Ramblings from our house

We haven't been up to much lately. Maemae has 8 teeth now, runs after Peanut, and continues to change her napping schedule constantly so I have no idea from week to week when her ideal nap time is. She has a few words she used often and loudly - Hi, Byebye, Dada, something that sounds like the sylabols of Elliot and Brother, and here. And she knows when I saw get in you chair, it's meal time. This girl loves to eat. And it happened overnight. One day was pureed everything, then bam! only food from our plates. Makes it easier for me at meal time. If only Peanut was that easy when it came to food. Instead, he's a grazer and will only eat from a limited menu. He did finally said "I love you" to Mike and then me last night. Melted both our hearts and of course, now he refuses to say it. Typical of him. He is using new words regularly, just not very many or enough to keep me from being 100% worry free about his lack of talking. Or lack of desire to talk.

I haven't been too busy lately. Been reading (always reading something), sewing and finishing up projects I've started before starting new ones. I do have an etsy shop now, but have to wait to see if the CPSIA laws will be amended to allow me to continue and expand what I have there. Basically the law is going to require everything marketed for children 12 and younger to be tested for lead and phthalates. EVERYTHING. Even if the materials I use have already been tested, because I'm altering and creating a new product, the finished item is still suppose to be tested. If not amended, it's going to put the majority of small businesses for children's items out of business. It has been amended once already to allow second-hand and consignment stores to keep selling clothing and toys at their descretion, but it doesn't allow me to sell my clothing, blankets, and burp rags without testing for lead and there's no way I can afford that.

On a good note about sewing, I finally got my machine back from the shop and it's heaven to work with. Sews beautifully and I'm still kicking myself for not taking it in a year ago when it first started having problems. Next time, I know not to hobble it along until I'm so frustrated I want to shoot it and by a new one.

Another thing I do is torture myself and look at real estate listings. And found one that has everything we desire - great location, acreage, nice sized house with minor updating needed, a shop, a yard that would be nice if it was mowed, even a pasture for a cow and eventually a horse. But we're still paying off debt, are in our current lease until September, and don't really want to stretch our budget that tight even though my heart aches knowing that it won't be there when it is our turn. We've even suggested to each other going to look at it, but I don't think I can. I know myself too well. It has the basic requirements that we want and I would fall in love. Then I would fall into a depression because it isn't financially our time to be looking for real estate. But deep down, I really really want to go look at it hoping there will be a huge flaw that I couldn't get over to turn me off from dreaming about moving my little family there. But I'm not going to. To torture myself a little more, I did email the listing agent with a couple questions, but don't have the heart to go through the process knowing we aren't quite there yet to be home owners again. Times like this make me really wish I kept my little old Neon car that was paid off instead of getting my mothership with the decent sized monthly payment. That free and clear title was so worth the compact size of it.

Enough about my woes and wants. Evenutally, we'll be home owners again. It might not be the blue house I'm currently in love with, but something will be there when we're ready to plop down our (Mike's) hard earned money for. Hell, maybe our taxes will be heavenly and we can pay off a few bills and have some left over for a very very small down payment. Maybe?! Puh-leeze!

TTFN ~C