Our New Place

A week after we sold our home, we found a home that both Geoff and I loved.  When Geoff and I went out to look at homes the first time, there were four beautiful options--but something about each one just didn't feel right--whether it was the neighborhood, layout, or taxes.  When I went out with Sharon (our realtor) for the second time, the homes available weren't as enticing to me, so I wasn't very hopeful about this appointment.  While we were looking at these homes, another option came up on our MLS feed and because it was vacant, we were able to look at it right then and there.  I was very impressed with the home, so we called Geoff to see if he could break away from work.  Fortunately, he was able to meet us, and to him, the home was a no-brainer!

 In case you are wondering, we are hiring professional painters to take care of the paint in the main room--I love doing my own painting, but I'm not super willing to risk my neck on this one.  And, unfortunately, this area NEEDS paint.  I know I like colors, but maroon is a bit much for me!  Ha ha!

We had the inspection done this week and didn't have a ton of concerns, so we're hopeful things will continue to move forward quickly so we can close on our new place on April 23rd.

Let the packing begin!

Potty Trained?

The  minute we stopped having showings for our place, I put "Big-Girl-Panties" on Eliana.  It's been a roller-coaster ride, to say the least.  It only took her a few days to fill up her sticker chart to the point she could get her prized toy.  And I'm happy to report we have more successes than misses.  But it's not completely smooth sailing yet.  We still diaper her at night and every morning it's the same thing with Eliana proclaiming, "I don't want to put big girl panties on!"  I admit, I have to bribe/threaten her with: no shows, no snacks, and no new toy if you don't put them on.  So far it's worked.  Hopefully Eliana will truly embrace being a big girl and go on a longer streak of 3 days with no accidents...is that asking too much?  Ha ha!

SOLD!

Yes, as of March 9th our home has sold!  It's been exciting, a bit emotional, overwhelming, and frustrating all at the same time.  After the inspection of our home, our buyers put together a laundry list of things they wanted credit for and it was a little ridiculous.  If the home inspector mentioned a valve had the potential to leak (but wasn't leaking), they wanted money for that, the home inspector gave them some advice on how to continue to clean or maintain certain aspects of the home, so they wanted us to pay for this as well, they wanted upgrades like battery back-ups and a new structural supports.  In all, they wanted $20,000!  Crazy, right?  Fortunately, after we reviewed their list, we only addressed issues that actually existed and needed attention before they moved in.  Thanks to Dad's help, he's willing and able to fix about 6 of the issues and we'll credit the buyers $1,000 for the other 'work' that needs done.  The inspection was done on the 14th of March and we're still in limbo--they haven't agreed to our offer yet.  Fingers crossed!

DuPage Children's Museum

Last Saturday, we  had some showings booked during the late morning and afternoon, so we decided to make the most of it and check out the Children's Museum in Downer's Grove.  It did not disappoint and the girls keep asking when we can go back!

Eliana update

Eliana is continuing to be an independent little soul.  She is in that phase where she wants to do everything all by herself, call all the shots, and won't take no for an answer.

Because we have our house on the market, potty training has been placed on the back burner, but we're trying to squeeze in preschool every once in a while.  It's fun watching her little mind figure things out, and she's even realizing here and there that it's okay for Mom and Dad to make some decisions around here!

Eliana writing her name for the first time.

Last weekend, the girls wanted to put curlers in their hair Saturday night.  Eliana actually kept her curlers in (usually she pulls them out while laying in bed) and was so excited to sport a fancy 'do!  When I was done with her hair, I told her she looked like Cinderella.  When Geoff came over to see her, he exclaimed, "Hi Cinderella!" and she replied, "Dad, I'm not really Cinderella, I'm Eliana!"

Hylie's Progress

Hylie is turning into an ambitious little student.  Her reading skills have sky-rocketed these past few weeks and she loves reading books on her own!

She's also constantly writing her own stories, complete with illustrations.  Here are some she brought home from school:

 "I'm at my neighbor's house.  I like coloring and pretending that we are married."

"How to love someone"

"You see someone you fall in love."

"You will marry it."

"You will have kids."

"You play with them."

For our Monday Family Nights, we rotate the different responsibilities (picking a song, activity, teaching a gospel lesson, having a treat).  Hylie is always excited when she has the lesson and usually tries to prepare the entire lesson on her own.  Here are some illustrations she made for a lesson a little while back:

 

Jesus being baptized

 Jesus Loves Me

 Jesus teaching the people

Big Changes...

We have recently made the very difficult decision to move closer to Geoff's work in Downer's Grove.  Currently, it's a 45 minute commute (without traffic).  Sentinel Technologies has been very good to Geoff and Geoff has been very good for the company, so we feel this will be a positive change for us all.  The homes, neighborhoods, and schools are all wonderful in the Downer's Grove area.  However, we have put a lot of work into our home, made some amazing friends, and have some wonderful memories here--so this entire adventure is very hard.

Our home was listed for sale on February 17th.  We had a well attended open house and continue to have lots of showings.  So far no offers, but hopefully something will come through soon.  Keeping a meticulous house with three young children isn't a walk in the park!

You can see the listing here:

Woodhouse Home

So far, our most adventurous moments have been people arriving TWO HOURS early for a showing!  (Who does that?!) And a skunk decided it wanted to move in under our porch during the second weekend of showings.  Ugh!  What is it about our property that skunks love so much?  Luckily, Geoff and I were able to skunk proof the porch and that little critter hasn't been able to move back in.

February Snow

We had quite a bit of snow in February.  Unfortunately, it wasn't snowman snow--but the girls still had some fun playing outside for a bit!