why do you start teaching your son to put the seat down at an early age? his little sister may decide the potty chair looks like something fun to splash. yuck, yuck, yuck!
yes, luca has been self initiating when it comes to toilet training. this evening he took off his clothes and diaper and used the chair before i even had a chance to offer help. he then put on his new diaper (overnight pull-up, not snap closure cloth) and pajamas all by himself. the problem with this is that since i am not in the room, accidents as described above are possible. now i know. . .
the little movie that could
our favorite movie of 2007 (once) just won best original song at the oscars. seriously the only reason i kept them on for the last hour was to find out. yeah! glen hansard was so cute during his acceptance. if you still haven't seen this movie, go rent it!(and now that marketa just came out - courtesy of jon stewart or someone else behind the scenes - her little thank you was very beautiful and thoughtful. my favorite of the night regardless of my bias.)
prayer please
we were just informed that the buyers we have a signed contract with were denied financing on our home. although great people who were prequalified for a loan, the underwriters would not accept her self-employment as part of their income.
please pray that we can find a new buyer quickly. we knew nothing was definite until the final papers are signed, but we have been gearing up for the transition from normal to champaign. obviously, we are extremely disappointed.
also pray that christin and nathan will find a house that they love and can buy!
please pray that we can find a new buyer quickly. we knew nothing was definite until the final papers are signed, but we have been gearing up for the transition from normal to champaign. obviously, we are extremely disappointed.
also pray that christin and nathan will find a house that they love and can buy!
all-terrain gia
i feel that most of my posts recently have centered on the boy, so i would like to take some time to update all of you on the life and times of giavanna noelle.
my baby girl is becoming a toddler more and more every day. she says "bye-bye" and flaps a chubby hand in the air when you leave. she likes to bark like a dog. anything with a strap gets put on her shoulder like a purse and she wears it around the house. she currently eats more than luca at every meal - and thankfully is in a non-picky gimme it all phase. current faves include any and all kinds of beans (pinto, black, kidney, etc.), pepperjack cheese, hummus by the handful, canned apricots, and pasta with tomato sauce. if i talk about music, she begins "singing: and sways her body back and forth. she waits for jesse at the front window at the end of the day and when he pulls up, she begins screeching and pounding the glass. she is like a second shadow to her mama - i constantly have to keep from tripping over her while she follows me everywhere. and very cutely, she likes to walk backwards until she finds someone's lap and then cuddles up into it. this is one of the best parts of my day - feeling the weight of my daughter's body resting on my chest as we read books, watching her give kisses to each person/animal on the page.
jesse has dubbed her "all-terrain gia." this girl has not met an obstacle she is unwilling to tackle. luca's head, my legs, a suitcase, pillows, our cats, stacks of paper - she climbs over it all with gusto.
"nuffing"
at times i feel like i live with a sullen teenager rather than a not quite two year old boy. a quickly becoming regular answer to our questions of "what did you do (to gia)?" or "what are you playing with?" or "what do you want to eat?": "nuffing" (nothing in luca speak). so this can be a bit frustrating, especially when he is not being honest (i.e. real answer should be "my pushed gia and she fell" or "the toy my not sposed to play with" or "not my veggies")
today, however, i had to avoid a different reaction at one of his explanations containing this new fave word. we were preparing to make chocolate chip cookies and i had the ingredients set out on the counter. i left luca standing on a chair waiting for me to finish a diaper change on gia. all of a sudden i hear the rustling of a plastic. knowing that the chocolate chips would be a great temptation to my little boy (and that i had opened the bag earlier for some personal sampling) i quickly asked from the next room, "luca, what are you doing?"
his reply, "my not doing nuffing!" actually pretty accurate, but not quite what he meant.
as i walked in the room, he continues to explain, "my not eating nuffing now." and he opened his mouth to prove it.
i walked up closer and asked to see his teeth. the chocolate covered molars gave away the truth. i asked, "luca, did you eat some chocolate chips."
he then looked at me wide-eyed and said, "my eat dem earlier. my just eat the ones on the counter." (i take this to mean some had fallen out of the bag.)
i explain, "honey, if you want to eat chocolate chips you need to ask first."
deadpan, he countered, "my just ask myself."
okay, so i bite the inside of my cheek and try to keep from totally laughing at this reasoning. i am picturing his little mind thinking, "self, can my have some chocolate chips? uh huh, dey taste nummy."
(jesse just reminded me of another classic luca moment from this evening. after reading books with the kiddos at bedtime, jesse put gia down and left the boy in bed. he returned to the room to pray with and tuck in luca, but the room was empty. he soon heard little boy noises coming from under the bed. being a good papi, he started to "search" for luca under the covers and pillows. he stuck his toes under the bed while doing this to tempt the boy. taking the bait, luca started to poke the toes. jesse jumped back in "surprise." as he bent down to pull up the dust ruffle, luca popped his out and reassured jesse, "it's me, guca. my no monster.")
for laughs
if you can't laugh at these pictures something is wrong with your sense of humor. okay, so maybe at one point i did not think them very funny. like when i was in the throes of pain due to an abscessed tooth. jesse recently found these photos in an email while cleaning out his work account.
back story: at the age of 8 , i fell off a ten speed bike i didn't really know how to stop with hand brakes. i hit my mouth on a curb and broke off my first adult tooth (front top right). It has been a thorn in my side ever since. i have had to replace the crown several times over the last 20 years. in the fall of 2005, an infection developed in the root of this tooth and i developed a severe case of cellulitis causing a trip to the emergency room for heavy duty antibiotics and an emergency root canal. my aunt cristine took these pictures (luca and i were visiting) when i woke up her household at a horribly early hour because my face felt weird. that was an understatement. my entire upper lip and nose and right cheek were swollen, hot, and red. i think it actually got worse after these pics were taken.
my aunt called me daffy duck. i felt like an extra in planet of the apes. and jesse's nickname "the snouse" is still used today. in the last photo, i am trying to smile. i can't believe i am showing these to everyone, but i guess we can all use a good laugh. enjoy!
back story: at the age of 8 , i fell off a ten speed bike i didn't really know how to stop with hand brakes. i hit my mouth on a curb and broke off my first adult tooth (front top right). It has been a thorn in my side ever since. i have had to replace the crown several times over the last 20 years. in the fall of 2005, an infection developed in the root of this tooth and i developed a severe case of cellulitis causing a trip to the emergency room for heavy duty antibiotics and an emergency root canal. my aunt cristine took these pictures (luca and i were visiting) when i woke up her household at a horribly early hour because my face felt weird. that was an understatement. my entire upper lip and nose and right cheek were swollen, hot, and red. i think it actually got worse after these pics were taken.
my aunt called me daffy duck. i felt like an extra in planet of the apes. and jesse's nickname "the snouse" is still used today. in the last photo, i am trying to smile. i can't believe i am showing these to everyone, but i guess we can all use a good laugh. enjoy!
they don't get it from me
so the video isn't as cute as i had hoped when filming . . . too much background noise from the drive. but, my children have a funny little habit of snoring really loud. and let me tell you, it sounds oddly familiar. oh yeah, like when i have to nudge jesse in the middle of the night so i can get some sleep. luca is so loud that i can usually hear him when his door is closed and i am downstairs reading during his naps. gia seems to be following in his footsteps. maybe i can get some footage where the sound is clearer to prove my point. i could actually just point the camera at jesse sleeping on the couch right now.
we spent the day looking at houses in champaign. it was fun, informative, and exhausting. our friends the norcrosses graciously watched the babes for several hours while we trekked from home to home with a very cool real estate agent. a small world moment occurred when we realized he and his wife are on the support team for a gcm staffer formerly at i-life in champaign. when he asked, "do you know dan herron?" jesse's reply was, "i stood up in his wedding." anyway, nothing seemed right just yet, but we learned more about what the neighorhood has to offer. very important but little immediate reward. we also looked at some rentals and found some good leads if needed.
btw, our posting will probably continue to be sporadic during this transition. i do enjoy daily writing, but i find myseld too busy or tired many nights to formulate somewhat coherent thoughts. (not that i claim my postings are coherent at all times)
timeline
i thought i would illustrate my monday in the following manner:
6am i wake up with a churning stomach for the eighth morning in a row - selling a house is nerve-wracking
8:30am i leave a message with our attorney regarding documents we need to finish if we want to receive any offers on our house and be legal. i want to be prepared even if i am being overly hopeful.
10am i receive phone call from interested buyers requesting meeting to discuss offer tonight or tomorrow night. i guess hopeful is appropriate.
10:30am i hurriedly begin working on gathering any/all paperwork, e-mailing jesse several times in order to coordinate a "working lunch" for the two of us.
11am i receive phone call from second interested buyers' agent requesting final walk through at 4:15 today. yes, definitely hopeful, but anxious, definitely anxious.
11:30am i call first buyer and inform her of other meeting scheduled. she asks to come at 3:15 to place her offer. i agree.
11:35am i place second phone call to our attorney and reach him at home. he is very helpful and i feel (somewhat) prepared for the afternoon.
12pm jesse and i quickly finish all necessary paperwork (lead-based paint disclosure form and property disclosure form) prior to my meetings with the buyers over his lunch hour. i feel much more prepared for the afternoon.
1pm - 3:10pm lots of prayer people, lots of prayer
3:15pm meet with couple #1 to walk through house, answer questions, fill out forms.
4:15pm couple #1 begins writing out their offer at my dining room table while couple #2 and agent arrive for walk through. i give detailed tour to a slightly intimidating but very nice realtor.
4:20pm couple #1 hand me offer and leave.
4:40pm couple #2 and agent leave to discuss and write out offer.
5:15pm jesse arrives home from work to provide companionship in the craziness.
5:30pm agent returns alone and delivers offer.
6:00pm i take much needed break and unwind. jesse takes imitrex.
6:30pm jesse and i discuss offers and decide on counter offer for couple #1. we call our attorney with questions on contract and leave message.
6:45pm we call couple #1 with verbal counter offer (with a promise of no more negotiation with couple #2 if accepted)
7:11pm over the phone, we receive a verbal acceptance of counter offer from couple #1. we plan on meeting later tonight once we hear back our lawyer with the hope to complete all paperwork by tomorrow morning.
7:54pm we speak to our attorney and he patiently answers my gazillion questions on the contract and oh so fun legalese
8:22pm i hang up the phone with the attorney and call our buyers. they agree to come over immediately to fill out paperwork.
8:30pm i quickly pick up my house to impress a home buyer for what i hope is the last time. (this is fairly quick considering my children are still up north. did i mention that at some point among the many morning phone calls, my mom assured me they would be fine an extra day. total blessing)
8:45pm buyers arrive, we fill out contract with lots of initialing. at one point we realize there is a pamphlet and form missing, but thank God for the internet and the readily available pdf's it provides.
9:42pm (approximately) we make it official with our signatures. whoa, we just sold our house. for serious.
9:50pm buyers leave (for the second time, considering we almost forgot to get the earnest money check when they initially walked out the door).
9:55pm we open a bottle of sparkling cider (not a good idea to mix alcohol with nerves and migraine meds - we'll save the real stuff for the closing) and celebrate that in one week we sold our home.
that's about it - just your average monday.
6am i wake up with a churning stomach for the eighth morning in a row - selling a house is nerve-wracking
8:30am i leave a message with our attorney regarding documents we need to finish if we want to receive any offers on our house and be legal. i want to be prepared even if i am being overly hopeful.
10am i receive phone call from interested buyers requesting meeting to discuss offer tonight or tomorrow night. i guess hopeful is appropriate.
10:30am i hurriedly begin working on gathering any/all paperwork, e-mailing jesse several times in order to coordinate a "working lunch" for the two of us.
11am i receive phone call from second interested buyers' agent requesting final walk through at 4:15 today. yes, definitely hopeful, but anxious, definitely anxious.
11:30am i call first buyer and inform her of other meeting scheduled. she asks to come at 3:15 to place her offer. i agree.
11:35am i place second phone call to our attorney and reach him at home. he is very helpful and i feel (somewhat) prepared for the afternoon.
12pm jesse and i quickly finish all necessary paperwork (lead-based paint disclosure form and property disclosure form) prior to my meetings with the buyers over his lunch hour. i feel much more prepared for the afternoon.
1pm - 3:10pm lots of prayer people, lots of prayer
3:15pm meet with couple #1 to walk through house, answer questions, fill out forms.
4:15pm couple #1 begins writing out their offer at my dining room table while couple #2 and agent arrive for walk through. i give detailed tour to a slightly intimidating but very nice realtor.
4:20pm couple #1 hand me offer and leave.
4:40pm couple #2 and agent leave to discuss and write out offer.
5:15pm jesse arrives home from work to provide companionship in the craziness.
5:30pm agent returns alone and delivers offer.
6:00pm i take much needed break and unwind. jesse takes imitrex.
6:30pm jesse and i discuss offers and decide on counter offer for couple #1. we call our attorney with questions on contract and leave message.
6:45pm we call couple #1 with verbal counter offer (with a promise of no more negotiation with couple #2 if accepted)
7:11pm over the phone, we receive a verbal acceptance of counter offer from couple #1. we plan on meeting later tonight once we hear back our lawyer with the hope to complete all paperwork by tomorrow morning.
7:54pm we speak to our attorney and he patiently answers my gazillion questions on the contract and oh so fun legalese
8:22pm i hang up the phone with the attorney and call our buyers. they agree to come over immediately to fill out paperwork.
8:30pm i quickly pick up my house to impress a home buyer for what i hope is the last time. (this is fairly quick considering my children are still up north. did i mention that at some point among the many morning phone calls, my mom assured me they would be fine an extra day. total blessing)
8:45pm buyers arrive, we fill out contract with lots of initialing. at one point we realize there is a pamphlet and form missing, but thank God for the internet and the readily available pdf's it provides.
9:42pm (approximately) we make it official with our signatures. whoa, we just sold our house. for serious.
9:50pm buyers leave (for the second time, considering we almost forgot to get the earnest money check when they initially walked out the door).
9:55pm we open a bottle of sparkling cider (not a good idea to mix alcohol with nerves and migraine meds - we'll save the real stuff for the closing) and celebrate that in one week we sold our home.
that's about it - just your average monday.
what i want to say. . .
. . .but can't: everything that has happened today.
but i can share with you one funny story. the children are still with my parents due to unforeseen circumstances. luca has refused to speak with jesse and i over the phone these past few days. he thinks if we talk to him it means we are coming to get him and he is having way too much fun to even consider that. when asked if he would like to say hi, he shouts, "NO!" and runs away. to illustrate this point, my mom asked if he wanted to talk to his "aunt maura" on the phone this morning. luca walked over to the phone and had a lovely little conversation with her. the little stinker.
but i can share with you one funny story. the children are still with my parents due to unforeseen circumstances. luca has refused to speak with jesse and i over the phone these past few days. he thinks if we talk to him it means we are coming to get him and he is having way too much fun to even consider that. when asked if he would like to say hi, he shouts, "NO!" and runs away. to illustrate this point, my mom asked if he wanted to talk to his "aunt maura" on the phone this morning. luca walked over to the phone and had a lovely little conversation with her. the little stinker.
where to start?
apologies, apologies for my blogging absence. not that i assume everything i post is so important but i know many of you are waiting for news of all the changes and updates of this crazy time. i will try to make up for it now but only briefly as i need to close my eyes and recover.
we have just closed up a busy weekend of showings and open houses. they were very successful and we have 5 seriously interested buyers. one young engaged couple came friday night, had family come yesterday, and then came back today with both sets of parents. they left saying they would be in touch! we had a great time but i am paying for all of our work with my utter exhaustion and back pain.
we went over to champaign last night to see a house that we had been eying all week. the seller had an offer in hand so we had little hope it would remain available until we were ready. but thankfully it was not what we would be looking for and was priced too high. it helps to be at a house in person to get past the idealized, sanitized photo/on-line version of it. we have come to terms with the tremendous task ahead of us as we search for a new home.
where are the children you ask? well my generous parents have been watching them all weekend. this gave us time and energy to prepare for the open houses. i drove up to the burbs thursday morning and stayed the night. coming back on friday morning, i blasted the cd player, singing with chasing furies and ben pasley the entire drive. no cries, complaints, requests for food/toys/music from the backseat. it was fantastic i have to admit. the reality is jesse and i spent most of dinner discussing how much we missed them. i will make the trip to reclaim my babies tomorrow.
the biggest news of all: jesse has a new job! i mentioned in a previous post that i would tell the story of last saturday. well, after inquiring about job opportunities at an engineering firm in champaign, jesse was asked to come for an interview last weekend. by the end of the interview, he was told they would like to make him an offer and it would be sent to him at the beginning of the week. after much prayer and some negotiation, jesse accepted an amazing position with henneman engineering, inc. he is thrilled about this job and the projects he will be working on. on friday, jesse put in his two weeks notice. the commute will begin no later than the 25th.
as we look back on these past two weeks, we feel affirmation that we are moving in the right direction. that's all for now. good night!
we have just closed up a busy weekend of showings and open houses. they were very successful and we have 5 seriously interested buyers. one young engaged couple came friday night, had family come yesterday, and then came back today with both sets of parents. they left saying they would be in touch! we had a great time but i am paying for all of our work with my utter exhaustion and back pain.
we went over to champaign last night to see a house that we had been eying all week. the seller had an offer in hand so we had little hope it would remain available until we were ready. but thankfully it was not what we would be looking for and was priced too high. it helps to be at a house in person to get past the idealized, sanitized photo/on-line version of it. we have come to terms with the tremendous task ahead of us as we search for a new home.
where are the children you ask? well my generous parents have been watching them all weekend. this gave us time and energy to prepare for the open houses. i drove up to the burbs thursday morning and stayed the night. coming back on friday morning, i blasted the cd player, singing with chasing furies and ben pasley the entire drive. no cries, complaints, requests for food/toys/music from the backseat. it was fantastic i have to admit. the reality is jesse and i spent most of dinner discussing how much we missed them. i will make the trip to reclaim my babies tomorrow.
the biggest news of all: jesse has a new job! i mentioned in a previous post that i would tell the story of last saturday. well, after inquiring about job opportunities at an engineering firm in champaign, jesse was asked to come for an interview last weekend. by the end of the interview, he was told they would like to make him an offer and it would be sent to him at the beginning of the week. after much prayer and some negotiation, jesse accepted an amazing position with henneman engineering, inc. he is thrilled about this job and the projects he will be working on. on friday, jesse put in his two weeks notice. the commute will begin no later than the 25th.
as we look back on these past two weeks, we feel affirmation that we are moving in the right direction. that's all for now. good night!
first call
six and a half hours after the sign went up, our first call of interest has come. no showing scheduled yet but it was exciting to answer questions about central air, lot size, and the custom fence!
it's official
the pictures are taken. the ad is posted. and best of all, the sign is in the front yard!!!!!
yes, folks, we are officially selling our house.
here are the photos we used for the ad:
(thank you to everyone for their opinions on the photo for the house. we chose the second one. the trees were more defined and looked fuller, the snow completely covered the roof and it looked good in black and white like that. also, when i saw the melting snow in the first one it reminded me of needing to shovel and the sloppiness of winter. the second one evoked thoughts of cuddling up on the couch with hot chocolate while big fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky. yep, i am a dork.)
e-mail me if you want the link to our ad!
yes, folks, we are officially selling our house.
here are the photos we used for the ad:
(thank you to everyone for their opinions on the photo for the house. we chose the second one. the trees were more defined and looked fuller, the snow completely covered the roof and it looked good in black and white like that. also, when i saw the melting snow in the first one it reminded me of needing to shovel and the sloppiness of winter. the second one evoked thoughts of cuddling up on the couch with hot chocolate while big fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky. yep, i am a dork.)
e-mail me if you want the link to our ad!
sleeping beauty
lately i have been remembering how one year ago today my gia was so fresh and new. . . and slept all the time. we called her sleeping beauty. for the past few weeks i have wanted to capture her asleep - much harder to accomplish at 13 months than at one month. but tonight i succeeded. she is so precious.
ichto the snow alligator
quickly they realized a snow kitty, snow doggy, and, yes, even a snowman were not to be created. the snow had turned to a powdery, icy mess. what to do? build a snow alligator! jesse and luca spent some time this afternoon outdoors, while an approaching thunderstorm loomed. very weird to see snow on the ground while lightning brightens the sky. they used rocks for teeth and spineys and luca dubbed their creation "ichto." not the best conditions for snowplay, but with the craziness of this weekend* (or the craziness of the last six months) it was the first time we've brought luca out in the snow this winter. he had a great time, threw a fit when we brought him in, and soon calmed down with the promise of hot chocolate in a real mug. luca explained, "this cup now for boys, mama."
*sometime later this week we will fill everyone in on our whirlwind saturday
for my heart
Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:1,2
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