Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Frustrations in the Housing Market!

Well, we've put in/written offers 6 times on 4 different homes throughout this process... and none of them have been accepted! We're definitely most disappointed in the last home because we actually let ourselves get too attached to it. It was a great home (listen to me, talking about it as if it has passed away). We're trying to continue to be positive and really hope that we'll find something great and never look back... that is getting harder and harder to do with every offer. I am a bit discouraged by reading about how great the market is and that its a "buyer's market" when no one wants to sell us a house. And to answer everyone's question, no we haven't been sending in low-ball offers. I am very familiar with how to figure out offers because of learning from every move my parents have been though, and learning so much as we go through homes. Every house we see, I become more and more confident that what we've offered have been fair prices or maybe slightly under that for negotiation purposes.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers so that we can find something SOON! We essentially need to be in contract on a home by Oct. 15th because we will need to move mid-Novemeber before going to TX for Thanksgiving w/my in-laws and Tiffany's wedding. We're going out to look at homes tomorrow evening!

I will try and keep updates coming more on Jack... we're preparing for the big plane trip in a week and a half! That will definitely be interesting. As laid back as he is, I am thinking he will likely do okay over all with the trip. I'm mainly worried about his ears popping during take-off & landing. I'm even more worried about trying to handle it all through the airport, not to mention the fact that I bet we'll overpack "just in case". I'm sure I will have lots more to tell after the trip!

Jack is getting bigger and bigger every day... he keeps outgrowing clothes, or at least fitting into the bigger ones (as we try to squeeze him into current ones to get more use out of them). I have his outfit picked out for Leah's wedding on the 10th and I think I know what I want him to wear for Tiffany's in November... just waiting to see what size to buy. We bought his Halloween costume last weekend, he's going to be a monkey, because a) Matt loves monkeys and b) Jack's been making this new monkey-like sound (that kinda sounds like "hoo-hoo"). I will be sure to post the video I got of him doing it the other day (or you may have been able to see the one my mom got and emailed to friends & family).

Friday, September 25, 2009

Its been a While!

Wow... I can't believe its been so long since I've written an entry! Things have been extremely busy at work and when I get home I just want to crash and snuggle with my little man.



Jack is officially past the 3 month mark and we can't believe it! He is getting bigger and bigger every day and I just can't believe my eyes. I want to keep him as a baby because he's just a ton of fun, but I know that he's a ton of fun because of all the new things he's discovering these days.



He had been doing so well holding himself up that we decided to put together his exersaucer. I love to put things together (the scientist part of me loves to figure things out) so I just up and did it one day. It had just been sitting in a box in his room because I wasn't sure when he'd be able to use it (and I didn't want to unpack it and have to move it if he wasn't ready to use it). He loves it, mainly a couple of toys he can use but I think he loves being held upright in it the most! Here's a pic of the little guy enjoying himself:

Well, Matt and I went looking at houses today and think we found some great possibilities! I'll updated Sunday after we go looking at our favorites again... maybe we'll put a 4th offer in. Tomorrow Matt is working, so I might go and get Jack's Halloween costume! I can't wait, I will be sure to post pictures!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Back Online

After giving in, we went and bought a new modem/router for our DSL. Still slightly annoyed, since we've had it for under two years... but what can you do? Especially in my small internet dependent world! I will have to admit that the days without internet resulted in great family time! I found myself more focused on my husband and son... leaving our TV off more too. Definitely something of which I'd like to make more of a habit!

I definitely think this past weekend was great... Friday started off with me getting Jack's baptism invitations printed off at my parents (their printer is really nice!). I then came home and got myself ready for a "Mommy's night out" with a few friends who also have babies (but it was of course, not a Mom-only night). We went to El Vaquero for dinner and I must say, I've missed margaritas! I have never been one for margaritas, but man did they taste delicious. We even went out to a bar afterwards... my wonderful husband packed up my son and came and picked me up!

Saturday night we went over to a couple that we're good friends with for the Buckeye game. I made yummy Skyline Chili dip because I honestly kinda had a craving for it. It will be interesting to see how Jack does during football season; he was not a big fan of the random loud yells that the guys would give for the good, the bad, & the ugly plays. Our friend, Mike was in town from Orlando and it was great to see him... he's only been in FL for a little over a month but he's been missed.

Today, was nice & relaxing! Matt woke up and made a yummy breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs & toast; we think we want to make Sunday breakfasts a part of our family traditions. We went to Mass, which was kind of eventful for Jack... he ended up getting fussy & hungry half-way through so we had to move ourselves to the "cry room" so I could nurse him. I thought before we ventured to take him to church that this would be something I find very uncomfortable, but in the end it was very natural and I did not feel disrespectful about doing. Honestly, I was more worried about what some of the little older ladies might think than what God thought... I know He would want me to take care of my son!

Well, this evening has been full of laundry and a yummy dinner of oven-baked subs made by Matt! I am off to play around with our camcorder software so I can back-up our movies that we've taken so far.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

This Week!

This week has already been flying by... and I think that's great! It was already a three day week for me because Scotts company holidays include Labor Day and Patriot Day (for those of you who don't know when that is, its 9/11).

If you look at the previous post, you'll see that Jack is officially on the move! He's enjoyed practicing his new trick and my mom said he even rolled over in his crib after waking from a nap yesterday. One of the first things Matt brought to my attention after the initial excitement wore off from his first roll: now we have to keep a better eye on him! Little man is officially able to move from where we put him and that's kind of a scary realization.

We're going house hunting again tomorrow... we've got our fingers crossed that we find something soon! I know we're not even halfway through this month, but our personal goal is to find something before the end of the month. That would give us 30 days to close plus time to do some cosmetic stuff in the house before having to move out of our apartment before Thanksgiving.

Well, on other notes our internet is down until further notice... something is wrong with our DSL router :-(. Hopefully its a quick fix, otherwise we'll have to shell out $70-80 for a new one. This coming weekend, I am going out for a "Mom's Night Out" with friends. I'm so lucky to have friends who are mom's too... they really understand how much lives change after bringing a baby into the world. I thought pregnancy was a big change, it is nothing compared to motherhood!

Well, until next week (unless we get the internet fixed) this will be it because I'm taking vacation tomorrow and Friday's a holiday for me. I also want to wish my parents a very happy anniversary this Friday! (If you need something positive to associate with 9/11, it is my parents' anniversary; always try to see the good [memories] with the bad [memories].)

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Rolly Polly...



Jack rolled over on the first college football Saturday of 2009 (Sept. 5, 2009), shortly after the Buckeye's scored their first touchdown of the game/season!

The things that excite us as parents are so amazing. I think it is hard to truly appreciate the little things in life until you have a baby. We're so proud of our little guy! Enjoy!