Making it Work

Our house has been on the market for four weeks and we have had several showings. Of course the showings are never on days when I'm at work and the kids are at school. The showings only occur at times that we are forced out of the house. We've spent some extra time at Costco and we've eaten fast food a little more frequently than usual. On Friday, we had to be out of the house right after lunch and I didn't want to hassle with cleaning up a lunch mess on top of all the other cleaning I have to do to prep the house for a showing so we ate lunch at McDonalds. The girls like dipping their apples in ketchup which is totally disgusting, but they end up eating more apples than fries so I guess that's a win....

*This is Charlie's "cheese" face. She looks more like a pirate than a little girl who is saying "cheese".

Excellence

Scott and I just returned from a 10 year anniversary celebration trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. It was muy bueno. We didn't leave the resort. We didn't do any excursions. We rested so much that my rear end got tired of sitting. That my folks, is a pretty good way to spend a vacation!

Dinner at the resort.

 Drinking a coco loco at the pool.



 Enjoying a day on the beach



Special door "banner" and flowers for our anniversary



Scott making friends with the birds---he'll talk to anyone!

Who knew Target had a Dominican outpost specializing in cigars??

Postcard perfect beach.



Waiting for the evening entertainment. I think it was disco theme this night!

Thanks to the grandparents for watching the girls so we could enjoy a great vacation!

Apple Juice?

 

Charlie: Apple Juice?

Emily: You've already had a cup of apple juice. Would you like water or milk?

Charlie: Apple Juice?

Emily: Milk or Water?

Charlie: Apple Juice?

Emily: Milk or Water?

Charlie: Apple Juice?

My First Baby

Sigh. Evy is getting big. Older. More mature. Whatever the word is, she is growing up. Last night at bedtime we sat in her rocking chair, instead of our usual spot on the bed, to read books. I told her we could cuddle and rock while we read. After we finished reading I turned off the lamp and tried to hold her while we rocked and sang like we always have. She couldn't find a comfortable spot. She's too big. This is the first time I've realized she's too big. Sigh. So instead of rocking and singing she sat on my lap and we talked. I asked her lots of questions. She talked. A lot. She told me that she really likes tuna fish sandwiches for lunch at school. She also likes the eggs they give her for a snack. The eggs are big and white but don't have the hard shell on them. She uses lots of hand gestures along with her story. She thinks the yellow part of the egg is the baby. The eggs also have juice. She's not sure what kind of juice. Maybe it isn't actually juice. Maybe it's just slobber she says. She likes music class. Miss Jodi drank a lot of coffee today. The boys at school are mean because they chase the girls. The teachers say, "Boys! Stop doing that!" Evan is the only nice boy. Pocahontas is still with us you know. She's not dead, she lives at Disney. Can we go to the place where Shamu lives? When Charlie is two we can go see the Princesses at Disney. Is that a long drive?

No more rocking with my big girl, but the stories are great!

House for Sale!

[All furniture moved off the carpet on the main floor so carpet can be cleaned.]

[That means most of our furniture was shoved into the kitchen. The girls thought it was hilarious!]

Oh my---I haven't blogged for awhile because we have been busy! On January 7 we put an offer on a new home just a couple of miles from where we currently live. After going back and forth for five days we finally came to a purchase agreement at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, January 11. The purchase of the new house is contingent on us selling our house by March 1 so there is no time to spare. In three days we had to have our house prepared to go on the market. That meant getting furniture moved, carpet cleaned, toys stored away, and the house staged for pictures. I have junk crammed into every nook and cranny in the house. In fact, I don't know where 70% of our belongings are. We've been through two hardwood floor consults at the new house, two geothermal inspections, and a full home inspection. We are now negotiating last details on repairs that need to be made. We are actively showing our current home which means it needs to be picked up (beds made, dishes done, no laundry laying around, toys put away, counter tops cleared) at all times of the day. I think we might be crazy. Scratch that. We are crazy.

Hummus

Charlie loves to eat hummus with a spoon...

...with a cracker, until...

...it's all over her face.

This morning as I was putting hummus in my lunch bag she stood at my feet at yelled, "Hummus! Hummus! Hummus!"

Women's Hoops

We had a great time at the women's basketball game today. Parking is free, tickets are inexpensive, and traffic is nonexistent. Evy ate raspberry ice cream, a hot dog, and popcorn! It was also a great opportunity for Evy to support some "girl Hawkeyes" as she called them. She's been to football, wrestling, and a men's basketball events so I don't think she realized that girls can be Hawkeyes too. It was a great way to show her that women can be athletes--and earn college scholarships!