My sister has a very busy life. Especially in the summer when her business really takes off; especially THIS summer as her business is exploding right now! I couldn't be more thrilled for her and proud of what she has accomplished. However, it does mean she has less phone time, bad news for me. The other day I kept asking her all kinds of questions about work, the kids, their trip to Florida and who knows what else but gave her no time to get an update from me. She ended our phone conversation by rattling off three questions for me and saying something like she would just send them to me in an email, you know bullet style! I know part of her was kidding but in the backs of both of our minds we were thinking that would probably be the easiest. So, I have decided to give her the answers on here.
1. How are you feeling?
This pregnancy has been really easy! With Sam I dealt with all kinds of weird symptoms and changes, like becoming allergic to my wedding ring, having nerve issues in my teeth, gaining a lot of weight really fast and having break outs all over my skin. This time, NONE OF THAT! I am tired and hungry pretty much all the time but other than that and the fact that I don't really fit into my clothes much anymore this has been a piece of cake. I have only gained about four pounds, I am 14 weeks along (I think, I keep losing track!) and the babies heart beat the last time was really strong. The pregnancy is going really well.
2. Any updates on the house and move to Madison?
Our house has been listed for a week now and we still have not had one person come through it yet. All of the Remax staff came through on Wednesday of this week and we really thought that because of that yesterday and today we would have had some showings but nothing. Our agent says it is still too early to panic, we just have to wait. We are having an open house tomorrow afternoon and if no one shows up then I am GOING TO PANIC. We still aren't really looking for houses in Madison yet since we can't do anything until this house sells. We both want to start looking but I keep making Chris hold off because I know that once I start looking I am going to want to find something and move right away. Chris had his first day of work yesterday and will start full time next week. They let him put in one day this week so that our insurance would kick in and we wouldn't have any time without insurance coverage. I am not looking forward to Monday morning when he leaves and doesn't come back until late Thursday night. But I know we will get through it!
3. What words is Sam saying now?
SOOO MANY! She talks all the time, most of the time we have no idea what she is saying but sometime it makes sense. Here is what I can remember off the top of my head that she can now say (keep in mind that very few of these come out sounding perfect yet, but we recognize the noises to know what word she is trying to say).
Hi
Bye
Night Night
Doggie
Up
Down
Home
All Done
Oh Boy
Please
Thank You
Out
Shoe
More
Cheese
Milk
Juice
Cup
Names that she can say include - Dada, Mama, Nana, PawPaw, MawMaw, JoJo, Polly, Buddy, Andrea, Traci, and all five of the pets names at Andrea's (our daycare) house.
Animal noises that she can say include - meow, moo, neigh, baa, maa and woof.
Okay, sorry if this totally bored the rest of blog world but I needed to update my sister!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
A Day at the Beach
Okay it was more like an hour and a half. And really it is just a nice sand bar along the Plover River but still it is the Wisconsin version of a day at the beach!
That's me in the background. Oh yeah, I put this pregnant body in a swimsuit! HOT!
Sam destroying Chris's sandcastle.
That's me in the background. Oh yeah, I put this pregnant body in a swimsuit! HOT!
Sam's first taste of sand. 
It was a lot of fun. She didn't like the water as much as I was hoping she would but it was also pretty cold so that might have been it too. She hated leaving and getting all the sand off of everything was not fun but overall it was a great way to spend the post-naptime-pre-dinner section of our day.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Simple Sunday
Sometimes it is just the simple days that truly make you love life. We woke up this morning and had nothing that we had to do. No meetings, no plans, no major chores...just a day for the three of us to be here. Not much happened today that made it overly special but somehow it was just an amazing day. A bike ride, puzzles, falls, hide-n-seek, dancing, tantrums, laughing, crying, tickling and lots of playing filled the moments and made the day wonderful. We did get a few chores done, some more successful than others (just because a paint can says "light green bedroom" and appears to be the same color that is on the bedroom wall it won't necessarily work perfectly for the nail hole patches we wanted to paint over! OOPS!) and got laundry done. So it wasn't a totally unproductive day. Really it was just a day of us, here, being a family...is there anything better?
Day Three
It is day three of our house being officially on the market! We have the sign in the front yard, an online listing, online virutal tour and supposedly our realtor is out there spreading the word about our house. Day three and no calls for showings. I know it is only day three but I really thought we would have at least one showing this weekend. The realtor made me feel like there might be people that were already going out looking this weekend and their agents would want to add our home to their list at the last minute. I think if he hadn't told me that I would not have this terrifying feeling of dread in my stomach because I wouldn't have had any expectations. Hopefully we have a few showings this week while Chris is still here. He starts his new job in Madison on THURSDAY! I can't believe it is here already. We just have to sell this house fast!
So, blog world go check out our house and if you know anyone in Wisonsin spread the word that there is a great house for sale! HA! Go here to see our virtual tour and check out www.Remax.com searching for MLS number 905518 in Stevens Point, WI to see our official listing. But seriously spread the word, we will need all the help we can get and you just never know who might know someone that needs a home!
So, blog world go check out our house and if you know anyone in Wisonsin spread the word that there is a great house for sale! HA! Go here to see our virtual tour and check out www.Remax.com searching for MLS number 905518 in Stevens Point, WI to see our official listing. But seriously spread the word, we will need all the help we can get and you just never know who might know someone that needs a home!
Friday, July 24, 2009
I tried to be artsy
Yesterday after nap Sam wanted to have her snack in the window. Oh sure why not, its just cracker crumbs all over the window seat no big deal. But once she was up there, eating her snack and looking out the window it was so cute I just kept feeding her so I could try and get some pictures!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
summer fun
The Wausau Balloon Rally... that wasn't much of a balloon rally because it was too windy for the balloons to go up until really late. But we hung out, waited, ate good food, waited and played with Sam. We finally saw a couple of balloons go up and then Sam hit her limit and it was time to go home. 
Sam's first popsicle! She loved it and only dropped it at the very end.
Sam's first popsicle! She loved it and only dropped it at the very end. 
Sunday, July 19, 2009
ready for a break
What a weekend!
With the huge help of Chris's mom Kathy, also known as Nana, we got so much done around this house it is quite unbelievable. Kathy and I got started first thing Friday morning with the packing, cleaning and staging of three major rooms, the kitchen, dining room and living room. We de-personalized, de-cluttered, packed up, cleaned and staged. Oh yeah we also ate lunch, took care of Sam, played with Sam a bit and entertained two large dogs! When Chris got home we had just 20 minutes before the first real estate agent was coming.
The two meetings that we had on Friday night went well but Chris and I are still very confused on what to price the house and how all this is going to work. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have figured out the price, picked an agent and be ready to finish up the packing, staging and cleaning before we can list it. Still lots to do.
Anyway, Saturday we got up and got going again on packing, cleaning and staging more rooms. Our bedroom, closets and bathroom got done. Kathy cleaned, inside and out all the upstairs windows. We cleaned out the guest room closets a bit and Sam's closet. Chris took four large car loads of stuff over to a friend's house that has very generously loaned us space in her garage to store some of our stuff. Chris also replaced a storm door in the back of our house that was rotting and needed to be replaced. Kathy and I did some yard work and began working on the major project of our deck. We have decided that it needs some "sprucing up". So we started sanding it and getting it ready for a fresh coat of paint. It was an exhausting day.
This morning we knew Kathy needed to hit the road early so we started working even earlier and got the deck sanding finished, and power washed the deck. Chris replaced several pieces of siding that the previous owner had melted a bit with his grill, and we did some work straightening up the storage section in our basement. Kathy wasn't around for all of that but did help quite a bit with the sanding and watched Sam for us this morning so we could work.
We still have a ton of work to do around the house, the deck needs to be painted and then we have to clean and stage all the other rooms. Selling your house really is a massive endeaver. This all would not have been possible with Kathy, so THANK YOU SO MUCH!
The funny part of all of this is that we are now tackling projects that we have not thought we had the knowledge, skills or time to tackle in the five years that we have lived here. Or maybe we were just lazy, I don't know. But now we are doing things like replacing doors, caulking showers, fixing up decks and hanging siding! At least now we know we can handle more home repair projects than we thought and won't be scared of changing the things that we don't like with our next house.
I am so excited that in just a little while I don't have to think about the house or do any work for several hours....HARRY POTTER MOVIE HERE I COME! A good movie, great friends and then dinner out is just what I need after this long, busy weekend.
Hope you all are having a great Sunday.
With the huge help of Chris's mom Kathy, also known as Nana, we got so much done around this house it is quite unbelievable. Kathy and I got started first thing Friday morning with the packing, cleaning and staging of three major rooms, the kitchen, dining room and living room. We de-personalized, de-cluttered, packed up, cleaned and staged. Oh yeah we also ate lunch, took care of Sam, played with Sam a bit and entertained two large dogs! When Chris got home we had just 20 minutes before the first real estate agent was coming.
The two meetings that we had on Friday night went well but Chris and I are still very confused on what to price the house and how all this is going to work. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have figured out the price, picked an agent and be ready to finish up the packing, staging and cleaning before we can list it. Still lots to do.
Anyway, Saturday we got up and got going again on packing, cleaning and staging more rooms. Our bedroom, closets and bathroom got done. Kathy cleaned, inside and out all the upstairs windows. We cleaned out the guest room closets a bit and Sam's closet. Chris took four large car loads of stuff over to a friend's house that has very generously loaned us space in her garage to store some of our stuff. Chris also replaced a storm door in the back of our house that was rotting and needed to be replaced. Kathy and I did some yard work and began working on the major project of our deck. We have decided that it needs some "sprucing up". So we started sanding it and getting it ready for a fresh coat of paint. It was an exhausting day.
This morning we knew Kathy needed to hit the road early so we started working even earlier and got the deck sanding finished, and power washed the deck. Chris replaced several pieces of siding that the previous owner had melted a bit with his grill, and we did some work straightening up the storage section in our basement. Kathy wasn't around for all of that but did help quite a bit with the sanding and watched Sam for us this morning so we could work.
We still have a ton of work to do around the house, the deck needs to be painted and then we have to clean and stage all the other rooms. Selling your house really is a massive endeaver. This all would not have been possible with Kathy, so THANK YOU SO MUCH!
The funny part of all of this is that we are now tackling projects that we have not thought we had the knowledge, skills or time to tackle in the five years that we have lived here. Or maybe we were just lazy, I don't know. But now we are doing things like replacing doors, caulking showers, fixing up decks and hanging siding! At least now we know we can handle more home repair projects than we thought and won't be scared of changing the things that we don't like with our next house.
I am so excited that in just a little while I don't have to think about the house or do any work for several hours....HARRY POTTER MOVIE HERE I COME! A good movie, great friends and then dinner out is just what I need after this long, busy weekend.
Hope you all are having a great Sunday.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
she is still crazy
When Sam was a baby my sister called her crazy all the time because of the faces she would make and the motions she would do. These videos are proof that my daughter has not lost that crazy jean, now she has just added a foreign language into the mix!
First video...calm foreign language speaking Sam.
Second video...mad crazy Sam.
Third video...happy crazy Sam!
Okay, that should be a good Sam fix for a while!
It has been a crazy week and it is only going to get even more crazy over the next three days. We have met with two real estate agents this week and have three more meetings set up to get the agents final opinions on where we should price the house and what we should do to get it ready for showing. After we hear from all of them we have to pick one, list the house and start showing it. Nana, Chris's mom, gets here in just a little while and will be here all weekend to help me clean, pack and de-personalize my house (apparently I have too many picture frames all over my house...could that have something to do with having a photographer as a sister? I blame her! HA!). I am ready to get this process started so that we can get it over with.
I am feeling like chocolate chip cookies...yup, I think I will go bake!
Happy Thursday!
First video...calm foreign language speaking Sam.
Second video...mad crazy Sam.
Third video...happy crazy Sam!
Okay, that should be a good Sam fix for a while!
It has been a crazy week and it is only going to get even more crazy over the next three days. We have met with two real estate agents this week and have three more meetings set up to get the agents final opinions on where we should price the house and what we should do to get it ready for showing. After we hear from all of them we have to pick one, list the house and start showing it. Nana, Chris's mom, gets here in just a little while and will be here all weekend to help me clean, pack and de-personalize my house (apparently I have too many picture frames all over my house...could that have something to do with having a photographer as a sister? I blame her! HA!). I am ready to get this process started so that we can get it over with.
I am feeling like chocolate chip cookies...yup, I think I will go bake!
Happy Thursday!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Big changes.
So the last time I mentioned Chris's job we were in waiting mode (don't know what I am talking about go to my post from Monday, June 29th) . Well, the wait is over.
We actually never heard from Sentry as to whether or not they were officially firing Chris but we got tired of waiting for them and moved forward without the push from them. Chris had/has a great contact in Madison, WI (an old boss from Sentry that recently moved there to a different insurance company) that worked very quickly to get Chris a job at his company. He was very excited about our desire to move and was going to have a job open anyway so Chris went down for an interview, within a few days we had an offer and then a few days later we accepted the job. This past Friday Chris put in his official two weeks notice at Sentry. We are moving to Madison, WI.
Chris will start work down there on July 30th. He will stay in some kind of extended stay hotel thing and Sam and I will live up here until the house sells. We are going to have a long distance marriage during the week for a while. I will have Sam, be showing/trying to sell the house and working up here. Once the house sells then we will all move down to Madison, hopefully quickly finding and buying a house ourselves. We can't buy one until we know for sure that this one is sold; two mortgages is just not something we can handle.
So that's the plan. Now, to the thoughts, feelings, emotions about the plan. I am so happy that Chris has found a job that he is excited about. He will be able to keep taking the exams (he is thrilled about that...sense the sarcasm), he is just not ready to give up when he has already come this far. I am happy that we don't have to deal with unemployment, struggling on my meager salary or moving somewhere really far away out of complete desperation. However, I am also not happy that the second place that I will live after college is still SO FAR away from family (okay I know it's not another country or even out of the mid-west, but anything farther than a strollers walk away seems too far right now). I am terrified about the stress and work of trying to sell this house, the frustration in being apart from Chris so much and the sadness of Chris missing out on changes in Sam. I am worried that I am not going to be able to handle all of this on my own each week. Whatever is worse then terrified is what I am feeling at the thought that we might not have sold this house by the time this new baby gets here! How in the world will I have a baby, a two year old and a house for sale all by myself? Like I said, worse then terrified. I am praying that it won't take that long to sell this house.
We are moving ahead quickly with things which means that our house will hopefully be on the market in a couple of weeks. This is all new to us so any advice about selling a house, long distance marriage or being a single parent would be greatly appreciated!
Enough for now but I am sure I will have lots to share as this crazy adventure continues.
We actually never heard from Sentry as to whether or not they were officially firing Chris but we got tired of waiting for them and moved forward without the push from them. Chris had/has a great contact in Madison, WI (an old boss from Sentry that recently moved there to a different insurance company) that worked very quickly to get Chris a job at his company. He was very excited about our desire to move and was going to have a job open anyway so Chris went down for an interview, within a few days we had an offer and then a few days later we accepted the job. This past Friday Chris put in his official two weeks notice at Sentry. We are moving to Madison, WI.
Chris will start work down there on July 30th. He will stay in some kind of extended stay hotel thing and Sam and I will live up here until the house sells. We are going to have a long distance marriage during the week for a while. I will have Sam, be showing/trying to sell the house and working up here. Once the house sells then we will all move down to Madison, hopefully quickly finding and buying a house ourselves. We can't buy one until we know for sure that this one is sold; two mortgages is just not something we can handle.
So that's the plan. Now, to the thoughts, feelings, emotions about the plan. I am so happy that Chris has found a job that he is excited about. He will be able to keep taking the exams (he is thrilled about that...sense the sarcasm), he is just not ready to give up when he has already come this far. I am happy that we don't have to deal with unemployment, struggling on my meager salary or moving somewhere really far away out of complete desperation. However, I am also not happy that the second place that I will live after college is still SO FAR away from family (okay I know it's not another country or even out of the mid-west, but anything farther than a strollers walk away seems too far right now). I am terrified about the stress and work of trying to sell this house, the frustration in being apart from Chris so much and the sadness of Chris missing out on changes in Sam. I am worried that I am not going to be able to handle all of this on my own each week. Whatever is worse then terrified is what I am feeling at the thought that we might not have sold this house by the time this new baby gets here! How in the world will I have a baby, a two year old and a house for sale all by myself? Like I said, worse then terrified. I am praying that it won't take that long to sell this house.
We are moving ahead quickly with things which means that our house will hopefully be on the market in a couple of weeks. This is all new to us so any advice about selling a house, long distance marriage or being a single parent would be greatly appreciated!
Enough for now but I am sure I will have lots to share as this crazy adventure continues.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
more from the weekend
What a weekend we had! There was kayaking, golf, a fair, cooking, meals out, games and yard work! Thank you so much mom and dad for all your help with the yard and the house. I haven't taken pictures yet of what we got accomplished so that will have to wait for another day. But I do have lots of pictures from the weekend so here we go...
That is Chris in the kayak and Pawpaw is pointing to me but I didn't make the picture.
Sam with her first sparkler!
We concluded that sparklers when it is still light outside are not very fun but we did them anyway.
Sam loved throwing the little pop things.
We went to a fair and quickly realized that she is not quite old enough...and we are all too old! She liked the slide and of course wanted to do it again but those things are not cheap.
The carousel however we are not so sure if she enjoyed. She seemed a bit terrified which I don't blame her because this was one of the fastest moving carousels I have ever seen.
So, we had a great visit with Grandma and Pawpaw. Sam loved having them here and still walks around the house saying "Pawpaw....?" and "Mawmaw....?" which is both the cutest thing ever and also brings me to tears every time she does it. Clearly they are missed already.
Sam's first time wearing a life jacket. She didn't like it at first but then wanted to put it back on later in the weekend! I'll have her in a kayak soon. HA!
That is Chris in the kayak and Pawpaw is pointing to me but I didn't make the picture.
Sam with her first sparkler!
We concluded that sparklers when it is still light outside are not very fun but we did them anyway.
Sam loved throwing the little pop things.
We went to a fair and quickly realized that she is not quite old enough...and we are all too old! She liked the slide and of course wanted to do it again but those things are not cheap.
The carousel however we are not so sure if she enjoyed. She seemed a bit terrified which I don't blame her because this was one of the fastest moving carousels I have ever seen.
So, we had a great visit with Grandma and Pawpaw. Sam loved having them here and still walks around the house saying "Pawpaw....?" and "Mawmaw....?" which is both the cutest thing ever and also brings me to tears every time she does it. Clearly they are missed already.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Thank you Bailey!
Sam's cousin Bailey made her a very cute necklace and my parents brought it with them to give to Sam this weekend. So, here is a picture of Sam wearing the adorable necklace!
Thanks Bails; Sam loves it!
And the first official belly shot for baby #2! I don't know why I decided not to smile, apparently I decided the "pissed at the world look" would be better! Whatever. 
And to be funny my dad decided we needed to compare bellies!
Many more pictures from this weekend to come!
Thanks Bails; Sam loves it!
And the first official belly shot for baby #2! I don't know why I decided not to smile, apparently I decided the "pissed at the world look" would be better! Whatever. 
And to be funny my dad decided we needed to compare bellies!
Many more pictures from this weekend to come!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Big news over at Jodified
Are you pregnant? Know someone that is pregnant? Or planning on becoming pregnant anytime in your life? Oh, and live somewhere near St. Louis; I know rats!
My sister and another photographer just recently started a new venture all about births and babies and would love to hear what you think of the site. They have some amazing deals going on right now so if you are pregnant be sure to go over there and check it out. And maybe if you begged hard enough they would travel!!
www.freshartphotography.com
My sister and another photographer just recently started a new venture all about births and babies and would love to hear what you think of the site. They have some amazing deals going on right now so if you are pregnant be sure to go over there and check it out. And maybe if you begged hard enough they would travel!!
www.freshartphotography.com
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