We've been in our house a little just at three months and we're loving it. We still don't have anything on the walls, the schoolroom looks like a storage facility and lots of things haven't found "homes" yet. Our big plans to finish up a lot of our projects while the kids were away at Nana and Papa's fell through when we got sick 4 weeks in a row (and still are). Someday, though, it will all be complete!
In the meantime, I wanted to document some of the time we spend searching, signing and buying our first house so I can look back and remember it many years (and probably many houses) from now.
We started thinking about buying our first house way back in 2006 when we had been married just under a year. We were both working and it seemed like a great time to stop paying rent, stop living in an apartment with noisy neighbors and no backyard and have something of our own. We did some searching and found a neighborhood where homes were just being built and we could choose all of our own finishes and the design of the house.
The neighborhood was full of young couples and families, the price was competitive and we were excited about the prospect of checking it out each week as it was being built. No sooner had we settled into our contract on that house when one of the other builders that we were considering came back to us with a finished house that was the same style neighborhood, same basic finishes of the house but the house was bigger and cheaper. Sold.
We got all of our financing lined up, got ready to finish our apartment lease, starting looking at Home Depot for all the fun extras and got excited about buying a house. We were nervous of course but ready-for-it nervous!
Just days before we were supposed to close on the house, Mike got a call offering him the courtesy officer job at an apartment complex. I was less than thrilled. It was a complex we had seen in our apartment search and decided against for lots of reasons.
Ultimately, it came down to a deal we couldn't refuse. I was very sad but I also knew that we could do it for any period of time and change our minds and buy a house. So we went from buying a 3-bedroom house and canceling that contract to buying a 4-bedroom house to canceling that contract and moving into a 3-bedroom apartment with a roommate (my friend, Rebecca) in just a matter of weeks.
From day one in the apartment, I HATED it. I had a very spoiled attitude and anything I could find to complain about, I did. I didn't realize until after we moved in how much I wanted to buy that house. Mike will agree with me that the apartment was far from perfect but it did have it's perks. The rent was great, it was brand-new and had fun things not normally in an apartment like a side-by-side fridge, granite countertops and all hardwood floors, we had a garage included, we had plenty of bedroom space for the two of us + Rebecca and it was close to everything we needed.
Over the course of time, Clay was born, Rebecca moved out, I quit my job and Carolina was born. Before we knew it we had been in the apartment for 4 years! Looking back, I grew up so much in that little apartment. Slowly but surely just as all three rooms filled up, my heart filled up with reasons why the apartment had helped our family.
We got to live in the same city where Mike works for the first couple of years of the kids' lives. After bringing home new babies from the hospital, I was so much more at ease knowing he was just a few miles away. Mike works 12-hour days so it was precious time that we got to see him home each day for his hour lunch.
When it came time for me to quit my job, I could do it with a sense of peace knowing that we didn't have a mortgage to pay each month. While finances weren't perfect, all the little things that add up over time just weren't as big because we didn't have a huge mortgage on top of everything else. Really more than anything, though, the apartment gave us time...
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sweet Tooth Carolina
Carolina: Mama, I unt a cookie.
Me: Well, you can have one after your nap.
The second she sees me in her room after naps:
"I unt my cookie now."
So I give her an Oreo:
"Mama, I unt anudder cookie."
"Okay, Carolina, but this is your last cookie because we have to eat dinner. After we eat dinner, you can have another cookie. Now, what do you want for dinner?"
"Cookies."
Half the conversations I have with this child are about something sweet for her to eat. I'm thinking about calling Cookie Monster's Mom to get some parenting tips!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A Father/Son Birthday Surprise!
One year when Mike and I were dating, I bought him a sunset plane tour of downtown Dallas for his birthday. We had such a blast and we talk about it every time we pass downtown as something we'd love to do again.
So when the opportunity arose for me to get another plane tour, I jumped on it! The plane was very small and I was a little hesistant about both parents being up in the air at the same time so this would be a surprise trip for Mike's birthday just for him and Clay. I knew Mike would love to do it again and it would be Clay's "first" plane ride (he had been on a commercial flight once before but he was so small he doesn't remember it).
I kept the secret and Mike was so eager to see what his birthday present would be. We drove over to the little airport and it was so much fun to let the boys in on the surprise! Clay could not wait to get up in the plane.
The pilot was so nice to take us all around the plane and explain all about it but Clay only wanted one thing: to get up in the air! I was a little sad to miss the experience with Clay but I was thrilled that Mike got to be there with him and watch him soak it all in.
Both Mike and Clay wore headphones for the flight and Clay oohed and aahed over every little thing. He loved looking at the swimming pools and recognizing the American Airlines Center where we had just been to the circus.
Mike and the pilot both emphasized how Clay was VERY sad when the plane had to land. When the flight was over, the pilot let Clay play with the controls and all the fun stuff in the pilot's chair. So cool!
It was such a special experience for Mike and Clay and I loved that they had such a great time. It was Mike's birthday present but I'm not sure who had a better time!
So when the opportunity arose for me to get another plane tour, I jumped on it! The plane was very small and I was a little hesistant about both parents being up in the air at the same time so this would be a surprise trip for Mike's birthday just for him and Clay. I knew Mike would love to do it again and it would be Clay's "first" plane ride (he had been on a commercial flight once before but he was so small he doesn't remember it).
I kept the secret and Mike was so eager to see what his birthday present would be. We drove over to the little airport and it was so much fun to let the boys in on the surprise! Clay could not wait to get up in the plane.
The pilot was so nice to take us all around the plane and explain all about it but Clay only wanted one thing: to get up in the air! I was a little sad to miss the experience with Clay but I was thrilled that Mike got to be there with him and watch him soak it all in.
Both Mike and Clay wore headphones for the flight and Clay oohed and aahed over every little thing. He loved looking at the swimming pools and recognizing the American Airlines Center where we had just been to the circus.
Mike and the pilot both emphasized how Clay was VERY sad when the plane had to land. When the flight was over, the pilot let Clay play with the controls and all the fun stuff in the pilot's chair. So cool!
It was such a special experience for Mike and Clay and I loved that they had such a great time. It was Mike's birthday present but I'm not sure who had a better time!
Bedtime Necessities
Carolina's before-bed-beauty routine:
Pearls- check.
Bow- check.
Something sweet- check.
And she's off to get her beauty sleep!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Great Wolf Fall Vacation
I have SO much catching up to do on our blog so I'll try my best to catch up and keep things in some kind of order.
Way back in October, we were super stressed! We had been near closing on a house and had changed our minds and were starting to negotiate on another house (our final choice!). We had been to so many houses and spent so much energy in the process and the whole family was just D-O-N-E with house hunting/buying.
Mike and I had wanted to do some sort of getaway in the summer but all of the house stuff just kept dragging on and there were so many papers to supply to lenders and the seller each day that we just couldn't go on any kind of trip away. We were desperate for some down time and some quality family time.
We love Great Wolf Lodge because it is so close (15 minutes from our old house) and yet it feels like a world away! We booked a night there right at the end of October ( and coinciding with Mike and Carolina's birthdays) and it was so much fun.
This was our third trip to Great Wolf so Clay was pretty familiar with the territory but Carolina didn't really remember it much. This time she was old enough to do so much by herself and she had a blast.
I didn't take many (if any) pictures the first day because I really wanted to enjoy just being with the kids and not worrying about the perfect shot (or dropping my camera in the water!) so all the pictures are from day two.
Our kids are best friends and we love that. It was so neat watching them pal around together and do slides and just have a good time.
I love this next pic because that HUGE splash coming at Clay is little Carolina! Can you see her sweet feet at the bottom of the splash?
We really encourage the kids to be brave and do things a little out of their comfort zones and they both do so well. We were so proud to see them do the BIG water slides that are three stories tall (they don't have any height requirements on them either!).
(This isn't anyone from our family on this slide but look how big it is and both kids conquered it!!)
Carolina wasn't a huge fan of the big slides but she has such a strong spirit that she didn't complain at all. Clay LOVED the big slides. He and Mike would go to the top and he would be down and back up before Mike was even finished going down all the way. I love seeing them be adventurous!
Carolina loved so much about Great Wolf but one of her absolute favorite parts was the rack of life vests. They had several of them scattered about the water park and each rack had about 50 life vests. Can you just imagine the fun of being (almost) two and having an unlimited supply of things to buckle?? She loved it!
The toddler area was the popular place for us on this trip. They have great slides for toddlers and the water is a little warmer than everywhere else. The kids loved doing the smaller slides again and again. Clay still wasn't a huge fan of the wave pool or the lazy river but the hot tub was a big hit with both kids.
The second day, in addition to the water park, we went to the Kid's Club and decorated a pumpkin and played in their playhouse. The kids had such a great time painting the pumpkin and Mike and I loved sitting back and watching them play.
At nighttime, they have a clock tower puppet show which is really sweet and totally captures our little ones' attention.
Since we went so close to Halloween, there was a costume contest every night. The show is really fun but it was so special for them to see all the other costumes and do the extra activities for Halloween.
Clay got to go up and show off his costume and say his name. He did such a good job and the other kids loved his penguin costume! We did the clock tower show two different nights so it was fun to get one more use out of last year's costume and this year's too.
I was so proud of Clay taking a picture with the wolf. He used to be so scared of all things in costumes and now he is so big and brave!
We had the absolute best time at Great Wolf this trip. I am so glad we decided to go! We didn't think about the house dilemma or talk about it. It's so nice to shut off our phones and not worry about anything except Clay and Carolina. They loved having our full focus and we loved getting to shower them with attention without distractions. I could have stayed so much longer but...there was a house deal to be made!
We love, love, love Great Wolf Lodge and we are already looking forward to our next trip!
Way back in October, we were super stressed! We had been near closing on a house and had changed our minds and were starting to negotiate on another house (our final choice!). We had been to so many houses and spent so much energy in the process and the whole family was just D-O-N-E with house hunting/buying.
Mike and I had wanted to do some sort of getaway in the summer but all of the house stuff just kept dragging on and there were so many papers to supply to lenders and the seller each day that we just couldn't go on any kind of trip away. We were desperate for some down time and some quality family time.
We love Great Wolf Lodge because it is so close (15 minutes from our old house) and yet it feels like a world away! We booked a night there right at the end of October ( and coinciding with Mike and Carolina's birthdays) and it was so much fun.
This was our third trip to Great Wolf so Clay was pretty familiar with the territory but Carolina didn't really remember it much. This time she was old enough to do so much by herself and she had a blast.
I didn't take many (if any) pictures the first day because I really wanted to enjoy just being with the kids and not worrying about the perfect shot (or dropping my camera in the water!) so all the pictures are from day two.
Our kids are best friends and we love that. It was so neat watching them pal around together and do slides and just have a good time.
I love this next pic because that HUGE splash coming at Clay is little Carolina! Can you see her sweet feet at the bottom of the splash?
We really encourage the kids to be brave and do things a little out of their comfort zones and they both do so well. We were so proud to see them do the BIG water slides that are three stories tall (they don't have any height requirements on them either!).
(This isn't anyone from our family on this slide but look how big it is and both kids conquered it!!)
Carolina wasn't a huge fan of the big slides but she has such a strong spirit that she didn't complain at all. Clay LOVED the big slides. He and Mike would go to the top and he would be down and back up before Mike was even finished going down all the way. I love seeing them be adventurous!
Carolina loved so much about Great Wolf but one of her absolute favorite parts was the rack of life vests. They had several of them scattered about the water park and each rack had about 50 life vests. Can you just imagine the fun of being (almost) two and having an unlimited supply of things to buckle?? She loved it!
The toddler area was the popular place for us on this trip. They have great slides for toddlers and the water is a little warmer than everywhere else. The kids loved doing the smaller slides again and again. Clay still wasn't a huge fan of the wave pool or the lazy river but the hot tub was a big hit with both kids.
The second day, in addition to the water park, we went to the Kid's Club and decorated a pumpkin and played in their playhouse. The kids had such a great time painting the pumpkin and Mike and I loved sitting back and watching them play.
At nighttime, they have a clock tower puppet show which is really sweet and totally captures our little ones' attention.
Since we went so close to Halloween, there was a costume contest every night. The show is really fun but it was so special for them to see all the other costumes and do the extra activities for Halloween.
Clay got to go up and show off his costume and say his name. He did such a good job and the other kids loved his penguin costume! We did the clock tower show two different nights so it was fun to get one more use out of last year's costume and this year's too.
I was so proud of Clay taking a picture with the wolf. He used to be so scared of all things in costumes and now he is so big and brave!
We had the absolute best time at Great Wolf this trip. I am so glad we decided to go! We didn't think about the house dilemma or talk about it. It's so nice to shut off our phones and not worry about anything except Clay and Carolina. They loved having our full focus and we loved getting to shower them with attention without distractions. I could have stayed so much longer but...there was a house deal to be made!
We love, love, love Great Wolf Lodge and we are already looking forward to our next trip!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Our Strong-willed Child
Yes, she has on fleece footie pajamas and a puffy jacket. Some battles just aren't worth the fight.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Welcome Home!
The Skloss family has moved! We just purchased our first home and we couldn't be happier! It's been months of searching, signing contracts and houses falling through but we are so happy and relieved to have closed and moved in to our new home.
Here's some of the details:
We went from 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200+ sq. ft apartment to a brand new, 5 bedroom, 3 bath, 2871 sq. ft house. It's been a BIG change for us! We are loving having so much living space, closet space and a playroom (and one of my favorite spots--a laundry/mud room).
We've been moved in just two weeks today and the kids are adjusting so well. Clay is always eager to go "back to my new house" whenever we are out running around town. Mike and I are just thrilled to have more space for EVERYTHING.
More details to come on our new space (with lots of pictures) but for now--I've got boxes to unpack!!
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