pushin' up our sleeves, gettin' a little dirty!

Our ambitious but do-able homeowner to-do list:

1. Landscape everywhere!
I plan to pull those ugly holly bushes out of the front yard on closing day. Well, I plan to make Rick do it, being that bending down is quite the challenge these days. I would like to plant some hydrangeas throughout the front and back yard. I really want lots of color, especially for the spring and summer so we can just clip a few buds here and there and have fresh flowers inside all the time.

There is already a lot of ivy around the backyard which is mostly pretty (especially covering up the chain link fence) but in some spots a little out of control. It needs to be tamed a bit. I also reeeally would like a hammock somewhere so we might have to look into our tree placement or might just have to purchase one that doesn't hang on trees! We also plan to eventually rip down the chain link fence and put up a 6ft wood privacy fence, but this will effect the neighbors' fences so we aren't planning on doing this immediately.

2. Plant an edible garden.
I have been wanting to go organic with my produce especially since I am allergic to a lot of the pesticides used on fresh fruits and veggies. Growing my own organically will save the money in the grocery store and I just think its cool, especially when raising a family! I am thinking we will start with zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Obviously, I have lots of reading to do so I can actually do it right and it doesn't turn into a mess. I would absolutely LOVE to have my own peach tree, but I hear they attract bugs more than the average citrus tree, so it would require lots of attention (and chemicals) that I am probably not ready to give anytime in the near (or far) future. It is not ruled out, just put on a back burner until more research can be done.

3. Start a compost bin.
This is going to take some convincing of my husband! He isn't quite on the green train as much as I would like. But I have read edible gardens are a lot more fruitful when using compost, plus the more organic the better! Plus it isn't like there aren't a ton of easy ways to start compost bins without taking up too much space! I have even seen some DIY bins that are made from plastic bins from target which we could get in any color for wherever we are going to tuck it away.

4. Renovate, renovate, renovate!
There are a few things we plan to do immediately. For example, there are 2 doors in the nursery (which I assume used to be a formal dining room) One leads into the kitchen and takes some vital wall space and the door swings into the nursery and takes a lot of the floor space. We plan to remove the door and plaster it up, creating better space in both rooms. Obviously with the baby almost here this is going to have to be done immediately. Maybe we will even turn the door into a vintage style headboard like Whitney did with shutters over at Yada Yada...

As for other renovations, they may take some time since we only have 4 weeks before Bebo arrives. But the bathroom needs a new shower and new floor tiles, the kitchen needs some additionally lighting and could definitely use some new cabinets, maybe a few glass ones to display our colorful dishes. And all the walls need a spruce up of paint that match the airy, beachy style we love.

I am so excited about picking out fabrics, pillows and curtains. I have even found a cool start that recycles old furniture into new items. The last time I went, there were some reupholstered vintage chairs that were to die for! I plan to continue my etsy searching but to also add thrift stores and yard sales into my renovate quest, because you can find gems at those places! Plus between Rick's handy man abilities and my artistic talent, we could renovate our whole house way cheaper!

I am obsessed with DIY blogs and magazines that give me more ideas than my poor preggo brain can hold. My dear husband is probably getting extremely tired of all my ideas! And don't worry, I know how completely unrealistic it is that any of this stuff is going to be completed anytime soon since we are going to have a brand new addition. I guess my nesting instincts are really kicking in now that I have an actual canvas to visualize.

I think we will start with the nursery and renovate one room at a time, the bathroom probably being last seeing as how it is hard to go without one. We do plan to eventually remove the attached shed on the back and add a master bath off the master bedroom with a spa tub, extend the nursery to be a larger bedroom and create more of a mudroom area off the den, which could potentially be a laundry room as well.

Rick also plans on building  a shed for his music playing and a deck for cookouts but we shall see. I love our huge backyard, not trying to lose all of our space. Plus, we need to save some space for a swing set down the road.

I cannot wait to get started. We are soooo excited about pushin' up our sleeves, gettin' a little dirty and making this house, a home. :)

30 down... 10 to go!

With all the house talk, I almost forgot...

We are 30 weeks today! I left my camera at school, so no belly shot today BUT Baby Coop is a good-size cabbage in weight, tipping the scales this week at 3 pounds. (Length: about 15 3/4 inches, head to heel.)

Next check-up is on Friday. Aside from my extremely huge ankles and feet, we are both hanging in there in this heat! :) Stay tuned!

steps 2, 3 and 4- Check!

Step 2 - Check!

That is correct, our inspection is complete and better than we ever could've hoped! The inspector said he has never seen a 55-year-old house look this good!

There are a few (and inexpensive) repairs to be made, which we should have no problem asking the sellers to do, but only the first one has to be done before we close.

• Add some railings to the bottom three steps that lead to road (to stay up to code).
• Install new back door (due to some water damage of the years).
• Install new pipe in the tub to keep the drain working properly.
• Install new AC pump in crawl space (pumps condensation from the central AC).
• Finish patchwork to complete vapor barrier in the crawl space.
• Re-caulk vents on roof.

A short list, just the way we like it. :)

Step 3 - Check!
Step 4 - Check!

We have completed all of our loan paperwork. Our mortgage advisor ordered the appraisal today, but doesn't foresee any problems. He said we should hear back middle of next week.

We might have some negotiations occurring with the repairs to be made but I am sure none of which will be a deal breaker. After that, we wait to give the sellers time to pack and move out!

Then July 22nd we will all meet at the lawyer's office for closing to get our keys and officially begin the next phase of life, making a house, a home! :)

we bought a house!

That is correct, we made an offer that was accepted. Step 1 CHECK!

Here are some pictures from our realtor's website:

Front of the house, there is a patio/stoop/porch area that is hard to see in the picture. Obviously, we are going to need to do some landscaping. The front garden needs some love!

Living Room

Eat-in Kitchen, can't see how big it is here, but plenty of space for the nice bar height dining table we got for Christmas 2 years ago.

Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Bedroom #2

Bedroom #3

Family Room/Den with a wood fire place!! This is where I can see the stockings hung, the Christmas tree in the corner and wrapping paper everywhere!

Back of the house with a patio and attached shed

Huge back yard. Plenty of space for Fletch to run even when we decide to build a deck! :) And space for me to have a garden. Cannot wait to grow my own herbs & veggies!

Now onto Step 2: inspection!

We are scheduled to close by July 22nd. Please pray Cooper decides to wait to join us until his due date! :) I guess I do get the house before the baby after all!

holy house hunters!

The more and more we have thought/talked/mulled over the house we loved I loved, Rick liked, the more and more we are thinking it is meant to be our home and the more and more we are getting anxious we need to snatch it up before someone else does (and before our lease runs out).

Soooo, we are meeting our agents tomorrow evening to see it one more time, make sure that we weren't too house hungry and actually love it as much as we remember. And if we love it still, like I am sure we will, then we are going to make an offer!

AHHHHHHHHH!!

I cannot believe it.

We have 54 days to:

• make an offer & pray that it gets accepted.
• have an inspection & pray there are only minor repairs.
• have an appraisal that matches or is more than what we have agreed to pay.
• get our loan finalized and approved.
• get our keys.
• move into our home!

Yeah, it sounds like a lot, because well it is. All of that AND pray that Cooper doesn't decide to show up a few weeks early!

Oh boy are we in for quite the summer!

baby registry information

Just wanted to be clear about our baby registries. We are registered at both babiesrus.com and target.com.

The links below should take you straight to our registry but if for some reason it doesn't work you can also search by name or registry number on the babiesrus site and on target.com by name and state.

babiesrus.com - Erin Rice & Rick Rice - 44947233
target.com - Erin Rice & Rick Rice - Virginia

Hope this helps!

officially house hunting!

So, here is the house loan story I promised...

As you know, we were waiting FOR-EV-ER to hear back about the house loan. We started getting extremely concerned with our time crunch (our lease is up July 31 and baby is due August 24) so knowing whether we should be looking for a house to buy or a house to rent was pretty important. We waited so long I got to the point where I didn't really care either way, I just wanted an answer so I would have some kind of stability. Put unknown housing on top of how crazy I already feel being pregnant, in my 3rd trimester with no nursery to speak of, I bet you can imagine how stressed I have been feeling.

Lucky for me, my parents bought me a spa day at Perception Salon in Carytown for my birthday. I made my appointments for this previous Friday. It entailed a prenatal massage, bioelements facial, pedicure, manicure, shampoo & style and they even fed me lunch! Five and a half hours of pampering that could not have come on a better day. My body has definitely gotten more sore over the last couple of weeks with the added Cooper weight and with all the stress, I just needed it!

Let me back up a day... Thursday night, I called an agent that had been contacting me to see if maybe we should start looking at houses even though we hadn't yet been approved officially, considering our time crunch. She suggested we come to her office Friday evening after my spa day to begin talking about it and in the meantime, she would have her mortgage contacts see if they could get us approved any quicker. We called the guy that evening that we had been dealing with over the last 6 weeks (yes, 6 weeks we have been waiting) and let him know if he couldn't get an answer the following day, we would look for someone else who could.

So Friday I am driving to the salon and joking with Rick about how funny it would be if we got the call that we had gotten the loan... hahahahahaha. Both of us decided not to hold our breaths.

So, I am at the salon, and the masseuse leaves me alone in the massage room to get comfortable on the bed and I have a moment to myself. I decide to let go of all that is house/apartment. I decide to enjoy my stress-free day and relax. I decide I will leave all that is house/apartment to God and promise not to question it anymore. As I am thinking all this, I sort of feel myself relax a little more. And it worked. I forgot about it and truely enjoyed my morning.

It wasn't until I took a break for lunch that I looked at my phone to find a text from Rick "Want to buy a house?" which in turn makes all the relaxation go away and turn into utter excitement. I literally started shaking. I wrote back (would've called but didn't want to disturb the lady getting a manicure) and asked if he was serious? He said that we had gotten the loan. The guy we had been dealing with apparently needed an ultimatium and delivered!!! (ARE YOU SERIOUS?!)

I probably would've run out the salon if I didnt still have a manicure and pedicure to look forward to. WE CAN BUY A HOUSE. I got my answer that I had prayed on not even 2 hours prior. As soon as I let go of control, it was handled. Funny, how that always seems to happen.

So you can imagine the excitement when we went to meet our real estate agent that evening with the good news. We have 8 weeks to find, purchase and move in to a home. The race is on!

Today we went out house hunting for the first time and saw 4 houses. The first one we fell in love with. Scratch that, I fell in love. Rick fell in like. Ugh, men!

The rest were mediocre, not enough to want to see again or even remember. But the first house, I immediately saw me changing Coop's diapers in the nursery and playing tag with him and Fletch through the halls and opening Christmas presents next to the fireplace.

We have picked out a few more and our agents are going to find a few more, now that they are getting to know us a little better but I am extremely optimistic. God has gotten us this far, with a little faith I am sure he will keep us headed in the right direction.

baby registry frustrations!

Everytime I go to babiesrus.com where we have our baby registry, they have discontinued items. Most recently, our nursery bedding, the travel system, humidifier and even little things here and there like washcloths and towels. It is absolutely frustrating!

Especially the nursery bedding....

So we are back to the drawing board, which is probably a good thing. There are some items we picked out (like a feeding chair that straps to one of our table chairs) with space in mind, thinking we would likely be in an apartment. But with the news of getting that house loan, we can now manage to take up a little more space.

So I spent most of the evening revamping our registry. I also started a baby registry at target.com mostly for my own personal organization, so all Coop's furniture is picked out for when we finally move. But there are also some items that babiesrus.com discontinued and that are sold cheaper.

Boy, will I be happy to start setting everything up. My nesting instinct is going nuts. We are going to look at 4 houses tomorrow! So, maybe we will luck out and fall in love...

fishy fishy got her wishy!

We got a loan! We got a loan! Little Coop is going to come home to a home after all!  (That would be me doing a happy dance!)

I am so ecstatic and promise to post the long/ironic/spiritual story soon but this little mama has got to get to bed!

Happy House Hunting! (Which officially begins on Sunday!)

belly- 28 weeks!

I am not going to repost all my previous belly pictures like I have been because honestly they get hard to look at, but you can look at them here if you forgot how little I used to be!

So, here we are officially in the 3rd trimester! It is time for another belly picture! (Expect them every 2 weeks from now on!)

My poor belly hasn't seen the sun in a looong time, if you can't tell!

I really can't believe how far along we are. It is unbelievable how soon little Cooper is going to be here (and STILL have no idea what our housing plan is for the rest of the year! 8 weeks and counting til we have to be out of our tiny 1-bedroom! But that is an entirely different blog post!)

I had my week 28 appointment this morning. My doctor is soo happy with the way my pregnancy is progressing. My weight gain is PERFECT, blood pressure PERFECT, absolutely no complaints! It is VERY nice to know all that baby reading I have done has proven to be worth it. This just means getting back to my pre-pregnacy weight (or better!) will be easier post-baby.

I hope my next blog post will be about how we have secured a house to purchase (or rent, but have at least nailed something down.) Here's to positive visualizations!