I am excited that Valentine's Day is tomorrow! There was a great deal on some yummy chocolate at Sharp Shopper that I bought for Valentine's Day right after New Years. I did eat some of it, but I have held on to most of it though! I also found some cute little "guinea pigs" for the kids at our local pharmacy. Cal really wanted one (they're fake) for Christmas but I forgot about it until AFTER I had spent all the kid Christmas money. Thankfully Cal didn't say anything about it on Christmas Day! I noticed them again, half-off, at the pharmacy after Christmas! Sweet! I also bought a book for Clark at Barnes and Noble. A teacher gave me a gift card as a thank-you right before Christmas. Clark's book cost me about $1. I must say, I really like book stores. I had fun looking around. Elden even sat in for a few minutes during their story time.
We've been up to different things. A brief summary: no-school-parent-teacher-conference day, playing with friends, art night at the school, volunteering at the school, date nights, eating a free Papa John's pizza (thanks to a pre-Super Bowl competition which we don't even watch...who won anyway?), going to a birthday party, and deciding not to get the older house I posted about previously. We've decided on a different house that we like which we've toured twice already. It's funny how quickly plans change. After our friend looked at the house and told us an estimated costs to fix things...like putting in a vapor barrier in the basement, new drywall to cover the plaster walls containing asbestos, dealing with lead paint, etc. we decided to go a different route. At this time it would be too much time and too much money. Maybe someday...
Right now we are waiting to hear back about getting a mortgage. We are doing a conventional 15-year fixed. One problem is that Lee has been self-employed for only 1.5 years. "They" want to see 2 years on his record. Hopefully our no debt record and our great credit scores will help. I am a little surprised that we both had a great credit score as we haven't borrowed money or got a loan or a credit card (we canceled our credit cards in 2010) for anything since the end of 2009. As time goes by I've heard that our credit score will go away, which is totally fine with me. But it does make it a bit easier to have a great credit score when trying to buy a house. I met with the loan lady the other day and left frustrated. I had no idea that "they" wanted to see that we have money in the bank for closing costs also (in addition to a down payment). And I didn't know that they would want to know where our down payment money came from! Plus I didn't have all the paperwork I needed. I was really hoping for the first meeting I would have all the paperwork squared away. As far as I know the paperwork is done now; I am just waiting to hear back. But, ugh, cash would be so much easier! I have been checking email a lot today and no word yet. It is possible that we may not even be able to get a loan at this time. If so we'll contact two other companies. If they also say no, we'll just rent this house for a few more months and go from there.
Lee and I had a mid-week date last week since our weekend was pretty busy. Lee was in charge and did a great job. We had yummy Ghirardelli brownies and played Boggle.
I love the creative note he made!
And if you were wondering...it's IBC root beer.
And for some random photos: Clark feel asleep one night mid-teeth brushing.
Shanna loves to do certain jobs. She thinks it's so great when it's her turn to wash the dishes. On Saturday she said: Mom, when do I get to mop the floor? I want that to be my job. Per Shanna's persistence we pulled out a bucket and I filled it with just plain water. Soon after that we had to leave to pick up Clark's friend and fuel up the van. When we got home I stayed outside and cleaned the van a little. When I came in Shanna had already moved the kitchen rugs and mopped. I found her in her room taping wash cloths around her shoes so she could wipe up the excess water. So funny. I guess Shanna is taking after me! Though I don't like to mop I've heard that when I was about her age I wanted to sweep the floor a lot...and maybe other jobs.
Elden fell asleep in my lap while I've been doing this post. Sadly he'll be too big some day to crawl into my lap and fall asleep. I love snuggling with him, awake and asleep. I've been very blessed that my last kid is so affectionate.
We've been up to different things. A brief summary: no-school-parent-teacher-conference day, playing with friends, art night at the school, volunteering at the school, date nights, eating a free Papa John's pizza (thanks to a pre-Super Bowl competition which we don't even watch...who won anyway?), going to a birthday party, and deciding not to get the older house I posted about previously. We've decided on a different house that we like which we've toured twice already. It's funny how quickly plans change. After our friend looked at the house and told us an estimated costs to fix things...like putting in a vapor barrier in the basement, new drywall to cover the plaster walls containing asbestos, dealing with lead paint, etc. we decided to go a different route. At this time it would be too much time and too much money. Maybe someday...
Right now we are waiting to hear back about getting a mortgage. We are doing a conventional 15-year fixed. One problem is that Lee has been self-employed for only 1.5 years. "They" want to see 2 years on his record. Hopefully our no debt record and our great credit scores will help. I am a little surprised that we both had a great credit score as we haven't borrowed money or got a loan or a credit card (we canceled our credit cards in 2010) for anything since the end of 2009. As time goes by I've heard that our credit score will go away, which is totally fine with me. But it does make it a bit easier to have a great credit score when trying to buy a house. I met with the loan lady the other day and left frustrated. I had no idea that "they" wanted to see that we have money in the bank for closing costs also (in addition to a down payment). And I didn't know that they would want to know where our down payment money came from! Plus I didn't have all the paperwork I needed. I was really hoping for the first meeting I would have all the paperwork squared away. As far as I know the paperwork is done now; I am just waiting to hear back. But, ugh, cash would be so much easier! I have been checking email a lot today and no word yet. It is possible that we may not even be able to get a loan at this time. If so we'll contact two other companies. If they also say no, we'll just rent this house for a few more months and go from there.
Lee and I had a mid-week date last week since our weekend was pretty busy. Lee was in charge and did a great job. We had yummy Ghirardelli brownies and played Boggle.
I love the creative note he made!
And if you were wondering...it's IBC root beer.
And for some random photos: Clark feel asleep one night mid-teeth brushing.
Shanna loves to do certain jobs. She thinks it's so great when it's her turn to wash the dishes. On Saturday she said: Mom, when do I get to mop the floor? I want that to be my job. Per Shanna's persistence we pulled out a bucket and I filled it with just plain water. Soon after that we had to leave to pick up Clark's friend and fuel up the van. When we got home I stayed outside and cleaned the van a little. When I came in Shanna had already moved the kitchen rugs and mopped. I found her in her room taping wash cloths around her shoes so she could wipe up the excess water. So funny. I guess Shanna is taking after me! Though I don't like to mop I've heard that when I was about her age I wanted to sweep the floor a lot...and maybe other jobs.
Elden fell asleep in my lap while I've been doing this post. Sadly he'll be too big some day to crawl into my lap and fall asleep. I love snuggling with him, awake and asleep. I've been very blessed that my last kid is so affectionate.
2 comments:
Sheldon used to get dish cloths and wash clothes and tape them on his feet to mop the floor when it was his turn. Love that Shanna likes to pitch in and clean.
You guys set everything up so cute for your date nights. How fun.
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