And the Big News is...

God most certainly guides our family.  Monday December 17th, I was at the grocery store and picked up the little township paper that Tom enjoys reading (I only remember to grab it about one out of 5 grocery trips).  When we got home and I unloaded the groceries, I sat down at the kitchen table to flip through it (which I rarely ever do). 
There it was.  In the bottom left corner of a page:

A black and white real estate ad. 

You have to understand, Tom and I are happily settled into our house, which we bought only 2 1/2 years ago.  We are planning our spring house projects and talking summer vacations.  We love our neighbors.  Life was rolling on as planned.  Until the little black and white ad that described a house just 5 minutes from our own found its way into our lives.  My very rational, super logical, play-it-safe husband actually told me to just go look at it.  Huh?? So the next day I met with our real estate agent and went through the house.  There is an 80's kitchen, two original 50's baths, and other needed updates, but the house also had a lot of good.  Like space.  Lots, and lots of space.  The kind of good that could potentially sway two people who said they didn't want to move again to turn their lives upside down.  Tom saw the house the next day.

We got a sitter, went to dinner, and discussed.  And discussed. And discussed.  The next day we made an offer, and after some negotiations, the following day it was accepted.  So yes, we are under contract and trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we are packing boxes again.  All over the course of 5 days. Not bad for two people who weren't even looking.

Now I have to get our house ready to put on the market ASAP.  Shouldn't be a problem with a 19 month old who is pulling, dumping, spreading and wrecking 24-7.  This very well could send me over the edge.  So blogging will likely take a back seat to house staging, cleaning, sorting, organizing and packing, but I promise to keep you all updated. 

Wish us luck!

On the Eve of a Birthday

My computer is finally home, but I still need to reinstall my camera software so I can dump all my new pictures. Trying to find time to do that in addition to the cookies that should be baking, the toilets that should be sparkling, and the presents that aren't wrapping themselves. 

It is 6:18pm. Tommy is in bed.  Patrick is in the tub now playing with the new Playmobil family speed boat he got from his Aunt Karen, Uncle Damon and cousins Nathan and Jack.  Because we will be with Tom's family for Christmas, I hosted my family today for some honey baked ham (a most welcomed end-of-year thank you gift from the city for Tom's service as one of the town's volunteer firemen).  We exchanged gifts, and it is nice to have some staggered gifts in advance of the avalanche coming on Christmas day. They just left about 45 minutes ago.  Tom was noticeably absent since he is traveling home today after representing us both at the baptism of our two newest godchildren in North Carolina.  Can't wait to see some pictures! 

Shortly after Christmas I have a little announcement - I think some of you won't see this one coming...Yes, I will make you wait in suspense.

Most importantly, tomorrow is the birthday of my very favorite person in the whole wide world.  Can't wait to celebrate.

Great News!

1. Nothing broke today.
2. We are ready to celebrate our Savior's birth! As a bonus, Patrick will be playing Joseph in his class Christmas Program, so gear up, because there will be some video clips.  Yes, I am going to make you all watch.

Bad news:  Our computer? (crickets)
Geek Squad claims they left me a message with a question (just reviewed my answering machine, nothing there), and they have not done anything in like 3 days "waiting" for my return call. 

When Life Gives you Poop, Make Candy Canes

It's been hard past week, but we have rallied and are on the up-swing.  My incredible husband washed dishes, scrubbed counters, bathed kiddos, and picked up toys while I was under the weather.  I love him always, but this past week really reminded me just how lucky I am to have him by my side. 

So with all the falling apart, breaking and failing of things around us, God decided to send me one great comedic moment.  Yesterday Patrick had an upset stomach.  Nothing major, but when he said he had to do some poop and headed into the bathroom, I didn't think anything of it until I heard him yelling for help.  I rushed in to find him standing on the bathroom rug, pants down, with a huge pile of poop on the floor.  Poor guy looked devastated.  I lifted him onto the toilet, stripped off his pants the rest of the way, and set about gathering my cleaning supplies.  When I came back in, P points to the mess on the floor and proclaims, "Look mom, that one looks just like a candy cane!"

I laughed. Hard.
Sorry for the poop story, but this one had to be documented for future Pohl Christmas story-telling.  Still no word on our computer. 

And That Leaves the Furnace

Yep, the garage door officially lifted for the last time this morning.  If the furnace doesn't make it through January, I am going to cry.

Better Days

It started when our computer died Monday.  Off to Geek Squad we went.  $$$.  They still have it, and all my photos, which I need desperately to complete some holiday gifts.  Did I mention that it died while I was typing the last ten addresses into our master address list that I finally got around to creating? I was saving it as I entered addresses, but it would be handy to have right now as I am sending out cards.

Oh, and then yesterday, my car failed inspection.  New brakes, rotors, and a hickey majickey. $$$$.  While waiting for the repairs to be completed at the dealership for three hours(with my two tired kids), I tried to call my sister to vent.  Nothing happened when I tapped on the phone icon.  That's not good.  I powered down and was able to get it to work, but again today it is being difficult.  That leaves our ancient furnace and an old garage door motor tied for the next thing to go. 

So no further posts until I get my computer back.  Trying, trying to stay focused on Christmas and not let these negative things drag us down.

OCC Christmas Party

I'm here, I'm here.  More decorating, less blogging lately.  Also, photos are few and far between these days.  Tommy is going through an extreme "mommy" phase and is usually climbing up my leg, making it difficult to photograph things.  This was our "best" photo of 20 taken from the Christmas party we attended today-

Miraculously, Tommy did sit on Santa's lap for 10 seconds and never cried.

P didn't even want to move up in line to see Santa.  He kept saying we should go "later".  When we did get up there, he mustered enough courage to tell Santa he wants a gray tool bench with red tools.  Sadly, I think Santa mentioned something about it being "too big" to fit in his sleigh (or in our house with the other ride on toys, toy kitchen, and millions of trucks).

Baba and Tommy

Did I mention that P has the cutest little friend (also a "P")?  They go to school together and are incredibly adorable.

We are filling our days with Christmas preparations.  The tree is still undecorated with the exception of 6 or 7 lone ornaments (there were 12 or 13, but P keeps taking the train ornaments off to play with them).  My Christmas cards arrived a week ago, but are still in need of addressing (I am old fashioned and believe in hand writing the addresses).  Online shopping is keeping me on schedule, although I did have a "no kids" shopping day at the mall Friday with my college roomie thanks to my sister and Baba who each took a kid for the day.  Thanks you!   Looking forward to starting the Christmas baking next week.