I guess our first choice of houses just wasn't meant to be. Another offer was put in, for much more than we offered, and the seller went with the other offer. I'm disappointed, because we really did like that house a lot. We prayed that we would get the house, if it was the right house for us. Apparently it wasn't.
However, it's not the end of the world. As we waited on pins and needles this evening to find out the seller's decision, we looked through the pages of other houses that we've viewed and were reminded of another house that we really liked. A tad bit smaller and only four bedrooms, but still nice and big with plenty of room. It has a fireplace and a large backyard, ivy growing beautifully on the front of the house (it's a much prettier exterior than the other), a really big family room downstairs, and much more counter space in the kitchen,. And this one has fruit trees in the back yard (apple, I think). We could definitely be happy with this house just as easily as we could the other one. So when the call came that the other offer had been accepted, we weren't too distraught, having already chosen a wonderful backup house.
So we are going to look at this house again, hopefully sometime tomorrow morning, and will likely put in an offer. This is all just another step in the journey of finding the right home for us.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
A Good Day
Well, today has been a pretty good day. The kids got to sleep late last night after we picnicked with Jeff's sister and her family (which was so much fun, I'm glad we got to hang out with them). So they slept later than usual this morning, not waking us up until about 9 am. So we got to sleep in, which is always a nice way to start the morning.
After a quick breakfast, we were off to look at a house. It's one we've looked at before, and it was our favorite of all the houses we've seen. We just wanted to see it one more time before making an offer. Well, we saw it, we still loved it, so we sat down with the realtor and wrote up the offer right there. There were toys in the living room so the kids played quietly while we did all the paperwork (thank you, kids, for being so good!!!), and now we just wait until Monday for the seller to respond. I really hope everything works out, because we really like this house.
Some specs on the house - it's about 3 times the size of our current apartment. It has 5 bedrooms, a fairly open and spacious layout, a nice kitchen with a beautiful dark red accent wall and gorgeous counter tops, a very big family room downstairs and a nice-sized living room upstairs. There's a very large laundry/storage room that will be absolutely perfect for food storage (I think that's one of my favorite parts of the house). Outside, there's an unattached garage and a decent-sized backyard, with a large covered patio. The yard is fully fenced, so I don't have to worry about the kids running off when they're playing outside. And best of all, even though the house is easily worth much more than what the seller is asking, with the market the way it is, it's within our price range. Hooray for the buyer's market!
If everything goes well, we hope to close in mid-October. We can spend the next month or so after that slowly moving to the house and cleaning the apartment. We'll take our time because I'll be hugely pregnant and not up to a whirlwind weekend move.
I'm so excited that we will very likely be living in our very own house by the time the baby is born. I've wanted a house for such a long time - a place that's big enough to raise a family, a place with a yard, a place that I can decorate and paint and do stuff with, a place to call our own. And it seems that soon, finally, that dream will be a reality.
Yes, it's been a good day.
After a quick breakfast, we were off to look at a house. It's one we've looked at before, and it was our favorite of all the houses we've seen. We just wanted to see it one more time before making an offer. Well, we saw it, we still loved it, so we sat down with the realtor and wrote up the offer right there. There were toys in the living room so the kids played quietly while we did all the paperwork (thank you, kids, for being so good!!!), and now we just wait until Monday for the seller to respond. I really hope everything works out, because we really like this house.
Some specs on the house - it's about 3 times the size of our current apartment. It has 5 bedrooms, a fairly open and spacious layout, a nice kitchen with a beautiful dark red accent wall and gorgeous counter tops, a very big family room downstairs and a nice-sized living room upstairs. There's a very large laundry/storage room that will be absolutely perfect for food storage (I think that's one of my favorite parts of the house). Outside, there's an unattached garage and a decent-sized backyard, with a large covered patio. The yard is fully fenced, so I don't have to worry about the kids running off when they're playing outside. And best of all, even though the house is easily worth much more than what the seller is asking, with the market the way it is, it's within our price range. Hooray for the buyer's market!
If everything goes well, we hope to close in mid-October. We can spend the next month or so after that slowly moving to the house and cleaning the apartment. We'll take our time because I'll be hugely pregnant and not up to a whirlwind weekend move.
I'm so excited that we will very likely be living in our very own house by the time the baby is born. I've wanted a house for such a long time - a place that's big enough to raise a family, a place with a yard, a place that I can decorate and paint and do stuff with, a place to call our own. And it seems that soon, finally, that dream will be a reality.
Yes, it's been a good day.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Popcorn Popping
Jeff started singing Popcorn Popping to Thomas while changing his diaper this evening. Unexpectedly, Thomas started singing along and doing the motions - he must have learned it in Nursery. We thought it was so cute that we had to get this totally adorable video of him doing the song. Isn't he just darling?
He also sings along to the ABC song. But when he sings it, it sounds more like "A ace ace ace a a ace, Ace ace a a ace ace ace!" Sigh. Surely someday he'll learn to enunciate!
He also sings along to the ABC song. But when he sings it, it sounds more like "A ace ace ace a a ace, Ace ace a a ace ace ace!" Sigh. Surely someday he'll learn to enunciate!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
If You Can't Stand the Heat...
...Don't come to my apartment.
We got our power bill yesterday. It was astronomical. The only change we've made in the past month or so has been to run the air conditioner every day, from about 10 in the morning to about 10 at night. I figured the heat justified the use of the A/C, and it really wouldn't be all that expensive. That power bill changed my mind. After all, we are saving to buy a house and all.
So yesterday and today, we only used the fan, turning on the A/C only a couple times for a few minutes at a time when the heat got unbearable. Figured that should save money and we'll still be able to buy a house like we want to.
Problem is - IT'S HOT!!!!!! The kids and I have been miserable the last two days - their cheeks have been flushed, our hair is matted, our skin is sticky and smelly, we've all suffered from heat-induced grumpiness, and it's just so darn uncomfortable! I spent two hours this evening lying on the couch in a semi-stupor, unable to do anything else because it was so hot. Ugh!
I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we run the A/C enough to actually be comfortable, we rack up an enormous power bill that we can't afford. If we don't, we're absolutely and utterly miserable. Grrr, I just don't know what to do - be an overheated, grumpy tightwad, or be a comfortable A/C user with an impossibly high power bill.
We got our power bill yesterday. It was astronomical. The only change we've made in the past month or so has been to run the air conditioner every day, from about 10 in the morning to about 10 at night. I figured the heat justified the use of the A/C, and it really wouldn't be all that expensive. That power bill changed my mind. After all, we are saving to buy a house and all.
So yesterday and today, we only used the fan, turning on the A/C only a couple times for a few minutes at a time when the heat got unbearable. Figured that should save money and we'll still be able to buy a house like we want to.
Problem is - IT'S HOT!!!!!! The kids and I have been miserable the last two days - their cheeks have been flushed, our hair is matted, our skin is sticky and smelly, we've all suffered from heat-induced grumpiness, and it's just so darn uncomfortable! I spent two hours this evening lying on the couch in a semi-stupor, unable to do anything else because it was so hot. Ugh!
I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. If we run the A/C enough to actually be comfortable, we rack up an enormous power bill that we can't afford. If we don't, we're absolutely and utterly miserable. Grrr, I just don't know what to do - be an overheated, grumpy tightwad, or be a comfortable A/C user with an impossibly high power bill.
Friday, August 21, 2009
SOB!
I finally did it. I took clippers to Thomas' long and unruly (yet adorably curly) hair this evening and took him from this:
To this:
It really does look so much better, especially in the back, where it was so long and scraggly. But I miss his curls! He doesn't look like a baby anymore, he's a big boy! I can't decide whether to laugh at the expression on his face and smile at the fact that he's growing up so handsome, or cry that he's not my little baby anymore. Sigh.
By the way, that first picture has a story behind it. You may notice that Thomas is wearing two shirts. A couple days ago I decided to give him a choice between two shirts. He picked one and I put it on him, thinking that was the end of it. Apparently it wasn't - he had seen both options and wanted them both! So after putting on the first, he grabbed the second and settled down for me to put that one on him too. He made me button it up and everything. He was so pleased with himself for getting to wear two shirts instead of just one!
To this:
It really does look so much better, especially in the back, where it was so long and scraggly. But I miss his curls! He doesn't look like a baby anymore, he's a big boy! I can't decide whether to laugh at the expression on his face and smile at the fact that he's growing up so handsome, or cry that he's not my little baby anymore. Sigh.
By the way, that first picture has a story behind it. You may notice that Thomas is wearing two shirts. A couple days ago I decided to give him a choice between two shirts. He picked one and I put it on him, thinking that was the end of it. Apparently it wasn't - he had seen both options and wanted them both! So after putting on the first, he grabbed the second and settled down for me to put that one on him too. He made me button it up and everything. He was so pleased with himself for getting to wear two shirts instead of just one!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
A Lesson in Being Prepared
This morning, due to stormy weather, the power went out. It was right around the time we get up and get ready for the day. Because of the weather, it was still fairly dark, and thanks to the power outage, that meant that we got to use Jeff's helmet light for using the bathroom and ate our breakfast by candlelight.
The kids thought it was really neat. As for me, I was just glad that I made granola a few days ago. It was the only breakfast food in the house that didn't require any energy - we don't generally buy cold cereal. Normally we do oatmeal or cornmeal mush, or scrambled eggs. We had pancakes leftover in the fridge, but would have had to eat them cold, yuck. So I was grateful for granola, raisins, and dried banana chips, which made a delicious, electricity-free breakfast for us.
It made me realize though, that we need to have some sort of non-electricity-powered cooking device for emergencies like this. Most of the delicious foods I prepare, especially the ones using food storage items, require some sort of power to cook them, and in this we are completely unprepared. The power was only out for about an hour this morning. But what if it had been longer? I didn't really have anything that we could have prepared for lunch, unless we wanted to eat cold leftovers. I didn't even have any bread for sandwiches (mental note: time to make bread again). Just sort of struck home that we need to get our home more prepared to deal with emergencies. More candles, fresh batteries for the flashlights (the only light that has good batteries right now is Jeff's helmet light), something to cook with, extra water, all those things that we are always told to have when we learn about emergency preparedness. And yet we still don't have them!
It was a good reminder.
The kids thought it was really neat. As for me, I was just glad that I made granola a few days ago. It was the only breakfast food in the house that didn't require any energy - we don't generally buy cold cereal. Normally we do oatmeal or cornmeal mush, or scrambled eggs. We had pancakes leftover in the fridge, but would have had to eat them cold, yuck. So I was grateful for granola, raisins, and dried banana chips, which made a delicious, electricity-free breakfast for us.
It made me realize though, that we need to have some sort of non-electricity-powered cooking device for emergencies like this. Most of the delicious foods I prepare, especially the ones using food storage items, require some sort of power to cook them, and in this we are completely unprepared. The power was only out for about an hour this morning. But what if it had been longer? I didn't really have anything that we could have prepared for lunch, unless we wanted to eat cold leftovers. I didn't even have any bread for sandwiches (mental note: time to make bread again). Just sort of struck home that we need to get our home more prepared to deal with emergencies. More candles, fresh batteries for the flashlights (the only light that has good batteries right now is Jeff's helmet light), something to cook with, extra water, all those things that we are always told to have when we learn about emergency preparedness. And yet we still don't have them!
It was a good reminder.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Busy Day!
The day started with my latest prenatal appointment. We went over my headache diary, and the midwife asked me to go another two weeks without dietary triggers - though she said I could go ahead and have chocolate since I was missing it soooooo much, woohoo! We listened to the heartbeat, where Little One once again showed defiance against being monitored, this time by kicking the doppler probe every time it came near her.
After my appointment I went home for lunch. Jeff was making mac n' cheese, which I was not allowed to have because the cheese is a trigger, so I had leftovers from yesterday's dinner. It was still very tasty - teriyaki chicken over rice, mmmm! After lunch I headed to Wal-Mart to fill a prescription. That ended up being the next big adventure of the day. I got there just after the pharmacy closed for the pharmacists' lunch break. Oh joy. So I had to wander aimlessly around the store for the next half hour until the pharmacy opened up again. Once I dropped off the prescription, I was told it would be 45 minutes before it was ready! So that meant more aimless wandering. By the time I picked up my simple $4 prescription, I had spent well over an hour walking all over Wal-Mart, my feet and legs were aching, my eyes were killing me (old contacts...) and I had a migraine. Yuck.
Soon after getting home we had dinner, then it was time to head out again, this time for more house hunting. We looked at 5 houses this evening, a nice big marathon house-hunting session! The kids were good at first, but as time wore on they definitely showed signs of being tired of the whole thing. By the last house we were all ready to go home! So home we went, and sliced up some watermelon for a special treat.
Boy, I'm just ready to put the kids to bed, put my feet up, and veg in front of the TV for a while. And I'll have Jeff massage my feet. Then I'll listen to my super awesome hypnobirthing relaxation CD that I listen to every night, and it will totally put me to sleep. And it will feel absolutely, blissfully wonderful.
After my appointment I went home for lunch. Jeff was making mac n' cheese, which I was not allowed to have because the cheese is a trigger, so I had leftovers from yesterday's dinner. It was still very tasty - teriyaki chicken over rice, mmmm! After lunch I headed to Wal-Mart to fill a prescription. That ended up being the next big adventure of the day. I got there just after the pharmacy closed for the pharmacists' lunch break. Oh joy. So I had to wander aimlessly around the store for the next half hour until the pharmacy opened up again. Once I dropped off the prescription, I was told it would be 45 minutes before it was ready! So that meant more aimless wandering. By the time I picked up my simple $4 prescription, I had spent well over an hour walking all over Wal-Mart, my feet and legs were aching, my eyes were killing me (old contacts...) and I had a migraine. Yuck.
Soon after getting home we had dinner, then it was time to head out again, this time for more house hunting. We looked at 5 houses this evening, a nice big marathon house-hunting session! The kids were good at first, but as time wore on they definitely showed signs of being tired of the whole thing. By the last house we were all ready to go home! So home we went, and sliced up some watermelon for a special treat.
Boy, I'm just ready to put the kids to bed, put my feet up, and veg in front of the TV for a while. And I'll have Jeff massage my feet. Then I'll listen to my super awesome hypnobirthing relaxation CD that I listen to every night, and it will totally put me to sleep. And it will feel absolutely, blissfully wonderful.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Last Minute Company
On Saturday evening, after Jeff went to work, anything strenuous or related to physical labor was the last thing on my mind. In coming up with what to fix for dinner, I mentally turned down a whole list of delicious meals simply because they involved too much work. Finally deciding on pb&j sandwiches for the kids and leftovers for myself, I got to work spreading peanut butter on the last couple slices of bread when the phone rang.
It was my brother Owen - "Hey, I'm in Utah, can I come visit?"
"Uh," [glancing around furtively at the disaster that was my apartment] "When?"
"Tonight!"
I calmly and cheerfully asked if he would be wanting something to eat, to which he answered that would be great, and we agreed that he would come over later in the evening after visiting with one of his old mission companions.
The call ended. The panic began.
I started running around the apartment like a chicken with its head cut off, grabbing toys and books and clothes and random junk off the floor and throwing it into the appropriate room, tossing random bits of trash into the garbage can, and probably making the kids seriously wonder if I had lost my sanity. The dishes were tossed recklessly into the dishwasher, and the vacuum was thrown frantically about the living room.
Once the apartment was looking less like the abode of pigs and more like the abode of humans, I turned my attention to dinner. As previously mentioned, my plans had been less than impressive. I had gone ahead and finished the sandwiches for the kids, which they ate cheerfully as I was cleaning. But I needed something more substantial. The thought briefly crossed my mind that it might be a good idea to call and order a pizza, but my frugal tendencies wouldn't allow it. So instead I broke out my super quick and easy pizza crust recipe and made my own. I, of course, had no real pizza toppings on hand, so it was a simple mozzarella-and-olive pizza, but it turned out quite good anyway.
By the time that Owen arrived, the apartment was spic and span (well, the most visible parts anyway...) and the pizza was done, sizzling hot on the pizza stone. The kids and I had already begun to eat, as kids and pregnant ladies aren't the most patient when it comes to waiting to eat, but we made sure Owen felt completely welcome and served him up some delicious homemade pizza.
The rest of the evening was definitely more relaxed - the kids climbed all over Uncle Owen as he wowed them with his cell phone, then they went to bed and Owen and I just hung out for the evening.
He came over again this afternoon, before leaving to go back to Idaho. This time Jeff was here also. We made a yummy lunch of biscuits and hot tuna salad, watched a Barbie movie (Zaylee's choice, but I think Owen enjoyed it as much as she did, don't tell him I said that!), and just hung out again.
It was fun to have family visit, I miss being able to see my family all the time like I could when we lived in Idaho. And even though I had a doozy of a time getting the apartment company ready in such a limited amount of time, I'm really glad he came and visited!
It was my brother Owen - "Hey, I'm in Utah, can I come visit?"
"Uh," [glancing around furtively at the disaster that was my apartment] "When?"
"Tonight!"
I calmly and cheerfully asked if he would be wanting something to eat, to which he answered that would be great, and we agreed that he would come over later in the evening after visiting with one of his old mission companions.
The call ended. The panic began.
I started running around the apartment like a chicken with its head cut off, grabbing toys and books and clothes and random junk off the floor and throwing it into the appropriate room, tossing random bits of trash into the garbage can, and probably making the kids seriously wonder if I had lost my sanity. The dishes were tossed recklessly into the dishwasher, and the vacuum was thrown frantically about the living room.
Once the apartment was looking less like the abode of pigs and more like the abode of humans, I turned my attention to dinner. As previously mentioned, my plans had been less than impressive. I had gone ahead and finished the sandwiches for the kids, which they ate cheerfully as I was cleaning. But I needed something more substantial. The thought briefly crossed my mind that it might be a good idea to call and order a pizza, but my frugal tendencies wouldn't allow it. So instead I broke out my super quick and easy pizza crust recipe and made my own. I, of course, had no real pizza toppings on hand, so it was a simple mozzarella-and-olive pizza, but it turned out quite good anyway.
By the time that Owen arrived, the apartment was spic and span (well, the most visible parts anyway...) and the pizza was done, sizzling hot on the pizza stone. The kids and I had already begun to eat, as kids and pregnant ladies aren't the most patient when it comes to waiting to eat, but we made sure Owen felt completely welcome and served him up some delicious homemade pizza.
The rest of the evening was definitely more relaxed - the kids climbed all over Uncle Owen as he wowed them with his cell phone, then they went to bed and Owen and I just hung out for the evening.
He came over again this afternoon, before leaving to go back to Idaho. This time Jeff was here also. We made a yummy lunch of biscuits and hot tuna salad, watched a Barbie movie (Zaylee's choice, but I think Owen enjoyed it as much as she did, don't tell him I said that!), and just hung out again.
It was fun to have family visit, I miss being able to see my family all the time like I could when we lived in Idaho. And even though I had a doozy of a time getting the apartment company ready in such a limited amount of time, I'm really glad he came and visited!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Belly Pic :-)
Just wanted to share my latest belly pic. I'm getting so big! This is me at not-quite 23 weeks. It's weird to think that I've only got 4 more months. I can't wait to meet this special little lady I'm growing! :-)
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
House Hunting
We've begun our house search in earnest. We signed on with a realtor (he's been really awesome, and specially caters to first-time home buyers), and we've looked at eight houses in the last 2 days. It's been quite a whirlwind of homes, and we're not done yet! We'll keep looking and looking, viewing as many homes as we can to really firm up in our minds what we want and what we don't want. We have a few favorites already - there really are a lot of large, beautiful homes in the area that are within our price range!
All this house hunting has been kind of hard on the kids though - going from one house to the next, running up and down stairs, in and out of bedrooms and bathrooms, looking at backyards without stopping to play in them - it's rough for the little ones! But they've been really good about it. Especially since we brought the mei tai with us today and had Thomas strapped up the whole time, teehee. That kept him out of trouble, but he was pretty fussy by the time we were done. We'll take a break over the next week or so, because Jeff's work week starts again tomorrow. That'll be nice for the kids, they have time to relax and let things get back to normal. But once Jeff's off again, we'll be running around to see more houses!
This whole house hunting thing has been pretty neat so far, a good learning experience. It's interesting to see the various styles of homes available, and to dream about how awesome it will be to live in our own house. We'll have a big kitchen, lots of bedrooms, storage space all over the place, a nice backyard where the kids can run and play! It'll be awesome, and I can't wait!
All this house hunting has been kind of hard on the kids though - going from one house to the next, running up and down stairs, in and out of bedrooms and bathrooms, looking at backyards without stopping to play in them - it's rough for the little ones! But they've been really good about it. Especially since we brought the mei tai with us today and had Thomas strapped up the whole time, teehee. That kept him out of trouble, but he was pretty fussy by the time we were done. We'll take a break over the next week or so, because Jeff's work week starts again tomorrow. That'll be nice for the kids, they have time to relax and let things get back to normal. But once Jeff's off again, we'll be running around to see more houses!
This whole house hunting thing has been pretty neat so far, a good learning experience. It's interesting to see the various styles of homes available, and to dream about how awesome it will be to live in our own house. We'll have a big kitchen, lots of bedrooms, storage space all over the place, a nice backyard where the kids can run and play! It'll be awesome, and I can't wait!
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