Happy St Patty's Day

Feeling a little reminiscent today. Hope everyone has a safe and happy St Patrick's day. we will be living it up with tumbling class instead of green eggs and beer. Oh I miss those days!

Owen- 6 1/2 months

Quinlin- 2 months

Wordless Wednesday

I've been waiting for her to have enough hair to use the cute hair clips her Aunt Emily and Uncle Chuck got her. Love it!!!

Tell All Tuesday

It's been a little while since I did a post of my random thoughts...

• Well, I thought we were over the house hunt and going to put it off for a few more years. We found another builder that looked intriguing so tonight we will go and look at a few homes for sale. They aren't in the school district we were originally looking at, so I think we'd be looking to build somewhere else... and then could still hold off a little while.
• Unless we get totally blown away tonight. We will see. There is a park right down the street (maybe in the development) complete with playground, basketball courts, etc...
• Hunter doesn't want us to move and not have a pool for the summer.
• Hunter goes both ways on moving... fresh start, new friends are the pros... leaving old friends is the main con. Though- he'll be driving in a year anyway and the magic of facebook would allow him to keep in touch with everyone. Plus- if we were to build, that takes time anyway between selling our house and actually starting the build.
• But- the city we originally wanted to move to has much cheaper taxes... I cannot believe how much taxes are around here.
• The kids are good. Owen is so sweet... If Quinlin says no to something, Owen is quick to swoop in and say yes. even the simplest things like wanting a kiss. "No Mama" says Quinlin and Owen chimes in "Mommy- I'll kiss you". or "No mama, don't sit next to me" and Owen says "Mommy- sit next to me". I think it's hilarious.
• I'm missing $40 from my wallet this morning. Kind of pissed.
• Sean is looking at a motor for his little green fishing boat tonight... hence realizing the $40 is missing. Again, pissed.
• Hunter had a stomach bug last week and missed 2 days of school. so hard in high school to miss time. I hope he catches up and the grades don't fall too far behind.
• Work is busy. I need catch up days...
• On the meal front, I finally decided to start cooking again. Menu items for this week include(d)- chicken enchiladas, meatloaf, chicken Marsala, french dip sandwiches, and shrimp and broccoli pasta.

I think that's all my random rumblings for today... off to search for my money.

We almost bought a house

It's been a crazy few weeks for us. We innocently went to go meet with a builder and I fell in love with the model home...that was way more expensive than we ever were looking at. So- we walked through it, admired the builder's work, admired the details, the wood work, the kitchen and left knowing that if we were to build, we'd want to build with them.

During the meeting and afterwards, it was mentioned that they really needed to get the house off of the books. So- my realtor suggested that it doesn't hurt to put in an offer. We looked at our finances, ran numbers with my CFO, talked it over with my parents, etc and ultimately decided to put in an offer. We low-balled thm completely (I think $80K less than what it was currently on the market for). I didn't feel bad (like I was insulting them) as they knew our budget and knew what we were looking to spend anyway.

Well, they counter-offered us and dropped their price $35K. We decided, before offering more money, to take another walk through and really look into the house. And we walked away Monday night deciding it wasn't the house for us.

The garage was a side load, we need a front load for Sean's snowmobile and trailer. The office was large. It had a two story great room that I think looks pretty, but Sean thinks is a waste of space. For a house of that size (3600 sq feet) there was only 2.5 baths (would have expected more), and the master bedroom was rather large, yet the way they had it for furniture placement (where the bed and tv would go, for example) was awkward. And lastly- you could hear the turnpike when outside...

I left sad...I really loved the entryway, loved the hearth room, loved the idea of being in that house. But- today am ok. we made the right decision.

The Chardon High School Tragedy- Too Close to Home

I grew up about 20 minutes from where this senseless tragedy occurred. My heart hurts for those families- and all affected. I came home from work and hugged my kids tighter.

Owen's Trip to the Dentist

I took Hunter to the dentist on Monday and decided to let Owen tag along. Owen had been to the dentist previously, when he was 2...and it was very traumatic. So- I thought best to watch his brother get his teeth cleaned and see how it went.

We sat in a chair across from Hunter and as the dentist cleaned, Owen kept saying "It doesn't hurt. Look, Mama...it's not hurting him!" He was so intrigued by the entire appointment. And then it was his turn.

So excited to be sitting in the movable chair...

 The dentist counting his teeth (all I could remember was 10 on top)

 Getting his teeth cleaned. He looks in pan, but they told him to close his eyes.

 Fluoride... they said he looked like a duck. He thought it was so funny and kept quacking the entire time it was in his mouth.

 And we're done. Cheesy smile!

I was so proud of him. He did so well! And happy to report, all his teeth looked good! Hunter had a good appointment as well. No cavities, but could do a little better brushing. We cannot wait for those braces to come off!

(And a little shout out to my little nephew, Charlie who turns 1 today! Happy birthday, Charlie! We love you!!)

Happy Valentine's Day

From my family to yours:

 It's a cut out heart... though kind of makes him look like a super hero...

And from Quinlin, a dozen roses

Looking forward to my home grilled steak dinner tonight and a nice snowy evening in. Happy Valentine's Day!

Ladies Man

This happened a few weeks back...but I didn't want to not document it and didn't want to forget. Owen has a crush.

A little girl named Alyssa... blond hair, blue eyes. She is a little older than him (maybe a few months) and in his preschool class. One day he was talking about her at home, so the next day when I dropped her off, I asked his teacher which one she was. There she was, sitting at the table, looking all cute and quiet. Owen, then instantly darted to her table...

"Hi Alyssa" he said. A quiet "Hi Owen" followed. And then, out of the blue, he started hopping on one leg for her. It was like his mating ritual... I don't quite know what he was doing, he was just hopping. So- not sure where he's learning these new pick-up moves...and I don't know if these will win him any dates in the near future (I'm guessing no- haha). Daddy may need to show him how it's done.

Quinlin- 2 year stats!

I took Quinlin to the doctor on Tuesday for her 2 year well visit. It went so well- she performed on command, followed directions and was genuinely adorable (did I expect anything less?)

Now the main stats:
Weight- 31 pounds (90%)
Height- 34.25 inches (57%)
Head 47 cm

I thought she was thinning out...but it doesn't appear that way. In 6 months, she's gained 3 pounds and grown 2 inches. Hopefully she'll start evening out soon. Although, it doesn't matter. She's perfect and beautiful to us!

Wordless Wednesday- what this isn't normal?

What do you mean? People don't go to the bathroom in just shoes with their pretty pink purses?