Dude, Where's My Grill?

Happy Monday folks!  Hope that everyone had a lovely weekend and that you remembered to change the time on your clocks.  Hopefully, nobody was late for work this morning.  So, speaking of the weekends, ours was pretty good until Sunday night.  What happened?

Well, after a few days of rainy and chilly weather, Sunday turned out to be a really beautiful day.  The temperature here got up to the low 70s and the Mr was off.  So, he decided since we hadn't been to the park in what seemed like ages, that it would be nice to go and enjoy some family time.  What could be better than some family time outside?

The kids were excited.  We loaded up and headed to the park.  We mention something about the weather starting to warm up.  And y'all know what warm weather means... grilling season!!!  Yes, we love to grill in this house. Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall, we are grilling out.  We haven't been able to really grill out much in the last couple of months because the Mr has been working like crazy and once again we had this insane rainy/storm season and then the snow storms.  Curse you, Polar Vortex! (Maybe, not really since I like snow.)

But anyways, Moo has taken to wanting to learn how to grill.  I already told you guys, she's going to be a chef when she grows up.  I'm sure of it because loves anything that has to do with food.  And I had started letting her be my assistant when I grill.  It's a great bonding time for the two of us and gives JJ and the Mr bonding time while they're in the house.  So, needless to say, I start mentioning how we can pull out the grill this week.

We stay at the park until it's black dark outside.  Like the street lights are on, the temperature has dropped and everything.   On the way back home, we stop and get something eat because after playing and chasing two really energetic kids around the playground neither of us wants to cook.  Everyone is happy.  The car is full of bubbly chatter as we pull into our parking space.

Then, the Mr asks, "Did somebody steal our grill?"  I'm all like, "No, it's on right there on the porch."  Of course, it's dark out and our porch has vertical spindles that are close together in between the railing.  So, at night you really have to be on the porch to see what's on it.  Plus, we didn't leave the light on because we weren't expecting to stay at the park until it got dark.

He gets out the car and goes on the porch to see if the grill is there.  "We have been got," he says when he comes back to the car to help with the kids.  I'm still in denial because the grill has been sitting on the porch since we moved here.  "Maybe, you moved it to the back porch," I say hopefully.  He goes to look.  Guess what?  No, grill.

We have been got folks.  Somebody has straight up walked up on our porch and stolen our grill. That grill wasn't even a year old.  I was too pissed (and I'm still kind of pissed) because here I am making plans to grill some turkey burgers, but I don't even have a dang grill to grill them on now!  The Mr is actually taking this missing grill situation better than I am, but I seriously wanted to call the cops and have them dust for prints and the whole nine.

I didn't though.  I know they have more important cases to attend to and chances are whoever took the grill didn't leave behind any prints.  The bright side of all this is that they just took grill.  We do have an alarm system and keep the sign the company gave us on the front lawn.  So, that probably discouraged them from trying to break-in and that I am grateful about.  I just wish that people would stop stealing and just doing bad stuff in general.

Of course, our grill being stolen has put Moo on edge because she knows stealing is bad and now she's a little apprehensive.  You know they make criminals and bad guys in kid movies so scary.  I kind of wish the Mr had just waited and said something about it in private.  And I wished I hadn't have gotten so upset about it in front of the kids because more than anything I think my emotions transferred to her a little bit.  I hate it that she doesn't feel completely safe.  She asked me if they were coming back to steal anything else and I told her no.  I think that calmed her down a little bit.

So, no grilling out this week y'all.  Another comfort in all of this is that we're getting ready to move and I have already started packing.  To say that I am going to be overjoyed when we are free of this apartment and neighborhood is an understatement!

Have you ever had anything stolen from your front porch or yard?

Thankful Thursday

I'm back!!!  Did you guys miss me?  I missed y'all!  I can't tell y'all how good it feels to be able to blog again and be on social media.  This move has been oh so very stressful, draining and just an overall pain in my booty.  I just wish I could have snapped my fingers and made everything perfect.

Nevertheless, I am thankful to have a roof over our heads even if it is temporary.  Yes, we'll probably be moving again before Christmas or right after the New Year.  I'll talk more about that later.  Anyways, it's been a long 8 days without any Internet, waiting on things to get installed and keeping the kids entertained all while trying to unpack a million boxes in a space smaller than our last.

But one thing about moving into a smaller space is that it helps you realize how much useless stuff you've been clinging on to.  Needless to say we have three large boxes of too small clothes, mismatched dishes, books that I had multiple copies of and more to take to Goodwill.  I am thankful that we will have a few less boxes to pack next time around.  Also, we're able to be a blessing to another family by donating the stuff to Goodwill.  They'll either sell it or use it help a family furnish their home or fill their closets.  

I did have a meltdown when the Mr said we should giveaway JJ's crib.  He's never slept in it but still it was just emotional and painful stacked on top of all the other stress that was wearing me down.  In the end it has gone to a good home and will hopefully be put to good use.  It's been decided that since we co-sleep, we won't be investing in a crib when we try for baby number 3.  That money can go towards diapers or clothes or even a Push gift.

I'm thankful that Moo is happy to be living closer to the trolleys and the ImaginOn (aka the Fun Place).   We now have a place to go on the weekends that won't require sitting in tons of traffic.  Speaking of traffic, we're closer to the doctors, the hospitals and the Ikea store!  I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to be living inside of city limits.  I got to ride past my old dorms and show the kiddies where Mommy went and will be going back to college.  

This is a new chapter for us.  And I'm choosing to believe that this will make us stronger and closer as a family unit.  We miss our old neighborhood and a few of the neighbors dearly but we're closer to friends and play date events.  The biggest plus is that we're five minutes away from the first church I fell in love with when I came to the Queen City.  Not sure if they have the same pastor but we are looking forward to attending service this upcoming Sunday to see if it will be our new church home. I have a feeling that it will be.

What are you thankful for this week?

Searching For Hope

Last week and this weekend have been very trying.  And that's putting it mildly.  So, we finally had to put our foot down on our landlord because something crawled into one of the walls from underneath the house, got stuck and died.  We woke up to find maggots coming through the baseboards (which aren't flush with the floor at all) and foul smell.  At first I thought the Mr had spilled some rice because I wasn't wearing my glasses.  But when I went to put on my glasses because it seemed like the rice was moving, I threw a fit when I saw they were maggots!

I was ready to go through the roof.  We are clean freaks because who likes living in a dirty house.  Secondly, with my kids' allergies I'm cleaning pretty much three times a day (sweeping, steam mopping, the whole nine).  We called the landlord multiple times and he kept forwarding us to voicemail.  On Thursday, he shows up to attempt to fix our clogged bathroom sink.  We don't get in to with him or anything.  He simply asks if we've seen more bugs and I say no and walk off.

Friday comes and I go to check the mail.  Low and behold what do I find?  I packet with the landlord's handwriting on it.  It's a note saying that he's terminated our month to month lease.  And guess what else?  It's dated for the Thursday!  Like really, he couldn't have told us Thursday that he was terminating our lease because he doesn't want to fix anything and we're filing a code violation complaint?

Y'all my first thought was to do something very un-Christian-ish.  After my anger simmered down a bit, panic set in.  We've been looking to buy a house which is a long process and we only had seven days from the Friday to find a new place to live!!  I was freaking out because all I could think about was that my family was going to be homeless.  I don't know if any of you have ever been homeless, but I almost was as a child and the Mr was homeless (yea like sleeping outside) when he was a child.

So over these past few days we've been calling around and calling around and going to see rental properties.  Up until a few minutes ago we were really wondering if we'd have find a hotel and put our stuff in storage?  Living month to month in a hotel is more expensive than paying a mortgage or rent.  And we still would have needed to buy food and pay for gas.  But God is good!  We have finally found a place.

It's farther from the Mr's job and smaller than the place we're leaving but it will do.  It's bug-free, leak-free, and mold-free!  Plus, it puts us back in city limits.  So, now I can get the hustle and bustle of being in the mist of it all.  Moo gets to be five minutes away from her favorite library and places like the Discovery Place.  I'm two minutes from college dorm.  That's perfect because I'm going back to school.  So, I don't have far to ride in case there's emergency back home.

At the end of the day, we didn't let this defeat us.  I'm wiped away my tears and forced myself to look on the bright side which is that we'll be free of this rental for good.  The 23rd Psalm says the Lord is our shepard and we shall not want for anything. And I trusted in Him and kept searching for hope hat we find something.   And we did.   Keep us in prayer yall!!

Securing Home

Well, by the end of summer we'll be in a new place.  While I'm thrilled to end, a part of me is slightly dreading the move.  You see I absolutely love the neighborhood we're in.  It's quiet, quaint and more importantly it's safe.  We all kind of silently look out for each other.  

 As we narrow down our decision, all I think about is the safety of my family.  We do live in a major city.  And like most major cities we do see our share of crime.    So, I've been thinking about checking out a Home Security Systems review or two or three.

I've already talked it over with the Mr and he's on board that we'll definitely be investing in a security system of some sort when we're settled into our new place.  I wish times were different and that people weren't evil minded.  However, the reality of the situation is that times aren't different, there are people out there looking for trouble to get into and I'm determined to make sure my family doesn't get caught unprepared!

Let's hope I don't have a moment of mommy brain and forget the security code one day.  That would be just  awful and slightly embarrassing.  Not to mention, it could be costly money-wise because some companies charge for false alarms caused by the home owner.

Do you have a home security system?  Thinking about getting one?

Disclaimer:  This post is sponsored by our friends at http://www.homesecurityfamily.com.

My Weekend WrapUp

Well, good news everybody...Moo and I are moving!!!  I am so excited.  This weekend past, we went to check out our soon to be new digs.  It's a two bedroom duplex with one full bath, a living room and decent size kitchen.

There's hardwood throughout with linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom.  The master bedroom has two closets and a cute octagon shaped window.  In the backyard is an amazing deck.  I've already made plans to cookout and add some patio furniture as well as a few plants.  We have a clothing line which I will put to use in on hot days.

Plus, I try to be as Green as possible.  Another plus, we don't have to worry about landscaping.  The landlord handles all of that.  However, the down side is that beyond the backyard a pony.  He's cute as a button but not people friendly.  Therefore, there will be no petting the pony.

Another issue is that we will be the only Black family in the neighborhood.  The landlord has assured us that we will be welcomed warmly though.  I hope that he is right because I remember when we moved into an all white neighborhood when I was five.  We got all kinds of notes calling us 'niggers' and telling us 'our kind' wasn't welcomed.  My mom did the best she could to protect us from the racism.  We weren't allowed to play beyond the front yard for years. And most of our dogs ended up getting stolen. 

But I'm hoping that since we are going back to the city, we will be living amongst more open minded white people.  They all seemed pretty nice as they passed us by.  They didn't shoot us any nasty glares. Curious yes.  There is a great plus to living in an all white neighborhood here.  The crime rate is super low!!  It's so low in fact that they leave their doors unlocked.

Crime seems to be its highest in the Black and Hispanic neighborhoods here.  It's a shame, but true never the less.  So, I am looking forward to being able to sleep peacefully at night.

I'm really excited that I get to decorate and hang pictures.  It's a duplex, but I look at it as an upgrade from an apartment and certainly an upgrade from my current situation.  I'm one step closer to home ownership.  I've been researching and looking into some low income housing programs.  And I think that by next summer, I will be ready to make a down payment on my own place.

Besides checking out the duplex, I went to the mall with Moo, her daddy and step sister.  It felt great to be all together as a family.  Our year a part has helped us both to grow and mature.  We are co-parenting very well and communicating much better than before.  He's learning to give me space when I'm upset and I'm learning to be more sensitive to his feelings when dishing out criticism.

Sunday was another family bonding adventure.  We went to church.  And I'm happy to report that our new pastor is getting a little warmer.  I think that he's getting used to us and likewise we are getting used to him.  Following service, we had lunch at my uncle's church and on the way I busted my booty on that slick wet cement ramp. Talk about a pain the ass! LOL!  I'm still sore back there.

While waiting for Jay to arrive, we watched 'The Marriage Counselor,' an original screen play written, produced and directed by the great Tyler Perry.  That man is awesome. He is taking Black cinema to places it's never been.  And rumor has it that he is looking to take over TBS and turn it into the Tyler Perry Network.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he can strike some kind of deal with them.  We need more Black networks out there will positive Black shows.  We're more than just thugs, criminals and baby mamas.

Anyways, I think that my mom is finally warming back up to Jay.  She actually accompanied us to Rockingham and we had a lovely family dinner afterward.  So, here's to miracles and God being able to heal wounds.  Looking forward to a wonderful week of packing.  Hope you guys had a great weekend as well.