so snow stuck

I’m not sure I’ll be complaining about cabin fever for a bit after last night. In an effort to get out of the house we joined Justin’s parents for lunch about an hour south of us. We’d recently had a few days of sunshine tease us so we were a little disheartened when a light snow dusted the ground the day before, but since it hadn’t snowed all day yesterday we thought nothing of loading up the babies and making the trip. (cue disaster music)

About halfway through the drive on the way there the snow picked up and the travel slowed down. I’m not sure if it’s because I grew up a Colorado resident or I’ve been hit by two semi trucks and feel invincible, but it really didn’t seem like the roads were that bad so I was incredibly aggravated how slow things were moving. I wasn’t driving though so I had to sit passively in the passenger seat as Justin obeyed all traffic laws and was a courteous driver abiding by the 10 mph speed limit the drivers in front of us set. We made it eventually and enjoyed a nice couple hours with his parents and then started the drive back, knowing it would take longer than the hour it was supposed to, but never ever imagining what was in store for us:

It took us 45 minutes to go about 12 miles but spirits were lifted when we reached the highway and assumed we would actually be able to start moving, albeit at a slow pace, we wouldn’t be dealing with the stop and go of a small town in love with stop signs. When we got on the on-ramp J had to brake immediately to get out of the way of a van reversing back on to the road and we saw two semi-trucks chillin on the side of the ramp. We looked ahead and traffic was moving (again, slowly but still moving) so we figured we’d go ahead and continue on the highway. (turn up disaster music)

We made it about two miles before coming to a complete stop for the next FIVE hours. Apparently there were a lot of accidents at one time so the frickin county decided to simply close the highway so they could clear some of the accidents… it would’ve make sense if they also permitted people from entering the highway, but they didn’t, so we literally drove on to a closed highway and it was just a matter of time until we caught up with the location that was halted. It would also make sense to close the if they planned on sending plowing or salting the roads to make it safer for drivers after they were opened again, but they didn’t do that either.

So, for five hours we sat in Justin’s five-passenger car with the babies slipping in and out of meltdowns. At one point Justin’s dismay was obvious when he looked over and Bella, Austin and I were all crying at the same time. haha! It only lasted a minute (my crying – theirs was much more impressive) but I was losing my mind. Luckily we had brought our portable DVD player so Bella alternated between a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Christmas episode and listening to Beauty and the Beast on disc. She made it through both about 12 times. (this only aided to me turning into a crazy person).

Poor Austin wasn’t feeling well and quickly got a fever and was restless and pretty inconsolable unless he was laying on my chest sleeping. The extra weight right on my pregnant bladder did wonders… so at hour 4.5 I finally broke down and told Justin we had to figure something out. We were looking through the car and didn’t see any viable options, plus all the cars around us still had their headlights on so running to the side of the road wasn’t an option either. It wasn’t until I saw the beautiful red gleam from a Dr Pepper can I had put out of Austin’s reach on Justin’s side door that I had hope! Justin pushed as much of the top into the can as he could and I made him turn his head as I made use of my superior skill from peeing in so many cups at the doctor’s offices and filled the can to. the. brim. Didn’t spill a drop, I was pretty proud.

Justin had an easier time figuring out how to relieve himself (so unfair how much easier it is for guys!) and as he simply opened his car door and was beginning to breathe a little easier, someone appears out of nowhere one car in front of us and starts waving a flashlight at us. My heart stopped, I heard Justin catch his breath when we realized it was a police officer. Luckily he had no idea the shenanigans going on from our car and was instead waving us on to try to drive up the hill in front of us.

PRAISE THE LORD! Seriously, I did because I knew my good friend from home, Babette, had been praying for us and we turned out to be one of about 10 cars they let go. Justin was a rock star and got us to the top without much trouble, but some of the cars around us weren’t so lucky so they closed the road again and J’s sister who was about a mile behind us had to wait an additional two hours! So, six hours later and the needle now pointing much closer to E than when we’d started we were finally moving and on the way home.

I’m more than a little nervous for the drive to Nashville I’m going to attempt on Thursday because I think both babies are pretty fed up of the car, but refuse to be defeated before trying… so fingers crossed! Lesson learned though, there will be a box in the back of my car with blankets, food, water and most importantly, better entertainment.

Lets Make a Deal

I haven't written much about the process of trying to sell our house because it was a pseudo-secret for much of the time it was on the market the first time around... that's right, first time around which was a big discouraging fail. We're officially on Round II now and feel much better about it time around. We have a new realtor who seems to be aggressive about helping us sell this house. The whole process has been pretty bittersweet because we truly love our house and our huge yard, but it's unfortunately not in the preferred state, and my heart remains in Colorado. Honestly the best case scenario would be if we could just pick up our house (I'm super strong so it shouldn't be a problem) and move it to the mountains. Not so possible as it turns out so we'll be traditional if we must and try to sell it.

There are about fifty things that have been making this difficult... none of the least of the hurdles is the Ohio house market blows and it's practically impossible to sell your house to break even, let alone make money. We understand that what we may lose here, we can make up for when we buy our next house... but I'm a recent SAHM and we're just not in a place to lose money on the forefront. We decided to list the house for less this time around to garner more attention and the right buyers, but we will literally have extremely minimal wiggle room which makes me nervous that we may actually make it to a place where we get offers but nothing will come of it when they low ball us and we go back to them with basically the same amount we're asking for.

Truly though, not just saying it, in the back of my mind a song my Mother-in-Law sings the babies "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do" rattles around in the back of my mind. I know with 100% certainty that if it's God's will we be able to move home we will. I'm equally fearful that His will is that we stay longer and my heart won't be changed to accept the direction for our family. "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do."

Our realtor sent over a stager to help us prepare the house to re-list and she had some pretty fantastic and overwhelming suggestions. Mostly a lot of painting in the main three rooms you see when you walk in our house. I really like her suggestions too, just makes me want to uproot the house to Colorful Colorado all the more. Conveniently I'm not going to be able to help with any painting since I'm pregnant so, once again, it all falls on Justin's shoulders. ((sorry J!)) Instead I'm going to drive down to Nashville this weekend with the babies to get out of the house and give Justin free reign and four days to get the painting done. I'm really excited for the excuse to visit Emily and am confident the change of scenery will help eliminate our cabin fever.

So, for now, I remain overwhelmed but encouraged.

catching up with bullets

• My sister and I are thinking of starting an online store on etsy to sell rag quilts. They've become a sort of hobby of ours (and awesome gifts that we get to make) and I'm obsessed with etsy, but a quick search showed really not many people are selling them. They make awesome gifts so hopefully we can be successful with it... but we can't come up with a name for our store or the time to make some for stock that aren't already predetermined as gifts.
• With the exciting news of our pregnancy comes the sad realization that I'll miss out on pomegranate margaritas this summer... a small price to pay I'm aware, but since our weekend in Chicago last September I've oh so been looking forward to sharing a pitcher of margs and some chips and dip on the patio with anyone willing to throw a few back. meh.
• Although I love winter, my recent SAHM status is giving me serious cabin fever and I'm ready to get out with the babies to enjoy a little sunshine, should Cleveland ever provide it. We went on a walk around the block yesterday and Bella was completely in her element pedaling her little heart out on the tricycle my parents gave her last year. I think she'll be more well behaved when she can spend her extra energy outside... and I need a better behaved toddler. (I'm well aware of the irony of that statement - but a girl can dream)
• I don't regret my decision to quit my job and be home with the babies, in every way it was the best decision for our family, but I can't pretend to have rose colored glasses and say this hasn't been really hard. My mommy dating has been a bust so no play dates for this mama. We get out of the house plenty going to the gym, story time at the library or just running errands, but J just started tutoring after work (surprisingly good money, and a huge blessing) so I'm home alone even longer each day. I just need to figure a way to have a better heart about this - I understand it's a fleeting time in my life where life is simply not about me - but it's a challenge all the same. Some days just feels like my day is meant to keep babies from crying and clean up the same mess over and over. I can't say I've had an entire good day, but I've had enough of the moments from them that melt my heart.
• I absolutely love hearing Justin play with the babies... Bella has this deep belly laugh that is guarenteed to come out when they play, and Austin laughs in delight to just be a small part of whatever their little adventure or game is. It is literally the sweetest sound I can think of and I'm hooked.
• I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to continue going to the gym with my pregnancy (or at least how long it will be worth the cost since I can only get my heart rate so high and am not supposed to lift more than 15 pounds) but I've enjoyed it for the time being. I can't say that Zumba is my favorite class, but it is the class I attend most. It is the most embarrassing thing ever. I always thought I had an ounce of rhythm in me (I'm a quarter Puerto Rican for goodness sake, it has to be in me somewhere) but it turns out, not so much. I've set a few rules in place for reach time I go: avoid looking in the mirror at all cost, find someone who knows less what they're doing than you do, never ever go with anyone you know, don't take yourself too seriously and laugh freely, openly and with no abandon. I would go ahead and take that last one to heart and apply it to all aspects of life... I'm going to go back to that, finding joy in the little things.

my eggs are like vaccuums

We were blessed, excited, nervous, overjoyed, overwhelmed and SURPRISED when we found out six weeks ago that we are expanding the family once again and "Baby Gump" will make an arrival around September 10th!

In every way our cup runneth over.