late this winter i had predicted that this spring would be bringing out home buyers if not in droves, or at the very least a few trickling ones that love, love, love our home. instead last night at 1 am i was awakened by a completely different kind of spring fever - croup! i guess i shouldn't complain, because we have had a relatively calm winter, after the spa outing that is.
last night at 1am i did things like crawl on the floor of the boys closet digging out the nebulizer and humidifier; suction more snot than any child should be able to contain in their itty bitty body; and mix up juicy water concoctions for barking children. poor max and keegan! from what i remember about croup - it gets worse before it gets better. yay, what a happy birthday this is looking like it will be. so after everyone was settled back into bed and i finally pulled the comforter back around my exhausted self i hear jon say "you know, if we have croupy babies next weekend you are not leaving for your girls weekend?!" as i drifted back off to sleep i had to remind myself that because of these children i have met some truly amazing people. spring fever or not, i love them with all my heart.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
how many times?
i hung up the phone this weekend after telling the realtor, "sure we would love to leave our house between 5:30-6PM so you can show your clients our house another time", and then i got to thinking. just how many times does one need to see a house before deciding this is the house for them? both times we bought houses, we spent probably 1 hour total in the house before making an offer. that was the sum of two quick visits on days that we saw about 10 other houses. and somehow we knew. but these potential home buyers have been through our house 3 times - yes THREE!! i am hoping that we get an offer sometime soon. each time the feedback is the same: "my client really likes the house, they just arent sure they are ready to make an offer yet" i swear if they schedule another showing i am going to charge admission! as much as i am ready to sell this house i am still in a quandry about where we will end up. could get pretty interesting around here soon folks, stay tuned...
Thursday, April 3, 2008
baltimore, the city that reads bleeds
when j. and i were first married, we lived in the upper fells point neighborhood of downtown baltimore. we enjoyed living in a mid-sized city where we could walk to work, restaurants, entertainment and the water. in our mid twenties we didnt spend a lot of time thinking about safety, school scores and other features that i find myself pouring over now as we look for a new home. granted, we paid $58K for our house and our mortgage was something like a piddly $565/mo. ahh, those were the days.
but then one otherwise fine new years day when i was driving home from my parents house it all changed. as i approached a 4-way stop intersection, in a less than desirable neighborhood (two blocks from our own home), a man approached my jeep and pulled his jacket back where i noticed a handgun tucked into his waistband. i took off and didnt look back. for the most part that less than desirable part of the neighborhood kept to its side of broadway, while we kept to our own. but broad day light? come on, that was enough for me! a few months later we selected our current house and moved to the 'burbs. i wasnt too sad to leave behind baltimore.
today i went back to baltimore on a field trip with f. class. we went to the baltimore & ohio railroad museum. i dont get much time to do things just with f., so i was looking forward to the day. we climbed aboard that noisy school bus and away we went. i spent much of the morning chasing after f. and a classmate, saying things like "stay together boys". but it was fun, that is until we boarded the train to take a ride along the very first stretch of railroad ever built in the us. the train started to exit the platform as we settled in for our 20 minute ride. just as the boys were asking me if the train was going to go any faster, it came to a complete halt. we sat for a minute or two and then mom's started to say things like "well honey, we are probably just waiting our turn, you know like at a traffic light". then i saw the volunteer aboard the train pick up her cell phone and her eyes widened as she replied to the caller "ok, will do". a moment or two later, i overheard that same volunteer exchanging words like "chalk outline" and "victim" and "heading back to the platform" with f.'s teacher. so we returned to the platform and climbed aboard the bus another time. once again, i didnt really find myself looking back on baltimore, the city thatreads bleeds.
but then one otherwise fine new years day when i was driving home from my parents house it all changed. as i approached a 4-way stop intersection, in a less than desirable neighborhood (two blocks from our own home), a man approached my jeep and pulled his jacket back where i noticed a handgun tucked into his waistband. i took off and didnt look back. for the most part that less than desirable part of the neighborhood kept to its side of broadway, while we kept to our own. but broad day light? come on, that was enough for me! a few months later we selected our current house and moved to the 'burbs. i wasnt too sad to leave behind baltimore.
today i went back to baltimore on a field trip with f. class. we went to the baltimore & ohio railroad museum. i dont get much time to do things just with f., so i was looking forward to the day. we climbed aboard that noisy school bus and away we went. i spent much of the morning chasing after f. and a classmate, saying things like "stay together boys". but it was fun, that is until we boarded the train to take a ride along the very first stretch of railroad ever built in the us. the train started to exit the platform as we settled in for our 20 minute ride. just as the boys were asking me if the train was going to go any faster, it came to a complete halt. we sat for a minute or two and then mom's started to say things like "well honey, we are probably just waiting our turn, you know like at a traffic light". then i saw the volunteer aboard the train pick up her cell phone and her eyes widened as she replied to the caller "ok, will do". a moment or two later, i overheard that same volunteer exchanging words like "chalk outline" and "victim" and "heading back to the platform" with f.'s teacher. so we returned to the platform and climbed aboard the bus another time. once again, i didnt really find myself looking back on baltimore, the city that
Monday, March 31, 2008
who's afraid of a 7 foot tall bee?!?!
dont you just love it when you find a family event to go to, free no less, and the whole thing is just so not worth it? this weekend after much cajoling i talked j. into venturing out with the boys to the dept. of agriculture, where they were holding a free open house. did i mentioned it was free?? it was a nice day out and i figured how can you go wrong with pony rides, a hay maze, and face painting. this is like the trifecta for the shorter set in our family. since f. has previously mastered all of the above i thought it could actually be fun. so when i mentioned it to f. and he was thrilled and ran to put on his shoes, i thought to myself "score"! [note to all mom's reading this - when you say "score" to yourself, take a minute to recall my day and think about reconsidering]
we loaded everyone in the minivan and headed off - even got a prime parking spot that didnt involve the shuttle. granted it was reserved for the director of some position, but the security guard in the parking lot assured us we could use the spot. i was thinking to myself "self, this is going to be a great afternoon". with m&k strapped into the double stroller and f. in tow we headed across the street as directed by the traffic police and this is where things started to go downhill.
the event was a little crowded, but there was so much to do, lines were not to long. i figured since he had been talking about the pony rides non-stop since i mentioned them, that f. would love to meet this beautiful race horse that was on display for the kids to meet. nope - not going to happen. ok, no big deal - she was 15 hands tall, or so the sign said. i can see where that might be a bit intimidating. so on we went. how about the mini tractor pull? basically there were tiny tractors that were powered much like a tricycle pulling some thing behind it on a timed course or some such thing. no way - f. practically ran away screaming "no". alright then, how about the pony rides? "no, i want to go home!!" umm, we had only been there for about 4.5 seconds at this point. so we declined the offer to pack it in for the day. so then f. insists that all he wants to do is the hay maze. ok we can do that.
we ask someone where the maze is located and discover you have to go through the building, take the elevator down one level and exit out the back of the building. i can already see f. getting nervous just at the mention of an elevator. but we pressed on towards the building. he was terrified by the elevator located in the building and even more horrified when we suggested he take the stairs with his father, while i take the elevator with his brothers and meet him at the bottom. i tell you, i can not figure this kid out. ok, i get the elevator thing - clearly, that has a direct correlation to the vacation from hell. but stairs?!? this could prove to be troublesome in life. where do these fears come from? to the point where after unsuccessfully trying to walk all the way around the ginormous building to avoid said stairs and elevator - he finally decided the elevator wasnt so bad after all. the stairs though - no way he was getting anywhere near those.
so we finally meet at he maze, a good twenty minutes later, and f.'s mood continues to deteriorate. he enters the maze, which was only one hay bale tall so he could easily see the entire course, and he takes a wrong turn. i am thinking "oh sh!t!!" he starts hitting himself in the head, saying "no thats not the right way". and i am standing there thinking, "this is just not right. what is wrong with my child??" he comes running out of the maze and rejoins us. when we encourage him to give it another try, he goes to the other end of the maze and easily completes the task - umm, ok?!
so we thought we would check out some of the inside stuff which involved the elevator. apparently the air was clearing in the 4 year old brain, because the elevator was no problem. the bee colony entirely enclosed it glass however, was enough to push a 4 year old over the edge and start demanding to go home again. this time i said yes, i had enough myself. resigned to chalking up the day we head down the elevator - again strangely no problem and start to head to the car. at that moment f. changed into an entirely different child, calling "mommy, can i go in the cow car?" to which i reply "sure". so in he goes with j. and milks a cow, etc. out he comes and runs up to a 7 foot tall bee character and gives him a high five and proceeds to partake in every other event offered that day without hesitation. who is this child??
we loaded everyone in the minivan and headed off - even got a prime parking spot that didnt involve the shuttle. granted it was reserved for the director of some position, but the security guard in the parking lot assured us we could use the spot. i was thinking to myself "self, this is going to be a great afternoon". with m&k strapped into the double stroller and f. in tow we headed across the street as directed by the traffic police and this is where things started to go downhill.
the event was a little crowded, but there was so much to do, lines were not to long. i figured since he had been talking about the pony rides non-stop since i mentioned them, that f. would love to meet this beautiful race horse that was on display for the kids to meet. nope - not going to happen. ok, no big deal - she was 15 hands tall, or so the sign said. i can see where that might be a bit intimidating. so on we went. how about the mini tractor pull? basically there were tiny tractors that were powered much like a tricycle pulling some thing behind it on a timed course or some such thing. no way - f. practically ran away screaming "no". alright then, how about the pony rides? "no, i want to go home!!" umm, we had only been there for about 4.5 seconds at this point. so we declined the offer to pack it in for the day. so then f. insists that all he wants to do is the hay maze. ok we can do that.
we ask someone where the maze is located and discover you have to go through the building, take the elevator down one level and exit out the back of the building. i can already see f. getting nervous just at the mention of an elevator. but we pressed on towards the building. he was terrified by the elevator located in the building and even more horrified when we suggested he take the stairs with his father, while i take the elevator with his brothers and meet him at the bottom. i tell you, i can not figure this kid out. ok, i get the elevator thing - clearly, that has a direct correlation to the vacation from hell. but stairs?!? this could prove to be troublesome in life. where do these fears come from? to the point where after unsuccessfully trying to walk all the way around the ginormous building to avoid said stairs and elevator - he finally decided the elevator wasnt so bad after all. the stairs though - no way he was getting anywhere near those.
so we finally meet at he maze, a good twenty minutes later, and f.'s mood continues to deteriorate. he enters the maze, which was only one hay bale tall so he could easily see the entire course, and he takes a wrong turn. i am thinking "oh sh!t!!" he starts hitting himself in the head, saying "no thats not the right way". and i am standing there thinking, "this is just not right. what is wrong with my child??" he comes running out of the maze and rejoins us. when we encourage him to give it another try, he goes to the other end of the maze and easily completes the task - umm, ok?!
so we thought we would check out some of the inside stuff which involved the elevator. apparently the air was clearing in the 4 year old brain, because the elevator was no problem. the bee colony entirely enclosed it glass however, was enough to push a 4 year old over the edge and start demanding to go home again. this time i said yes, i had enough myself. resigned to chalking up the day we head down the elevator - again strangely no problem and start to head to the car. at that moment f. changed into an entirely different child, calling "mommy, can i go in the cow car?" to which i reply "sure". so in he goes with j. and milks a cow, etc. out he comes and runs up to a 7 foot tall bee character and gives him a high five and proceeds to partake in every other event offered that day without hesitation. who is this child??
Saturday, March 29, 2008
letter of intent
dear n.
we love your house so much we want to make an all cash offer. how about $100,000.00 less than your asking price - thats reasonable right?! can't wait to hear back from you.
love,
perspective buyer
dear perspective buyer,
where do you buy your crack? i am feeling like i could use some.
love,
n.
we love your house so much we want to make an all cash offer. how about $100,000.00 less than your asking price - thats reasonable right?! can't wait to hear back from you.
love,
perspective buyer
dear perspective buyer,
where do you buy your crack? i am feeling like i could use some.
love,
n.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
moon sand
f: mommy, i have wanted moon sand my whole life!! you wouldn't buy it for me mommy, but the easter bunny did!!
me: wow, thats great buddy! happy easter!
me: wow, thats great buddy! happy easter!
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