Join the Mureens

Anna Kate wears her wings EVERY WHERE we go...except church...on Sundays. They just compliment/accessorize every outfit perfectly...even Cinderella's!!

J.R. is just J.R. - he's hilarious most all the time.

Caroline is CRAWLING!!! She also waves, gives high fives and loves to mimick noises you make...so many cute tricks.

Well, for some unknown reason, the whole housing market has slowed significantly this past week. We've only had 2 showings...apparently they both loved our house, but didn't like that it's on a busy street...join the club :)

Overall, I'm at peace about our house and thankful that we are all getting a little better at cleaning more consistently so things don't get "out of control."

On a different note, I am just overwhelmed with thankfulness...for people in my life where we live. There was a time when I didn't feel like I had any connections to anyone when we moved here and that state seemed to last a million years, when really it was more like 2 years. But now, I feel like there are a million people in my life that I love and I just don't have enough hours to talk to and love all of them as well as they deserve b/c they are wonderful folks that I LOVE LOVE LOVE...in our church, in our kids' preschool, in our neighborhood, in our area preschool PTA, in MOPs and in Anna Kate's dance class and some other random stops along the way and I LOVE to get to see all of them. Thank you Lord!!!!!! And hopefully our house will sell soon and we can move to another neighborhood within Lake Highlands where we can be even more connected to our neighbors and I think my heart would just burst with joy. I'm so glad life is simple...people are the only "things" that matter.

Well, this morning I toured the elementary school of the neighborhood we want to move to, and honestly, I like our current neighborhood's elementary school much better...our elementary is much smaller so it feels like a family and more nurturing and I love that. But I still like the "community-ness" and how there are tons of kids in that neighborhood better. Now I don't know what to do!!! Argh!!!!

Oh and I decided to "perfect" the one imperfection of our house...the blue wall...boy was that a can of worms I regret. To tired to go into details...but it's worse than when I started. gees.

I feel better today. I guess I was picturing the phone ringing off the hook with folks wanting to view our house and us having to immediately stop what we're doing and leave the house in a state of perfection, and after only one person viewing it this weekend, I'm fairly confident that's not the case and I can relax and just not let things get too out of control.

No one has called so far today. I have no idea why selling the house is affecting me with such severe stress as I have never experienced before in my whole life. I have barely slept or been able to keep food down for over a week. I have no idea why. Maybe it's a control issue? People sell houses all the time. I want to move. It's not a huge deal. Yet it is physically and emotionally doing me in. It just doesn't make sense.

Our house is on the market!! It's our first house so having it on the market is very new to me. All I know is that it's supposed to be clean, perfect rather. I clean...EVERY WAKING MOMENT...it's no way to live...I'm EXHAUSTED, STRESSED and just want a house we can live in and enjoy again and I'm aching to have people over. However, our house IS very clean. I mop, wipe down the bathrooms and kitchen, pick up toys and repeat...constantly. Anyway, again, it's only been one day. Only one person looked at it today. Oh, I so want it to sell quickly!! I have officially finished all my 1 million projects for this house and I think it's as perfect as a house can get except for one little issue w/ the fact that that paint color and texture of our bedroom has been dicontinued and cannot be matched for some touch-ups it needs. I'm pretty much consumed by this whole thing. My goal is for our house to sell in 3 weeks. Jon says you can't make goals for things you can't control...I'm more wishful than goalful anyway, so maybe that's what I meant. Oh the stress is indescribable!!! I know I need to trust God, but I can't trust God to keep it clean and perfect...and that's the part that is stressing me out!!!

to sell...hopefully it will be on the market by the end of the week...it's keeping me VERY busy...keeping it clean while on the market will be equally consuming, I'm sure.

We got our foundation and all our wood floors torn out and replaced all week (this was a HUGE week-long mess!!!!!) then this weekend was busy w/ 3 shower-type things on Saturday (one was a preschool PTA brunch at my house after putting it all back together Friday night) and then today was church, lunch w/ new friends from church and a fun birthday party. I'm so glad our house is fixed and that I got a lot of people-time in this weekend...I LOVE people-time :)

Jon's big trial verdict came in this morning...and his client and all the other clients were found guilty on all accounts. It really affected me. I just don't think they should have to go to jail...especially for years. And we truly don't think Jon's client is even guilty. And since she and her husband are both defendents and will both be going to jail, they won't get to see each other at all and just give each other a hug during that time...for many years. It breaks my heart and REALLY stresses me out at the same time.

Ok, so I can't sleep b/c I'm so stressed out! We had foundation work done on our house today and tomorrow they start re-doing our floors and then we have a handy-man for touch-ups and then we put our house on the market?!?!? It stresses me out so much to think about this...

1. keeping the house perfect at all times!!


2. how long will it take to sell?


3. what if it sells and there isn't a good house for us to move into?


4. what if no one wants to buy it, will that hurt my feelings?


5. what if it sales and I'm too emotionally attached to leave b/c it's our first house?


6. what if we move and hate our new house and miss this one?


7. what if it's b/w a smaller house or an ugly house that we can afford...how does one decide?


8. what if we don't move and get stuck in the new house forever due to economic uncertainty?

And then lately, this is ridiculous I know, but I worry about having 5 kids. I have always wanted to have 5 kids b/c I love families with 5 kids and I think it's the perfect number, but lately I just start feeling overwhelmed by my 3 and I think, I know I want to have at least 4 kids, but 5??? I am coming up on 30 FAST and 30 is old, so I don't want to wait and take a break. And I get all stressed out and really and truly, this is a silly thing to worry about. I just need to take one day at a time!!!

Don't worry, these aren't the professional ones, just ones I took. Can't wait to get our first professional family photo hung in our house!!!

Sweet Anna Kate has a big party tomorrow!!!!

J.R. - he was a little worried his alligator on his shirt wanted to bite him.

Sweet Caroline.

Big sis :)

It sure is hard to get the 3 of them to look at the camera...not to mention smile!!!!

The kids loved the pumpkin area...but I didn't want our family pics w/ pumpkins b/c it would look too seasonal...since I'm not really one to change our pics each season...actually I might rather die...pictures kind of stress me out from the getting them taken to the dealing with them after the fact.

Jon took off work Friday and Monday and we had a fabulous last weekend together!!! On Monday we went to the Fair and ate lots of yummy things like fried guacamole, fried latte, fried pecan pie, and a donkey tail (which was gross actually)...but my favorites are still the funnel cakes and taffy :) We took the new train with our wagon and stroller and you have thought we brought everything but the kitchen sink, but we forgot my hooter hider. So we rode the ferris wheel and I nursed Caroline on that thinking we had privacy, but I noticed another family in the cage next to ours staring down at me and it seemed they had been doing it for a while and then I saw them every where I went the rest of the day and definitely avoided eye contact.

Jon and J.R. on the ferris wheel.

J.R. makes lots of animal friends. The kids love the petting zoo. We also saw a dog show, a bird show, the butterfly garden and I can't remember what all else right through nap time and beyond.

Gees...our poor house could really use a break...goes perfectly with our digginest dog though that currently has our yard in shambles. If it's quiet and J.R.'s not in the same room, it's very likely this is what he is doing. "Put the marker up high out of reach!" you say. I say, "I did."

he probably has puppies...just b/c he probably does. Don't ask.

didn't happen b/c Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was sold out last weekend (actually 2 weekends ago...little behind on blogging!). Oh well, the kids played soccer at Northpark instead that night. This is actually a really fun way to spend a Saturday night with the fam :) Especially if your husband is at a wedding and your friends are nice enough to let your "family" hang out with their real one.