Walkers, Moving and Easter, oh my!

 

"I'm sexy and I know it..."

That cutie patootie you see above is 9 1/2 months old! I can hardly believe he is that old already, but it's time to start planning his first birthday party. I cannot wait and have had a Pinterest board for just such a time when I needed to start planning. I already know what the guest cake is going to be and I'm about 80% sure on a theme (nothing too intricate) so from there it should be a breeze. I'm sure I'll stress over it, put my sweat and tears into it, and nobody will notice if something goes awry.

Cam is so close to walking! He will stand up with his walker all by himself (and anything else for that matter) and walk with it across the room until he hits a wall or the couch! I am so incredibly proud of him and am excited and nervous for him to start walking. Luckily we haven't had to put the baby gates up for two main reasons: 1, he doesn't really have a desire to climb the stairs (although he most certainly can), and 2, there is still so much clutter from moving that we have to follow him around wherever he goes anyways.

First Easter together and first holiday at the new house!

I can't wait to have everyone over for his birthday! Brad suggested renting a tent for out back since our house isn't too big and plus it'll be nice and hot at the end of June. I think that's a great idea, but trying to rent a tent on a Saturday in June; I can imagine we're going to have to fight some brides to get it. 0:)

All is well in other areas, mostly. I'll have to set time aside another day to talk about my job situation (or lack-thereof).

BIG NEWS: The Jones' are moving!!

After much consideration, Brad and I decided earlier this year to list our current home and see if we could find our "forever" home. Well, as luck would have it, we did both! Our current home sold in 3 weeks and we immediately made an offer an a home we had looked at twice and fell in love with! Although there are some things we will change (both immediately and in the future), we absolutely love the home and the location couldn't be more perfect!

We negotiated the price, had the inspections and negotiated repairs with both our current and new home. We are ready to close in a couple of days on Friday!

Moving with a baby will be hectic, stressful and ridiculous to say the least. In the end, it will be 110% worth it to be happy. We knew the home we currently live in wasn't going to be our forever home. When we moved in, we said, "Let's give it 5 years" and then we'd move. After 2 (seemingly long) years of complaining, updating, and frustrations with the neighbors and location, we knew it was over. It's not a bad area or location, but it was just not a good fit for our family.

Here is a sneek peak at the new home. These are pictures I took during our first showing of the home and also from inspection:

This is the front window in the living room. Love this!

This is a view from the back door out onto the amazing deck (two levels!) and back yard.

This is the view of the kitchen from the family room (entry is to the right and back door, left). Love the built-in fridge!!

And of course this is the gorgeous front of the house! We are finally back on a street instead of a cul-de-sac and we couldn't be more excited! Also, I spotted some pre-teen/teenage girls next door. Can we say BABYSITTER!?!?

So we have some big plans for this beauty. Some longer-term updates would be to paint the green trim on the exterior (seriously, what were they thinking?) and to build a wall, door, closet and make the loft into a 4th bedroom.

Some of the immediate updates we would need to do is replace the garage door opener (loud!), add closet organizers, and paint a few rooms. I wanted Cam's room to be the exact same colors as this home so it's hopefully less of a transition for him. He is my main concern when it comes to moving, especially in one day! I know it'll be hard on all of us, but I think it'll be well worth the fuss in the long run.

Is it sad that I'm already thinking about Halloween and how much FUN it's going to be to go trick-or-treating with him in this neighborhood!

Getting personal

I'm not a writer. Nor am I a very good one. Given this information, please excuse my random post rant.

Recently I've been on the verge of giving up. Giving up finding a job (among many other things). Yes, I still do interviews but I'm really thinking my skills need some brushing up. Not sure how to go about doing that, but at any rate they could use some dusting off. I have always had a job, since I was 14 years old cashiering for Joe O'Malia's Supermarket.

Good ol' Joe's. Great local grocery chain and such a fun time in my life.

Now it's vital to our family, our survival and for the sake of our savings account that I find a job. And soon.

As some of you know, I left a well-paying job in July of 2010; just before Cam was conceived. Mistake number one? Leaving the job. Letting the stress get to me. I used to be very sensitive to stress and things going on around me.

I'm a changed person now. Camden, he has changed my every thought. He has made me a better person. (Not to mention I cuss less. Hey, you gotta start somewhere.)

Because of that beautiful, sweet, innocent little baby of mine, I've chosen to do what is necessary. If that means going back to work after we thought I could be a stay-at-home-mom, then that's what it means. I'll do anything for that kid! Now people say that all the time, but I would give him all of my organs if it would save his life.

As I cry thinking of something so horrific..

It pains me to see us struggling. It pains me to feel this way. I just want to be free from all hate, all evil, and all negativity. Unfortunately there's no such place (on Earth anyways) that exists. Trust me when I say that if it did, I'd be in the car on my way right.this.moment.

Sometimes I feel like just running away from everything. Selling our house, furniture and everything we own and just moving my family to the Caribbean or some exotic place where we could be around sunshine, positivity, and less civilization (and not to mention, a beach for crying out loud). Although nice in theory and somewhat doable, I know I'd miss this place. This is my home and I've called it that for 28 (seemingly long) years.

Well folks, I've found a new sense of being and who I am recently. I feel like this is the start of something wonderful and we'll see where it leads me. I apologize if this was random, confusing or whatever it was but I had to get some thoughts off of my chest. Not too many people to talk to since Cam takes up 210% of my time. :) In a good way.



First trip to the park

We have been extremely busy lately (you will find out why here in a few days) but have been making time to take Camden for walks with the nice weather. A week or so ago we wanted to see how he did at the playground and as luck would have it, there was nobody else there when we went so we had the place to ourselves!

We decided to take Cam in his new wagon that Grandma Laura (my mom) gave him for Christmas. He loved the wagon ride and we might even take him to the zoo with it, since it has a canopy for shade and the seats lay flat so we could lay him down to sleep in it.

Well he absolutely loved the park!

Daddy loved pushing him on the swings and as you can see, he loved it, too! I'd like to think I'm getting a little better at taking pictures since having my first photography workshop back in February.

This was Cam's first trip down the slide. He wasn't quite sure what to think but as long as he was on our laps getting ma-ma and da-da hugs, he didn't really care that much.

These two just melt my heart! Since the weather has been cooperative, we have been walking every day either before or after dinner and also have been spending more time outside (grilling!) This has also been a positive motivator for me to get exercising again and continue losing some of this baby weight.

Call me Bargain Betsy

Lately I've become more of a bargain-hunter. The longer it takes me to find a job, the more desperate I get; and closer to dumpster-diving mode. 0:)

I found a few consignment sales in my local area so I went. I shopped. I over-spent. Mostly I'm writing this post to help justify my purchases, although in hindsight I know I didn't need to buy all those toys. But then again the grandparents would be sorely disappointed if I dropped Cam off toy-less.

Here are a few of my amazing finds:

Two metal, heavy-duty baby gates for $25/each.

Several pairs of shoes, sandals, crocs (the baby crocs are SO CUTE) for only $2-4/pair.

An infant swing for a play set (purchased for a friend) that I'd bet money was unused for $5.

 A Combi umbrella stroller for $20. This was a little more pricey than I wanted, but I am sick and tired of my monstrous Chicco "regular" stroller that came with the car seat.

Several toys for only $1-2/each.

Several books at $1/each.

Lots of clothes ranging from $1-4/each piece.

.. drum roll please .. this is my best deal of the year ..

A mini play cube for only $16 (in mint condition I might add)!!

It's late and Camden hasn't been sleeping through the night consistently anymore so it's off to bed for me! I hope you enjoyed my bargain-hunting as much as I did! It's a lot more stressful in person and there were a few snags today with the staff at the second consignment sale, but it's over and I got what I wanted. And then more. And more.

Bargain disclosure: I have been selling some unwanted and extra furniture/items on craigslist lately so this is where the money came from to purchase these items. Trust me when I say that we don't have the money for me to be shopping like this year-round. :) Too bad we don't though .. it sure was fun!