What a Zoo!

Last Saturday morning I got to sleep in and later we headed to the zoo. We'd been talking about the zoo all week to get Annika enthusiastic about it and right before we got there I asked her what she was most excited to see. She said "ocean". Naturally:)

About half the universe had the same genius idea of taking their children to the zoo on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. The place was packed. I was thisss close to considering buying one of those awful leashes you see children wearing at the airports, because the little lady had her own agenda and she didn't care that mommy and daddy wanted to go feed the giraffes. 

It would have otherwise  been a regular zoo trip, except we had Annika and that's just never regular.

First, there was the lunch that consisted of some terrible zoo food. But you know how everything tastes 100 times better when you are travelling or visiting touristy spots? Apparently, Annika even thought a PBJ with ketchup was a good idea. (Did you by the way know that an alternate spelling for the word ketchup is catsup? I'm an English teacher and I just recently found out. Whoa.)

Then there were the hopping kangaroos and of course Annika started mimicking them right away. She does that hop all the time now. And the way she says "kanga-Roo" (2 distinct syllables and a very stressed American "r") is hilarious. 

Next came farm animals and I was so excited for her to pet them.  But that girl couldn't care less about the goats, because there was GRAVEL! Go figure, you never know what strikes her fancy. 

And then there was the GOOSE. On the way out, daddy had to use the restroom and Annika and I spotted a large goose just wondering around. The fearless child of mine came up to it, first just looking... Of course I was on my knees at that point taking pictures. She got closer and closer and I though, awe, how cute. She (not the goose, mind you!) started quacking and then real fast disappeared from my viewfinder. Daddy appeared out of nowhere and gave me a reproaching look. Apparently the goose was hissing at Annika and that means it was going to attack. It seems like I should feel more guilty, but it was just kind of funny.

Mommy and daddy didn't get to feed the giraffes due to the crowds but we all had fun nonetheless. When we got home, we were so wiped out; all we wanted to do was lay motionless for hours. But no such luck, what with a monkey/kanga-Roo/little monster in the house...

Annika says...

-I NEED mommy's foam to watch the pictures!" (phone)

- Annika, who made you so cute? (expecting her to say mommy and daddy)

-God! (thank you, daycare for picking up my slack!)

Comes up to us with hands on her cheeks:

-Look at me! So cute!

- A lee blit more raisins, please! Right now.

- I need more lion water! (lime water)

Before bath: 

- Annika is so naked!

- Annika's butt little. Mommy's butt big. (Um, thanks, girl!)

Sometimes, instead of "more" she says "harder". I was pouring some water for her to drink and apparently didn't pour enough:

- Mommy, pour harder!

Or when I didn't give her enough grapes:

- Give grapes harder! 

After I accidentally dropped blueberries on the floor:

- Mommy, go to timeout!

- Annika, what are you doing?

- Going crazy! 

(but what else is new:))

*** And the clothes in the last 3 photos are from Polarn O. Pyret, by the way! Such good quality stuff!***

Winn House Saga

You guys! WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Heck yes, I'm shouting! Because... A HOUSE!

It may seem like out of the blue, but it’s been a long and nerve-wracking 8-month-long process. Not only was it excruciating to wait that long and not know where we will end up in a few months, it was also painful to see God close door after door after door.  We never lost faith and now clearly see that God closed those doors for a reason.

You won’t believe the number of houses we looked at. And, ohmahgosh, was there, like, drama, you guys.

Let me tell you a few house stories that I hereby officially declare chapters of the Winn House Saga.  

1.      House #1

Perrrrfect house. Long-term, big, amazing floor plan, move-in ready… But the price tag was high and the location, albeit on the lake, wasn't the most prime. As in it was probably one of the worst on the lake.

We loved it enough and made a low-ball offer. We countered 2 more times and were thissss close to getting it, when 1 hour before our final offer was to expire (and before the seller was going to accept it, according to our realtor), someone came in and offered “significantly more” on the spot. It was a little odd how it all happened, because the freaking house had been on the market for 2 years without a single interested party. Door shut!

2.      House #2

Short-term, small (although with an extra bedroom for the babe), not on the lake, but close enough in a great location in our town. Perfect price tag and move-in ready.

But we have to rewind to 2008, a month after our wedding. That same house was for sale then and we offered. We were outbid by a member of a wealthy family in town. (Ended up being a good thing for us, since I was able to go to school without taking out a loan). Since then the original owner had bought the house back and just a few months ago (that’s 6 years later!) he contacted us again and said he was selling if we were interested. We looked and offered what he was asking. And that same day were outbid by a member of the same freaking family. The odds!!!

3.      House #3

The final one and a short-term one (about 3-5 years). Perfect little house, although needs a lot of remodeling to suit our taste. Great price and with an access to the lake via a channel. And wait till you see our backyard, people!

We looked at the house twice and debated. Then we heard of another guy who was interested and decided we would be stupid to pass it up and made an offer. It was quickly accepted and now we are about to begin remodeling. We will not move until it's remodeled, so it might be a few weeks. Can. Not. Wait!!! Hopefully, before the brand new Winn is here (which is July 17th).

And by the way, the guy who was interested in this house is super excited about renting our cottage for a few years:).  It all worked out!

All that to say... I'm glad the search is over. We still have bigger plans for our Dream House, but we won't be talking about them for at least a few years. What we will be talking about is remodeling, decor, DIY, and moving and grooving:) Hopefully. If we have time:) 

Stay tuned. Eeek!

And here is our attempt at looking scared of home-ownership (in case you can't tell by the questionable face expressions)! 

Annika is Two!

Our bunny turned 2 on May 12 and yesterday we had a sweet birthday celebration for her. I tried to make it simple and didn't even choose a theme for the party. But then I ended up in the party section at Target and went a little crazy, because... hello... SPRITZ collection. LOVE!
I decided that even though there was no theme, I wanted it be bright and colorful. I even thought maybe "2 bright" should be the theme, but that was voted out by some people whose last name rhymes with Shwinn! (I'm glaring at you, Greg!!!)
I didn't start planning anything until a week or so before the party. There were no formal invitations, just a good ole text message:) I honestly didn't have time to do any more than that. I tried to keep the party small, but it ended up being 30 people or so. Toddlers and babies in tow.
It was a simple party, but I thought it was perfect. And the best part -  Annika was so happy the whole time. This girl loves attention, so she was completely in her element.

I'm so thankful to those who took time of their Saturday afternoon to come shower our girl with love!

And just to think, only 2 years ago this was the most traumatic day of my life. Gosh, I love her and I don't even need to say any more than that!

And here are just a few simple details. 

Celebrations galore

End of April -  beginning of May are quite eventful in our family. So much joy going on:)

Easter starts it all and soon after that, we get to celebrate Greg's birthday. This year he turned 33. We celebrated him with a family dinner the night before, and with a big dinner with friends a few days after. The big day fell on a Monday, but Annika and I still tied to make it somewhat festive: when he got home from work, we greeted him with a "cwaft" form the "bottom of {Annika's} heart" and a freezer full of his favorite coffee flavored ice-cream. 

 

We got him a beer club membership (the boy loves his beer:) and this guy.

I hear there is a lot of fuss going on about the Chemex and thought, what the heck, it's not like we have a ton of coffee-makers. 

But, sorry, yes we do have a ton of coffee makers. 8 to be exact. The boy LOVES his coffee:)

A few days later we celebrated our 6th anniversary. We went to a theater about an hour away to watch a Broadway production of "The West Side Story". I don't have any pictures from that day, but how about a flashback to 2008? Such babies:) I really really like this guy!

Then we had a beautiful Mother's Day. It was complete with flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, Mother's Day brunch, and a day outside in the summer temperatures. 

And the very next day, which is today, our little bunny turned 2. The party will be later this week, but I made sure to get her a little cake to celebrate with her friends and we spent the whole afternoon playing with more friends and eating more chocolate covered strawberries. I just love this little girl to the moon and back and thank God every day for choosing me to be her mama. Such an honor and such a blessing. 

A day in the life of a working mama

Today I'm a full time working mama of one. In just 2 months I will be a stay-at-home mama of two (for at least some time). So life is really about to change. I thought a few months from now, I will find it interesting to reminisce on my "easy life":), so I decided to depict a very typical day. Nothing spectacular, a day just like any other at this stage of life.

6:00 Alarm sounds, but I get up a couple of snoozes later. And of course no time for shower.

Well, hello there, 3rd trimester bump.

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