Moving Day is Coming!

We are well on our way with the new house. We have all the paperwork done until closing day. Now we just need to save money for all the closing costs and moving costs. Plus find some muscle to get stuff moved on moving day.

Moving day is November 24th. We discontinued our storage unit and put all that stuff in the corner of the garage. The garage is no longer for cars, but for stuff that is packed up. That way we can just back the moving van in and load her up.

Today I did the first official packing. I did a bunch of packing when we put our house on the market to get rid of all the clutter, so I'd say half of what needed to be packed is already done. That's a load off my shoulders. I pack more aggressively staring in November, but if I'm not using it then I might as well pack it. So I went through Erin's clothes and sorted out what was too small, what is out of season, and stuff I don't like. I stuffed it all into garbage bags and ended up with three full ones. I may go through her toys and just leave a few to play with.

Our new house is amazing. We are out in the country on 8 acres. The house is almost 3000 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is also a loft above the garages that is huge. There is a living room on the main floor as well as one in the walkout basement, both with wood burning fireplaces. Much of the home has been built with materials from historic Rochester buildings which is really unique. Not all of it is very pleasing to the eye, and that stuff will have to be re purposed. For example the pink plastic tile in the bathroom.

I also just put together a resume for a part time job that is being offered where we are moving. The hours are M-F 10am - 3pm. They would be perfect because I would still have plenty of time with Erin.

Lots of changes happening, but I am so excited and ready for them!

Guess What!

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I am more than a little excited. Let's just say I have not slept well since we got the call that an offer was coming in. The offer was okay, but not enough, so we counter-offered and they accepted it. All in all we feel really good about it. A soon to be wed couple is buying the house and they seem very excited and we are happy to have people buying the house that will love it. They must have really loved our pergola because they wrote into the purchase agreement that it had to stay. hehehe I'm not about to dig up the posts that are cemented into the ground, dismantle all the pieces and haul them an hour away. Their home inspector came yesterday and he turned out to be the same guy that inspected this house for us. Crazy. We hope to hear from them today that they found nothing and that we are in the clear!

We got that offer on Monday so we took off Wednesday to look for houses. I have to say that it is much more enjoyable when you can look at houses and know that you can buy it! Turns out that the first one we looked at is "The One" It is a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house with nearly 3000 sq ft, 2 car garage, and another huge garage that you could literally park a semi in. What seals the deal for us is the 8+ acres that comes with it!!! The view from the small hill that overlooks Rochester is amazing.

The interior of the house suffers from a serious lack of updating. However, since we got our hands dirty with our first house I feel more than ready to take it on. I actually wouldn't be able to buy a house and not do anything to it. I have to make it my own. However, the walkout basement had been finished 3 years ago and looks great. There are also 2 wood burning fireplaces that are gorgeous. We are trying so hard not to fall deeply in love with the place until it is ours. But it is proving to be very difficult.

Other than that news that has completely taken over every thought, we are going out of town to the Wisconsin Dells today for a week. It will be a beautiful fall trip. All the leaves are starting to turn now and everything looks so pretty. We are staying in a 2 bedroom cottage with a kitchen and a wood burning fireplace so we will be cozy and well fed.

Wish us luck with securing the purchase of our new home!

So Glad I'm Not Retiring Now.

I can't imagine being one of those people being a year or two away from retirement. Having to watch as your investments plummet in value in the course of a week. Then you would have to weigh either retiring on less money, not being able to do the things that you wanted in your retirement, and possibly running out of money. Or you could work longer, save more, and hope for economic rebound.

People like my husband and I who have money invested in retirement have seen our share of loss as well. Thankfully we are young and have 30 years to recover and surpass it. If we are really smart we will invest now while the market is down and make even more money. The knee-jerk response to this is to pull all our money out of the market and stuff it under our mattress. However, we have done our best to live and spend responsibly and not beyond our means. Plus Scott has significant job security thanks to the baby boomer generation being so large and entering the ages of needing more and more medical care. Selling our house would make it even easier on us financially. Saving $300 a month on gas would be a big plus (more money to invest?).

Other than the economy crumbling around our ears, things are well with the family. I think the total so far of my canning adventures is 26 jars of pickles and 15 jars of tomatoes. I got lots of Roma tomatoes this year and they are so yummy. I also found a great use for my eggplant. I tried out a Greek dish, Moussaka. It was so great and it was nice to actually be successful in cooking with eggplant. The bechamel sauce was so smooth and brought everything together. . mmmmm.

No tattoo so far. I don't feel strongly in any direction as to the design that I want to permanently etch into my arm, so I will wait. But Erin decided to do some decorating herself. Her favorite part was pulling the stickers off making me say Ow! The other picture is our grapes that grew on our pergola this year.

I am feeling the itch to knit again. I think it is the changing leaves and the appearance of fall even though the temperatures continue to climb into the 80's. I just need to pick a project, to a gauge swatch and dive in. I think my downfall has been that I don't do a gauge swatch. I'm not a person who likes to take my time and get my ducks in a row, I like to dive in and it has doomed too many projects for me. There is a great idea for a hat with an attached scarf for kids that would be wonderful for Erin this winter. That would be a nice small project to start with.

Scott's brother, sister-in-law and their son Ian came for a visit. Erin had a lot of fun with him. He is just crawling so their interaction was pretty limited. However, the other weekend we visited Scott's sister and their son Walker is 1 1/2 and they played so well together. It will be fun having cousins close to her age as they all get older. They had so much fun on Walker's toy train, it was hard to get them off it.

Projects.

I want to be done now.


It all started August 15th. Our realtor suggested that we do some sprucing up of the unfinished part of the basement to at least make it more presentable to potential buyers. So I took on the project of painting the walls and the floor. My mother helped me and we spent the weekend and a couple of days getting it done. It looked really good.


Our old utility tub was cast cement and one of the basins had cracked and would leak onto the floor so we decided to replace it. The dilemma was how to get the solid cement tub out of the basement. It had to weigh over 300lbs. I did not want my husband or anyone else crazy enough to attempt getting the sink up our steep cellar stairs and severely injuring themselves. All I could picture was whoever that was on the bottom having that monstrosity come crashing down on them and inevitably breaking a bone. My suggestion was to smash it up and carry it out in pieces.


Scott (my husband) decided for option one and got my brother to reluctantly agree to at least try to get the cement sink out. After a single attempt and both of them straining their backs, he opted for my suggestion.


I bought a sturdy plastic one and replaced it so our laundry had a place to drain. It was a single basin so it also takes up a lot less room.


After the walls and floor had been painted Scott got inspired and wanted to take down the drop ceiling and put up a pine planking ceiling like the one we have in our bedroom. Of course my mom and I got roped into this project as well. So we proceeded to stain and varnish 400 sq ft of boards. Thankfully with the three of us working it didn't take too long.


Scott had a few days off and my brother also had some days free before he started school, so they got a decent start to the ceiling. I had taken down all the drop ceiling for them to get things moving along. The following weekend my mom watched Erin while Scott and I worked on the ceiling. Of course we hit snags along the way that slowed us down and were frustrating. I did all the cutting with the miter saw and jig saw. There were a few curves that threw me . . . well. . curves. I did all the cutting outside so I ran up and down the cellar stairs A LOT. Lets just say I have calves and buns of steel. =)


We also worked the next few days when Scott got home from work to get it done before our weekend away in Minneapolis. I really didn't want to have that looming over our heads while we were gone. Thankfully we got it done and the basement looks so nice.


I got Scott to finally help me bring our love seat and ottomans downstairs to put together a little TV area. It is so nice to have that downstairs for when Erin is napping or going to bed. I have my treadmill set up behind the love seat so I can watch TV while I am running. Which by the way I am still doing and it is still going well. I have lost 8 pounds so far and quite amazed at myself. I always anticipated it to much more painful and torturous. But I feel in great shape, which I want to be in since I am not getting any younger. I also want to be at a better starting weight when we decide to have another baby. I think I will in better shape for the next pregnancy than I was with Erin. Whew. . . another baby. . . I'm still a little nervous thinking about it.


Anyway. . . now that the ceiling is in it is about 3-4 inches higher than the drop ceiling was so there is that much of unpainted wall exposed as well as the venting downstairs. So now I have to go around the basement and re-edge everything. A project that I thought was finished. I also have to be more careful not to get paint on the new ceiling so I am taping everything. In case there was any doubt. . . painting above your head is zero fun. Hence, I am ready to be done. Thank you very much.
Here's a picture of our little TV area downstairs and you can see the new ceiling as well.

I want a tattoo.

So I've been scouring the Internet to get inspiration for a tattoo. I need it to mean something so I also want to take my time.

I might be ditching the idea of a tree or branch and going for something that signifies motherhood. I've been trying to find a picture or symbol that speaks to me and having a hard time.

There is the Celtic Motherhood Knot. Here is what I found on a website to explain what it means.

A heart within a heart - a mother's love encircling her child, giving it guidance, protection and encourage. This design reminds one of the ancient fertility symbols carved by prehistoric people - usually a symbol with large breast and a swollen belly."
Also on Celtic Lady "Add a dot around the outside or inside the Celtic knotwork for each child. Many designs found in the Book of Kells are enhanced with dot-work."

It looks like a nice design and I could add dots for subsequent children. However, I'm not sure that it does the best job of trying to portray how I feel about motherhood. Motherhood has changed me in every way. I feel things more deeply, cry more easily, and love my baby girl obsessively. I love being a mom and the woman I have become. I am doing exactly what I want to do by being home and raising my daughter. I am more creative and have more patience. All of who I am just makes sense since I became a mom.

I had wanted a dragon tattoo of some kind before I had Erin. I was excited to find this explanation of dragons.

The dragon is the ultimate source of female power and the symbol of magic, motherhood and divinity: a valiant defender. Dragons were perceived as powerful, protective, fearsome, and resolute. They were valued for their warlike qualities, but also for their intelligence, wisdom and ability to prophesise the future. Some dragons lived in lakes or water, whilst others made their homes on top of huge rocky mountains or inside caves. Some dragons could fly, whilst others could breath fire. This mastery of the elements, again emphasises the dragon’s magical prowess.

I also did a search for some moving pictures of moms and babies together. Here are a few that I liked.

I like the outline one and thing that it could transfer to being a tattoo pretty well. Although I am not sure how I feel about a naked breast being on my arm. The fantasy ones of the mother and daughter fairies are very nice and I like that they are in silhouette.

I just need to take my time and be sure of what I want. Perhaps I'll even get a henna tattoo done in the same spot to make sure that I want a tattoo there.

Cooler Weather.

That front that went through yesterday that took that hot, sticky weather and brought this crisp, cooler weather is my new hero. I didn't even want to go outside it was so gross out. Erin and I put some water in the pool to help with being outside, but I was just tired of the hot. I am ready for fall.

Our trip to Minneapolis was really nice. We went to the most amazing restaurant that I have ever been to. It was like actually getting to eat the food we see the chefs cook on Iron Chef America. Everything tasted so good together I just couldn't stop smiling. We took my brother, who is in culinary school and his girlfriend with us. It was kind of like a field trip for him. Plus it was fun talking about the food with him and all the different things they used in the dishes and how they prepare them. The restaurant we visited is called La Belle Vie and is ranked number one in Minneapolis. We wanted to get the whole experience so we did the 8 course tasting menu with wine flight. It was spendy, but it is a meal I will remember forever. Here is the link to their website, http://www.labellevie.us/ It took us 3 hours to get through it all and there were about 7 glasses of wine involved.

We also got to walk downtown quite a bit since our hotel was right in the middle of it. Our hotel gave us a room on the 19th floor and it had a nice city view. Pretty much all of where we wanted to go was within walking distance. So we were able to park our car in the hotel car ramp and not drive it again until we went home. I had fun walking around downtown with Scott during dusk and taking some fun pictures of buildings.

I came home to a little girl that was very excited to see me. She keeps telling me "Mommy home?" I reassure her that yes I am home. I also came home to lots of tomatoes and cucumbers to pick. I am trying to come up with some recipes to use my fresh tomatoes in a tasty way.

Last night I sliced up some of my Roma tomatoes and roasted them along with some garlic cloves in the oven. I reduced some wine with some minced onion in it. I added the roasted garlic to the sauce and some cream and let that reduce a little. Then I added Parmesan cheese and the roasted tomatoes to it. I also lightly coated some tilapia fillets in some flour, pepper, and salt. I got a pan nice and hot and cooked until the outside was crispy. To plate it all I put down some pasta, the fish on top, and the sauce on top of it all. Oh, so yummy!

Late Nights, Little Sleep.

We are still working our butts off on the ceiling in the basement. However, half is done and the other half is started. The half that is done looks really nice! Scott and I are going to work really hard to get the other half done before we take our little trip this weekend. I really don't want to think about it while we are away.



Erin is being very weird about her sleep lately. Not sure what is going on. She is having a hard time going to sleep at night and will wake up in the middle of the night and be up for a couple of hours. Needless to say, I am very tired. Last night she woke up at 2:30 and I went in there and rocked her. As soon as I put her back down in her bed she sat up. So I took here to our spare bedroom and put her in bed with me. She proceeded to wiggle, sing, kick, twist, and turn until 4am. At that point I had had enough and put her back in her bed to go to sleep. Thankfully, she did, but still woke up at 8am. After all the hard work on the house and losing sleep because of Erin's weird phase she is going through, I am tired. I need coffee. So I will drink some and hope her nap goes well as I will be taking one too.



On a more exciting note, I picked my first big red tomato yesterday. I can't wait to dig into that. It is going to be so sweet and yummy. I think some olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil will go very nicely with it. Oooo, I should buy some nice mozzarella and make caprese. Mmmmmmm. . .



I am also thinking of getting a tattoo. I want to get one on my upper arm and have been researching what I think I would like to get. I want to get some sort of tree or branch to signify strength and growth and have blossoms on it to signify my children (current and future). No I am not implying that I am pregnant. So here is a picture that I found that I really like.

August

Our house is still for sale. Although houses really aren't moving off the market very fast. The good news is that I will get to harvest all my tomatoes and can them to my heart's content. I have already canned some pickles and they are tasty.



We have decided to do a few projects to spruce up the unfinished part of the basement. My mom and I took a weekend and put a new coat of paint on the walls and on some concrete paint on the floor. The bright urine color that some previous owner put on the walls is finally gone. It looks much nicer and cleaner. The rainbow shag that was around the toilet also has been dealt with. It seems that our work in the basement has inspired and motivated my husband and he took on the project of getting rid of the drop ceiling and putting in pine planking. So we stained and sealed 450 sq ft of boards and he is doing his best to put it up. It is going to look really nice. We'll see if it will help sell our house.





Erin is two-years-old now. We had a great birthday week. My brother and his girlfriend were here for the whole week (top) and Erin loved dragging them around to play with her. My sister and her husband (bottom) came up for the weekend. I hadn't seen her in a few years so it was really great to see them. For the day of her birthday we went to the beach and had the party after her naptime. My brother (chef in training) helped me with the dinner and I made a really fun cake.



This other cake was my first attempt at fondant. It was pretty fun, but not sure that it is practical for birthdays as kids enjoy frosting more.


Other than all that Erin is working towards potty training and doing pretty well with it. She isn't completely ready yet, but she is going to look so very cute in underwears.

Not Yet.

Our house hasn't sold yet, but I'm trying not to hold it against it. It's a good house, it has done us well. We have improved all the important things like the roof and central air unit. I have heard that this price range takes awhile to sell. We have another showing today and three people called our realtor about our house yesterday. Very good to know that there is still interest.

Of course I have my vegetable garden all planted and it is getting to the part of the season that it will be too late to replant at the new house if we sell. So I'm kind of hoping that we get to stay until the end of August now so I can harvest and can all those tomatoes that I planted. Not to mention the pickles that I want to make.

Other than that I was sick for two weeks straight at the end of May/beginnin of June. Erin picked up some nasty bug that turned into an ear infection in 3 days. Then I caught it and ended up coughing so much that I couldn't sleep at night. I went to my doctor and got some cough medicine with codine in it and and worked like magic. It felt so good to finally get some sleep. On top of all that I caught the stomach flu and vomitted all night and the next day. Good thing that Scott didn't have to work that day. Erin caught it just a bit. She thew up three times and then was done. I was very thankful there. I am happy to report that I am well now, only the occasional sneezing attacks from my allergies.

Erin's birthday is coming up very soon and having a lot of family come into town so I will be a busy host. I love hosting. I love cooking for other people and making them feel pampered in my home. I'm planning on giving fondant a try for her cake this year. I think I have watched enough Food Network Challenges, and Ace of Cakes to give it a try. I'll post pictures of my attempts. Now just to figure out where to buy it. . .

Scott and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary last month. My mom was available to watch Erin so we got to go out to a nice restaurant, share a bottle of wine, and walk to a movie. It was a very nice time. Then on top of that we got to get away for a weekend the first weekend of June for the first time since Erin was born. My mom was very excited to get Erin a whole weekend to herself.

We went to The Melting Pot restaurant in downtown the first night we were there. I wasn't smart enough to call earlier for reservations for a Friday night so we didn't get in until 9:30. But we enjoyed it and it was a fun experience. Being downtown was interesting to just experience the different culture of city-dwellers. At 11 o'clock there were still tons of people all over.

We scheduled hour-long full body massages for the next day at noon. It was amazing and glorious. I could get one every day. We also visited the Alexis Bailley Vineyard that afternoon for their annual winetasting. We love that place. Scott suprised me by bringing me there 3 years ago for a birthday suprise. We brought chairs, a little table, cheese, crackers and fruit. It was a beautiful day and we sat so we could see the vineyards, and they had live music, and of course great wine. We bought 4 bottles to bring home. We enjoyed ourselves and it was very nice to have a break for mommy duties.

Hope everyone's spring is splendid!

Snow in April.

Ahhhh. . . Minnesota. I love the season changes that we get to experience. However the whiplash of winter's hopefully last attempt to rob us of a spring was quite shocking. It was so weird to get up and see huge flakes falling and accumulating on the ground. Here are some crazy pictures that I took on April 29th.

You can see the green grass through the snow. Thankfully it didn't damage my flowers that were already coming up and some of them blooming!

We still don't have the garden tilled, but the weather has been so weird and my husbands schedule so crazy that has to wait. I know that we have our house on the market, but I have to plant my vegetable garden to keep myself sane as we wait for it to sell. I would kick myself forever if I didn't plant it and we waited all summer for it to sell and I could have been eating all kids of gorgeous produce!

Erin's newest game is putting and taking off any shoes that she can find. She found her boots and puts them on and takes them off all day. In the picture she has her pajama shirt on, her boots, and a random pair of pants (because her other new game is to take off her diaper when she is in bed and then pees in the pants). Such a silly girl. She also puts random shoes and hats on me.

Oh and by the way. . . SOMEONE BUY MY HOUSE!!!!!

We can do it???

Well my confidence took a small blow when the house down the street listed after us, for $15k more and sold already. Granted it was a perfect house for a retiring couple with all main floor living with great upgrades like granite countertops and hardwood floors. Our house would be a death trap for them with the spiral staircase. Even with this rationale. . . IT'S NOT FAIR!!!! OUR HOUSE WAS ON THE MARKET FIRST!!!! (end rant) Ok I will be patient and have faith. . . or at least try. This house selling/buying is an emotional adventure.

We placed an offer on a nice 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house and are still waiting on the reply. Of course the offer is contingent on our house selling, and who knows when that will be. So we wait. We wait until our house sells and then we rush, to buy another house that we hope we can love. It makes me wonder if there is a better way to do all of this.

Erin will be 2 years old in two months. It is going so fast. She absolutely loves playing outside and this awful weather forces me to keep her inside. But seriously, snow on April 26th???!!!!!

Next project. . . till the vegetable garden. Even if we aren't here long enough to eat the produce, at least it will look nice for showings and open houses.

The picture is of Erin demading to have the whole nectarine. Heaven forbid that I cut it up for her. . . nooooo she's a big girl. She ate the whole thing. What a silly girl.

Here we go. . .

We will be putting our house on the market next week. I will be holding my breath until it sells. I feel good about all the work we have put into this house. I think it looks fabulous! I will miss it here. Just need to have the relator take pictures of the house to put online. I think I will have Scott take Erin for an outing so that I don't have to keep picking stuff up all along the way. I am excited and nervous!


I think that we have come up with a good listing price as well. We aren't looking to make out like bandits, so that helps. If we can find the right people they will buy this house right up. We live on a dead end street and only a block from the lake, plus a large yard that I have beautifed.


I'm looking forward to the warm weather. Erin and I are going to take as many walks and go to the park as many times as we can before our house sells. It will be so much more fun this year since she can walk.

I love it when asparagus gets so cheap in the spring. I buy tons of it. I usually just sautee it in some olive oil and put salt and garlic on it. Erin won't touch broccoli, but she loves asparagus! I also make a creamy asparagus soup. So yummy. Not sure that anything beats putting it on the grill though. I could eat just that for dinner. It is weird how things you detested as a kid you learn to adore as an adult.



Our Easter was nice. We did a dinner with Scott's family the week before and a little dinner with the family that lives here the weekend of. I didn't let Erin eat a ton of candy, I still think she is too young to eat bunches of it. I'm all in support of easter baskets, but not sure how I feel about actual gifts for Easter. First of all Erin has plenty of toys and gets gifts for her birthday and Christmas. I don't think that kids need presents for every holiday! Plus I have to find a place to put it all!!!! My house is only so big.

Well everyone wish me luck on the sale of my house!!!

Oh My Goodness!

There is only two months before we want to put our house on the market and the to-do list seems to be getting longer instead of shorter! Since I am at home all day I am trying to chip away at things. However, with a one and a half year old I am mostly limited to her daily nap time to work on projects. Not very practical to try and paint with her running around. It would be a disaster.

After all the miscellaneous projects are finished then I need to go through the house and get all the clutter out. I plan on packing up a lot of stuff that we don't use much and putting it in a storage unit. I want people to be able to see the house, not our stuff! Wish me luck there.

It is all scary and exciting and seems like so much work. Can we do it???

On the other hand buying a new house and getting some options that we don't have in this one, seems very enticing. Also reducing Scott's commute by about 55 minutes is a huge motivator. I would really love to have a bigger kitchen in the next house. I love cooking and continue to grow in my bravery to try new things. Our kitchen is nice, but small and it is hard to have 2 people in there at all.

More square footage would be nice especially if our family grows. At least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms would be excellent. I also HAVE to have a vegetable garden. So a decent size lot would be in order. Not sure what to do about the garden this year. I guess I will plant one here just in case our selling aspirations take longer than we would like.

Erin is growing and changing and saying new words all the time. One of the pictures is my attempt to interest her in coloring, she was more interested in eating the blue crayon.

New Year

I have been very bad at keeping up, but I've decided to forgive myself.

Things have been good here. Erin is getting to big so fast. I am completely enjoying my time with her. She runs everywhere, says more words, and is such a goofy girl.

Our Thanksgiving and Christmas went well. Erin has so many toys, I'm just not sure what to do with them all. Her favorite game right now is cooking. She loves to put cheerios into pans and little cups and stir them with spoons while saying 'hot' and blowing on it. I just know she is going to be my little helper in the kitchen.

We have become aunt and uncle again for the third time. Our new nephew was born on January 6th and was 7 and a half pounds. We have yet to meet him, but hopefully within the next few weeks.

I think time goes by faster once you become a parent. You are always busy so there if very little, precious downtime. But with that it seems my baby is growing up too fast. I hate it and love it at the same time. She is so beautiful and fun and silly and it is hard to think that she is going to leave me someday. So I do my best not to think about that, but about all the years I get to have with her.

We are still doing projects to spruce up our house as we are going to be putting it on the market in April. Hopefully we will sell it and we will be moving closer to Scott's work. It seems like a big undertaking and we are leary about the housing market right now, but it makes the most sense with where we are at with our family. We want to have another baby someday, and I will need Scott more. He drives an hour each way to and from work and he is more than burnt out with it. Plus we will be closer to his family, and since the cousins are so close in age it will be nice to have them grow up together. So all in all it is the best decision for us.

I am still knitting here and there, and crocheting a bit too. I like to crochet washcloths, they go faster than knitting one and it is fun to mix it up a bit. I have been trying to be more adventurous with my cooking. It helps that my brother is going to culinary school and I can get some tips from him.

There are a lot of changes on the horizon for us. It is scary to think of my life with a toddler and a newborn. Moving will be crazy for us. Let alone if we are moving and I am pregnant!!! I hope we sell before that happens!