It's no wonder you're so patient

...we certainly give you lots of practice!"

Or something like that. I've been looking for my mother's day card from the kids for about ten minutes now, so I could post what it said that was so funny. But alas, it has grown legs and run off been snatched back by its gracious giver. Even though I deliberately placed it out of Julia's reach (or so I thought). Oh well, I'm sure it will turn up somewhere.

Anyway, inside the card was a sweet paragraph of thank yous from each of the children. Julia's was longer and I don't remember what all it said but Josiah's read, "Thank you for keeping my belly full, my mouth wet and my bottom dry." LOVE IT! Daddy did a good job, on that AND the one that he got me from himself.

I didn't actually get those until Sunday night but the whole day was great. We started out with breakfastunch at Bayley's. Amazingly, the wait wasn't long at all. I hesitantly forewent my usual French Toast for My Mom's Favorite and a Cinnamon Waffle. Yum! The orange juice wasn't that great but what can you expect if it's not fresh squeezed, right? Wow, that just made me sound like a real food snob. Ahem.

Church, shopping (3 hours in Bed Bath and Beyond and we're still not 100% sure on the bedding we want for the master), no nap.

Pizza, ice cream and a movie. Sherlock Holmes, why did you have to be so full of wickedness? I would've finished watching but it just kept getting worse. Sigh.

Oh, and I got a super cool present from Riley. (I'm not mad, I actually requested an apron and he picked this one out! Isn't it adorable?

Wish I could've been with my mom Sunday, but I'm glad she's planning to come for a visit in a few weeks. Yay!

Tomorrow's our 3rd anniversary, woohoo!

Oh and here are the little darlings that make my job as a mommy so rewarding! (You didn't actually think you'd get to read a non-food post without being subjected to pictures of my precious children, did you?!)

Confessions of a SAHM

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1. I'm not entirely convinced that this picture is an appropriate match for this post, but I've been saving it for a while and figured it would be a nice way to start out. So that's my first confession.

2. Some days I spend more time on the computer than I do interacting with my children. Yes, I am working to change it.

3. I have a problem with a vicious cycle of guilt and blame-- thinking my husband works harder than I, and thinking that I work harder than he.

4. Never getting to clock out can be really tiring, and even when I do get a "break" it's hard not to be anxious about when I'm going to get "beeped" as I'm pretty much always on call.

5. Sometimes I genuinely didn't have time to clean that day, and sometimes it didn't get done because I just procrastinated all day.

6. Cloth-diapering is becoming more of a challenge now that Josiah's poops are getting less runny and more sticky. I've been tempted to "temporarily" switch back to disposables but I'm committed to stick with it. Besides, a poopy diaper is still a poopy diaper. And it's not like he even has them every day!

7. Being a parent is SO much harder than I ever imagined it would. Before I got pregnant with my first child, my visions of motherhood consisted of breastfeeding, holding, and in all other ways bonding with my baby, dressing him/her up in cute little outfits, peaceful strolls in the park, enjoying the oohs and ahhs of family, friends and strangers. Little did I know.

8. I have no desire to homeschool my children. I have the utmost respect and admiration for those that do it, but I just feel like I'm going to want to enjoy a break every day. Maybe it's just my daughter's personality that makes me feel that way, I don't know. I wish I felt differently, but I don't. However, I'm no stranger to the Lord changing my heart.

9. I make way too many excuses. I need to just work with what I've got and where I am.

10. Sometimes I judge. Other moms that don't believe/practice the way I do, and myself for not being as good of a mom as the ones that I look up to. I know, I need to stop.


11. I've never, ever cleaned my baseboards.


12. I don't always make Julia wash her hands after using the potty, even in public restrooms.


13. I just realized TODAY that Julia yells because she learned it from me. Ouch.


14. I second guess a lot of the parenting decisions I make. Most recently, circumcision.


15. I need to be constantly reminded of what's most important in my parenting: building a relationship with my children, setting an example for them to make good decisions and love the Lord.


16. It feels good to still have a nice figure after having 2 kids. Don't be jealous, because I have my own cross to bear.


17. This has nothing to do with anything mom-esque, but after all we've done the last few months to change our eating habits, we broke our sweets fast today with not one but 2 very sugary desserts at cheddar's to celebrate closing on our house. I'm not going to feel guilty, especially because I know I'm not going to get back into the habit of eating sweets all the time.

18. Josiah might get one bath a week, and unless Julia gets one (which she does every 2-3 nights), it just doesn't occur to me to brush her teeth. I keep hoping we get a good report when we take her to the dentist for the first time this summer.


19. I wish my blog was as cool as some other mommy bloggers' out there.

20. And finally, I will probably think of many more and want to come back and add them, and I just might if I can't resist. I obsess like that. Even over little things. Like matching things, or deliberately making something unmatch as much as possible, or organizing something way more than necessary, or trying to think of a witty way to end my posts.

There you have it. Some of it.

Healthy Snack GIVEAWAY!!!

My friend Heather is giving away a case of healthy snacks you and your kiddos will love! Hop on over to The Mommypotamus to enter!

Tomorrow

After years of this being the only kind of house I ever owned, my dear husband and I are closing on our first real house. Tomorrow morning.











AAAAHHHH!

Can you sense my excitement? No? Ok, then...











AAAAAHHHHH!

There you go. 

Some of you know what a ordeal/long-drawn-out-process/challenge/what-have-you this has been for us. For the rest of you, here's the reader's digest version (I wish I had been blogging about everything this whole time, but I always hesitated to constantly update because I just wanted to get to the end!):

In March of last year, we found what we thought to be the perfect house for us. It was small but well laid out, nice looking neighborhood, move-in ready, and less than $90k. We offered, the bank countered, we countered, they countered, we accepted, we got an email saying it had been opened up to multiple bidders (I KNOW...) we submitted the same "offer" that we had accepted, but didn't win. It stunkg. Bad. But it was out of our control. After wrestling with the Lord and the seller's agent, we finally accepted that He had something better for us, although we didn't understand how. I was pregnant with Josiah at the time and we really wanted to get into a 3-bedroom before he was born, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. We stopped looking at houses and decided to wait until we were in a better place financially.

Fast forward to February of this year. The 8k tax credit for first time homebuyers had been extended. Riley had been promoted and given 2 raises, a nice tax refund and bonus, and we were still expecting a settlement from his accident 2 years ago. We figured we might be able to get a house this year (instead of waiting till Julia turned 5 which had become the plan after the Hidden Oaks sting) so we contacted the realtor we'd been working with (Dave Eichhorst, great guy, highly recommended if you're in the market) and had him set up a new search for us.

We started looking online, saw a few houses and not 2 seconds later (ok, it was longer than that) had put a bid in on a HUD home. The street name was Tranquility. 4 bedrooms, twice the square footage of our apartment, 2 stories, great neighborhood, top-notch schools, extra room downstairs, good size backyard, large open kitchen with island, garden tub, massive master bedroom, I could go on. But in short, SO MUCH BETTER than what we were trying to sign up for a year before. And we could pay it off in half the time.

Um, it needed a little bit A LOT of work. I was scared. Riley assured me it was no big deal. Ok this has started to turn into the unabridged version, sorry. We won the bid (still don't know by how much, but I'm curious) but then after looking at what all it needed a second time around, it looked like we might not be able to afford it after all. Oops.

Before we could even mull it over and decide for sure, it looked like the decision was being made for us. There was a problem with the water heater and the lender didn't want to loan us the money because it wouldn't pass FHA inspection. And the seller wouldn't even let us fix it. Or something like that. 

We started looking at other houses, wondering if we'd EVER get one. Namely, before the April 30 contract deadline. But then,


There was a loophole and we and the house made it through. Approved! I'll save all the details for another post, but the Lord proceeded to bring one blessing after another in the form of contacts and discounts for all things home-improvement, credits on closing costs, etc.

And now, we're all set to sign 1,000 documents at 11:00 am and start living the American Dream (kidding)! Well, except for the fact that our bank has no local branch and FedEx still hasn't delivered the cashier's check we will need to present at the table.

Isn't this a fun ride?!




...Problem almost solved! I just talked to our bank and we can do a wire transfer in the morning. Whew!

Tranquility. Think we're supposed to learn something through this whole thing?! Our worries have turned into being humbled at the Lord's constant showering of blessings upon us and proving that He is more than able to do above and beyond all that we could ask, think, or imagine. Every time I'm wowed by the latest provision, he goes, "Oh yeah? Watch this!" Ok, I get it. No, I won't ever get it. I'll never understand why He's so good to me when I so don't deserve it. But I'll try to always be grateful.

Now, if I could just decide on paint colors. Oh, and START PACKING! =)