You guys are so great

Im definately feelin' the love now! I was feeling down and its nice to have some sort of validation, even if it is stupid or silly. But you guys made it all better so yay for that!

Moving day is Monday and I can not wait. Ive been doing really stupid, mundane things to try to get ready for it but really there is little that I can do. Most of our stuff is in storage and because I had to pack everything and move it all in 7 hours, I just threw stuff in boxes. Unpacking is going to be a nightmare! Also because everything has been sitting in a storage unit for 3 months, its all going to need to be washed which will take months with a new baby Im sure. So Ive been washing what little clothes/blankets we do have with us in hopes of getting ahead a little. There were garbage bags of clothes in the garage that are now washed and refolded, ready to be moved and put into dressers again. Ive washed my bedding and put it away so that when I collapse Monday night, Ill at least have clean sheets.

Im worried about how long it will take me to get settled in the new house though. Its not like I actually have a job at the moment so I really do have loads of time, but its the babies that will keep me away from it. Josiah is only 2 months and Michael is 22 months. Both of them require a lot of attention and they are not both down for the night until about 9. Has anyone else had to move/unpack with little ones around? How did you do it?

The other down side to this whole moving thing is that I will be without internet for a few days. I tried to make the appointment for the tech to come on Wed but they didnt call me back to confirm that they had someone avail for that day. So Im guessing it will take a little longer than that so we'll have to see. Ill be missing everyone by then and Ill probably end up ignoring the towers of boxes to spend a couple hours catching up on all of your posts.

In PIF news, IVe almost got Dr. Maureen's package ready to go but Im waiting to unpack some things to decorate the box. I was just going to do something small and send it off anyway, but then time got away from me and I figured I was close enough to getting my things back anyway. For a teaser, the box inclues something from this etsy shop as well as this one. I wont tell you what Ive picked because I dont want to ruin the surprise, so you'll all just have to wait for Dr. Maureen to do her big reveal when she recieves it!

Im a comment whore

Yes, my name is Cherish and I am a comment whore.

I didnt think I would be so into all those comments, but it turns out that I do really like them. I even find myself writing silly little questions at the end of posts to encourage comments. So what is a girl to do when she does not recieve any comments for what, a week now?

I feel so sad internets. I know y'all have been coming by cause I've gotten myself a nifty little counter down there on the right. So why then is no one commenting? Even with the promise of surprise gifts that show up in your mail, you dont comment.

Oh internets, wont you gimme some comment love?

Yippie!!

Well Ive finally found a house! It is a little more expensive than my last one but the man that showed it to me had a copy of last year's power bills and they are waaay less than my last house!!! I also found out that I have a little more $ than I had thought so thats really gonna help until I go back to work in the spring/summer. It has been a good day!!!

Also Ive heard from Dr Maureen about her PIF win. Thanks Swistle for passing on that info!

So recap on contests...

I won the plain white box PIF from whimsy and held my own contest.
Dr. Maureen won that contest and will be getting the (not so)plain white box shortly.

I also down right stole this contest idea from Spuddy Buddy and will put together a prize package when I randomly draw a winner. I wont be closing that contest until I have at least 15 entries or the end of the month, which ever comes first.

I also won Chraycee's PIF and will be holding my own in a couple weeks.

Whew! Thats a lot of contests ( and links!)

The Silent Killer

Spuddy Buddy did an excellent post about ovarian cancer awareness and she is hosting a contest on her blog for anyone interested in entering.

Im hijacking her post and hosting my own contest of the same style. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling me when you had your last yearly exam or a promise to make one ASAP! I haven't decided on a prize specifically and I don't want to totally steal her idea of a teal themed prize so you'll just have to wait and see...

Blah

Im feeling seriously blah lately. Im not in any particular mood really, just blah. There hasn't been much going on around here and when I come up with a topic to write about, I just don't feel like writing. Blah!

The housing situation is still crap. I have three possibilities at the moment but by tomorrow morning when I have to call them all back, they'll probably be gone. I viewed one today that I really wanted and was actually the exact price I worked out in my budget, but it was down to myself and three others. When the owners have a choice over whoever and a single mom with four kids, they pick the other person. I want to stay positive and believe that there is a house for me but Im just so frustrated with waiting.

The kids and I had a great weekend out around town. We went to a railway museum yesterday and a bbq and walk with my brother/SIL and their daughter. It was really nice. Today I went to another museum with just Josiah when the older ones were visiting their dad. It was really busy so I couldn't spend much time looking around but it was great anyway.

I haven't heard from Dr. Maureen yet about the PIF that she won. If anyone knows her, please let her know about the win and tell her to get in touch. If I don't hear from her by next week, Ill just randomly pick someone else and maybe give her the other PIF at a later date. We'll see.

Happy Monday people...

And the winner is....

Dr. Maureen! But dont fret those of you who did not win; I have won ANOTHER PIF. Oh yes! I'll wait to recieve the giftie before I post any details or host the next contest, so stay tuned...

In other news, Rayden started grade two today. He says he likes his teacher and its all the same kids as last year so it wasnt too much of an adjustment.

The other three boys and I met some friends at the park for the afternoon while we waited for school to get out:

Its so nice to have a car again. I havent been without one since Rayden was a baby and now that Ive gone four months I certainly have a new appreciation for that luxury.

There is a home for rent about 10 minutes from where I am staying now that Im not sure about. It is brand new and there is no apt in the basement (extremely common around here for two apt homes) so it is expensive. Because it is outside of he city though it is much cheaper than a similar one within. My problem is that it is $150/month more than I was paying before. Because it is so big I could take on a room mate but they would have to be someone I knew because of the kids. But Im not sure I can find someone willing to do this. Ive asked my cousin who used to visit us daily when we had our own place but she's not sure if she could swing it. I really love the house though and there is a school and daycare a few houses down. Oh my, what to do?

PIF Update and Week four

I wanted to make sure people were back from the long weekend before I closed the PIF contest and since I just got another entry, Im going to wait one more day. Tomorrow morning (don't want to give away my time zone but lets just say very early) Ill close it and announce a winner. There have been some great ideas so far and I cant wait to go shopping for it. I bought some maple syrup candies shaped as maple leaves but Michael found them and ate one so that's off the list!

Week Four:
I was back and forth about what to do with this week after everyone's wonderful suggestions. In the end I realised that I am buying a car this week and that is gift enough in itself! Next week I am joining some type of class that will get me out of the house alone one night each week. I almost went ahead and got a magazine subscription which was one of the suggestions but I decided to wait on that one for another couple of weeks. My weight hasn't changed at all since I started this which is good in that I haven't gained anything but sucky because I wanted to continue to go down a bit. Ive been eating really badly for the last two weeks so that probably has a lot to do with it. Usually I gain everything back in the few months after my babies are born so I end up being whatever I was at 9 months pregnant. This time though I am determined to not gain back any of the weight that I have already lost and try to loose a little more. We'll see how it goes though with the cold weather and holidays coming up. Im realistic about this taking a long time and I don't trust diets so it will come off slowly and that's fine with me.

Today is the last day of summer vacation for Rayden and it is raining! I get my car tonight around 6 so it is probably too late to do anything but we might go out for ice cream or something just to say goodbye to summer. Rayden asked if I could bring him out to supper tomorrow evening because it is the first day of school. We usually go to a restaurant for a meal near their birthdays and we didn't this year because he was waiting for a day when his dad and dad's gf could go too. I feel bad not bringing him because he is old enough now to know that it is a tradition in our family so I may just bring him out tomorrow night just to make up for the guilty feelings!