Small Style

Shirt and Jeans: Target
Shoes: Pedipeds

This is easily the most requested outfit at our house. She says, 'Elmo shirt! Elmo shirt!' every morning and once in a while, I allow it : )

I am linking with Mama Loves Papa and That Kind of Mom.

House Update

Well, buying a house is definitely an emotional roller coaster. And this one has (luckily) been a rather quick process so far. Still, the waiting game is never fun, and we've done that a few times in the last month.

So, we put our offer in for the house and went back and forth with the seller for a couple of days. Since it's bank owned, we didn't feel guilty what-so-ever about offering much lower than the asking price and sticking to our offer. The reality is that we can't go much higher than what we offered anyway, unless we want me to take on a second job. That is certainly a possibility, since I am considering nannying again once we're settled, but we don't have anything locked down and don't want to depend on an income before we have it.

So, we made the offer, the bank came back with a joke (barely lowered at all), we came back with a slightly higher (but not by much) offer and said if it wasn't accepted, we'd walk. They came back with another joke of an offer and we said no thank you. 24 hours later, they agreed to our offer, with a slight change in what they're paying in closing costs, so we took it!

The next (and hopefully last) major hurdle was the inspection. We had it Monday and it had some not so good news. The house is in alright condition, but needs lots of little repairs (which we expected, since it was built in '72) and 3 MAJOR repairs. The roof needs to be completely replaced ASAP, all of the siding is showing signs of dry rot and needs to be replaced and the furnace doesn't work (though that could be a minor repair, it may be just because the house has been vacant for so long). So, it could be 15-20 thousand dollars worth of repairs, which we do NOT have. So, we wrote up a proposal for them to take care of those 3 things and we'll do the small stuff. The other issue is that the people who lived there tried to do a lot of upgrading and home repair themselves and, apparently, didn't have a clue what they were doing. So, we'll be doing some tearing down and (down the road) replacing those things. They're nothing necessary, just things that would have been nice. (example, the covered patio and the laundry room added into the garage)

So, now we're waiting. The bank did get back to us really quickly and say that it's possible, and to get an estimate, which our realtor said is a good sign, so we're working on that now. Hopefully they will replace it all or we'll have to walk away. But, I haven't given up hope yet!!!

22 Months

In such a short period of time, we'll reach that 2 year mark. Do I have to stop measuring her age in months after that?? Or do I have to say '2 years, __ months'. Sigh.....the little heart breaks of being a mother....

For the most part, 22 months is a fantastic age at our house. It means non stop chatter and the discovery of multiple new words every day. I have BEYOND lost track of all the words my daughter can say. Maybe if I was a better mother, I would carry a pad of paper at all times to write them down, but I'm not and I don't mind it one bit.

Let's see....Kalaya can repeat back the entire alphabet (and requests 'ABCs!!!!' about 50 times a day) and count with someone to 10. I've caught her saying around 10 letters in a row on her own. She can identify M and N out of context and sometimes O. She knows square, circle, triangle, rectangle, diamond, oval, heart, and star out of context. Yesterday this child even said octagon, which literally left me speechless. She repeats back almost everything you say to her or around her. (We are being VERY careful with our language these days) She is saying 3-4 word sentences about absolutely everything!

She has the funniest interests. She is still SO into Elmo and everything associated with Sesame Street, which I don't think is going to change any time soon. It is crazy how Elmo attracts this age. She's had some books with Elmo and other characters for a long time. She learned the word Elmo from these books awhile back and it totally stuck with her. Then, my GENIUS husband decided one day to show her this video and she was forever hooked. What is it about him?? I mean, I like Elmo as much as the next gal, but it is amazing how toddlers are drawn to this little red monster with the cute little voice. She started demanding Elmo at the computer at all times, which quickly had to end. We compromised by downloading the song on iTunes, which still lead to a demand for Elmo at the computer. If you look at the amount of times that most songs are listened to on our computer, it's around 30 or so for the most listened to (mainly Glee songs). Elmo's Song has been played 2083 times. I am not making this number up. We just put it on repeat and ignore it.

Anyway, I had always said my kids wouldn't watch TV before 2 and I still think that's a good rule. However, she LOVES him so much we decided she can watch the "Elmo's World" section of Sesame Street once or twice on Sat mornings and not back to back. (it's about 15-20 min long) We figured, at least it's educational, right? (see, this is why you NEVER decide things about parenting before you have kids!!!) Anyway, the obsession has only increased and now includes Abby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, etc. She can seriously spot Elmo in stores from 50 yards away, it is incredible. He has been a saving grace for distraction and motivation though: when we or she have been sick, watching Elmo has saved the day. We have him on her toothbrush and a stuffed Elmo for bed time, both of which have made those activities much easier. She has Elmo big girl underwear waiting for the right time. For our trip on the plane next week, I raided the dollar bins at Target and got TONS of distractions featuring Sesame Street. I also reserved several DVDs at the library to watch on the portable DVD player on the plane. And, thanks to family members, she now has plenty of clothes and toys that have to do with Elmo.

It is so neat to see her become her own little person with her own interests. Currently, bunnies are at the top of the list. Her favorite books all involve bunnies. She is especially a fan of Goodnight Moon and I Am a Bunny. She loves all things bunnies that we see, which is really fun right now with all of the Easter stuff in stores. I'm especially looking forward to her Easter basket and maybe a trip to meet the Easter bunny. She also really likes lights. That sounds so strange, but she's so interested in lights turning on and off and gets SO excited and squeals when either one happens! We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner last night and all she did was point out all the different types of lights and fixtures. (they have a LOT of different styles and colors) She loves to color and I'm excited to start doing more crafts with her. She loves balloons and gets so excited if she sees one. The lines at the grocery store are almost too much some times. : )

She is so independent these days, I can't believe it some times. It's usually pretty easy to redirect, just ignoring a no or practicing saying 'yes' instead. She does get stubborn and 'no' is definitely the way she proves her independence. It's often when I know she doesn't mean it, so it's fairly easy to ignore. And it's usually only when she's getting tired or hungry. And, it's usually only around the house. She is SO well behaved when we go out and about, whether to play dates, out to eat, or to a store. We get compliments every where on how sweet and friendly she is, how cute she is, how well behaved and amazement at all the words she says.

Bed time has become SO much better. Daylight savings may have helped, but it was getting better for a couple of weeks before that. We really try to stick to our routine and now she's going down around 8:15 within about 20 minutes and more often on her own than with one of us. She sleeps well through the night and still will sleep in most mornings. (please, please, don't let me just have jinxed myself) She takes about 6 friends to bed with her, plus a very specific blanket and pillow. Our bed is now crowded with 2 bears, 2 babies, Elmo, a 'quack quack' (penguin), and a snowman.

Favorite toys these days still include books, hats, cars and Little People, all stuffed animals, babies, her tool kit, play food, her kitchen, anything Elmo, and mirrors. She will talk to herself in the mirror endlessly, it's hilarious!

Small Style

There are 2 other blogs I read who have a post every week called Small Style. I thought I'd participate this week:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Overalls: Vintage from when I was her age (my mom saved EVERYTHING)
White onesie turtleneck: Fred Meyer
Green Ribbons: Target
Good luck bear: from Grandma

Flannel shirt, leggings, cowboy boots: Target
Barrettes: Dollar Tree

Candy Turtleneck: Gift from Grandma
Denim jumper: Thrifted
Tights: Marshalls
Crocs: Fred Meyer (she picked those herself, we did not leave the house since it is COLD!)

She picked this outfit herself!
Cookie Monster Shirt: H&M
Tu Tu: Old Navy
Gray leggings: Fred Meyer
Socks: Gift

March Madness

Well, the title can have many meetings. The first that come to mind is the NCAA Tournament, which is a pretty big part of our house every year. We're not obsessive, but we always do brackets for fun and Nelson usually enters a (small) office pool. Last year we let Kalaya choose a bracket and we're doing it again this year. Last year she was given identical blocks to choose from to represent her choices. This year she can actually give answers, so it's pretty cute!

We had a crazy weekend the last weekend in February. Nelson and I both came down with the worst stomach flu we have ever had. It was AWFUL!! I've never felt that sick, except when I had mono in high school. And at least I could eat then. We had problems at both ends and could barely move without getting sick. By the grace of God, it was a snow day for my mom that day and she was able to watch Kalaya and keep her away from us. Some how Kalaya didn't catch it, THANK YOU JESUS. All I can figure out is the nursing antibodies from me. My mom wasn't so fortunate and caught it. Luckily, we had our meds to give her and they worked! Nelson and I were so dehydrated we ended up in Urgent Care. He needed a full liter IV and I had to have 2! It helped a great deal and we ended up sick for only about 48 hours, but that was long enough. I hope no one else caught it!!!

We have some exciting things going on! Whew, this house hunting thing is going by sooo much faster than we thought it would! We spent the last month working back and forth with our mortgage banker (who my parents have worked with since 1988, so we totally trust him), finalizing our application to get pre-qualified for an FHA loan. Turns out we have amazing credit, who knew??? So, we then started talking with and meeting with a realtor (Tammie). We really like our realtor, who was recommended to us by our mortgage guy. She has been so helpful and going out of her way to help us begin to understand this process. It is very overwhelming, but very exciting too!!

Everyone has been telling us what a great time this is to buy. And, it is. However, not quite as much in our price range. With (basically) a one-income household, we are in a limited market. And, since we live in one of the highest priced states in the country and are looking in one of the most expensive parts of that state, we are fairly limited. We know we want a detached home as well (no condos or townhomes), which narrows it even more. We've also discovered that in our price range, investors with CASH IN HAND (that blows me away in this economy) snatch up these properties very quickly and rent them out. We've learned that most of the 'houses' in our range are the type where all the houses around it look exactly the same, with a teeny or no yard, basically condos that aren't attached so they can call them houses. We aren't apposed to these houses, but we really want something that feels more like a home.

We started seriously looking at houses online and with our realtor 2 weeks ago. Such a short time, but we quickly discovered if there's something you're serious about, you have to move FAST. I'm not exaggerating. Example; I sent 10 links to properties we were interested in to our realtor on a Monday. Tuesday she set up viewings for us for the upcoming Saturday. By FRIDAY AFTERNOON, all but TWO of the properties had 1-2 offers. And, since most of the houses in our price range are short sale (I had to google what that meant), it could take 4 or more months to hear back from those offers.

Needless to say, we were getting nervous.

Tammie managed to find 6 houses for us to view on Saturday. (as in 2 days ago) Several of them were ones that I had seen with no interest or weren't in areas we wanted. We were frustrated to say the least. 2 of them were awful and 2 were cookie cutter cheapies. One was alright, but it was really, really out of the way and not nice enough to justify living that far away.

HOWEVER, we found one we LOVE. Here it is. The pictures do NOT do it justice. That horrible fence around the front yard makes it look condemned, it's going to be the first thing to go if we get it. (we are starting with an offer of FAR less than asking) The pictures of the inside do not show how nice it is either. If you look here, our realtor found the previous listing and it looks much nicer. I don't like the current colors, including the exterior, so we may change that. I wish the bank hadn't changed the colors, I like the old ones so much more!!!! Oh well.

Things we love: 4 bedrooms (almost unheard of in our range), 2 bath, the rooms are HUGE, the yard is nice and big with big trees, plenty of room for a garden, lots and lots of storage, GORGEOUS newly remodeled kitchen, covered patio (VERY necessary with young kids in Oregon) which is not attractive but we could redo someday, large garage, cul-de-sac, corner lot, good schools, quiet neighborhood, close to MAX for Nelson to commute, near everything we need!! I am really trying to get my heart set on it, but I think it's too late.....

We made an offer yesterday. I can't believe this is happening so fast. It was too good to pass up! We're keeping our eyes out for anything new or better. If we get an acceptance, we would close the last week of APRIL!! It can possibly happen so fast, I can't even begin to comprehend it. One thing at a time, right??? God is so awesome, I know this is totally in His hands and I know His plan is best and it awesome!!! We'll know by Wed evening if they accept our offer. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!