Blessings While Playing the Waiting Game

A time for change has officially arrived! I graduated, the baby is only 2 months away from making his debut, I found a job and our lease ends soon so we are officially on the house hunt!

I am patiently waiting for the testing company to process my graduation information so I can take my national board exam. In the meantime.. I am studying. ALOT. TOO MUCH.

Right about the time we started looking for a home to purchase, all the houses we were interested in magically went off the market. So we are waiting. Waiting for a house to come up, that we like, in our price range and in the area we want.

Did I mention I am also waiting for this baby!?!?! Not to say that I don't truly adore getting winded when reading bedtime stories. Or when my biggest accomplishment of the day seems to be staying awake for more than 2 hours at a time.

So I don't make myself crazy... I will share the SO MANY good things that have been happening lately!

A few days ago it was our anniversary! We celebrated with a little sparkling grape juice (and wine for him!).

My husband also got me this cute card to keep me motivated.

Did I mention that someone is really pumped up about being a big sister?

Speaking of the baby, we have been so blessed with all that we have been given. A lovely fellow blogger sent us hand-me-down baby boy clothes (That are in awesome shape!). My sister-in-law put together some more hand-me-downs and everyone at my husband's work chipped in to put together some money to give us a mini baby shower. We now are so set for this baby!

My parents let us use their timeshare for a weekend. We were able to spend some much time in the pool and exploring nearby trails.

So many good changes to come (because every sane person graduates, starts a new job, buys a house and has a baby all within the span of 3 months right?!). I thought so!

Keep me from going a little crazy and feel free to share the good things happening in your life!!!

Home Owner Adventures Part 1: Deciding What We Want

We have started the process of buying our first house! We decided to go with a smaller mortgage firm; as we were advised that larger banks can take up to 90 days to complete the process. There are a million things to consider like credit scores, job history, income level and the amount of money saved up for a down payment and closing costs when getting pre-approved for a loan. It is enough to give anyone a major headache!

However the much more fun part has been deciding what we want in a house based on our budget! Everywhere I have read suggests that wants and needs should be separated. So that is exactly what we did. Needs should be based on structural elements and location. Wants are things that can eventually be changed. Here is our list:

Needs:

• 4 bedrooms (or an area that can easily be changed into a 4th bedroom such as a study)- We love the idea of having a bigger family and don't want to have to move out of our house, just because there is not enough room for everyone to sleep. While we are definitely not opposed to kids sharing bedrooms, we would rather not be in a situation where we have a 12 year old daughter sharing a bedroom with her 1 year old sister. The 4th bedroom would give us much more flexibility in that area!
• Between 1800 and 2400 square feet- This seems to be the right size for us and our growing family, given the right layout. I don't want a huge house because I cannot stand cleaning, but I want there to be adequate space. I am imagining we will have at least 4 children. Although that can never really be planned...
• Largish yard- As a child I spent hours everyday in the yard. I want my children to have that too. I also want room for a small backyard garden, a hammock and some fruit trees. I am in heaven just thinking about all of this!
• The right location- This is probably our top priority! Being zoned to good schools is extremely important to us, as our children will most likely be attending the public schools. We also want to live in an area where the neighbors appear friendly. 

Wants: 

• 1-story house- One story houses seem to encourage more family time and they make adjustments to new babies easier! (Although this is a structural element, it made it to our want list because we would be open to buying a 2-story home)
• Brick outside- This one is important to my husband...I cannot tell you the exact reason why. I will say that I don't mind either way. So since it is important to him it can go on our wants list!
• Wood floors- Wood is easier to clean and looks so much nicer. I hate carpet and all the ground up playdoh that gets into it. I also hate how laminate flooring peels up on the edges after it gets a little old. YUCK!
• Kitchen/living room entertaining space- I would love to be able to cook and talk to guests at the same time!
• Gas range stove- It cooks food more evenly. Need I say more?

I am sure I forgot something on our list, but that is the gist of it. I am extremely excited to begin the process of going to look at homes!

For those of you who own homes, what were your make or break items? What do you wish you would have considered? For those of you who are dreaming of home ownership, what do you want in a home?

Linking up with Works for Me Wednesdays!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

I love these lemon poppy seed cookies! My cousin gave me this recipe in a recipe scrap book for my wedding. I am not sure where she got the original recipe from. They are perfect for a brunch or shower... or just to munch on! This recipe makes 1-2 dozen depending on cookie size.

Cookie Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. lemon peel 
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Directions: 

• Cookies: Beat sugar & butter in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in egg & lemon peel. Combine flour, baking soda & salt; add to butter mixture. Beat in poppy seeds. Plot desired size of dough onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 11-12 minutes. Cool for about 20 minutes.
• Glaze: Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice & melted butter. pour over cooled cookies and let set. 
• Enjoy!

What is your go-to cookie recipe when planning a brunch? I'd love to gather up more ideas!

4th of July Hair Bow

This 4th of July we will be spending time with my husband's entire family. That means my little one will get to see all 10 of her cousins (all under the age of 8!) There are 8 girls. I decided they all needed matching hair bows to mark the occasion.

What you need to make the hair bow: 

• plain barrette 
• wooden 1/2-inch dowel rod (I used 3 wooden skewers)
• clothes pins
• 3 colors of ribbon (1/2-inch thick)
• 3 inch long (not curled ribbon)
• needle and thread
• hot glue gun
• oven

First get out your ribbon and secure it to one end  of the dowel rod with clothes pin and wrap it around. Secure the bottom end with one more clothes pin. (repeat for all ribbons you plan to use)

Place in the oven at 220 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Once cooled down, unwrap ribbon. 

Cut it into 3-4 inch pieces.

Collect 3 of each color, curled ribbon and stack them, so they are flared. 

Use needle and thread to sew the center, so all the pieces stick together.

Use the 3 inch long ribbon and hot glue one end where you just stitched.

Wrap it around and secure with more hot glue.

Place a drop of hot glue on the center of the barrette and attach the center of the bow. 

Wrap the straight ribbon one more time, this time including the barrette. 

Secure with hot glue. 

Let cool!

Here are all 8 of them:

Have a happy 4th of July and enjoy the fireworks!

Good Things to Come

I don't have anything specific to write about currently, but thought I'd update. However I am eagerly awaiting the end of my full time, unpaid rotation. I have enjoyed it so very much... but 40-60 hour weeks when you don't get paid and have a family can be rough!

I have so many exciting plans for this blog and thousands of unwritten post ideas that I have jotted down. How I am looking forward to getting back into the groove of things and working ALOT less :)

Only 2.5 more weeks until I am finished! Hooray!

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream: 5th Time's the Charm

My husband and I got an ice cream maker as a wedding present some years ago. Since then I have tried to make ice cream a total of 5 times. I failed miserably every time. My ice cream was too icy (most common problem) or tasted horrible... or worst of all HAD COOKED EGG WHITES IN IT! A few days ago I dared to try again. I (of course) modified a recipe. It turned out fabulous!! Here it is. It makes about 4-6 servings. Or maybe I could sit down and eat the whole tub all in one sitting.

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 5 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup white sugar

Combine cream, milk, cocoa, chocolate chips, sugar and vanilla in sauce pan and bring to simmer. Stir constantly until all chocolate is melted and mixed. Let it cool partially, then add the egg whites (you don't want it to be too hot or it will cook the eggs- GROSS). Stir to combine all ingredients. Cool in fridge for 5-6 hours. Put in your ice cream maker for ~ 20 minutes. It turns out like soft serve. If you want it to have more or an ice cream texture, then pop it in the freezer! Then of course... ENJOY!

Financial Blows and a Baby On the Way

In the past few weeks we have had some serious financial set backs...that we weren't really anticipating.  My car broke down, our garage door broke and the doctors office just gave us our bill for the OB visits and ultrasound (it needs to be paid in full by month #7 before the baby comes). The combo of these delightful surprises was enough to make us cut into our "house" savings account. Then we were quoted (by about a million childcare centers)  ~$400 a week for part time child care for both my children. Go ahead... you can faint at that amount. I just about did. Obviously we are looking into alternative solutions.

All this money..that seems to be distributed to everyone else but me... had me thinking about the upcoming costs of the new baby. Any online search will tell you that having a baby is ridiculously expensive. However I am convinced that it doesn't have to be that way (minus child care if your not planning to stay home and actual birth medical costs...I don't see any way around those two). 

With my daughter, we spent almost nothing on her. Both my husband and I  come from huge extended families, and everyone was oh so generous. We also got our fair share of hand-me-downs and gifts from friends. Other items were purchased from 2nd hand shops. But diapers and some formula to supplement my nursing were major budget busters. We also lived with my parents... which saved us a ton of money!

This time around, I hope to spend very, very little.  We saved almost everything from our daughter's baby days, so we aren't anticipating any major upfront costs. 

What we already have: 

• Crib/ mattress
• Bassinet (purchased before we got the pack and play...and I hated it!)
• Pack and play
• High chair
• Broken swing
• Umbrella stroller
• Car seat
• Lots of pink blankets
• Lots of girl clothes
• Pump
• Bottles 
• Toys

So here I am making a list of what we need/want for this baby and anticipated costs.

• Diaper bag- $0 (I plan to use a tote I already have that will function sufficiently) 
• Baby carrier- $5 (This seems like a must have item, when I have a preschooler to chase after- we got a Baby Bjorn in good shape at a garage sale!)
• Baby clothes -$30-$40 (Because we are having a BOY!- We are hoping for some hand-me-downs and then we will hit up garage sales and thrift stores for most of the rest)
• Not-broken baby swing- Up to $65 (We are hoping to fix our broken one, but the outcome isn't looking great right now. I searched out the 2nd hand stores and found that it will cost about $65. This seems like a frivolous purchase, but was such a life saver with my daughter- I can't imagine not having one)
• Pacifiers-$8
• Cloth diapers- Up to $80 (This is based on if I can convince my husband it's a good idea. He is currently rather resistant to the idea. Right now I am checking out options like Sunbaby and Assunta brands as well as sites like: Re-Diaper, for the more expensive brands. )

I am also hoping to nurse as long as possible and food process baby food (which I did some of with #1). 

My most likely very low estimate of upfront baby costs comes out to be: $198

How do you save money on baby costs? What are things that you think are essential and what do you think are frivolous purchases?