One Shiny Star

So, there are going to be some changes around here. B-man is helping me redesign my blog. I had drawn out this nifty theme/layout that I wanted… just to realize that another blog friend of mine had recently implented something very similar. I hadn’t seen her blog since I read in google reader, but I though it was funny. Great minds think alike.

In any case, it’s back to the drawing board. I want my blog to represent my personal style, so that in the coming years when I’m posting pictures of my house, well… it’ll all kind of blend.

Yup.

In other news: I am incredibly thinkful for my life, my sweet sweet husband, and that baby that is growing like a weed!

One more paper to sign and then the mortgage papers will be drawn up and ready for closing in just 21 days! Three weeks?!?! Eeep!

About two weeks ago B-man said “I’m going to Newport News for work, wanna come?” I was kind of surprised. This is really the first “local” trip he’s taken for work (about 2.5 hours away), so this opportunity has never arisen. I probably wouldn’t have invited myself, so it made me happy that he wanted me to go with him. It was just a two day trip. We left home last Monday night, and returned Wednesday night. But it was a nice trip none-the-less. We ate lunch with B-man every day, and got to go swimming twice (once with just me and Ginny, the second with all three of us!). I really appreciate being able to go with him because it is always nice for me to have a little break after spending all day with the G-meister, plus my bro&sis-in-laws took care of the dogs while we were gone… which is always a nice vacation as well.

Tuesday night I had a hankering to feel some sand between my toes, so… we went off on an adventure to find a beach. We thought we were headed towards a state park… but some how ended up in a beautiful beach house neighborhood with huge three story homes, right on a beautiful private beach. It was about 20 minutes before dusk, and the beach was empty. So I stripped off mine and Ginny’s socks and shoes… and made for the beach! It was Baby G’s first time experiencing sand, and she loved it. She sat in the powdery sand, digging a nice little hole, for 15 minutes while I just squished my toes into it. After the second handful of sand to the mouth I figured it was time to be done. But just those 15 minutes made the entire trip feel worthwhile. We even picked up a shell to add to our small collection.

In high school B-man and I went to France on band tour together. It was probably the first time that I actually hung out with him. If I had to list a moment when I first “fell” for him, this was it. We were in the Normandy region of France, out walking on a cold beach. Walking closely, just chatting. I was probably talking, because B-man has always been the listener, the supporter. He’s good that way. I saw a clam shell, and picked it up. Both pieces of the shell were still together… in fact, they were stuck together?! Was I holding a live clam? I didn’t want to get my fingers snapped so I handed it to B-man and asked him to check it out. He pried it open and yelled “Ouch!”. I freaked out a bit, apologizing all over myself… at which point he let me know he was only joking… and showed me the two empty halves of the shell.

We still have that shell. Every time I see it I am reminded of the wonderful man I married – thoughtful, a great listener, and a sense of humor that I can barely stand. And now, I’ve added another shell. One for our sweet baby girl.

Makes me happy. That’s what counts.

We are buying a house. During the entire process I have been hesitant to post about houses on facebook or my blog for fear of jinxing the whole process. You see, the first house I fell in love with was swiped out from underneath our feet. It was yellow (swoon), and really nicely done on the inside. We saw it at an open house, then went back with our agent a few days later and put an offer in. Unfortunately a lot of other people liked the house as well, because we were outbid.

So we continued looking. But… long before that first offer in our desired neighborhood, we originally started looking along a 4 lane county road that connects the interstate to the town where B-man works. Essentially cutting out the interstate part of his commute. Currently B-man drives 45+ minutes on a good day each way, but with traffic it can climb to over 2 hours. We looked at 10 houses on our first trip out. We found two that we liked, but it was more like we liked those two more than the others, and not a “we love it!”. So… about 20 houses later we realized that what would be right for us, our growing family, was a house in an established neighborhood with good schools, convenient to shopping, the highway, and family.

Okay… so once we found the neighborhood we wanted we looked at every house in our budget in that neighborhood. But… in the fancy schmancy good school neighborhood our dollar wasn’t going quite as far. We turned down several houses because there were only three bedrooms, weird layouts, small backyards, and good size yards with too many neighbors. I didn’t want to feel like I was living in a fish bowl. Unfortunately, when you’re living in a neighborhood development, you often have several neighbors that you back up to.

So… we ended up going back to the bank and asking for more money. We are comfortable with the amount of money we will be paying – that is what matters. So, at this point is when we found the yellow house. That some one else bought. When we got the news that we didn’t get the house, I begrudingly scheduled a viewing for another house that had just been listed on the MLS listings.

I had been looking at the pictures of this house for 2 days before we finally got in to see it.

It was a Saturday.

I walked in, and pretty much knew that moment that I was home.

We looked at the rest of the house, which confirmed that feeling for both B-man and I… and then we put in an offer that same afternoon. The seller countered, we accepted, and signed the papers that night. We did it in a hurry too, because there was an open house scheduled for the very next day. If we had waited, and let tons of other people see this house, they probably would’ve gotten more money for it. But… we had papers saying we were pre-approved for a conventional loan, we were willing to move quickly, and open to letting them choose the closing date.

On April 1 we invited most of our extended family to “view” this “potential” home. Our offer had already been accepted, but who can turn down a little April Fool’s Day fun! At the end of the tour we asked what every one thought of the house, and then announced that it was already (tentatively!) ours!

Since that point we have had a home inspection done, negotiated for some items to be fixed, signed papers saying we accept the HOA rules, paid for a home appraisal for the bank, and spent hours looking at upholstered headboards and sofa sectionals.

We are still waiting for the bank appraisal. As long as it doesn’t come back below what we offered (and it shouldn’t, based on the other houses that have sold recently), it is our house and we will be closing May 15! I’m kind of in awe at how quickly this whole thing has transpired. When we close we will still have 45 days left on our apartment lease, so we plan to do some updating at the new house (painting, baby proofing, etc.), and then we will move our stuff out of the apartment, and have plenty of time to do a really good deep clean of this apartment. We had originally asked to close in June (with only 2 weeks left on our lease), but I’m kind of glad that we will have plenty of time to get things done with out feeling rushed.

I am going to wait to share any pictures until we have closed. It’s still some one else’s home right now, and I feel kind of like I would be violating their privacy by posting pictures of their house. But trust me, come May 15 I will definitely be sharing! I’m hoping to find some time to write a little bit more about the financial aspect of this whole process (with exact numbers), but right now I’m just keeping it light.

Also. I have allergy induced asthma and feel like craaaaap. Plus. B-man is taking care of Ginny while I type all of this. And…. I am craving some stuffed crust pizza hutttt tonight.

I’m hungry.
And sick.
And a wee bit tired.

At least once a day I sit down to blog. You wouldn’t guess by the constant sounds of crickets. It’s just… I have so much to say, so many things I want to write about, and not enough time. But I’m getting there.

B-man and I are buying a house. We got pre-approved for a mortgage, found a house, put an offer in, was accepted, got an inspection done, it came back pretty clean, and then well… you’re all caught up. Once this is done I will be writing a little more in depth as to the whole process. We close on our house mid-May. At which point we will have 45 days to paint/clean/change the new house, move all of our stuff, and then clean the apartment. It will be weird leaving this place. It is small and dark, but it’s the first place that was really “home” and not just a pit stop.

I am running crazy late right now. I need to take the dogs out, get Ginny in the car, and then head over to meet the realtor to sign some papers and then fax a novel’s worth of pages to the bank.

So. In a nut shell, that is where I am.

Busy. Excited. Doing tons of stuff.

Nana & Ginny

Also. My baby is getting big. I mourn that fact at lest twice a day.

ciao!

I’ve been feeling kind of boring. Plenty to do, but nothing very interesting. I was feeling the need to change things up a little bit though, so… I got my hair cut. I took a before picture, but this one looks nicer.

And the results? Ta-da!

I’ve been kind of absent from the blog world recently. It’s been an up and down roller coaster of ear infections (her’s), sick tummies (mine), house hunting (all of us), family get togethers (his), allergies (her’s and mine), and doctor appointments (mostly her’s).

Plus sneaking to play group when she’s feeling good. Going to the park, monopolizing baby swings, and enjoying the A/C with the 80 degree weather we’ve been having!

I’ve been living life, and it is tiring.

We took Ginny is for a follow up to her ear infection… the doctor said it’s probably allergies that are causing a fountain of snot to flow out of her nose every morning.

lovely.

poor girl.

I understand though – I have my own fountain to contend with.

The good doctor also said something about “therapy”.

hahaha.

Ginny is still refusing any food she doesn’t a) put in her own mouth, or b) like the taste of. Which means my 8 month old daughter really only likes to eat cheerios and ritz crackers. It’s a battle of wills and she’s only… 8 months old.

So le babe’s doctor said if she’s still fighting foods in a month we may need to consider some occupational therapy (at a children’s hospital) so that she can get over her aversions before it becomes a serious matter of weight and overall well being.

What can I say – chika knows what she likes. Of course, she came out of my uterus knowing exactly what she wants.

Mooore on that later.

For my birthday I got a Kindle Fire… did I mention my birthday… 2 weeks ago? Yah. I’m 24 now. Crazy!

So, I’m taking book recommendations again! Hit me!