Houses, Babies, and Plants

Well we gave up on the house. We kept hearing that "we were in the running" but no one could tell us when we might actually get a definitive answer (not to mention when we might close). Nico put in an offer on another house in Royal Oak, MI. It’s smaller, but cute and significantly cheaper. We should hear back today or tomorrow on this new house. I’ll keep you posted.

Our little house in Pittsburg is on the market. We’ve had several showings but no “bites” yet. The dogs certainly enjoy the trips to the park when we have a showing. The kitties just hide.

The baby and I are getting big. I’m 26 weeks pregnant (out of 40 weeks) and have no real complaints. Pregnancy is pretty cool! The only issue is that we still don’t have a name for him.

The KS baby shower is Sunday! I’m looking forward to getting together with family and friends to celebrate the upcoming arrival. If you did not get an invitation, it was probably because I figured you were too far from KC to come. Drop me a line, I would love to hear from all of our out of town family and friends.

I’ve been pretty bored here, but I’m keeping myself busy with internet searches of MI gardening. Oddly enough, I think that we are moving to a zone 5 (for those of you who know the gardening zones). That’s ironic, since most of my life I grew up in a zone 5. I’m not going to be that far out of my element after all. However, no more crepe myrtles and mimosa trees for me. L

Nico's gone again, No news on the house.

Nico was here last week. We got a lot done on the house, but I still have some minor issues to take care of in his absence. He was not looking forward to living in the motel again, but he does have a contact that might be willing to put him up for a while.

Well we’ve all but given up on the Houghton House. It’s okay because I think that our offer was going to be too expensive for us. We are now looking for something a little smaller and a little closer to Nico’s job (especially with MI gas prices close to $4.25).

Our Pittsburg house is now on the market. Hopefully I’ll have the listing for you all soon.

In the meantime, I’m fine and the animals are all doing well. It does suck to have to haul the dogs away to show the house. I’m sure we’ll get used to it soon.

Still no baby name. We're still calling him "the tadpole" for now.

Nico's coming home for a week!

Nico arrives home tomorrow. All of us are eagerly awaiting his arrival. The dogs, cats, and I have missed him very much. I know that he’ll be glad to be home and not staying in a motel for a week.

Once he’s here we’ll be working on the house again. We only have a few issues/items left to complete. We have base molding that need to be put in, some minor painting, and new kitchen countertops to install. He shouldn’t have a problem getting it all done.

Unfortunately, we still haven’t heard back on the house. I guess that we’ll start looking for another house, which is sad because we really liked the Houghton house. We may have to settle for something that needs more work, but we’ll have a few months to get it done before the baby arrives.

Baby Registry

Hi everyone!

We should be having an upcoming baby shower in KS next month and one soon to follow in KY for all my family there.

If you want ideas please visit our Target Registry. Note, no nursery items yet. Still trying to decide between froggies and/or animals. Either way, I want to keep it neutral so that we can reuse nursery items with the next baby.

Love you all! Ciao!

Houses, jobs, and babies

All is going well with us. Nico left for Detroit last Saturday to start the new job!!! So far, he seems really excited. He is surrounded by car guys (and gals) which means he’s TOTALLY in his element. I miss him, but the fur-babies and growing tadpole are keeping me occupied.

He did sound a little bored in his motel room today, but hopefully we’ll hear back about the house we put an offer on and he can move out of the motel. Check out the house here. Please note the uber tacky faux finish in the dining area. If we get it, we will be promptly painting over this.

Our house in P-burg is almost complete. We have a few small things to do before we put it on the market, but it’s starting to look awesome. I would like to give a huge THANK YOU to all the family and friends that have helped us with the house. We love you all and hope to be able to return favors!

The tadpole turns 23 weeks on Wednesday. He (yes, I said “he”) is kicking me like crazy. He’s either going to have ADHD or be a rugby player. I’m hoping that he’s more athletic than me, but laid-back like Nico. And no, we can not agree on a name. Nico likes “Zelig” and I like “Luca”. Suggestions are welcome, but don’t be offended if we disregard them.

Post LONG overdue

Well this semester has turned out to be just as busy as we expected. It is all too rapidly approaching an end.

If you don’t already know, we are also expecting a new family member in October. This has been a wonderful blessing, but a bit poorly planned.

We actually had our first sonogram today and we not only heard the baby’s heart, but we got to see him/her doing flip-flops and cartwheels. The doctor even commented that we have a “very active baby”. We’re totally excited, but nervous over our upcoming relocation.

School update

Greetings!
Everything is going good for us! Our first two full weeks of classes went well. I think that we are going to be SUPER busy this semester.

The classes that I’m teaching are not easy, but I have AWESOME students. They continue to surprise me. I don’t think that I’m a very good teacher yet, but they’re putting up with me. The classes that I’m taking are going to be challenging, but good for me. I already have tons of work (and homework) ahead of me.

Nico’s classes are also demanding a lot from him. So far he’s had quite a bit of reading assignments and some actual “turn in” assignments. I’m pretty sure that he’ll do just fine.

Thursday night we filed our taxes. It’s always good to get that done and over with! Whew!

We booked our tickets to visit Michigan, and we are super excited about going up there for a few days. Now, who want's to watch the kids???

School, Events and Pix

Our first two days of classes went well. I think that I’m going to love my Women’s Studies class. I have some good diversity and they seemed enthusiastic. Nico thinks that his classes are going to be “okay”. (He’s engrossed in the Detroit Auto show on CNBC, so I’m not getting good feedback tonight).

On top of working and going to school we are have lots of social events this semester:
Next month is Nico’s friend Peter’s wedding. In March, we are hoping to go to Detroit for a “look-see”. In April, Nico has his annual father-son fishing trip. In May, Nico graduates and we house hunt in MI.

Just so you don’t think that we haven’t been taking any cute pix, here is one of Bella and Jack. These cold winter days require that you snuggle with a friend. :)

School Starts Tomorrow

Well, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks preparing for the big event tomorrow: the first day of school. I’m mostly ready for the first day of class. All of my syllabi are completed and the majority of the courses lined out. I'm still nervous about my first day.

Nico's glad to be back in school "because it means I'm closer to being done." I know he's ready to be finished and back into the work force.

We are all moved into the bedroom. Thank God! It’s nice to have our big bedroom and the use of all my furniture again.

Gotta go do Wii fitness now! It seems to be helping with our diet. I’ve lost 5 lbs and Nico’s lost a few. However, we've got much more to go (okay, more me than him).

First post of the New Year

Greetings!

All is going well with us. We returned from Kentucky on the 31st. Nico forced me to go to a New Year’s party at the “boys’ house.” I’m glad I went because I had a really nice time, but we left soon after the ball dropped. I was just too pooped to party.

I found out Thursday night that my Grandad went into the hospital with stomach pains, turns out he needed an appendectomy. Dad called me yesterday and said that he is recovering swimmingly. He’s already up and walking the halls. He’s also complaining about the food and wanting to go home, but at his age, 84, they make them hang out for several days.

Nico and I are working like mad on the bedroom. Today we painted the ceiling and the walls. Our plan for tomorrow is to put up the crown molding and the main bedroom door. Then we’re going to look into getting carpet installed. We were planning to refinish the hardwoods, but we don’t have the time. As soon as we are done with the master, we are moving out of the guest room and starting it’s renovation. Our goal is to have pretty much everything done by late March. We need to put it on the market around that time.

Nico and I are both on diets. We have a “few” pounds to lose. Our diets consist of exercising and eating less. With all the stress in our lives right now, you’d better wish us luck.

I’m headed into the office on Monday and will be spending my weekdays there until school starts on the 17th. Busy, busy!