Always an adventure

I spent the weekend on the Oregon coast with my mom & sister, and we had a great time. We also managed to keep it pretty frugal. We had a beer 2x out, but the rest of the meals were eaten with groceries we brought. Overall, the cost was very reasonable, & we had a great time. We delivered the bricks for the fire pit, and two chairs that needed to be assembled. A few others arrived yesterday, just in time to assemble the fire pit & chairs. Although we ended up having to return 2 of the 6 Adirondacks we bought, as they didn't match. Bummer. We now have a usable fire pit & chairs, so that's progress. I'll have to keep my eye out for Costco to restock this particular chair next summer.

On to other adventures.

Doors:
We ordered 20 new doors for our house, and have been waiting for Lowes to get them in. We waited six weeks, and yesterday was the big day where the installation would begin. Except, over half of the doors were the incorrect size, and one was broken. I loathe home projects. The house is a mess, the work is half done, and... no idea when we'll get the other doors. M & I will both be at work when the new doors are finally ready, which should be super fun. The guy who placed the order at Lowes did not, of course, return our calls.

Refi:
In super exciting news, we were able to lock in an amazing rate for our mortgage (2.875% vs our current 3.625%). Given the size of our mortgage, this is a huge savings. I would not have agreed to handle all of the paperwork if I was working full time, as sizable time investment. So, I'll just consider this one of my financial sabbatical wins - particularly since my leave is unpaid. At least I'm offsetting some of that. In fact, the amount we will save on the loan more than covers my unpaid leave. Oh, and our printer broke yesterday, because . . . of course!

While we're not done with the paperwork (I need to go to the office & use a printer/scanner), by today, we should have everything sent to underwriting. So, that's a good first milestone. I'll keep reminding myself of how much we're saving, when I'm annoyed by all of the paperwork demands.

Sam:
I've alluded to this here & there, but last week we got a formal diagnosis for Sam. He has ADHD. While this isn't a surprise, he's always done really well in school until he hit middle school, so the grades challenge became very real. He's starting 8th grade next week, so it's critical we help him now, when the grades matter. We also want to ensure he is confident about himself & his own skills & abilities. He & Nick are wildly different people, and they have both observed Sam's weaknesses, and it's starting to create tension & impacting Sam's confidence.

Now that we have a formal diagnosis, we can work with the school, as well as get Sam the help he needs. I'm so extremely grateful for my sabbatical for the time & space to handle this, as it's been an enormous time commitment (and, emotionally quite taxing) this summer. We have many steps ahead (therapists, doctor visits, school counselor meetings, etc), but I feel we're on the right track & can move forward now.


Adventures in my life aside, here's what's on the list for the rest of today:

1. Laundry. The boys graciously leave this for me when I'm traveling. ;-)
2. Mail an eBay sale
3. I'm going to a workout class
4. Scan paperwork for refi
5. Print Home Depot gift cards at the office
6. Print & scan a form for Nick to sub in a soccer tournament this weekend
7. Pick up Nick + carpool kids at Nick's camp
8. Take Nick + soccer carpool kid to practice
9. Pick up Sam from his camp (now that Sam is a teen, most camps don't span both age groups)
10. Water the plants
11. Do a little yard work
12. Track down M's ski pass. His photo upload failed, and I've tried to get a hold of someone who can help me correct this. 
13. Call Home Depot about our (new) leaky fridge
14. Call Lowes (again) about the doors cluster
15. Consider listing two light fixtures on eBay local pickup, now that our new chandeliers are installed

What about you? Any adventures lately?