Thursday, March 24, 2011

Home Sweet ...Homeless

Well, Chris and I have been house hunting for several months now. We have a smaller budget, but not terrible; we have a specific location we like, but it is understandable; and we have high standards, but they are not unreasonable. All of these things equal up to a few choices to pick from. We did find an incredible offer thanks to our real estate agent and due to circumstances beyond our control that "perfect house" is now unattainable. *sigh*
Now it is back to houses that are 20 years old, pretty far away from where we want to be, questionable neighborhoods, and a less that welcoming feeling. The houses inhabited by bachelors who have WAY to many hunting clothes and a phone installed by the toilet; the houses with unkempt backyards and above-ground pools that eat up the whole lawn; and houses that share a metal mailbox with the entire street.
My only goal I will set for this adventure is to find a place by the time our lease is up in October. I DO NOT want to resign, I DO NOT want to shell out almost 1k each month with no benefit, no gain. We need more space, we need a yard.
I never understood exactly why people said things like "I want to give my child more" until I had one. I want to give Lorelai a home to call hers. I want her to have more than just a crowded cluster of rooms in a building shared by dozens of other people. I want her to have a fireplace that Santa will use to visit her on Christmas eve...all we have now is a paper and cardboard replica. It is fine for the effect, especially since babies don't understand and won't remember...but she is quickly growing up and giving her a house before her first birthday would be amazing.
I am still actively looking and searching along with the assistance of our realtor. I pray a house is still possible within our timeline.

On a little side note: Lorelai only woke up once last night at 4am, she drank a 6oz bottle and went back to sleep until 9:30am! *cheers* Maybe...MAYBE this is a trend? I hope so...between her and my stress levels, I have been losing too much sleep!

M LEWIS

Friday, March 18, 2011

Growing Pains and Apartment Blues

So, it is official...starting this weekend at least...it is Spring. My car told me it was 88 degrees yesterday. :-( Blehhhhh, that is not spring, that is summer. I wish Texas would get with the seasonal program! I would love to escape to the mountains now, but no can do.
We have so much to prepare for.
We are house hunting now. We have a meeting with a realtor on Saturday. I am really excited to start the process, and yet very cautious and a bit overwhelmed. I am better than I was a few days ago though...I was a ball of stress. I had to deal with numerous issues: our tax return was "rejected," our problems with the insurance company and our pediatrician popped up again, Hub couldn't get an answer on his new salary; and that is not including household stressers like Phoebe and her potty-training saga and LEL with her refusal on rolling and tummy time. It probably didn't help that I was losing sleep left and right. Thanks daylight savings time. Since then, we have ironed out the tax return and the insurance. Still no answer on the salary issue though. :-(
Now on to LEL: Why does she hate tummy time? I feel I have tried it all. I guess she will do it on her own time, but she is almost 4 months old and she still shows 0 interest! Not to mention she is still no where near sleeping through the night. Maybe I had high expectations, but I was hoping for a little more progress at this point. She is still not in her crib because of her frequent nighttime feedings and restless fits. She will have to move to her room soon though...she is outgrowing her cradle and likes to throw her legs over the side so they dangle out in the room. This is of course, after she has demanded to kick off all her covers and spit out her pacifier or "paci" about 2 dozen times. *sigh* Because of these actions, I have started calling her "buga bear"...because she is bugging the life out of me! ;-)
Life hasn't been all bad of course, I have seen some friends, had some quality family time, and have been enjoying exercising my photography muscles. Still no word on the "good" camera yet. I hope it is fixed soon! I am itching to use it so badly!
As I type, the annoying apartment lawn crew is using their LOUD leaf-blowers against my windows and front door. This scares Lorelai, concerns Phoebe, and serves no purpose besides blowing away my doormat which I will have to fix in front of the door again later. I hate them. I have really begun hating most things about apartment life lately. Maybe it is because being a homeowner is in the near future (fingers crossed) or maybe it is because I have been dealing with their nonsense for over a year, but I am so anxious to get outta here! I hate having my mail 2 blocks away, I hate that I have to leash up Phobes and stand out with her and  LEL outside only to have her A) not go potty or B) go potty, but then walk all over picking it up (ick) and disposing it so we don't get fined $50! I hate that our trash pick up system is so picky and if we fudge on the rules at all we get fined, yep, $50 again. I hate that our upstairs neighbors somehow turn into elephants during certain times of day and seriously sound like they may crash through the ceiling. I hate that we have to pay so much for 1 covered parking spot that recently seems to constantly be littered with cigarette boxes and lighters thanks to some obnoxious neighbor. There are more annoyances but I will stop my rant here. You get my point...I want to leave.

Speaking of which, LEL has had enough playtime and is asking ever so loudly to be picked up. Until next time...

M LEWIS

Friday, March 11, 2011

All Smiles

Ok, first off I just have to say, I love my blog background! Every time I sign on it makes me smile. So cute.
But anyway...

Today I went to one of my favorite places: Hobby Lobby. I went for the intention of taking advantage of their many current sales. That is the best part of Hobby Lobby...every week there are several departments that mark their merchandise 50% off, and this week it was ribbon, home accents, picture frames, and select Easter decorations. I couldn't find just a plain Easter basket for LEL but I did get the basket grass and some pastel plastic eggs. I also found baby bloomer for $5.00! I have been searching for some and no stores carry them. You can order them online...for $17.00 a pair! *ahem* No way. So I was thrilled to find some there.
I also got supplies to make LEL some new and cute hair bows! Ribbon, buttons, flower...it was too much fun.
My Hairbow Creations I look forward to finding new things to make for my baby girl ♥

I wanted to get more yarn to make a baby blanket for my good friend, Jen (she found out she is having a little girl!!!!!) but that wasn't on sale this week...so I will check back soon on that.

On this day of fun and smiles, we can't ignore that seriousness happening around the world. Praying for those in Japan and all effected by the tsunami. You can do your part by texting REDCROSS to 90999, which will donate $10. If everyone does this small task, we can make a huge difference! Be thankful  tonight for your blessings!

M LEWIS