Trying...to move on, without moving.

First of all..... Thank you so much to all of you who have offered your support and kind words about our recent house selling disappointment. We really appreciate your encouragement. So, please know that we know we have great friends and family who care. That being said, I just have to let out one last vent. (It's my blog, I can do that, right?) It's been almost 2 weeks since the whole thing went down. We've pretty much just let go of that dream. Still, I feel sad. That place would have been so perfect, everything we've been wanting and lots more. The only way we'd find another place like that would be to build it, and that's not something we really want to do, even if we could. We got our portable storage unit back this week. So, even if we had the hope to go back to the "market," we'd have so much more stuff in here to deal with. That just makes the house looks smaller. School will be starting soon, and also all the busy-ness of fall. I just can't juggle all that myself. After that disappointment, we really don't even care anymore. We had hope before, but this whole thing has kind of wiped it out. I guess we can blame the economy if we want, but I don't really buy into all that hype. Doesn't matter anyway.

Ok, that's my last comment on the matter. I know, I know....we should just count our blessings. But after being so close, after all the work we've put in. I know a house is just a shelter, a building you live in. But it's also the backdrop for your life. It's your memories, and your relationships. The setting for those memories and relationships. It's your own sacred space. The kids have been asking about our "other house" and their new rooms. It's a little hard to explain to them what happened, why our new "friends" changed their minds and don't want our house anymore. I'm really not angry about that anymore, just mourning the loss of the place we fell in love with. :o( If only there was a way.

Thanks. I won't bore anyone with it anymore! Promise.

More news.

Well, you can completely disregard the previous post. The couple who made an offer on our house has changed their mind, and withdrawn their offer. So, it looks as if we'll be staying after all. It's a shock, we're still absorbing the news ourselves. We've decided that we're not going to re-list our house, after all of this we need a break.

Update on the home selling process

Well, much has developed since my last report... Only days before we planned to take the house off the market, the right person walked through and fell in love with it. So, we have a contract to sell our house. We've been house hunting as well, and found a lovely place that is only a half mile from our current place! So, if all goes well, we'll be moving at the end of July!

About the new place.... As I said, it's in our neighborhood, only a half mile away. Laura and Ehren will go to the same school they would have anyway. It's a good school, at this point we have no concerns about it. It was built in 1968, so from the same era as our current house. It has 5 bedrooms. Sounds like a lot...but one of them will be an office, so we'll have one guest room. All you grandparents now have no reason not to come and stay!! ;) It has a full basement, 2 car garage, a nice sized fenced yard. Lots of nice landscaping. And my favorite part, the kitchen is GREAT! I think it will be a great place for us.

So lots of excitement for us! We'll keep everyone posted. :)

A Big, Fat Update

Since I forget that not EVERYone we know is on Facebook and catches our updates and pics there, I'm finally getting to getting this space up-to-date. Since our last post, we've had some big fun here. Maybe the most significant is Laura's preschool graduation. After two years at Meadowbrook Early Childhood Center, Laura is now ready for the next level. ( We're not mentioning that "k" word for now, Mommy's still adjusting to the idea...) Nowadays preschool graduation is a much bigger deal than it was for my generation, I'm guessing... They had a nice program, the kids sang some cute songs and recited some little poems. Laura got to pick where she wanted to eat for dinner, so it was pizza at Stone Canyon. Afterward we celebrated over ice cream. It was a nice evening.











Ehren's class had a big luau celebration for the last day of school, including a feast, running around outside and getting wet, and best of all, popcicles. What more could a little boy ask for??











And mabye the most FUN we've had lately was the big KC Jiggle Jam!!!! I have been looking forward to it more than the kids have. After we went last year and had such a great time seeing Justin Roberts and Trout Fishin' in America, there was no way we'd miss it this year. This time around, Justin Roberts and Trout Fishin' were back, but also performing was Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, as well as my new favorite kids music performer, DAN ZANES! He's been on Sesame Street and the Disney Channel, and has Grammy award-winning albums. We had a total blast....but I think I enjoyed it the most!

Before the show started the kids got in their swimsuits and played around in the fountains at Crown Center, where JJ was held.




Below is Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could. They sing Ehren's favorite song, "Look at my Belly," of which he knows every word.





The kids on the "dance floor" in front of the stage. It wasn't terribly crowded at the time we took these...






Snow cone break.


I'm enjoying BR's song about how mom's need coffee to keep up with their kids...



And the guy we REALLY came to see...DAN ZANES!! He was soooo great!







After Jiggle Jam we walked over to Liberty Memorial for the Celebration at the Station, the annual Memorial Day event in KC. Here we're listening to the KC Symphony concert, anticipating the fireworks!





And so, that's about it for now. School's out, and we're in summer break mode. Hitting the park, the pool, and hanging out with friends. We're looking forward to a couple of camping trips, summer school, and lots of time together before.....*sniff*.........Kindergarten.

*sigh*

Ehrenism

(I'm officially starting to sound like my grandmother.)

We were out running errands with plans to later go to one of the kids' favorite play places, Airzone. Ehren was having a little bit of difficulty focusing on getting into his carseat despite my prompting...

S: If you don't start to behave we'll have to skip Airzone!
E: I am being have!

Some Spring portraits

These were taken by the photographer at the kids' preschool. I was shocked at how great they came out!











Apparently these days it's a big deal to "graduate" from pre-school....

Ehren's 3rd Birthday

Our baby had his 3rd birthday last week! It was a great time, we had several celebrations together. On Friday, the 17th, we treated him to an evening at Chuck E Cheese, which was a hit, of course. Then out for ice cream with some buddies!












Then we came home and opened some presents...





On Sunday we invited some of his friends over for games, cake, and ice cream...



They built "stuff" out of toothpics, marshmallows and spice drops...













All of our best buds! A good time was had by all!









Thanks, everyone, who made this a very special birthday for Ehren!

Kid Stuff

So life goes on while we try to fix up and sell the house. We've managed to fit in a few fun activities here and there. By now you know that we are not the greatest photographers, guess we should work on that! We do our best. We went to a Wizard of Oz exhibit at Crown Center, we all enjoyed it! I was impressed with it, for a free exhibit. I'm noticing in a couple of this pics my sweet little girl looks a little vicious!



Munchkin Land






Emerald City


The Wizard


Pay no attention to those kids behind the curtain...


Laura would take on that witch!


Nothing scares her!




Laura is developing her own sense of style. This was the outfit she chose for a dads event at her preschool.



An encore performance of the songs of the evening (see video below!)






Daddy and Ehren went to see "Monsters Vs. Aliens" in 3-D


And then made a stop at a place we all know well


More to come!

Some more after pictures

I just noticed that we didn't put any good "after" pictures on this blog, so here they are! These are the pictures as the are shown in our sale listing.













No more showings yet, but I'll bet this weekend we will. I'm just so glad the remodeling is over...it was stressful!

Coffee Leftovers

I admit, I'm a sucker for all of those useful little tips you find in magazines and now online. Here's a good site for browsing... www.tipnut.com

I found this one today while looking for recipes/uses for leftover coffee.

http://www.blisstree.com/kettleandcup/20-uses-for-leftover-coffee/

I'm interested in the one about using it to color your hair. Hmmmm....