What do I do all day?

What to write? Life is about the same as it was two weeks ago, with a few exceptions. Our home sale in Florida was about to go through and then we got some bad news, then some more bad news, and then some really bad news. As of right now, we still own a home in Florida that is still under contract, but may probably fall through. It is totally stressing me out! We keep extending the closing date because they still haven't been able to get their loan, even though they are approved and it's been over 30 days. The most recent issue may be a leak in the roof, which was just replaced less than three years ago. So frustrating to not be there.

Update on the house (since I wrote that last week): we've extended the contract for the fourth time due to their bank not processing the loan. The buyers have met every condition, are a good credit risk and still very much want the house. It's just a lack of employees and restructuring at Bank of America that is costing us money every day. We found out they have begun the finalization but it will take 5 days. A lesson is patience and perseverance and faith, I suppose. Our Realtor says that all the banks are experiencing delays and most of his closings are like ours right now, so putting it back on the market would probably not help matters. Oh, and the leak is minor; it's only $300 to fix and the buyers still want the house. Just holding my breath that it will go through and praying for a miracle.

So... to combat the stress, I started doing p90x. (Brace yourself for the infomercial). I'm on week three and I absolutely love it! My goals are to feel better and to fit into my pants again, without a muffin-top. I feel so much better since I started it. It is without a doubt time consuming--an average of an hour and 15 minutes a day for 6 days a week. Sometimes I feel a little neglectful as a mother doing something for myself for so long, while my 3 year old overcooks her own burrito and boredom ensues (this only happens when the kids upstairs aren't around); but then again, I used to spend the same amount of time at the gym and not feel guilty about that. Anyway, I like it because there is a different work out every day and because it doesn't hurt my lower back like running does. I feel like I am getting stronger, and slightly less muffin-top-y. Erin even said that my legs looked skinnier than before. I knew I liked that child. Truthfully, I don't feel any skinnier, but I feel stronger, more toned and happier (those endorphins!). Seriously, these are amazing DVD's. There is also a nutritional guide that I've been trying to follow--i.e. right now I am enjoying a steak, artichoke, and tomato salad and avoiding processed food and overall crap. Why is that so hard? Exercising makes me motivated to eat better, so I have to keep this up.

Oh, you are also supposed to take before (and after) pictures which were totally embarrassing. Jared keeps threatening to post them on the blog, but don't get your hopes up. That will not be happening!

The other day my 16 year old sister in law asked me what I did all day. A perfectly valid question. Ummmm.... yeah, good question. I must have rambled off something like "pack lunches, do dishes, clean up, make dinner, do laundry, go grocery shopping, read to the kids, mow the lawn..." Wow, that's kind of a monotonous, thankless existence once you think about it. Really, that is what I do all day and no matter how much I have done, it is never done. So if you are wondering if I have time to exercise, the answer is yes. All that other stuff will be there when I'm done.

One last thing, I started using coupons and I think I've been giving it a good, at least semi-concerted effort. My conclusion? NOT WORTH IT! I know lots of people do it and save all sorts of money, but here's my experience: Tuesday morning, a supposedly good day to shop with coupons since Walmart has double coupons up to a dollar. I get online figuring out what I want and which coupons apply and print some out and get interrupted by six different kids 15 times and can't find what I want and have trouble with the printer and can't believe how not easy this "easy" program is and get completely frustrated. Take Erin to school, but since I'm still not done getting the coupons together, I wait another hour to go. Load three kids in the car, then the cart and begin one of my all time top ten worst shopping days ever. Connor was ready for a nap (self-explanatory), Marissa was whiny, kids kept getting out of the cart and I was frazzled the whole time trying to match the right product with the right lousy coupon. In the end, I save seven bucks. Seven! Isn't my own sanity and time worth my than that? My new goal: don't ever go shopping with three or more children again. Ever.

Okay, one other last thing. I emailed Erin's teacher to see if I could start volunteering, which by the way, is welcomed and needed at this school. Last year it seemed like her teacher kept blowing me off when I asked, so I never even went into her classroom. Weird. Anyway, she emailed back and this is what she said at the end:

P.S. Erin is absolutely darling! She is always such a wonderful little girl and I think she is adjusting well to Fox Hollow. She's very smart and has made many friends in the class. I'm glad she's in our classroom!

Can someone tell me why I started crying when I read this? Isn't it exactly what you want your child's teacher to say? I'm so glad Erin is enjoying school here. Starting a new school in a new state is never easy. (Flashback from moving to Utah in 5th grade and only making one friend who ended up being a shoplifter, in my presence no less. Cringe!) Thankfully, no shoplifting friends for my kids... yet.