Weirdo

I won't miss him. 

You guys, he's seriously so bizarre. He has a 2-car garage and a nice driveway. The driveway remains empty almost always, as he chooses to park his car on the street. 

That car, until very recently, has been a beater. I mean, an OLD, rusty, Toyota. Maybe a Tercel?  I always assumed he parked it on the street because it leaked oil, and he didn't want to stain his driveway. 

Once a month or so, weirdo would open his garage and back his showpiece out of the garage.  He'd take the cover off to wash her, and then once she was clean, he'd pull her right back into the garage.  I'd seen him drive her maybe 3 times, ever. She's that special to him. 

Guys- it's a Saturn. 

I couldn't make this up if I tried. 

But times next door, they are a-changin'. The beater must have finally bit the dust, because this is the new street view next door. 

That's right, the Saturn has moved up in the world!  That is now his daily driver. Why the half-assed cover, you ask?  No idea. And yes, the cover is always half-assed. Why doesn't he park it in the driveway, since his special vehicle most certainly doesn't leak? It's a mystery. 

Oh, and I almost forgot. He has a new baby hidden in the garage. He brought her out for a bath last weekend. It's a shiny new Camry. 

This guy's fascination with mediocrity is beyond me. 

Here's to more normal neighbors in the new 'hood. 

Adventures in Real Estate

A little update on where we're at:

That's right, we're SOLD!

We had 26 showings and 5 offers in 28 days.  What a month that was!  Lemme tell ya', getting two little ones and a dog out of the house 26 times was a real treat.  Not to mention keeping the house clean and show-ready with said kids and dog.  But we managed, and in the end, it was well worth it.

So now what, you may be asking?

Well, the plan is to build a new house.  A dreamy house.  A house I loooove.

With the optional Recreation Room and Screened Porch.  Dreamy.

But nothing is set in stone.  We're waiting on Phase II of dreamy subdivision to open, so that we can choose a perfect lot and get to building.  That is slated to happen in October.  In the meantime, we're keeping our options open.

And speaking of the meantime, where will we go?

Here's where the perfection comes in...

The original plan was a double move.  We wanted to get the house on the market now, rather than wait until November/December after we had broken ground on the new house.  Who buys a new house during the holidays?  No one, that's who.  So we knew we'd be looking at finding a rental home for the time in-between selling here and moving into the dreamy house.

But guess who we sold our house to?  A little company by the name of American Homes 4 Rent.  And guess what they're willing to do?  Rent our house back to us for the next six months!

Just to keep you up to speed, in case you somehow missed it...NO DOUBLE MOVE!!!!

That's right, we're staying here for the next six months while the dreamy house is built.  

So now we sit and wait, and pray that interest rates don't take a big leap until we can sign something official.  And we get to sit and wait in our own home.

Thanking my lucky stars.

Nap Time Shenanigans

Lately, the nugget isn't so much a fan of nap time. He used to walk upstairs and hop in bed with no complaints (amazing, iknowright?).  But these days, he'd rather his play time remain uninterrupted by pesky sleep.

Regardless of the boy's desires, into bed he goes. I don't necessarily care if he sleeps, but by George, he WILL rest. (His rest + baby's sleep = nap for mama. Excellent equation.)

Sometimes he's so worn out that he will immediately fall asleep. Other times, he'll play around for a bit with his cars and books, and then eventually drift off. But then there are the days when he is determined NOT to sleep. These are the days when situations like this arise:

This has happened a handful of times now. The boy thinks it will be fun to see if he can climb into the hamper, and then somehow or another ends up stuck. 

On this particular day, he found his way into the hamper, and then it tipped over, wedging him in between the wall and his bed. And yes, I stopped to take a picture before I helped him out. (He wasn't hurt, just stuck.)

I have a feeling this is the beginning of many nap time shenanigans to come...

Gabe: 2.5

Well the ole' blog has once again turned into my online baby book. Snicker if you will, but how many well-intentioned moms out there have baby books that are complete through about baby's first month, and sparse or even blank after that?  At least this online space keeps me on the ball when it comes to my babies growing up.

With all of the attention my littlest is getting these days, it's easy to forget about my big boy. But today my little man is two-and-a-half!  I thought this momentous day deserved a post. 

These days, Gabe is a little boy. No baby left here!  He is a walking, talking, jumping, playing, racing, zooming, climbing boy. 

It's only been in the past few weeks that my quiet boy has begun speaking in relatively full sentences. For example, if he sees a toy that he hasn't played with in awhile, he'll say "Look Mommy, I found!" as he shows me what he's found. Or he'll call me to come upstairs to the play room: "Mama!  Come up here!"  And when I respond that I'll be up in a minute, he says "K!" and carries on with his play.  And in ultimate big-kid language, today when I asked him to pick up his toys, he said "five mo minutes!" 

Play consists of his old stand-by: CARS. He still loves them. He's started to recognize specific models, and can point out cars that family members have. Uncle Jeffrey's mustang is certainly his favorite. Sometimes he just likes to cruise Google Images for pictures of Mustangs or police cars. When he comes across one that is particularly cool, he'll say slowly and in awe "Yook at dat one."  Even when he's asleep, you can find car paraphernalia nearby.

Precious. 

He also still loves books. His favorite of the moment is "Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site."  (Or as Gabe says, "Goonight Goonight 'struction site".)  We read this one every night. He has a bevy of others that he loves, as well, and will pretty much sit and listen to anything anyone will read to him. 

He has exactly four favorite movies: Cars (of course), Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and Tangled. He loves to watch them on the TV or on his iPad. And yes, he has completely mastered the iPad, and even added the word "app" to his vocabulary. 

He's a boy.  Of course he watches TV with his hands in his pants.

Gabe loves his Daddy. He wants to be where J is and do what J does. Case in point:

Only when the chips are really down, like a bad dream or an injury, does he call for me. I'm okay with this. Gabe's personality is 100% J- they're two peas in a pod, really. Melts my heart. 

My boy is finally starting to accept his role as big brother. He now not only acknowledges his sister's presence, but he'll sometimes give her a toy to play with, or put her pacifier in her mouth!  The other day we went to wake her from a nap, and he so sweetly said- wait for it- "Hi pretty Margot. How you doing?"

Oh. Em. Gee. 

Gabe is a sweet and quiet boy, and for the most part, so well behaved. He has his two year old moments (being told no isn't his favorite thing), but in the grand scheme of two year olds, he's a dream come true. 

Who am I kidding?  In the grand scheme of all children of all ages the world over, he's my dream come true. 

Nugget, you make this mama a happy one. Happy half-birthday, my sweet boy!

Margot: 7 Months

Somehow I am offended by Margot reaching 7 months of age.  Now that she's an entire months past the half-birthday mark, I feel like she's just this little kid, instead of a tiny baby.

Today, I watched her crawl with such purpose, until she reached the stuffed animal that she wanted.  She then reached out and took it from J.  Just like that, took it.  She saw something, set her mind to getting it, and then got it.  Babies don't do that, do they??

She then, of course, promptly put it in her mouth.

My girl is crawling and drooling, drooling and crawling this month.

Crawling.

Drooling.

Sometimes, if drooling isn't enough, she spits, just for good measure.

She's also growing teeth.  There they are, all two of them.

She refuses to really sit up.  She could do it if she wanted to- she just doesn't want to.  Too busy to sit still, even to eat.

Half-sitting, ready to crawl away.  This is the best she'll give us.

I'm seeing more and more every day that this girl is like her mama, only with beautiful blue eyes- social, likes to laugh, and is always accessorized.

Happy 7 months, my little lady.

Margot: 6 Months

Dear Margot,

Today you are six months old.  You have been with us for a half a year already!  I've learned that with you babies, the first year flies by at a truly alarming rate, and I wish time would slow down.  You are so precious to me, and this time is so fleeting.  I already dread the day when I can no longer carry you around the house on my hip, or rock you to sleep, or gaze lovingly down at you while you sleep in my arms.

But enough of the sappy stuff...

You are a marvel, little girl.  You just light up a room with your happiness.  You, my sweet one, are truly happy.

You like to be on the floor.  You are trying to crawl, but aren't quite there, yet.

You aren't quite sitting up by yourself yet, but we can prop you up so you can see the world.

You know, you aren't in a hurry to do much.  You don't yet have teeth (but those two on the bottom are this close), you're not sitting up or crawling, and you don't think too highly of solid foods.  As a matter of fact, you rarely finish a bottle.  You are just content to be in the moment.  You'll just grab whatever is nearby and put it in your mouth.

You're tongue is always sticking out.

And your brother is your favorite person in the wide world.  (He's not too sure of you yet, but I think you're growing on him.)

Everyone you meet just can't help but love you!  Your blue eyes are mesmerizing, your golden strawberry hair always a topic of conversation, and your smile contagious.  You're a beauty.  And you've added immense joy to our family.

Happy half-birthday, my sweet baby girl.

Love,
Mama

This is Happening

SO...for quite some time now, J and I have contemplated moving.  I wrote a post about it here.  Then we decided to work on the current home and stay put for a few years.  I wrote a post about it here.  Then we finished up some major projects and were happy with our space.  I wrote a post about it here.

Broken record much?

Well folks, it seems we have come full circle, because this can currently be seen in my front yard.

That "Coming Soon" sign will be replaced with one that says "For Sale" by the end of the week.

Forgive me if blogging suddenly took a back seat.

The never-ending debate about finding the perfect time to move seems to have come to its conclusion.  The housing market is making its way back.  Home prices and interest rates are on the rise, so we think maybe we should just get while the gettin' is good.  You know, Carpe Diem and all.

I convinced J to just come drive through a new neighborhood with me, and perhaps get out of the car to tour the model home.  And before I knew it, we were writing a check to hold a lot, a lot on which we plan to build the beautiful new home of our dreams.

Then we got home, and reality set in.  We crunched numbers.  Then we crunched some more.  Then we called in the Realtor.  And finally, we kept crunching.  We came to the conclusion that we would give this thing a whirl.

Then madness really set in.  Painting, power washing, and carpet cleaning are all happening in the next few days.  We spent every ounce of the weekend getting the house put together and show-ready.  I will continue to spend every moment of the next few days continuing on this mission (then, God help me, will spend every moment keeping it show-ready until it sells- please pray that happens quickly!).

Fingers crossed that all goes well, and that we will be settling into our forever home in the near future!