June 24, 2006
It's now Saturday morning and I'm again writing from the hotel because the movers' "small" job Friday morning of course turned into an all day deal and they were never able to move our stuff. It may be a blessing - we were all exhausted by Friday afternoon and it would have been a *very* long day if the moving had actually occurred. We're waiting to hear from them now and I don't see any reason why we wouldn't be in the house, with our stuff, this afternoon. It's a gorgeous day here, so that's a plus too.I'll be in touch on the other side of this - keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Clarifications
June 22, 2006
Hi gang,Here's the deal - the previous owner was transferred by their job and some kind of property management company took over the house. So it's not that anyone is there - the family is long gone (the house was on the market since last November). The hold up is only paperwork or just cussedness ("you said you wanted to close on the 30th!") or some legal mumbo jumbo. We're pretty miffed at our mortgage company b/c it seems like they should have known what was going on (at least should have known that the mgt company wasn't expecting to close on June 21) - Larry's been on the phone with them almost daily for a couple of weeks, faxing forms and emailing stuff. But being annoyed serves no purpose - at this point we're resigned to our fate and just trying to deal with living out of our car and suitcases.
P.S. Larry is off work until June 30th. It would be nice if we could spend that time settling into the house instead of hanging out in a hotel. But at least we can start finding our way around Syracuse. Last night we went to Mike's ice cream near our house, on the recommendation of our waiter at Red Lobster.
P.S.S. So much for our perfect moving in day (which was yesterday and only yesterday) - it's supposed to rain for the next 5 days. Oh, and Alana has a raging head cold (though she seems better today than yesterday, so maybe that's on it's way out).
Hi gang,Here's the deal - the previous owner was transferred by their job and some kind of property management company took over the house. So it's not that anyone is there - the family is long gone (the house was on the market since last November). The hold up is only paperwork or just cussedness ("you said you wanted to close on the 30th!") or some legal mumbo jumbo. We're pretty miffed at our mortgage company b/c it seems like they should have known what was going on (at least should have known that the mgt company wasn't expecting to close on June 21) - Larry's been on the phone with them almost daily for a couple of weeks, faxing forms and emailing stuff. But being annoyed serves no purpose - at this point we're resigned to our fate and just trying to deal with living out of our car and suitcases.
P.S. Larry is off work until June 30th. It would be nice if we could spend that time settling into the house instead of hanging out in a hotel. But at least we can start finding our way around Syracuse. Last night we went to Mike's ice cream near our house, on the recommendation of our waiter at Red Lobster.
P.S.S. So much for our perfect moving in day (which was yesterday and only yesterday) - it's supposed to rain for the next 5 days. Oh, and Alana has a raging head cold (though she seems better today than yesterday, so maybe that's on it's way out).
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Complete freakin' disaster
June 21, 2006
I'm writing this on Wednesday night from our hotel, because we DIDN'T CLOSE ON THE HOUSE TODAY. As unbelievable as it may sound, the seller isn't ready - they claim they thought the closing was (still) set for June 30th (the original date). Our mortgage company is working hard to move the date up to this Friday, because that's the last day for our guaranteed interest rate. Larry spent literally hours on the phone today, and after all that, he met the moving truck at a storage facility and watched them load our entire house into a 10' X 30' storage unit. Even the moving company guy (Ralph, from Poland) felt sorry for us. We figure it'll cost an extra thousand dollars for the storage unit and a second team of movers. Hopefully that'll get reimbursed by Larry's company. Meanwhile, we're cooling our heels in a hotel, after rushing to pack up everything by the 20th (10 days earlier than originally planned). It's almost surreal. On the bright side, we're here . . . . I took the kids to the YMCA, which has a lovely playground right next to it. And we stopped by the house and picked up our mail (!) What a ridiculous situation.
Silver linings:
The drive up went very well.
The hotel is very nice and has a pool (though of course I don't have my suit).
The cats are settling in nicely to the hotel room.
The weather has been beautiful today.
We're right across from the ice machine (hey, I'll take what I can get).
Thanks for all your good wishes (Janet, your lovely card was waiting for us.)
I'll keep you updated!
I'm writing this on Wednesday night from our hotel, because we DIDN'T CLOSE ON THE HOUSE TODAY. As unbelievable as it may sound, the seller isn't ready - they claim they thought the closing was (still) set for June 30th (the original date). Our mortgage company is working hard to move the date up to this Friday, because that's the last day for our guaranteed interest rate. Larry spent literally hours on the phone today, and after all that, he met the moving truck at a storage facility and watched them load our entire house into a 10' X 30' storage unit. Even the moving company guy (Ralph, from Poland) felt sorry for us. We figure it'll cost an extra thousand dollars for the storage unit and a second team of movers. Hopefully that'll get reimbursed by Larry's company. Meanwhile, we're cooling our heels in a hotel, after rushing to pack up everything by the 20th (10 days earlier than originally planned). It's almost surreal. On the bright side, we're here . . . . I took the kids to the YMCA, which has a lovely playground right next to it. And we stopped by the house and picked up our mail (!) What a ridiculous situation.
Silver linings:
The drive up went very well.
The hotel is very nice and has a pool (though of course I don't have my suit).
The cats are settling in nicely to the hotel room.
The weather has been beautiful today.
We're right across from the ice machine (hey, I'll take what I can get).
Thanks for all your good wishes (Janet, your lovely card was waiting for us.)
I'll keep you updated!
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
March madness
We're doing pretty well. Caleb stayed home from school today, he seems to have been hit with a stomach bug that's going around. He also stayed home two weeks ago because of a bad asthma attack that started Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday morning (but in general we've had a pretty easy cold and flu season this year).
Last week I met with Caleb's teacher for his second report card conference (Larry was out of town). He continues to do very well in school. He's now reading above the level he should be at by the end of the year. His writing is average; his teacher says he tends to rush and does better when he doesn't, so we're working on that. His teacher also says he's a role model in class. We're extremely proud.
Caleb lost another tooth last week, the third in just over two weeks (and a total of five). He looks a bit like a jack-o-lantern now, and he's getting quite rich off the Tooth Fairy. Here's a favorite story of mine: After he lost his third tooth, he told me that his school friend said that his (Caleb's) mother was the Tooth Fairy and he (Caleb) wanted to know if that was true. I hemmed and hawed a bit and finally said that it was. Apparently he was just testing me, because he said, "No you're not Mommy!" I was glad he didn't believe me.
Alana had a growth spurt recently and has actually grown out of some of her pants. She had a second haircut today. She's somewhat over her obsession with Dora the Explorer, though she still likes her a lot; for good or ill, she's more likely to ask to watch the things that Caleb likes -- Spiderman and Star Wars and Scooby Doo. She still copies everything that Caleb's doing -- recently we had dinner at a restaurant where Larry knew the manager, who came over to the table to say Hi. He shook Caleb's hand and of course was a bit surprised when Alana stuck her hand out, insisting on her own handshake.
Here's a closeup shot of Alana that Larry took:
Alana coloring in the hotel room in Syracuse:
Caleb's current gap-tooth smile:
The battle that Caleb set up in the hotel room with available items:
Last week I met with Caleb's teacher for his second report card conference (Larry was out of town). He continues to do very well in school. He's now reading above the level he should be at by the end of the year. His writing is average; his teacher says he tends to rush and does better when he doesn't, so we're working on that. His teacher also says he's a role model in class. We're extremely proud.
Caleb lost another tooth last week, the third in just over two weeks (and a total of five). He looks a bit like a jack-o-lantern now, and he's getting quite rich off the Tooth Fairy. Here's a favorite story of mine: After he lost his third tooth, he told me that his school friend said that his (Caleb's) mother was the Tooth Fairy and he (Caleb) wanted to know if that was true. I hemmed and hawed a bit and finally said that it was. Apparently he was just testing me, because he said, "No you're not Mommy!" I was glad he didn't believe me.
Alana had a growth spurt recently and has actually grown out of some of her pants. She had a second haircut today. She's somewhat over her obsession with Dora the Explorer, though she still likes her a lot; for good or ill, she's more likely to ask to watch the things that Caleb likes -- Spiderman and Star Wars and Scooby Doo. She still copies everything that Caleb's doing -- recently we had dinner at a restaurant where Larry knew the manager, who came over to the table to say Hi. He shook Caleb's hand and of course was a bit surprised when Alana stuck her hand out, insisting on her own handshake.
Here's a closeup shot of Alana that Larry took:
Alana coloring in the hotel room in Syracuse:
Caleb's current gap-tooth smile:
The battle that Caleb set up in the hotel room with available items:
Monday, March 6, 2006
The luggage arrived - HURRAH!!!
March 6, 2006
In plenty of time for tonight's party. Thank goodness!!!!!!
We spent the afternoon going up the nearby gondola to the *top* of the mountain, and walked up a long stairway to take us even higher. Even more amazing views, if possible, including our hotel nestled below us. Larry's napping (he was up early -- not adjusted to time change, which is Mountain Time). I may go window shopping at the many shops in the hotel, since there's no pressure to buy the things I thought I was going to *need*.
In plenty of time for tonight's party. Thank goodness!!!!!!
We spent the afternoon going up the nearby gondola to the *top* of the mountain, and walked up a long stairway to take us even higher. Even more amazing views, if possible, including our hotel nestled below us. Larry's napping (he was up early -- not adjusted to time change, which is Mountain Time). I may go window shopping at the many shops in the hotel, since there's no pressure to buy the things I thought I was going to *need*.
Trip update -- disaster!
March 6, 2006
Yes, you read that right. 24 hours into it and only one thing has gone right (more on that later). The first leg of our journey was a flight to Minneapolis, with a connection to Calgary. Before we boarded the plane, we were told that our plane would be making a fueling stop on the way, in Milwaukee. Needless to say, we missed our connecting flight (by about 10 minutes!). So they booked us on an additional leg, to Salt Lake City. That left late, but we actually made our connection to Calgary, with mere minutes to spare. Of course our luggage wasn't so lucky (seems like a lot of folks here are in the same boat). Thankfully, they gave us company t-shirts in our "goodie bag" when we arrived, so we have something to wear today, but the formal dinner/dance is tonight and I have nothing -- no dress, no stockings, no shoes, no jewelry, no makeup. Larry found someone who can loan me a dress (I haven't seen it yet), but I'm really hoping that our luggage arrives.
Now for the one thing that went right. We didn't ge to the hotel until almost 9 p.m. (we expected to arrive around 4 in the afternoon), and we figured dinner was long over. But to our great (pleasant) surprise, they had just gotten through the salad course, so we had a great dinner.
Our room is small, but the view is spectacular. We can see over the hotel into the valley below, a small river and the mountains behind, unbelievable. They almost look fake, they're so gorgeous. The weather is great too, not too cold (not much snow either, which was a surprise).
Overall, once we've gotten settled, we're looking forward to a great trip. Who needs fresh clothes anyway???
Yes, you read that right. 24 hours into it and only one thing has gone right (more on that later). The first leg of our journey was a flight to Minneapolis, with a connection to Calgary. Before we boarded the plane, we were told that our plane would be making a fueling stop on the way, in Milwaukee. Needless to say, we missed our connecting flight (by about 10 minutes!). So they booked us on an additional leg, to Salt Lake City. That left late, but we actually made our connection to Calgary, with mere minutes to spare. Of course our luggage wasn't so lucky (seems like a lot of folks here are in the same boat). Thankfully, they gave us company t-shirts in our "goodie bag" when we arrived, so we have something to wear today, but the formal dinner/dance is tonight and I have nothing -- no dress, no stockings, no shoes, no jewelry, no makeup. Larry found someone who can loan me a dress (I haven't seen it yet), but I'm really hoping that our luggage arrives.
Now for the one thing that went right. We didn't ge to the hotel until almost 9 p.m. (we expected to arrive around 4 in the afternoon), and we figured dinner was long over. But to our great (pleasant) surprise, they had just gotten through the salad course, so we had a great dinner.
Our room is small, but the view is spectacular. We can see over the hotel into the valley below, a small river and the mountains behind, unbelievable. They almost look fake, they're so gorgeous. The weather is great too, not too cold (not much snow either, which was a surprise).
Overall, once we've gotten settled, we're looking forward to a great trip. Who needs fresh clothes anyway???
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Caleb school update
August 4, 2005
Things went very well last night. The skills test only lasted about 10 minutes. Caleb identified his letters and numbers and counted some blocks. As expected, I was told he wasn't quite up to standard writing some of his upper and lower case letters ("w" was mentioned, along with a few others).
They did not request that he attend the school-sponsored sessions prior to kindergarten, just suggested that he practice at home. He played with a boy who will be in his class, while I got lists of uniform companies and school supplies. I can't believe he'll be starting in just a few weeks!
Things went very well last night. The skills test only lasted about 10 minutes. Caleb identified his letters and numbers and counted some blocks. As expected, I was told he wasn't quite up to standard writing some of his upper and lower case letters ("w" was mentioned, along with a few others).
They did not request that he attend the school-sponsored sessions prior to kindergarten, just suggested that he practice at home. He played with a boy who will be in his class, while I got lists of uniform companies and school supplies. I can't believe he'll be starting in just a few weeks!
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