The house saga, and an ode to winter

Hello, all!  I just wanted to check in and tell you all what has been happening.  Our house has been on the market for 65 days now, and we recently dropped the price 8k to 197k.  We really feel bad about the price after all the updates we've done, but we are also trying to be realistic about the soft market in Racine.  Homes comparable to ours (although not as beautifully decorated/updated, of course!) are selling in the high 180s - so we are hopeful that dropping below the 200 mark is going to get us a new set of buyers.  Our realtor is pretty confident we will sell in the low 190s, so we're hopeful about that.  We are SO ready to sell, and have had nothing but great comments on the house, in fact we have two sets of buyers that really want our house, but have their own houses to sell.  Isn't that always the way it goes?  

This winter has not been kind to us.  We just get more and more snow, and the sub zero days are awful.  It will warm up and snow, then the ice and snow will melt, then it is below zero and everything is ice.  We don't ever feel like we have a weekend, it is always spent cleaning and shoveling.  Our beautiful patio is definitely not a selling point right now!

The shared driveway is still the number one issue for potential buyers, which is funny, because the shared driveway has saved my life this winter!  Our neighbors are retired, and they take care of every snowfall for me while Shaun is away during the week.  If I didn't have them, there is just no way I could get the snow shoveled and keep track of Ashford.  That kid does love to join the shoveling fun, though!

The winter doesn't always seem as bad when you get to see it through your child's eyes.  

And the snow does make for beautiful photos during the day...

...and at night.  So, there's that.  (I still don't like you, snow)

We have an open house scheduled for tomorrow, and I have a question for you all...should we have Shaun's famous homemade cookies and water bottles available?  Or is that a pointless expense/effort?

We are moving and I'm losing my mind

Our house is on the market. 

Yep, that is why I cannot regularly update this blog to save my life.  We are relocating to Minnesota as soon as our house sells, and in the meantime I'm on my own with Ashford while Shaun is working in MN all week.  A big promotion was too good to pass up, so I am sadly leaving my beloved house and looking for a new dump to restore in a new state!  I'm also going to be unemployed for the first time since I was 14!  Good times.  We did a lot more little projects inside the house, so I'll be sharing those soon. Wish us luck with the sale, please.  The Racine market is the pits. 

I got a new camera

For my birthday this year, I decided to treat myself to a very expensive present.  I've been looking to switch to a full frame camera for about a year, and when I heard about the Canon 6D, I pretty much had to have it.  I'm no photo expert, and I don't pretend to be professional, but I do love taking good photos and learning how to improve.

Considered an 'entry level' full frame, the 6D has photo quality equal (so I've heard) to the Canon 5D Mark III, but with less frames per second, less focus points, less weight, and about $1800 less dollars out of my bank account for the kit with lens.  The sacrifices were easy to make to save all that cash, and I am beyond thrilled with the photos I'm able to get with this camera and my favorite 28mm lens!

ISO 100, 1/40, f/5, 28mm

I took this one and was impressed at the clarity in his face, so I zoomed in...

...and peed myself.  I could see all the little drops of water in his hair, which just blew my mind.  The only editing I did was the white balance.  Most of the photos I take with this camera are super sharp. 

ISO 1250, 1/4000, f/2.8, 28mm

The best thing about the full frame is the amount of light that hits the sensor.  It's a crazy difference looking through the viewfinder of this camera compared to my crop-sensor Rebel XSi.  It also has amazing ISO capability, up to 25,600 where my Rebel's limit was 1600!  In the one above, I set the ISO higher at 1250 because we were shaded by a tree, and there is no noticeable noise in the photo.  Win! 

ISO 4000, 1/3200, f/3.5, 28mm

In the above shot of our friend's 1 year old, it was overcast so I started playing around with the ISO.  I loved this shot with her kissy lips, and there is just a bit of noise at ISO 4000 in this photo.  She is so adorable! 

ISO 100, 1/250, f/2.2, 28mm

I took this photo of our friend's son Sammy at a festival, it was a lucky shot because he was making all kinds of funny faces.  I regret the people standing in the background, but I'm not good enough at photoshop to edit them out, and the large aperture makes them nice and blurry. 

ISO 400, 1/250, f/9, 28mm

I snapped this one at a cool Alterra coffee in Milwaukee, it was blazing hot and Ashford would've jumped into this awesome fountain if we let him!  I love the lines in the photo, and the way the baby is looking at the camera while eating germs off that random water toy.  I chose a smaller aperture to make sure the scene behind him was in focus.   

ISO 100, 1/160, f/3.2, 28mm

I set the camera on a little table outside to try to get a couple nice photos of me and Ash....good luck!  I think I look nice, but he was not interested in photos that day.  I still think the quality of the photo is really good for being a remote shutter pic.

ISO 100, 1/80, f/2.5, 28mm

I also had to share this sparkly-eyed shot of little Sammy, he is just a beautiful boy and the light from the window was doing awesome things for his eyes.  I thought about warming up the color a bit, but he really is a pretty pale kid so I left it!  One thing that I always marvel at with the 6D, is the slower shutter speeds I can get away with.  This one is 1/80 and usually I would get a softer photo, but this one is very sharp.  

ISO 100, 1/250, f/2.5, 28mm

This pic was obviously Ashford's first haircut.  He was not pleased.  And I must admit, I am not pleased that my little baby now looks like a 4 year old! 

ISO 250, 1/160, f/5, 28mm

I can't wait for that hair to grow back!

ps - Hmmm...looking back at this post, I seem to spend entirely too much time taking photos of 1 year olds.  

Catch up

So many things have happened in the last month!  Our baby turned 1, and we had a party.  It was exhausting!

I was attaching tissue poms to the ceiling way too late the night before.  There was an emergency trip to (multiple) Walgreens to buy command strips because I couldn't get push pins into the plaster ceiling to save my life.  They looked really cute, though.

The birthday boy was mostly in good spirits.

Until we did the cake, when this happened. 

I have a child that hates cake.  If I wasn't there when he was born, I'd say he wasn't mine.      The cake itself turned out exactly as I wanted it.  I had a very detailed color-coded print out of what I wanted it to look like, and the bakery made this control-freak mama extremely happy!  (Me: "Those are circles, NOT balloons...it is very important that you write 'circles, not balloons' on the order, please."  Employee:  "Um, ok.")    

I also spent hours crafting a bunch of crap because I felt the pressure of other blog moms and of course stupid Pinterest...let me show you all the nonsense I wasted my life on.  First, I made 7 strands of felt-circle garland that are still hanging up because I can't bear to take them down after all that work.

Then I cut out my favorites from each of Ashford's monthly photos and hot glued this crazy photo bunting thing that instantly curled up from the horrid, swamp-ass-inducing humidity.  Of course.  

If you can get past the curly photos, it did turn out pretty cute.  And yes, it is still hanging up a month later.  For full disclosure, I took this photo on July 3rd.  Dork!

I made a little door sign with leftover felt circles and card stock.  

And I also made goody bags for the kids with scrapbook paper tie and bow tie toppers.  I was so proud of these, and only a few kids actually showed up.  Oh well, more chalk and yo-yos for us. 

Here is the adorable invite I made at Tiny Prints.  I love their stuff!  (ps - don't send me spam emails)  

And that about sums up the party.  I am glad we survived!  Since I'm way behind, here are my favorite shots from his 12 month photos...

He is walking exclusively, has said 'mama' to me exactly ONE time, and has the cutest baby mullet that I refuse to cut.  He weighed just 18 lbs 12 oz at his one year appointment (only 6 oz more than his 9 month!), so we have been trying to up his calories by giving him greek yogurt and more protein.  Such a picky eater!

It seems to be working, he has already gained a pound in the last month.  

He is a happy, skinny baby. 

In other news, I have been extremely busy at work.  I like to say I've been 'working like it's my job.'  We have done nothing further with the basement, and I also have not touched the closet in our bedroom.  However, I turned 34 on June 20th, so I get a pass for being old.  

Admitting defeat

Today we went to Home Depot to finally buy the paint for the bathroom, get some light bulbs, a floor vent for the kitchen, grass seed and dirt.  It wasn't a large shopping list, and everything was fine until Ashford started to have an epic meltdown in the paint section.  Our simple shopping trip turned into a how-fast-can-we-do-this race to get him back home.  He has been showing signs of teething for a few weeks now (he's 3 months on Wednesday), drooling, chewing on our fingers/his hand/blankets, eating differently, the whole nine yards.  A soft bib around our finger in his mouth seems to be the best way to keep him quiet calm him.  So that is what I did.    

When we went to the outside area so Shaun could fetch the dirt, I stood next to the cart with my finger in my baby's mouth and looked into the store.  I was kind of shocked to realize I was not happy to be there.  I mean, a trip to Home Depot used to be like going to an ice cream shop for me, full of possibilities and exciting.  Yep, I get excited for ice cream.  But today, my wet finger and I were sad.  Sad and defeated because I didn't want to be there, I didn't want to use the materials we were buying, and I would probably never do any significant house projects again (except when Meryl and Chris come, of course!).  I said out loud to myself 'I don't want to work on the house anymore.'  This was the look I got:

(Dramatization - these pics were taken in the car when we hightailed it home)

I don't know why I'm surprised.  I knew after we had a baby that my drive to renovate and decorate would die down, or simply die.  I knew my blog would go downhill, as far as "DIY or Die Trying" was concerned.  I know there is a very strict rule that you are not to 'turn into a mommy blog' but I'm not really seeing any way around this.  If I just blogged about our house, I would not be posting...you know, like the last two weeks!  I'm not really interested in discontinuing the blog as I've quite enjoyed writing it and sharing my life.  People's lives change, and mine certainly has.  

(Yep, still crying)    

To summarize, the realization that I might never be a 'daily read' for some people again inspired my little pity party in the Home Depot garden center.  I'm not sure how often I will post, or what it will be about.  I like to think that since my blog is purely for fun and not monetized, I get some leeway to post about whatever seems interesting.  It makes me happy that when you come here, there won't be talking ads (ps - I hate those.  I may close a blog if they start up) or any ads, for that matter.  I have done a couple sponsored posts, but I get lots of offers and refuse almost all of them.  I just want my site to be about me, my family, my house, my life, whatever is going on.  Except recipes, please don't ever expect those!  

Thanks for reading, and if there is a question you would like me to answer or topic you'd like me to write about, please let me know.  Lord knows I need the suggestions.

Nostalgia

Well, I'm 32 years old today. 

Yup, it's true.   

I thought I'd share some old pics of me and my family as a tribute to the last three decades of them putting up with me!  Here's me and mom in 1980, I believe...she made the cutest matching outfits for us to wear in photos. 

I still remember being this little girl in my Wonder Woman undies...I think I was 4 or 5 here?

Note the sweet pea-green carpet and matching painted furniture!  I do believe this could be considered 'in style' today...at least in Domino or something that isn't real life...

I'm sure this was taken the same night.  I loved that little blue nightie my mom let me play with, and check out the 'I Love Brian' pin!  Brian is my brother's name, if I hadn't mentioned it.  He is three years younger than me, so he was always up in my business.  Calling for me, wandering into my room, dressed like a trucker, etc, etc...

It's so cute when I think about it now.  Here's a rare shot of us with mom and her parents.  They both died within a few years after this was taken. 

I don't think they liked being in pictures, which is why we have very few.  I wish I would've known them more.  Here's a Christmas pic, look at my precious hair!  I only wish it was that perfect light blonde today.

I cut my own bangs for one christmas, they must have grown back for this one!  Family Christmas shot...the year after, maybe?  I look so much older...

Many years later, my dad became extra goofy, and I started wearing dark makeup and using hair products...yikes!   We were 10 and 13, maybe?

Later on I chopped my hair, my dad looked really really cute, mom was gorgeous as usual, and Brian was growing up so fast!  I think we were 14 and 17 here?  Not sure....

Then it was 2000 and I was 21, Brian was 18..and I wish I was smiling better in this photo! 

And while I don't have a very recent Christmas photo, here is my family at my wedding.  I think we are all looking pretty great for our age, don't you?

Especially my mom, who is 58!  Here she is at my bachelorette party, I hope I take after her FOR REALS.  I'm sure she will kick my ass for posting her age, oh well!

Anyway, I have many many things to post about.  But not tonight, because it's time to have some margaritas!