My little valentine

So I'm like 6 days late, sue me. lol. Just wanted to share my afternoon...(that afternoon)

Stanky: Ello, my name is mommy belly
(as he has both his hands on my belly...making my belly button "talk")
Juju: No das not nice.
Stanky: You NO!!!
Juju: No bubba. Mommy fat don't talk. Her mouth talks.
Stanky: (giggling) Mommy fat mouth talk to mommy belly. Ello, my name is mommy fat belly mouth.

The devil I tell you! LOL!

Bittersweet packing

So I've been a little distant the past couple of days...but with good reason as we know. Its Wednesday, and I leave for Texas on Saturday, and I am still not even close to being done packing. Who knew that in 5 years, we would accumulate so much ISH! My I've been trying to get my closet packed up and it doesn't even look like I touched it. The goodwill pile does keep growing though.
This is a SUPER exciting thing, but it has really hit me how bittersweet it all really is. As much as I've ever complained about living here, THIS is where it all started. I get teary eyed almost every hour I swear. Louisiana is where we became a family. Packing things up, I have replayed so many memories. Walking from one room to the next "accessing the situation, " I relive all the things that happened in that room. I think thats why its taking me so long. A part of me really just doesn't want to leave. Not yet. Look there I go again, all teary eyed. LOL. I've actually lived here for almost 8 years, but only 5 years in this house. Well it would've been 5 years this July. In those 8 years I have made awesome friends, met the love of my life, became a Mrs., and became a mom again for the 3rd and 4th times. Its crazy because I didn't get like this when I left Hawaii for college or when I moved here from Las Vegas. I think its because I know I will never come back here...the place where it all started. Our first home. How emotional am I right?! LOL. It was supposed to be pack and leave. Sheesh.
Of course through the tears is joy. There was a point in my marriage when I thought big daddy and I wouldn't make it. But here we are continuing our lives together on an exciting adventure (corny I know). To a place where we know we wanna be and love. Closer to family, a place where we can
enjoy life. Thats what makes the tears stop.

My Austin trip (in a nutshell)

I had some issues getting my rental car the day I left. I've never had a problem with Enterprise...ever, until that day. Anyways, I finally got my rental, a 2010 Hyundai Accent. Now I drive a trailblazer, so being in this "mailbox" did kinda freak me out. But the real problem was this: 1) it was raining, and 2) NO CRUISE CONTROL. I tried to get another car but there were no more available in the size I had. The best thing about the car: It only cost me just under $27 to fill the tank! And a full tank lasted the 6 hour drive to Copperas Cove where we were staying (with my MIL). The drive itself was not bad. Stopped maybe 3 times..once to get McD's for dinner, the 2nd was at the half way mark, and the last was a quick potty break for my juju. We got to my MILs (we'll call her VonTrapp--I'll explain why in another post LOL) around 9:30pm or so. And when I tell you these monsters were wired, they were WIYERD! They wanted a snack and to play. I finally got them down to sleep about 11pm. Whew!
Moving on...
My interview on Friday was at 9:30am. So I had to leave at 7am to make the hour long commute into Austin. And it was a great drive as well. I missed the "bad" morning traffic. There was still patches of "congestion" as my VZ navigation says but everything was moving. No stop go, stop go.
My interview was great. When I first got there, they had me take a typing test. I didn't know I could type 50 words in a minute. Thats awesome for me because I have to look at my keyboard to type. I honestly make my self dizzy having to look at the screen and then down at the keyboard. Its a good thing I can somewhat read in blocks. I nailed the face to face interview. Dude was like, "wow, you really know your stuff." And I was like, "ya, I really like the industry." But then...(enter dramatic music-duh duh duuuh)...he goes, "so the position pays $8.00 an hour...." Um what the?!! He continues on saying that I could earn more by keeping my talk time down and potentially earn up to $14 an hour. With which he follows up with, "all the agents we have that had previous experience, such as your self, reached $14 an hour after about 2 years." Um seriously?! First of all $8 an hour is ONLY 75 cents above minimum wage. Did I mention I was married and had kids? And that I already make the max of $14 now?! WOW!!! Poor guy. I know he saw the color drain from my face. But what did he expect honestly? I just got through telling him that first of all, I have 4 children and secondly, I drove, from Shreveport where I currently live and work which is 6 hours away, to come to this interview. After the big pay LET DOWN, he told me he was going to call me sometime next week (this week) to let me know when I could start, then thanked me for coming all the way out there, and I was outta there. I literally sat in my car for like 20 minutes just shaking my head...replaying every detail. I know $14 is a lot to some companies. But its not like I'm trying to get a raise or anything. I started on my drive back to Cove and after about 10 minutes driving my phone rang. It was another company that showed interest in me the week before. They were looking for someone to start right away, like last week Monday, and I unfortunately could not start that soon. And he was only able to offer me $10. But here he was calling me. And $10 was WAAAAYYYYYY better than $8 in my head. Well come to find out, this dude spoke with one of the owners of the company and said that they could afford to wait for me to start whenever I actually moved to Austin. AAAANNNNDDDDDD....with the current experience I have they could offer me $14.
***insert happy dance...wassup wassup, wassup wassup wassup****
So I arranged to meet him that afternoon at 3:30pm to do a formal face to face interview. Something I would've had to do via webcam if I couldn't make it out there.
To kill some time since it was like 11:30am, I drove around to start familiarizing myself with the area. I love it there! So NOT ghetto like the area I live in now. My city is really not that bad...but there are BAD parts in Shreveport. I eventually made my way to Round Rock outlet mall. Got myself a new Coach purse too.
I got lost getting to my interview. I ended up on 5th street instead of 6th street. They really sound the same over the phone. The interview, which I swear was like a technology test, went great. I left an hour later laughing and telling them how excited I was to become a part of the team.
Yes folks! I have a job and I am moving to Austin!!!! WOOOOHOOOO! I start 8am Monday the 22nd. One more week here in the boot and then its hellllooooo Texas.
I spent the drive back to VonTrapp's smiling, and laughing with my husband on the phone,not realizing that I was in some CRAZY traffic...making my hour long drive back to Cove about an extra 30 min longer. Stayed in that night because I had planned on driving back to Louisiana the next day.
And there you have it...my very exciting Austin weekend. This weekend is soooo gonna suck. LOL

JOBS

So its Tuesday and you know what that means...

Top 2 Dream Jobs...

1. SURGEON. Yup. I would love to cut someone open and repair whatever is wrong on the inside. Growing up, I always wanted to be a doctor. My first 2 years of college, I even majored in pre-med. If I was given the opportunity, I would definitely go back to school and study medicine. What a great feeling it would be to successfully do a heart transplant and a couple years later see that person complete a marathon or something.

2. REAL ESTATE MOGUL. You know like Donald Trump. Just with out the weird comb over. I think I would be an awesome real estate agent. I would develop these enormous high rises, one in every city. And make them available for ANYONE. Live, work, play, whatever. I would be THE go to real estate agent to all the pretty (and not so pretty) faces of tinsletown.

You know you wanna play along. Its fun! Tell Tay I sent you lol.

Bring the noise...PLEASE?!

The locker room is eerily quiet this evening. Big daddy is of course at work. Both Juju and Stanky are not feeling very well. For once, dinner time was pleasantly uneventful. No screaming at each other saying the other one needs to eat their food or no dessert. No trading food across the table. No screaming for juice when they saw the bottoms of their cups. Not once did I have to pick up a fallen spoon or fork. No noise. No mess either. They LOOK sickie: watery eyes, runny nose, and the occasional cough that sounds like I gave birth to seals, not little boys. Doesn't a mom, who works all day, want nothing more than to come home to quiet? Well of course thats what I want...at least not at the expense of my guys. Oh what I wouldn't give to hear a laugh or giggle. Hell, I'll take yelling at this point. I know in a couple of days I'll regret saying that but its just not the same when there's no noise. Not even a little.
We're driving to Austin tomorrow afternoon (where's all my TEXANS?! WOOT WOOT!). I have an interview Friday morning. Its just me and the boys. Big daddy can't get the time off. My MIL lives right outside of Austin in Copperas Cove, so that where we'll be staying. She's gonna be watching them while I'm at my interview. A couple months ago I posted about a position in San Antonio with the company that I currently work for...that did not work out. But I know this one definitely will! I feel it. This is the job for me! So again I'm asking everyone to cross fingers and toes. And definitely cross them for an uneventful road trip with my 2 sickies.

Top 2 Tuesday...MOVIES

I found a new meme! YAY!!! Come play along with Jimmy Choos &Baby Too every Tuesday. And here are my top 2 fave movies...

1. SERENDIPITY

Boy meets girl, he has a girlfriend, she has a boyfriend. They share an amazing night but when tested to see if "fate" brought them together, a little "devil child" messes it all up. Fast forward I think its 5 years and he's getting married. But somehow fate brings them together in the end. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie. This is the first movie that I've ever seen Kate Bekinsale in and I've been a fan ever since. Jeremy Piven is absolutely hilarious too.

2.FOOLS RUSH IN

Matthew Perry is dork! LOL. Selma Hayek is as gorgeous as ever. A different type of romantic comedy. 2 people from "different" cultures. I can so relate. And in Las Vegas! They go through with a marriage of what some might call convenience in order to do the right thing, the whole time hoping and almost forcing that they are meant to be together. I know a lot of people didn't like this movie but I do.

Oh Mr. Phil...

Dear Mr. Punxsutawney Phil,

I understand that you seeing or not seeing your shadow is just a legend, but why oh why did you have to see your shadow this morning? Do you not understand what is going on down here in the south? Did you not receive the memo about global warming? Obviously you have not. Obviously you did not see the reports of the frozen iguanas. 6 weeks. 6 more weeks of winter. You are mad. Mad I tell you! We are freezing here in the south. Yes the south. The place people come to when it starts to get too cold up north. The south, where a couple weeks ago we were below freezing. 6 more weeks?! We just had another cold front come through this past weekend. Every year during mardi gras it is either cold or rainy. This year it will be both. Oh Mr. Phil, I wish you did not see your shadow this morning. I don't know how much more this island girl can take. And my kids. Warm, cold, warm, cold...poor things just cannot get rid of the coughing or the runny noses.
Maybe you can prove that you are a phony, and warmer weather will come soon. PLEASE?! I've been a good girl so far this year. Well can you at least think about it?

Yours truly,
The locker room mom