The secret is out - so here's the scoop

We've been kind of hush-hush on this since we didn't really know what we were going to be doing, but since my husband can't keep his mouth shut (I love you, dear) and most of the people we know already know anyway, I figured I'd post the details.

A couple of months ago, my friend, Hillari asked me if we had considered moving at all. They had decided that with the housing market the way that it is, it was a great time to upgrade. Well, at that point we HADN'T considered it, but I told my husband what they were doing, and he got all excited and started looking into it.
What we found out is that this is pretty much THE best time to buy. The prices are very low AND the interest rates are very low. So, we discovered that we could get a BIGGER house, rent out our current home, and STILL possibly have a lower payment than what we have now. Even if we can't get rent to cover the total current mortgage. So, we figured why not?
The thought of moving does not exactly sound like fun to me. We have accumulated a LOT of stuff over the last 8 years that we have lived in this house. Plus, I really like where we live. We have good friends close by, and I love our ward (local congregation). So, I agreed to look, as long as we didn't go to far out of my "comfort zone". (yeh... I need to expand... I know, I know)
So we started looking. We saw a lot of "nice" places. Some that we kind of liked. But none of them felt "just right". There was one that I liked a lot more than my husband. It was right next to a park, in a cul-de-sac, and right down the street from some friends. But, it did need a lot of work, and he didn't like that.
We were actually considering making an offer on that one, and we asked our realtor if we could go back to see it "one more time" before we decided. The day before we were going to go, she sent us another listing that we might like. The price and JUST been reduced so that it fit into our price range. So we agreed to see that one too. We were going to see the one we had liked FIRST, but as we were leaving to head over there, the realtor called to tell us she had lost her key! She had never had that happen before, and was searching frantically for it. We were supposed to meet at the house at 10:30, but she told us to meet us at the other house at 11:00 instead since we had an appointment with the owners then. (She did find her key)

Here is the house we met her at:

Notice the fancy car in the drive way? That was our first clue that we may see some "interesting" things inside.

We knocked on the door. No one answered, so our realtor used her lock box key to let us in. (She had talked to the owner's realtor previously and we had an appointment - at 11:00am). We went in and this is the first thing we saw:

Notice how umm... pretty(?) the purple paint looks with the lovely burgundy carpet? (yikes!)

Here's the kitchen:
I LOVE the cabinets and the counter tops. The green paint... not so much....



The backyard is an odd shape since it is in a cul-de-sac, and it's just dirt, but it is a decent size and has potential.


Then we went upstairs and saw this HUGE "bonus room". It would make a great play room for the kids, once we get rid of the RED paint of course.



So then, things got REALLY weird. (as if the paint choices and such weren't strange enough.)
At this point we had been in the house for at least 20 minutes. Our kids had been running all over, we had been talking about how awful the paint was.... Not being quiet, at all. We went to the first bedroom, opened the door and turned the light on. As we looked around the room, I happened to glance at the bunkbeds and realized there were KIDS sleeping in there!
We didn't know what to do. This was another first for our realtor. Remember, our appointment was at ELEVEN o'clock. Not exactly early if you ask me. So we all run back downstairs, and kind of "pretend" that we are just walking in the door. My loudmouth husband started yelling "HELLLOOO"! Trying to get some response. Finally, one of the kids stumbled out of bed. We told her why we were there, and she went and knocked on the master bedroom door. LOUDLY. For about 5 minutes. And we stood there and waited while they used the bathroom... and got dressed.... just a little bit awkward. Finally, we were able to go check out the rest of the upstairs.
There are a total of 5 bedrooms. Lots of crazy colors. The master bedroom is something of a cave - very dark paint, not much light. (I guess that is necessary if you sleep that late). But the bathroom is very large and beautiful. We really, really like the floor plan.
(I have no more pictures as I felt pretty weird taking pictures with them standing there, in their pajamas and such).

So anyway, that's the story of the house. We hate the paint colors, but that's pretty much the ONLY thing that needs changed to make it very liveable for us. The price is right. So we made an offer.
We got a call Monday morning to let us know that the seller's accepted the offer. But since it's a short sale, we still have to wait until it gets approval from the bank. This could take two weeks, or two months. Possibly longer (hopefully NOT!)
So, if all goes well, we will be moving. It's only about three miles or so from where we live now. Sadly, it is out of our ward, but it is in the Crystal Gardens ward, and we have lots of friends there. It's in the same neighborhood as the guy that Brandon carpools with, so that works out nice for him.

I guess that's it. I'll try to post an update when we know any more.

April Fools Day!

I had fun playing a couple of pranks on my kids on April Fool's Day this year. I think it was the first time that they really "got" it, so it was a good time!

First, while Zander was at school, I made "play-doh" for the kids to play with... and told them to eat it! It was a fun treat! (Here's the recipe)



Then, for dinner, I told the kids we were having CUPCAKES! They were excited, and couldn't believe that Mom would actually let them have a treat for dinner! Don't they look yummy?


I also fixed some special drinks for them. They thought we were having some red punch. Here we are getting ready to eat. I think the kids figured that something was up when I started snapping pictures. It took some coaxing to get them to eat.

"Hey! What is this? Why won't my drink come out of my cup?"



It's JELLO! April Fools!

Now, how about those cupcakes??

Not exactly what he was expecting! It was actually MEATLOAF with mashed potatoes on top! Believe it or not, it was rather tasty. But it didn't taste anything like a cupcake! The kids ended up liking it and the jello made up for not having "real" cupcakes.
Happy April Fools!

I've been a naughty blogger lately. It's not that I don't have anything going on. In fact, I have the opposite problem. I feel like I am ALWAYS doing something and always think about blogging, but somehow never get around to it.

So.... here's a run-down of what we've been doing the last few weeks.

Ady got a hair cut. I was sick and tired of looking at her chewing on her hair. And always trying to get food and who knows what else out of it. So, I got it cut. I think it turned out pretty cute - not super short, but short enough.

Zander refuses to get his hair cut. He's decided that long hair is cool and so he wants to grow it out. He has developed a fondness for hair gel and is always asking me to "spike" it for him. Crazy, crazy kids.





We joined a martial art's academy. I'll blame that one on my husband who is every salesperson's dream. We went to a "free" self-defense lesson for the kids. It was really good, and they had a lot of fun with it. Of course there was a "deal" involved. If we signed up that day, we would get free uniforms for the whole family, and a big discount for the first month. So... how could we pass that up? (I did grumble a little bit...)
The kids really have been loving it. I do think it's very good for them, but I don't see how we can keep it up after the month is over.
The parents are invited to join in the kid's classes. Brandon has gone with them to most of the lessons. I went to one....

They also have a kick-boxing class. I've gone to three sessions. It is a WORK OUT! An hour long of non-stop. I should be in REALLY good shape by the end of the month. (If I survive!)

We temporarily had an additional member of our family. Brandon found this kitten outside our front door when he was leaving to go to a meeting. He had me take her in and feed her. Of course the kids fell in love instantly, but, we just didn't see how we could take on the responsibility of another pet right now. Maybe when the kids are a little older and can actually care for it instead of torturing it. (There was a LOT of that going on!)
We talked to a few people and after she had spent three days with us, we found a new home for her.


The kids of course were very heartbroken. But, they'll get over it. (It really is amazing how much your perspective on these kinds of things changes when you're "old" like me. I brought home more than one stray kitten when I was a kid, and was SO upset when my parents wouldn't let me keep them.)

Today was an exciting day for Zander. He got an award at school for "Straight A's with 3 100's". Yippee!



AND, he LOST his first tooth! It's been really loose for a while now, and today he asked his dad if he could help him get it out. So, Brandon wrapped some floss around it and... pulled! It's exciting, but just a little sad too. Just more proof that my little boy is growing up!





Now you are up to date on the going ons of our family. (If you actually made it through the post that is!)

Terrible Twos and More about the room

If you haven't yet, be sure to enter my giveaway!

Because we have been working on Ady's room, we couldn't let her sleep in there. We set up a pack-n-play in our bedroom and tried to get her to sleep in there instead. She doesn't do well when she isn't in her bed. She didn't have a nap AT ALL on Friday. (Instead she stood in there and screamed for over an hour until we finally gave up.) Friday night she didn't sleep very well either.
So, she was lots of fun on Saturday. Brandon spent the morning helping a friend and took Zander with him, so I was home with Ady by myself.
First of all, I tried to get her to take a shower with me, which usually isn't a problem, and is the easiest way to get her clean. She refused to get in. But, as soon as I got out, she threw a big fit because she didn't get to take a shower. *sigh*
Then, I tried to get her dressed. She wouldn't let me put her diaper on her. She kicked and screamed and threw herself around. I finally got tired of it and put in in time out, in the pack-n-play. I told her that as soon as she was ready to get dressed and be nice to me she could get out.
She sat in the pack-n-play, naked, for at least half and hour.
I finally managed to get her dressed and thought that everything fine. But then I got distracted doing something and turned my back on her for a minute. When I found her, she was in the bathroom, completely naked (again!), giving her dolly a bath. In the TOILET!
GRRR! Back into time out she went!
Needless to say, by the time Brandon got back home, I was pretty fed up with my little girl.

We had her room mostly finished, so she was able to take a VERY long nap. (hurray!)

Here's what the finished room looks like:

Little Chefs

I had the best time today letting my kids "help" make dinner! They really got into it and we all had so much fun!
The recipe that we did is one of our family favorites. It is super easy to make, and everyone likes it. And in our house, that's REALLY saying something!!

Broccoli Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
1 can cooked chicken OR 2 chicken breasts boiled and cut into pieces
1 head fresh broccoli, boiled and cut into pieces
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place chicken and broccoli in a lightly greased 8X8 inch baking dish. In a medium saucepan combine cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry powder and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Pour soup mixture over chicken/broccoli mixture and top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Number Of Servings:4-6

Preparation Time:15 min prep, 20 min cook

My tips: Instead of boiling the broccoli, I put it in a microwave safe dish and zap it for about 1 minute. I then use the same dish to mix the sauce and microwave it for about 45 seconds. Saves a lot of time, and less dishes need to be washed!