Productivity

Hooray! I felt a bit better today, just in time to get things done around here!

Gus spent most of the day doing heavy-duty yardwork... pulling weeds, trimming things and such. He even tackled our side yard, which is where things just sort of end up. Old doors, molding, broken toys-- that sort of thing. He cleaned it out nicely and loaded a lot of junk into his truck. Go, Gus!!

Meanwhile, I threw open all the windows (since it was another beautiful day) and tackled the indoors. I went through ALL of the kids' toys and clothes, pulling out piles and piles of things to sell. Both kids' rooms are now so much cleaner and more organized, and the prospect of packing them up and moving across the country isn't quite as daunting. I still need to go through a lot of my own stuff. But progress is progress, right?

We also made a spontaneous decision to be done with the highchair, as of lunch today. Up until a few days ago, our baby girl never had a problem eating there. So, we let her! But since she finally started fighting us on it, we figured it was time to take the plunge and get her a booster seat. And tonight, for the first time, she joined us at the table! What a big girl! Excuse her less-than-stellar dinner of chicken nuggets and ketchup. I let her choose what she wanted for this very important occasion (Gus and I had Chipotle, which neither kid will eat). She did also inhale a large cup of fresh blueberries, but of course that wasn't in the picture. Doh!

After dinner, the four of us shared one of these cupcakes:

I swear, I was feeling domestic today! Really, I wanted to try out a recipe that I might use for Maya's birthday cupcakes. This batch was made from this recipe. They were tasty, but not as gooey and super-chocolatey as I had hoped. I still need to try another recipe that was recommended to me. Fingers crossed that it is exactly what I am looking for! Still, a cupcake is a cupcake. These won't last long, I assure you!

In other, random news... Nikos told me that the cupcakes were "delish" (his words, which cracked me up). And Maya has started telling nonsensical knock-knock jokes now, which is downright hilarious. Such funny kids! Maya also loves to sing JUST the ending part of the alphabet song, and can count to ten, sort of. The numbers are there, they just aren't always in the same order! She is getting really good with her colors, too. She knows red, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, and white. Orange always throws her off, for some reason. And the way she says "blue" is so entertaining! Instead of saying "bwoo," like you'd expect kids to do, she says "buh-LOO" with an emphasis on the "l" sound. Her face is priceless, as her little tongue hangs out in an attempt to enunciate as clearly as possible. haha!

Anyway, it was a great day. Here's hoping that tomorrow is a little more relaxing, though!

Portraits

I still feel like I have been run over by a bus, thanks to whatever virus is currently attacking me. However, I did my best to pull it together and be a good mommy this afternoon. I took the kids outside for over an hour to play and run around and just soak up the glorious weather. Might as well, since this will probably be the last time they wear t-shirts in March for many years to come! Anyway, I brought my camera outside, as I always do, and managed to snag a few portraits of my very very busy children. So, here they are!




In other news, I also learned that my friend Ikuyo is safe and sound in Yokohama, along with all her family and friends. She was at work when the earthquake occurred, and didn't make it home until dawn today, but she made it home nonetheless (by taking trains and walking, when needed). She even said that the trash truck came by this morning on its regularly-scheduled route! Such a relief to hear!

Devastation

I am home sick today (for the second day in a row). Which means that I have basically spent all day resting on the couch, watching CNN's coverage of the 8.9 earthquake (and subsequent tsunami) in Japan. Holy. Cow. It is just unreal! I am also eager to hear from my old friend Ikuyo, who lives in Yokohama with her husband and one-year-old daughter. I am fairly certain they are alright, since they aren't in the hardest-hit area, but it must have been terrifying for them nonetheless. And it's probably still pretty scary, since everything is basically shut down!

At any rate, the whole thing got me thinking about earthquakes. For a moment, I wondered why anyone would WANT to live in Japan, knowing the amount of seismic activity that the country sees on a regular basis. But then I realized that-- duh!-- I live in California, which isn't much better. Still, the worst earthquake I have ever been in was the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, which measured 6.9 on the Richter scale. 6.9. If I am understanding the Wikipedia article correctly, that is 1,000 times WEAKER than the one in Japan today. And believe me, the Loma Prieta one was plenty strong. I can't even imagine what an 8.9 would feel like. That's just insane.

So then I thought to myself, "Well, there's one advantage to moving to Massachusetts." Right? No more earthquakes. WRONG! I learned that there are actually quite a few earthquakes in New England every year. And better yet, they don't usually occur along the fault lines. They are "intraplate" quakes, which means it is even more difficult to predict where they might occur. Great. Granted, the earthquakes are puny compared to what we get here, but the buildings are also a lot older and are constructed differently (and aren't as resistant to quake damage). Fabulous!

Long story short, I guess nowhere is completely immune from natural disaster. I just hope that the worst has passed for Japan, so they can start trying to recover from this mess.

Hippos

Hippos are hot stuff around here these days. Back in December, the kids heard the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" on the radio, and it became an instant favorite. In fact, they STILL ask me to play it for them at least once a week, and they love to march around the kitchen in their own little parade. It's pretty darn cute. Anyway, toss in some Sandra Boynton books that Maya LOVES (and that also feature a hippo character), and we just love hippos!

Which is why I smacked my forehead in a "Duh!" moment this afternoon. Nikos came home from daycare, going on and on about playing "Hungry Hungry Hippos" with his buddies at Bonnie's house. I repeat: duh!!! Of course he would love that game. And do we own it? Nope. So when Nikos suggested we go to the store (nothing unusual for him), I actually said yes! We zipped over there, bought the game, and zipped back. And despite a few issues early on (Maya was cheating, according to Nikos), they were both playing it together as happy as can be before bed tonight. They love their new hippos!

Scruffy No More

Our guy has made it clear over the years that he does not (repeat: NOT) like having his hair cut. While we took him many times to actual salons, thinking each time that he might have grown out of his hatred for them, he simply screamed louder each time. Doh! Finally, we were frustrated. Getting him in to the salon was a pain to begin with, and he fought us tooth and nail every step of the way. So, we buzzed his head at home. And he screamed and cried and threw a fit, but it was over quickly. Plus, since his hair was so short, we figured it would buy us some time before having to do it again.

Anyway, that was a few months ago, and he has recently become quite scruffy. The hair growing over his ears was driving me particularly crazy. So, it was time. Last night, we did it again. And wouldn't you know it-- the little booger hardly complained at all! I let him hold the pumice stone in our shower, which made him happy (ha ha!). He was also thrilled at the prospect of taking his bath in "Mommy and Daddy's bathtub." At any rate, he did SO well! Which also meant that he got a better haircut, because he wasn't fighting so much. Check out our handsome little man!


Eek! He looks SO much better! Hooray!!!

Escrow!

So... We're in escrow! I didn't want to say anything until now, but we received an offer last Thursday evening. We were pretty sure it was coming, given that the same person had already viewed our home twice. But we really had no idea what it would be like. As it turned out, though, she REALLY loves our house and came in with a very serious, very reasonable offer. We were shocked, to say the least! We went back to her with an equally-reasonable counter-offer, which she accepted on Saturday. And, as of this morning, escrow has been opened!

The good news is that this particular buyer (a younger woman, probably around our age) wants a long escrow. She asked for a closing date of May 30th, which is just perfect! In our counter-offer, we reserved the right to rent back from her until June 14th, if we so choose, so that we will be here for the remainder of the school year. At that point, we will move all our stuff out, send it to storage, and temporarily move in with my parents-- provided we haven't already closed on the house in Massachusetts. Then, once it's time to head east, the kids and I will give Gus a two-week head start to drive across the country with both cars (and Corky!), do some quick things to the house (like have the carpets cleaned), and then be there when the moving truck arrives to direct the unloading. That way, when the kids and I finally get there, they will have beds and whatnot to sleep in.

However, I am getting ahead of myself!! While we are very excited, we have a lot of hurdles to jump over in the next few months. We have the pest inspection, which should be alright. There will be a home inspection, which we are thinking shouldn't turn up anything major, but you never know! Then there is the appraisal, which worries me. The accepted offer is pretty high for this area right now, and it could be close. I have a feeling it will end up being somewhat based on who the appraiser is and what sort of mood he/she is in on that particular day. Scary! Meanwhile, our buyer is trying to sell her condo, which is a pretty huge contingency. However... her loan on the condo is assumable as of May 30th, and her aunt is willing to take over the payments, so it's not necessarily an issue. Really, though, it means she can find a way out of the contract at almost any time. I really hope it doesn't come to that!

At any rate... fingers crossed for everything going smoothly! Most of the inspections won't take place until next month, anyway, so we can relax for a bit... and start cleaning out some of our junk! Time for a garage sale!

Saturday Morning

We're getting ready to head out for the day, but I wanted to share this quick one from this morning. During the week, the kids don't eat a "real" breakfast at home, because they get fed at daycare. So weekends are really the only days that we eat at home, and we usually eat it in the living room (unlike all other meals, which we eat at the dining room table). This morning, Maya's highchair had too many crumbs in it, and I didn't feel like getting the vacuum out. So I carried out the kid table from Nikos' room, and the two of them were positively delighted to sit at it and eat their breakfast! I love these kids! :)

Yesterday and Tomorrow

It's funny how, at Nikos' age, "yesterday" can refer to anything that has already happened, while "tomorrow" refers to any future event. Lately, the big question is, "Are we gonna go to Massachusetts tomorrow?" The answer, of course, is no, but clearly we have mentioned it enough times that he is just itching to go there. This question usually leads to a slew of others, including: "Are we gonna live in that red house tomorrow? The one with the red, yellow, and blue bike just like mine? And go bobsledding in the snow? And you can stay home with us and we don't go to daycare anymore?"

Ack, it just kills me! I don't want to get his hopes up, in case things don't work out, but I also want him to be excited and prepared for what appears to be the most likely situation. So, I'm caught in the middle. And I am erring on the side of "getting hopes up," because it's fun to talk about our upcoming adventure and my hopes are already most definitely up!

In the same vein, we were talking about friends tonight. Nikos is excited to see his friend Brady tomorrow afternoon, and was talking about how he and Brady would play together in Massachusetts. I told him that Massachusetts was really far away, and that he would make lots of new friends. He instantly got his sad/shy look on his face, and said that he "really didn't want to talk to lots of new kids." Poor, sweet boy! He really is shy, and is becoming more self-aware. I am eager to get him into a good preschool program when we move, if for no other reason than for him to make some buddies! He's not shy at all once the novelty of a situation wears off, which is funny. It's getting to that point which is the hard part!

Anyway, there are my thoughts for the evening. It's Friday night, and the whole weekend is stretching out ahead of us, complete with visits to both sets of grandparents and a playdate with some good friends. It should be a busy one!

Where I'd rather be...

Sigh... Honestly, I NEVER saw myself wanting to me a stay-at-home mom. I enjoyed working, found it fulfilling, and was SO thankful to have a job at a great school in an amazing school district. And I am definitely still thankful! But I guess it goes to show how much having kids can change you. Because, ever since Nikos was born, and even more so since Maya was born, I feel like my heart breaks a little bit every day when I drop them off at daycare. I never really let myself think about it too much, though, because the cost of living where we do is so ridiculously high-- we both NEEDED to work. But now that there is a very high likelihood that I am going to become a stay-at-home mom in the next 4-6 months, well... I am pretty darn excited! I have such huge plans for this new lifestyle (and yes, I know what they say about best-laid plans, but still!). I can't wait to start this new chapter of my life!

Anyway, this afternoon was a great example of the sort of day I love spending with my kids. Maya was looking cute in her new outfit, so I set up a mini photo shoot in the kitchen. I mostly wanted to experiment with some equipment, but I had two willing subjects. And gosh, they were sweet!


After that, I put everything away and we headed out back to enjoy the mild weather. As usual, they absolutely attacked the play equipment! Within seconds, Nikos was pulling on his bike helmet and rushing to his tricycle, while Maya immediately climbed into the swing and started swinging and laughing. They played basketball, they pretended to be pirates, they went down the slide, they sent toys down the slide, etc. They don't need me to guide their play anymore-- they play together so well, and really feed off of each other's energy and enthusiasm. It's tiring to watch, but hilarious! Anyway, they were so cute that I had to run back inside and grab my camera for a few more pics...


I can only imagine what fun adventures we will have together when we aren't limited to afternoons and weekends!

Lunch Lady Flowers

Since I am so lucky to have a great student teacher right now, and since I wanted to give her some solo time with the kids, I wandered over to the office today to chat with my friends there. As I stood there, these two bud-vases were dropped off. And this one, with three beautiful red roses, was for me! At first I thought they might be from Gus, but I couldn't think of any reason why. Not that you NEED a reason to send flowers, per se, but that would be highly unusual. At any rate, I opened enclosed card to discover that they were from the lunch ladies at my school! Are they not the sweetest???

Anyway, I didn't mention this on here before, because I feel kind of embarrassed by it, but I'm the Teacher of the Year at my school! My fellow teachers voted on it a few weeks ago, and I found out the last day before our February break. It's a great honor, and I am glad to have it, but it still feels SO awkward and I can't help but joke about it when I know that I teach with so many incredible people. And, truthfully, out of all the years I have taught, this has been the hardest for so many reasons (class size, individual student issues, and my own personal motivation, to name a few!). So I haven't made a big deal out of it or anything, and my students don't know. Which is why it REALLY confused them when I returned to the room with these flowers, and told them they were from the lunch ladies. I can only imagine what kinds of fun explanations they will conjure up, haha!

Still, I love my lunch lady flowers. :) (and, for the record, the other bud vase was for the non-teacher employee of the year... gotta love those sweet lunch ladies!)

Breaking News!

Okay, it's not SO earth-shattering. But we *might* be getting an offer on our house (knock on wood!). And that's a start, right? A woman came to view our house last Thursday, and spent forever looking at it and taking pictures. I know this because I was by myself (waiting for Gus' mom to bring the kids back), came back too soon, and ended up parking in front of my neighbor's house and reading on my Kindle. I watched her take lots of pictures in the front yard, including what appeared to be a close-up of our plum tree, which was completely gorgeous and in full-bloom at the time (now it's starting to get leafy). At any rate, her realtor called again this morning, saying that her client wanted her MOTHER to see it. So we knew that was probably a good thing. I mean, getting mom's approval is a big step! And OUR realtor called us tonight, telling us that it looks like the woman is planning to make an offer. So... fingers crossed that she does, and that negotiations go well! We are in a tricky place, price-wise, so we definitely need all the good vibes we can get!

In the meantime, though, we had a lovely Sunday. Despite yesterday's pouring rain, today was clear and sunny! It wasn't exactly warm, but it was certainly nice enough to head to the park, which we did after naptime. It was amazing to watch both kids go nuts on the play equipment. I can remember a time where I was SO cautious about Nikos playing up there, thinking he was always going to fall and get hurt, but not anymore! He is completely confident climbing the steps or ladders, choosing a slide, and zooming down it. And Maya, too!!! Where Nikos was cautious, Maya is crazy. She went bananas, repeatedly scaling the structure and going down the slides. She is truly fearless. And I actually think she draws her big brother out of his shell, too. It was so sweet, watching them race down the parallel slides together. Nikos would announce, "I won!", while Maya would say, "I won, too!" :) And Nikos was always full of encouraging words for his little sister. We are so lucky. They really do get along amazingly well, 90% of the time!

Oh, and at the park, Nikos found a large stick. I told him to put it down, but he insisted that it needed to be reattached to a tree! So he went to several trees, making his best effort to "fix" them. In the end, he was unsuccessful, and the stick became a magic wand! Gus held it, though, so noone could get hurt.

Anyway, it was a great day, and we are optimistic about potentially getting an offer. Here's to a fabulous week!

Sweet Faces

Not much to report from the past week, since it was "business as usual." Gus and I worked, the kids went to daycare, and we mostly spent our afternoons snuggling and playing in the living room. Oh! Gus and I DID finally get the well water report back for the red house (which was part of our home inspection), and everything looks good! We are just waiting for the listing broker's attorney to get the contract to our attorney in Massachusetts (ha! That sounds funny-- "our attorney.") for review. Then we will sign it, and everything will finally move forward! We also learned this week that short sales are typically taking between three and four months there, not four to six as we previously thought. This is GREAT news! So we are excited at possibly having the keys to this place by the end of the school year. Fingers crossed for a quick and painless bank approval!

In the meantime, I have been working on planning Maya's second birthday party. Isn't it SHOCKING that she is going to be two in two months?!? Seriously! But I want to do it right, especially since this will very likely be the last big gathering that we host in California. So, symbolically, her birthday theme is going to be "Surfing/ SoCal." hehe! I've already designed the invitations, and they are CUTE!!! But to complete them, I wanted to get some pics of our girl in her swimsuit (which happens to be exactly the same colors as the invitation-- purely a coincidence!). I won't share the best one, which I used for the invitation. Instead, how about an outtake? This was from near the end, where she was done and decided to give me "stink-eye." She also insisted on holding Mickey and Minnie (who aren't in the "real" invitation picture). I love this face, even if she was mad, haha!

Then, for whatever reason, Nikos decided he wanted to have his picture taken, too. Please note: this NEVER happens! So of course I took full advantage! He needs a haircut, but I still think he's pretty darn cute!

Then, after getting dressed, Maya decided she would rather be behind the camera than in front of it. She ran around with this toy camera for a good half hour, yelling "CHEESE!!"

And then one more picture, taken this morning. They have never worn these capes before, though they have had them since Teagan's birthday party last month. Maya decided she wanted me to put hers on, and Nikos couldn't be left out. They were hilarious, running around with their capes on. Nikos, in particular, has some funny superhero moves and a great (deep) superhero voice. I love these little crazies!

Rainy Day in Ventura County

I suppose the title of this blog post just about covers it, but we spent the day up in Ventura County yesterday! You may recall that I am a member of an online mommy group. I have made some really great friends through this group, and those of us in So Cal get together every now and then (especially the handful of us who live fairly close to one another). Yesterday, though, my friend Adrienne hosted a HUGE get-together for all of the ladies in Southern California and their kiddos. A handful of people couldn't make it, but it was still a fantastic turnout! I really do enjoy these ladies and all their adorable kiddos. I'm looking forward to our next (mommies-only) gathering, which is still in the works... Here are a few pics from the madness! (note that I am not in the group shot, and neither are the kids... Nikos was in shy mode, and Maya was in cling-to-mommy-because-she's-tired mode-- and I was behind the camera).



Once it became clear that Maya was in desperate need of a nap, we left Adrienne's house and drove the whopping eight minutes to my brother's house. Grant was on parenting duty all day, since Melissa had to work, so I am pretty sure he was relieved to have us there. Especially since Colton was absolutely intrigued by his crazy cousins! Oh, and wouldn't you know it-- as soon as we got there, Maya caught a second wind and absolutely refused to take a nap! She was too interested in her baby cousin. Here are a few pics I snapped from our visit.




After dinner, I got the kids into their PJs, loaded them up in the car, and made the three-hour drive back home through the TERRIBLE weather. It rained so hard that I couldn't see a thing, even with my wipers on at full speed. The freeway slowed to a crawl I don't know how many times. It was so stressful! There were a few points where the rain let up completely, but it absolutely poured most of the way. Ugh! We made it home safely, thank goodness, but I was literally sore from craning my neck to see and just feeling really stressed about the whole thing. Long distance driving + pouring rain + nighttime = not a good thing.

On that note, though, the skies are pretty clear and blue today, and my parents are coming over for a visit in a few hours. I plan to enjoy the last day of my vacation, because it's back to work tomorrow!

Crazy Kids!

Oh, the things they say! And do! Seriously, there is never a dull moment. These two are a hoot!

Maya's big interest lately has been in, well, the contents of her diaper. She practically has a giant blinking neon sign over her head that says "Potty Train Me! I'm Ready!", but I am trying to put it off until spring break. That's mainly because her big bro still needs quite a bit of help with the potty thing, and the thought of BOTH of them at that stage makes me feel... tired. Very tired. But it will happen soon enough.

But I digress... Our baby girl has gotten in the habit lately of announcing when she is going to poop. She will be playing with her brother when, all of a sudden, she will stop and announce, "I'm pooping!!" This is usually accompanied by a big grin, followed by the announcement: "In my diaper!" Good job, Maya! (I have to admit, it makes me laugh EVERY TIME!)

Her language also continues to explode in non-potty-related areas, though it is really hard to understand her with her pacifier in her mouth. And since it is in there pretty much all the time, that means that some serious translation is in order. I think we will try and bid farewell to the paci when she turns two, but I fear and dread that day. At any rate, when she takes it out, she IS pretty clear! Like today, at lunch, I asked her if it was good. She announced that it was "Yummy in my tummy! Mmmmmmm!" complete with satisfied belly-rubbing. She also has a routine with her brother where one of them will do a very dramatic fake sneeze ("ahh- ahh- a-choo!"), and the other will say "Bless you!"

Nikos, as always, is something of a chatterbox. But the content is getting so much more sophisticated! This morning, he marched into our bedroom at 5:40am, proclaiming that he had to go potty. This turned out to be a ruse to get into bed with us, and we surrendered. Every few minutes, he would roll over and ask me if it was time to get up yet. Nope, sorry! I finally told him we could get up when the clock said "six-three-zero" (6:30). I thought it was a brilliant plan, since he seems to understand clocks pretty well and is great with numbers. But, it backfired. Every few minutes, he would sit up and lean across me to see the clock, and then announce that it was "five-five-six" or "six-zero-one." At one point, he told me it was "six-five-five," and I corrected him (since it was 6:22- he read the twos as fives). He stared hard at the clock, thought about it for a few minutes, and then announced that "twos are a kind of a five." I can totally see how he would think that, and it was funny to watch the wheels spinning in his mind!

Some other fun tidbits from today... This morning (shortly after six-three-zero), Nikos was playing on the living room floor, and Charlie kept rubbing up against him. Nikos was petting him gently and speaking very sweetly/softly to him. I was only half-paying-attention to the whole encounter until I picked up on this: "You're such a good kitty. Just don't yuke on me, okay? Okay? Good boy. Yuking is super yuck!" Remember, he says "yuking" instead of "puking." haha! Oh, and another fun one: He convinced Maya to pretend to be a puppy, and actually got her to crawl down the hallway, barking, to where I was folding laundry. He informed me that she was just a baby puppy, and that I needed to be careful because (sotto voce) "she might bite you!" He also spent many moments this afternoon telling me just how happy he was that I was able to fix his remote-controlled car (it needed new batteries), and how he just KNEW I could do it all along! And when I finished my dinner, he congratulated me on a job well done and told me I could have a turn driving said remote-controlled car. He even let Maya have a turn, and did his best to show her how to work the remote (she was more interested in trying to open the battery compartment).

Oh, and then there was the hour (yes, an entire hour) where they both ran in circles around the kitchen island, chanting "I'm gonna get you!" and giggling hysterically. I swear, that is their favorite game. Easy enough!

Once I got dinner started this afternoon, I got them both occupied playing with Play-Doh at the kitchen island. They went from hyper to completely absorbed in the activity within seconds. It was very serious business!

That is, until I caught Maya sneaking bites of the brown Play-Doh (I guess it looks like chocolate). And as soon as I chastised her about it, she burst into hysterical, guilt-ridden tears and, well, that was the end of Play-Doh for the evening. Poor kiddo! I just told her it was yucky. But she can be really sensitive about certain things, and I guess eating Play-Doh is one of them...

In Bloom

Ok, so there is ONE thing (aside from the obvious family/friends thing) that I will miss when we eventually move... I absolutely love the trees in our yard, and how gorgeous they get in the spring! It is one of my favorite times of the year! I think it's partly because they are so pretty, but also because it's the signal to me that winter is over and that summer isn't too far down the line. And while there is still snow on the ground all over Massachusetts, I am going to take pleasure in our beautiful blue skies and springtime-y yard!



Top photo: Fruitless plum tree
Middle photo: Peach tree and and yellow rose bush (one of our 8 rosebushes)
Bottom photo: Apricot tree

Brace Yourself...

Because here come the pictures!

While I really have about 50 photos I want to post, I will do my best to limit it. So, here goes!

First, Ramzi's wedding. It really was beautiful! We had a great time, and her dad (the officiant) had me in tears a number of times. I am so happy for them! When we were in Boston in November, Ramzi took us by the jewelry shop to show us the ring he was having made for her. He popped the question about a week later, and now they are hitched! :)



The next day, we had the home inspection. I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, since a) I brought the wrong lens for my camera, and b) we were busy listening to the inspector and learning as much as possible. However, if you want to see the virtual tour, just click here! I don't know why I didn't post that before! However, here are a few pics that I DID get, particularly of things not shown in the tour...

1. The back porch (which we'd expand into a larger deck) covered with snow, haha!)

2. The hallway leading to the master suite. First there is this little hallway with a nook that would fit a bookcase or something. Then, the next part of the hallway has closets on either side, with the bathroom coming off on the right. Then you get into the master bedroom with vaulted ceilings! Love it!

3. The greenhouse/sunroom off of the kitchen. This room definitely needs some updating (and the wall behind those cupboards needs to be torn out/replaced completely), but it has so much potential! It is also buried under snow at the moment. Since the house is a short sale, we think the owners have just sort of given up on maintenance-type things-- even though they are still living there.

4. The office!!! I KNEW it was there! It doesn't have built-in shelves like I remembered (some other houses we looked at had those), but still-- an office! It is right off the living room, and has so much potential! You can also see where the new flooring ends and the old stuff begins... We'd eventually like to have it all match the new flooring (which is also hardwood, not laminate like I thought!).

5. The view from downstairs, looking up. This is from standing in the dining area off the kitchen. You can see the exposed beams (which I don't love, but are structurally important) and the stairs on the right, and the "kids" bathroom upstairs... There is a small reading nook next to the bathroom (on the left), and the bedrooms are all off to the right down a central hallway that runs perpendicular to the one you can see.

6. Me and Gus, actually standing next to the garage (our realtor took this, and it turned out well!!)... If we get the house, you see the huge area behind us? That would be our front yard. I can only IMAGINE how much fun the kids would have there, all year round!! Oh, and it was totally snowing. :)

And a few more pics... This one is the edge of the town we'd be living in. There's not much to it, but it's only about a 5-10 minute drive down this road to "real" civilization (major grocery stores, etc.).

And then these last two photos were from the Old Mill restaurant, where we went for dinner on Valentine's Day. It's not the fanciest place in the world, but the ambience is the best! The whole building has such a funky, charming layout, and it's so cozy inside. Especially with all the snow! I can't believe the ducks were still there, though. Time to fly south, guys!


And that's it! I am exhausted today from all of yesterday's travel (plus the time zone change), and had to spend two hours in traffic court this afternoon. I got a red light traffic ticket back in August, which I had originally planned to fight (since the video shows me stopping, albeit in the crosswalk-- I felt that the penalty was unreasonable)... but after talking with the local Sheriff's department, the deputy assigned to me agreed to knock it down to something that came with a smaller fine and no point on my driving record. Only, we had to take care of it in court. And she never showed up today. So instead of knocking it down to a lesser charge, it got dropped completely! Case dismissed! The only thing that could make today better would be if I could snuggle with my babies, but that will happen soon enough. They come home tomorrow! I can't wait!!!! :)

Blogging from the airport!

Boston Logan, to be precise! And since we have a few minutes before boarding begins, I figured I might share a few quick thoughts!

1. The red house is down the street (literally about 3 minutes) from a Christmas tree farm!!! Is that not the coolest thing ever? It is also a really short drive to a big ski resort and tons of other farms (horses, etc). It is so neat!

2. The cost to replace all the plumbing is not nearly as bad as we feared, and is definitely not a deal-breaker. In fact, it just gives us more leverage to get the short sale approved at our offer price, so yay!!

3. Snow is really pretty. :)

And on that note... Off to Washington-Dulles we go! Can't wait to sleep in my own bed again!

Greetings from Massachusetts

Well, here we are in snow-covered central MA, and our trip has been great so far! I've taken a ton of pictures, but will have to share those when we get home (and I am not blogging from my iPod, which seriously limits things!).

Anyway... We landed in Boston early yesterday morning (7am Eastern/4am Pacific) and had a jam-packed day. We met up with our friend Min at the airport, who had landed an hour and a half before us. Then we made our way to the rental car place, got our car, and dropped Min off at his hotel downtown. From there, we hopped on the Pike and made the drive out to the middle of the state, where we met up with our realtor after a quick (but very necessary) Dunkin Donuts run. Ahhh, coffee! When you have barely slept, it really is your best friend.

So once we were feeling semi-human again, we went to our realtor's office. She took us to see a few more houses, including that nice yellow house I posted a picture of a while back. Truthfully, it seems to be a very nice house. BUT... it is not as far back from the road as the photo made it look, and the rooms are actually pretty small. Also, we couldn't see the yard or deck since everything was covered in several feet of snow, but we COULD see the edge of a pond right at the back fence. And while that could be very cool, it also makes me incredibly nervous about how much more water could really be there (buried under the snow). Lots of water + basement = not the best combination. Anyway, that was the nicest of the homes we saw, and even that made us feel more confident about moving forward with the red house. I won't even talk about the other houses we saw, except to say YUCK!

Anyway, we wrapped up our tour at around 2pm, then zipped back to Boston to check into our hotel and get ready for Ramzi's wedding. Our preparations were interrupted by the fire alarm going off, and everyone in the building had to evacuate (in the freezing cold!). Luckily, it was a false alarm, but the fire department had to come anyway and declare it all clear before we could go back in. We finished getting dressed up, hopped in the car, went to pick up Min, and headed to the Four Seasons.

WOW, what a nice wedding! There were only about 50 guests in all, and everything was super classy. The ceremony had me in tears more than once. It was also fun to visit with Gus and Ramzi's old college suitemate, Evan, who took a bus in from New York City for the occasion. All in all, the food was great, the company was great, and Ramzi got married! We are so happy for him and his new wife, Amanda! Hooray!

After it was all said and done, we drove back to the hotel and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. On a side note, driving in Boston is insane. I just needed to throw that out there. Central Massachusetts and the suburban areas aren't bad at all, but Boston is seriously crazy. Intersections going off at a million wild angles, confusing traffic lights, impatient drivers who don't follow the rules, etc. I was the one who drove us home after the wedding, and never have I been so relieved to get off the road! Eek!

This morning, though, we had to hit the road again. We first drove to where Gus' new office will be located, and then drove from there to the red house to see exactly how long it would take. For the record, it took 45 minutes... not much more than his current commute, which is 35-40 minutes. Then, JUST as we crossed into the town, it started to snow!!!! Not hard at all, just little flurries of tiny flakes, but it was so beautiful! I can't even remember the last time I saw snow falling from the sky. Anyway, we made it to the red house, where we met up with our realtor and a home inspector.

The home inspection was really interesting. It just drove home the fact that I know NOTHING about things that are totally common in New England. Like boilers, wells, and oil tanks. And snow. But the inspector (Adam) did a thorough job, and told us that these are the biggest areas of concern. Otherwise, the house is in good shape!

-The potable water pipes throughout the house need to be replaced. The original builder used a certain type of copper pipes, which do not react well with the minerals in the well water. Over time, the pipe corrodes, and tiny leaks can form. He showed us a spot where the pipes are already leaking in the basement (the homeowners rigged up a way to catch the water and funnel it into the line leading out from the washing machine, so it isn't causing damage). Adam says it's only a matter of time before we start seeing these leaks all over, so the pipes need to be replaced with flexible lines. We're seeing how much this would cost.
-The boiler is old, probably near the end of its life expectancy. It works for now, but will likely need to be replaced in the near future. He also told us that if we sign up for annual service contracts with certain oil companies (agreeing to buy our oil only from them), they will also perform all the service on the boiler, or even replace it if it finally dies. This might be a better move for us than just replacing it outright. But it does work fine, at least for now.
-The well and the oil tank both have valves that need tightening, because a little bit of water and a teeny-tiny amount of oil are leaking out onto the concrete right now. (easy fix)
-The attic needs more ventilation (again, an easy fix). But because it's not ventilated adequately, the snow has really built up on the roof, which is causing a very small amount of water to come through to the ceiling around the edges of the house. Adam says that this is mainly happening because this is the snowiest winter they have had in many years, and that the small ceiling spots should dry right out as soon as the snow is off the roof. He didn't think it was anything to be overly concerned about. I guess it's pretty common when the snow is this crazy!
-There is what appears to be some serious rot in the wall beneath the greenhouse window. But since the greenhouse is a sort of weird addition to begin with, it's not something we would feel the need to fix immediately.

Anyway... We want to get a few estimates on how much the new pipes would cost, and we are still waiting for the results of the well water and radon tests. But it looks like we will probably move forward and enter into a contract! Eeeek!!!

Oh, and I forgot! We had a little time to kill in town before meeting for the home inspection, so we really drove around and checked things out. The road the house is on is just awesome... Huge, beautiful houses, all set back from the road on large lots, all beautifully maintained (at least outside), surrounded by beautiful forest. I am certain we will have instant equity, if and when the short sale gets approved, which is reassuring! Plus, it's just a short drive to all the schools, the town center, and the town swimming pool/playground. The nearest major supermarket is less than 10 minutes away. And one of the preschools I was curious about is just a few minutes away, and is located in the cutest old house! I could totally see myself taking my kids to that happy place. Of course, I still need to see the INSIDE and actually talk to people who work there, but it's definitely promising. It made a good first impression, anyway!

So... Have I written enough yet??? Maybe so! :) We are spending the next two nights at a really nice bed and breakfast in another small central MA town, and it's time to relax! Yippee!

Prepare for an overload of pictures upon our return! :)

3,000 Miles Away

Actually, I just checked it, and it's 3,014 miles. I'm shocked at how close my guess was, haha!

Anyway... it's really tough to plan a new life that is so far away. I thought of this tonight when it suddenly hit me that preschool deadlines for the 2011-2012 school year were rapidly approaching for many programs. I definitely want to get Nikos into at least a twice-a-week program, and I will be the first to admit that I panicked a little! My panic was alleviated when I realized that, because of his October birthday, he still has two more years before he will start kindergarten... but still! I started researching preschools in the area we will most likely be moving to, and found a few programs that look promising. One is a mere 7 minutes from our potential home, and the other is about 15 minutes, but is run by the (top-notch) public school district. Both seem very affordable, too. So, we will see. We might end up taking a risk and putting down a deposit, just to hold a spot, but I am waiting to hear back from several places. In a perfect world, I would be able to talk to my local mommy friends, get feedback on the best places, and check them out for myself. Instead, I am just going to have to do my best from across the country, and hope that I make the right choice. Nothing is permanent, after all-- I could probably switch preschools, if necessary. And I DO actually know a few local moms through my online parenting forum, which is really handy. So, like I said, we will see!

Speaking of the school district, though... I am really impressed with what I know about it so far! Based on test scores alone, it ranks in the top 10% of all school districts. It's made up of 12 schools (K-12), and the ones in our potential town have a student-to-teacher ration of about 13:1. That is INSANE, especially compared to most schools in California (I have 35 students in my 5th grade class, at the moment, and our kindergarten classes all have well over 20 kids each). All the schools have special teachers hired on to teach art, music, and P.E. And the per-student spending is over $2,000 more than my current school district, which is one of the very best ones in California. It's just amazing to compare the two, honestly. California's spending priorities are so messed up! Massachusetts, at least, is fiscally solvent!

Other interesting things I learned today... Our (potential) future town was home to the first library in the county, and it still spends more money per resident every year to update and maintain said library. From what I have heard from my internet mommy friends, it's one of the best libraries around, and has incredible programs for people of all ages. I'm excited to (hopefully) take advantage of these as a stay-at-home mommy! I also learned that the town is known as THE headquarters for Fourth of July festivities every year. They actually host four days of activities, including parades, an endless assortment of contests and cookouts and crafts and, of course, a large fireworks display. People come from miles around to celebrate there. I think it sounds amazing!!!

Anyway, as exciting as it all is, it's all over 3,000 miles away and very inconvenient, at the moment. But Gus and I will be there this weekend! So stay tuned... Lots of (snowy) photos coming soon! :)

Valentine's Day

Yes, I know that Valentine's Day isn't until Monday... but with the kids heading to Gus' parents' house and us headed to Massachusetts, I decided that tomorrow was really the only opportunity for them to bring treats to their daycare friends. Which then meant that I had a busy afternoon!

I had made the little wallet-sized cards a while back, and knew that I wanted to attach them to some kind of tasty goodie, but I wasn't sure what. My coworker, Angie, had talked about Whoopie Pies a while back, which I had never heard of. They sounded SUPER delicious, though! Anyway, I was getting a few things from Michael's recently, and saw that they had a heart-shaped whoopie pie pan! Who'd a thunk it? So, that's what I made. Chocolate cakes with marshmallow buttercream inside (tinted pink to make it more festive). Oh, yes. These are delightful. Think there will be any leftovers??

Anyway, I am really happy with how they turned out. Go, me! :)

Busy Weekend

What's funny is that I chose the subject of this blog post, and then suddenly realized that I had no idea what we did on Saturday! And that, in itself, is blogworthy, because it just goes to show how I feel lately. So much is going on that everything starts running together. Aack! I literally sat here for a few minutes racking my brain, trying to remember. It wasn't until I saw the cuts and scratches all over my hand that I remembered!

So, about the scratches... Our house has been on the market since right after Halloween, with only one real bite (and no actual offers). The weather has been rainier than usual, the market is saturated with lots of cheap homes, etc. Lots of things stacked against us, particularly when our house is one of the nicer ones in the neighborhood. Anyway, Saturday was my day to wake up with the kids, and I had a plan. I could almost feel spring in the air, and wanted to prune all the rosebushes so they would go crazy in a few weeks (like they always do after a good pruning). We have eight rosebushes in all, and I couldn't find the clippers. And I only had one gardening glove. But I didn't let that stop me! I got the kids dressed as soon as they finished breakfast, and we went outside to beautify the yard. I managed to slice up the back of one hand pretty badly in the process, but I am hoping it's worth it! When our yard is in bloom, it is just beautiful. I have a feeling that spring is going to be when we get an offer, because someone will fall in love with the yard. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, that was Saturday morning. We spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, the patio, etc., and running errands. Exciting stuff! But we kept busy, and the time just flew by.

On Sunday, we had to take Maya to church again (as is customary to do the week after baptism). So we all went, and met up with Gus' mom. Maya wore her baptismal dress again, and I managed to snap this super-quick photo complete with her pacifier and Dora purse. She would NOT hold still, so this is the best I got!

Afterward, we went to lunch (which the kids ALWAYS love. Seriously, they love restaurants.). And then we headed back to the ranch, where we fought over the TV all afternoon (two of us wanted to watch the Superbowl, and two of us wanted to watch Bubble Guppies. I'll let you figure that one out.). We compromised and did a little of each, considering the kids were so tired and semi-cranky. I mean, just look! Maya refused to take a nap, and was practically falling asleep on the living room floor! And you know Nikos has to be tired when he sucks his thumb. Poor guys had a busy morning!

Anyway, the alarm went off this morning, and I remembered that I am a single mom. Darn it! Gus is gone on business, but will be home tomorrow. And, on that note, I think I had better hit the hay! Four more days until vacation!

The Other House

I had mentioned before that we put in an offer on a short-sale house in Massachusetts, but had all but given up on it because the listing realtor thought it was too low and we didn't want to pay much more. So we started looking at other homes (at least online-- we're planning to check out a few in person when we're in town for Ramzi's wedding next weekend!). Still, we kept coming back to the first house. And, as it turns out, it is NOT out of the running, after all! The listing realtor came back to us with a very reasonable offer that is still significantly below what the home is certainly worth. So now, we have a lot to consider. We won't make any decisions until we see the house (and its competitors) again next weekend, but there is a very good possibility that we will enter into a contract on this house. So exciting!

So, without further ado, here she is!

Yes, it looks like a big red barn, and that's part of what I love about it. It has more character than a lot of other houses. :) The stats: 3 huge bedrooms with great closet space and a vaulted ceiling in the master suite. 3 good-sized bathrooms (two upstairs, one on the main floor). Almost 2500 square feet on 1.5 acres (!!!). Finished basement with a wood stove. Two-car attached garage with interior access. Attached sunroom/greenhouse (in the back, off of the kitchen). MASSIVE family room on the main floor with new flooring and recessed lighting. And I am 99% sure that there is a little room that would be considered a "library" right off of the entry area, but it's not pictured in the listing and I won't be sure until next week.

Anyway, it's pretty unreal, given that we'd be buying it for way less than half of what we bought our current house for, and it's so much bigger! Gotta love the "Sunshine Tax" we pay in California! Still, nothing is set in stone at this point and, even if it was, it's a short sale-- it would be a long time before we'd own it, and there would be no guarantee that the bank would even approve it. Until then, though, it's fun to look at and imagine what we would do to it to make it our own! Already we are thinking that we would remodel the kitchen (it's old and dark), maybe add a farmer's porch out front, and definitely add a big old deck in the back. Dare to dream, right?

Representational Art!

I was completely floored this morning. Nikos, who has always been a scribbler, held up his Magnadoodle and showed me this:

Now, he occasionally makes "scribbles with heads" that he says are various people ("This is Daddy," etc.), but I have NEVER seen him draw something so easily identifiable as what he had on the Magnadoodle. So, after snapping a quick photo, I asked him to do it again. This time, we got more detail:

It's a little harder to decipher, but the big circles are eyes, and the smaller blobs up above them are eyebrows. He also added a nose, mouth, ears, hair on top, "and a chin!" I couldn't believe it! He literally went from scribbling to representational art overnight. INSANE!

Here's the kicker, though... He drew a bunch of faces, and got annoyed with me constantly taking photos of them, so I laid off. I let him do his thing for a bit. Then I walked over and looked at what he was drawing. This is what he was working on. He drew the entire thing this way-- he did NOT turn the Magnadoodle around after finishing. And when I asked him what it was, he said it was "an upside-down guy!"

Oh my gosh. Seriously, I am impressed. It takes a lot of spatial awareness to be able to flip it in his mind and then draw it that way. The kid is a genius!

And speaking of baby geniuses, I certainly can't leave Genius #2 out... She went to get her pacifiers today, and counted them out... "One, two, tee! Tee pacis!" Eeek!

Moving Update

Well, I mentioned a few posts back that we were considering making an offer on a short-sale home in Massachusetts, and we did it! However, we really don't think it's going to work out. The bank that owns the mortgage is notoriously awful when it comes to short sales, often taking 6-8 months to approve them. Or, more likely than not, they just flat-out reject the offer and let the house go into foreclosure. It might be worth the risk if we could get an amazing price, but the listing realtor won't even send an offer to the bank unless he thinks it has a good chance of being approved. He doesn't want to ruin his excellent short-sale track record, or spend time on something that is just going to get rejected. And he thinks our offer is too low. So... it looks like we will keep looking. If we're going to be locked into a contract on one home for up to 8 months, we should be getting a bargain-basement deal! Paying full price is just silly!

It's really okay, though. While we had both grown emotionally attached to the idea of this one home (which we call "the red house"), there ARE other options. Like the yellow house! Gus just found this one today:

Seriously, isn't it beautiful? We aren't sure what kind of sale it is, but it appears to be a home that was foreclosed upon, and is now bank-owned. That's an improvement over a short sale. And, if you look at the listing history, they have dropped the price by a significant amount every single month it has been on the market. And now, it's definitely in our range! The photos online don't give too much detail, but it looks like some home improvement projects may have been started and not finished. And there is some junk on the floor in a few rooms. But on paper, it sounds AWESOME: built in 2005, over 2,100 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a 2-car attached garage (probably underneath, like in many houses we've seen), a basement, hardwoord floors throughout, a basement, a fireplace, and a recently remodeled kitchen with new cabinets and granite countertops. All situated on over 2 acres, close to a lake, in a great, family-friendly town. Yup. For way less than half of what we paid for our current house. INSANE!!

Anyway, we are headed back to Boston in a few weeks for a wedding, and will check it out then (along with the red house and a few others). I am really excited about this one. Fingers crossed that the inside isn't too bad!