Where Do I Begin?

Oh dear. There has been so much going on that I don't even know where to start. My mind is just swimming. I feel like everyday it is a battle to remember the basics. We are so slammed.

Let's see. Where did I leave off? Hmm...

-Ben was moved to a toddler bed, and so far we haven't had any problems. He hasn't tried to escape. He hasn't trashed his room. He has been doing a fabulous job. I feel like I am jinxing everything just writing that down, but there it is. He is a champ. Sure he fell out of bed once in the middle of the night (and somehow became wedged underneath the bed) but other than that it has been a completely smooth transition.

-My mom had her Ecocardiogram done and it was pretty miraculous. There is still a problem there, but her heart is functioning at a normal level for now so there is no need for surgery at this point. We were all so sure that surgery was needed that this was absolutely blessed news. Yay!

- Todd and I celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss last week by, oh I don't know, watching tv or something. I can't really remember. HA! If you want a nice romantic anniversary post you can see what I wrote last year for our anniversary here. I don't have it in me today. Don't worry honey, I'm not salty. It has been a good 8 years, but I'm still ticked off at you from the nasty dream I had last night.

-I had my 7 month check up (see belly pic below) and everything is still looking good. I think I am getting another ultrasound at my next appointment to check if my placenta is still lying low. Hopefully it has moved up by now. We'll see. I have noticed that I am really beginning to gain some weight now so I've decided to turn around on the doctor's scale from now on so I can't see what it says. Denial? Perhaps. But, does it even really matter? As long as doc says I'm not gaining too much too fast I'm not going to worry about it. I'll go by my trusty scale at home (which I hardly dare to step on either) for now.
I was thinking that maybe, since this is my last pregnancy (it seems), I could see how much weight I can gain. You know, really plump out. Gain as much as possible. Then I could go on The Biggest Loser (I love that freaking show) and win a ton of money. Sound like a plan? Hmm. Maybe not.

-Okay. The house situation. Here is where it gets stressful. Last you heard the house we had wanted was sold to someone else. So, because it is getting closer and closer to my due date (ACK!) we stepped up our efforts to find a place and called one of Todd's good friends from high school, who just so happens to be a very good realtor, to help us out. He gave us a bunch of new listings to look at that are in our price range with most of the things we are looking for in a house, and also offered to help us sell our house. All without taking any commission. Can you stand it? We are still running our open houses but we are now on the multiple listing for realtors to take a look at. Yay! While it has all been well and good, it has also been a lot of work.

- A week after we lost the last house I was driving through one of my favorite neighborhoods (right on top of Lake Michigan) and saw a for sale sign down one of the streets. I turned around to take a look. It is down a beautiful, quiet, dead end street where all of the houses are probably more than half a million dollars. A place we definitely can not afford to live, but like dreaming about it anyway. When I got to the house that was for sale it was the crappiest house on the block. It looked like it needed a TON of work. I wrinkled my nose and drove on. When I got home I decided to look it up online since I have always loved that neighborhood so much, and what I saw SHOCKED me. The house was selling for almost the same price we are selling our house for. How is that possible??? I had Todd do some checking and we came to find out that it is a foreclosure. Todd and I immediately called the realtors for a showing. We found that the house basically needs to be gutted. The whole heating system needs to be replaced, many of the pipes, walls ripped out, ceilings replaced, the house needs to be checked for mold. There is a huge swimming pool in the back that would need to be ripped out (I would be in a constant state of panic having a pool in my backyard, "where are the boys???" every five seconds). We ended up bringing contractors through to give us estimates of how much it would cost to get this house up and running. It turns out, a lot. But the cost of the purchase price and the construction price is still something we can afford and FAR less than the cost of the other houses in the neighborhood so there is instant equity. The house would be AMAZING when we got done with it.

We had to move FAST. The house was getting a lot of attention because of where it is located and the opportunity that it brings. We started the loan process and getting all the bids from the contractor and the subcontractors. We've been online and to local store constantly looking at countertops, cabinets, carpeting, siding, shingles, you name it, all to get estimates for our construction costs.

In the meantime we have been having a lot of showings for our house. Now that the house is showing up on the realtor's multiple listing the interest is growing. However, I am living in a constant state of chaos. I've had people at the house everyday this week. Sometimes twice a day. Keeping the house clean and presentable while still allowing my boys to live and play in it has been a major challenge. Especially since I have only had a few hours notice for some of the showings. We have a couple of people interested in the house right now, but because they just started looking (and one of them has to sell a house too) they want to look a bit more before putting in an offer.

Life is busy. And stressful.

I keep wondering what I would do if someone bought our house and the construction on the new house wasn't done yet. Where would we live? Could we go and live up at the in-laws' cabin for a while? Will the new house be ready by the time the boys are back in school this fall? Where would we live while they are going to school? The baby will most likely be here before the house is done. Where will I put her? I guess I could get a moses basket for her and she could sleep next to my bed. And maybe keep her clothes (that I don't have yet) in a box in my room. I guess that wouldn't be too bad. Hopefully it would only be for a little while. I don't know.

My head is flooded with paint colors, flooring tile, shower/tub combinations, siding choices, cabinet stains, and carpeting options. I feel a little bit crazy. Sleep has been hard to come by lately. I'm stressed. Last week I was sick again and Todd is convinced that it is because of stress. He vowed not to tell me anything about the new house anymore, but I don't think that helped.

Nothing is even definite yet. We are still in the loan process stage. Waiting for the appraisal to come back at a decent amount, yada, yada, yada. Blaaahhhhhh.

See why I haven't written at all lately?

This really is all good stuff, but is still bringing me so much stress. I feel like Debbie Downer. And I do feel guilty complaining about it. We are so lucky to be able to even have the options we have right now. Todd's job is so secure, he is busier than ever. We are very blessed. But this house stuff (along with a bunch of family stuff that I can't write about) is very stressful. It has left me a little down because I SO want to be soaking up this pregnancy. Never did I dream I would be having a little girl, and I feel so distracted right now that I am not enjoying it to the fullest. Makes me mad at myself.

I am really working hard at just trying to enjoy my growing boys and my growing belly and leaving all the rest to God's will. I can only do what I can do, and there is no need to stress. Right? Right.

So. There it is folks. Aren't you glad I haven't been posting? Haha.

I'm sorry I haven't been around to visit. I will be back again when things calm down. For now we are going to try to get up to the in-laws' cabin this weekend to help put the pier in and do some yard work and such. Maybe when I get back we can all play the name game and you can help us narrow down a list of little lady names. Yay! Girlie names!!!!

I hope you all are well and good, and have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!