Time for Change

Well, we have an an eventful week (or weekend I should say!). This week escaped me as I had planned to give an update to last weekend but it just never happened. Our open house last Sunday did not go as planned. Not one person showed up! That was rather disappointing and disheartening but we were not going to give up with only one week in. We figured, when it happens, it happens.

The weekend arrived fairly quickly and lo and behold, we had a call for a showing on Saturday! It was a very busy day for us - not only did we have to be out of the house in the morning, but we had a birthday party to attend in the afternoon. My friend, Jennifer's son was turning 2. He had a "bug" party which was so cute! All the kids got to hunt for rubber bugs in the garage and put them in their bug catchers. They seemed to have a really good time doing it and they all got to take their bugs and containers home with them.

After the party, we enjoyed a fun evening with our friends' Dean and Klaire and their baby Hailey. They cooked us a wonderful meal and it was nice to catch up with them and spend some time together. As we were getting ready to leave, around 9p, I received a call from our realtor. Apparently the couple that looked at our home was very interested in it. By Sunday morning, Peggy called us to tell us they were planning to put an offer on it! What?! Wow! It was very exciting but a little nerve racking too.

Noah woke up today in a foul mood. Probably because he wouldn't go to bed Saturday night. It was so bad that Mike took his mattress out of his crib and laid it on the floor. Noah seemed ok with that and went right to sleep. He was up bright an early at 5:45. We let him sleep with us for a few more hours and prepared for 10:30 mass. His mood did not improve there either. He would cry at the drop of a hat, didn't want Mike to touch him and sometimes wanted me and sometimes didn't. When I didn't do what he wanted (like sit when it was time to stand) he threw an all-out tantrum. The highlight was at the end of church, he got out his book with bible stories in it and was pointing out the animals very loudly. If you recall my last story about the "foc" (fox), then you can appreciate how he began shouting "foc!" "foc!" in church when all was quiet. Yes, ways which your kids embarrass you officially begins! We got him quickly moved on to another animal but the damage was done. Good times. I think he may be feeling a little under the weather. I hope to get him into the doctor's tomorrow. He's been hacking and snotty for 2 months now.

The day didn't slow down a bit. After mass, we got a call that the couple who was out on Friday wanted to come back to the house. We had to disappear from 1-2. No problem - we had to go to the grocery store anyway. We get back at 2, get Noah down for a nap and sure enough, another call. We had to be out of the house 3:30-5:30. Noah took a short nap (which didn't help his mood at all) and we headed over to crash at Matt's place until we could come home. I guess this is the life you sign up for when you have your house for sale!

By 7p, we got a phone call from our realtor. We have an offer!! According to the realtor, it was a pretty decent offer. We're going to counter tomorrow and we'll see. Since we're only 2 weeks in, I'm not overly concerned about taking it. I know we have value in our house so we'll see if they accept. If so, we have to find a new house and be out by Mar. 12!! Crazy! Never did I think things would go this fast, but I've been saying a lot of prayers about it. If it's meant to be, then so be it!

Since Noah hasn't cared for his sleeping arrangements lately, we decided to go ahead and convert his crib to a toddler bed tonight. He still didn't want to go to bed, but he seemed a little more ok with it. I would have taken a picture and posted, but Mike took the camera to work to use and forgot to bring it home this weekend. I'll try to get something posted next weekend. :-) We plan to put a gate at his door so he doesn't roam the house since we promised to leave the door open. I think he feels comfort at hearing us make noise. Hopefully all will go well and we won't have any munchkins at our door in the middle of the night!

It's going to be a crazy week at work for both me and Mike. I'm already ready to get to next weekend. I've got a tough presentation on Tuesday, so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers!

We are very much looking forward to the family visit for Noah's birthday. It's going to be here before you know it!

We'll let you all know how everything turns out hopefully by mid-week!

Love to all,

Corri, Mike and Noah

Welcome to 2010

If this is what 2010 is about - then I can handle it. This was the first weekend we really didn't know what to do with ourselves. Clean house -check; house organized - check; food in the fridge; check. Ok, so this probably won't be how the rest of the year goes, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
As you know, we have been diligently working to get the house in order, making repairs, cleaning, etc. that when this weekend rolled around, we were quite sure what to do. Don't get me wrong, we had a few more minor things to finish up before posting the sign in our yard and getting our house posted online, but they were easy enough to complete. Saturday we opted to run some errands and enjoy lunch out. We thought we'd try to put Noah in his new outfit from Grandpa Blick. Surprisingly, the hat was a little too big for him. I got a couple of cute pictures though.



We dined at Mongolian Grill for lunch and then spent the rest of the day at the house. Saturday night we had a new experience - we had a big bout with baby barf. About 10pm I was getting ready for bed and I thought I heard Noah cry. It's not the first time he has woken up and gotten upset. I turned on the monitor and he was just sitting there. I decided I'd go in and get him to lay back down. When I went to caress his face - I felt...stuff. I turn on the light and Noah has thrown up all over his bed, himself, blankets, etc. This caught me by surprise as he had no signs of not feeling well. Mike came in and I took care of cleaning up Noah while he cleaned the bed. It was GROSS. All I could think about was all the times my mom took care of me and that this was just the beginning. My heart goes out to mothers everywhere (and dads too) and my sincere appreciation for all the barf you had to deal with as your children grew up! It obviously scared Noah pretty bad as he was sobbing and shaking. Once we got him changed, I rocked him while Mike finished cleaning the bed. Just as he was getting settled...uh oh, here it comes again! This time it was all down the front of my shirt - inside and out. Again...GROSS. Mike took Noah while I took a quick shower. After that second bout, it appeared to be over. We got Noah settled back in bed and he slept the rest of the night. Sunday he seemed fine but wouldn't eat. I think he may have been afraid he would throw up again. We got him to eat a peanut butter sandwich but that was it. His behavior otherwise was fine so I'm led to believe that he had food poisoning from lunch (along with a bunch of phlegm in his tummy) versus being sick. He barely ate lunch yesterday (and no dinner) so his appetite hasn't quite come back but he seems no worse for the wear.
We did get our sign posted in the yard yesterday and it is official - our house is for sale!! We are having our first open house on Sunday so hopefully we'll have a good turnout and potentially generate some interest. Mike, Noah and I toured two homes on Sunday, one of which we really liked. The area was perfect (Plano) and the size was good. The house did have a pool, which we aren't crazy about, but we could warm to the idea. Not sure if it will be on the market or not when we're ready but I'm sure we'll find the right house when the time comes.
Noah brought a book home from school yesterday (he gets very attached so his teachers let him borrow). It was another "Brown Bear" series where they always start out with a color and an animal like, "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" Noah loves to say the "see" part, which is super cute. He also learned a new animal - the Red Fox. Mike and I can't stop laughing when he says it though because it comes out "FOC", which as you can tell, sounds very similar to a not-so-nice word. We shouldn't laugh which only encourages him (he has no idea why) but we cannot help ourselves. I'm sure it will be another story when its in public and embarrasses us.
Anyway, that's it for this weekend. Looking forward to the 3-day this next week where both Mike and I have Monday off for MLK day. What will we do with our time now that the house is always clean and organized? :-) I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Happy week,
Corri, Mike and Noah

Happy New Year!

What's that you say? I'm a little late to be wishing all a Happy New Year? Well, it's been a busy time around these parts. Let me back up about a week ago. The Reichert clan headed over to Dana's to help her get some house projects completed. We hung out with her, my mom, and cousins Jamie and Jon. Noah loved hanging out with Jamie who was kind enough to entertain him while the work went on. Here they are both coloring. :-)

When Noah got bored, he decided he should help daddy hang the light fixture. Too bad he couldn't get past the next step. He gave it a good try however! Dana's house is coming along just beautifully and it really looks like a home now. She was able to get her bedroom and bathroom painted (I believe with the help of my mom and cousin) and it looks great! The guys got some new light fixtures hung too. Check and check!

I couldn't resist including this picture - taken at breakfast the next morning. Noah seems to really enjoy his new table. The only downside to it is how lightweight it is. He's constantly moving it and he could probably flip it over if given the time and energy to work it out. We're trying to teach him that the table is for SITTING at, not flinging around.
This is Noah's "Cheese!" smile. He's learned to say cheese at pictures and if he's in the mood, it's pretty cute. Now, if he doesn't want his picture taken, then he won't cooperate. Hopefully we'll get more "cheese's" than not!

New Year's Eve we were blessed to have my mom in town to watch Noah. That gave Mike and I the opportunity to go out and enjoy some time together. Of course, he loves messing with Sophie. She has gotten better at tolerating him but its in limited doses. Here she's letting Noah sit next to her and even allowed him to give her a kiss! I often wonder if it's just because she's deaf and maybe going blind that she doesn't know who's sitting there. :-)

Mike and I celebrated NYE at Bacara, a club in Addison that is actually connected to the banquet hall we had our wedding reception. My friend's sister plays in a band and she was performing that night. We opted to do that and shared the evening with friends along with Dana and her new friend, Matt.

I think the hat suits him, don't you? It goes nicely with the shirt I had to convince him to wear!

When my friend saw Dana, she immediately went up to her (before I had arrived) and said she just knew that she was my sister. I don't know - do you think there is a close resemblance?

I thought this was a pretty great picture - don't need to say much here, do I? Way to go Dana! ;-)

New Year's Day came quickly and while we enjoyed our evening tremendously, we did have to relieve my mom of her childcare duties. After two wonderful weeks with Grandma, it was time to say goodbye. I'm sure mom was ready to get back to the peace and quiet of her house, but Mr. Noah was sure sad to see her go, as demonstrated by his face.

All of Christmas break (and New Year's day was no exception), we have been extremely busy with cleaning the house - and not just cleaning it but cleaning it OUT. I can't think of a day where we weren't busy with something, whether it was organizing or doing house repairs. All of this to get ready to put our house on the market! The Monday after Christmas, our realtor came over and we got the ball rolling. Mike gave us two weeks to get the house in order before officially posting.

I know my brother-in-law, Matt and his fiance Emily, along with my sister, have to be rooting for a quick sale. They were all gracious enough to store a bunch of "stuff" for us so we could have a clean house. I couldn't get over how much I had packed into the closets alone!! After getting those cleaned out, I moved to organizing shelves, pantries, closets, etc. Mike took to patching cracks, repairing wood around our windows outside, cleaning all windows, etc. By Sunday, we felt in a pretty good place. As you can see, Noah too was busy outside (his favorite place) doing his favorite thing. The cold doesn't seem to bother him in the least. I think he got that from his dad!

That afternoon we all went out with our realtor (and Dana, who was a great sitter!) to look at a few houses. We wanted to get a sense of areas and what we might find in our price range. It is AMAZING to me how cluttered people will leave their homes, trying to sell and for an expensive price even! It made me feel really good about our house and how beautifully put together (if I do say so myself) it is. Our realtor thinks the house will sell quickly. We're not so sure but our fingers are crossed. The long hours that Mike and I are putting in at work are making us long for a closer commute.

A severe cold front has made its way to Dallas and the high today was around 35 I think, with lows in the teens. Tomorrow will be another bear and Saturday Mike was going to fix two boards in our fence, but it won't get much warming than 35 so I'm not sure that's going to happen! We're just doing everything we can to stay warm.

Noah is already showing signs of nearing his 2nd birthday. The terrible twos have been in play for a while now, but his vocabulary is definitely picking up. We're not doing sentences or even multiple words at once (except for "what's that" or "I want this"), but he seems to understand words once you say them and then repeat them where he couldn't before. We hear "milk", "rock" and "book" all the time and that's just an example. I imagine this will continue at a rapid pace. I'm happy to hear much more than before just for the sheer fact that he typically grunts and when we ask him what he wants, all he can say in return is "please" which doesn't help us much. I'm sure in a few months you will find me writing that I wish he would just be quiet, but for now, it's music to our ears.

Hard to believe the weekend is already upon us (but we're so ready!) Soon the craziness will begin where we have to disappear for an hour to show the house so I hope we can enjoy some downtime this weekend before another busy week and beyond.

Cheers to all and another new year. May it be even better than the last.

Love to all,
Corri, Mike and Noah