House hunting

We're "fixin to" move. Our lease doesn't run up until July 31st, but with the baby due in September, and the history of premature labor I have, we really don't want to wait that long. Plus, our apartment has some issues, one of them being that it's way to small and cluttered. We were told it was 900 sq feet, after measuring it I came up with 750 sq feet.

Anyway, we're not ready to buy yet, so we'll be looking for another rental. I really want a single family home, I'm tired of listening to the people around us, and smelling their food and cigarettes.

Even though we're not ready to buy,I can't help but look at the cute houses that are for sale. We drive by a sign and I just say "oh, how cute." There are a lot of cute houses that have been turned into commercial real estate around here. That normally bothers me, because the houses look so cute.

We have a huge long list of things we're looking for in our next place, we've got wants and needs on there. We always jump into an apartment then find all the things wrong with it, but have to live here for a year anyway. We're playing it smart this time!

Do you have a list of things you look for in rentals when you're searching? If so, care to share any hints?

Clothes shopping

I have to admit. I love shopping. For anything. house stuff, baby stuff, woman's fashion, men's fashion... it doesn't matter what it is. I love to shop.

I do way more looking, or "window shopping" than I do actual buying shopping. That doesn't matter to me, it's better cuz then I don't spend money.

I would have to say that shopping for clothes for me is my less favorite thing to shop for. Mainly because I've never been one of those people who can just walk in, grab my size and walk out. I have to try on everything. It really annoys me, because even when I find my size, rarely does it look good.

I love shopping for baby stuff, and I love buying clothes for my husband. He's in dire need of work shirts right now. he's been wearing the same button ups for about 4 years now, some of them for 5 or 6 years. That's just too long to me. And he has 5 work shirts, so each week he wears the same 5 shirts. It doesn't bother him one bit, but me... I'd be sick of the same 5 shirts!!

Maybe I'll save up some money and go buy him some new clothes. That's always fun!

is there an easy and cheap way to do this?

Do you pay for individual health insurance? We are lucky enough to have a group insurance policy paid 100% by my husband's employer. Many people aren't though, with the price of doctor's visits, and the unknown I think insurance is very important.

Before my husband started working for this company, we didn't have insurance at all. We had looked into getting some, but we couldn't believe the price of it! So, if you pay for your own insurance, will you share your ideas with others? Where do you get your insurance? Is there any secrets to making it cheaper? Did you shop around, or just go with a company you know and trust?

Share your info! Thanks!

Babies!!!

We are at 13 weeks today. I am so excited! Tonight at church I was talking to a friend who is due in just 5 weeks. This is her first and she is very excited. There are have been so many people pregnant lately, it's so exciting to see all these babies coming into the world.

One of my friends is having a baby who has spina bifida. They are going to face surgery as soon as the baby is born, and I'm sure some other treatment as the baby grows. There is always the choice of asking God why, Why are babies born with birth defects? Why do children have to under go years of cerebral palsy therapy, surgeries and I'm sure get picked on all the time from other kids.

Truth is, only God knows why He chooses to bless some people with differences. You can ask why, or you can embrace the differences and let the child bless you in return.

Babies are babies regardless.

Shopping

My mom made Lexi an Easter dress again this year. It's ADORABLE. only problem is her head is too big for the neck hole!!

So, we're gonna mail it back to my mom in Texas and have her fix it, obviously it wont be back to us in time for Easter, but we'll get plenty of use out of it this summer. It's so cute.

Last night we went out looking for a cheap but cute dress for Lexi to wear on Easter since that one wont work. We found one, but we also found several other things that caught our attention. One of those things was a rack of funny t-shirts. They said things like "genius by birth, slacker by choice" and other humorous sayings. I just love seeing funny shirts, they make life interesting. My husband and I are big t-shirt people. We wear jeans and t-shirts all day, every day (with an exception of work...) We would just rather be comfortable than "trendy" or dressed up. We're so boring! he he.

A little more organization please!

Tonight my husband was looking for something.

My house has one closet, if you're looking for something, it's more than likely in there.

He was looking for something Electronicy. So, he pulled out his electronic tote. Yes, he has a whole but rubber maid container of just electronic stuff. Wires, cables, ac adaptors, USB cables, parallel cables, everything but CAT6 cables. Seriously, there is way too much stuff in this tote that I don't think we'll ever need. But who knows when you might need a spare electrical cord for a computer monitor right?!

Anyway, it was a big knotted mess. He decided he'd go through them, and managed to get rid of a few things. As he was putting them back in I got a brilliant idea to keep them organized.

I went to the kitchen and pulled out the gallon Ziploc bags, then to the desk and got a sharpie.

We labeled the bags, put the corresponding wires in each bag, then put the bags into the tote. It's amazing! Organized and everything will be easy to find when we're looking for them next time!

One of my husband's great loves

We all know my husband is addicted to music. It's one of his greatest passions.

There is another passion of his that i don't talk about as much. It's his love of Motorcycles.

Harley's in particular. You should see his face light up when a nice looking bike goes by.

Back when we had cable we'd watch OCC (Orange County Choppers). He loved to watch them cut the metal with the plasma cutter. Cutting out the unique shapes of the gas tanks and fenders.

Pretty much any custom bike catches his eye. Yup, he's a biker at heart.

Dreaming again...

So, My husband and I are sick of our apartment. When we moved here we really didn't have much of a choice, we were moving from out of state, we had seen pictures of the apartment, and knew God wanted us here. We were having a hard time finding an apartment that we could afford, this one was in our price range and we decided to move in faith, hoping it would fit our needs.

When we got here we were A) tired from the long drive, B) in need of a home and C) impressed with the newness of everything. The oven and fridge still had the protective film on them!! We said Yes out of desperation and exhaustion.

It didn't take long for us to realize maybe we should have kept looking. The walls are crooked, the floors slope, there is one closet for the whole place, and what we were told was 900 sq feet is really close to 750. The neighbors are loud, there is no sound barriers between us and them, we hear everything. The return air filter needs changed weekly, I've been coughing up dirt for a few months now.

Needless to say, we're ready to move.

I've been in dream land lately, wishing we could afford to buy a house. I know that's not going to happen, but it would be so nice to have 4 walls not shared by anyone else! Maybe a nice big porch on the front with white fiberglass columns, 3 bedrooms, a basement or garage to store things, a kitchen big enough for everything, a laundry room- or even closet! Yah, dreaming is nice... I just hope we can find something nice when our lease is up. If we make it 4 months.

Laziness has set in

I don't remember being this tired when I was pregnant with Lexi. This pregnancy has been way different; between the morning sickness and the sleepiness I'm lucky if I accomplish anything during the day.

My favorite spot in my whole house is laying in my bed, under my down comforter, my head laying on my pillow, my husband's pillow tucked beneath my arms... I think if I had about 5 more pillows life would be even better.

Don't get me wrong, I don't get to spend much time in bed, not with a toddler around! I still have laundry, dishes, cleaning and cooking to do. but the rare moments I do find myself in my bed... please do not disturb me! :)

The Biggest Looser

Have I mentioned my love of the Biggest Loser? I think I have, but in case you missed it... I LOVE The Biggest Loser!!!!

That show has me completely entertained every Tuesday night. I love to see not only how much weight they lose, but what kind of prizes they win. Each week the person who loses the biggest percentage of body weight is the biggest loser of the week. They win a prize for doing so.

Most of the time they have 3 envelopes to pick from, "luxury" "game plan" or "family". of course, most of them pick game plan. However, one week they weren't labeled, they each had a question mark instead.

The biggest loser that week had to pick an envelope at random. He just happened to get the luxury envelope, and he and his entire team got to go to Las Vegas for a couple days. They did all sorts of things while they were there. I was most impressed with their hotel room! I can't imagine the cost of Las Vegas hotel reservations, but hey a show as big as the biggest loser can afford it.

I love seeing how much the people change their lives while they are on the show, and even after they get kicked off and they continue at home. It's amazing. I wish more reality shows would be that beneficial to the players.

Losing weight

Ok, I admit it. I'm addicted to watching The Biggest Loser. I love the show. I love watching people change their lives.
There are many ways to lose weight, you can do it assisted with diet pills like Hydroxycut or you can do it with just diet and exercise. I honestly have never tried diet pills, I try to stay away from them, I'm an old fashioned girl.
Or course, right now losing weight is the last thing on my mind. But I still love watching The Biggest Loser. So if it's Tuesday night at 8pm easter standard time, you better believe you'll find me sitting on the couch watching the TV.

Moving adventures

I've moved several times in my life, just this past weekend we helped some friends move too. We always do it the cheapest way, and rent a truck, load it ourselves, unload it our selves... You know, all the fun stuff.
I've never considered hiring a moving company, well, I did consider it, but once I saw the price that was enough to scare me away. I do know people who can afford the luxury of hiring a New York Moving Company- or whatever state they might be in at the time. I can assure you, I'd love to do that.
Being pregnant I didn't even help carry boxes this weekend, but I did carry my 23lb daughter up and down a flight of stairs about 23 times. She was very interested in what was going on.
What about you? Do you move the old fashion way or do you hire people to help?