I'm doing good to get something posted ... don't push your luck and expect a creative title!

Once again, another weekend is upon us and I'm finally getting around to documenting our events from last week! Meme kept Wyatt last Tuesday and Wednesday so that I could work for a little while. It was SO HARD to get ready for work and get myself and Wyatt out the door on Tuesday morning! I'm just not used to getting 2 people ready but like Ben and I discussed, we will just have to figure out our routine. Thursday night was a big night for our little family! Ben and I had already planned to start weaning Wyatt off his middle of the night feeding over the weekend, but somehow on Thursday he just did it all by himself! We put him down about 10:30 or 11 and before I knew it it was 5:00 and he was just waking up! Friday night was a little more difficult for us, but when Wyatt woke up Ben was able to get him back to sleep until 5:30 or 6, I think. I say this with great trepidation, but ever since that night he hasn't really woken up for long and certainly hasn't demanded to eat in the middle of the night. I'm just hoping this pattern continues.

We had to get out the door early again Friday morning to go to work but we enlisted Ben's help this time and it actually went a lot more smoothly. My parents and sister went on a little vacation (I wasn't invited ... swear I'm not bitter either!) so I had to take Wyatt in to work with me on Friday. He actually did pretty good and I was able to get in about a half day of work before we had both had enough.

Wyatt and I spent Saturday being lazy while Ben played golf. We did a whole lot of this .... (sorry for the not so great camera phone photo)

All three of us took a little outing to the Braves game on Saturday night. I didn't figure Wyatt would do so well in the heat at the game so we just went to the tailgate, which is the best part anyway so I didn't feel like we missed much! (Ben would not agree with that statement at all but he did get to go to the game and I took Wyatt home)

Isn't Wyatt cute in his Braves gear?Ben teaching Wyatt the tomahawk chop!

I decided that I needed a day to run errands on Sunday without having to lug a heavy baby carrier with me all day, so Ben kept Wyatt while I did just that. I think I was maybe gone for an hour when I got the following email from Ben:

Guess the monkey misses momma. Been crying for an hour non stop. Nothing I do works. Allsome afternoon.

This picture was attached:
We were back to work on Monday and Tuesday and this is pretty much how it went both days:
He did great at the office and was happy to be there as long as I held him. I'm learning how to do A LOT of things one-handed these days!

Our First Two Weeks at Home

Well we have successfully made it through our first couple weeks at home with Wyatt. Thank God for my mother who was here all the first week helping us out. It is crazy to imagine that a teeny, tiny human being needs so many hands! Last week, Mom was gone so Wyatt and I flew solo - suddenly I didn't have quite as much time to do things like shower, blog, and write thank you notes, and even simple things like make my breakfast and lunch! However, each day gets a little easier as I learn how to manage myself and a newborn.

We are blessed with a pretty good sleeper, so that has done wonders for our sanity! During the day, we stick pretty close to the every 3 hour rule but at night I will typically feed him sometime between 10 and 11 and let him sleep until he wakes us when he is hungry. He usually makes it until about 3 or 4 and then again until about 7 or 8 0 so we're pretty lucky. I just hope that continues. Only one nighttime feeding really does a lot to keep mommy and daddy well rested!

He is also a great eater - the boy always acts content after he finishes eating, but I'm convinced that he would keep eating if we let him! I must say that he gets that trait honest from his momma though!

Anyway. Enough of the boring details that yall probably don't care too terribly much about! Here are a few pictures to show you what we've been up to since we came home.

We spent lots of time in our bouncer seat! This gives mommy a break so she can eat her meals and do things around the house for a few minutes.

We posed for lots of pictures!

We went on our first outing to Babies R' Us. (We quickly realized we needed more pee pads because this boy sure does go through them!)

We pitched a few fits (but always for a very good reason - tired, hungry, wet, dirty, or just to let us know he wants some attention)!

We had lots of visitors -- sorry I'm not posting visitor pictures because I don't want to play favorites!

We took naps on mommy's and daddy's shoulders.

Wyatt and I also took a couple of solo outings - one to CVS, and one to Costco and we'll have to think of somewhere fun to go this afternoon for a bit! (I can't sit in this house all day -- I get pretty bored)

30, Pregnant, and Homeless

Geez! We have been so, so so busy. This post might get a little long, but I'm going to try to update what we've been doing for the past couple weeks! We have so much going on, and I really just haven't had much time for blogging.

A few days after my last post, I turned 30. I've been telling my parents for years that I was 'pushing 30' but now it is official, I am old. However, just because I'm old doesn't mean that I can't have multiple birthday celebrations like we used to do in college. Ben's parents were even sweet enough to drive down to Atlanta for the family celebration! We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at La Grotta -- even Ellie joined in the fun! Here is one of the only pictures we have from the night. Notice my new Tahitian pearls? Ben did a FANTASTIC job on my gift (and so did his mom as she was the one who shopped for them!)


In the midst of all my birthday celebrations, we have also been frantically looking for a house. I hadn't wanted to mention anything on the blog until our contract was binding, but we ended up getting an offer on our condo and are scheduled to close on December 17. Although it is a good thing that we have a contract, it also really put the pressure on us to find something.

The weekend of my birthday, Ben and I were driving to meet our realtor at a house that we both really liked but I knew it wasn't going to work for us. We both really wanted to make it work, because we were just so discouraged about everything we had found up to this point and this was a really great house. Anyway, on our way to the house we drove past a neighborhood that we have both always loved. Long story short, the old builder went bankrupt and had built out (and sold) about half of the lots. A new builder came in and bought the distressed land and is about to start construction. The downside here is that there is no standing inventory so that means we have to build! That sounds like so much fun to everyone, but the reality is that when you build, you wake up in the middle of the night worried about silly things like where to put cable jacks and whether or not you chose the right tile in your bathrooms so it really isn't all fun and games. The upside is that we will end up with a great house that we both really love. As of now, our tenative closing date on the house is April 8.

Just in case you forgot, Shim is due to enter the world May 16. So, yeah we're literally going to close on our house and move in about 5 minutes before Shimmy is born! Awesome. At least I won't be expected to do any heavy lifting! But yeah, just to reiterate I am 30, pregnant, and (almost) homeless. That sounds like a really great TV show doesn't it?

Uggggggghhhhhh, stress ....

Another thing that has been going on for the past few months (and to a certain extent, why I've been absent from the blog) is that Ben and I are searching for a new home. While I wouldn't necessarily say that our search is active and aggressive at this point, I can say that it is extremely frustrating. And overwhelming. So because we are frustrated and overwhelmed, we get caught up in that and second guess everything.

I realize that most people out there say "this is a buyer's market", "interest rates are so favorable", and "its a great time to buy!". But let me tell you, that simply isn't true. It isn't. There is plenty of inventory out there and some really good deals to be found, that is a fact. But those deals are most typically in a foreclosure or short-sale situation. We're not opposed to either of those but short-sales typically take a long time to close and your typical foreclosure, well, more often than not they were trashed by the previous residents and we really want something that is move-in ready. And the homes that aren't foreclosures or short-sales? There is usually a reason why they haven't sold. Either they are priced above the market, in a bad location, in a subdivision that isn't built-out, or a whole host of other things. It just seems that the good homes are not on the market right now**. Probably because those good homes are selling fast and we miss them due to the fact that we're not scouring MLS every 10 minutes. We have a Realtor, and she's doing a good job with the information that we have given her but we seem to change our minds every 3 minutes so its a tough job she has.

Another issue is our commutes. Basically, Ben works in-town and I work on the northeast side of town so we're working with a fairly limited area here. Neither of us wants to spend 2+ hours/day commuting to and from work so that is a major consideration as well. We love the area we are in now, but the school system sucks. We were both raised in the public school system, and my sister happens to be a teacher and huge proponent of public schools. Therefore, private schools aren't really in the cards. Oh and also the fact that they are expensive. That plays into it as well!

It is no secret that Ben and I are complete opposites in many respects, but for the most part we agree on what we are looking for in a home: reasonable commute to work, good school district, decent back yard, and room to grow into. We also agree on the aesthetics of the homes we are looking at, and pretty much want the same thing. So I guess that is good. This would be an entirely different shitstorm if we wanted opposite things.

Anyway, I don't really expect to find a solution right now so I guess we'll just keep looking and hope that we find something we love and can see ourselves in for a long time.

** That said, we do currently have a good home on the market. I'd like to say I am willing to make you a sweet deal on a condo right now but frankly that would just make Ben and I homeless, so I'm not so sure!

Just Stuff

So, I guess I've been pretty quiet on the blog front this week. I just realized that I hadn't updated since Tuesday! Mainly this was due to a lack of internet service at home, but that has also been restored. Also, there have been several things that I've wanted to write about but decided it best not to for one reason or another. Nothing particularly good or bad ... just everyday life things! That is the problem with a non-anonymous blog, I guess.

Soooooo ... I guess I'll talk about something that I do feel comfortable blogging about. Mother's Day is coming up and I still have NO IDEA what to do for my mom. Of course she says "oh just pull weeds in my flower beds for an hour ... that is what I would really like". Riiiiiiiggggghhhht, Mom ... like I'm not going to get you a gift for MDay! (I'll still pull some weeds when I'm out there, Mom) Anyway, she isn't hard to shop for at all but at the same time its hard to find something really special and not cheesy. You can post comments w/ any ideas you may have for her. (Although she does read this blog, so I'm sorry if it ruins any surprises, Mom!)

Another thing that is a safe topic is Ben. I like to pick at him sometimes on this blog, I know. It is very well documented. However, I'd like to take a few minutes to BRAG on him for a change! We both have a tendency to leave things just laying around in the house. You know ... shoes, purses, empty glasses, etc. Not trash or junk or anything its just that neither of us are really good about putting things away right after we're done using them. We've decided that we need to make a contientious effort to keep our house tidy and he is doing SO WELL! Every day when I come home from work, the bed is made up (decorative pillows and all), there are no shoes laying around, no hats, or coats out of place and he's even keeping his bathroom counter cleared off! It seems so silly, but really coming home to a tidy house has made a huge difference in my mood! (Yaaaaay, Brian!)

Did anyone see The Office last night? Cafe Disco. AWE. SOME! It was honestly one of the funnier episodes I've seen in a while. I really wish I could learn to dance like Andy. Is he not the best charachter right now?

Okay. Enough randomness. I'll holler back over the weekend or early next week!

Growing Up Is Hard

I'm going to blog about something that I told myself I wouldn't. I wasn't going to discuss this on my blog because I frankly don't like to tell people about (major) things that I am doing, but rather things that I have done or accomplished. However, this is what is going on in the Longmire household right now and I'm conflicted about it, so really seems like perfect blog material. Also, if you have any related experiences or knowledge, I would love to hear your insight. (Because seriously, is there any better place to get your questions/concerns answered than on google or your blog?)

Ben and I met with a Realtor tonight - we're thinking of putting our condo on the market. Stupid? Probably. But we need a house. We need more room. We cannot stay in this condo forever and the market isn't going to get better. Interest rates are rock bottom right now and it seems like the best time to lock in at an attractive rate. Anyway, with trying to sell a property brings about so many questions.

The Realtor happens to be a really close friend of Ben's mother. So of course I think she's looking out for our best interests. But at the same time, there are questions to be considered. Of course my main concerns are how much should/can I negotiate her commission down? (Especially considering we are already going to have to take a loss AND we'll buy through her once we sell). Also, we don't quite see eye to eye on the listing price -- she thinks we should back into our bottom line number based on what we'll need as down payment on our next purchase while I'm more concerned with only taking a certain amount of a loss. Also, she has encouraged us to contact mortgage brokers and talk about pre-qualifying and how much down payment we'll need. I'm not worried about that yet. Is that not putting the cart before the horse?

This is all probably way too personal for me to put on my blog. But its what we are dealing with at the moment. I know others have been through it, so please ... give advice!

And also, I do realize there are people out there with much larger problems than this. I'm not that shallow. Like I mentioned earlier ... I'm just reporting on what is going on in my life!