Weekend Recap

I feel like I need a vacation from my weekend. J  We were super busy.  I’ll try to do a quick recap…

Saturday I got my haircut and then A and I headed over to the open house.  We both really liked the house.  The kitchen, living room, and third bedroom were smaller than I thought they’d be.  Not necessarily a bad thing, they were just smaller than I was expecting.  The house was very very nice.  There were lots of people at the open house and that gave me the impression that the house will sell quickly.  One family seemed very interested.  So I have a feeling that this won’t end up being our house.  I think we’ll still pursue it, but someone else will probably snatch it up before we get all of our financing in order.  A bit disappointing.  Our timing just seems to be off.  But I guess you never know… This house is perfect for us in terms of size, location, and price range.  One important note – we live on a golf course and as a result, there are very few homes that allow for fences.  I think this one does since it isn’t directly on the golf course.  We’d love to have a fenced in yard for our dog.***

After that, it was time to head to our nephew’s birthday party.  We couldn’t stay too long since W goes to bed early, but we all had fun.  On the way home, A got a flat tire.  His second flat in a week!  Talk about bad luck!  He ran over some glass that was in the road on our way to the party and we hadn’t thought much of it.  A stopped and filled up the tire on our way home and could hear air leaking out.  He knew it’d be flat again soon.   Meanwhile, W had fallen asleep in his car seat.  I called my mom and asked if she’d stay with W while I followed A to the tire store.  It was closed for the night, but the plan was to leave his car there and come back in the morning to have it fixed.  That way he could avoid putting on the spare tire.  W woke up while we got him changed into his pjs and was very upset.  It took awhile to get him back to sleep.  Finally, by around 8:30, W was asleep, the car was at the tire store, and A and I were back home.  All was good.

Then W woke up around midnight and continued to fall asleep and wake for the next couple hours.  At this point, I was exhausted and still not feeling well.  Thank goodness A was able to eventually get W to sleep for good.  I think falling asleep in the car threw off his schedule a bit and he’s also getting another tooth.  Not a good night.

The next morning, I felt horrible.  My cold seemed worse and I was just tired.  W was also tired and cranky.  We spent much of church in the lobby.  Starbucks was packed so we went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast instead.  W had no interest in sitting so that was fun. :P  When we got home, I tried to get W down for a nap.  He was not having it.  Again, A came to the rescue and let me nap while he handled a crazy W.  They went for a walk outside and everyone was happy.  I woke up feeling much better and the day was pretty uneventful.  W was still cranky, but at least he eventually napped.  The three of us, along with Addie ended up going for another walk since the weather was finally decent. 

Oh, one more thing – our friends were at church with the twin girls.  Two weeks in a row – very impressive with twins!!  We can’t even get to church on time with one!  They asked A and I if we’d be the Godparents to one of the twins.  We’re so honored and excited! J  But how do we choose which twin?!?!

***So I wrote this before speaking with our mortgage broker.  We’re preapproved!!  And the mortgage payment with taxes and PMI rolled in would be doable!  Holy Moly!!

Friday Blahs

Confession:  the real reason I’m writing today is so that I can say I posted every day this week. J

I have not been feeling well.  I have some kind of cold/scratchy throat thing going on and I’ve had a headache for three days straight.  I also don’t sleep well at night, which is usually never a problem.  It sucks and it makes it hard to work because I just want to close my eyes. L  And it’s weird because I haven’t really been congested (not that I’m complaining) – just a host of other strange symptoms that come and go – scratchy throat, headache, cough, insomnia, nausea.  Weird.  More than anything, I’m just annoyed.  It’s supposed to be spring!!  Colds are supposed to be done and over.  I thought I was in the clear.  I’m praying W doesn’t get it.

We have a busy weekend ahead so I need to pull it together.  Tomorrow is a (much needed) haircut, open house, and my nephew’s birthday party.

House Situation

Well, after talking to my realtor friend, we’re left with more questions than answers.  The short answer is: it all depends.  I was anticipating that response.  A couple takeaways: We definitely don’t want to do a short sale.  Ideally we’d like to just sell our house and be done with it.  My friend is going to find out what our house is valued at.  I’m fairly certain it will be valued at less than what we owe.  If that’s the case, then renting is our best option.  But I don’t know anything about being a landlord and the whole process is very intimidating to me.

We’re not in a big hurry to move.  Heck, we’ve been in our house over 7 years.  But this house in our neighborhood seems perfect.  And although it’s probably best to wait and save up, I hate the thought of this house being sold to someone else.  They always say not to get attached… Uggh.  Once again my heart and my head are in different places.  I’m trying to have faith that everything happens for a reason and this will all work out for the best.

We’re going to attend an open house this weekend.  Maybe I’ll end up hating the house.  We shall see…

To move or not to move...

I’ve previously mentioned my thoughts on wanting a new house.

In a nutshell, A and I are ready for a little more space.  We love our townhouse and have owned it for 7 years, but we’re ready for an actual yard and a little more room.  The problem?  Our house is valued at nearly half of what we paid for it.  Ouch.  At the time we purchased it, we thought we were doing everything right… investing in a home, putting down the 20% necessary to obtain a conventional mortgage.  Ha.  We would have been better off renting.

So we either rent our current home and try to gain a bit more equity, or we short sell it, or we just stay put.

Also, we aren’t in a position to fund another 20% down payment.  So I’m not sure we can even get financing considering we already have one mortgage.  Yikes.  We’d also have to pay PMI.  Yuck.

Ideally, we’d like to rent our current house and purchase a new house, putting down about 10% - maybe a little more.  Easier said than done.  I’m not sure it’s a possibility.

Today, A and I meet with a good friend who works in real estate.  I’m hoping he’ll have some answers for us.  I realize we also need to meet with a mortgage broker, but this is a start.  Hopefully he will provide some direction.

So where would we like to move???  Haha.  In typical fashion, I think I’ve changed my mind about ten times.  At first, I really wanted to move to a nearby city.  It’s about 15-20 minutes west of our current town.  The schools are decent, but most importantly you get a lot more property for what you pay.  A was on board and on a whim one day, we went to check out neighborhoods.  I liked them enough and so did A.  And then it hit me.  Sure these neighborhoods were nice enough, but if we moved, it meant finding a new preschool for W, a new doggy day care, new favorite restaurants, a new church, etc.  And I didn’t want to find new places.  I love our current places.  I also love being near my mom.  The only downfall is I’m not completely happy with the school system.  Maybe private school will be an option.  We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.

Obviously, I do not handle change well.  I hate being out of my comfort zone.  So I asked A what he thought about looking for a house near our current home.  Again he was on board (that husband of mine is so easy going).

So we started looking in our current neighborhood.  That’s right.  We looked just down the street.  Yes, we’re a little crazy.  BUT we already know we love our neighborhood.  And lo and behold, there are 2 houses in our price range that have a lot of potential (there were 3 as of Monday, but it looks like an offer was put in… darn).

I’m not sure what will happen or if we’ll even be able to move.  I’m hopeful, but also realistic. 

Tuesday Happenings

Duh… I forgot to mention yesterday that A is on spring break this week and I am loving it.  Usually, I get W up every morning, change him, and give him his milk.  I love going into his room, saying good morning, and giving him hugs and kisses as soon as he’s awake.  But since A is home, he can help with getting W changed and fed.  It’s a nice little break for me.  I also don’t have to drop W off at his grandparent’s house this week, which saves me time in the car.  That means I arrive to work earlier and leave earlier.  A big win.

 

I know every mom thinks her child is the smartest and cutest.  Admittedly, I’m no exception.  W does not speak much, but he knows what lots of words mean.  And that boy KNOWS what he wants.  Lately he points to everything and either wants to know the name of the object or he just wants said object.  So a little background info: we keep some cereal boxes on top of our fridge.  Our pantry is jam packed and that’s where some of the cereal boxes wound up.  Every now and then W points to a box because he wants Cheerios or Chex.  Yesterday, A texted me to tell me that W had pointed to the Cheerios box.  A brought the box over to W and W pointed at the bowl of cereal on the box.  A asked W if he wanted some and proceeded to pour a few O’s onto the tray of W’s highchair.  W then started pointing to the box again and making his noises.  So A held the box in front of W and W pointed to the bowl pictured on the box.  That’s when A realized that W was actually pointing to the strawberries in the bowl of cereal pictured on the box.  Apparently W wanted strawberries.  A cut some up and W gobbled them.  Genius. J

W also started saying ball last night.  So darn cute.

Weekend Recap

Not much to report here.

I had hoped for a productive weekend and it was for the most part.  I would’ve liked to have accomplished more, but I’ll take what I can get.  W was really good.  He went with A to get a tire repaired Saturday morning and then we all headed to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping.  W got a bit restless at church on Sunday morning, but only because he wanted to walk around/explore.  I think lots of churches have a nursery?  Ours definitely doesn’t and I like having W with me during mass.  He also has several admirers… He walked over to one lady and then walked back to me.  She came over and said she thought he was going to ask her out and then he left her hanging… Bahaha.  I already have a flirt. J  Evelyn and Angelina also made their debut at church.  Love those cuties and a few people came over to meet them.

In other news, we’re all still waiting on the arrival of spring.  It’s been cold and I’m longing to take walks as a family… and Lord knows I could use the exercise. :\

TGIF

1.       The weatherman (Or should I say meteorologist?  They probably prefer the professional term.) promised that today’s temperatures would be near 60.  I just checked and it’s 34.  No, no, no.  I was promised near 60 and I want near 60!!

2.       I don’t know if anyone ever reads this blog (other than a few family members).  I’m not even sure if it’s even searchable.  But if you’ve arrived here because you’re interested in finding out about experiences with IVF, then I recommend this blog: http://babymaybeinfertility.wordpress.com/ 

The author is Scottish (I assume) and I like her honest, open accounts of the whole IVF process.  I think she really captures the emotional toll IVF takes – the ups and downs, the hopes and disappointment.

3.       I don’t have any set plans this weekend, but I do have an extremely long to do list.  Here’s hoping this weekend is a productive one!  Happy Friday!

W Turns 15 Months!

Happy 15 months, W!  I can’t believe it.  Makes me a little sad.  But this may have been my favorite month yet… do I say that every month?

I have to admit, I thought you’d be saying more words by now, but I think I was being unrealistic.  You haven’t added a lot of words this month in terms of speech.  The only new words I can think of are down (you said this a couple times last month, but now it’s consistent) and if I ask you what a snake says, you’ll hiss.  You also sign “all done”.  BUT you know what so many words mean and I’m amazed at your level of comprehension.  I gave a list previously, but some new words you’ve picked up since then are: car, clock, drum, cat, mouse, bird, socks, belly button, and probably many more.  You’ll see a cat on tv and start meowing or see a picture of shoes in a book and then run and get your own shoes.  You saw a watch on a flash card recently and I tried to explain that a watch was like a clock you wear on your wrist.  You then pointed to the clock on our wall.  Cutest thing ever.  We all think you’re really bright (not that we’re biased or anything).  You can do puzzles now.  You don’t always fit the pieces exactly, but you can match the pictures.  You still love to read and Pete the Cat is still your favorite.  You’ve gotten better with eating.  You still love meat (chicken, meatballs, hamburger, sausage, corned beef), but you actually ate fruit for the first time ever.  You’ve had strawberries and pineapple.  A major feat!  You’re also starting to feed yourself with a spoon.  You’ll dip the spoon into yogurt or applesauce and then put it in your mouth.  You’re down to just one bottle – right before bed.  You were hitting a lot and that was driving me crazy.  But as you’re learning to communicate and mom and dad are using positive reinforcement, you’ve gotten so so much better.  You can go up and down the stairs these days.  You’re favorite game lately is throwing things down the stairs – mainly balls and dad’s shoes.  But you’ve also thrown blocks, blankets, and cars.  I’m trying to teach you that it’s only acceptable to throw balls.  Oh, and you fall all the time.  We had to call the pediatrician’s after hours line for the first time due to a fall.  It seems like you are never bruise free.  I hope that doesn’t mean several ER trips are in your future.  In the past month, we’ve made a trip to Chicago, gone to the library, gone to the mall, and even went outside for a couple walks.  You also got your first pair of big boy shoes and I think you actually like them.

Such a fun month!!

We love you so much!  You are our everything and more.

 

And finally - 3/17/13 vs. 3/17/14

 

Weekend Recap

Another weekend where we didn’t have any set plans.

Saturday, we headed over to meet our friends’ new babies – Evelyn and Angelina.  Oh my goodness, they are so cute and tiny.  W was never quite that tiny, but I don’t remember him being so little.  I actually looked back at old pictures of him and reminisced.  It occurred to me today that I don’t really remember much of those early days – they’re a bit of a blur.  I wish I had started the blog a little sooner so I could’ve captured those new baby moments – even if it was mainly feeding, sleeping, and diaper changing.  There’s just something about a brand new baby – so tiny, innocent, and fragile. J  Anyway, W stayed at my mom’s while A and I visited.  My mom reported that he loved her cats and loved looking out her large windows.  He had a great time.

Sunday was our usual routine and a St. Patrick’s Day dinner at my mom’s house.  We had corned beef, carrots, potatoes, bread, fruit, and oreo brownies for dessert.  It was delicious.  And this is too funny not to share… My mom doesn’t have a high chair.  So we channeled our inner MacGyver and stacked a couple pillows on a chair, set W on top, and tied him to the chair with a scarf.  Genius.  Also hilarious.  He really liked the corned beef and I was able to enjoy dinner without having to hold W. J

Happy Day

W has this book called Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses.  Basically, every time someone puts on the magic sunglasses, they see things in a whole new way.  They realize “the birds are singing, the sky is bright, the sun is shining, I’m feeling ALRIGHT!”  That’s how I’m feeling today. J  Amazing what a good night of sleep can do for you!  Happy Thursday!

Hump Day

Evelyn and Angelina have arrived.  Both weighing in around 7 pounds.  14 pounds of baby – I can’t even imagine.  So so happy for our friends! J

 

Lately I’ve been sad about not getting to spend more time with W.  Monday was a tough day.  W spit up in the car (Why does that always seem to happen in my car??  NO comments about my driving).  I wondered if he wasn’t feeling well and thought about calling into work.  I didn’t because my group happened to be moving into our renovated office, we had a new employee starting, and I had meetings.  I felt so guilty.  I wish I could be in two places at once.  I also had a dentist appointment that evening, which meant a total of 2.5 hours in the car and only seeing W for 2 hours before it was bedtime.  I was just plain sad.  Boo.

Also, W has been waking up at night lately.  He has this amazing ability to wake right after we turn off the lights, hop into bed, and close our eyes.  I swear he can sense right when I’m about to fall asleep. ;)  We seem to have these patterns.  He’ll have a couple weeks of good sleep and then a couple weeks of waking up.  Regardless of the sleep, he always seems to wake up happy.  Wish I could say the same!

Weekend Recap

Our dear friends are having their twin baby girls today (or tomorrow, but probably today).  I’m so so excited for them and I can’t wait to hear the babies’ names!!  They’ve kept the names a big secret.  I kind of love when people do that (even though I’m dying to know) – it’s like this big reveal when the name is finally announced.  We did the same with W’s name, though A and I slipped on a couple occasions.  Anyway, I keep checking my phone waiting for news.  I hope I get to meet these little babies soon!!

 

This weekend was wonderful.  We didn’t have any plans.  Nada.  I love it when that happens!  Saturday, A let me sleep in, we stayed in our pjs way too long, built castles and cities out of blocks, read lots of books, and threw balls down the stairs (don’t judge, it was fun – especially if you’re 1 year old).  We went grocery shopping and ordered Chinese food.  It was perfection.

Sunday was church, breakfast with twin mommy and her kiddos, and shoe shopping for W.  Another great day and W looks adorable in his big boy shoes.

And then today.  Blah.  I don’t think W is feeling well – he spit up in my car and I had to pull over to clean him up a bit.  I didn’t sleep well.  And I have a dentist appointment.  Boooo.  I hate Monday.

Another hit

Well, the hits just keep coming this week.  Last night was the first time we had to call our pediatrician's after hours number.  W took a nasty fall and had a huge bump and scratch on his head.  The fall looked really bad - right into the edge of our coffee table.  It was definitely the worst fall he's taken thus far.  The resulting bruise that immediately began to form also looked really bad. 

The nurse we spoke with was really great and had us do a few "tests" with W.  She told us the signs to watch for and we had to wake him twice during the night to make sure he was ok.  After A hung up with the nurse, I cried.  It's just been a long week for all of us.

I'm thankful W is ok.  Seeing your child in pain is the worst thing ever. :(

Almost Friday

This has been a rough week.  Tuesday brought a fall down the stairs and W puking.  Wednesday brought snow and a 1 hour 40 minute drive to work.  We also learned that A’s aunt passed away.  Today brought 3 hours of sleep and a miserable little man (and sleep deprived parents).  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling really down.  But I’m trying to find the glimmers of hope in this difficult week…

Tuesday got off to a horrendous start, but that night, we went to a show by Pete the Cat author Eric Litwin.  W LOVES Pete the Cat.  I think I’ve mentioned that before.  He brings grandmas, A, and myself Pete the Cat about 239573 times per day.  And we read it 239573 times per day.  I think W enjoyed singing songs and hearing stories, though he fell asleep in the middle of the show.

Despite the sleepless night, W woke up this morning happy and in good spirits.  Watching him play and seeing his sweet face first thing in the morning always makes me smile. 

I had planned to work from home today.  That couldn’t have come at a better time.  I’m always thankful for a break from my commute and I’m sure my coworkers are thankful they didn’t have to see the dark circles under my eyes. 

I also planned lunch with an old friend.  I worked with her years ago and I think it’s been at least 5 years since I’ve seen her – probably longer.  Our lives have led us separate ways, but she recently moved back to the area.  It was wonderful to see her and so good for my soul.  I’ve been feeling pretty sorry for myself in the friend arena lately and this was just what I needed.  Reconnecting with a sweet person who brings no drama or reminders of friendships gone bad.  Someone with a good heart and kind words.  I loved catching up with her.

One more day to get through.  Here’s hoping it ends on a high note.

Tuesday Thoughts

Things on my mind lately:

 

1.       Will it ever warm up?  Will it ever be summer?  Logically, I know it HAS to get warmer, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way.

2.       W has been hitting lately and I have no idea how to stop it.  He does it out of frustration.  He hates getting his diaper changed.  He’s irritable when he’s tired.  He gets very frustrated when he can’t communicate.  Combine these and you get the perfect storm of hitting, throwing, melt down.  I can tolerate the throwing – so long as no one gets hit by a flying object.  I can tolerate the tantrum.  To date, this only happens in our house.  I let him lay on the floor and do his thing until he calms down.  I also try to talk to him in a soothing voice – “I’m sorry you’re upset…”.  But the hitting – I can’t stand the hitting.  Uggh.  Not acceptable.

3.       I’ve seen lots of posts on baby must haves and favorite baby items.  Well, allow me to tell you about my LEAST favorite baby item.  I knew I wanted a video monitor.  Yes, W’s room is very close to ours.  But I’m also a first time, paranoid mom.  I wanted to be able to look in on W and make sure all was well.  I also wanted to be able to watch him if he woke up at night – sometimes he cries and settles himself quickly; other times not so much.  Anyway, I did my research on baby monitors.  After reading reviews in Baby Bargains and online, I decided on the Samsung Smart View Baby monitor.  Samsung is a reputable brand in my book and I had high hopes for a high quality product.  I HATE this thing with a passion.  I have threatened to throw it out the window, told it to shut up on numerous occasions, and sworn at it.  Why you might ask?  Because it vibrates any time W makes noise.  I have no idea why – any time he cries, I can HEAR it through the monitor.  And this is no subtle vibration, it’s enough to make the monitor vibrate right off my night stand.  And the best part, there is NO way to turn off the vibration.  Your options are either vibrate like a jack hammer or listen to an annoying beep.  Why, why, why would you need an alarm when you can clearly hear baby crying through the monitor?!?!  It also frequently beeps and shows out of range.  What?!?  I can’t wait to get rid of this thing.  The only reason I haven’t is because that damn thing cost $200.00.  I’ve Googled solutions and it seems everyone has similar complaints.  Not sure how I missed all these while I was researching?!?  Only thing I can think of is the monitor was new and didn’t have many reviews yet?  I expect better from you, Samsung!!! So annoyed.

4.       This morning I woke up with a headache – I’ve had said headache for two days.  W then woke up at 5:30 am.  I tried to quietly sneak down the stairs - in the dark - in an attempt to retrieve his bottle and get him back to sleep.  I ended up falling down the stairs and only waking him up more as I thudded down each step.  Epic fail.  W drank his bottle and then puked all over a short time later.  Also, it snowed just enough to wreak havoc in the traffic department so I ended up arriving to work way later than I wanted to.  Yeah, it’s been a great morning.  Let’s hope things start looking up.  I could cry right now. L

Weekend Recap

Another really busy weekend come and gone.  I’ll try to do a quick recap:

Friday night, we went out for dinner to celebrate A’s birthday.  He picked a local steak restaurant.  I guess it’s classified as a steak restaurant?  They also serve chicken, fish, sandwiches, etc.  Anyway, W was a little feisty.  It was not one of his best outings.  But I have to remind myself that he’s usually really well behaved so even these more difficult outings with him really aren’t that bad.  He saves the tantrums for home (so far). ;)  The adults enjoyed a yummy dinner and cupcakes.  W had French fries for dinner.  Sigh.

Saturday it snowed.  Again.  I think it snows every single Saturday.  And I think I write that every Monday.  Boo.  We took W to the library because I sensed that we all needed to get out of the house.  W liked the library section better than the activity section.  He had fun running between the book shelves.  So much so that he ran away from A and I.  I couldn’t help laughing.  He’s usually very clingy and shy in unfamiliar places.

That night, we went over to my aunt’s house for pizza and family picnic planning.  It was fun to see family and W was great.  He made everyone laugh with his antics. J

Sunday was our usual routine.  W didn’t want to nap.  I actually made a yummy dinner… shocking.  And then it was Monday. L