A Little Advice

When Anna's older and she's looking for "The One" I'll be sure to give her a little advice: marry someone like your father.

I really lucked out when I found Bryan. He has qualities I knew I wanted: responsible, practical, loving, caring, handsome, and fun to be around. He has qualities I didn't even know I wanted: handy, capable, and did I mention handy? My dad has no handy qualities so I didn't know that a girl could really like having a guy like Bryan around. He fixes all kinds of things around the house, does big jobs like mowing and shoveling snow, does gross jobs like killing mice, and handles annoying things I don't want to think about like finding cheaper insurance and a better mortgage rate.

Why am I singing his praises today, on the first day of November? No, it's not his birthday. I'm bragging on my awesome husband because he BUILT A FIREPLACE! Our basement was so cold in the winter that I never wanted to go down there. With a baby on the way, we moved Anna to the bedroom that was a playroom and will spruce up her old room for the baby. We needed a place for her toys, and the basement was that perfect place - except for the frigid temperatures.

Over the summer and into the early fall, Bryan worked on taking a window out, building a fireplace structure, taking out and then rebuilding window seats with boxes for baskets, added a gas line, drywalled the ceiling, painted, and supervised some guys putting stone around the fireplace to finish everything off. Our basement looks SO GOOD. It feels warm too!

There used to be a window where the framing is going up. Besides the stone surround, the only thing Bryan didn't do was brick the wall where the window used to be. I don't know the first thing about building structures much less using power tools to accomplish such building.

Isn't it beautiful? I think it looks so good. I'll be searching for some baskets to go in the little cubbies.

Another view of Bryan's handiwork. I still need to add a little decoration to the mantle and some art work on the surrounding walls. I would also like to add a club chair with a book case to make it feel very cozy, but for now, it's nice to watch a movie with the fire warming things up.

Today I am thankful for:

• a husband that was all I could hope for and more


• a growing belly


• a fun Halloween
  
  
  
  

Don't Be Jealous...

Jackson trying to blow out his candle! He is a really funny and entertaining kid. Anna loves baby Drew.

Now that it's Spring Break I can finally check off some things on my to-do list around the house. So like I said, "don't be jealous" of all the fun I'm going to be having.

Saturday: this was actually fun - we went to Jackson and Drew's birthday party. We had a blast and enjoyed seeing family. Anna of course had to help the boys open their presents, and luckily they aren't as controlling as her, and did ok letting her help. We'll see what happens at her party when Jackson tries to help her. I can hear the screaming now!

Sunday: We ended up staying in Cincinnati for the day. We went to the park and had Zip Dip (the world's best creamy whip). Then we went to my Grandma's house for my Uncle Mike's 50th birthday gathering. It was good seeing my other family, but the previous day's excitement led to a troubling day for Anna. She does much better on a schedule and sticking to a routine.

Monday: I caught up on the laundry and grocery shopping I didn't do yesterday. And much to Bryan's dismay, I went to Target and Old Navy to buy myself some comfortable and cute clothes for the summer.

The plans for the rest of the week:

Tuesday: clean out Anna's toy room so we can turn it into a "big girl bedroom" for her. I will get a few baskets to keep some things in the living room, but most things are going to the basement. Bryan has started on the fireplace, so next winter it will be good to go!

Wednesday: clean out the office. The office is currently the Junk Depot. I can only see a few square feet of floor due to the overwhelming piles of junk. It's a slow process, creating a Junk Depot, and I have a feeling it will be even slower cleaning and clearing the Junk Depot. Wish me luck.

Thursday: Oil Change, tires rotated, drop clothes off at the re-sale shop, return things to Old Navy, buy stuff for Anna's birthday party. So far she wants a "purple-Hello Kitty-Belle-Dora" party. I think she's going to get Hello Kitty and purple, but we'll see what the party store has to offer.

Friday: catch up on all the things that I didn't finish or keep Anna home from daycare and we can do something fun.

Today I'm thankful for:

• 
  
  daycare, so I can get all these things accomplished with little to no interruption


• 
  
  good books


• 
  
  cute clothes


• 
  
  a silly daughter

Real Grown-up Married People!

Notice the changes???

Please disregard my extreme sloppiness. I can't help it, I was just made this way.

Plus the camera makes it look worse :)

NO, I'm not a bed maker...unless I get a new bed room set or company is coming over. Deal with it.

I know I still need curtains. I get around to it.

Isn't it pretty?

I don't know if I'll keep the horse farm picture above the bed. It might be a little too small.

Bryan and I have been putting off buying bedroom furniture for a long time. We've been living together for 7 years now, and we just now got a bedroom set. Part of the delay is my extreme pickiness - if we're going to spend money on something, I want to REALLY LOVE it, not just think it will do. So we've been taking baby steps: last year = buy a king size bed, Christmas = get bedding for said king size bed, Presidents' Day = buy a bedroom set, today = delivered and set up. I really love it. In the words of one of my students, "It's awesome."

Today I am thankful for:

1. my new bed room set
2. a date night with Bryan last night (we saw Hall Pass - very funny)
3. Anna's taking a nap which will hopefully restore her listening ears that she woke up missing so we can have a lovely afternoon
4. warm and sunny days

House Plans

Our house has always been nice, but there have been some things we'd like to change. Bryan was taking measurements yesterday, so maybe we'll be getting to some of the changes when the weather warms up.

The things we'd like to do:

• put a fireplace in the basement - this will be a big expensive job, so I don't know if the following projects will actually happen...
• tile Anna's bathroom and fix or replace her toilet
• replace carpet in Anna's bedroom and toy room (which will turn into Anna's bedroom, I think)
• put shelves with toy baskets in basement
• buy a bedroom set for us (we'll give Anna our dressers)
• get the bed Bryan bought from Craigs List stripped, then stain it for Anna
• buy a mattress for Anna's new bed. I already have the bedding!
• paint living room, dining room, and Anna's bedroom - and accessorize as needed
• clean and organize the office which currently is the messiest disaster area in the house
• put hardwood floors in the living room (this one's a long way off)
• buy a flat screen to be hung over the fireplace (this one's a long way off, too)

Neither of us plan on getting an extra job, so I'm not really sure how long this will take. We tend to be REALLY picky, and we only like to spend money on things of nice quality - even if we have to pay a little more. One of Bryan's qualities that I admire most is his ability to do HOURS of research on things before buying anything (like the fireplace), so it takes us a really long time to buy things.

Good luck to us!

Today I am thankful for:

• a day off with roads clear so Anna could go to daycare, and I could get the house cleaned
• Anna seems to be free of sinus congestion and is in a much better mood than last week
• 3 Jillian Michaels DVDs for some variety in my weekly exercise
• $1 bin at Target has foam stickers that Anna loves to play with - for like 15 min at a time!!!
• Anna is doing awesome wearing panties - no more daytime diapers!!!!
• Anna's bedtime routine: get PJs on, brush teeth, then we each get to read a book. Anna "reads" No, David, and it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Oops!

On a typical day I am not careless or an idiot, but unfortunately, today I was both.

Now that my fall break has begun I thought that I would be productive and clean the house today. I got the bright idea to mop the floors in the bathroom, which means I thought to also wash the rugs. I never mop the floors; I hate mopping, that's why it's Bryan's job, usually. I should have remembered that. I put 2 of the rugs in the washing machine with a few other towels and things. When I went in to put the things in the dryer I smelled something - kind of like a burning smell. The rugs and things still had a lot of soap on them, so I ran the washing machine again from the rinse cycle - without the larger of the 2 rugs. Everything worked out ok -nothing was on fire, and the washing machine worked until I tried to put the larger rug in the machine at the rinse cycle to get the soap out and all I got was washer partly full of water and a really wet rug.

That means - I did it! I broke the washing machine (probably the motor). While that might not seem horrible, things break, it actually is because that's not the first washer I broke with the bathroom rugs!!! Here's the careless and idiot part: At our old house with a different washer, I did the same exact thing! I thought I would be able to wash the rugs with this washer because I've done it before. I guess my luck has run out. I texted Bryan to let him know (because I am a coward); I didn't want to tell him over the phone, texting is way easier. He still loves me, it's ok. My mom suggested that I take them to the laundromat next time, "it's only an hour and a half of your life you won't get back." When do I have an hour and a half to sit around (well, probably tomorrow, but that's beside the point).

I've learned my lesson the very hard and expensive way...do not put big rugs in the washing machine that you own. Now that we will probably have to buy a new washer, I might not get that nice camera I've been wanting. On the other hand, now we can get a front-loader!

Today I am thankful for:

• fall break to relax (and break expensive equipment :))
• a cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera
• money in the bank to buy a new washer

Our House - 1 year and 2 days

We moved in a year ago Saturday. That was a crazy, emotional, and stressful time. I'm glad to not have all that going on this year. We've settled into life in our new home pretty well over the past year.
Here are a few things I love about our house:

1. living in a ranch is so nice - I never would have thought that I would like it so much, but I do.
2. the basement is so nice and cool in the summer - it's a great place to watch tv.
3. I have tons of space to store things in the kitchen.
4. living close to Hamburg is very convenient.
5. our utility bills are much lower (bigger house - less in utilities...don't buy a Ball Home)
6. we don't have any trashy neighbors that neglect their homes anymore.
7. we have plenty of room to spread out
8. we have a yard big enough for a kick ass swing set
9. I have a huge laundry room with a big area to fold clothes - makes a chore a little better

Living in our new house has been great, but of course not perfect. Here are a few things that I don't love so much:

1. that nice cool basement in the summer is also very cool in the winter - we're looking into a fireplace solution.
2. the disposal sucks - I throw most things into the garbage
3. I don't think we are really "neighbor" people. While they are not trashy, many are strange and nosey.
4. The traffic coming home is sometimes a pain.

All in all: I'm so glad we moved. We have a beautiful home we can grow into over the next ?? years. We are very fortunate to have a nice home to live in.

I'm thankful for:

• a great start to my summer - a day of playing with Anna
• a really good book: Velva Jean Learns to Drive
• Anna used the potty for pee-pee 4 times today (I apologize for the people without kids, but this is what becomes of life with a two year old) - she only went in her diaper during nap time and in the car!

We will sleep like kings - I hope

B and I have noticed that our bed isn't so great anymore. I feel like I'm sinking; he feels the springs. Needless to say, we aren't getting a great night sleep and are ready for a new bed. Since Anna frequents our bed what seems like every night for an hour or so, we decided to go for the king. I predict that she will continue to get in our bed as she gets older, so king it is. We got it at Macy's during their Presidents' Day Sale. It is scheduled to be delivered on March 6 - so exciting!


Now a few small issues:

1) We don't have any sheets, covers, or a comforter for this big bed. We have REALLY nice sheets for our queen size bed that we got for wedding gifts. We aren't willing to give up the high thread count, so we'll go piece by piece until we have a whole set.

2) I don't know how I want to decorate the bedroom (or the rest of the house for that matter). I had a really clear vision with our other house, and I've got nothin' for this one. I think I'm being torn - "simple and classic" or "bright and fun"? The house says "simple and classic" while my taste is telling me "bright and fun." What is a girl to do? Probably defer to husband, who will say "simple and classic." Duh.


Simple solutions:

1) We will buy one nice set of white sheets now.

2) I will search for some comforter and other sheet options and ask for those for Christmas.

Here are some I like:
pottery barn - woodland
pottery barn - monreale paisley
pottery barn - quilts in daffodil, sandalwood, or soft green
pottery barn - silk quilt in any color
pottery barn - organic quilt in any color
pottery barn - pearl embroidered in any color but sandalwood
pottery barn - floral vine (not available in king, but maybe later???)

bed bath & beyond - camilla
beddingsupperstore.com - mandarin ok, so this one is a little pricey, but still cool
beddingsupperstore.com - harmony
westelm - pin tuck in white, natural, seaspray, or clay
westelm - pleated voile in any color

We'll see what's available when the time comes.

Today I am thankful for:
1. B stayed home from work today (for a mental health day, to escape the bad drive, and to be with his two favorite gals).
2. Anna got out of the tub without a fight and tears!
3. I found my little weights to go along with 30 day Shred. I was using soup cans which was considerably easier, but I need the weights to make some changes in my body.

ALL MOVED IN!

We're in the new house!

Friday was crazy - the movers showed up at 8. B had already moved most of the boxes to the garage and all the furniture downstairs into the dining room. It still took 3 hours to load the U-HAUL. I couldn't help much bc I was watching Anna (her daycare was closed for an in service and my friend that watches her sometimes was out of town) while also trying to vacuum and clean up. After everything was packed, B had to drive the U-HAUL over to the new house and I drove one of the cars. We met my mom who was thankfully able to come down to watch Anna while we went to both closings, and then met the movers who helped unpacked the POD and the U-HAUL. (It took much less time unpacking.) Two closings and moving in one day is a bit much - I wouldn't recommend it. We don't plan on moving again for a very long time.

B's parents came down on Saturday to help get us unpacked and settled. They are what I call "doers." They get things done, you know - they don't tend to sit around if there are things that need to be accomplished. It's a good thing, a very good thing, we have them in our lives. With the exception of the office (mostly my stationary stuff), the master bedroom (clothes are not organized just yet), and the basement storage (bc we don't have a good official place for most of my china and serving dishes), everything else is unpacked and set up! We never could have done it without them. I have a Lowes and Target list started. Some thing will be on the list for awhile (like curtains), and some will be checked off more quickly (like TP holders for 2 of the bathrooms).

We've already met 5 sets of neighbors -which is more than we met at our old house in the 5 years we lived there. People seem friendly and there are lots of kids. We are happy here; I'm glad we made the move. Plus...it only takes 5 or 10 minutes to get to the grocery and Target instead of 20!

the big day

We are moving Friday! It's pretty exciting, and maybe a little sad too. After we leave to go to the closing on Friday we won't be coming to our cute little house anymore. I'm looking forward to getting settled into the new house. It's a really nice house and will give us plenty of room.

I'm avoiding last minute packing by writing. B has taken on a majority of the stress during this move. It seems like when one of us is stressed, the other isn't. I know how he feels bc I get that way sometimes, I just don't feel that way now. It will all get done, I'm not going to panic over this move. He said to me the other day, "you don't seem to have any sense of urgency over this move and packing." I thought it was funny cause I'm not really a "sense of urgency" kind of gal. My dad thought that was funny too!

I'm thankful that B has done so much to get the house ready and the POD packed. But I reminded him last night that I'm not so good with moving heavy boxes, but I clean the bathrooms and change poopy diapers. We all have our unpleasant chores.

The next time I write I will be in our new house!

busy bee

It's going to be a busy couple of weeks, or maybe months. B and I packed a ton of stuff yesterday; we still have a ton more to pack. I found more things for our garage sale next Saturday. I probably could have gotten rid of more things. I have a lot of fun party and holiday dishes that we don't use very often. We can actually have people over to the new house - it's great for entertaining, so maybe we'll get more use out of those things.

We are also on the hunt for a new daycare or home daycare. It's a hard choice; it's a big decision. The place where Anna goes now won't be convenient at all for B or me. We visited one home daycare where the lady and her husband are super nice, but I worry that they are too old. I have a few more people to call. I also found some places online to check out in the coming weeks or during the summer. I feel stressed about this decision.

As far as the recipes from this post go:
1. I made mini breakfast pastries - they were delicious. PW likes them warm out of the oven, but I prefer them the next day. They taste like cinnamon sugar donuts.
2. I also made the banana nut muffins as minis. They were good. I would make them again.
3. The mini chocolate chip muffins weren't that great. I wouldn't make them again.
4. The punch was yummy. I had to make 1/2 at a time because there was so much liquid involved. I froze it in 4 gallon size Ziploc bags. I took it out to thaw when I left in the am (around 6:30), and by 10:30, I could use my hands to crush it inside the Ziploc bags before putting it in the punch bowl.

We only have 8 days of school with kids - I can hardly believe the year is almost over. It's been a good year, but I'm excited to spend the summer with Anna. We've had a fun 3-day weekend. She's so darn cute.

can't picture it

So whenever I think of our soon-to-be house, I can't quite picture our things in it. The people that live there now have an appropriate amount of nice furniture. We are more than doubling our space, which means we do not have an appropriate amount of furniture, and only some of that is nice.
We've gone without things...like a bedroom set and a dining room set that we chose - mostly because we have hand-me-downs that are high-quality furniture pieces even though they don't go together. I don't like to spend money on things unless I really love them, which has also seriously limited my purchases. What am I going to do in this house????
I guess we're going to be slim on furniture for a while as I continue to be picky and we build our savings up. Maybe it will be one room at a time? Not the end of the world.

feeling better

Well, today is a better day....we got the house. I still don't think I'll want to move again for a long time. We got a great deal on a really nice house. It's at the top of our price range, but that seems to be how things work out. It's not in our 1st choice neighborhood, but it is in a nice neighborhood. We're now going to be 5 minutes from shopping and grocery instead of 20! I'm going to be a little farther from work. I also am going to have to change Anna's daycare to something close to work - which means I'll have to bring her. I'm already scheming how to not have to get up too much earlier next school year. Changing day cares to either home care or a certain place will also be a money saver. Bryan already made some changes to reduce some of our monthly expenses. When I was subbing, B and I really limited our spending. We're going to be going back to that for a while as we build our savings back up and get used to the bigger house payment. It's worth it to have a house we can grow into. I'll even be able to invite people over even though we won't have furniture to sit on!

this is the last time...

Buying and selling a house is completely stressful and frustrating. The decisions, wanting and not getting, the negotiating, the mind games - ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Is this too much? Is this a good area? Do we want to spend that much? I don't ever want to do this again! I hate this.

things to do, people to see

We've been busy, and will continue to be busy for at least another week, if not more...
We cleaned and finished last minute de-cluttering on Friday. Toys R Us was having a sale on Fisher Price toys (buy one more than $25 = get one less than $25 for FREE). We hadn't bought anything for Anna's birthday, so I ran to TRU and Target in the horrible pouring down rain at 7:00 on Friday night.

We met with the realtor on Saturday morning = our house is on the market! I'm kind of sad when I look at the sign in the yard. I like our house, but we're ready to move.

Then, we drove to Cincinnati for my nephew's 1st birthday party. He was cute. We had a good time. It was a little weird bc my sister's mom is my old step mom and there was all this drama in the past. She was a big part of my life even though she hurt a lot of family with her choices. I've moved on, but I don't see her very often. It was ok though. Anna and Jackson, the birthday boy, were so cute together at the very end of the party. We stood them up facing each other. They hugged and kissed! It was so freakin' cute. I'm too lazy to put the pics on the computer right now, but maybe one day I'll post a pic.

Anna was showing off and entertaining everyone at the birthday party, which means she was nice and crabby today for Easter. She only has one day of fun and entertainment in her little system. She only wanted to be with Bryan or me and wanted to be held. She didn't sleep on the way home. I had to sit in the back so she would stop whining and crying. But I love her anyway.

The things to do this week in preparation for Anna's 1st Birthday!!!!!!

• call and see if I can secure another place for the party - so not happy. About three months ago, I scheduled Anna's party at the park with the rain backup being at our house. Family knew the plan. Well, B's dad is super allergic to our dog. He decided over the past week or so that he didn't want to come to our house at all bc he has to be on a lot of medication when he goes home. What the F am I supposed to do about this party if it rains????? B's family lives out of town, they are staying at a hotel for the weekend - I really don't want to have my baby's 1st bday at a hotel. Pray for sun and lots of it on Saturday.
• go to the grocery
• finish the laundry
• try to buy flowers and get them planted
• get an estimate for the car bumper
• go to Sam's and get strawberries, chicken, and chips
• make strawberry cream cheese frosting
• make cookies
• make cupcakes
• order chicken for the party
• wrap presents
• keep the house clean
• maybe go look at a house I might want to live in

I can do it.

I've been feeling sick - a cold - again - and tired. We decided to put our house on the market even though our offer didn't go through on the house we like. We've been looking online at houses in different neighborhoods. I haven't seen anything I love. I don't know what will happen if we sell our house??? We've been busy cleaning and painting; I use the term "we" loosely - B has done all the hard work, but I did the mom work.
We heard from the realtor about that house we liked - she learned that it's going into foreclosure. That means it will probably be tied up in paperwork and legal issues for awhile. It's still weird that they didn't accept our offer, or try to negotiate. Supposedly their lawyer advised them not to accept any offers? We're going to keep our eye on it though. I really like the location, location, location.

Something happy:
A friend from high school and college is getting married in June. He's a good guy - and the few times I've met his fiance, she's a good gal. I got the invite today (it's very fancy and beautiful), and Anna is invited. I'm really excited to see friends I haven't seen in a long time. After college, we all moved to different areas of the country so we don't get together very often. Our friends that will be at this wedding haven't even met Anna; I'm excited for them to meet her. I think they are as excited as people could get about meeting a baby, but I think they are equally excited for the free beer :).

update

Bryan and I thought about the house for a few days, double checked our income vs. expenses, got pre-approved, and decided to make an offer.
So we made an offer on the house, but the sellers rejected it based on the fact we put a contingency to sell our home. It seems a little strange, but either way, we are moving on. We are meeting with a realtor tonight to get an idea about selling our home and discuss the home we like - see what our options are.
Our backyard was a mess, so B had a huge load of dirt delivered yesterday. he worked like a dog and got THE ENTIRE LOAD OF DIRT moved to the backyard. I'm going to a birthday party tomorrow, so while Anna and I are there, he's going to do some paint touch-ups and try to finish the backyard. I can help with the paint while Anna's napping. I'll be trying to declutter some today.
We'll see what happens from here. There are a lot of homes for sale in our neighborhood. Our home is cute - I know, I'm just a little partial!.

Opportunity Cost

Bryan and I moved into our house 5 years ago thinking we would live here for about 5 years. It's a great house, but it's missing a few things we would like to have in a home as Anna gets older and we possibly have another baby. So from time to time we go to open houses and see what's available on lbar. We go back and forth as to buying a new home now while the interest rates are super low or stay where we are and wait for an upturn in the economy. It's all about those magic words from Econ: opportunity cost. If we buy now: we can get more home for less money BUT we are losing that safe feeling we have in our house now - if one of us was job less, we could still afford to live here. If we buy later: we might have more security and more income, but housing prices and rates will probably be up meaning we might not find something we like in our price range.

I won't have tenure until 2010, but I do have a pretty good feeling that my job is secure since we are adding more teachers next year. But that non-risk-taking-realist in me says, "you never know..." Bryan's job is secure, but since he works in auto-manufacturing, he's faced some cutbacks, but nothing we can't manage.

We found a house today in a neighborhood that we like. This was the first house that we both really liked and fit most "wants".

• great backyard
• move-in ready (we wouldn't have to do any remodeling, wall paper taking-down, or painting in main rooms. don't worry uk-blue bedroom, your end will be soon enough)
• hardwood floors throughout
• 4 bedrooms
• 3 bathrooms
• bonus room
• basement (unfinished)
• 2 car garage
• good location - close to places we go and my work, not horrible for B
• nice extra features (surround sound, crown molding, nice light fixtures)
• good layout
• only 3 years old
• good closets
• storage shelves in basement
• eat-in kitchen/breakfast room, but no dining room that's wasted space for us
• the windows have white "wood" blinds, so no extra cost there

A few things that it's missing:

• a WOW, super kitchen - it's good, and definitely useable without having to be remodeled, but I wasn't in love with it, you know. I thought I would get that WOW kitchen with my next house.
• no big front porch - It's just something that I think gives great curb appeal,but the backyard makes up for it.
• the family room is small and doesn't have great space for furniture, but with a bonus room and potential for a family room in the basement, it's manageable.

I think we might look into it a little further. It seems almost too good, but is the timing right???? Can we really afford it???? Would we be getting in over our heads???? I like not having to stress over bills - would a bigger mortgage stress us out? There's that pesky old opportunity cost again.

Maybe it will work out, maybe it won't, what ever happens will be the right thing.