May/June update

Things have been crazy around here.

We started our construction company and Nick and his Dad have been working out of town on jobs, mostly on the coast. That leaves me home to take care of the little guy during much of the week.

I took a part time job at REI which I do evenings and weekends. It has been a real challenge because Nick is out of town which can make finding places for Bear difficult. We will see how long the job lasts. While I like interaction with the public, stressing every week whether I will be able to find a place for Bear is not really worth the teeny tiny wage I make.

I have also been doing books for our construction company whenever I can find the time to fit it in. I feel like for the most part, I manage to get everything done, but these people who say they work a full time job from home while they watch their kids - either they have the least busy kids ever or they are just letting their kids run wild and ignoring them because let me tell you, getting a job done while watching a baby is not easy.

We re-sided our house - still waiting on the people to contact us regarding paint but the house is re-sided. It needed to be done when we moved in 4.5 years ago but the roof needed to be done too, so the roof won in 2008 and we finally did the siding just last week. Basically, we have done everything on this house. I can't believe how much we have done when I sit back and think about it. Full kitchen remodel, all new trim, full guest bathroom remodel, partial master bath remodel, new tile in entry, new front door, new back patio door, new roof, new siding, new paint in and out, new landscaping (still in progress), new floors throughout, new blinds, we are working on the deck. It is absolutely mind blowing that we have done that much to the house. The sad thing is, the market has tanked and our house is pretty much worthless compared to what we paid, even with everything we have done. Dont get me started, it is one of the things that makes my blood boil. We really would love to move to our cabin in McCall, but there is no way we would be able to sell our house even for break-even what we paid, even with all the improvements. It is endlessly frustrating and makes me so sad that we got into the market right at the wrong time and lost not only our 20% down payment but also all of our improvements - we did everything right, we paid 20% down, ect. We got screwed. It's tragic. Stupid housing colapse.

Barrett is so busy these days. Pulling up, eating anything (pureed), crawling, playing with his toys, smiling, giggling, learning faster than I can put into words. He is so happy, so bright and sunny. I absolutely love spending time with him.

So that is us these days. I have been a horrible blogger but with trying to do the yard, do books for our business, working at REI and trying to be the best mostly stay at home mom that I can be, there doesn't seem to be much time for blogging.