This morning we decided to make the best out of the last days of summer and visit the zoo. We visited the aquarium, the petting zoo, and many of the outdoor animals (avoiding the busy indoor places at all costs!). We topped off our visit using our free train passes from members day and a nice little picnic in the garden (avoid picnics in the garden if you do not like sharing your picnic with many bees). We had a fun, but exhausting morning.
We are 2 weeks into both school and preschool being underway. Asher gets 4 hours a week alone with Mommy! So, how is he taking it? He loves it! He gets lots of undivided Mommy time and loves not having to fight for his toys! He likes to play in the garage mostly. We went to the store the first day (and he got toy cars!). The second day alone we had a play date with Simon at the park. I did try to take him grocery shopping this week, but I have decided that I would prefer to do it alone at night! Asher wanted to eat all the food in the cart and was quite vocal about it. It was almost as bad if not as bad as taking him to Mass! I have to say, it is so quiet with just one child at home. I do not like it. I am not ready for that to happen. Luckily, I have 2 years before Addison will be ready for Kindergarten!
Today was our day to go back to DinoQuest and the Fontenelle Forest. Asher at 21 months says, "Dino!" and points to each dinosaur as we approach them. Both Addison and Asher like to touch all the things on the signs, too. Addison likes Acorn Acres best and can care less about the dinos. She likes to dig for fossils best. I tried to explain to them that the dinosaurs were no longer living and what happened to them. Oh, that opened a big can or whys from Addison. She could not grasp what happened to the dinosaurs. I left it with her that they were all sleeping forever. It was quite busy today for some reason, but we visited around lunch time today (during more showings) instead of in the early morning hours. We still had fun!
When planning a visit to the Forest, keep these things in mind:
1. Only the boardwalk is stroller friendly
2. Packs snacks, drinks, and hand wipes
3. Bring bug spray! The mosquitoes were horrible this month!
4. Bring well rested kiddos who are ready to play - it is a lot of fun!
5. Don't forget to play in the basement (take the elevator inside to the lower level). There is cool stuff down there, too!
9/17/09:
We have made it a month! Yeah! Alivia has done super in school. She has had 2 projects: One to make a bear and two is a social studies family project. Her family project is now complete with a poster and picture slide show. Can you believe what they have to do in Kindergarten? Alivia had fun cutting out pictures and gluing them on the poster board. Alivia and Daddy had fun doing the project together. She will present her family project towards the end of September, and we are invited! Alivia goes into school by herself Tuesdays and Thursdays since Addison needs to be at preschool. We drive and drop her off right at 8:45 so she can walk right in and wave good bye as we drive away. She has done fine with this (but I am thinking a closer preschool is in order if we end up not moving). Alivia reports home that she has fun in music, PE, art, etc. We walk to and from school all the other days/times. Alivia likes walking to school better because we come inside with her!
Alivia says she sometimes goes to sleep at quiet time. We have not noticed her to be extremely tired as we expected. She goes and goes and goes at night. Sometimes, however, she does get a little moody because she is tired. If she does not adjust soon, we will have to come up with a little quiet time after school. It is just difficult because she gets home at 4.
We look forward to more fun months of school ahead!
Last night we had 4 unsuccessful showings (don't even talk to me about it!), so we loaded the family up and went to Big Lake Park in Council Bluffs for a picnic. It is a cute little park with a pond, ducks and geese. It was fun. It was a beautiful night for it too. After a loud picnic (Asher does not know how to be quiet lately), we looked at the ducks and played at the playground. Then, we went to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa Austin. Grandma recently fell and was pretty quiet. Grandpa, however, had many stories to tell. Gotta love Grandpa Harold! The kiddos and Chris were exhausted and all fell asleep on the way home. If the house selling process is not fun, at least going out should be!
Tonight was Family Movie Night at Alivia's school, Standing Bear Elementary. The feature presentation was the movie, Meet the Robinsons. We arrived shortly after 6:30 for the 7 PM showtime and found a spot near the front. Daddy went and purchased the popcorn followed by way too much candy! Although the movie was quite predictable (I could write these movies!), it was a quite good movie! Alivia and Addison really liked it. Asher, on the other hand, could not sit still (and it was not from the candy because he does not like candy!). He sat in his little chair, then was giving me a hug, before going back to his chair. He wore me out! Keep in mind, Asher and Addison did not get a nap today because of a mid afternoon showing (& After a morning at the children's museum followed by time at the park, Addison and Asher were quite tired). Addison closed her eyes and napped a bit through the end of the movie.
Overall, it was a fun night! Alivia loved showing us her school, too. We look forward to being a part of the kids' school and their activities, wherever that shall be.
I had a chat with Addison last night about what we should do today. She said she wanted to go to the Omaha Children's Museum and play in the ball room. So, after taking Alivia at school and walking home, we went for our monthly visit to the OCM. What a great day to go because hardly anyone was there! Seriously, Addison and Asher played in the ballroom for 20 minutes and no other kids ever joined us! We were all alone! How nice is that! We then moved into the big playroom, baby room, etc. We spent a lot of time in the baby room today, mostly alone. Today was crazy hair day at the OCM, and Asher did not like the weird things flying from the heads of those working at the museum. He just preferred to be alone with Addison and me.There was not an exhibit upstairs, so it seemed like there was less for us to do. Addison missed going upstairs, so we will look forward to the Halloween exhibit.
Until next month..
Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks since the FS sign went in the yard (although it was not listed on the MLS until Saturday). Anyway, Chris and I have had it! Last week was quiet until Sunday when our real estate agent held an open house. Seven groups/families walked through our home with one coming back for a second showing the first of the week. They ended up ruling out our home. We had a showing late last night and another one schedule during dinner time tomorrow. I had no idea how horrible our home was until we started getting feedback (note: I am being sarcastic - Chris and I think we have the best home around! But, don't we all?). The comments we have gotten have been the rooms are not open enough, the basement is not open enough, they do not like the opening covered with shutters in Asher's room, etc, etc. I could seriously go on and on and on. It has gotten to the point where Chris and I no longer want to hear the negative feedback unless it is repairable. We can not make our home a ranch, can not put on a 3rd car garage, can not make our basement bigger, etc. We are not filling the wall in Asher's room, either! It has gotten to the point where hearing the phone ring can either be exciting or filled with critisism we just don't want to hear anymore. This process is stressful, scary, and exhausting. I told Chris today that I am so tired of not being able to really live in our home because I have to keep it so clean that I am afraid I will be too tired to pack it up and move!
Oh, and to top it off, we have friends that keep telling us how they sold their home in 2 hours, 3 days, less than a month, etc, and can not figure out why we can not get ours sold. I have decided to not respond to these emails. The market is not the same for one thing. And, I guess our house just is not what we think it is. Perhaps we should just dig and hole and throw it inside. Ugh!
Today was Addison's first day of Preschool at the Gingerbread House Preschool. She will be going 2 mornings a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have been prepping her for the start of school for a while, but we were really concerned of how she would do. This morning as we were eating breakfast, Addison asked if she had PE like Alivia. So, I believe having an older sister in Kindergarten may have helped Addison adjust. Chris had today off to show her off to preschool, too, which was extra special for her.
To our surprise, Addison went in and found a spot to play without a problem. We were late, as we will be every day, because Alivia and Addison start school at essentially the same time (go Mommy! Faster, Mommy!) & their schools are at least 15 minutes apart. Addison gave us a quick hug before Mrs. Gohr, who we love already, took Addi by the hand to her seat.
The morning was quiet without Addison at home. It is REALLY weird only having Asher at home. We have not had only one child at home since Addison was born! We went to Target to find Addison some Hello Kitty socks (she loves fancy socks now!) as a little treat for her big preschool day, and Asher got some new cars, too.
When I picked up Addison, she could not wait to show me what she had done all morning. Sounds like making muddy buddies (or something like them) in the kitchen was her favorite part along with playing with a purple stroller. I gave Addison her socks and she was so excited, "THANK YOU MOMMY!" We celebrated by going to their favorite, McDonald's, for lunch to eat and play a bit (during yet another showing). Because of an afternoon showing and an evening showing, we had to be out of the house pretty much all day, so all the kiddos were exhausted (but especially Addison, who fell asleep on the way home from Grandma and Grandpas...poor thing!).
Now, it's official. Addison is a preschooler!
Oh boy...here comes Trouble! Asher has turned into a little monkey! He may be inching his way towards 2 years (at 21 months), but he thinks he is a big boy!
Today, as we thought Asher was down for a nap, all of a sudden I heard his toy truck making noise and hitting his door. Humm, how is that possible when he is in his crib? Sure enough, Asher had somehow climbed out of his crib. Chris asked Asher to show Daddy how he escaped (yet again!) from his crib. Asher just threw his leg way up on to the siderail of the crib and started to pull himself up! I quickly stopped him, telling him, "No, Asher, you will get an owie doing that!"
He never went to sleep, but did not try escaping again,at least today.
Later, while we were playing outside, Asher decided today was the day he would climb the rockwall on the playset. Without any shoes, he dug his toes into the wood to get to the next rock (he is way to short to go from one rock to the next!).
Needless to say, Asher will have even closer eyes on him in the days to come!
It has been nearly one week since we put our home on the market. The sign went in Thursday night, it went on the MLS/internet Saturday, and our first showings were on Sunday. We have had daily showings since. We have had 2 near offers where it was between our home and another one in our neighborhood. Both times, they selected the other home. The first home had a 3rd car garage, the second time they preferred a ranch (2 completely different homes). The other home just like ours sold as well, but we are not sure if those people looked at our home. Most people have comments on our basement, stating they wish it were more open (perhaps not having a fireplace, office/bedroom instead just having it all open). Whatever. You just can not make your space based on what everyone may want. The funny thing is, the big bucks that went into our basement like in the full bathroom, bedroom, daylight window, fireplace, etc, go unappreciated so far. I think at this point, we know that our home is worth the price it is marked at since people are buying homes priced higher than ours with similar floor plans. So, if anything, we do not think we will be dropping the price just to get out of here.
Having it on the market with a real estate agent is easier in many ways. All we have to do is keep it showable and leave the house when there are showings (not that those things are easy!). But, we get to do family activities together! I do not like the calls saying that the people put an offer in on other homes (it is like getting kicked in the stomach) or the negative comments about the home we love. Those comments are never easy to hear, but I realize everyone has their own tastes. I also can tell that these people have no idea the expense involved in what goes into the finishing touches of our home, like the shutters, landscaping, finishing the basement, sprinkler system, etc. I suppose I can stop listening to the comments. :)
So, keep positive thoughts that I will not have another weekly post!
Today was the open house for the Gingerbread House Preschool for Addison, where she will be attending Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Addison was able to meet her teacher, Mrs. Gohr, and see all the rooms where she would be spending her mornings. She liked the cooking room and the play room the best. I think it will help Addison to have already been at preschool once for the play day, but we will see when she begins, officially next week.
And we are not in Paradise!
Woke up this morning to the usual routine. After walking back from school (Addison crying most of the walk), we finally reached home. Phone rang, real estate agent saying yet another person bought yet another home in our neighborhood after walking through ours. Nice. I don't want to hear about how our home does not have a 3 car garage or that it is not a ranch. Hello? Can't change that. However, this kinda set the tone for the morning.
After doing the usual, playing in the garage, giving the cozy coupe a bath, having lunch, etc, it was time for a little clean up. Addison went up to her room and Asher followed. I quickly cleaned up after our lunch and put dishes away (seriously, like 5 minutes), then ran upstairs to see what they were up to.
