Kids Consignment Sale

This morning my cousin and I went to a kids consignment sale!  I didn't even know they had these type of things in my area so I am glad she told me about it. It was in a huge warehouse and there were SO many baby/kids clothes, toys, gear, etc. You name it, they had it! 

I didn't need much but I wanted to get Leah a few bigger toys now that we have more space and a backyard!  This might sound bad, but I just can't do used clothes from someone I don't know......possible bed bugs, etc.......You just never know!  However, I did get Leah a few cute pairs of shoes that look practically brand new! 

This pic is only of like a third of the warehouse!

Leah and Dallas did pretty good while we were shopping. I ended up strapping her into the Baby Bjorn when she started reaching for all the toys! :)

Us with our goodies!

So in the end I got a little slide, a sit and spin, little shopping cart, 2 pairs of shoes, a few books & DVDs, blocks, puzzles, and a few more random toys. 

All this for under $75!  And no, I don't plan to give it to her all at once! Doesn't this all look like it should be sitting under a Christmas tree??  Haha!  For now it is in my garage waiting to get disinfected :-)

I recommend looking for these type of events in your area!

Settling In

We have been in our house about 4 days now, going into our 4th night.  We are already feeling 'at home' here, but that doesn't mean that it feels 100% comfortable yet.  We still don't have living room, guest room, or den furniture. Or anything hung on the walls.  And we still need a dresser for our walk-in closet. At the condo we had custom closets that included drawers. So a lot of my clothes are currently sitting in baskets in our bedroom, ugh! It's driving me nuts! But everything else is slowly but surely finding its place!  We are waiting until we decide on furniture before we really start decorating (artwork, curtains, etc.).

Here is me and Leah going on a walk around our new neighborhood today -

This playground is right across the street. Good because it's so close, but bad because anytime we look out the window of our house, or are coming and going, Leah wants to go to it!

Playing peek-a-boo in our front yard!

And playing in our backyard!

I posted on Facebook yesterday how exhausted I was.feeling and that even though I had millions of things to be doing, during Leah's nap I took a long shower, made some coffee, switched on our gas fireplace and watched some DVR'd shows. It was amazing. And Leah took a super long nap which made it even better. :-)

That rest yesterday must have worked because today I woke up energized!  I got me and Leah ready first thing and headed to the gym to take my boot camp class (which I haven't been to in like a month with all the house stuff going on). Leah did great in the childcare room and I got a great workout (I am SO feeling it right  now)  After that we ran by the condo and then my mom's to pick up some things. Then to Target to look for various household items. Leah was not having it at that point so I only got a few things before taking her home for nap.  Then this afternoon we stayed home and did some chores and went for a walk.

 Leah is loving running laps around our downstairs!

OK so this is random but Leah has been getting SO good at eating with her fork and spoon! Today she ate a container of yogurt by herself with minimal mess! Yay!

 There are things about having a two level home that is taking some getting used to! We are no longer always 5 steps away from, well, everything! Ha!  I didn't even hear my phone earlier because it was downstairs and I was up! And things like having to go ALLLLL :-) the way down to the kitchen for something to drink is different for us!  And there are more creaks and cracks in a house.

I know things with the house will slowly come together. It is just hard for me to be patient! I want things to be perfect now so that I can get back to some normalcy! I will post pics of the house once it is starting to look more put together!!

Moving Day

We are finally completely moved in to our new house! We moved all the big stuff yesterday and then still had to go back for more today. For such a tiny condo, it sure seemed like we had a lot of stuff to move! 

We were so thankful to have friends help us! Thanks so much to Kim, Chris, Kirk, and Neil that battled our condo stairs!!

Last to come over, our kitties! It was not humanly possible to get both cats in the carrier, so this is how Tiger made the trip. Poor thing huddled as far up as he could and looked terrified. He is still hiding under the bed, btw. :(

Leilah on the other hand is already making herself at home :)

What a mess!

Dustin and I are seriously so exhausted right now! And of course there is still unpacking and lots of organizing to do.  I am the type of person that cannot rest when things are in disarray. So, needless to say, I haven't had a lot of sleep in the last week!

Our first night we went around and said cheers to each room :)

 Hopefully this week I will get everything unpacked and somewhat organized. I know it will take awhile to figure out how we want things in this house but I just don't want to see anymore boxes!  Once we get done with that we will start the fun part - decorating!! Even though all of our furniture is in now, it is still echo-ey so we need to get pictures on the wall!!

Moving is definitely A LOT of work, but we are already feeling like this is home!

Boxes Boxes Everywhere!

This week has been INSANE. We have so much to do in only a week to get our house ready to live in! 

What my kitchen at the condo looks like right now.

The previous owners actually left it pretty clean and in great condition. One thing that needs to be done is painting both bedrooms and the kitchen.  That may sound easy.....but nooooooo.  Both rooms (previously little kid rooms) were painted multiple colors, with painted ceilings & closets, and wall papers borders. OMG taking off wallpaper has got to be the most annoying thing EVER. Took me two whole mornings just getting it down.  And painting ceilings is annoying too. 

Leah helping Daddy pick out paint colors

We have also had bad luck picking paint colors. The color in the kitchen didn't turn out quite right so it needs to be redone.  I know that doesn't necessarily need to be done now but it is easier while the place is empty and curtains and things are taken down. 

Essentials for home improvement projects in an empty house!

We got the carpets cleaned yesterday but the previous owners had a big dog so I am finding hairs everywhere, ewwwww. So gross.  The bathrooms and kitchen were cleaned up pretty well already but I still had to do another sweep through with my lavender scented Method cleaner and my trusty bottle of rubbing alcohol. :-) 

Do you think she likes to climb?

We still have a lot do including put up the baby gates on the stairs, finish painting bedrooms, put together some furniture we bought today, and pack up more stuff!  Moving day is on Saturday!

You can kinda see the lovely grass painted on the wall. There were also clouds painted on the ceilings.

I keep reminding Dustin that not everything needs to be done BEFORE we move in.  It would be nice but we need to slow down a little, we are both exhausted! 
Thankfully we have so many friends and family that are helping us out watching Leah this week!! 

Weekend Review

So Saturday morning we did the Autism Walk.  Then Saturday evening we got another chance to go on a date night!  (How amazing are Grandma's as babysitters?!?!?!! :-)  This time we had a double date with my beautiful cousin Sarah and her boyfriend Adam.  We went to Benihana. We used to have a tradition, which started with me and Sarah in the year 2000, to go to Benihana for New Year's Eve. Dustin and I carried on the tradition for like 6 or 7 years I think, going with different friends each year. Anyway, we hadn't been there in several years so it was a fun treat! 

Sake!

My yummy soup and mai tai

Veggies!

Sarah and Adam

Sunday morning we went to see Dustin's mom and his aunts who are visiting from Texas.  It was so great to see them! We had a fun time having lunch and then taking Leah to the playground. 

Playing dress up with Nana's necklaces

Running to the park!

Nana pushing Leah on the swings

Contemplating going down the slide.......

And she did it! Yay!

Then, the most exciting part of the weekend.......was when we went to get our keys and go into our house for the first time as owners!!  We took a bottle of champagne and some Taco Time takeout and had a picnic dinner in our new house!

Cheers!

Picnic dinner of tacos in the kitchen! (Disregard the disgusting orange walls, those will be the first to go! Ick!)

Love this pic of Daddy and Daughter on the stairs. First of many similar pictures I'm sure!

We felt so weird going in at first! Like we were trespassing or something!  But we ate dinner there, and ripped some tacky wallpaper border off of one of the bedroom walls, and started to feel more comfortable! :-)
This week will be super crazy but a week from now we should be all moved into our new house!  Surreal!!

Walk for Autism

This morning me, Leah, my mom and Neil went to do the Autism Walk. My mom works at an elementary school in Seattle (the same elementary school that my brother and I attended!) so the school put together a team.  She works with students with Autism.  She has such a hard job, and does it so well.  She is so great with her students!!

This year the walk was at the Seattle Center. It was chilly and sprinkling but a lot of people still came out.

They had bouncy houses and other activities set up for the kids. Leah took advantage!

And then we walked!

At the end Esther came to hang out for awhile. Leah LOVED the fountain and wanted to go down to it so bad!

Great way to spend the morning!

The End of an Era

Now that we officially own our new house and have started packing, I am getting sentimental about our condo. That is SO me! I knew I would get like this!  I get like this every time I go through big change. Or even not so big of change but also when things are ending......like moving out from living with my mom (not until I was 22!), moving on from my high school/college job at a cafe to get a 'real' one, weaning Leah (and also moving her to her own room finally at 10 months old....) etc. So yeah, I hold on to things that mean a lot to me and have been a big part of my life. SO, having lived in this condo for 8 years is one of those things. This is where Dustin and I first lived together. This was our home practically all of our 20's. We grew and matured as a couple and as adults here. We partied with friends here :-) I made it through 3 years of professional NFL cheerleading while living here. This was our home when we got engaged, and then married. This was where we got our very first pets together (and went through a painful loss of our first baby kitten who contracted a fatal disease at birth).  And, most importantly, this is the home where we brought home our precious sweet baby girl Leah Nicole.  I will always remember the many FUN times we had here (and the sad times too). One thing I really think about is the 3 Musketeers (me, Dustin and my bro Neil). When he was still in high school and college I feel like the three of us were always together. I miss that.

I am not gonna lie, I am nervous to move. Even though I am ecstatic about it, I can't help feel anxious.  It will be hard getting used to not only a new house, but the neighborhood and neighbors (I hope they're nice!), new stores, new everything!  At least it is only 20 minutes away, not another state or anything! Then I would really panic! :-)

So anyway, that is just a little of what I have been thinking about this week.  I am really trying to get organized and come up with a schedule for next week since there is so much to do.  Today I went to pick up some empty boxes (thanks Mom!) and I scheduled the carpet cleaning so that is a start.  Even though I have a long list of to-dos, I am going to take the next few days to relax and reminisce about all of my many memories of our first home.

And since no post is complete without pictures :-) here are a few of Leah last night before bed.