so much to say

There has been quite a bit of excitement around here this week.

1. We put an offer on a second house on Wednesday and so far everything is going as planned. We are having the house inspected on Wednesday and assuming everything is OK we will close at the end of September!! Whoo Hoo! I am SO excited. We actually looked at the house last weekend without thinking seriously about putting on offer on it. Then over the next few days we thought more and more about it and went back to look at it for a second time on Tuesday night. That night we decided to put an offer in. It has all happened so fast! The house is really nice on the inside and really clean. The yard needs quite a bit of work, as there are NUMEROUS palm trees. Sorry to offend any palm tree lovers out there, but I am not a fan. I have to admit that I am a little excited to get to "redo" the yard, learn about landscaping, and have a project to work on over the next few months. So if any of you have any lawn tips, let me know! (here are some pics of the backyard...now do you believe me that there are NUMEROUS palm trees!)

2. Evelyn started eating solids! I have to admit I was a little hesitant since once I started feeding her, I would actually have to "prepare" her breakfast and lunch. When you are nursing you just sit on the couch and watch some HGTV while she eats. But it has been fun, and really not as much work as I thought. Her first foods were a whole grain cereal and an avocado. (yes, I am aware that you are only supposed to introduce one new food at a time, but I broke the rule.) Anyway, she LOVED the avocado, but she didn't look very cute with green food drooling out of her mouth! Since then I have made her peaches, pears, sweet potatoes, and bananas. (Yes, I also am aware that you are supposed to wait at least 4 days before introducing a new food to test for food allergies. I also broke this rule, but she is doing just fine!!) =). I have been making big batches of food and putting it in ice cube trays in the freezer, which has been fun. However, I have been debating whether or not to buy her organic fruits and veggies. I mean, I have read about the dangers of pesticides and such, but I am not fully convinced. If there is an organic choice at the grocery store and the price is not significantly higher I will choose the organic, but I haven't gone searching for the organic stuff. Is that wrong? Am I harming Evelyn? (oh, the things that keep me up at night!) What is a mom to do!?! =)

Here is a picture of her eating her peaches. As you can tell, she is NOT a neat and clean eater. she sticks her fingers in her mouth after each spoonfull and then the food ends up all over her face!! Messy, but still so darn cute!

3. We have a crawler. Yep...Evelyn is crawling around. Well, I use the word crawling loosely. I should really say that she is a "scooter". She puts both knees under her and then reaches out with her arms and then does it all over again until she gets to where she wants to be! This is scary because out apartment is definitely not safe for a crawling baby.

my new crush

I just realized how much I LOVE Pottery Barn furniture. We were looking at a house this last weekend and the entire house was furnished with Pottery Barn furniture. BEAUTIFUL! I mean, I knew before that I liked it, but now the official crush has started. I am thinking of writing the company a love note!

Too bad all the stuff is so darn expensive.

Move over Ikea...I have a new love of my life.

Big news...again

Big news coming again soon...maybe! Stay tuned!

Yay! I got tagged by Morgan to share 6 random things about myself. (if you are wondering why I am so happy, it is because I LOVE doing stuff like this. You know those silly emails that go around where you have to answer 100s of questions about yourself like "ranch dressing or Italian?"? Well, I ALWAYS fill them out...they are so fun. Maybe I just like talking about myself. Is there anything wrong with that?) =)

Anyway...here goes...

Here are the tagging rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

Karen's randomness:

1. I have a birthmark on my leg in the shape of the United Stated of America. No joke. I promise. In fact, growing up my older brother and sister would tell me to pull out the map (meaning my leg, of course) when we were on family road trips. I am not embarrassed by it though, so if you are bold enough, and curious enough, just ask and I will share my "map" with you! =)

2. Ever since I can remember, my biggest fear has been that I would be dropped off in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night. Strange. It is just so dark. And scary. And big. And scary. Oh, and in case you didn't know man-eating sharks live in the ocean that will eat you alive! Especially if you are dropped off in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night.

3. I won an award in 5th grade for perfect attendance from kindergarten through 5th grade. Yay for me! I was so excited because I was the only one in the whole school who was getting that award! But, now I look back and all that the school thought appropriate to give me was a lousy little fake-gold pin that said "Perfect Attendance". I mean, come on....perfect attendance for 6 years and all I got was a pin. (kidding about the bitterness, of course) =)

4. deep breath...deep breath...(I can't believe I am about to admit this)...deep breath...I ...like...Kid...Rock. OK I said it. I listen to Kid Rock. I know his music is lousy. His lyrics are lousy. His morality is terrible. And I would NEVER want Evelyn to listen to that type of music. But, have you heard his new song? It is really catchy. They play it on country stations (I am not quite sure why since it is not a country song). I am sure you will like it too. Just give it a try, or not if you have any taste in music! (by the way, I also like Hanson. Remember Um Bop. Ya, good stuff!)

5. I love to bargain shop. In fact I have a hard time committing to anything that is not on sale or that I can't return. (remember this?) Even better, if I have a coupon to use on an item that is already on sale! I love using coupons so much that Michael knows not to go get fast food without consulting me first. I just might have a coupon for wherever he is going. He also gave me a very appropriate book for Christmas titled "The Coupon Mom". I loved it!

6. Lastly, I don't like steak. Ya, you read that right. I don't like steak. Is it even legal to live in Texas and not eat steak? As I have gotten older, I have been able to tolerate it, and I even ordered it once at a restaurant thinking I might enjoy it. Wrong. I am not really a huge fan of any red meat, though. In fact, when I was in high school and beginning of college, I was a vegetarian for three years. Not because I am against killing and eating animals, but because I just don't eat a lot of meat and it kinda became a challenge to find ways to NOT eat meat. Then one day I wanted a hot dog. And that was the end of my vegetarian stretch.

Now for the people I tag:

1. Kathy -- I know you have done these things before on your blog, but I think you need to do just one more!
2. Erin W. -- the birth announcements are cute but we need more
3. Sarah -- you may have already been tagged, but just in case, I tag you too!
4. Melissa -- I know you are one of my most trusted readers/commenters =)
5. Michael -- Honey, I know you don't have your own blog, but I allow you rights to post on here. I would love to know some random facts about you (and I know you read this!)
6. Erin C. -- You too have probably already been tagged, but endulge me, you popular girl!

Personal opinions ahead...

Has anyone else seen this Discover Card commercial? It makes me sick. Basically, the credit card company is claiming that they are the solution to the nation's debt rather than standing up and admitting that they are the problem. The commercial starts out with "We are a nation of consumers...and there's nothing wrong with that". Ummm...actually, there is something wrong with that. The fact that people live by that idea is exactly why there are so many people living with debt up to their knees. There are SO many things I could say that bother me about this ad. And isn't it ironic that a company who benefits from people spending money says it's okay that we're a consumerist society. Hmmm.

Just a few years ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about the message this commercial is sending. But fortunately I have married a budget-friendly, Dave Ramsey-loving, debt free-living, money conscious, Quick Book-junkie of a husband who had taught me the importance of saving and not living above our means. Thanks honey!

Side note: Does anyone else think it is sad that credit card companies set up stands at college campuses trying to get students to sign up for a card. "Sign up and get a free t-shirt!!" Don't these companies know that college students are infamous for being poor. How do they expect students to pay off a credit card! Oh, wait. They don't. Theses credit card companies are banking (no pun intended) on the students not making the payments and then owing the company thousands of dollars in interest!

Does this commercial make anyone else nauseous?? What are your thoughts? Am I just being too sensitive?

Goodnight Moon

Our little reader...or rather our little eater.

(By the way, please tell me that I am not the only one who doesn't understand Goodnight Moon AT ALL! Why is it such a popular book anyway??)

house-hunting update

So the search for a house continues. We looked at 4 more houses last night (making that about 15 total houses so far), and speaking for myself, only one of them was "potentially a maybe". (I sure sound confident I want that house, huh?) Anyway, the only reason I am not more excited about it is that it backs up to 99. I mean literally there is a huge sound proof wall in the backyard and the constant hum of cars going by. I don't think it would be too bad during the day, but I am a little concerned that at night we would be quite bothered. Also, what do you do when you kick a ball over the fence? You can't just call the nice people that live behind you to throw it back over. The ball is likely going to look more like a pancake with tires marks on it if you do ever retrieve it from the highway!

And to make it worse, I am getting more and more anxious to get out of this apartment. Between the mold growing in Evelyn's closet, the extremely loud air conditioner that drips water, the slew of bugs I have to kill every morning that sneak in at night, the stompers that live above us that move furniture at 2 in the morning, and the kitchen counter with burns in it (i admit...that one is my fault), I am ready to move!

I said it once and I will likely say it again...this is exhausting!

Who is the girl in the breadbox?

As part of Evelyn's bedtime routine every night she gets a bath in the sink (yes, we still bathe our 5 month old in the sink. And no, she does not fit very well anymore). Anyway, we always set her towel on the counter to dry her off. Well last night was a bit different. Evelyn turned and saw that there was another baby girl hanging out on the breadbox. It was hilarious. Of course we missed catching the funniest part on video, but you can get the idea here...

must use buckles

This is what happens when you put a 5 month old in a bouncy seat without buckling her in:

big news update

Sorry to keep you waiting, but "big news" is a bust. Sadness.

Michael and I finally found a house that we liked and last weekend put an offer on it. As expected, the seller counter-offered, but we accepted his counter and once we put in our next offer he accepted!! yea!! Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story or else I would have good news, of course. So after we put in our second offer our realtor calls us and tells us the update. There is a third party on the title (weird, I know. Even our realtor was confused by this one), and the said third party was out of town until Monday. So the seller verbally accepted our offer and said that everything would get signed on Monday when the unknown third party gets back in town. How exciting (we thought) to get a house sooner than we expected. The house is beautiful. Completely remodeled and lots up nice upgrades that are hard to find in the homes we are looking at.

Then we get the dreaded call from our realtor. The crazy man ,and I mean REALLY crazy, selling the house accepted a different offer. What?!? The weird part is that he is going to rent the home until October to the sellers and then they will purchase it. Strange. The sellers agent was so upset with him the he emailed our agent an apology.

So, we are back on the hunt for a house.

this is exhausting.

big news...

stay posted for possible BIG news coming soon!! =)

Tulsa trip recap

Last week we left for Tulsa. I have to admit that we were dreading the car ride up there. But to our surprise, Evelyn did AMAZING! Not one peep from her the entire trip there or back. Who would have thought! We took the advice of a friend and left early in the morning so that Evelyn could finish her night off in the car. So I fed her at 3:30 in the morning and we left the house around 4 am. She fell back asleep until 7-ish. We stopped for gas (and coffee for a tired driver) and I fed her. Then back on the road again. Here we are at our second stop (of course at a Shell station! We wouldn't buy gas anywhere else!).

We didn't stop again until we were in Okmulgee, OK which is just outside Tulsa. We found a little park to have lunch (I had packed along some pb&j, apples, carrots, and pretzels). It was nice to sit outside and just relax after being in the car all day. Here is Michael with Evelyn at the park:

When we got there Grandma and Grandpa were VERY excited to see Evelyn.

Saturday, all seven cousins (yes, I said seven cousins. And they are all under the age of 10!) met at the mall to have pictures taken. Fun. We actually got a good shot with all the kids looking at the camera and smiling!

Here are just a few more shots of our trip:

Michael and Evelyn hanging out in his parents backyard:

Evelyn and cousin Molly:

Evelyn and five of her cousins (and Aunt Shawna!):

Evelyn, cousin Hannah, and Aunt Shawna:

Evelyn and cousin Ellie:

Me and Evelyn outside the newest bakery location:

Evelyn eyeing out Daddy's sweet treat:

Evelyn and her great grandparents:

Evelyn and her proud grandpa:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Evelyn learned a new trick while we were there. She can now suck on her toes while strapped into the carseat. Now that is flexibility!!

I heart nectarines

Last night I was eating a nectarine. I let Evelyn lick the fleshy part of the fruit and she LOVED it. She liked it so much that when I took it away from her she started crying until I let her lick on it again. Finally, the fruit was so spitty and gummed-up that Michael had to throw it away and you would have thought that Evelyn's world had ended. Sadness. (fyi: this was her first time to taste anything so sweet)

This is Evelyn enjoying her fruit:

This is what happens when you take it away: