Our realtor just called to let us know that "good" Tim just called and really wants to work with us on Hemingway. He said that he will drop the price and pay our closing costs and we will never have to deal with bad Tim ever again...

STL Pictures - Spring Break 2009

MMMMM...Milkshake

Signing away our life...well our first contract on the first house that we really wanted.

Our little family...

Daddy-Daughter twinkie day

Staring contest, gazing into each others eyes...I don't know.

Pop-pop & Monroe

Aunt MaryAnn, Me, Monroe & Shaniqua

Naptime

The 1st meeting between Monroe & Uncle Eric

Did I mention Uncle Eric is CRAZY!

HOUSE HUNTING HORRORS

I thought house hunting was supposed to be fun. I thought we would have options that we could choose from. I thought there would be something within our price range where we would like to live. I am not so gung-ho on finding a house after the past week of what can be summarized as a wasted week, full of super charged emotions. Last Sunday, Scott, Beckett, Monroe and myself jumped in the car and drove down to STL to look at houses. We had been reviewing listings and weeding ones that we were interested in out, needless to say we were optimistic when we had more than 20 perspective homes. Our realtor, Mandy Nickens (I mention her name because she is amazing and if anyone is in the STL market we highly recommend her), cleared her entire week so that she would be there for us. Monday we went and looked at 15 houses and 10 more on Tuesday. We decided that we had found 1 house that we would even be interested in...Hemingway. It was a beautiful brick/stone ranch on a cul-de-sac. The inside needed some updating but we were so excited about all of the possibilities.
So on Wednesday, we met with our lender and got everything started and pre-approved. Mandy called the agent on Hemingway and they had another couple who looked at the house that day and there was an appt for another showing on Thursday. Well, that was just enough pressure to make us act so we wrote up a contract (for what they were asking) and submitted it. WE WERE GIDDY. We had just taken a HUGE step and we were excited that we could be homeowners in a short amount of time. Around 10pm that night Mandy called and said that she had news (not good, not bad, just news) According to FHA policy the seller of the home has to have owned the home for at least 90 days before a contract is accepted. The home had been on the market for 45 days so we would have to wait another 45 days, the bad news is that if someone came thru with a conventional loan they could steal it from us...but that wasn't it, we could have lived with that, there was a twist...the people who were selling Hemingway hadn't closed on it yet, so they didn't technically own it. Yup that's right, they hadn't closed so we would have to wait 90 days after they closed before they could accept our offer. Mandy diligently talked to all parties involved and we worked out a deal that we would close with the original owner. Just so the next part is a little less confusing, there are 3 partners who play the part as "the middle man" Tim, Tim and Kim. The Tims are distinguished as good Tim and bad Tim. So the next day (Thursday) we get a call that there is another couple who had submitted a contract and bad Tim calls and is a HUGE jerk. The original owner is still living in the house and they want him out asap but they can't move him into the condo until we close on the property so they wanted to move the closing up from the end of May to April so we move it up a month, to April 21st. He calls back and says that he wants to know if we can do anything better. So he tells Mandy to have us resubmit our "best offer" on a new contract. Mandy called good Tim and he said that the price was not the problem and that it was really the closing date; so we agreed to close April 2nd (2.5 weeks from the day) and we kept the price where it was. Bad Tim called back and said "I thought we said that we were going to make our best offer" as if to say that that wasn't good enough and that we were just wasting his time. He then says that he doesn't want to pay closing costs and insists that if we want closing costs paid for then they would raise the price of the house 5K, so that we could essentially finance our closing costs. We didn't want to be bullied out of Hemingway so we agreed. It was so petty and it would only increase our monthly payment by 20 dollars. They accepted our offer, it was ours, contingent on our inspection, which occurred on Friday morning.
It was a good inspection considering that the house was 50+ years old, but there were a lot of little projects... and some bigger projects. Like grounding the electrical system, replacing the oven, fixing some of the plumbing, replacing all of the outlets throughout the entire house....Mandy was gracious enough to take us out on Monday to look at 7-8 more listings so that we could compare more houses to Hemingway. She also called in one of the electricians that she works with to get a bid on the house. After a lot of debating, analyzing, praying and asking for lots of advice we decided to withdraw from our contract in hopes of finding something a little newer, that would entail less maintenance.
After realizing that we may not come back down before we move there we decided to give in and look at apartments. We looked at some complexes but nobody wants to do short term leases...How frustrating. We left STL around 3:00 and headed home which got us home around 1:30 this morning.
At noon I got a call from Mandy and supposedly she talked to good Tim and Kim and they were really upset that bad Tim was such a jerk and they apologized and confronted bad Tim, which lead him to call Mandy and offer to drop the price to the original listing price...but in his jerky way insisted that we call him back within 30 minutes...We still passed.
You would think that this would be the end of the story, but really it is only the middle. Along with the counter offer on Hemingway Mandy sent us another listing. It is a house a little further out that is a brand new house, never lived in that is selling for less than Hemingway. SO we are heading out tomorrow, back to STL, to look yet again at several more houses that just came onto the market. ARE WE CRAZY? We just want a place to live!!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Last Saturday we were all going crazy from being inside all day, everyday so when Scott got home we went to Meridian Mall so that Beckett could go and play in the little kids corner. While we were there we did a little shopping. Children's Place had jeans on sale for 7.99 so we picked up a few pairs, along with a new shirt and tie for B. He has outgrown all of his current button up shirts/suits. The next day we tried them on him to make sure that they fit. It is hard to believe but Beckett wears a 3T on top but, still can't fit into a most 2T pants. He looks like he has a little baby bump. I love it.
Beckett pretending to be DADDY, while talking to Daddy on the phone, even though he is the "photographer".

You have to see the full picture in order to full appreciate the situation. Phone, dress shirt (w/tags), tie, pajamas and don't forget the shoes. Now that is what I like to call dressed for any occasion.

Yesterday was one of the best days ever, not only did I get to sleep in (WE LOVE WHEN DADDY IS HOME) but I woke up to an absolutely GORGEOUS day. The sun was shining & it was in the 70s. It felt so good to open the windows and get some fresh air. I feel like we have been shoved in our apartment like a bunch of sardines. Here we are chillin' in bed.

-- ACTION SHOT --

Beckett has reached the stage of dressing (and undressing) himself. He LOVES to take off his shirt and you can't really tell but if you look closely at his waist band you can see his (white) diaper, (dark blue) pants and (light blue) shorts. He has decided that you're not cool unless you wear a pair of shorts over your pants.

Also you're only cool if you have the cajones to take of your clothes in "public". A few weeks ago we were over at Erika's and Beckett insisted on removing his shirt the entire time he was there. I was slightly embarrassed, fortunately she didn't judge, but I am afraid now that he is capable of removing his own clothes, that he will be donning the bare belly A LOT. I wonder if there is a way to attach a disclaimer to him, or duct tape his shirt down. I wish I could find onesies that are big enough for him. I wasn't the only one who needed some fresh air. Scott and Beckett both got their motorcycles out and went for a little ride.

I noticed today that Monroe has a really severe case of dandruff; well, she has dry skin on her scalp. I got out my Curel belly cream and lathered her up her little forehead. I couldn't pass up the photo-op

Beckett then decided that he couldn't pass up the photo-op either. He stood there and said cheese until I took a picture of him too.

I was just putting Beckett to bed and he did what he does every night, after we brush our teeth, say our prayers and kiss each other goodnight, he turns and says MOM! and pats his pillow, inviting me to join him. Well, tonight, just like many other nights I told him that I was not going to sleep with him...because he doesn't go to sleep he plays & talks to me for as long as I will allow it. I left his door open and left his room, he screamed and cried, yelling my name, MOM, MMOOOMMM, MMMMOOOOMMMMM. It broke my heart so I went back in and sang to him, and tried once again to say goodnight. Once again it resulted in MOM, MMOOOMMM, MMMMOOOOMMMMM, so I went in and picked him up and started to rock him to sleep. That's when it happened, as he was lying there in my arms, it hit me my baby boy is not a baby, all I could do was cry as I stroked his hair.
Where did my baby go? He is a little boy. He understands sentences, and knows what he wants and can verbalize those wants. He burps Monroe after she eats, he even burps his stuffed animals. He can jump on a bed without holding on to anything, he can jump off a bed and land on his feet, he stands on the back of the couch and does a flying leap to the cushions. Sometimes he scares me but I have to remind myself that he is a boy doing the things that he loves to do, and I don't want to hold him back. See there it goes again...hold him back. What happened to me doing everything for him and him depending on me for everything. Where is my baby boy????

March

I know that St. Patrick's Day is usually the most recognized holiday in the month of March, however, that does not hold true in our household, we like to celebrate something that hits a little closer to our hearts... BASKETBALL. That's right I said it, Basketball. MARCH MADNESS. This it the reason for the background change. It is for the love of my life as he celebrates his number 1 "earthly" indulgence. GO STATE! We are number 8 in the nation, this week.

Have you ever wondered what 4:30 am looks like through the eyes of a mother with a newborn child?

Birthday Cake

We baked Beckett's birthday cake on his birthday but it was too late so we didn't decorate/eat it until the next night.

Icing his cake

Here he is after decorating his cake with some blue sprinkles.

The finished product.

He was given 24 multi-colored candles to choose from and these are the 2 he chose. He did a great job blowing out the candles. I was so proud of him.

Sweet Dreams

I know it seems like sleep is the only thing occupying my mind right now, but I am really just trying to update my blog and post some pictures.

Look at those nails

Beckett & Aleks having a mock sleep over

This one requires a story...I think it is well known that Beckett has never slept through the night. I mean there has been an occasional night but on the whole, he has never reached the phase of sleeping through the night. Well, when he was a baby I realized that he doesn't always wake up. He would cry but if I got to him fast enough and soothed him back into a deep sleep he would go right back to sleep. The tricky part was that if I picked him up I couldn't put him down. He would wake up the moment I pulled him away from my body in order to place him in the crib. One night in my desperation to comfort him (and catch a few Zs myself) I jumped into his crib, with him. I would feed him, rock him to sleep and then lay down with him, therefore never giving him the oppurtunity to feel like I was putting him down. I always felt as if I tricked him to sleep, but now I realize that he had the upper hand. He manipulated me. At such a young, ripe age he was able to get a girl in her mid 20s to sleep in a crib. And it didn't even stop there. We moved him over to a "big boy bed" on November 7th, which would have made me just about 7 months pregnant... I hoisted my pregnant body over the side of his crib, contorted my body into whatever shape would allow both of us to fit into it and sleep comfortably. Until he would fall back asleep, unfortunately, I usually fell asleep before he would and so a few hours would pass before I realized I could go back to my own bed. I would have let him sleep our bed but that was the same as announcing that it was time to wake up and play.

Well, his charm and manipulation is still in full swing. Whenever I put him to bed he will look at me and say MOM, while patting his pillow, as an invitation to join him. I am a sucker. But we both fit a lot more comfortably now that I don't have a huge belly.

TIME-OUT TIME

I just thought I would do a little "journaling". Scott & I are huge advocates of time out. I don't think that it is always effective but it makes me feel like I am doing my part in disciplining my son when he is not so..."precious".

It has always worked so well, no matter where we were at, but now he has realized that it is not as effective when we are not at home. And he knows that if he cries I will let him out before he has done his time, but at home it is different story. He KNOWS that he has to sit there until we come and get him.

-Unfortunately-

Beckett has reached this stage of whining, defiance, meanness, revenge...and the word NO.

SIDE NOTE: We swore that we would not use the word no, rather we would explain to him what he was doing wrong and ask him to stop doing whatever it was. It worked for so long. It wasn't until 21/22 months that he really started to say no. I blame it on the fact that my mom goes by Nona and my desire for Beckett to know her name and to call her by it. Ever since he really got to know her name as Nona is when he lost all restrictions on saying NO...

If he doesn't like what we are telling him to do he tells us no, if I send him to timeout he says no, if he doesn't know how to answer a question he says NO. I am currently trying to teach him to say YES. He knows what yes is and insists on nodding. OH how I wish YES would replace NO.
Now that Monroe is here it is a little harder for me to discipline Beckett. He seems to know when my hands are full and when it is completely impossible for me to "tend" to him. As a result I have been telling him to go to time-out. The first few times he would just yell no at me, so I would put Monroe down and carry him in to time-out, all the while he hits, pinches, spits - ANYTHING he can do to show that he is deeply upset that he is being punished. He broke my heart the other day, he wasn't listening and came extremely close to hitting the baby, so I sent him to time-out, he turned and looked me straight in the eye and said no,(I sighed because I had just got Monroe to fall asleep and I knew the moment I put her down she would wake up) then he immediately turned around and started walking to his bedroom,(I was taken back, I didn't know what to do) and then about halfway there he turns around, and in the most angelic voice says "Bye-Bye" and waved to me as he proceeded to go to his room and sit in his time-out chair.(I didn't want him to go to time-out anymore, I had completely forgotten what it was that he did wrong and all I wanted to do was smother him in hugs & kisses and tell him what a good boy he was. How did he know that he could melt me with a few words and a little gesture?)

-Unfortunately-

He was in trouble, he had not listened to me, he could have potentially hurt his little sister (like he has on many other occasions) and I had to stick to my guns, because lets face it 2 year olds are smart and will prey on any weakness or inconsistencies.

- Fortunately-

Getting him to time out is the hardest, once he is there he will stay there until we come and get him. Which he did.

Today has been one of those days. I love my children, I would never trade them in for anything. But I miss sleep. I miss waking up refreshed. Beckett is now 2 years old and he still doesn't sleep through the night. I think he has night terrors, nightmares or something and he walks in his sleep. On top of that Monroe won't sleep in her cradle. Yesterday, I put her down for a nap in my bed and she fell asleep. It was beautiful. I was hoping that the same would hold true for last night but my wish was only half granted. She slept for 3 1/2 hours but I didn't sleep because I was so nervous to have her in my bed. It is a lose-lose situation. All morning I was looking forward to nap time. Beckett only slept for 45 minutes and during those 45 minutes Monroe decided that she wanted to be awake or wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. I finally had to lock myself in the bathroom and count to 10. How do you function while suffering from sleep deprivation? I have got it and I need help. Thank you Shannon for being there for me. I am anxioius to come home and to have a support system.

HAPPY B- DAY - HAPPY V-DAY

Our little boy is getting so big. I can't believe that he is 2 years old. I remember going to see my doctor while I was prgnant with Beckett and she said that she wouldn't let me go past my due date; the next day I went to go see the specialist, that was following my pregnancy because of the issues that Beckett had, and he said that there was no need to wait and that he wanted me to be induced at my docs earliest convenience...which just happened to be that night. I was a little upset that they wouldn't wait a few days, I did the math and I figured that if I was induce on February 13th Beckett would be born on the 14th and I didn't want to share that day. I know it was really selfish of me but I knew that Scott and I would want to go out, at some point in our marriage, and I wouldn't want to leave Beckett on his birthday...After Beckett was born I was completely ashamed that those thoughts even went through my mind. What better gift could I ask for each and every Valentine's Day?

We had a very relaxed Valentine's Day, we spent all morning taking turns letting each other nap. Nothing says "I love you" to 2 sleep deprived people better than, "I'll watch the kids if you want to lay down". After we realized that our day had been relatively unproductive we decided to go get a few things at the store. I know it seems silly & completely not romantic, but it was such a wonderful day, just being together...grocery shopping.

We came home and made Beckett's cake & ICING

I couldn't deprive him of one of my favorite childhood delights. Licking the beaters.

We used to fight over them. I am pretty sure that this was one of the highlights of his day. He was so excied to get the beater and I cheated a little I dipped them one last time in the icing before I gave it to him.

AAAHHHH! The sweet goodness of sugar!!!!

Beckett and Scott putting his motorcycle together.
The finished product

After all of the excitement (and sugar) Beckett didn't get to bed until after 11pm, but not to worry he still woke up at his usual time (7am)...