The house hunt has been.....interesting. A few weeks ago we went out with our realtor and saw four homes, three of which were foreclosures. It was slightly depressing to see these homes and know that someone had lived in them, loved them and lost them. But if we found the right one we were ready to do some work and love it ourselves.
Unfortunately we didn't find one that was love worthy. I must admit there was one I really wanted V to love, the backyard was to die for! This was nearly twice the size we'd get with any new(er) construction and backed to undevelopable property (simply because of location). But the house needed more love than either V or I was really willing to give. The other homes weren't really worth mentioning here.
So a few weeks have gone on, V and I have been doing a lot of research and have been looking at every real estate site under the sun. But nothing new popped up, nothing worth looking at anyway. There are only a couple of subdivision here, one of which that you can build in....but V and I are using his Veteran loan and bank in our area aren't doing VA construction loans. We felt stuck, at least for the Winter, maybe something would come on the market in the Spring? We hoped. On a whim V emailed the developer of the subdivision where we put an offer in on a house that wasn't accepted, he explained our situation and asked simply if they planned to build any more houses of the layout we liked. One hour later the developer emailed us back to tell us that they have worked with VA loan people before and will carry all the building cost until the house is built then we can buy it! We can even pick out several variables, we'd sign a contract before they break ground with a closing date of about 120 days out. V and I spoke with our realtor to make sure he'd be paid (yes, through the developer like the sale of a already built home) and discusses some other concerns and everything came up roses! It's almost too good to be true!
So that is where we are, we meet with the builder this week. It's pretty likely that we will sign our contract this week and break ground next week. It's hard to believe that we will likely be building our first home, the home Liam will grow up in. I'm totally in shock!
Has anyone else out there built? Advice?!
November 5, 2012
V Plays Stay at Home Dadda
Liam was acting off yesterday, we chalked it up to the time change.....but boy was he grumpy! Flash to this morning, Liam woke up crying really hard. This is not normal for him at all, usually he happily wakes and calls out to us (in mumble-y 18 month old chatter). Not today, today was full of loud cries. I hadn't gotten up for the day yet (my alarm was set to go off in another 5 mins at 6:10am), so I told V that I would change Liam's diaper. When I picked poor little Liam up he was physically on fire, I laid him on the changing table and started about stripping off his pjs, changing his diaper and taking his temp...... 102.5, yikes! V didn't miss a beat, he called off work to spend the day with Liam.
I quickly got ready then ran to the store for some juice and bananas (and bagels for V and I). I'm so thankful to have a husband that is willing to stay home with our sick child. I know a lot of men wouldn't even consider staying home and some women who wouldn't let their husband stay home to care for an ill child. I'm glad either of those things are true in my marriage. (Even though V' boss thinks it's totally nuts that V will stay home with Liam he still allows Vic to use sick time to care for Liam.) I called to check on Liam several times, each time V reassured me Liam was getting better and better.
Finally my work day was done, I rushes straight home and Liam was so very excited to see me! V reported that Liam hadn't eatten great but was snacking and his temp had some down a little. We spent a lovely evening of just chilling, eatting a little dinner and relaxing. I gave Liam a second dose of infant IB profrin and now his temp is just slightly over 100 degrees. A few minutes before we would have normally put Liam to bed he picked up a blanket off the floor and walked into his room, he was clearly ready! We did our normal routine of; clean diaper, jammies, sippy of water and sit on my lap while Dadda reads and when we put Liam into his crib he rolled on his side and was out before we turned off the light!
I quickly got ready then ran to the store for some juice and bananas (and bagels for V and I). I'm so thankful to have a husband that is willing to stay home with our sick child. I know a lot of men wouldn't even consider staying home and some women who wouldn't let their husband stay home to care for an ill child. I'm glad either of those things are true in my marriage. (Even though V' boss thinks it's totally nuts that V will stay home with Liam he still allows Vic to use sick time to care for Liam.) I called to check on Liam several times, each time V reassured me Liam was getting better and better.
Finally my work day was done, I rushes straight home and Liam was so very excited to see me! V reported that Liam hadn't eatten great but was snacking and his temp had some down a little. We spent a lovely evening of just chilling, eatting a little dinner and relaxing. I gave Liam a second dose of infant IB profrin and now his temp is just slightly over 100 degrees. A few minutes before we would have normally put Liam to bed he picked up a blanket off the floor and walked into his room, he was clearly ready! We did our normal routine of; clean diaper, jammies, sippy of water and sit on my lap while Dadda reads and when we put Liam into his crib he rolled on his side and was out before we turned off the light!
November 3, 2012
Running for the Health of It
As fall descends on our city opportunities for a run become fewer and fewer. I managed to squeeze a run in on Friday because I had taken a half day of paid time off for some much needed "me" time. It's gotten pretty cool here, most days are cloud covered and below 50 (at best). Friday's run was good, not great but absolutely worth it. I had planned (and paid for) a race on Saturday morning but wasn't entirely sure I'd really do it.
Then Saturday morning rolled around. Liam's been getting up at 6:00 am every-single-day. Normally he gets up at just shy of 7am on weekdays and almost 8am on weekends. To say I was tired was an understatement. We ate and played while the morning ticked away. I himmed and hawed over whether or not I'd do my race. I really wanted to, especially because I'd already paid for it.....at least it was another charitable race so the money hadn't gone to waste if I didn't run. Then V pointed out the obvious; You know you will feel great after and be glad you did (and if you don't you'll be super grumpy later). Point taken, I dressed and laced up at the very last minute. Poor little Liam gets all upset when I start gettting ready, he was {surprisingly} still up when I left, which I hate but I could tell he needed a nap and would be down any minute.
I arrived at the race just in time to get my bib, put my goody bag (which had a cute hat! Yay!) in the car and warm up a little. I couldn't have timed it better! The course was a bit windey which I didn't love but at least they had plenty of volunteers to tell us where to turn. I wondered if I'd think a lot about my Autoimmune Disease while doing the race since the race was for the local Oncology Nurses (the money went to benefit those who can't afford testing and treatment) but I didn't and I'm glad. It was a cool morning, maybe mid-thrities. I don't really even remember hearing my music while I ran, I was trying so hard to keep my pace steady. I had to walk several times (stupid asthma!) but felt like I was able to run longer stretches. Before I knew it I could see the end, once I had a straight path to the finish line I put it in full gear and ran as hard a I could. There were two little girls cheering people on and they thought that was awesome, they started jumping and shouting even louder which encouraged me to really push! There was a photographer right at the finish line, I remember smiling SO big because I realized I'd done my personal best and was able to be under an 11 minute miles. I couldn't have been happier, here I was healthy enough to do this and help others and I'd gotten my personal best!
After confirming my official time I grabbed fancy coffees and bagels for V and I on the way home. At home Liam was fast asleep one hour into his nap (usually between 2-3 hour now). V and I ate and snacked after he took a pic for me. I'm so very glad I did the race, V was right again. I'm so sad that my running season is over, it's just too cold to continue (and I don't want to run in rain and snow). I'm going to miss it so much!
Then Saturday morning rolled around. Liam's been getting up at 6:00 am every-single-day. Normally he gets up at just shy of 7am on weekdays and almost 8am on weekends. To say I was tired was an understatement. We ate and played while the morning ticked away. I himmed and hawed over whether or not I'd do my race. I really wanted to, especially because I'd already paid for it.....at least it was another charitable race so the money hadn't gone to waste if I didn't run. Then V pointed out the obvious; You know you will feel great after and be glad you did (and if you don't you'll be super grumpy later). Point taken, I dressed and laced up at the very last minute. Poor little Liam gets all upset when I start gettting ready, he was {surprisingly} still up when I left, which I hate but I could tell he needed a nap and would be down any minute.
I arrived at the race just in time to get my bib, put my goody bag (which had a cute hat! Yay!) in the car and warm up a little. I couldn't have timed it better! The course was a bit windey which I didn't love but at least they had plenty of volunteers to tell us where to turn. I wondered if I'd think a lot about my Autoimmune Disease while doing the race since the race was for the local Oncology Nurses (the money went to benefit those who can't afford testing and treatment) but I didn't and I'm glad. It was a cool morning, maybe mid-thrities. I don't really even remember hearing my music while I ran, I was trying so hard to keep my pace steady. I had to walk several times (stupid asthma!) but felt like I was able to run longer stretches. Before I knew it I could see the end, once I had a straight path to the finish line I put it in full gear and ran as hard a I could. There were two little girls cheering people on and they thought that was awesome, they started jumping and shouting even louder which encouraged me to really push! There was a photographer right at the finish line, I remember smiling SO big because I realized I'd done my personal best and was able to be under an 11 minute miles. I couldn't have been happier, here I was healthy enough to do this and help others and I'd gotten my personal best!
After confirming my official time I grabbed fancy coffees and bagels for V and I on the way home. At home Liam was fast asleep one hour into his nap (usually between 2-3 hour now). V and I ate and snacked after he took a pic for me. I'm so very glad I did the race, V was right again. I'm so sad that my running season is over, it's just too cold to continue (and I don't want to run in rain and snow). I'm going to miss it so much!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)