Baby steps...almost

During the past few weeks Afton has started to stand on her own. Granted, she only stands for about 3 seconds, but it is still fun for us to watch. She usually loses her balance by getting excited and bouncing up and down, or by clapping her hands.

She is such a cute little thing who is growing up way too fast.

looking up at Andrew for encouragement

falling

now she is coming to get me :)

Random Moments Monday

In an effort to write down more of the little things that happen in my family's life, I am introducing "Random Moments Monday". (Lori, this idea was stolen from you!) Look out, because "Dancing With The Stars" is no longer the best thing that Monday has to offer. I'm not sure what my format will be, or how frequently I will post this, but I guess that's part of the randomness…

$16- The amount I had to pay for Sam's Kindergarten field trip. Seriously, $16 for a field trip??? For kindergarteners??!! I can think of a million other things I would rather spend my money on, like treating myself to Chipotle. I did pay, (do I have a choice?) and Sam will be going to some local farm tomorrow. He did mention something about getting a pumpkin. Maybe it will be a magic pumpkin.

Phillies Games- Pretty much the only thing that has been on our TV lately. I believe this Wednesday is the first game of World Series...its about time we bought a second TV.

8 pounds- How much weight Andrew gained during his 3 day trip last week. Andrew went to Connecticut to visit his friend Ryan and aside from playing video games and driving a Porsche (Ryan’s Dad’s), those two ate…a lot. The kids and I were supposed to go too, but with lingering illnesses we thought it best to bow out. Andrew had a great time and I was bummed we missed out on the fun.

35 Miles- The round trip mileage from our home to Andrew's work. Andrew bought a bike (not a motorcycle) a few months back, and he's been tying to bike to work twice a week. With the extra pounds he put on this past weekend, I think he is shooting for 3 times this week.

Not sure- How I feel about Andrew riding bike into the city.

A half eaten peppermint, fruit snack, cheerios and paper- All things that Afton managed to get into her mouth at church (none of which originated from our family). That baby is insane. At one point I set her on the ground, and the next thing I knew she was on her belly ferociously licking a peppermint which was stuck to the ground (I don't know how I missed it). Gross, but kind of funny.

12 recycling bags full of leaves and branches- How much I cleared out our yard this past week. I am dealing with a neglected yard here, so I’m really hoping that there won’t be so much maintenance required in the future. Here's to hoping!

Home Progress

\We've been settled for nearly 3 months now, and I'm happy to report that none of our rooms look like the above picture anymore (I cannot say the same for our closets). Since Andrew officially declared us "house poor", we've been taking it slow. Well, slow at least according to my standards (Andrew starts to hyperventilate if I even say the words "Home Depot", which I probably do in my sleep). I am grateful for his balance and perspective, as it has been extremely gratifying to see each little change take place. Most of our time and energy has been focused on cleaning up the outside, and one of my biggest regrets is that I did not get a "before" picture of the backyard. I have, however, been pretty good at taking pictures of the progress on the inside. So here you go-

Family Room Before...

This is what the fireplace looked like prior to our purchase. I used to salivate just thinking about tearing off the stucco.

After we got home from settlement I went straight to the house and started to restore the fireplace. My mother-in-law and friend Merry (both below) also came over and were a huge help. THANK YOU!

The Family Room After...

The Kitchen

Look carefully for the oven. Yup, that's it, on the ground in the eating area. Eventually we'll put the oven back where it is supposed to go (in the kitchen) but for the time being, it works just fine.

The Dining Room

Boys room before...

The Boys Room After...

My sister-in-law Jen put up chair rail in this room (I helped a little). She did a fantastic job and I love how the boy's room turned out.

Afton's room

And of course, we have Afton's room. When my mom first saw it she said, "Ohh wow! It's pink! I didn't think you were a pink type of person!" I'm typically not, but then again, a lot of things seem to be changing as I raise these kids...I guess that's life for ya.

Fall Happenings

Guess how many times we went to the pool this past summer? Twice. Guess how many times we went downtown? Zero. Guess how many times we went to Cape May? Twice. You get the point...it was a pathetic summer for us. Since we spent most of our time house hunting and then recovering from house hunting, I promised myself that once we settled in we would not spend all of our Saturdays doing home projects. So far, I think we've made good on that promise. We've still been busy with the home (pictures to come), but so far I think we've done a good job making up for this past summer. Here are a few of our weekend activities this past month.

September started out with a bang when my little brother Joe decided to come home for a quick weekend visit. He was gracious enough to squeeze in a trip to our house (with my Dad) and for the occasion we decided to hit up Great Falls. We love Joe and it was great to see him.

The man himself, Uncle Joe

A couple weeks later we went to the National Book Festival with some of our friends. This was our first time attending and I have to say it was pretty cool. There were a ton of authors (Shannon Hale, Kate Dicamillo, Judy Blume, Nicolas Sparks, Sue Monk Kidd, Jon Meacham...just to name a few) who were stationed at different pavilions throughout the entire National Mall. Of course with the kids we didn't get to see most of these authors, but we did see some. They also had a massive PBS Kids tent where the boys were able to meet characters like Clifford the Big Red Dog and Arthur. It was raining, and a bazillion people were there, but it still was a lot of fun. I'm planning on going next year, but with some girlfriends instead.

After the festival we went to the Natural History Museum where we were able to see the new Oceanic exhibit- it is pretty cool!

Sam at the Natural History Museum's new exhibit

Our latest family excursion happened this past weekend when went to a local farm to pick apples and pumpkins. 30 pounds of apples, a gallon of apple cider, some fresh produce, and six pumpkins later, I think we got our fill. The boys had a blast, and now I'm busy turning those apples into baked goods. Have I ever mentioned how much I love fall???

First day of school

Enough already! I know there was once a time in my life where I wished that my children would grow up faster, but I quickly realized the error of my thinking and changed my mind! With Sam in kindergarten, Luke in preschool and Afton on the move, it seems as if my children are already halfway out the door. Before I know it I will be reduced to stalking them in high school parking lots, work and even their own homes......sad!!!! I must verbally express this remorse often because Sam will periodically say, "I'm not going to grow up too quickly, right Mom?"

Despite my best efforts these kids are continuing to grow. It was a strange feeling dropping off Sam on his first day of kindergarten. Even though I did not cry, I felt empty walking away from the school without the child who has continually been by my side for the last 5 1/2 years. I also felt resentment. I resented the school system for taking my child away from me for such a long period of time. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't resentful enough to consider homeschooling, but it is odd to think that aside from Saturday and Sunday, I now only have a few hours to spend with him each day. I guess we'll always have our summers.

With that said, Sam loves school. He is excited to go each day and when he comes home he often goes up to the office to create "worksheets" that he and Luke complete. I'm sure that will change once he starts getting homework in a couple of weeks. He has a wonderful teacher and I really couldn't have asked for a smoother transition.

Luke also started preschool this month, but he seems to be having a harder adjustment period. There is usually one small meltdown on the way home from preschool, but I'm optimistic that these will end soon. Aside from that, he seems to be having a positive experience and is extremely proud of the art work he gets to bring home. After two years of watching Sam attend preschool I think he is thrilled to have finally entered this stage himself.

The good news- my boys will now stand still and pose for pictures.

The bad news- they both have developed awkward fake smiles. I guess its hereditary.

Family Reunion 2009

If you ever find yourself planning a family reunion around the Mid-Atlantic I would highly recommend looking into Oglebay. It's where we've had our last 4 family reunions (on Andrew's side), and where we plan on having the next one in 2 years.

Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, Oglebay is an all-inclusive family resort which has just about everything you need to keep everyone in the family happy. This year we opted for one of the "premium cottages" with 8 bedrooms, 6 1/2 baths, 2 common areas, 2 refrigerators, and a washer and dryer, which more than comfortably accommodated our 12 adults and 16 children. Some of the on-site activities include a zoo (complete with a train), nature center, miniature golf, large playground, horseback riding, lake with paddle boats, indoor and outdoor pool and plenty of hiking trails. And that's just for the kids. Oglebay is comprised of 3 golf courses, as well as an 18 hole par 3. Remember, this is West Virginia we are talking about here...so the golf is CHEAP. And if we are being honest, golf really is the main allure for the 30-40 year old males in our family.

And of course, what reunion would be complete without a family picture? This typically painful process was particularly painful this year due to our color scheme choice (who would have thought it would be so hard to dress everyone in pink and green?) and the insane amount of time it took our photographer to pose the family. By the time we were situated for the picture various 4 letter words were on the tip of each adult's tongue (and possibly some of the children's). Most of the pain from this experience has since been forgotten and we are now left with beautiful family pictures. All worth it in my book.

It really was a wonderful reunion, made memorable by everyone's planning and contributions. Grandma, Grandpa and Peter had special outings with the grandchildren based on their age groups. Andra planned nightly activities which included the unveiling of the "wall of shame"- a wall covered with 8x10 pictures of everyone making their goofiest faces. Sunday, which usually is a lost day since we don't do any outdoor activities, was perhaps my favorite day this year. After attending the Wheeling Ward for church (which was a branch when we first attended meetings there 4 reunions ago), indoor activities were planned to occupy our time. Crystal and Tim had everyone make homemade pretzels, Jen had the children make tie blankets to donate to charity, and Andra put on a pretty cool shadow puppet show.

It was a great reunion (even if Afton refused to sleep at night) and we look forward to returning in a couple of years.

The boy cousins rocking out their pink family pic shirts

The boys making pretzels

Uncle Matt leaping in front of "The Wall of Shame"

Shadow puppet show

Waiting for the train at the zoo

And the winner is...

After 3 months of searching, we FINALLY have a contract on a house. Andrew likes to emphasize that this is still not a done deal, but our offer has been accepted, we've had the house inspected, and the loan is approved. Unless some unforeseen intervention occurs we should be settling on this house in 12 days. Its been an exhausting journey with too many houses, compromises, and details to remember, but here are the highlights of our house hunting process-

House #1: The Handy Man Special

This little gem was located in Sherwood Forest, right off of Locksley Lane, just a couple of blocks away from the Robin Hood swim club...need I say more? Seriously, this neighborhood was amazing. It also had great schools and was extremely close to the metro, which were two of our highest priorities. The average home in this neighborhood was about $200,000 over our price range, so when this foreclosure popped up, we jumped all over it. To say that this was a fixer-upper would be a severe understatement. This home boasted roof damage, water damage, mold in the basement, an 800 year old water heater, and lacked ALL major appliances. In the end we were outbid, and I think Andrew and I let out a sigh of relief once we got over our initial disappointment.

House #2: The Change of Heart

Despite it's rough exterior, this was a great house. Like the previous one, it was located in a very nice neighborhood with fantastic schools. It was also on a 1/2 acre lot, had 4 large bedrooms on the main floor, and one of the nicest basements we saw during our entire search. The downside? It was further out from the city then we would have liked. We made an offer, but after a couple of days we withdrew based off of Andrew's work commute.

House #3: The Stalemate

We never actually made an offer on this home, but I wanted to include it just because Andrew hated it so much. I saw this home first and told our Realtor that I was sure "Andrew would love it". It was cheap, and had most of the other criteria we wanted. Andrew, however, HATED it the moment he walked though the door. I'm still not completely sure why. Maybe this house wronged him in some other life.

House #4: The Heartbreaker

Like a bad break up we've tried to block this one out of our minds. The bottom line is that this was an estate sale which was extremely underpriced. It was a great house, in a great neighborhood, with great schools, at a great price. There were multiple offers and everyone (including us) kept upping their bids while the sellers kept dragging their feet. At one point we were told that they accepted our bid, and while I was faxing back a document to our Realtor, a higher offer came in. It was a sad day when we learned we were outbid.

House #5: The Standup

We initially (naively) thought that a short sale meant that the seller was short on time and wanted to sell their home quickly. That notion could not have been further from the truth. In reality, a short sale means that the owner has to sell at a price lower than what they currently owe on their home- meaning they are short on funds. The tricky part is that with a short sale your offer has to be accepted by both the owner and the owner's bank. On average, this process takes about 60-90 days. Our offer was accepted by the owners, but we waited 2 months (while putting offers on other houses) to hear back from the bank. We never did hear back, because on day 60 we withdrew our offer. This is what leads us to...

House #6: The Winner

And here we have it, our soon to be (fingers crossed) home. While we were waiting for house #5 to go through, house #6 came onto the market. Located in Andrew's brother and parent's neighborhood, this was a neighborhood we loved, but never thought we would be able to afford. When we found this house (a foreclosure), barely within our price range, we told our Realtor we wanted to check it out. The problem? The listing agent did not want this house shown until the next Monday and we were leaving the Sunday before to go to Cape May for a week. Our solution was to sign a contract before we left, and have Andrew's mother and sister-in-law go look at the house for us. If they liked it, then our Realtor would submit our pre-drawn contract. As it turned out, they did like it, and our offer was submitted. About one week later we found out that our offer was accepted on the house we had never seen.

Crazy? Yes, but I'm glad it happened this way. I can't even begin to describe how terrible it is to put an offer on a house and then wait, and wait and WAIT to hear back. It is all you think about. Every time the phone rings your heart stops. You lose sleep thinking about neighbors and projects that need to be done on one particular house. All of this stress, only to find out that your offer was not accepted. It is horrible. Since my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were the ones who saw this house, they were the ones stressing and losing sleep over it. It was a very welcome break for us!

We've since seen the house, and all I can say is that we love it. We're still losing sleep thinking about neighbors and house projects, but at least we know this will be our home.