Welcome 2011!

It's been an entire year since my last blog....so blogging really isn't my bag, apparently!

There have been many changes in my little family's life since my last blog. We endured lots of heartache and change. Some of those changes led to better opportunities, some of the heartache made us appreciate the people and things we do have in our life. There were a lot of challenges in 2010, but our little family became stronger because of those challenges!

We are expecting our second little boy on April 1, 2011! Yes, an April Fool's baby. Everyone has their own ideas of what will happen that day "Congratulations, it's a girl!" is the number one idea most people have. Some people think an April 1st birthday is a great way to trick our son into thinking he'll get awesome gifts for his birthday and then telling him, "April Fools!" I'm pretty sure we won't be that cruel!

We are so blessed to have a first born son who is so smart, social, and funny! We can't wait to welcome son #2 to our home and discovering all of his likes/dislikes/strengths. Of course, having a baby the beginning of April is great for a teacher...the last two months of school off followed by three months of summer vacation. I don't know why every teacher's child isn't born in April! :)

Below is our most recent family picture. Perhaps I will post another blog before a year from now when our second son is almost a year old. :) Happy 2011, Everyone!

New Year, New Beginnings!

2009 was a great year! It was filled with firsts! First time mom, first time putting a home on the market, first time having major surgery! This year is certainly one that I will never forget!

2010 has already started off to be full of new beginnings for my little family. Three things have happened this year that are new for us:

1. Max started crawling backwards and trying oh so hard to go forward!

2. Max has started babbling with words like "dada bad da baba"....so cute!

3. Mat wrote out checks tonight for bills for the first time since we've been married.

I believe #3 is a fluke. I also believe that #3 should happen regularly from now on, but said person in #3 does not think so. *sigh* Maybe that can be his new year's resolution for 2011? :)

My fearsome threesome little family will hopefully encounter many changes over this next year. I am excited to see what changes those will be! I wonder where we'll be a year from now? For now I am blessed beyond measure with a family that was meant just for me.

The day it became "Just the three of us"! My mom left us to go back to Olney this day. I cried as soon as she went out the door.

We survived her leaving us! We settled into the groove and evolved into our own little family. We can't imagine life any other way. :)

Merry Christmas!

Max's shirt says "Save a Tree! Step 1: Plant a tree; Step 2: Hug a tree; Step 3: Repeat Step 1 & 2. He is wearing this in front of our artificial Christmas tree. Happy Christmas, everyone! Have you hugged a tree today? :)

No words

There are no words. All I can do is squeeze my baby and kiss him as many times as he will let me. While at work this morning, I learned that one of my child's peers in his child care room had passed away last night. He was only 15 months old.

Hug your babies. Give your loved ones your time. Let your house go. Order take-out. Life is too short to worry about those things that can be taken care of some other day. The ones you love will not be here forever. The time we have with our loved ones is precious and borrowed. Use it wisely and treasure it.

House Hunt

Some tips for people selling their homes:

1. Please do not smoke in your home if you ever intend on selling. It immediately turns off potential buyers.

2. If you have pets, please shampoo your carpets so there is no pet odor....or include a flooring allowance to have the flooring replaced.

3. Leave your house when the agent brings clients over. It is difficult to voice what you do not like about the home when the proud home owner is within ear shot! Sometimes buyers can give you some feedback that will help you sell your house if they are not intimidated about hurting your feelings if you hear what they say while in your home.

4. Take out the GARBAGE! Do not let garbage accumulate in your garage....especially garbage that is garbage. We saw a home with 20+ bags of garbage sitting right in front of the door to the garage. Gross.

5. Do not put your pets in a bedroom and post a sign on the door "Do not enter, Dogs in Room!". Buyers want to view every room in the house!

6. When you add rooms to your home, think about resale. Buyers do not necessarily want a huge Busch Beer wall-sized mirror in their finished basement.

7. Do not leave your pool table....pool tables only appeal to a few people who are looking to buy a new house.

8. Clean your house. Clean your oven. Burn some candles. Plug-in air fresheners would be nice, too!

9. Do not leave murals of Arnold Schwartzenegger up in your basement. It freaks people out.

10. Swimming pools may seem like a good investment, but people with babies/children may want the extra yard space for entertaining and playing catch.

So...anyone have any tips for me to sell my house?

Home for Sale!

We placed our home on the market on Monday, November 30th. Some people may think it is a bit odd to place your home on the market right smack in the middle of the holidays and the beginning of winter, but we have our reasons why we chose this time to do it.

1. Tax credits. The tax credit will be ending in April, 2010 and we would like to have the opportunity to persuade a first time home buyer to purchase our home and receive that tax credit!

2. Less inventory on the market. People tend to take their homes off of the market during the holidays because they don't want to mess with keeping their home "show ready" in the middle of the holiday hub-bub.

3. We figure it may take a while to sell! We've seen homes on our street on the market for 4-6 months already. There is one For Sale By Owner that has been on the market for over a year on our street! I think that person is in desperate need of the HGTV show "Real Estate Intervention"!

4. People looking for homes this time of year will be more serious. Who really looks for a house in the middle of the holiday season with everything else going on? Only people who are REALLY looking and REALLY in need of a move...that's who...and those are the people we want to sell to!

So...if you know of anyone interested in purchasing a 2 bedroom, 1 bath villa near the 370/270/70 interchange in the St. Louis area, send them our way! Let's make a deal!

Sick, sick, sick

I am currently sick with strep throat for the first time as a mommy. I am lucky enough to have my mother in law available to help watch after Max while I rest. I don't know how I would have done it without her today. I don't know how other mommies do it, but maybe I can handle it better next time. Max sure does love his grandma, which is good for us!

I missed the appointment with the bank today because I was sick. Mat went for the both of us. We got pre-approved for a new home. We were approved for about the amount I thought we would get approved for, which is good. Everything is lining up for us to put our house on the market and look for our first detached single family home! Things are looking up, even though I have a fever, chills, sore throat, and headache. The bed is calling....hope everyone has a great weekend!