The buyers have gone back to the drawing board, trying to come up with something that will work for both of us. If they find a better financing setup, they'll write us another offer and we'll start over.
Meanwhile, we're off the hook. The house stays on the market and we're not out anything.
We're packing our fax machine, just in case.
And now we're off for a week's vacation. Maybe we'll get a better buyer in the meantime!
Jul 28, 2006
Jul 27, 2006
We Have an Offer
Like everything in this life, the dream of selling our house in less than a week isn't quite as good as it sounded. Don't get me wrong -- it is good. The idea of not having to show it for weeks or months thrills my soul and relieves more stress than I can say.
But I've never seen terms quite like this. Even our realtor said they were a bit extreme. The potential buyers have no cash, so they are doing a zero-down financing deal. They offered us our asking price, but then they asked us to pay $7650 in closing costs. Seriously. They also asked for the refrigerator and swingset. Both of us wanted to say, "Take a hike!"
At the advice of our realtor, we raised the sale price of the house $6000 to cover most of that amount. He said we can't ask to pay less in closing costs because they have no cash and the deal will fall through. We want them to buy the house. So we're basically saying "No, we can't pay all those closing costs. You need to finance them by paying a higher price on the house."
The swingset is not for sale -- the kids would never forgive us for that.
So it looks like we'll be taking our fax machine on vacation. If we can agree on terms of sale for this house, Scott and I have to start the process on the house we want to buy before someone else snatches it up.
----
I never did get to sleep last night. I finally gave up, got up at 4am, and worked for 2 hours on Children's stuff. I got a couple of little naps here and there throughout the day, but I was in pretty bad shape most of the day. I can't believe it's 11pm and I'm still not in bed. And tomorrow looks like a long, late night too. We've got a three-hour drive that we can't start until we get this house sale thing finished.
But I've never seen terms quite like this. Even our realtor said they were a bit extreme. The potential buyers have no cash, so they are doing a zero-down financing deal. They offered us our asking price, but then they asked us to pay $7650 in closing costs. Seriously. They also asked for the refrigerator and swingset. Both of us wanted to say, "Take a hike!"
At the advice of our realtor, we raised the sale price of the house $6000 to cover most of that amount. He said we can't ask to pay less in closing costs because they have no cash and the deal will fall through. We want them to buy the house. So we're basically saying "No, we can't pay all those closing costs. You need to finance them by paying a higher price on the house."
The swingset is not for sale -- the kids would never forgive us for that.
So it looks like we'll be taking our fax machine on vacation. If we can agree on terms of sale for this house, Scott and I have to start the process on the house we want to buy before someone else snatches it up.
----
I never did get to sleep last night. I finally gave up, got up at 4am, and worked for 2 hours on Children's stuff. I got a couple of little naps here and there throughout the day, but I was in pretty bad shape most of the day. I can't believe it's 11pm and I'm still not in bed. And tomorrow looks like a long, late night too. We've got a three-hour drive that we can't start until we get this house sale thing finished.
Whirlwind
It is 2am and I can't sleep. Even though today was a whirl of spur-of-the-moment activity and even though by 3:30pm I was so tired my face hurt.
I think my mistake was taking a headache medicine with both aspirin and caffeine in it. Now both my mind and heart are racing and no matter how many times I try lasso them and end the party, they evade easily and race off again.
The day began with a call from a long-time friend.
"How busy are you today?" she asked.
"Depends on when in the day you mean," I replied.
"Lunchtime. Do you want to do lunch?"
"Sure! Come on down! I have a home visit at 10 and a doctor's appointment for Elli sometime after 2, but lunch works." I was thrilled. It's been a few months since I saw her last.
We all enjoyed a slow, easy breakfast, and my 10am visit was short. I may be participating in a program that matches graduate or post-graduate students in medicine or related fields with families for a year. They get to learn from the families what it's like to live with a child with medical or special needs. The goal is for them to understand better how medical or therapeutic decisions/recommendations play out in every day life, and why sometimes things just aren't feasible. It's a fantastic idea, and I'm excited about possibly being matched with someone this year. We'll find out in September.
The phone rang again. This time it was our realtor. Those people who looked at our house last night? Well, they liked the house. They were going to talk to their lender and were meeting with someone tomorrow and we should hear something then. We have another appointment this evening -- don't forget.
Wow! The first people through might actually make an offer! That means we could make an offer too! If it all goes through, we could be moved Labor Day weekend and before school starts! How are we going to do all this between now and leaving for vacation on Friday afternoon! (Here's where the brain starts galloping off.)
Meanwhile, Anna was having a really rough morning, made worse by Sam playing really rough. Many tears and hugs proved that going out for lunch was a horrible idea. So when my friend arrived, I explained and Anna demonstrated how tired she was. We ate leftovers, she ate an astounding amount, and I laid her down for a nap.
Elli was thrilled to see my friend. She, all by herself, had a conversation! She said, "Hi!", "How are you?" and "I'm going on vacation Saturday with my Gramma and Grampa!" all in the correct order and allowing time in between for my friend to respond. It was AWESOME to watch her communicate independently.
The phone rang again. It was an old friend from college who I've been trying to see for months. "I'm in ____ town right now! My brother is here interviewing for a job and we need to get some lunch, but we'd love to come and see you after!"
I was thrilled, immediately invited them over, and then began the delicate process of explaining to the kids that mommy didn't like "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" because Scamp is so rebellious and disrespectful to his father so we aren't going to watch it anymore. Eventually diplomacy gave way to authoritative parental decree and the kids were forced to settle for the original.
My friend, her two girls aged 3 and 1, and her brother arrived, my other friend headed home, and we enjoyed a couple hours of visiting and catching up. The kids got along great, and Elli was intrigued by my friend's brother who is also in a wheelchair. He was injured in a sports or 4-wheeler accident (I can't remember the details) several years ago and is paralyzed from mid-chest down. None of the kids were phased by the strangers in wheelchairs, which was really cool. He just got a job offer down here and needs a church, a place to live preferably with a roommate, and a fitness center. Very cool.
When they left, we left too, for Elli's yearly physical for school. The kids were pretty tired and hungry from all the excitement, despite their huge lunches, and I didn't have the foresight to bring snacks. They had to settle for drinks until we got back home. The appointment went well, though we're concerned about Elli's lack of weight gain. I got a referral to urology for help with potty-training and (hopefully) all the forms I need for school this year filled out.
The drive home was tear-filled as everyone began melting down. I knew the remedy though and managed to stay above the fray this time. We all sat down for a graham-cracker-and-peanut-butter snack, which quickly brought everything back into perspective.
I dove into dinner and showing-the-house mode. By this time I was really dragging and counting down the minutes until Scott arrived to help manage the early dinner and departure required by the 6:30 showing. About 5:45 he called to say that he hadn't been able to leave work until that moment. He's trying to get everything buttoned up before vacation and since he works from home every Thursday so I can go to work, he had a lot to do in the office today. I almost cried from dissappointment. But we all managed to get the house picked up, dinner made and packed up, and us loaded into the van with plenty of time to spare. I took a few more things to storage, dropped a few things off at Goodwill, and met Scott at church to eat dinner.
After church, we got the kids to bed and I was finally able to stop, for the first time since breakfast. We watched the second half of "Sleeping with the Enemy" on TV while we made lists of pros and cons for the two houses we've narrowed our search to. This made our decision very clear (the first one we looked at, here in our current school district), which is a tremendous load off my mind. Now we just have to deal with all the loan paperwork whenever we accept an offer on this house.
I have seen offers fall through before, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I'll believe it when I see the signatures on the dotted line. But at the same time, I'm getting a bit excited that all of this might soon be over.
And I'm also getting overwhelmed by the prospect of taking a vacation during a critical time to get paperwork moving, and by the prospect of packing our entire family up in the next month.
And I still need to work on packing lists and actual packing for vacation, in the midst of keeping the house in showable condition.
And the caffeine in my headache medicine is NOT helping. But maybe typing this all out will. Here's hoping.
I'm off to attempt sleep again. Why am I always struck with insomnia on Wednesday nights? Thursdays are always very long busy days, and today will be even longer and busier if we get the welcome news that we have an offer on the house. Not that I'm complaining.
I think my mistake was taking a headache medicine with both aspirin and caffeine in it. Now both my mind and heart are racing and no matter how many times I try lasso them and end the party, they evade easily and race off again.
The day began with a call from a long-time friend.
"How busy are you today?" she asked.
"Depends on when in the day you mean," I replied.
"Lunchtime. Do you want to do lunch?"
"Sure! Come on down! I have a home visit at 10 and a doctor's appointment for Elli sometime after 2, but lunch works." I was thrilled. It's been a few months since I saw her last.
We all enjoyed a slow, easy breakfast, and my 10am visit was short. I may be participating in a program that matches graduate or post-graduate students in medicine or related fields with families for a year. They get to learn from the families what it's like to live with a child with medical or special needs. The goal is for them to understand better how medical or therapeutic decisions/recommendations play out in every day life, and why sometimes things just aren't feasible. It's a fantastic idea, and I'm excited about possibly being matched with someone this year. We'll find out in September.
The phone rang again. This time it was our realtor. Those people who looked at our house last night? Well, they liked the house. They were going to talk to their lender and were meeting with someone tomorrow and we should hear something then. We have another appointment this evening -- don't forget.
Wow! The first people through might actually make an offer! That means we could make an offer too! If it all goes through, we could be moved Labor Day weekend and before school starts! How are we going to do all this between now and leaving for vacation on Friday afternoon! (Here's where the brain starts galloping off.)
Meanwhile, Anna was having a really rough morning, made worse by Sam playing really rough. Many tears and hugs proved that going out for lunch was a horrible idea. So when my friend arrived, I explained and Anna demonstrated how tired she was. We ate leftovers, she ate an astounding amount, and I laid her down for a nap.
Elli was thrilled to see my friend. She, all by herself, had a conversation! She said, "Hi!", "How are you?" and "I'm going on vacation Saturday with my Gramma and Grampa!" all in the correct order and allowing time in between for my friend to respond. It was AWESOME to watch her communicate independently.
The phone rang again. It was an old friend from college who I've been trying to see for months. "I'm in ____ town right now! My brother is here interviewing for a job and we need to get some lunch, but we'd love to come and see you after!"
I was thrilled, immediately invited them over, and then began the delicate process of explaining to the kids that mommy didn't like "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure" because Scamp is so rebellious and disrespectful to his father so we aren't going to watch it anymore. Eventually diplomacy gave way to authoritative parental decree and the kids were forced to settle for the original.
My friend, her two girls aged 3 and 1, and her brother arrived, my other friend headed home, and we enjoyed a couple hours of visiting and catching up. The kids got along great, and Elli was intrigued by my friend's brother who is also in a wheelchair. He was injured in a sports or 4-wheeler accident (I can't remember the details) several years ago and is paralyzed from mid-chest down. None of the kids were phased by the strangers in wheelchairs, which was really cool. He just got a job offer down here and needs a church, a place to live preferably with a roommate, and a fitness center. Very cool.
When they left, we left too, for Elli's yearly physical for school. The kids were pretty tired and hungry from all the excitement, despite their huge lunches, and I didn't have the foresight to bring snacks. They had to settle for drinks until we got back home. The appointment went well, though we're concerned about Elli's lack of weight gain. I got a referral to urology for help with potty-training and (hopefully) all the forms I need for school this year filled out.
The drive home was tear-filled as everyone began melting down. I knew the remedy though and managed to stay above the fray this time. We all sat down for a graham-cracker-and-peanut-butter snack, which quickly brought everything back into perspective.
I dove into dinner and showing-the-house mode. By this time I was really dragging and counting down the minutes until Scott arrived to help manage the early dinner and departure required by the 6:30 showing. About 5:45 he called to say that he hadn't been able to leave work until that moment. He's trying to get everything buttoned up before vacation and since he works from home every Thursday so I can go to work, he had a lot to do in the office today. I almost cried from dissappointment. But we all managed to get the house picked up, dinner made and packed up, and us loaded into the van with plenty of time to spare. I took a few more things to storage, dropped a few things off at Goodwill, and met Scott at church to eat dinner.
After church, we got the kids to bed and I was finally able to stop, for the first time since breakfast. We watched the second half of "Sleeping with the Enemy" on TV while we made lists of pros and cons for the two houses we've narrowed our search to. This made our decision very clear (the first one we looked at, here in our current school district), which is a tremendous load off my mind. Now we just have to deal with all the loan paperwork whenever we accept an offer on this house.
I have seen offers fall through before, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I'll believe it when I see the signatures on the dotted line. But at the same time, I'm getting a bit excited that all of this might soon be over.
And I'm also getting overwhelmed by the prospect of taking a vacation during a critical time to get paperwork moving, and by the prospect of packing our entire family up in the next month.
And I still need to work on packing lists and actual packing for vacation, in the midst of keeping the house in showable condition.
And the caffeine in my headache medicine is NOT helping. But maybe typing this all out will. Here's hoping.
I'm off to attempt sleep again. Why am I always struck with insomnia on Wednesday nights? Thursdays are always very long busy days, and today will be even longer and busier if we get the welcome news that we have an offer on the house. Not that I'm complaining.
Jul 25, 2006
I HATE Telemarketers
I have a mobile phone. I have a really cheap plan that I've stuck with for over 4 years now because I can't find anything else for the same price. My company has been trying to get ahold of me for months, trying to get me to upgrade plans so they can shed my parasitic cheapy self, luring me with promises of new free phones and all sorts of perks.
The trouble is, everyone who calls is speaking English as a second language. I can barely understand them, so I can barely understand the offer. Each time I actually answer the phone, I get so frustrated.
Today was the worst. I actually decided to list to the whole deal, procede with it, and THEN discovered that it was a family plan resulting in two phones with two numbers and a bill twice what I'm paying now!!! Unbelieveable how fast he could speak with his thick incomprehensible accent. I just wanted to say, "Slow down! I cannot follow you!" But I didn't want to offend him.
Then the guy wouldn't let me just cancel without asking all these questions. Why was I not going through with it? It's because I don't want a plan that's more than double my current one, plus all the pesky taxes and fees they tack onto the bills!
This is the last time I take a call from that company.
The trouble is, everyone who calls is speaking English as a second language. I can barely understand them, so I can barely understand the offer. Each time I actually answer the phone, I get so frustrated.
Today was the worst. I actually decided to list to the whole deal, procede with it, and THEN discovered that it was a family plan resulting in two phones with two numbers and a bill twice what I'm paying now!!! Unbelieveable how fast he could speak with his thick incomprehensible accent. I just wanted to say, "Slow down! I cannot follow you!" But I didn't want to offend him.
Then the guy wouldn't let me just cancel without asking all these questions. Why was I not going through with it? It's because I don't want a plan that's more than double my current one, plus all the pesky taxes and fees they tack onto the bills!
This is the last time I take a call from that company.
Serves Me Right
Not more than one hour after I posted yesterday, I got a call from our realtor.
"Um. Joy? How are you with short notice?"
"How short?" I asked.
"We have some people who want to come see the house between 5 and 6pm tonight."
I glanced at the clock. It is 4pm. Gives me an hour to get the house ready and us out. Seemed doable since the kids had taken long naps and not gotten much out.
"I can do that. Wow. I am so excited someone wants to come over already!"
"Do you want me to try to push back to 5:30?"
That sounded like a good idea. "Sure. Thanks!"
I had one and a half hours to get ready. Surely that would be enough time. I began the routine: put dishes away, put toys away, make beds, stash fans, deal with the clean laundry on my bed.
Oh crap. We still had two places to touch up with paint!
I tell myself to remain calm, do everything else first, then Anna showed up, begging for who-knows-what, bawling, snuffling, screaming, wailing, following me everywhere I went. She only got more upset when I asked what was wrong. My stress level was at the boiling point when the phone rang. They had to postpone one day because the guy had to work overtime at the last minute.
Serves me right. Serves me right for letting my stress show so much that Anna picked up on it and started a vicious cycle. Serves me right for procrastinating and not thinking we'd have anyone coming the first day we list the house.
But I was totally relieved at the same time. I had two bins and that laundry basket of papers that I had NO ROOM for anywhere, not even in my van! This bought me time to finish all the little things, find homes for all the bins, and prep the house more calmly.
"Um. Joy? How are you with short notice?"
"How short?" I asked.
"We have some people who want to come see the house between 5 and 6pm tonight."
I glanced at the clock. It is 4pm. Gives me an hour to get the house ready and us out. Seemed doable since the kids had taken long naps and not gotten much out.
"I can do that. Wow. I am so excited someone wants to come over already!"
"Do you want me to try to push back to 5:30?"
That sounded like a good idea. "Sure. Thanks!"
I had one and a half hours to get ready. Surely that would be enough time. I began the routine: put dishes away, put toys away, make beds, stash fans, deal with the clean laundry on my bed.
Oh crap. We still had two places to touch up with paint!
I tell myself to remain calm, do everything else first, then Anna showed up, begging for who-knows-what, bawling, snuffling, screaming, wailing, following me everywhere I went. She only got more upset when I asked what was wrong. My stress level was at the boiling point when the phone rang. They had to postpone one day because the guy had to work overtime at the last minute.
Serves me right. Serves me right for letting my stress show so much that Anna picked up on it and started a vicious cycle. Serves me right for procrastinating and not thinking we'd have anyone coming the first day we list the house.
But I was totally relieved at the same time. I had two bins and that laundry basket of papers that I had NO ROOM for anywhere, not even in my van! This bought me time to finish all the little things, find homes for all the bins, and prep the house more calmly.
Jul 24, 2006
It's Official
Whew. This is my first real opportunity to take a breath, sit down, and relax in more than a week. The relentless push to finish all the little things to get the house ready to sell has required every single second Scott and I could spare. We are immensely grateful for the help of my parents, Scott's parents, and our friend Kat, all of whom willingly rolled up their sleeves and dove in, spreading moth-ball-smelling tar on the driveway, sanding and staining and painting and gluing and weeding and patching drywall and fixing closets and cleaning out refrigerators and organizing the pantry/utility area and sorting out the storage closet and shed and keeping the kids out of the many messes we had to make to make the house beautiful. This is a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you. We couldn't have done it without you!
What a difference a little Minwax Shine + Stain makes on those kitchen cabinets! It took longer than I thought it would, but with Kat's help on Saturday, we finally got them all done.
Last night Scott said, "I had no idea selling a house was so much work." Amen to that. I have done it before with my parents, so I remembered how challenging it was to keep the house clean to show. But I didn't remember anything about pre-listing work except renting a storage unit.
This room was totally transformed by me taking down my craft table, moving the filing cabinet back into the corner, and by "revitalizing" the floor. I was up past midnight last night dust-mopping, cleaning, scrubbing, and revitalizing these floors, but it sure is gratifying to see how well the photos turned out. Apparently "shiny" sells. The floors and the cabinets are now as shiny as possible.
(Both photos are official ones from our listing online. As always, click to see a larger version.)
So, here's what's been going on around here, in the midst of that.
Our house is officially for sale, as of this morning.
Elli has another loose tooth.
Anna bashed her nose on a tile floor last night, just days after taking a bash to the nose from a swing. So far, we see no signs of permanent or doctor-required injury, but we remain vigilant. This girl sure is accident-prone!
Scott took Sam on a canoe trip that turned into a raft trip when the river level rose dramatically that morning. The highlights for Sam were peeing into a campfire pit, going through a tunnel, getting to eat his very own bag of chips, and going on an adventure with daddy.
I took the kids to a new playground on Friday for a picnic lunch with some people from church. They really enjoyed it. Sam said he "had fun playing with his boys."
Scott preached on Sunday. You can read my post about it on his blog, and listen to MP3s of two of his messages, too. I thought he did a very good job.
We found out Thursday there has been a scheduling error for our vacation. We can't check in this Saturday like we'd planned; we have to wait until Sunday. Since we're headed to Lake Michigan in August, there aren't many hotel rooms available in our price range. So now we have to scramble last minute for plans for Saturday and Sunday until we can check in. I'm sure we'll figure something out, but it's a real pain and a real disappointment.
We found three more houses to look at! Unfortunately, all three are in a different school district.
Elli drove a power wheelchair around in a sprinkler at her technology program last Thursday. They covered the chairs with vinyl tablecloths. Ah hah! Stow that idea away for future use.
I have a large laundry basket full of papers and miscelleaneous that I can no longer procrastinate sorting through. Or maybe I can. I could work on cleaning and painting trim, touching up our master bath, and touching up the kids' bedroom. And folding laundry. And paying bills. And planning and making lists for our vacation. Hmmm. I think I CAN postpone that project a little while longer!
What a difference a little Minwax Shine + Stain makes on those kitchen cabinets! It took longer than I thought it would, but with Kat's help on Saturday, we finally got them all done.Last night Scott said, "I had no idea selling a house was so much work." Amen to that. I have done it before with my parents, so I remembered how challenging it was to keep the house clean to show. But I didn't remember anything about pre-listing work except renting a storage unit.
This room was totally transformed by me taking down my craft table, moving the filing cabinet back into the corner, and by "revitalizing" the floor. I was up past midnight last night dust-mopping, cleaning, scrubbing, and revitalizing these floors, but it sure is gratifying to see how well the photos turned out. Apparently "shiny" sells. The floors and the cabinets are now as shiny as possible. (Both photos are official ones from our listing online. As always, click to see a larger version.)
So, here's what's been going on around here, in the midst of that.
Our house is officially for sale, as of this morning.
Elli has another loose tooth.
Anna bashed her nose on a tile floor last night, just days after taking a bash to the nose from a swing. So far, we see no signs of permanent or doctor-required injury, but we remain vigilant. This girl sure is accident-prone!
Scott took Sam on a canoe trip that turned into a raft trip when the river level rose dramatically that morning. The highlights for Sam were peeing into a campfire pit, going through a tunnel, getting to eat his very own bag of chips, and going on an adventure with daddy.
I took the kids to a new playground on Friday for a picnic lunch with some people from church. They really enjoyed it. Sam said he "had fun playing with his boys."
Scott preached on Sunday. You can read my post about it on his blog, and listen to MP3s of two of his messages, too. I thought he did a very good job.
We found out Thursday there has been a scheduling error for our vacation. We can't check in this Saturday like we'd planned; we have to wait until Sunday. Since we're headed to Lake Michigan in August, there aren't many hotel rooms available in our price range. So now we have to scramble last minute for plans for Saturday and Sunday until we can check in. I'm sure we'll figure something out, but it's a real pain and a real disappointment.
We found three more houses to look at! Unfortunately, all three are in a different school district.
Elli drove a power wheelchair around in a sprinkler at her technology program last Thursday. They covered the chairs with vinyl tablecloths. Ah hah! Stow that idea away for future use.
I have a large laundry basket full of papers and miscelleaneous that I can no longer procrastinate sorting through. Or maybe I can. I could work on cleaning and painting trim, touching up our master bath, and touching up the kids' bedroom. And folding laundry. And paying bills. And planning and making lists for our vacation. Hmmm. I think I CAN postpone that project a little while longer!
Jul 20, 2006
The Comfort Zone
Ahhhhh... air conditioning. What a relief to get the call this afternoon -- the AC unit blew a breaker and just needed some routine maintenance. Thank you God. I was really worried that we'd have to replace the whole thing, which is thousands of dollars. The bill was less than $150! Even better, everyone will actually sleep well tonight, which is life-giving news for this worn-ragged mom. Now I must wash a pile of dishes and hopefully crawl into bed by 10pm.
Midnight Visitor
About 1:30am, Scott and I both jolted awake when we heard a door open in the house. Scott peeked out our bedroom door to find Sam. Poor guy was too hot to sleep and thought he could sleep better in our room, in our bed. No amount of convincing worked, so Scott finally volunteered to sleep on the couch. I was quite surprised -- Sam fell asleep really fast once we got him in our bed, and once I moved the fan so it actually blew on both of us, his restlessness disappeared.
He wasn't the only one struggling last night. I heard Anna cry out a few times, and thought I might have heard Elli too. Scott and I both had a tough time getting back to sleep once Sam woke us up -- I think I tossed and turned for 3 hours.
We've decided that no matter how much it costs, we have to get someone out here today. If we can't get it running by tonight, I don't know what we'll do. I have no idea how we're going to survive today, actually. I have three back-to-back meetings at work this afternoon and staying awake for them and the drive home will be a Herculean task.
In a way, I feel like a wuss, because I know that people survived the summer heat and humidity for centuries. But the reality is that the kids just didn't sleep well last night, even with fans in each room. And that means a rough day for the parents, who also didn't sleep. Nothing wussy about that!
He wasn't the only one struggling last night. I heard Anna cry out a few times, and thought I might have heard Elli too. Scott and I both had a tough time getting back to sleep once Sam woke us up -- I think I tossed and turned for 3 hours.
We've decided that no matter how much it costs, we have to get someone out here today. If we can't get it running by tonight, I don't know what we'll do. I have no idea how we're going to survive today, actually. I have three back-to-back meetings at work this afternoon and staying awake for them and the drive home will be a Herculean task.
In a way, I feel like a wuss, because I know that people survived the summer heat and humidity for centuries. But the reality is that the kids just didn't sleep well last night, even with fans in each room. And that means a rough day for the parents, who also didn't sleep. Nothing wussy about that!
Jul 19, 2006
The Heat Is On
In our house, anyway. This afternoon I discovered that our air conditioner was blowing warm air into our house. I have to admit that I'm feeling really cranky right now, as sweat seaps from every pore and with crying, sweaty children in the background. We went out to eat and then spent the evening at church, which was a welcome respite from the humidity. Now that we've been home a full hour, everyone's pretty much soaked with sweat and unhappy. So much for getting lots more done on the cabinets!
I did get two more finished and hung this afternoon, plus I sorted through the master bathroom and threw out a ton of stuff. I have one more cabinet to finish and I'll be officially half-way done. The kitchen is L-shaped, and I'll have one side of the L done. It's tough being the only one working on it, but until Scott preaches on Sunday, every evening he sits on the couch surrounded by books, nose buried in the laptop.
I just want to know why massive expensive appliances always break during extremes in weather and just before a major deadline. How are we going to put the house up for sale if the AC isn't fixed? I think we're going to have to postpone until next week.
Bother -- the kids are still wailing and Scott is trying to prepare for a sermon he's preaching Sunday. An ice-cold shower is sounding better and better. I'm glad we're spending half the day at Children's tomorrow.
I did get two more finished and hung this afternoon, plus I sorted through the master bathroom and threw out a ton of stuff. I have one more cabinet to finish and I'll be officially half-way done. The kitchen is L-shaped, and I'll have one side of the L done. It's tough being the only one working on it, but until Scott preaches on Sunday, every evening he sits on the couch surrounded by books, nose buried in the laptop.
I just want to know why massive expensive appliances always break during extremes in weather and just before a major deadline. How are we going to put the house up for sale if the AC isn't fixed? I think we're going to have to postpone until next week.
Bother -- the kids are still wailing and Scott is trying to prepare for a sermon he's preaching Sunday. An ice-cold shower is sounding better and better. I'm glad we're spending half the day at Children's tomorrow.
Jul 18, 2006
Elli, Supermodel
I always thought you had to be six feet tall and weigh 100 pounds to be a fashion model. But today Elli got to be a fashion model for a class of fashion design students at a local university.
Elli's occupational therapist (OT) told me about the class a few months ago. The professors offer a summer class in designing for wheelchair-bound people, and this year they decided to design for children in wheelchairs. They asked our OT to talk to her families and see if she could round up some parents to come to a focus group discussion on the challenges of buying and dressing kids who use wheelchairs. They also asked if any parents would be willing to bring their children to the class 2-3 times to be models for the class as they worked on their designs.
I think the concept is so awesome that I couldn't say no. Just to hear that someone out there recognizes that this is a population with unique clothing needs, and that they are teaching designers to consider these needs... wow.
So last week I went to the focus group and shared some of the things we've run into. For example, our daughter is very skinny because she has low muscle tone and because her heart uses up most of the calories she eats. But while she's short for her age, she's still a decent height. So in order to get clothes long enough to cover her, I have to buy things that don't fit her around the waist and then take them in (or use a good ol' safety pin). She has a couple pants and a skirt that are so big around her that if I pick her up, she comes right out of them!
Today we all visited the class and they measured every possible inch of her. Elli loved it -- she had a great time telling the class how great her weekend was and being the center of attention. The professor had a great time playing with Sam and Anna too.
It was very physically challenging to help Elli stand up to be measured, so I'm pretty tired and sweaty. After a few minutes of crouching on your toes and holding a 30-pound child who has very little sense of balance or control, your feet and lower legs actually go numb. But the students were really cool and had some really fascinating ideas for clothes. One told me that she was planning a sort of two-piece coat -- the top half is like a poncho to go over the head and the bottom half covers the lap, with buttons or snaps to fasten the two pieces together.
We actually had a very busy day, so it's good to be back home. The three kids and I took Elli to her morning therapy program, and then I got some work done while the younger two played with the toys in my office. After we picked Elli up, we went further into town to have lunch with Scott. The kids LOVE to see him at work, and of course, he and I don't mind a little lunch date either! Then we headed to the university for the class. I think the kids will happily go to bed a little early tonight!
I made some decent progress on the cabinets yesterday. I have half of the lower cabinets refinished, and about one-quarter of the upper ones done. They definitely look glossier. I have more boxes to pack and store, and some more furniture to rearrange, but it's going pretty well. We're set to list the house on Friday. Everyone around here is telling me it's a "soft" housing market right now, but it isn't going to get any better and I know that God can sell our house fast if He chooses to. So we'll just have to do our best to make the house sellable and trust Him for the timing.
Elli's occupational therapist (OT) told me about the class a few months ago. The professors offer a summer class in designing for wheelchair-bound people, and this year they decided to design for children in wheelchairs. They asked our OT to talk to her families and see if she could round up some parents to come to a focus group discussion on the challenges of buying and dressing kids who use wheelchairs. They also asked if any parents would be willing to bring their children to the class 2-3 times to be models for the class as they worked on their designs.
I think the concept is so awesome that I couldn't say no. Just to hear that someone out there recognizes that this is a population with unique clothing needs, and that they are teaching designers to consider these needs... wow.
So last week I went to the focus group and shared some of the things we've run into. For example, our daughter is very skinny because she has low muscle tone and because her heart uses up most of the calories she eats. But while she's short for her age, she's still a decent height. So in order to get clothes long enough to cover her, I have to buy things that don't fit her around the waist and then take them in (or use a good ol' safety pin). She has a couple pants and a skirt that are so big around her that if I pick her up, she comes right out of them!
Today we all visited the class and they measured every possible inch of her. Elli loved it -- she had a great time telling the class how great her weekend was and being the center of attention. The professor had a great time playing with Sam and Anna too.
It was very physically challenging to help Elli stand up to be measured, so I'm pretty tired and sweaty. After a few minutes of crouching on your toes and holding a 30-pound child who has very little sense of balance or control, your feet and lower legs actually go numb. But the students were really cool and had some really fascinating ideas for clothes. One told me that she was planning a sort of two-piece coat -- the top half is like a poncho to go over the head and the bottom half covers the lap, with buttons or snaps to fasten the two pieces together.
We actually had a very busy day, so it's good to be back home. The three kids and I took Elli to her morning therapy program, and then I got some work done while the younger two played with the toys in my office. After we picked Elli up, we went further into town to have lunch with Scott. The kids LOVE to see him at work, and of course, he and I don't mind a little lunch date either! Then we headed to the university for the class. I think the kids will happily go to bed a little early tonight!
I made some decent progress on the cabinets yesterday. I have half of the lower cabinets refinished, and about one-quarter of the upper ones done. They definitely look glossier. I have more boxes to pack and store, and some more furniture to rearrange, but it's going pretty well. We're set to list the house on Friday. Everyone around here is telling me it's a "soft" housing market right now, but it isn't going to get any better and I know that God can sell our house fast if He chooses to. So we'll just have to do our best to make the house sellable and trust Him for the timing.
Jul 17, 2006
For Sale: Beautiful 3-Bedroom Ranch
We've decided to take the plunge and put our house up for sale. After looking at the numbers, it's actually going to cost us more to wait another year. We're not putting an offer on a house yet -- we don't want to get stuck with two house payments or something crazy like that. (On the other hand, a miracle could happen and our house could sell before we find the right one to buy! But we'd rather be scrambling to find a place to stay than trying to find money to make ends meet.) So, if anyone knows someone in the market for a first home in our area, send them our way!
So we're praying that if this house, (the one in our school district without the finished basement) is meant to be ours, that it won't sell until ours does. And if not, we know that another wonderful house will pop up for sale in the meantime.
So I'm frantically packing, storing, cleaning, and updating the house in between entertaining the kids and doing all my normal stuff! My parents were here this weekend, and Dad and Scott got a LOT of big projects done. They sealed the driveway and the deck and fixed one of our closet doors. I've taken 5 loads to the storage unit, and have a few more to do. I also hope to rearrange some furniture in the kids' bedrooms in the next couple days.
And this afternoon, I'm tackling the kitchen cabinets. We're going to do a quick refinish to brighten them up a bit. I also need to touch up paint everywhere, fill a few holes in the wall from the master bathroom remodel (scroll down to the "After" picture and notice the holes above the sink -- that's where I removed two little bracket do-hickies), and clean the floors, trim, and windows. Yikes! Our goal is put the house on the market this week, so I better get busy.
So we're praying that if this house, (the one in our school district without the finished basement) is meant to be ours, that it won't sell until ours does. And if not, we know that another wonderful house will pop up for sale in the meantime. So I'm frantically packing, storing, cleaning, and updating the house in between entertaining the kids and doing all my normal stuff! My parents were here this weekend, and Dad and Scott got a LOT of big projects done. They sealed the driveway and the deck and fixed one of our closet doors. I've taken 5 loads to the storage unit, and have a few more to do. I also hope to rearrange some furniture in the kids' bedrooms in the next couple days.
And this afternoon, I'm tackling the kitchen cabinets. We're going to do a quick refinish to brighten them up a bit. I also need to touch up paint everywhere, fill a few holes in the wall from the master bathroom remodel (scroll down to the "After" picture and notice the holes above the sink -- that's where I removed two little bracket do-hickies), and clean the floors, trim, and windows. Yikes! Our goal is put the house on the market this week, so I better get busy.
Jul 13, 2006
Three's a Crowd
Tonight I collapsed on the couch after dinner, and despite being clambered upon like a jungle gym by two children at one time, I could not roust myself up for a good half hour. Clearly the brain drain caused by major house decisions on top of normal every day trouble-shooting has taken a toll.
Speaking of day-to-day life here, the kids are cranking up the daily trouble-shooting requirement exponentially. Sam and Anna have decided that it's tremendous to race around the house making as much mess and racket as possible. (You can make a complete loop if you go down the hall and turn through the master bedroom, master bathroom, laundry/pantry area, cut through the middle of the kitchen, hit the french doors to the backyard, and then about-face to race through the living room to the hallway. I find toys, clothes, diapers, cups, food, stuffed animals, and much much more strewn all along this path of destruction.
But the worst part is the volume. The rules of this game must, by my great skills at deduction and inference, include the following rule: Thou shalt not run this course without screaming at the top of your lungs the entire way. Anna has an ear-splitting, migraine-inducing shriek that she wields like a cannon, especially when pushed, pulled, tripped, or by any other means annoyed by her brother. And I'm not being hypersensitive here. Elli has started expressing extreme displeasure when they start their laps.
The last three days have been especially intense because we've had a lot of (much-needed) rain. The kids have been wilder than usual from being cooped up in the house for so long. I finally let them play outside in the rain yesterday. It only helped a little though -- they wouldn't stay out for long.
Elli was so finished with the whole thing tonight that she could barely eat. I am so beat down by it that my patience is about 1 millionth of a millimeter. Which starts a vicious cycle -- the kids yell and scream, so I yell to stop, so Elli yells and cries for all of us to stop, which stresses me out even more (because now we've added to the volume and intensity of the house).
I'm not sure how to stop the cycle. It's so hot and sticky outside now, even with the clouds, that the kids won't stay out for very long, and it's way too hot for Elli. I can't really blame them for not wanting to be out there, either. The pool is only an option if I have an extra pair of adult hands, which lately has been once a week.
Somehow I have to survive the rest of the summer without going through a pound of aspirin and turning into Witch Mother.
Maybe I should invest in a good pair of earplugs. And a tubal ligation. If this is how life with three is, I don't want to touch four with a fifty-foot pole.
Speaking of day-to-day life here, the kids are cranking up the daily trouble-shooting requirement exponentially. Sam and Anna have decided that it's tremendous to race around the house making as much mess and racket as possible. (You can make a complete loop if you go down the hall and turn through the master bedroom, master bathroom, laundry/pantry area, cut through the middle of the kitchen, hit the french doors to the backyard, and then about-face to race through the living room to the hallway. I find toys, clothes, diapers, cups, food, stuffed animals, and much much more strewn all along this path of destruction.
But the worst part is the volume. The rules of this game must, by my great skills at deduction and inference, include the following rule: Thou shalt not run this course without screaming at the top of your lungs the entire way. Anna has an ear-splitting, migraine-inducing shriek that she wields like a cannon, especially when pushed, pulled, tripped, or by any other means annoyed by her brother. And I'm not being hypersensitive here. Elli has started expressing extreme displeasure when they start their laps.
The last three days have been especially intense because we've had a lot of (much-needed) rain. The kids have been wilder than usual from being cooped up in the house for so long. I finally let them play outside in the rain yesterday. It only helped a little though -- they wouldn't stay out for long.
Elli was so finished with the whole thing tonight that she could barely eat. I am so beat down by it that my patience is about 1 millionth of a millimeter. Which starts a vicious cycle -- the kids yell and scream, so I yell to stop, so Elli yells and cries for all of us to stop, which stresses me out even more (because now we've added to the volume and intensity of the house).
I'm not sure how to stop the cycle. It's so hot and sticky outside now, even with the clouds, that the kids won't stay out for very long, and it's way too hot for Elli. I can't really blame them for not wanting to be out there, either. The pool is only an option if I have an extra pair of adult hands, which lately has been once a week.
Somehow I have to survive the rest of the summer without going through a pound of aspirin and turning into Witch Mother.
Maybe I should invest in a good pair of earplugs. And a tubal ligation. If this is how life with three is, I don't want to touch four with a fifty-foot pole.
Jul 12, 2006
Housing Agony
We're rapidly outgrowing our current home. Elli needs new equipment, and all of it is much larger than her current stuff. We can't get rid of the baby gear (crib, swing, high chair, clothes, toys, bathtub, and on and on and on) yet. We broke down last week and rented a storage unit. I'm in the process of sorting, packing, and storing to try to free up some space so we can breathe again and so we can hopefully sell the house faster when we decide to put it up.
We know we'll need to move no later than next year and definitely before another child joins the family (if that happens -- still not sure). So we are starting to look at houses, mortgage payments, and building vs buying.
House-hunting is one of the oddest activities I've ever done. I always heard that "Location, location, location" thing about real estate, but now we're seeing it in action. The most mind-boggling part of this whole thing is how muddy the decision-making process is. Our pros and cons lists don't help much!
Case in point.
We looked at a 3-bedroom, 2 bath brick ranch in our current town. So we know the school district and love it. We could keep our community center and gym memberships, shop at our same stores, and drive the same distances to everything, including Sam's preschool this fall. The original owners are selling it, and have taken very good care of it for the past 26 years. The hallways are wide enough for Elli's wheelchair and we'd have room to put a ramp in the oversized garage so we can easily get her in the house. We'd have to modify the master bath to work for Elli -- it has a shower now that her bathchair needs to roll into. The deck out back is just a couple inches lower than the threshhold, so it won't be difficult to get her out there. The bedrooms are a good size with nice deep closets. The house has ample storage with the oversized garage, the basement, and lots of closets. The kitchen is big with lots of drawers, plenty of counter space, and a dishwasher and pantry. The family room is gorgeous -- brick fireplace with wood built-in bookshelves, beams, and a cathedral ceiling. The neighborhood is beautiful -- lots of mature trees, great location right in the center of town, but yet amazingly, tranquilly quiet with little traffic.
Drawbacks include the high price and that we can't change the main bathroom or we'd sacrfice the house's only bathtub. Property taxes are kind of high, but that's part of being in a great school district. But the biggest drawback is that it only has a partial basement, and none of it is finished. It's plumbed for a bathroom already, but it needs a lot of work. If we didn't add the 4th bedroom downstairs, it would be tough to sell in the future.
Then we looked at a four-bedroom brick ranch one township to the west. It's 11 years old, so it has a much more open floorplan, wider hallways, and two full bathrooms on the main floor (both master and main have bathtubs). So we could modify one bathroom for Elli and not lose a tub. Other major pluses to the house are that the bedrooms are larger, easier to get into for Elli, and the basement is beautifully finished. It has another bathroom with shower and linen closet, huge 4th bedroom, study, and a rec room with a built-in entertainment center with almost as much cabinet and shelf space as my entire current kitchen.
Drawbacks include a much higher rise into the house, so the ramp in the garage would have to go up the side and then across the front, eating up a lot of storage space. The basement has less storage space because so much of it is now living space, and with a smaller garage and no shed, storing stuff may be difficult. We'll also need to find room for an elevator somewhere so Elli can use the lower level too. Getting Elli out to the deck will require us to take her out the garage and around to the back. The kitchen is smallish -- only a little larger than our current one, though it has a lot of drawers and a pantry. It's an eat-in kitchen, and the house has no dining room, so you're stuck with what you've got. The biggest drawback is the house's location. It's much further from everything we currently visit, and it's built towards the front of a neighborhood right off a limited-access highway. It's a lower-traffic road than an interstate, they built sound barrier walls to help with the noise, and being 600 feet from the on-ramp will make getting into town really convenient. But you can still hear road noise during rush hour. We didn't have to raise our voices to talk outside, so it isn't deafening. But it's there and we'll have lots of cars coming in and out of the neighborhood. Could make it hard to sell in the future, especially if traffic picks up on this highway (the whole area is still being built up.)
And now for the cost comparison. Drumroll please. The second house costs less than the first one. By $17,000. So monetarily, the second house is by far the better value.
It isn't that simple, though. I am getting quotes on mortgages so we can evaluate the cost factor in our budget. Proprety taxes are significantly higher for the second house, even though its value is lower. So can you believe it? The payments would only be $80 different per month.
But we can't stop there. The first house would need the basement finished and a 4th bedroom put in at some time. So we'd have to save up the money and have this done, because we won't have time or know-how to do much of it on our own. Then you have the house reassessed and start paying property taxes on the new (higher) value. It will take us several years to have that money, but I'm guessing we'll need the bedroom sooner than that (Sam and Anna can't share rooms indefinitely, and if Elli continues to have sleep problems, the girls may not be able to share either).
I don't remember buying our first house being this complex. We knew that it would be a starter home for us, so we just didn't factor as much in, I guess. Picking a house that will fit our unique needs, be sellable in the future, fits the budget without restricting us to rice and beans and no fun for years to come, and is in a school district that will work well for Elli is really tough. The school district issue is the biggest one for me. I'm in a comfort zone, and even though I've heard great things about the schools in the next township over, making a big change like this makes my stomach hurt.
So we're much in prayer this week as we evaluate if now is the right time to make such a drastic change to our budget, if so is one of these houses is the right one, and how to get the current house ready to sell. The good news is that housing interests rates have stopped rising for the moment, so if we wait a few months or a year, maybe it won't cost quite as many thousands in interest over the course of the loan.
We know we'll need to move no later than next year and definitely before another child joins the family (if that happens -- still not sure). So we are starting to look at houses, mortgage payments, and building vs buying.
House-hunting is one of the oddest activities I've ever done. I always heard that "Location, location, location" thing about real estate, but now we're seeing it in action. The most mind-boggling part of this whole thing is how muddy the decision-making process is. Our pros and cons lists don't help much!
Case in point.
We looked at a 3-bedroom, 2 bath brick ranch in our current town. So we know the school district and love it. We could keep our community center and gym memberships, shop at our same stores, and drive the same distances to everything, including Sam's preschool this fall. The original owners are selling it, and have taken very good care of it for the past 26 years. The hallways are wide enough for Elli's wheelchair and we'd have room to put a ramp in the oversized garage so we can easily get her in the house. We'd have to modify the master bath to work for Elli -- it has a shower now that her bathchair needs to roll into. The deck out back is just a couple inches lower than the threshhold, so it won't be difficult to get her out there. The bedrooms are a good size with nice deep closets. The house has ample storage with the oversized garage, the basement, and lots of closets. The kitchen is big with lots of drawers, plenty of counter space, and a dishwasher and pantry. The family room is gorgeous -- brick fireplace with wood built-in bookshelves, beams, and a cathedral ceiling. The neighborhood is beautiful -- lots of mature trees, great location right in the center of town, but yet amazingly, tranquilly quiet with little traffic.
Drawbacks include the high price and that we can't change the main bathroom or we'd sacrfice the house's only bathtub. Property taxes are kind of high, but that's part of being in a great school district. But the biggest drawback is that it only has a partial basement, and none of it is finished. It's plumbed for a bathroom already, but it needs a lot of work. If we didn't add the 4th bedroom downstairs, it would be tough to sell in the future.
Then we looked at a four-bedroom brick ranch one township to the west. It's 11 years old, so it has a much more open floorplan, wider hallways, and two full bathrooms on the main floor (both master and main have bathtubs). So we could modify one bathroom for Elli and not lose a tub. Other major pluses to the house are that the bedrooms are larger, easier to get into for Elli, and the basement is beautifully finished. It has another bathroom with shower and linen closet, huge 4th bedroom, study, and a rec room with a built-in entertainment center with almost as much cabinet and shelf space as my entire current kitchen.
Drawbacks include a much higher rise into the house, so the ramp in the garage would have to go up the side and then across the front, eating up a lot of storage space. The basement has less storage space because so much of it is now living space, and with a smaller garage and no shed, storing stuff may be difficult. We'll also need to find room for an elevator somewhere so Elli can use the lower level too. Getting Elli out to the deck will require us to take her out the garage and around to the back. The kitchen is smallish -- only a little larger than our current one, though it has a lot of drawers and a pantry. It's an eat-in kitchen, and the house has no dining room, so you're stuck with what you've got. The biggest drawback is the house's location. It's much further from everything we currently visit, and it's built towards the front of a neighborhood right off a limited-access highway. It's a lower-traffic road than an interstate, they built sound barrier walls to help with the noise, and being 600 feet from the on-ramp will make getting into town really convenient. But you can still hear road noise during rush hour. We didn't have to raise our voices to talk outside, so it isn't deafening. But it's there and we'll have lots of cars coming in and out of the neighborhood. Could make it hard to sell in the future, especially if traffic picks up on this highway (the whole area is still being built up.)
And now for the cost comparison. Drumroll please. The second house costs less than the first one. By $17,000. So monetarily, the second house is by far the better value.
It isn't that simple, though. I am getting quotes on mortgages so we can evaluate the cost factor in our budget. Proprety taxes are significantly higher for the second house, even though its value is lower. So can you believe it? The payments would only be $80 different per month.
But we can't stop there. The first house would need the basement finished and a 4th bedroom put in at some time. So we'd have to save up the money and have this done, because we won't have time or know-how to do much of it on our own. Then you have the house reassessed and start paying property taxes on the new (higher) value. It will take us several years to have that money, but I'm guessing we'll need the bedroom sooner than that (Sam and Anna can't share rooms indefinitely, and if Elli continues to have sleep problems, the girls may not be able to share either).
I don't remember buying our first house being this complex. We knew that it would be a starter home for us, so we just didn't factor as much in, I guess. Picking a house that will fit our unique needs, be sellable in the future, fits the budget without restricting us to rice and beans and no fun for years to come, and is in a school district that will work well for Elli is really tough. The school district issue is the biggest one for me. I'm in a comfort zone, and even though I've heard great things about the schools in the next township over, making a big change like this makes my stomach hurt.
So we're much in prayer this week as we evaluate if now is the right time to make such a drastic change to our budget, if so is one of these houses is the right one, and how to get the current house ready to sell. The good news is that housing interests rates have stopped rising for the moment, so if we wait a few months or a year, maybe it won't cost quite as many thousands in interest over the course of the loan.
Jul 8, 2006
Dream the Impossible Dream
On a cloudless sunny morning, cool breezes gently wave the morning glories to greet me. 
The back of my sweater is finally complete. 1 1/2 inches of sleeves down, 10 1/2 inches to go. (I am thrilled to have gotten the suggestion to knit both sleeves on the same needle at the same time.) I have come to peace with the sweater's desire to adorn my sister's second child, not her first. (No, I don't have any news of a child on the way.)
I brew a steamy cup of joe and sit down to read my Bible. It's like being on vacation -- no traffic or lawn mowers or screaming children.So how did I do this? I'm up at 7am on a Saturday. My alarm clock was a little 15-month-old's shivery tears. She had squirmed out from under her sheet and was unable to sleep another wink. So I made the best of it.
Then Real Life realized that a mother of three was relaxing too much. Two seconds later, I found myself chasing escapee poop-balls across the deck after changing the aforesaid 15-month-old's diaper. I attempted to recover, poop-ball safely incarcerated in a wipe, ready for the dumpster...
...until this unwelcome visitor showed up, mere millimeters from my child and my coffee. I lured it onto the stinky diaper and tossed the whole nasty package in the outdoor trash. On the way back, I hear my oldest complaining that I haven't gotten her out of bed yet. The blissful morning is officially over.
Jul 5, 2006
Fourth of July Weekend
No grand stories tonight -- it's past my bedtime. Just a sampling of photos from the weekend. All the fuss and work of Friday was worth it. We got in rather late (10:30pm), so the kids took a good two days to really get caught up on sleep, but other than that, all was well.
Scott and I even managed to get away for a couple of hours and go see "Cars." I highly recommend it (and I'm not a racing fan).
Scott and I even managed to get away for a couple of hours and go see "Cars." I highly recommend it (and I'm not a racing fan).
Sam fell in love with this house cake in Gramma's cookbook back in February when they made me a cat cake for my birthday. Gramma promised they'd make it, and graciously allowed them to do it for her birthday this weekend. It was a huge success (despite the strategically placed toothpicks holding the walls together).
The four cousins, set for a walk to the park. So this is what life with four looks like.
Another hugely successful project -- dipping strawberries in chocolate. Elli demonstrated her vastly-improved eye-hand-mouth coordination at the end when she licked chocolate off her hands. You have no idea what a big deal that was!
Anna shows what a big girl she is, pushing her big sister.
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