Tis the Season...to be Stressed Out!!

Hello again friends, family and readers! This blog comes to you today from the great state of Iowa! (I am waiting for everyone to go shopping with me.) I thought that while I wait, I'll blog a bit. Not that much has happened since the last post but because I now realize how much I suck at posting. I do and I'm sorry.

Highlights...
Our Christmas festivities have officially commenced. We are currently with my in-laws in Iowa, followed by Christmas number two in Illinois with my family then it's a quick stop to Indiana for a Christmastime visit with Katie's family then back home to Missouri for a New Years get together with friends! Phew! As we were driving yesterday, Luke kept making comments about all the driving we are going to be doing. (And by "we" I mean Luke. I usually sleep.) (Wait, to my credit I have asked if i can drive. Luke always says no because he thinks he drives better than me. That may be so, but I get us there faster. HA! So I sleep. It makes the time go faster...)

As for Luke and myself spending time together, we Christmas shopped together for the first time ever in our 10years of being an 'us'. Usually I do all the shopping by myself so this was something different for us. We decided it do it this way because I don't know where anything is in my new state and needed a driver. So we went on Wednesday and pretty much finished everything... almost. I was really worried we would start World War III Christmas shopping together but I think we did just fine. We had a little pep-talk in the car beforehand about communication and respect for each other's "systems" and we got along just fine! We did not quite finish everything because after 8 hours I believe I exhausted Luke's good nature. He was crashing fast and I knew we needed to get out of there before the "yuletide merriment" turned into  "yuletide homicide". So we agreed to finish what we couldn't finish there here in Iowa. (Hence I am waiting) And Luke was rewarded with dinner at Texas Roadhouse. (Not my favorite the last time we went but super yummy steak the second time! I recommend it.)
A couple times when Luke started to glaze over I reminded him that usually I do this all on my own. And that is why I spend every night for a week at Woodfield until 11pm trying to get everything done. I think he walked away from this with a better appreciation for me. It's the little things... And to his credit, he figured out some gift ideas I was stumped on. All in all, it was a nice day together! Who knew?!

So that was Wednesday. Yesterday, we had little odds and ends to finish up before we left. I hate leaving for trips with a messy house. I like to come home with whatever mess I brought with me and not add to what was already there. So I moved as fast as I could, threw things in bags and suitcases, and Luke loaded it all into the car. Well... between the wrapped gifts, gifts that still needed to be wrapped, wrapping paper and trimmings, the stuff Luke packed in the car before I could condense it, and our luggage itself, I didn't realize just how much crap we brought with us until we unloaded it into my in-laws living room. I was actually embarrassed. Embarrassed. It was ridiculous the amount of crap we brought with us. And I'd like to say that once we give away all the gifts so the load will lessen, but we will be bringing gifts back with us! And my sister-in-law Claire! Plus her luggage and gifts! And the gifts she needs to bring back for the Chicago Christmas! And a dog!!! At one point on our drive Luke and I  reflected on the idea of if we had a kid. Can you imagine? All that stuff plus baby stuff??? We actually talked about getting a minivan. Something I swore to myself I'd never do. (That, or we just don't go anywhere for Christmas anymore. If you want to see us and our future kid, you gotta come to us!)

Ok so I am at the wrap up point. It always amazes me how I have nothing that is really going on yet I can write a super long post. Blabbermouth....
I think we are just about ready to leave for the stores to finished up our shopping. I cannot wait until this is done!!

If I don't post before Christmas, I hope everyone has a most wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year! All the best in 2012!!!

It's Christmas time....in DeSoto...

So I now realize it's been almost a month since my last post. Oops. (I kinda feel like I'm going to confession... "forgive me father, for I have sinned...it's been one month since my last blog post...") (And let's not even go there as to when my last real confession was....)

Anyway, hi everybody! I am blogging to you today from Indiana! (I'm not very good at sitting still)
I am here to help my Katie with her little guy, Cole, while her husband Adrien is in the hospital. (He had surgery and has to stay in the hospital for a week. However the surgery went VERY well and he is doing GREAT!) But that is why I am here. Cole is sleeping and I have some time to kill.

So I guess this would be a good time to fill everyone in on our life. The problem is, there is not much to share. Luke, as always, is loving his job! It is so awesome to hear him say just how much he loves his job and how he can't see himself doing anything else almost every day! How many people can actually say that?? He is so good at what he does and his students really seem to like him. (Everywhere we go there are students who wave hi or make sure to get his attention...it's really fun to see!) Luke's Christmas concert is this Friday and I am so excited to see it! He said his kids have been working really hard and are sounding great. Luke's parents are even coming in on Friday to see the concert! So it's going to be a great weekend! I"m looking forward to it!

As for me there is really nothing going on. We finally got a Christmas tree so I have been doing a lot of pine needle maintenance. (Never again... between the needles falling on their own, the dog trying to drink the water, the baby I watch pull the ornaments off the bottom and again, the dog trying to eat the soft ornaments, there are needles all over my house!! I feel like I'm swimming in them.)
On that note, I have also been putting up all our decorations little by little. We now have much more space which is nice but less flat surfaces. We don't have our new furniture yet so we don't have end tables or anything else to set things on. So my little hallway is packed with boxes of Christmas things just waiting to come out...once there is a place to set them. We were going to go this past week but decided at the last minute to go this past weekend and then at the even more last minute I decided to come to Indiana! So hopefully by Christmas time we'll have a complete first floor. (I'm not holding my breath...)

Past the merriment of the season, that's about it for me. I have been trying to get organized with my Christmas shopping because only having one car makes going out shopping a hassle. (And yes, I can drop Luke off and take the car, but it's about 40 minutes away to the closest mall plus you always have to add time for me to inevitably get lost at least once... then shop and be home in time to get Luke again... it's a pain. So this year there is a lot of online shopping to be done. But again, I am trying to get organized so I can just do everything at once! Again, hopefully...

The only thing left to blog about is Kylie. She's been really good! She's over 35lbs now and super smart. (I don't know if that's good or bad.) Up until about 15 minutes ago, she has been accident free for a month! (However, in that 15 minutes, Luke called me to tell me she pooped upstairs in the loft.) Luke was trying out letting her have more of the run of the house so he took down the baby gate from upstairs. Apparently she was fine all day yesterday but at some point this afternoon went up there and did her business...I don't know the proper protocol for that. I guess we just have to not let her up there unless we are there with her every second. I guess. I am still not convinced it isn't the smell of the carpet. I am hoping once we put new carpet up there too this problem will no longer exist. We'll see...

Well, that's for reading! I will post again before Christmas, I promise. In the meantime, enjoy the season, don't be too stressed and STAY WARM!!!

Love to everyone and as always, thanks for reading!! :)

Birthday Fun!

Hello blog friends!

As I posted in my last couple blogs, my birthday was a couple weeks ago and holy cow was it a busy week! I'll start at the beginning.
Mom and Danielle came to visit the weekend of my birthday complete with Archie (mom and dad's dog) and Portillo's! Best.Day.Ever! It was so fun to have them here! (There was even a 3 person spoon and I got to be the middle spoon!!!) TMI? You'll be fine.
However, I did wake up the morning of my 29th bday with a pretty bad cold. Blugh. And it stayed with me for over a week. Thank you, students that made my husband sick the week before. Thank you.
Later on my bday we all went out to lunch at the Olive Garden and mom and I proceeded to get food poisoning. Yea! So we went home (after a stop at the furniture store to pick out a couch that is too big for our living room) and spent the rest of the night sitting on the couch.
It sounds like I'm upset but really, it was an awesome weekend! I was so happy my mom and sister that we could have done nothing but stare at each other and it would have been the perfect day. :) I just felt sorry for my sister and Luke who were feeling fine and had to sit and do nothing with us. Sorry, guys.
The next day I got in the car and made the 6 hour drive to "Chicago" with Mom and Danielle. (And Archie too - he smelled like a shoe the entire car ride.) It was so good to go home!!
The week was awesome!! Kinda bitter sweet... I was definitely feeling weird about being there. As much as I missed everyone and everything, it was strange to be back. I don't have a home there anymore. But De Soto doesn't quite feel like home yet either. So it was a strange feeling that I still can't quite verbalize. And I missed Luke and Kylie. A week away is too long.

I got to see everyone I could squeeze into one week and it was great! Lynne, Karen, "the ladies", my cousins and family, surprised Nonna, Sarah and her two little guys, Melissa, Deb and George, Hillary and Claire...everyone! (and if I failed to mention you in this post, I apologize...I saw a lot of people that week...) It was so nice! I got my hair did, got to watch my sister teach and see her school... I got to eat at Portillo's (3 times!), Chipotle, and Jamba Juice!! Mmmmm....The little things you take for granted... (YOU ALL SUCK!YOU DON"T EVEN KNOW HOW GOOD YOU HAVE IT!!!!) Whoa. Moving on... Sorry about that.

Fast forward to the weekend, we had a bday bash for the gma whos birthday is actually the day after mine. :) (We had to wait a week so dad would be back from his October business trip in Vegas. Can you believe it's been 19 years he's been going? Crazy...) Anyway, Luke and Kylie came up on Friday and it was so great for them to be back. I really missed my little family. And Kylie loves her Uncle Archie!

Gma's party went really well. She laughed more than she's laughed in a long time. And it was perfect to see everyone all in one place at one time. Even Nonna came for the party! It was great. I love, LOVE my family!!

And though it was sad to leave, it was nice to head back to my own bed. And to finally recoup from my cold. A week and a half. A WEEK AND A HALF!!! I haven't been sick in years and a lousy could lasts a week and a half!! Well it's gone now. Phew...

So to recap, it was a pretty awesome birthday week with everyone I love. So thanks, everyone, for making my birthday week so amazing!! :D

So as for here... nothing really new to report. Luke is doing really well. His choirs are working on the music for their Christmas concert so he's been coming home and randomly belting out Christmas tunes. And although I yell and am trying very hard to keep Christmas AFTER Thanksgiving, it's starting to make me feel very merry. I am getting VERY excited for Christmas. I have even started asking Luke if we should do a real tree or artificial. Frequently ask.
But that's not to say I am not  SUPER EXCITED for Thanksgiving! I am going to eat until I vomit! (A sin, I know....) SO EXCITED! And I am also trying to convince my cousins/sister to go with me to see the new Muppet movie the day after Thanksgiving. EVEN MORE EXCITED!!!! Do I need a hobby??

And as for Kylie, she went to the doctor the other day and has a skin infection. Poor thing. (Although she doesn't seem to notice) She's on an antibiotic and doing better? I can't tell yet. She's fine. She also weighs 34.45lbs! Fat dog. Maybe we should go easy on the ice cubes, huh?? ;) And she got along great with Archie. They were so funny together! They would take turns pinning each other. So cute! She also had her first "off the leash walk" and did great! She came when she was called and slept like a champ after! Oh! And after a month of accident free Kylie, the Monday and Tuesday we were back, she pooped twice. On the stairs. Who does that??? Uuuuuugh....

So it's good to be home, I guess. Back to the everyday. It's ok though. Hopefully we'll be in Iowa visiting Luke's parents next weekend and then back home for Thanksgiving. We are even talking about a little vacation at the end of the year. (Ok well... I'm doing most of the talking since the subject is  Disney World...) Fingers crossed!!!

Thanks as always for reading! I'll post pictures soon.

Hugs!!!

Concert Update!

Hi everybody!

So Luke had his first official concert this past Monday...It went GREAT! I was so proud of him and his students! They sounded awesome and he did a terrific job speaking as well as conducting. :) Unfortunately I forgot the flip camera (of course) so I wasn't able to get video. (I remembered just as I sat down right before the concert started) But Luke did have me record it so I do have that. Well...he has that. I have to figure out how to download it to my computer then how to post it on the blog. It's not the same as seeing him in action, but you can hear all of his hard work for the past few months. It's pretty great.
Also, I have to give that guy props... I was in the choir room before the concert and boy does he have his hands full! There was a little drama before the concert with clothing, but in the end, it all went without a hitch. He's pretty amazing. It was a great, great show! :) Luke was WIPED OUT right after. I think he slept pretty well that night! Next up, Christmas concert! (And for the record, he pretty much vetoed all of my concert selections...but don't be discouraged. There is always spring and I have some ideas that involve hats and glasses and choreography!! Luke is really excited...)

As we "speak" there are two gentlemen in my basement installing our new carpet! Yea! And this time, I took 'before' pictures! So you'll get to see that in my next post. I am very excited! (Poor Kylie is so confused by all the noise. Little freaked out. And I hate to keep her in her box but I can't have her going down there with all the nails and the tools. So the poor thing is just sitting in her box while I tell her she's good and everything is ok. She'll get extra snuggles tonight!)

As for me, I am still counting down the days until my trip home. Mom and Danielle will be here the day after tomorrow! I can't wait!! I am already cleaning in preparation! Fun! Not to mention a full week ahead with visits! I'm excited about that as well! (Karen, I am so looking forward to seeing you! What night are we all going out??)

That's it for this post! I am going to make lunch for myself and continue cleaning up!

Thanks as always for reading! :)

Did I Mention I Love October??

I am taking this rare moment to post a blog because my internet is working. I don't know how or why, but it's working.

I am going to start with myself this blog because I have to admit, it's been pretty rough for me out here. I am a very social person and not having many friends or a car to get around in has been pretty tough for me. I don't want to complain or whine because I know just how happy Luke is and TRULY, it makes this all totally worth it, but it's still pretty tough. However, today is so pretty outside that I am in a very good mood. That helps!

And I was thinking today... I just bought this adorable fall decoration for my wall and I thought, in about a month, I am going to have to put up Christmas stuff. What??? It's crazy how fast this year has gone by and all the changes that it came with. But I am very excited to decorate a house with festive decorations! And to have an actual tree??? Family, do we not all remember Grandpa's Christmas shrub? Well if you recall, I too had a Christmas shrub...it was just skinner. Now I get to actually have a real tree that you can see without getting close up and squinting at!! Yea! (Not to mention, I can have a tree that will hold all my ornaments...damn you Hallmark!) I am so very excited! And from what I understand, Missouri winters are not like Chicago winters so I am looking forward to that as well!

Can you believe I'm talking about Christmas already? Yikes.

So a change of plans...not only are mom and Danielle coming out for my birthday weekend but I am going home with them as well!! So I will be home for an entire week! Luke will be up the following weekend for Gma's 80th bday celebration that she may or may not know about...no one is quite sure... and I'll drive home with him after! Perfect! I have already scheduled an appointment with the dermatologist, my Melissa for my hair and on the to do list is making a reservation with Lynne for our FAVORITE place ever, The Melting Pot!! I am also going to try to surprise my Nonna by going t visit her as well. (She doesn't know I'm coming. This I know for sure) I am so SO excited!! Looking forward to LOTS of squishy hugs!

Sadly, because she still is not 100% not pooping in the house, mom has banned Kylie from coming with me for that whole week. Hopefully after spending the weekend with her, she'll change her mind but as of right now, no luck. She'll be here with Luke. However, not to fret, family! She will be accompanying Luke when he comes for the weekend so you'll all get to meet her then! :)

More on Luke... His first official concert is this coming Monday! I am so excited for him. I know he's looking forward to it and the kids are really starting to sound good from what he tells me. I can't wait to hear them! (Again, if anyone would like to stay with us for the concert, let me know!)
And with the closing of one concert, preparation for the next begins. Which will be the Christmas concert. (Another reason I have Christmas on the brain!) I took it upon myself to pick out his Christmas program (and yes, in MO it's not a "Holiday Concert" or a "Winter Celebration", it's a Christmas Concert. Get it right.
Anyway, I took the liberty of picking the music for his Christmas concert. (Luke had a cold and was sleeping on the couch so I took his music, picked some songs and told him his program was done. He opened one eye, looked at me, and rolled over and went back to sleep. He's excited too. I can tell.) It's going to be a good one assuming he doesn't knock out any of my songs. The only problem I ran into is that I chose about 6 songs for mixed choir, 3 for women's glee and about 2 for men's glee. So... I guess there is slight room for some... input from Luke on that? But trust me, I picked some good songs. Trust me.
(Poor Luke...)

I think that's it for updates! (Oh.. I'm on the phone with my mom now and I've been informed that while I'm back in Chicago, I also have a dinner date with Karen and an invitation to dinner with "the ladies". So excited!!!

Have a beautiful fall day!!!

It's October! (I love October!)

Hello readers! Can you believe it's already October?? Time flies, doesn't it? Holy cow.

Well apparently my favorite time of year is lost on Missouri... it's still in the 80s. I love the cool, crispness of autumn and here I am in summer tops and bottoms. However, the leaves have changed and for as leafy as our area is, it's so pretty! I'll have to take some pictures. Our backyard kinda looks postcardy...I like it.

The first high school choir concert is this coming weekend. I'm not sure if Luke is conducting anything but it's still going to be fun to see the choirs! :) Then next weekend (Well, the monday after) Luke's junior high choir! I am so excited to hear the kids but even more excited to watch Luke conduct. Anyone who wants to come out and see Luke's first official concert, please come stay with us!

On to more news... We are getting some special visitors in a couple weeks... My mom and sister!!!! I am SO excited! Also, my mom asked what she could bring from home. Ready? Ready for this? I asked for...PORTILLOS!!!!!! Oh my gosh I cannot tell you just how excited this makes me. My family AND Portillos?? Oh. My. Gosh. Eeek!

As for a Kylie update, she's terrible, rotten and we love her to death. For those of you who didn't read it on Facebook, last week Kylie ran out the front door and up into the UPS truck. Twice. And about 3 days ago she pooped in our kitchen. (To be fair, I think that was my fault. I took her out, she peed and when she ran to the door instead of making her go back out, we came in. 3 minutes later, kitchen.) She has been so much better now that we won't let her upstairs or on anything that closely resembles carpet. Uuuugh....
On a side note, she's been a lot calmer these days. She'll jump up on the couch next to us (yes, she's allowed on the couch, family) and she'll nap. That is new. In fact, the other week I fell asleep on the couch and she came up and slept with me. Yeah, whoever said she's too calm and cat-like never gave her a chance. She's a nutball. But I am enjoying this calmer more cuddly puppy that's appeared these past couple weeks. Love her!

And last, a public 'thank you' to the Marzullos. They sent us a little care package of candy, Halloween soap and two adorable scarves for Kylie. She loves to wear clothes so these are right up her ally! So thank you!

I think that's all for this post. I'll post some pictures but there isn't really anything new as far as home improvements as of the last post.

Thanks for reading! :)

The new snuggly Kylie!

This is why I can never get work done with her around.

Purple monkey was her favorite...until she killed it. Poor purple monkey...

I'm Exasperated.

Caution: This post includes much ranting and several uses of the word "poop" in all it's various past and present forms. You've been warned.


Why does my dog keep pooping in my house?!?! I love her. I love her to bits and pieces but this has to stop or I am going to have an aneurism. All day she does well. ALL DAY! It's the evenings where everything goes to...well...poop. And it's always upstairs. (However, now that I've said this, she's going to prove me wrong.)
The only things I can think of are A) She smells all the other animal smells on our old carpet and gets confused. Or 2) She is so bell trained that when she is upstairs and there is no bell she has no idea how to tell us what she needs to do. Or I suppose C) is a combination of both. She's not a barker so it's not like she'll whine or bark when she needs to go. And there is no warning. She'll be playing or standing there and BAM! Poop.
I'm going to buy a new bell and put it upstairs to see if that works. Past that, I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd greatly appreciate it. And to set the record straight, we let her out ALL THE TIME. EVERY TIME she rings her bell we take her out. About 80% of the time she goes. The other 20 she spends eating bugs and sniffing around. She'd do it all night if we'd let her. We've even spent evenings where we'll take her out 10-15 times in an hour and within 5 minutes of her being in the house, she'll poop. It is so frustrating. And this has happened on more than one occasion. We have tried box training her. (And you can't rub her nose in it because any aggression does more harm than good since she was a once abused puppy) I am constantly on guard to make sure she isn't having accidents... I don't know what to do anymore. And I understand it's old carpet and it's going sooner than later but I don't want this to happen to the new carpet once it comes!
Again, any suggestions would be helpful. And if you can do better than google, you're my hero. Ma, what would Cesar say???

HELP!!!

Thanks. Sorry for the rant... I just got out of the shower to my dog in her box and my husband upset. I had to ask the masses... Thanks everyone.

Oh and one more thing, if you do comment, which I understand some people have been having trouble doing, make sure you pick an account you'd like to post from (Like google for example) as well as type in the security code it gives you. (Those are the squiggly letters you have to type in the box)
And behalf of Kylie, thanks. The box is no fun...

This isn't actually of tonight. This was the other night right before I shut off the lights before bed. This is an old pillow of mine that I was going to throw out but decided to give to Kylie at the last minute so she'd have something soft. (It is also the ONLY bed she currently hasn't shredded...let see if that lasts.)

Oops.

I tried to fix the videos and A) it takes too long and 2) it switches the order. That's why the first post is the most current. Forget it. You can just use your imagination and from now on, I'll post correctly.

Our First Post!!

This is our first official post! I don't know about you, but I'm excited!
Well it's official! We are home owners! On Friday Aug. 12th, we closed on our new house in De Soto Missouri. (For those who are new to our little family, Lucas finally got a teaching position out here, so here we are.) Though I am sad to leave all my family, friends, and Woodfield, ;) I am excited for our new adventure out on our own in a new state! Luke is super excited as well. In fact, today is his first official day of school with actual students in the classroom! He looked so handsome this morning all gussied up and ready for school. I am so proud of him! He is going to be an AMAZING teacher. :)

Lots of work ahead!

I've got my Dunkin Donuts... We can move now!

On our way!! (That's Luke in front in theh U-haul!)

Now for a week in review: (A quick review-kinda)
Once we officially got our closing DATE, we started packing. (I will explain why "date" is in caps later.) I thought we only had clothes to pack since my parents were amazing enough to let us stay with them for a couple months (3 to be exact) however, I did not take into account all the junk I had at my parents house from before we got married. I had a LOT of crap. On Tuesday we got our rental truck and were on the road by 9:15-ish Wednesday morning. We knew our closing date was Friday, but Luke had to be back for teacher trainings Thursday. (This was one of many commutes for Luke in the past few weeks, poor guy) As we were driving here on Wednesday, with all our belongings in tow to the hotel, our realtor called me to check in and told me that although we had a closing DATE, we didn't have a TIME or LOCATION for the closing...needless to say, there was slight panic on my part looking at the truck in front of me with our lives in it. (It wasn't until later that Chuck, our realtor, confided in me that he and his wife were going to open their house to us because he was slightly panicked we weren't going to close as well! Haha!) In the end, everything worked out just fine. We closed at 11am on Friday Aug. 12th! (Side note, anyone who ever worked at KinderCare with me knows how illegible my signature is. However, when I take my time, I have a nice signature. Well I figured a home closing deserved a good signature but since it's been awhile, I spelled my name wrong. No kidding. I signed Cristen Janisch instead of Cristen Overton. Boy did I feel stupid! HAHA!)

Anyway, Luke had to be back at school for more meetings so Chuck (bless his heart) and I came back to the house to start cleaning before the truck was unloaded. My parents and sister were on their way to help as well. And this is where the fun starts...
~ The air conditioning didn't work. We knew this was going to be the case as all 3 inspections made a note of the blower on the furnace wasn't working and the unit needed to be replaced. So we had money set aside for a new furnace. Needless to say, it was HOT in this place. Chuck and I lost at least 100lbs! (Ok I'm being slightly dramatic, but it was holy hot in here!)
~ The hot water was out. So no air and we're drenched in sweat, then we don't have hot water to shower at the end of the day. I was not a happy panda to say the least.
~ Bugs. Bugs EVERYWHERE. Yes, I get that it was a vacant house, but holy cow. Everywhere I looked there was a Granddaddy Longlegs. Blugh!!
~ No appliances. I knew this coming in, but what pain in the butt!

Now for the positive!
~Turns out, we had AC all along. Oops. I finally got ahold of Steve, the AC/heating guy (super nice!) and he asked where my breaker was. I showed him, he hit a switch, and I heard a Whirrrrrrrr.... I asked "Um... what's that??" I had a feeling I knew the answer. He answered "Oh! That's your AC!". So it worked the whole time. Someone along the way turned off the breaker and that was it. 3 different inspectors/inspections and no one caught it. $60 later, my water softener, AC and peace of mind were restored! (Hey, $60 is a hell of a lot better than $4000 for a new furnace!) And Steve is one of my neighbors and so so nice! When I told Chuck we had AC the whole time, needless to say,  his response was...um... colorful. I won't post it for my mother's sake. But we both had a good laugh.


~We also had hot water after all! Thankfully, Luke, along with Aaron Young I believe,  figured that out later that night on Friday so we had nice showers before we got into our nice clean bed! Phew!
~Exterminator came on Tuesday to fix any unwanted house guests! Best. Day. Ever. Thank God! The only bugs we are seeing now are dead ones. Best way to see bugs. :)
~ Appliances were delivered Monday and they are pretty!! I made tacos last night and for whatever reason, they tasted extra yummy! New appliances will do that to food, you know. Who knows, after this, I just might enjoy cooking! (Maybe) ;)

The flowers above the stove are where the microwave is supposed to live. Luke has to tear out that black piece before he can install the micro...which is currently living in my living room. The flowers are there cause it was ugly. Now it's pretty. I win. (Though I must say the guys installing the stove were pretty confused until I explained they weren't installing the micro and the flowers were temporary. HA!

And last but not least, we got a puppy yesterday!! Her name is Kylie and she is the cutest little thing you'd ever meet in your life! She is a shelter dog from Canines in Crisis who was fostered by an amazing woman, Kaylyn! She took such good care of our little Kylie that I am so SO thankful to her! I'll post more about our little baby later. I think this first new post was long enough for now!


So for those who stuck with me till the end, congrats! I'm sure the posts will be smaller in the future but for the first one, there was a lot of catching up to do! Comments are always welcome as well as requests on info regarding anything!


Thanks for reading about our little family!


Love, hugs and squishes!
The Overtons!! (All 3 of us!)

Our new little love!

Kylie!!

And I said, "I don't mind her sitting on the couch, but I don't want dogs in our bed." Well... that was quick....

People are Reading! How Excting!

Hi everyone!
So my friend Jamie told me more about how my blog-thingy works...how cool! People do read it! (Not that I didn't believe you, but I've had almost 340 hits to my little goofy blog! Fun!!)


Now I feel pressure. :O

Not why I'm blogging today. I'm blogging because I have a couple more picture of my new living room to show. I was a little embarrassed at my lack of pictures from last post so this morning when I sent new ones to mom, I thought I'd come up here and post them for all to see. :) Again, the house is coming along little by little. In fact, we have people from Lowes coming today to give us a carpet estimate! Thank God. I will also try to take a couple pictures of upstairs as well to show the new lack of boxes. Since there aren't many 'before pics', you'll have to just trust me that we've come a LONG way. The loft was the place we threw all the unpacked boxes that were  not pressing....most are now gone!! What's left is mainly boxes of books we can't put on the shelves we don't currently have. HUGE improvement! (Also, the box of toys at the other end of the loft...I take care of our friend's little girl here at the house one day a week and she needs something to do. No, we are not hiding children from anyone. Sorry to disappoint...Marzullos...) ;)

And since I am name dropping, Lynne, apparently there IS a way for you to be notified when I do new posts. (And not just when I call you out on Facebook) I have to set it up somehow. So anyone who signs up as a follower will get the updates. For those of you who are signed up as followers who do not want to receive an update email, I'm sorry... I don't know if I can pick and choose... I'm still learning this new fancy thing.

One more thing before I post pictures. This is Homecoming week for the schools! So Luke has to dress up for the different days. (Except yesterday because he was at 'All District' with the high school kids and he'd look a little odd dressed as a nerd...) And he slipped out so quietly this morning that I don't know what he dressed as today. Twin day? Maybe? I know he told me. There was 'Nerd Day', 'Twin Day', 'Sports Day' and 'Spirit Day'? I can't remember the last two. Anyway, it's a fun week! The homecoming game is this Friday. Go Dragons!
I'm excited because tonight (and I should be doing some of it now) I am going to the school to help Luke decorate his classroom. Because they just redid the classroom, they just finished putting up the bulletin boards and smart and white boards so we can finally make it fun and classroom-like! I LOVE decorating classrooms! (With the excepting of contact paper.... I HATE contact paper...) And I have so much stuff left over from KinderCare that we don't even need to buy anything! Even better!

Man, even when I try to be short I ramble...ADHD... sorry. ;)

Have a fabulous day and I'll get to posting the pictures!

My new rug! I LOVE this rug! (And Kylie of course!)

My purple wall next to my tan wall! So pretty!

View from the loft - left corner.

This is the 'office' side of the loft. It's a mess right now because this is my current project.

This will eventually be our library/reading area. My papasan chair will go here as well as short, long bookshelves. Luke will either get a recliner or some other comfy chair for himself. I cannot wait to see how it looks!

This is the other side of the loft. Eventually this will be closed off and made into another room. About 3 days ago this entire area was boxes and bins. Gone. Phew!

This video is just for fun. Remember, this is the dog that was returned for being "too calm and cat-like". Oy.

Also, turns out I downloaded all the past videos wrong! That's why no one could see them! I'll go back and redo them. So if you'd like to check them out, they should be fixed shortly.

I've Been Neglectul.

So it's been more than a couple weeks... Oops. Hi everyone.

I'd like to say I've been so busy that I haven't been able to get to the blog. In actuality, I've just kinda forgotten. (And our internet goes in and out all the time. LOVE living in the country!) :/
Truth be told, I started writing this particular blog about a week or more ago but am just now finishing it and adding to it. I suck. Whatever.

I'll start with the updates first:
Lucas~ He's doing really really well. He really likes his job. In fact, a couple weeks ago he commented on just how much he enjoys going into work every morning. (Even if it means leaving the house at 6:45-6:50am each morning.)He said that no matter what, he could never stop doing what he's doing. He can never see himself doing anything else. (Insert "I told you so" here.)  That, to me, makes all of this worth it. Everyday gets a little bit easier. (His 7th grade girls are kicking butt right now during practices!! Way to go, girls!)
He's also been hard at work with home improvement projects. I can't remember if I've said this before or not, but I've been doing really well at taking the 'after' pictures...not so much the 'before'. So I do have some pictures of Luke's handy work - after the fact. He's cleared out so much of the back yard, you can actually see the lake now! It's coming along, slowly but surely. :) There are just a couple more patches of brush that need to be clipped away and we should be able to see everything just fine.We also decided to hire a painter... so the first floor is now 100% painted! (Well... if you don't count the bathrooms. We decided not to bother since eventually we are tearing them OUT!)
And between all the running around he does at school all day and all the projects he's going at home, he's lost 17lbs since we've been here! He looks great, is feeling great and I cannot be prouder of him! I've been to a couple of performances he's conducted and it's been so much fun seeing Luke in action. I cannot wait for the first concert!
Also, on Labor Day, the high school concert choir got the chance to perform at the Cardinals/Brewers game. They sang America the Beautiful right before the game. Not only did they sound fantastic but they were on Fox Sports! Usually they don't tape the pregame stuff but I guess this time they did! Aaron is trying to get a copy of the recording. I"ll keep everyone posted! :)

Now my update:
As I mentioned before, we hired a painter. Bless my mother-in-law's heart, she came out for the Labor Day weekend and went with  me to pick out paint. Together we painted the wall between the counter and the cabinets in the kitchen as well as did all the trim around the first half of the first floor. When she left on Wednesday, my job was to finish painting. Well.... Anyone who knows me on any lever knows that while I have very good intentions... painting has never been one of my strong suits. I finished the front door and the spot in the kitchen that needed a second coat but that was about it. I looked at those cans of paint and thought, 'You can do this. Get up and paint!'. Never happened. So after calling around, I found a really nice guy for a really nice price. Done and done. 3 days later my bedroom, kitchen, living room and staircase was all painted. However, I am so very grateful to my mother-in-law for all her help! I couldn't have picked out my colors or started to paint without her! (THANKS!!)
So I will have to post the picture I have of what's been done. All the 'afters'.

The house seems to be coming along though... we have some guys coming out in the next couple days to give us an estimate for carpet in the basement and we power cleaned today so most of our boxes are all put away! It's finally starting to feel like a home and not just a never-ending project. Yea!

Next step, finding a car for Luke. This one car thing is a pain in the BUTT!!!

And now for my Kylie update. Cause I know that's really why you're reading this...;)
She's fine. She gets a little bit better every day. (I'm not even going to comment on accidents in the house cause every time I do, she has another one. Let's just leave it at that.)
She cracks us up all the time and we truly love her. :)
Now for the pictures! Thanks for reading and I promise, I will try to get better about posting.
G'night!

I'm getting so big! I'm 29lbs!

Our bedroom! We still have to do two more stripes on the outside of the border... we told the painter we'd do it ourselves as I can't decide what color yet.

Not only is my kitchen purple (or Symphony, as it's called) but I now have a microwave!! Thanks, Luke!)

Yeah....We are changing the color ASAP. It looks like a grape. Trial and error...this was an error.

I have a before picture!! (And yes, I made the curtains!)

That's David the painter...yes, he's 7ft tall!  And no, he's not standing on anything. And I guess I only have a partial 'after' picture. I have to take another one with the whole wall done.

Our first Cards/Cubs game. I had to support Chicago! (They won too!) (For the record, I also bought the same shirt for the Cardinals too...Clearly I am a SUPER diehard baseball fan...)

It's Hot.

107 degrees, to be exact. I cannot take the heat here. I don't know if I'll ever get acclimated. I'll melt first.

That was my soapbox. It's been a couple days and nothing much has changed. Luke is doing well at school. Everyday gets a little better. His 7th graders are great - especially his girls. The 8th graders... they are a work in progress. But again, everyday gets a little better than the last. :) Also, De Soto High School had their first home game for football and Luke conducted the choir for the game. Pretty cool! (And when we left at 4th quarter, the score was 43-7...De Soto was up. I'm going to assume they won. Go Dragons!)

I'm ok. Starting to miss home...really miss home. It's nice out here and the people I've met have been great but I still miss home. I'm sure it takes time... it's only been, what? 3 weeks? All in time. 

Kylie is good... still having accidents but it's getting better. We love her just the same and she's doing something new and funny all the time. In the two, almost 3 weeks we've had her, she officially has more pictures on my phone than Luke does. Oops! :)

That's all I really have. This was short and sweet today.
Oh! We are slowly but surely getting rooms "finished". (I say "finished" cause until we paint and tear down walls and put new ones up, we will never really be finished) but we are getting close. Little by little boxes are emptying and things are being put where they belong. Yesterday I finished all our toiletries (we have a LOT) and the bathroom is done! Luke is putting my desk together right now so by tomorrow, the "office" will be done! We'll get it. It's not like we are in any rush...

Oh! One more thing. I met a lady at the nail place today and made friends. (Shocking, I know) ;) Don't ask me how, but we got to talking about me making jewelry and she wanted my number so she can place a couple orders! So I officially have my first customer! So fun!

Ok really that's it now. Luke just finished my desk so I'm going to check it out and go to bed.
Thanks for reading!

The Blog That Almost Wasn't... and Other News

I know it's been a few days since I posted last but I got the feeling no one was reading this so I kinda stopped. But since then, I've gotten requests to update so THANK YOU! Thanks for reading. (And now my mother can stop laughing at me.) I know there is a lot to read, but I talk a lot. Sorry. And I feel like if I don't post every single day, longer posts might be ok. :)

So... where to start? Ah.
Luke just finished his first official full week of school. And he survived. Discipline was a bit of an issue still but after Thursday, things hopefully should be better. :) I  received an email from him telling me his morning went well and his girls choir was very good. (He also told me his girls were interested in how many pairs of shoes I had.) This is because a couple days ago they commented on the fact that he always wears a different pair of pants and asked him how many pairs of dress pants he had. He told them that if they did well during rehearsal he would count them when he got home and let them know the next day. They were good, he told them 9. (I don't think that's right, for the record... he has to have more...) So I can only assume the topic of shoes came up today. (How, I have no clue) and again, if they were good, he'd tell them how many I have. Cracks me up. But it's stories like that that make me happy to know he is having fun with the students and they are having fun with him. Love it!

We have been busy around here as well. Bedroom is about 95% unpacked and done. We just have to finish painting the closet, hang new shelves and bring our clothes back up from the basement to hang. Then we have a beautiful room! (Then we get to tear it all apart again to paint the whole room. Ugh.)

The outside of the house is also coming together. Luke took out all he bushes from the front and I trimmed a couple of the others around the driveway today. Luke also installed new lights to line the drive. He was a bit self conscious about the drive looking like an airplane runway, and of course I give him a hard time about it, but it really looks pretty. I like it a lot. (Of course, it only looks as nice as Kylie will let it... she knocks them over all the time.)

We also have couches!! Did I mention that before? It's very exciting! Thank you again, Mom and Dad Overton, for letting us use your old couches. I can't tell you how nice it is to SIT!

And last, the Kylie update. She is as wonderful as ever. Except... this going in the house thing. UGH! It's mostly in the evening when Luke is home. When she's outside, all she wants to do is eat moths. When she's inside, she poops. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions would be nice. Other than that, she is as perfect as can be.
Well... kinda. She LOVES being outside so we got her a little steak for her leash so we can tie her out there. I'm not a fan cause it's hot and I'm so afraid someone is going to come and take her or she's going to get lose... anyway, she loves it. Rings her bell all day long to go lay out there. Well, as of two days ago, she has learned she can dig. And dig she does. 2 baths in 3 days. (Though I now have this bath thing down to a science! HA!) But we love her anyway so we just moved her steak. Done and done.
Another love she has is Lucas. Holy cow does she love Lucas. She snuggles with his shoes when he's gone, watches his every move from the window when he's outside working, sits in the bathroom when he's showering and freaks out when he gets home! She adores him! And as upset about the potty thing as he is, he loves her right back. For better or for worse, she's ours. And we love that goofy little dog. :)
I'll end with some pictures. I have to now take my car to get the nail out of the tire then pick up Luke! Enjoy!!

Trying to get to Luke under the seat of the car. (He's driving and she's in the back seat.)

Hogging the remote.

Taking a nap... Look at her tongue!!! Haha!

Got caught with Luke's sock. She knew it too.

Sleeping with Luke's shoes.

Yes, that's out bathroom and yes, Luke is in the shower. (To be fair, she usually sleeps on the bathmat when I shower.) She also likes to poke her nose against the shower curtain. When you poke it back, she goes and lays down. Who knows why.

Her favorite thing to do. She is also eating her bone with frozen peanut butter in it. Yum?

In-laws and the Goofus...

I'm done guess how long my posts are going to be because it's starting to make me a liar and I'm not comfortable with that.
Exciting goings-ons today! Luke's parents and grandparents came to visit us today and they came with presents! We always love to visit with them so it was so nice of them to come - even if it was only for the day! Luke's parents brought us their old couches so we have something temporarily before we pick out our new stuff, and his grandparents brought us really yummy fresh tomatoes from their garden. YUM! It was so nice to be able to visit. Us ladies went on a walk around the neighborhood with Kylie and the boys went to Lowes to do what else... more shopping! We now own a ladder, tool bucket and a drill. Luke and his dad tried to install the microwave but it took a little longer than we anticipated so it is currently sitting on a chair in my kitchen. On a plus side, we can at least use it now. Yea!
Although we were sad to see everyone go, Mom O will be back out in a couple weeks and we are going to paint the living room together! She helped me pick out the most beautiful colors... I can't wait for everyone to see them! :)
Thanks again for the visit, guys! We love you!

I have to admit, I've been cooking a lot lately and kinda enjoying it. Kinda. Everyone seemed to enjoy lunch today (I didn't eat it because I don't like asparagus) and I kinda had fun doing it. Who knows, maybe I am channeling my inner Martha after all! :)

Again, I didn't take any pictures of the outside of the house because I was doing other things and forgot. Eventually I'll get to it.

Luke goes back to school tomorrow for his first full week. I'm excited to hear how it goes! It's funny... every time he talks about his 7th grade boys' choir, he giggles. He is really enjoying teaching that class especially. I love to see him so happy. I can't wait to hear the first concert!

Now on to Goofus... day 3 with no accidents! Yea!
Although we have learned a new little tidbit about Kylie... She watches TV.  It's hysterical. I'll end for the night with a photo and video.

UPDATE: From the time I posted 'no accidents in 3 days' till I started to upload the picture/video, she pooped right behind the couch I'm sitting on. And Luke JUST let her out not more than 10 minutes before that. Shoot!!! And we were doing so well too!! (She knew she did something wrong because as soon as I caught her, she RAN into her cage.) Grrrr!!! She totally knows better! I guess the "run of the house" timer has reset another week. Darnit!!

Such a Better Saturday Than Last Saturday...

This blog post should be short. At least I'll try.
Nothing really interesting happened.  Luke was home with me today and we did some shopping... I really wish this shopping would end. (Me, of all people...) It feels like every project needs something that we don't have. On a plus side, I told Luke that next time we move, hopefully we won't need to buy as much stuff. Hedge clippers? Done. Weed whacker? Got it. Lawn mower? Coming tomorrow. (Ok, that was free) But still... these were all things we never thought of when we registered for our wedding cause you don't need to worry about lawn maintenance when you are in an apartment. But slowly but surly things are starting to come together. At least this Saturday we have AC!
As much as I am complaining about buying things for our new place, I'm still excited when little by little everything is starting to fall into place. For example, Luke took all those bushes in the front out yesterday, (raining today so I couldn't get a picture) and he bought a weed whacker so he cleared out a lot of scary things in the front of the house. It is looking so much better already! We also bought solar lights for the sides of the driveway. They look so pretty and inviting... I love it. Luke did a great job out there. Tomorrow, he is going to attack the backyard. Yikes. Luckily, Mom and Dad Overton and Grandma and Grandpa Thomas are coming out to bring us their old couches and a lawn mower so hopefully, Luke will get a little help back there. It's scary.
Meanwhile, while Luke was toiling in the yard, I bought paint and started to paint the closet in our bedroom. This way we can buy more/new shelves and organize the closet a little better than it currently is. My plan was to have the whole thing painted by tonight so Mom Overton could help me design the closet and we could get shelves. Well... turns out I ran out of paint about half way trough and we need a second coat. Shoot. So looks like I'll be heading back to Lowes in the morning. Grrr.
And I believe, unless the plans have changed, that Mom O and I will be looking at all the paint swatches I took home and try to pick out colors for the house. We don't want to start hanging anything until we have everything painted. I'm excited to hear some of her ideas!! :)

And that was our day! Poor Kylie had to spend some time in her box today while we were out, which she didn't seem to mind because she usually goes in there and sleeps most of the day anyway. But when we got back and I was in the closet covered in paint and Luke was outside with the week whacker, she also had to go in her box. I didn't want to leave her unattended until I know she's good to only 'go' outside. She was NOT a happy camper and she let me know!! I finally gave up and told Luke to tie her outside with him so at least she wasn't in her box crying at me. Then she was happy. Actually, it was kinda cute. Before she went in her box and I started painting, she kept sitting by the window and watchingLuke's every move. We thought she might be afraid of the whacker sound, but she just sat there watching. I probably could have just left her out but just in case... Why set her up for failure?
A fun fact about Kylie I learned today was that she LOVES ice. I was filling my cup (the same cup the cousins have that I LOVE) (and mines prettier, FYI) ;) and I dropped a piece of ice. Kylie immediately ran and grabbed the ice and took it in her box where she pounced it and sent it flying all over the place. Then she came back to me and sat down. I opened the freezer door and gave her a cube. Again, she ran and chased it all though the living room. By this time, I was in the bedroom emptying out the closet. I turned around and saw her sitting and staring at the fridge waiting for the ice to come out. Hysterical!  I gave her one more piece of ice but that was it. There were puddles all over my house! I texted the picture of her looking at the fridge to Kaylyn and she said that indeed, Kylie is an ice fiend! So funny. She doesn't beg for people food EVER but ice?? She loves it! I'll share the picture tomorrow... it's on my phone and it's too lazy.
Anyway, that's about it. It's Saturday night and I'm blogging, Luke is upstairs playing video games and now that I'm done, I'm going to bed. Stop us. We are some crazy people. Enjoy the post that again, was longer than I anticipated and sweet dreams.

Goodnight from all of us Overtons :)

Oh yeah. I forgot to share this with everyone. I saw this my first week here. Camo bandaids. (I almost didn't see them.) ;)

Why Do I Still Have Boxes All Over My House and Why Aren't They Empty Yet??

Hello family, friends, and those who are secretly stalking us. Welcome back. Thanks for sticking with us/checking in.

I had some time today to post earlier but to be honest, there was nothing really new or interesting to share. So this post should be brief.

First, we'll start with Luke:
He finished his first official week of school today feeling some mixed emotions. He is really enjoying his new job! Still going through some of the challenges of being a new teacher and everything that goes with it. Next week should be easier because they are actually singing. It's hard to get yourself in trouble for talking when you are busy singing! :) In time, things will get easier. :)

Now for my day...
Uneventful. I spent the whole day at home with Kylie. Now, you would think being home all day, by myself, with no car and no TV, I would be the most productive person in the world! Not the case. I keep looking at the rest of these boxes and bins thinking that if I stare at them hard enough they'll magically unpack themselves. Well I am here to tell you that that is not the case. They are still fully packed and strewn all over my house. (Ok, I'm being dramatic. They are all jammed up against the one wall of my living room.) Either way, they probably shouldn't be there anymore.
So what the heck am I doing all day then? Well I'll tell you.

This morning I woke up at 8:30...which is late for me these days but I think cause I went to bed at 2am, I needed the extra sleep. Anyway, I got up at 8:30, let the dog out and then made banana bread. No kidding. I can prove it too.

Mmmmm... Told ya so!

I also learned (along with Lynne) what a pastry blender is. Turns out, I don't have one. So I used a fork. That's what crated the lovely topping on my banana breads. Yum!
I then rearranged my spice rack with the new turntable I bought with Wendy yesterday. I can also prove this.

Mmmmmm.... Organization...

Then I paid and mailed all our scary home ownership repair bills and played with the dog. Oh yeah! And before all this I took the dog on a 45 minute walk. (And for the record, I REALLY need to remember to bring my inhaler on these walks. Between the 85-90 degree weather, the steep hills and the humidity, I feel like a 90 year old smoker with emphysema. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm nuts wheezing all over the neighborhood.)
And that was pretty much my day. I was going to make spaghetti sauce but apparently you need ingredients to make different foods and I didn't have what I needed. Oh well... it's on the to do list for tomorrow.

Oh yeah! We also (and by we, I really mean Luke) attacked the front of our house today with a set of hedge clippers. I took a few pictures of the during, but none of the after as we found hidden wasps nests and after Luke sprayed them and pissed them all off, I stayed in the nice, safe, inside. But I'll make sure to take some pictures of the outside as it is a HUGE difference. You can actually see our house! (And it's also kinda funny because our house is kind of a tan color so when we drove back from Aaron's softball game and drove up to the house, it looked naked. Literally. It was kinda funny.) Anyway, here is Luke hard at work:

We have a window! Who knew?!

After all this fun, we took a family outing to watch Aaron play softball. (They won) We took Kylie on her first trip with us and I got to meet some of Luke and Aaron's high school students. Nice girls. :)

Oh! Another exciting think I forgot to mention yesterday... I don't know how! Look what I bought!!!

I have always wanted one of these chairs and I finally got one! (Pier One was having a sale...) I am so happy! 

Kyles thinks it's hers.

And that pretty much sums up our day...uneventful, semi-unproductive but some good news...
My Kylie update!
It was a big day for little Kylie. NO ACCIDENTS IN THE HOUSE!!!! I know I usually text these kind of things to my family, but I didn't want to jinx the morning cause as soon as I got excited that she went outside yesterday, she went in the house. Today, we have had 0 accidents! Everything was done outside! (And I'm really getting good at my potty outside song and dance. My neighbors must think I'm NUTS!)
Also, I got Kylie growling today while playing with her rope. I should probably not encourage her to growl, but I feel like she is feeling more confident to assert herself a little more. I take it as a good sign. She even pounced at me randomly and barked! It's this funny sound cause it's little and squeaky, but it also sounds like she means business! Nothing aggressive, just having fun. Here is a little morning fun video. Ignore me giggling...

So all in all she had a good day. She slept by my feet for at least  hours while I paid bills and such, and even got to Skype with Mom then with Mom, Dad and Grandma! Lucky girl!
But it all wasn't fun and games for Kylie today, I'm afraid. We had a traumatic evening after the softball game...

Dun-dun-dunnnn....We had a bath. Yes, we once smelled like a sock, now we smell like expensive dog shampoo. (It actually had the word 'spa' in the title. You know it's fancy.) She may like to swim, but not so much taking a bath. However, it was necessary as she had dirt on her from laying in the grass and dirt as well as playing on the baseball field bleachers, and she smelled. I like to cuddle... I did not enjoy what I was smelling as of today. So now she's clean and pretty again! (I will say, though, that she managed to escape the tub twice all full of soap, and when she was allowed to leave the bathroom after being toweled off, she HAULED BUTT around the kitchen and around the kitchen and slid across the living room and around the kitchen again. It took the two of us to catch her to put her damp little self back in her crate for bed! And they said baths were soothing... yeah right!) I don't know who this dog was tearing around my house, but I was glad to see she wasn't so timid! Go Kylie! (She's sleeping now... I can't imagine why...)

Wow. This post was longer than I thought. A sign for me to go to bed. I just find that by sharing my day I still feel somewhat connected to everyone back home. (And it's easier than repeating myself over and over...) Thanks for reading and I'll leave you with one last little Kylie-ism to make you smile.

Sweet dreams and goodnight.
So much love from me, Lucas and Kylie :)