We love our minivan!

A Whirl Wind

Bought the car on Friday @ 6:00

Picked it up Saturday @ 10:00

Awesome Baby Shower @ 11:00

Friend calls from Moscow to tell me she's engaged @ 2:00

Family Party @ 4:00

Friends over @ 6:00

Peter goes to work 6:40

Nest the whole rest of the night!!

We're ready!

Waiting for a Second Ring

We wrote the check last night! Now we are waiting for them to call us and say, "It's ready!" They still hadn't cleaned it from the last owner since they owned it less than a week. Needless to say, we are a little excited about the call and can't wait to see our shinny new (to us) car! Oh and I have a baby shower! Ya, it's a pretty killer weekend!

Waiting for a Ring

We've been shopping for minivans since Monday. Peter has literally been driving himself nuts. He is much more particular than I which is not a bad thing...but he drove himself nuts.

option 1: spend more money and get a lower milage car that will last longer

option 2: spend less money and get a higher milage car that will not last as long

and of course, there are all the issues of model, low end, high end, cloth, leather, etc. I just want a minivan so I'd take anything. Peter likes himself some features. Neither of us cared about a DVD player- as in whether it's there or not my kids won't know what it's for. Peter liked the idea of dual air conditioning- he has his temperature, I have mine. I told him we solved that problem by always having a blanket in the car for me. Navigation was a big whoppie twang because I have the iphone which has the same thing. Neither of us felt strongly about cloth or leather seats. Peter doesn't like the rims on the lowest model. Rims? What rims? Civy has awesome rims apparently and I didn't even know until someone told me after I bought it. I also really liked the Toyota Sienna. I considered the Odyssey and Sienna to be nearly the same car. Somewhere along the way I turned Peter into a Honda man and he couldn't stand the Sienna. Go me! Kind of...

So, all week we've had dealers calling us and asking us if we'd decided, continuing to try and sell us and occasionally lowering the price. Let me just tell you right now, I love playing hard ball. We've had the RSM dealer calling us since Monday. Not only is the sales guy calling us but the manager as well. Each time they get closer...but have yet to reach the number I set out on the table Monday. Well, the call just came in. He agreed to my number. He is verifying with the manager and I am waiting for the call back. I'm not positive, but we might of just bought a car. Mind you, Peter was running out the door for work when he called so we were trying to decide if we still wanted the car even at our ideal price without feeling pressure from the clock or the sales guy. Tough, but we did it. I continued to drop the price a little more as Peter is dying in the background over my conversation. I love this game.

And so I wait. Peter is at work and the phone should ring soon. Maybe we did it, maybe we didn't. The whole mantra of the week has been "We don't need this van or any other van" and we've walked away from many a deal. We knew if God wanted it to happen, it would, in his timing, on his terms. We're just in the game.

Really Excited

That's how we're feelin' around here! Today as we sat out on our blossoming balcony, we imagined little Blake on the ground checking out the buds and trying to pull leaves off the vines. I keep petting the soft diaper changing pad and remember how in a time not so far away I will grow to despise the diaper station. Peter's eager to attach the baby bike seat to his bike. He is also thrilled at the idea of seeing his son smile, cuddling together and the warmth of Blake's grasp around his finger. That's how we're doing. How are you?

A Home in the Forest

I just have one small complaint... When I have stayed up until midnight, 5 hours beyond bedtime, and finally crawl into bed...I don't want other things crawling in with me. Yes, folks. While Peter was picking up dead termites off the bathroom floor, I was peeling back layers of sheets only to discover their friends...still alive. At a saturated level of exhaustion, inch long bugs with wings are not a welcomed sight. Peter was very kind and promptly moved me to a bug free cabin where we both feel asleep almost immediately...once I got the itchy feelings out of my head. It's been a busy and occasionally disgusting weekend up in the mountains. We're making the best of it though.

Today

I engaged in illegal activity.

Pulled the pregnant card.

Paid students to do what I asked.

Ate too much chocolate.

Drove around with an empty car seat.

Woke my husband up too early.

And stayed up way past my bed time.

whoops. Try again tomorrow.

Happy February All!

I hesitate to say that next month is our baby month cause I'm still mentally preparing for April... but we're getting closer! Yesterday was 7 weeks and counting and I'm measuring 33 inches...right on schedule. This week I was plagued with a sinus cold which was miserable. No medicine with a head about to pop off-not ideal. The baby is moving and grooving all the time. There are less kicks and more major roll arounds and pressure pushes with a few jolts every now and then.

Big news of the week: My Christmas present finally arrived! Yep, it's February and Peter was a little late in delivery but wait 'til you hear what it is! Using a website, he downloaded all the posts from my first blog into a hardbound book. Oh yes he did! Guys, I am a published author! Well, it feels like it anyway when you see the size of this book! He customized the layout and entered every post. It's at least 2 inches thick! I was so shocked and surprised and thrilled!

The other big news of the week: Nathan and Alli are engaged! They've been dating for 5.5 years and will be getting married in the summer of 2013. We had a big party for them last night at the Styffe house and got to hear their story and see lots of pictures. It was quite special.

And one more newsflash! Today is our first baby shower! Peter and I are beyond excited! I'm so glad he is coming to partake because the baby wait is really starting to get to him which is pretty much the sweetest thing on the planet. I cannot wait to see him and Blake together. Last night we were looking at a baby on a blog I read and he was just aching to hold his own baby. Melts my heart. Well, some of you, see you in a few hours!!