Friday, March 28, 2014

how we accidentally sold our house

yes, you read that right.  what did we do over spring break?  we sold our house that wasn't for sale!

if you know me, then you will know that i am always looking at houses online and always ready to move.  there is a real estate site called zillow that has an option where you can list your house with a "make me move" price.  i did this a couple of years ago at an outrageous price but then lowered it to a more reasonable price when we found out our family was expanding.  i've had numerous inquiries from different people wanting more information but then they would never follow up with a phone call which indicated to me that they weren't really that serious.

well that all changed over spring break.  i received an email from an agent indicating that she had clients who were interested in seeing our home.  i responded back explaining that we weren't really ready to put our house on the market because we didn't really want to move until after school was over in mid-may.  i thought we would be more serious about taking those steps in april, but i offered to show them our home if they were really interested.  the agent responded by saying she thought that timeline would be perfect for her clients as well so we set up a showing for saturday.  this was a thursday.  you can only imagine the rapid cleaning and decluttering that ensued.  i am normally quite the housekeeper but with a baby that doesn't sleep, lethargy usually wins out over deep cleaning.  but i am proud to say we got our act together and got the house in tip top shape by saturday.

so to make a long story shorter, the couple came with their agent, liked the house but were seeing several others that day, and then made a really good offer on our house that evening.  we countered, they accepted and here we are nearing the end of the option period and we just may have sold our house without it being technically for sale.

john and i think this is the best way to sell a house, ha, ha!  he's even come up with a business venture and named it "not quite for sale."  i think he has something, except that zillow has already done it!

so now our great house hunt begins.  and packing. and box collecting. and moving! but really, all i want is sleeping.

p.s. we are really thankful to God for this unexpected blessing!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

7 months!

salsa you are 7 months old today!  as i watched you play in the bath tonight, i was so thankful to observe you discover the fun, simple things of life like splashing in the water.  it is so satisfying to watch you discover new things and it makes me appreciate those moments that i take for granted.

so what's new with you?  food!  you are a tiny little thing so we have been pumping you full of homemade baby food and you are loving it!  your favorites by far are sweet potatoes and bananas, but you have also tried pears, carrots, oatmeal, peas, apples, green beans, turkey, and chicken.  the strangest combination? bananas and turkey!  i can't hardly shovel it into your mouth fast enough!

you now have both of your bottom teeth and you like to use them occasionally...we are working on that!  you have also gone through a stage that while nursing you would attack my face with your free hand.  you put your fingers in my mouth, up my nose and everywhere else!  it is so cute (most of the time!).  your latest trick is growling.  it is the funniest thing!  you growl while eating, you growl while jumping, you growl outside.  there is no limit and it cracks us up!

you love being outside which is a good thing with your two older brothers.  we will take your jumper or exersaucer outside and you will happily play while they shoot hoops and run around.  we have had some warmer days finally and it is nice to watch you take it all in outside.

your favorite mode of transportation is rolling!  you roll everywhere, even getting stuck under the couch thanks to your helmet!  i will put you down in one spot and find you in another in a matter of seconds.  you are appreciating some different toys now that you can grasp and handle them with ease.  your favorites right now are maracas, a piece of plastic mail, baby mirrors, anything you can bang and any non-toy (i.e. napkins, straw paper, etc).

the big appointments this month included getting your helmet professionally wrapped and a follow-up with your cardiologist.  the helmet appointment was fun and interesting.  we had picked digital orange camo and they already had it printed out on this vinyl sheet that they then blow-torched to your helmet.  very cool!  and we loved the finished product, and so did you!



your cardiologist appointment had me anxious all week.  the first echocardiogram you had as a baby was a bit traumatic.  the tech was not very patient and expected you to be perfectly still while she did the procedure.  i was nervous about the same thing this time around, but i was hoping since you were a little older it might be a little easier.  we scheduled it for cooks downtown so that if they also wanted to do a chest xray, we would be in the right place to get both done at once.  the staff called us back right on time but then after waiting in the exam room for an hour, i stepped out to see if it would be much longer.  well, to make a long story short, the tech didn't know we were there, but everyone else thought we had already seen the tech and was just waiting on the doctor.  come to find out, the tech had gone back over to the other side of the hospital and had to come racing back to do the echo.  we were there for a total of 3 hours and we were both DONE.  it was worth it though because the two holes in your heart had closed!  we knew this was likely to happen but it was still sweet to hear that they indeed had closed.  while your heart will always be a little different, it is functioning perfectly and we were released from cardiology care!  and after an appointment like that, i never want to go back!

salsa, i love being your mom and watching you grow up!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

the blog post i've been debating on writing...

i've had these thoughts rolling around in my head for the better part of the last month.  do i keep my opinions to myself?  do i share what is on my heart?  how can i share using the most careful and sensitive words?  and better yet, when will this baby sleep so i can have time to post???

so let me just cut to the chase...

i do not like the articles floating around on facebook that are titled such lines as "10 things not to say to (fill in the blank)."  it may be to pregnant moms, moms of all boys, moms of all girls, moms that adopt, moms that work outside of the home, moms that formula feed, moms that breastfeed, etc.  you get the idea.

here's what i don't like about them.  it paralyzes nice people like me who want to say the right thing, but is too afraid to say anything now thanks to all those dang lists!  so now i don't say anything at all. and i think that's a shame.

i know there are some really dumb people out there and a handful of just plain mean people out there, but i would argue that 98% of the people that might say something dumb to you don't mean to hurt your feelings or be rude.  most people are not trying to ruffle your feathers or make you cry.

let me give you a personal example.  having a baby that wears a helmet garners plenty of attention.  i am so used to seeing him wear the helmet that i forget that he is even wearing one until i notice someone staring at me.  this is exactly what happened to me the other day while shopping at sprouts.  i felt eyes staring at me in the meat department and looked over and sure enough, an inquisitive woman returned my stare.  this is how the conversation went:

woman: what are you trying to protect his head from?

me:  well, it actually has nothing to do with protection.  it is to correct the shape of his head.  it was flat on one side from how he was positioned inside of me.

woman: oh. did you have a hard time getting him out?

me: no, actually he shot out with two pushes so it had nothing to do with that.

woman:  can i pray with you about his head?

me: sure.

woman:  prays a very strange type of prayer with her hand hovering above his helmet that the Lord would make his head a right shape.

now, it did give me bit of a chuckle because here we are in the middle of the meat department praying over my baby but hey, i'll take any kind of prayer in any place on earth for my little man.

second example a few days later:

me:  checking out at goodwill with salsa in the stroller.

cashier:  does your baby play football or hockey? (and she was serious!)

me:  no, but that helmet would sure come in handy if he did! (smile on my face)

cashier:  he's cute.  what's his name? (even though his name is spelled across the front of the helmet)

me: his name is salsa (except i said his real name, ha, ha).

cashier: oh. well, i bet that helmet makes the car seat more comfortable.

me: (thinking that the helmet does not make ANYTHING more comfortable) yes, maybe it does.

both of these women were trying to engage me in conversation and be friendly.  neither had any ill will.  and even if they did, if i let their words make me crazy then i am making myself the center of the world (and i already do that enough!).

now i realize i've not had anyone come up and say that my baby looks ugly in the helmet or how i am torturing my child by making him wear it, but even then, i would like to think that i could shrug it off.  and i'm certainly not going to make the majority feel bad for saying something that i don't classify as appropriate just because a very small minority is mean.

so please, let's stop circulating these lists that do not offer any grace.  and you can ask me anything you want about my baby in the helmet.