In Other News....

So I've been a little busy with life lately. Travelling, doing the SAHM thing, trying to finish my dissertation, growing a human life... you know all in a days work...

So okay, right now the human life resembles a gummy bear more than a human baby.  Gummy bear measured right on target at my first apt, and had a heartbeat of a whopping 175 bpm!  Mimi's little heartbeat wasn't ever that high I don't think.

So we're excited to welcome gummy bear (God willing) on or near December 24, 2012.  Awesome due date right?  I imagine when people ask me when I'm due I get to say "oh well Christmas Eve..."

If you're religious, say a little prayer that our gummy bear keeps growing strong.  I've been really anxious and uneasy about gummy bear's future for some reason this time around.  There have been a lot of losses among my family and friends lately, and I guess i'm just paranoid.  So far, all is well and we're just excited for every day that passes and I'm still healthy and pregnant!

More to come later on gummy bear....

Sweaty Berry Picking

Nice title right?  Some friends and have been meaning to go out to Sweet Berry Farms for awhile now to pick strawberries with the kids.  My friend Melissa had her baby in mid-April, then there were a plethora of birthdays to plan--so we finally made it out there today!  I'm glad we did, because berry picking season ends at the end of May.  It was over 90 today and sunny as heck.  The kids definitely were feeling the heat. They picked berries for about 20 minutes, then went to play under the shaded pavilion.  Those little buggers left us to finish the job.   I picked a few pounds of deliciously sweet and amazing smelling berries to make some freezer jam this week.  We had a nice picnic and then the kids napped as we drove home in the air conditioning.

Here are some photos....

We're Moving!

After a month of chasing down craigslist ads and scouring sites like Trulia, along with tons of neighborhood drive-throughs, we have found a rental house!  Renting a house in Austin is tricky.  The housing market didn't suffer here as much as Florida, and the rental market is brutally competitive.  The city has a 97% occupancy rate--this means only 3% of the available housing in the city limits is open for rent.

We wanted to stay on budget with what we're spending now, since we still have the same financial burdens and didn't want to cinch our budget too tight.  We wanted no carpeting, and at least 900 sq ft with basic amenities (no window ac units etc).  My husband and I had two or three main neighborhoods in central Austin we liked, so we looked and looked and looked.  Houses would go up on Trulia or Craigslist and be gone in a flash, or they didn't allow pets, or it was only a 10 month lease, or they wanted you to move in TODAY, not at the end of the month or next month.  Our lease here isn't up until June 23, so we expected to cover double rent for the month in order to secure a place we liked.

I run with two mom's at 6:30am twice a week, and one of the mom's mentioned that her and her husband bought a house and were moving out of their rental home. She raved about the landlords' good qualities and the quaintness of the house.  Turns our she's moving out June 10th, so she put us in touch with the landlord and were were able to secure the house for rent before the guy even put the "for rent" sign up! No one to compete against, no pressure to lease a month ahead.  The landlord was super friendly and chill and is letting us move in anytime after June 10th that we want.  He didn't even charge a full months' rent as deposit, which is nice.

Not having to cover double rent for the entire month helps out a ton!  It allows us to hire movers for the big furniture, and buy some new furniture to fill the additional sq footage!

So about the house....
It's 1200 sq ft (we live in 968 now)
Has a one car detached garage with built in shelving and cupboards
fenced backyard (yeah for our dog buddy!)
all hardwood floors and tile! (Yeah no carpeting!)
attic converted for storgage (can you say no more clutter!?)
3 bedrooms (yeah for having a separate office again!)
1.5 baths (not ideal, but i'm not complaining!)
washer dryer hookups in a HUGE laundry room!
big bright open kitchen with a vintage feel with eat-in area
dining room (yes! we can finally have friends over for dinner!)
TONS of closet space for a 50s house
Cute brick fire pit in the backyard
adorable front porch are with built-in flower boxes

the list goes on.....

I am beyond excited to have a home again--one with a driveway, and storage, and an eating area!  Mimi is really excited to have a new room (even though her room now is pretty swank) and we are excited to leave apt life!  About the only thing I'll miss is the amazing pool here!

Wish us luck! I'll share photos when we move in!

ttyl!

Trip to FL

A friendly message from a follower reminded me I haven't blogged in ages!  I'm sorry I've left you all hangin'!  Mimi and I went on a roadtrip to FL to tie up some loose ends. I presented my dissertation work at a conference, we re-leased our house, I met up with my advisor and edited a manuscript, and we visited with some great friends.

I think I could do an entire blog post about the do's and don'ts of taking a 17 hour roadtrip with your toddler....I don't want to relive it right now though lol.

I am so happy to be back in TX with my husband.  We have a busy two months ahead of us though.  We have decided to not renew our apt lease and to find a rental home instead.  This is stressful, as Austin has a 97% occupancy rate--rentals go fast and we're kind of picky now--we'll see how picky we get as time ticks away to our move-out date here at our apt.  Mimi is finishing the last weeks of her dance class and preschool, leaving me no time without her to get important errands done.

I'll keep you guys posted on those events and some others soon!

Enjoy some pics from our trip to FL.  I took Mimi to an environmental festival at a state park while I was in the panhandle of FL. There were touch tanks, fish painting and shirt making, scavenger hunts, and more! She had so much fun.