I can finally tell!!!

YAY! I can finally talk about the one thing I've been wanting to post!
Our boss bought 13 more stores this past week, bringing his total to 21. The stores he bought are in Topeka and Holton KS. The best part of all- we'll be moving when school gets out! This is something we've been waiting for for ages, so it's very exciting. The one downside is Joe is busier than ever now with more stores and not as much help as we had thought. He feels bad, like he's neglecting the other 8 stores, but that will get better eventually. For now tho, there is a lot of work to be done with these new stores- remodelling, updating, CLEANING... This means more work for me too with adding 120+ employees to a new payroll set up with more companies, doing a lot of Joe's office stuff like polling stores, and I have offered to drive to the other 8 stores to drop off/pick up paperwork. More work= bigger paycheck, but I sure miss Joe when I'm in the office. He's also getting home very late in the evening, so Sam misses him too! Once we're moved and things hopefully settle down, it will be better. For now tho rough days ahead with work, house shopping and selling, packing, etc.
Sam had his 8th birthday this past Thursday. I didn't make a cake or anything this year with all the busy-ness. Sam was also very sick the week of the holiday break. He started very pale the day after Christmas, then it went downhill after that. By the next night he had a fever over 104 and was getting very lethargic. We took him to the doc on Saturday- he said Sam had strep but we disagree. He never did a test or anything, just gave him antibiotics and sent us away. Joe and I both feel that Sam really had the flu, and also that maybe the doc is more of a jerk than we first thought! His symptoms were much more consistent with the flu virus than strep... He is still recovering and falls asleep very quickly at night. Soooo, his bday went by without much fanfare this year. He got a small Snickers cake that night along with his presents and yesterday we took him to Radio Shack and bought him an RC helicopter from his Grandpa John. He also got some books at Hastings. Then we took him to Montana Mike's for dinner where we surprised him with a Mudslide dessert. He had a friend spend the night Friday night as well.
Joe and I both gained some weight back the past few months so we bought a big present for Christmas- an elliptical! Man O Man- the first few times on that thing were rough! It has 12 preset workouts with varying resistances. I am now able to do the 20 or 25 minute programs with a stop in the middle to work on the weight machine for my arms. Lost 5 pounds the first week (along with better eating habits), so it must be working! My first goal is a loss of 20 pounds by March 1st, and I'm well on my way. Keep your fingers crossed!
That's pretty much it for now. This next weekend Dad and Suzy are coming so we can go to KC to see Sweeney Todd at the Music Hall. We're very excited! This time with no football draft to race back for we can stay and have dinner. Of course, rushing back after Spamalot wasn't too bad since my fantasy team came in second place- I lost the Super Bowl at the very end of the games on a last second touchdown. Not bad!
Happy New Year all!