She's Crazy....

She's cute, right? Yeah, she is, but she's also crazy!

So we went to Sports Authority last night to get a few things, and on the way out, Kate tripped and fell. I know immediately that this would make for a long night. No, no, don't worry, she wasn't terribly injured...but SHE thought she was. First, she made Josh look to see if there was a scrape because she just couldn't bear to look. He reported that there was a small scratch, but no blood was present. She whimpered all the way to the car and all the way home. When we got out of the car, she started limping. Except when she saw the frog and RAN to see it. Then she must've remembered about the scratch, because the limp reappeared. I asked her if she wanted a band-aid, but she said her scratch hurt too bad to put a band-aid on. Huh? Fast forward a few minutes later to bed time. The child is CRAWLING on the carpet. Crawling on the scratch that is supposedly so bad that it makes her limp. She also insisted on her knee being covered up with the throw from my living room when she went to bed. She said it would help her knee to feel better. Crazy, I tell you. Just crazy.

**please don't think I'm an uncaring mother--the child didn't fall hard enough to break anything (barely even broke the skin). She acts this way every.time. she gets a scratch. Crazy kid.

Ta-da!

So here's the house that has been occupying all my time for the past few months...

Front View

My very favorite place to sit in the evenings

Kitchen (this is what sold me on the house)

Living Room

I'm still having a hard time believing that this is OUR house. I'm not just borrowing it, no one is going to take it back....it's OURS. I loved our other house, but this one is just unbelievable. There is still A LOT left to do, but we spent all our money on the down payment, so we'll have to do things as we can afford them. Unfortunately, my personality traits do not include patience. I want every room to be perfect. Right now. Josh, on the other hand, is completely content with having to step around boxes to get to the laundry room, setting his alarm clock on the floor since the nightstand got broken in the move, etc. If only I could be a bit more like him and he could be a bit more like me....I guess that's why we compliment each other so nicely!

I'd like to re-introduce myself...

My name is Brooke, and I'm a terrible blogger. In my defense though, we've had A LOT going on the past few months. Let me re-cap what has happened since my last post in October....

I survived Thanksgiving in San Antonio with the in-laws, then spent a fabulous 10 days in the beautiful mountains of New Mexico over Christmas/New Year's. It definitely ranked up there with the best vacations ever (even though my kids HATED the snow and downright refused to go outside!)

This was Kate's reaction every time she stepped outside. I guess she's a Texas

girl through-and-through!

Avery was a little more tolerant, but still would have much preferred to be inside.

The whole crew (aside from my kids, who were toasty warm inside)

When we got back from New Mexico, Josh decided that we should put the house on the market and see if we got any bites. We had no real hope that it would sell, since it sat on the market for 6 months a couple years ago. But, with the tax credit ending in April, we decided to try. Here's the whirlwind part....

Feb. 19--house went on the market

Feb. 21--first showing

Feb. 23--the first people who saw the house made an offer! It was a terrible offer, but eventually we were able to find a price that worked for both parties. Getting to that point took a couple of weeks, so I was still having to keep the house spotless for other showings.

March 1-finally had a signed contract on the house.

March 1-20--searched frantically, day and night for a new home...failed. Learned that Josh and I have extremely different "must haves" when considering homes. His requirements were ridiculous (mine make perfect sense). He seriously wouldn't even look at houses that backed up to another house. He wanted to back up to a greenbelt. That eliminated 90 percent of homes on the market. Our marriage was under serious stress, so we decided to just stop looking and move into an apartment for a month.

March 20th--Said good bye to our first home and moved into a ridiculously small apartment.

March-April--Made offers on 2 houses, with no luck. Finally made an offer on a third house, and it was accepted. The house was in pre-forclosure, so the paperwork was insane. We not only had to deal with the seller, but the bank too. I can't even count the number of times we almost backed out. Oh, and the owners, being mad that they were being foreclosed on, decided to take the oven, ceiling fans, shower heads, thermostats, and drawer pulls before handing over the keys. Morons. So much for going out with dignity.

May 16th-finally closed on the new house!! It was a pain in the rear, but in the end, all the trouble was worth it. We got a fabulous house, and a killer price and already have more equity in it that most people have after 5 years.

Since then, we've been constantly busy with hanging ceiling fans, buying appliances, unpacking, painting, etc. It's been crazy, but I love it. Kate and Avery have made themselves right at home, and are loving having so much more space. The neighborhood is great too, with 7 pools and lots of ponds and walking trails.

SO....all that to say, I've been busy and blogging hasn't been on my list of things to do. Not to mention, we didn't have Internet in the apartment and for the first couple of weeks in the house. Life is calming down now, and I really do want to get back into this. I'd post a pic of the house, but I haven't downloaded any yet. That will come next, for now, I'm saying good night!