I've started a new Blog...
... over at LiveJournal. Overall, I haven't been very happy with this one.

You can read the new Blog here

I guess miracles *DO* happen... :)
Just got a call from our apartment manager today... he actually got the part for our washing machine today! :) He'll be by about 1 tomorrow to fix the machine. YAY! :)

Forgot to mention...
I was so elated about the house-buying situation, I forgot to mention the status of our washing machine problem. We heard from the manager on Tuesday, sayong he ordered the part needed to fix the machine. The best case scenario would be that he would have it tomorrow (although he didn't think this was very likely -- he feels Monday or Tuesday is a more reasonable time frame).

My brother-in-law and his wife have offered to do our laundry at their house while we wait for the machine to get fixed. I can't wait until our machine is fixed and I can actually do my own laundry again...

Saturday's a big day...
We've talked to the real estate agent we're working with, and we've arranged to look at three houses Saturday afternoon. Hopefully we'll find one we like that we can afford... :)

Home-buying project is progressing...
We heard from the mortgage broker today... he said we were approved for an FHA home loan that could "go over $200,000." Armed with this information, we've got three houses we really want to take a look at. I've e-mail the real estate agent we're working with to let her know, and hopefully we can set up some showings for Saturday.

I'm VERY happy right now... :)

Overall, things are looking up... :)
Well, we did it. We went and pre-qualified for a home loan yesterday... and so far, things look promising. It looks like we'll be getting an FHA loan, and we'll only be responsible for making a 3% down payment (payment for closing costs and taxes will be arranged by the mortgage broker). We've also been in touch with a real estate agent (one the broker referred us to... by going with this agent, we'll be able to help keep the closing costs down). There's a couple of properties she's found for us that we'd be interested in looking at, but we want to get a more "exact quote" from the mortgage broker before we start looking at houses.

Today, the washing machine decided not to drain the water out while doing the load. When the load was done, I discovered a lot of water in the machine, and I was having to fish our laundry out and wring it out before putting it in the dryer. :P Called the apartment complex manager, but he can't come out and look at it until tomorrow morning at the earliest. :( Which of course means I can't do the other two loads of laundry that I needed to get done today! :P

Oh well, at least the home-buying front is looking positive... :)

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...
Sorry I've been away for so long. There's just too much going on!

Let's see, let me try to re-cap what's been happening. Overall, had a good time with my parents on my birthday weekend (however, my 3-year-old son came down with a cough and fever while they were here). Other than that, though, everything went OK.

Emily finished up her testing for the gifted program, and we should be getting the results of the testing in the mail within the next couple of weeks.

We're finally going to be going in on Thursday to pre-qualify for a home loan! Woohoo! :) *crossing fingers that we can pre-qualify for enough to make buying our own home a reality*

And tomorrow, the "Jem" 4-disc DVD set comes out (as well as reissues and new singles box sets for Depeche Mode).

Have been very busy getting ready to launch the newest specialty show on The AeschTunes Top 40... "AeschDance." This new show will air on Fridays, and will feature the best dance music from over the past 30+ years. The news show launches this Friday (two airings: 11 a.m. EST/8 a.m. PST and 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST).

Need to go, though... have to start working on dinner.

What a week!
Oh, man... this was a crazy week (and overall hasn't been a very good week for me)! It was almost as if everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. *sigh*

My 6-year-old went back to school on Tuesday, and had her first day of testing for the gifted program yesterday (they'll do a second day of testing sometime next week).

My 3-year-old had some gunk coming out of his eye yesterday. I've been cleaning his eye, and it seems to have gotten a lot better. But now I think I'm coming down with the cold my 6-year-old's been dealing with. :P

My parents are supposed to be coming today to spend a couple of days with us (my birthday is on Sunday, and they wanted to spend a couple of days with us to help us celebrate). This year, I turn 29. Wow... 29. Only about one more year until I hit 30. Ten years ago, when I was turning 19, my 30th birthday seemed to be a long way off. But now, it's so close, it's almost scary. I guess I can look at the bright side and realize I have one more year of being in my 20's.

I'd better wrap this up... it's almost time to take my 6-year-old to her bus stop so she can catch the bus to school.

Tired today... :P
My 3-year-old woke me up at 1 a.m. After cuddling with him for a couple of minutes, I sent him back to his bed. However, I never could truly fall back asleep. :P

My 6-year-old seemed like she was trying to find ways to stay home from school. While she still has a cold, and had a slight temperature, she wasn't pale anymore and she had an appetite (however, she refused to eat the bowl of Kix I gave her, claiming she didn't like it; I made her eat a bowl of Cheerios instead, because I wanted her to have something in her stomach before going to school).

Between being tired and feeling a little frustrated by my 6-year-old, my patience has been worn rather thin... :P

Not how I expected today to go...
Well, I'm having to keep my 6-year-old home from school today. She's been having some cold symtpoms (cough and sore throat), but she woke up this morning with a slightly elevated temperature and looked pale; she also complained about not being hungry. So I'm keeping her home today to rest, hydrate, and hopefully get the fever gone so she can go back to school tomorrow.