud in so that I could still hear what was going on. Even though he denied it later, it didn't take long for them to drive him crazy too! I don't care if he won't admit it, I heard it with my own ears. He just got a small taste of what I go through all day. I did manage to get a decent amount of packing done during this though!

Then after the kids went to bed we found this adorable cat outside. You could tell he was super friendly and very hungry. In a moment that reminds me why I fell for this guy in the first place, he lets the cat in, even though he has asthma and we aren't supposed to have pets here. I found some ham in the fridge to feed the poor kitty and he spent part of the night sleeping with me and the other part on Holly's little Backyardigans couch next to our bed. He is so super sweet and adorable! The cat I mean! lol. The bad part is that we won't be able to keep him. There is a $200 deposit at the place we're going to be staying at to have a pet! Outrageous right?!
So now we're up to Sunday. All three kids have been driving me batty and Hubby stayed up till like 3am so he's still asleep now at noon. Must be nice right? I know. Holly just went down for a nap and Jordyn and Hunter are playing the DSI together. For the moment I have a little bit of peace. Ahhh...

Trick-or-Treat!

Last night was Trick-or-Treat night in our town. It still seems strange to me that this doesn't actually happen on Halloween. It's not just me either, my friends in Arizona also find this very strange. Anyways, on with my point. My babies were so adorable last night! Again, it's not just me, others whole heartily agree! The Trick-or-Treating itself kind of sucked though. It seemed like hardly anybody was handing out candy this year! I know they don't need much sweets, I don't let them eat very much junk anyways, but I still feel like they got jipted on the experience. Then it didn't help that Hunter cried and refused to get out of the stroller almost the whole time! Luckily, Jordyn is an awesome big sister cause she made sure to always bring candy back to him too. And Holly had a blast. By the second house she had the hang of it and would hold her little pumpkin basket out for her treats!

We kind of threw Jordyn's costume together. I don't know what she was but she said she was a Cheetah Girl. And I got a good glimpse into her teenage years when I was doing her makeup. She's going to be gorgeous! Hunter had 2 layers of clothes on under his Spiderman costume and still insisted he was cold, and Holly was just as content as she could be as long as I didn't make her wear the hat to her witch costume and she had a sucker in her hand!

It was NOT easy to get this picture! Don't mind the mess in the background, we're getting ready to move!

 

My gorgeous little Cheetah Girl!

 

Spiderman!!!

 

Mommy and my beautiful first born!

Can we just be done with this week?!

Monday I thought the day needed to start over. Tuesday I thought the week needed a do over. Today I think the whole week needs to hurry the hell up and just be done because I'm so f*%#ing over it!!!!!! Oh, that felt sooo good to type! All week Hunter and Holly have been driving me absolutely nuts! Hunter, who if you're new here or just don't remember, is 3 1/2 and Holly is almost 20 months. I swear I think they're tag teaming me or something. I know they sit in their room at night plotting new ways to drive me crazy! Hunter's favorite phrases this week are "My Mama's mean!" "I don't like you!" and "I'm closing my door!" My answer to the first two? Too bad! You're mean too! And maybe I don't like you either! And as far as his door. I'll gladly close it for him and maybe board it up from the outside! Too much? Come spend the rest of the week with him, you'll be handing me the hammer and nails! And as for Miss Holly, yesterday while I'm on the phone talking to a guy about renting a house for him, what d I turn around to see? Holly at the fridge with busted eggs all over my floor. The worst part? That's not the first time this week she's done this! I've also cleaned up no less than three spills of milk or juice from the table and floor where she's grabbed Hunter or Jordyn's cup plus a full glass of Hubby's tea in the living room cause she likes to grab his cup too. And I don't know how many times I've said the words...

"Stop getting things out of the trash! That's yucky!"

"Stop hitting your sister!"

"Don't bite your brother!"

"Stop jumping over your sister before you fall on her!"

"Do not pull poop out of your butt with your hands!"

Please, Please, for the sake of my sanity, somebody fast forward this awful damn week!!!!!

Book Review

OK, it's time for another review of an awesome book! Do you all remember the last one I did for In the Belly of Jonah?  No? Well then go check it out. I'll wait. See, now you want to read it don't you?! You should, it was a good book. But you know what, this one is even better. Lot's Return to Sodom is the second book in the Liv Bergen series. This time Sandra Brannan introduces us to the terrifying world of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and one of the most feared biker gangs, Lucifer's Lot. Once again, Liv is thrown into the middle of not one, not two, but THREE murder investigations! Possibly four even! The last one being her own if she doesn't hurry to solve these heinous crimes. But the reader isn't the only one who will be kept on their toes. Our favorite FBI agent Streeter Pierce is back. Or as Liv thinks of him Agent Adonis. This happy reader thinks there is definitely some romance in the future for these two! If you're in the mood for a fast paced, can't wait to see what happens next, book to read then this book is for you! I can't wait to see what's in store next for Liv.

Follow Sandra Brannan on Facebook

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Liebster Blog Award

You like me! You really like me! lol. I just had to, sorry. But seriously, I was having a not so great morning until I logged on to check my blogs and was greeted by this awesome comment from Jhoanna over at Surviving Motherhood (And College) in Arizona telling me that she has given me this award! Thank you so much Jhoanna, you've made my day!

So here are the rules for this award.

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

4. Hope that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers

Now the really hard part is picking just 5 other bloggers to pass the award on to. There's so many I love! Ok,in no particular order...

1. Cinnamon's Spicy Life 

2. Behind the Charade

3. Girl on the Move 

4. The Big Green Bowl

5. The Ginja Ninja

Ok, now go show some love to these amazing bloggers!



Vote, Vote, Vote!!!

Ok, everybody, the stories have all been submitted! Head on over to Scandal in the Choir Loft and leave a comment voting for "Ever feel like you're being watced?" Please and Thank you! I'll love you forever!!!

"Ever feel like your being watched?"

Just a quickie for tonight. I just posted my entry for the Scandalous Halloween Writing Contest and I would love for you all to check it out and maybe vote for me. Voting is from October 19th thru the 26th.