I updated a few days ago about our home building and I'm happy to say we have some news!
We found out last week that our mortgage got approved!
The realtor we're working with had rotator cuff surgery at the end of last week, so unfortunately we don't know what's happening next. As soon as we hear from him, we'll be moving forward with building our house!!
I'll be updating as we go and I'm sure I'll be asking for opinions too!
More to come!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Buffalo Trip
Today we made a trip to Buffalo for the day. We haven't been since Christmas Eve, so we were due for a trip.
We started with lunch at The Delaware (no website) with my Dad and Colleen. It's a newer place-maybe open a month or so. It's very nice inside and the food was very good. We will definitely go back. And for being new, it had quite a good crowd for lunch!
After that we went to my Mom's and Avery took a little nap for us. After that, it was all about playing!!
A quick pose with Daddy:
She found my Mom's precious moments collection and was shreiking!
One of her new favorite moves:
Drinking out of my water bottle:
My Uncle Joe and Aunt Marion came over for dinner. They try to stop by quite a bit when we're in town, but it's usually for a quick visit. They don't get to spend a good chunk of time with Avery and see her in action. So it was nice that they came for dinner and got to spend some time with her. After we ate, she went on a kissing spree and had to give everyone a kiss!
We started with lunch at The Delaware (no website) with my Dad and Colleen. It's a newer place-maybe open a month or so. It's very nice inside and the food was very good. We will definitely go back. And for being new, it had quite a good crowd for lunch!
After that we went to my Mom's and Avery took a little nap for us. After that, it was all about playing!!
A quick pose with Daddy:
She found my Mom's precious moments collection and was shreiking!
One of her new favorite moves:
Drinking out of my water bottle:
My Uncle Joe and Aunt Marion came over for dinner. They try to stop by quite a bit when we're in town, but it's usually for a quick visit. They don't get to spend a good chunk of time with Avery and see her in action. So it was nice that they came for dinner and got to spend some time with her. After we ate, she went on a kissing spree and had to give everyone a kiss!
Grandma:
Mommy:
Uncle Joe:
My Mom put up Avery's new picture and Gabe had me pose to look like I was kissing her:
And of course what's a visit without a story from Grandma?!
We had a very nice time. We left around 7:45 and it took Avery awhile to fall asleep in the car, but she eventually did. We got home, got her in her jammies then she fell right back to sleep which worked out perfectly!
Mommy:
Uncle Joe:
My Mom put up Avery's new picture and Gabe had me pose to look like I was kissing her:
And of course what's a visit without a story from Grandma?!
We had a very nice time. We left around 7:45 and it took Avery awhile to fall asleep in the car, but she eventually did. We got home, got her in her jammies then she fell right back to sleep which worked out perfectly! Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Change #1 SUCKS
Remember my New Year's post and how I mentioned this would be the year for change??
Well, change #1 slapped us in the face Monday night....
....and it hurts like hell!
We got a text from our daycare provider that she needed to talk with us. I thought it might be specific to us, so out of curiosity I texted some other Moms and found out they had received the text as well. So what could it be?
I called her and she informed me that she was accepting a "real" job and would be closing up daycare in 4 weeks.
My heart crumbled.
It took us so long to find her the first time around and she was everything we were looking for (and more!).
I immediately felt stressed out. I knew how long this search took us the first time....months.
Yes, months.
And what do we have now? 4 WEEKS.
I'm sure you can imagine what I've been doing when Avery goes to bed and naps....yep, searching for daycare. I already contacted the Childcare Council and got a list and have been searching the NYS site like mad.
So far, I'm sort of discouraged and starting to panic.
I called about 10 people (we're trying to stick with in-home care if we can) so far-I left messages with 6 of them and they haven't called back at all. Three of them have no openings and one might have a spot. She's supposed to look into things and call me back. I've already burnt through my emailed list and most of the state site with no progress. It sucks.
We are meeting with one provider tonight that our current daycare provider suggested. She's brand new to the daycare scene and has a bunch of openings. I'm hoping it goes well!
What makes it harder is that we're so used to where we are going that everything and everyone will be compared to her. And I just don't know how they'll measure up.
One thing I'm thankful for is that Avery only goes there once a week right now (she was going to bump up to 2 days in March). Because of that, I don't think this will be as traumatizing to her as it might be to the kids who are there daily. But still....it's very hard and I honestly hate going through this. I know the new providers are going to give us the answers we want to hear and it's pretty much a "gut" feeling if the place is right or not.
(Sigh)
If this is how all of our changes are going to be this year, I don't want any more!
Well, change #1 slapped us in the face Monday night....
....and it hurts like hell!
We got a text from our daycare provider that she needed to talk with us. I thought it might be specific to us, so out of curiosity I texted some other Moms and found out they had received the text as well. So what could it be?
I called her and she informed me that she was accepting a "real" job and would be closing up daycare in 4 weeks.
My heart crumbled.
It took us so long to find her the first time around and she was everything we were looking for (and more!).
I immediately felt stressed out. I knew how long this search took us the first time....months.
Yes, months.
And what do we have now? 4 WEEKS.
I'm sure you can imagine what I've been doing when Avery goes to bed and naps....yep, searching for daycare. I already contacted the Childcare Council and got a list and have been searching the NYS site like mad.
So far, I'm sort of discouraged and starting to panic.
I called about 10 people (we're trying to stick with in-home care if we can) so far-I left messages with 6 of them and they haven't called back at all. Three of them have no openings and one might have a spot. She's supposed to look into things and call me back. I've already burnt through my emailed list and most of the state site with no progress. It sucks.
We are meeting with one provider tonight that our current daycare provider suggested. She's brand new to the daycare scene and has a bunch of openings. I'm hoping it goes well!
What makes it harder is that we're so used to where we are going that everything and everyone will be compared to her. And I just don't know how they'll measure up.
One thing I'm thankful for is that Avery only goes there once a week right now (she was going to bump up to 2 days in March). Because of that, I don't think this will be as traumatizing to her as it might be to the kids who are there daily. But still....it's very hard and I honestly hate going through this. I know the new providers are going to give us the answers we want to hear and it's pretty much a "gut" feeling if the place is right or not.
(Sigh)
If this is how all of our changes are going to be this year, I don't want any more!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Craigslist Crazy!
I'm officially a Craigslist post whore! Haha!
Friday when Avery napped, I started to tackle our attic. We have a ton of stuff up there to go through and decide if we want to keep it, or pitch it. I spent about an hour up there going through a few things and mostly doing some rearranging of things-making a "keep" pile, a "sell" pile and a "throw out" pile.
Yesterday when Avery napped, both Gabe and I spent about 2 hours up there starting to sift through things. We did pretty well, but still have a ways to go.
In the process, I took some pictures of some bigger items I wanted to sell on Craigslist.
Then the fun began!
Last night I did 10 posts on Craigslist! Yep, TEN!
And today I woke up to find 5 emails about items already! Yay! We actually had one person over tonight interested in something and they'll be back tomorrow to pick it up. One thing down, many more to go...but hey, it's a start, right?!
Friday when Avery napped, I started to tackle our attic. We have a ton of stuff up there to go through and decide if we want to keep it, or pitch it. I spent about an hour up there going through a few things and mostly doing some rearranging of things-making a "keep" pile, a "sell" pile and a "throw out" pile.
Yesterday when Avery napped, both Gabe and I spent about 2 hours up there starting to sift through things. We did pretty well, but still have a ways to go.
In the process, I took some pictures of some bigger items I wanted to sell on Craigslist.
Then the fun began!
Last night I did 10 posts on Craigslist! Yep, TEN!
And today I woke up to find 5 emails about items already! Yay! We actually had one person over tonight interested in something and they'll be back tomorrow to pick it up. One thing down, many more to go...but hey, it's a start, right?!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Home Building Update
I haven't updated on this in awhile. In fact, I've only mentioned it in one post.
So I'll update as much as I can, but I haven't mentioned it again because it's still not a "done deal".
I think we ended up meeting with 3 or 4 builders. We went through some of their model homes, looked at floor plans, checked out what their standards are (basically what you get for the base price of the home), and saw what things are considered an upgrade (a step up from the standard that will cost you more money).
We chose a builder that we want to go with and priced out a floor plan we liked. It ended up being over our budget. So we went back to the drawing board and picked out another (slightly smaller) floor plan that will keep us in budget.
The builder only has one lot left so we have no choice in that at all. It ends up that it's a corner lot on a sort of busy street. The lot is big enough (.5 acre) that it shouldn't be a problem and the street isn't super busy (not like Transit Rd in Buffalo or Jefferson Rd in Roc).
We had to get pre-approved for our mortgage which was a challenge. Since we don't want to sell our house first (and find interim housing), they had to approve us carrying both mortgages, which was hard to find someone willing to do that. But.....we did!!
Once we were pre-approved, the builder's realtor came over and we signed a contract. Gabe mailed in a deposit to them to hold the lot.
But....all of this can fall through if we don't get official approval for the mortgages. We submitted everything in December, but they are so busy that we won't hear for sure until mid-month. So...that's why this isn't a "done deal" yet. Once we get mortgage approval, we will officially be going through with this and they will break ground on the new house in March or April (which is VERY exciting!).
I'll keep ya posted!!
So I'll update as much as I can, but I haven't mentioned it again because it's still not a "done deal".
I think we ended up meeting with 3 or 4 builders. We went through some of their model homes, looked at floor plans, checked out what their standards are (basically what you get for the base price of the home), and saw what things are considered an upgrade (a step up from the standard that will cost you more money).
We chose a builder that we want to go with and priced out a floor plan we liked. It ended up being over our budget. So we went back to the drawing board and picked out another (slightly smaller) floor plan that will keep us in budget.
The builder only has one lot left so we have no choice in that at all. It ends up that it's a corner lot on a sort of busy street. The lot is big enough (.5 acre) that it shouldn't be a problem and the street isn't super busy (not like Transit Rd in Buffalo or Jefferson Rd in Roc).
We had to get pre-approved for our mortgage which was a challenge. Since we don't want to sell our house first (and find interim housing), they had to approve us carrying both mortgages, which was hard to find someone willing to do that. But.....we did!!
Once we were pre-approved, the builder's realtor came over and we signed a contract. Gabe mailed in a deposit to them to hold the lot.
But....all of this can fall through if we don't get official approval for the mortgages. We submitted everything in December, but they are so busy that we won't hear for sure until mid-month. So...that's why this isn't a "done deal" yet. Once we get mortgage approval, we will officially be going through with this and they will break ground on the new house in March or April (which is VERY exciting!).
I'll keep ya posted!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Playdate!
My friend Jen and her two boys, Nicholas and Ryan, came over to play today. We haven't seen them in awhile with the chaos of the holidays, so we decided we had to get together!
Nicholas is 3 and Ryan is 15months and it's fun to see the kids interact! I think today they played really well together and actually played! A few months ago it seemed like they were all doing their own thing, but today they seemed to follow each other around and do things together so it was cute to see them!
Here are all 3 of them crammed into Avery's little Elmo tent:
and the tent kept getting knocked down and Ryan figured out a way to stand up and poke his head through the door!
And finally I got one of all of them looking at me! Yay!
We had a great time with them today-hopefully we'll do another one soon!
Nicholas is 3 and Ryan is 15months and it's fun to see the kids interact! I think today they played really well together and actually played! A few months ago it seemed like they were all doing their own thing, but today they seemed to follow each other around and do things together so it was cute to see them!
Here are all 3 of them crammed into Avery's little Elmo tent:
and the tent kept getting knocked down and Ryan figured out a way to stand up and poke his head through the door!
And finally I got one of all of them looking at me! Yay!
We had a great time with them today-hopefully we'll do another one soon!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year, New 'Do, New Moves
First I want to take a moment and say Happy New Year!
Thank you all for following along in our journey and I hope you continue to follow us through this year.
Every year I think, what a difference a year makes. I mean, just look at us last year!
Avery is no longer a baby...she's a little girl now! It's hard to remember those days already, which makes me sad.
2010 was a pretty great year...our first whole year with Avery in our lives and a celebration of her first year with us! We were lucky enough to go on 3 big trips this year-Florida, New Orleans, and NYC. All were wonderful and it was great checking off other places I visited on the map. But most of all, we enjoyed life-the day to day grind of work, dinner, putting a little one to bed, and retiring for the night. We had family gatherings, time with friends, milestones, births, deaths, and everything in between. And I enjoyed every minute of it!
But now it's on to the new-the start of a new year with the unknown before us. I don't know what's on the horizon, but I'll tell you this....my gut tells me this is the year of change.
So I started the year off with a new 'do and I'm loving it! It's maybe a little shorter than I like, but it'll grow! The cut itself is wonderful and the picture doesn't do it justice!
And Avery started off the new year with some new dance moves! Check her out!
I hope 2011 brings you much happiness and prosperity!
Happy New Year!
Thank you all for following along in our journey and I hope you continue to follow us through this year.
Every year I think, what a difference a year makes. I mean, just look at us last year!
Avery is no longer a baby...she's a little girl now! It's hard to remember those days already, which makes me sad.
2010 was a pretty great year...our first whole year with Avery in our lives and a celebration of her first year with us! We were lucky enough to go on 3 big trips this year-Florida, New Orleans, and NYC. All were wonderful and it was great checking off other places I visited on the map. But most of all, we enjoyed life-the day to day grind of work, dinner, putting a little one to bed, and retiring for the night. We had family gatherings, time with friends, milestones, births, deaths, and everything in between. And I enjoyed every minute of it!
But now it's on to the new-the start of a new year with the unknown before us. I don't know what's on the horizon, but I'll tell you this....my gut tells me this is the year of change.
So I started the year off with a new 'do and I'm loving it! It's maybe a little shorter than I like, but it'll grow! The cut itself is wonderful and the picture doesn't do it justice!
And Avery started off the new year with some new dance moves! Check her out!
I hope 2011 brings you much happiness and prosperity!
Happy New Year!
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