I can't believe it's been over a month since I've blogged - or even read a blog for that matter. We have been busy.
In late December, Robin and I decided we were ready to embark (again) on the adventure known as home ownership. I found a Realtor, and off we went. We found a great house, and we made an offer right before New Year's. It was bank owned. They countered, we countered. That all happened on a Friday. We had hoped to hear back Friday afternoon, but the bank decided to hold on to the offer over the holiday weekend - deadlines mean nothing to them. Of course, someone else made an offer over the weekend. We were given the opportunity to change ours if we wanted. The house was in desperate need of a roof - it had 3 layers and some of the shingles were blowing in the wind. So, we had included "a new roof" in our offer. I wasn't about to spend hundreds of dollars on an inspection for something that I already knew would not only be an inspection issue, but also an insurance issue. We did not amend our offer as we were already at our highest and best. As expected, the bank took the other offer. We were sad, but on we went with the search. The more houses I saw, the more upset I became over losing that first house. The market was dismal. We even had our agent call the other one to make sure the deal was still on and to let us know if it fell through. Then, on January 12th, we found our house. It's only a few miles south of our old house, but it's in a much better neighborhood and a MUCH better school district. We put in a low ball offer that was completely rejected (no counteroffer). So, on Friday the 13th, we put in a very strong offer that was countered by just $1,500. We accepted and were under contract! As a side note - about two weeks after we were already under contract on the house - the first one that we loved fell through - probably the roof!
This is our new home:
We close on Friday!
In other news - the girls will be TWO on Wednesday. TWO! I can't believe how fast they grow. Luckily, we decided to have the girls party at a kids' play place. The party is on Saturday - the day after we close on our new house. At least we don't have to host people at our disaster-zone house - the packing has already commenced.
The girls have been talking more and more. However, I'm so glad I taught them to use sign language. It can be very helpful. Sometimes I don't understand what they're saying, but if they use the sign too, then I know! Example - they all say "ehpeee." I assumed this meant "help me." And I would repeat "help me" after they said it. Then, one day, I realized - because Katie was signing it - that ehpee is "open." So, now I'm working hard on distinguishing the signs for "open" and "help." Both words sound the same when said by a toddler. The girls still don't say two word phrases, and that is what we're working on with the speech therapist.
Several weeks ago, we had an incident where Katie escaped from her crib. It was about 7:45am, and I heard a loud thud followed by crying. For several days, the girls had been putting their feet up over the top of the crib rail. I knew it was coming. She was fine. A little shaken up, but fine. I came very close to buying crib tents, but we will probably move the girls to toddler beds soon after we move, so I didn't want to spend that kind of money. I think it scared Katie and her sisters so much that they haven't tried it again. *Knock on wood*
I've also been struggling with the girls keeping their clothes and diapers on. It started with the clothes. Now, I can't keep their diapers on either. It's so frustrating. We finally resorted to taping them on. This works 99% of the time. Over the last two weeks, I've had to clean up two messes - one of them being the kind of mess no person should ever have to clean. Ever. Let's just say there were baths involved, and some toys went straight to the trash.
I'll be posting the girls 2 year pictures and stats later this week. They have doctor appointments on Thrusday and Friday (this time I decided to split them up into two appointments). Maggie has a solo appointment so I can address her issues with the pediatrician without the distraction of the other two girls (she's doing very well, by the way). Katie and Izzie-B have their appointments on Friday. Their appointments are in the am, and we close on the house in the pm. Like I said before, we're busy!!! I will post pictures from their birthday party.
Oh yes - I also gave Izzie-B her first haircut several weeks ago. Just the back - her bangs are still quite short. Kaite and Maggie got bang trims too.
The other night we had spaghetti - followed by a bath.
