And The Winners Are......Not Us.

Incase any of you are wondering how our housing situation is coming along, Bruce received a call from our realtor yesterday afternoon and we were out-bid on the house. We knew when we placed the offer Tuesday afternoon that two other couples had placed offers the previous weekend, and that the seller was waiting for ours to make a decison. When Bruce and I found out about the other offers we actually ended up raising our offer to the asking price (still a bargain since it is a foreclosure), but apparently one of the other couples had already offered ABOVE the asking price.

So...now that we have that behind us, we are in a toss-up between continuing the 'house-hunting game' or building. Both of course have their pros and cons. We'll definately keep you all updated as to what we decide.

Sorry this is such a short post, but I need to finish paying bills and writing out my grocery list for tomorrow. I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. Bruce will be working a bit of over-time on both Friday and Saturday, so it will be a weekend full of lots of 'Mommy-Brinley time'. Maybe I'll remember to take some pictures of her being her little self.

The End of House-Hunting?

Okay...so you know how I wrote in the last post to just give us a week, that we'd probably change our mind about wanting to build a home. Well, a week went by...and Bruce and I are planning to put an offer down within the next couple of days on a house that he and I walked-through this past Saturday. In all honesty, we were really planning to take the weekend off from the whole house-hunting game. Infact, I had been so sick of walking through houses that I told Bruce to just get a big cardboard box, and we can live in that for the rest of our lives.

Well, all that changed when last Thursday we received a notice from Prudential for a house that seemed to have a lot of potential. It is in a great area, is only 4 years old and has only had one owner. Better yet, it is foreclosed, so the bank that owns it now is asking about $40,000 below its market value!!! Anyway, I receive the e-mails at home, and like I previously said, I've been so sick of walking-through houses that I almost didn't show it to Bruce, but something gave me a nudge and before you know it I was forwarding it to Bruce's work e-mail address so that he could take a look at it and be thinking it over while he was at work. After spending most of that evening going back and forth on whether or not we wanted to spend our time and energy on ANOTHER walk-through that would only probably end unsuccessfully, we decided to set up an appointment with our realtor for Saturday afternoon.

I guess after being through over a dozen homes in the past few weeks and seeing what we've seen, we really didn't have high hopes for the house. However, all that changed very quickly. Bruce and I were very satisfied with the house after walking through it. Sure, there are a handful of things that we would like to upgrade or change over the next few years, but that would be expected with any home we would buy. We knew almost immediately after we were finished that we wanted to meet with our realtor within a few days to crunch numbers and quite possibly put an offer in. So, at this point, that is our plan. As of right now, we have an appointment set for tomorrow afternoon, and I guess we'll just see what comes out of it.

About the rest of last weekend--Bruce worked Friday again. As much as I hate him spending so much time away from Brinley and I, I try to keep in mind that in today's economy I should just be thankful that he has a job and one where he is needed. Sunday, we just took the day easy for the most part. Bruce and I spent as much time as Brinley allowed crunching numbers on our own. We did make a trip down to the pond that is in our apartment complex. You see, earlier in the week, we had hotdogs for supper and had few buns leftover. Instead of discarding them, we decided to take Brinley down the pond to feed the ducks. What ended up happening was Daddy held Brinley the entire time while Mommy fed the ducks. Not exactly a picture-perfect moment.

Speaking of pictures--I know it has been a while. Infact, I realized this past weekend that I haven't taken a single picture this month! I promise I am going to try to do better and get some pictures of Miss Brinley taken and posted.

Well, wish us luck concerning the house. I am hoping that I'll be able to start sending out 'new address cards' to everyone soon, but I know that if something doesn't work out that it was for a good reason. Either way, we will definately let you all know how it all goes!

House Hunting Update

This past weekend was a busy one for us. Bruce worked on Friday which, as most of y'all know, is out of the ordinary for us. However, a few weeks ago he was able to get approved to work over-time for the next several weeks, which gives him the opportunity to try to catch up on work, if there is such a thing. Between Bruce working late in the evenings and then working on Friday, mine and Brinley's week together was a long one, while our weekend together as a family was just too short.

On Saturday, we drove over to Mobile to walk-through several homes with our realtor. Although, none of them really hit the spot, it made us realize how much we both really like one of the homes that we walked-through the previous weekend. Unfortunately though, (there always has to be an 'unfortunately', doesn't there?) that particular home is already under contract. (Trust me, when Bruce told me that, he was so upset that I think he had tears in his eyes.) However, after finding out who the builder was for it (the paperwork said one builder and our realtor kept saying another), it looks like we may be going this route. First things first, Bruce has to get pre-approved by one of the builder's approved lenders. (Apparently in today's economy and the way banks are failing, they don't allow their customers to lend from just anyone.) Secondly, we're hoping to get an appointment with the builder within the next week or two to discuss where we are wanting to build, what our options are and what our budget is. So at this point, that is what our plan is. Like I told my mom couple of days ago, Bruce and I might change our mind next weekend and want to buy a bungalow in Australia....who knows....

Sunday was a rather gloomy, stormy day here on the Gulf Coast, so we just took it easy. Bruce did venture out to catch the new Star Trek movie during Brinley's nap. (Yes, for those of you who weren't aware of this already, I am married to a Trekkie....oy!) Asside from that though, we really didn't venture out much. Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Sorry there aren't any pictures this time around.

A Tidbit About Our Recent Trip to Texas and a Tadbit of Other Stuff

The past several days, we have been BUSY. The weekend before last, we made an impromptu trip to Texas to visit my Mom and Dad. We really hadn't planned on making a trip to Texas until Mom's next surgery, but when she had her last series of doctors appointments last month, we found out that it might be a while before that takes place. So, instead of putting off our trip any longer we decided to go ahead and go for it. We had a nice time lounging around and visiting with everyone. Luckily, Emma and Cole were able to come over a couple of the evenings. That Cole is such a cutie...but then again maybe I'm a little partial since he is my newphew/godson, no?

Brinley learned how to put the rings around the giraffe's neck while at Nana and Papa's.

While we were at Mom and Dad's, Bruce received an e-mail that a house we'd been eyeing dropped in price. We quickly decided to give our realtor a call and set up a walk-through appointment for the following week. The day after we returned to Mississippi, we went over to Mobile to look at the house. Although it was a foreclosure, everything seemed to be okay except for some minor damage, missing blinds/light fixtures/ceiling fans and missing kitchen appliances. We agreed to set up an appointment for the following Saturday (9th) to go over some numbers and possibly give the house a more thorough walk-through.

Brinley decided to help Nana cook breakfast while we were visiting her and Papa's.

A few days go by and we get a call from our realtor--the house has termites! After a few days of being undecided on what to do, Bruce receives a phone call from our realtor saying that four other people had put down offers on the house within the past few days, and that if we were interested in the house that we needed to put an offer down within the next couple of hours. Bruce and I both decided immediately that we didn't feel comfortable being pressured into the situation so we decided to let that house go. We still kept our appointment with our agent, but instead of crunching numbers, we went walking through a couple of more houses that we've been interested in. One of them, we have for sure decided against, but the second one we like quite a bit. We still have a few more houses that we are hoping to walk-thorough this weekend, and then after that point we feel that we'll know which one we're leaning towards.

Now that Brinley is fairly mobile, Bruce and I find stuff stashed in every nook she can reach.

So...that is what has been going on in our lives lately. On a different note, Brinley has been getting a lot more confident with her walking skills. I would estimate that she's at a 50/50 ratio of crawling versus walking. If she's not in a hurry to get somewhere than she'll try walking, but if she spots something across the room that she want to get to immediately, she crawls--she knows that she can get from point A to point B more quickly if she chooses that mode of transportation.

Typically this is A'Pexi's 'Toy Basket', but lately it has become Brinley's 'Anything I Can Stash Into It Basket'.

Brinley has also (finally) figured out how to clap. Since she has never like her hands being touched, Bruce and I have never been able to show her how to do it by clapping her hands together for her. We would just show her by clapping our own hands together. I joked to Bruce that she must have dreamed how to do it, because the first time she clapped was Saturday morning when I came into her bedroom to get her after she woke up. She just started clapping like she was a pro at it and has been doing it well ever since. Speaking of sleeping--and I hope I don't jinx myself by sharing this with all of y'all-- she has been sleeping VERY well since we've been home from Texas. I would say that out of the past week, she has slept through the night (approximately 11 hours) 6 out of 7 times. Not only is she sleeping well at night, but her naps have also become a little longer too. Hopefully we're on to something....

Here's another one of Brinley's favorite places to stash things--the bottom level of our coffee table.

Anyway, I am going to try to keep y'all updated as far as the housing situation goes. Hopefully some success will come out of the walk-throughs this weekend. Wish us luck!

Toman Family Photos

Yesterday evening one of our dear friends took some family pictures of Bruce, Brinley and I. It is something that has been on our "to-do" list for a while, but it seems like something would always come up--we would be out of town, she would be out of town, the weather would be bad, one (or all) of us would be sick, etc., etc. Our original plans were to have pictures of us taken down at the beach, but when we arrived, we realized that it was much too windy. Not only was my hair blowing every which way, but Brinley was clinging to me like a tick on a hounddog (for those of you that need a visual). So, we all decided to go a few blocks inland to Marshall Park, which is the same park that I took Brinley's picture for our Christmas cards this past December. Overall, I have to say that Brinley did well. She didn't let us set her down on a quilt to have individual photos of her taken, but as long as Mommy or Daddy was holding her, she would at least look in the direction of the camera and sometimes even smile for Amanda. After we felt like we had a good assortment of poses, locations and postions from the park, we decided to head back to the beach to see if the wind had died down any. It had a little bit so Amanda tried taking a few shots of us there. Unfortunately with the wind blowing, there was only a certain direction I could stand without my hair blowing every which way, so I think a lot of the shots are going to have the Biloxi/Ocean Springs bridge in them....oh, well. As I write this, Amanda has uploaded a couple dozen photos of us at the park to her online album. Here are a few of my favorite ones, just to give y'all a taste:

All photos courtesy of Mrs. Amanda Fisher Zaiser.

Brinley's Second Easter

I'm sure by now that some of you have to be wondering whether or not we have fallen of the face of the earth, but rest assure we haven't. Unfortunately the past couple of weeks Bruce, Brinley and I have all had the sniffles. Bruce's orignally started a few weeks ago, then Brinley came down with her case about a week and a half ago, and then I finally started mine last weekend. After a couple of days of sneezing, runny noses, congestion, and sore throats I went down to the local Rite-Aid and picked up some Zicam and Emergen-C for Bruce and myself, as well as some throat drops, kleenex, tylenol and the like to replenish our supply. After all that, Bruce ended up acting like most men (stubborn as a mule) and decided not to take the Zicam and Emergen-C...that he didn't need it. Well, just for the record, guess who is completely well and guess who isn't...

Anyway, under normal circumstances, I would have cooked us ham with all the trimmings for our Easter celebration yesterday, BUT once Wednesday rolled around and I was still feeling a little blah, I decided to place an order with our local Honeybaked Ham. I figured that if I wasn't feeling well by the weekend, the last thing I would want to be doing is slaving in a kitchen over a hot stove. I have to be honest that I was pretty skeptical about 'their world-famous ham', but to be honest, it was pretty good! Infact, I may have to keep them in mind for future holidays. In my opinon their side dishes were just 'okay', but the half-ham I ordered has been very moist and tasty.

Last year, since I had just had Brinley, I have to be honest that we didn't attend mass, so this year was our first year to attend mass for Easter as a family. Usually we are Saturday evening mass people just because it can be difficult getting a little one going in the morning, but we REALLY didn't want to drag Brinley through an 8PM Vigil mass. I think we would have all been pulling our hair out by the time it would have been over. So, we decided to attend the Sunday morning mass, and by the grace of God we actually made it on time--even though the parking lot was FULL and we had to park a block away--with a few minutes to spare. I have to say that the full parking lot was nothing compared to what it was like inside the church. It was beyond standing room only. There were SO many people standing that there was only a narrow, clear path between the last aisle of chairs (remember we don't have pews thanks to Katrina) and the crowd of people standing. Bruce and I had never seen anything like it during the two years that we have been attending St. Michael's. With all that said, I do have to mention that Brinley was a very good girl. She did only want Mommy to hold her, but other than that she was very easily entertained by the crowd of people, especially the other little ones.

Brinley and Mommy posing for a quick picture before Easter morning mass.

Brinley and Daddy posing for a quick picture before Easter morning mass.

After mass, we came home, and I got busy putting all the food in the oven to be heated. While the food was warming, Bruce and I decided to grab the camera and try to get a picture of Brinley outside in her Easter dress. Unfortunately, it was a very windy afternoon, and she did not like the wind trying to blow the quilt up around her or Easter eggs going every where. I guess I can't blame her.

Even with her Daddy sitting with her, Brinley wasn't too happy about getting her picture taken outside.

After our attempt at trying to get pictures, we went back inside, and changed into comfy clothes while lunch continued to warm. After enjoying our lunch and cleaning up after it, we just spent our day relaxing together. Bruce had recorded The Ten Commandments the previous day, so we watched that and napped and then watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I'm normally not one to watch television, but for some reason I decided to give the laundry and cleaning a break and take the night off. ;-)

Brinley playing with her activity table after church. As you can she, she has a new fettish with sticking out her tongue while she's REALLY busy with something.

So, that was our Easter. Not much to it, but sometimes that's the best way to celebrate special days--without a lot of fuss. Today, we ran a few errands and drove around a particular neighborhood here in Ocean Springs that has a number of houses for sale. I did do a little laundry today--just diapers--my favorite kind. Other than that, we spent our last day together for this weekend relaxing together and just enjoying each other.

I hope all of y'all had a wonderful Easter weekend filled with many blessings and love.

The Toman's Visit The Toman's

This past weekend, Bruce's parent's came down to the coast to visit us for a few days. After arriving in town Thursday afternoon, they treated us to one of our favorite restaurants, Jocelyn's. Unfortunately, Bruce and I didn't get to enjoy our meal too much because I don't think Brinley was feeling up to par (which only started happening after we had arrived at the restuarant. Trust me, I'm not one of those parents that drags their sick kid all over town.) That afternoon, she had only napped for an hour instead of the usual 2, and on top of that she was experiencing a little cough that she had picked up from her Daddy, who has been sick with a head cold the past few weeks. Thankfully though, I think Thursday was the worst of her 'illness' because by Friday morning she was coughing much less and by Saturday, it was almost completely gone.

Brinley showing Grandpa and Grandma that she is an expert when it comes to the game of peek-a-boo.

Anyway, back to our weekend. On Friday morning, we all went out to see Beauvoir, which is a landmark here on the coast. Beauvoir was the last home that President Jefferson Davis lived in. Not only does the home and its grounds have very interesting history, but the home itself is breathtaking. After our tour, we went back home for a simple lunch (for it is lent) and spent the afternoon relaxing in our home. That evening, I treated Joe and Cilla to some of my world-famous cheese enchiladas, spanish rice and beans. Okay, so maybe my enchiladas aren't world-famous now, but they might be one day. ;-)

Joe, Brinley, myself and Bruce infront of Beauvoir.

Brinley showing off our parenting skills to her grandparents--drinkin' and drivin'. Tsk, tsk!

Brinley loved showing Grandpa and Grandma that she knows how to roll her ball around.

Saturday morning we were in for a real treat. This past weekend happened to be the 16th Annual Herb and Garden Festival in the lovely downtown area of Ocean Springs. There were SOOO many different booths. I have to be honest that I was a little surprised at how large of an event this was in little bitty ol' Ocean Springs. There were of course booths that were selling various plants and flowers, but also there were those selling fresh vegetables and fruits, homemade breads, jellies, pickles, pasta, cookies, jerky, soaps, lotions, candles, and home decor. (I am sure that I am forgetting something...) Although I probably could have bought something from just about every booth (and I imagine Bruce is glad that I didn't), the only thing I walked away with was a bag of assorted homemade italian cookies that we all snacked on throughout the rest of the weekend, and a half a loaf of homemade bread that Joe and Cilla bought and split with us which Bruce and I finished off with a little bit of butter Sunday evening. Bruce and I will definately have to keep this festival in mind as something to attend next year...if we are still in the area. For lunch on Saturday, we decided to try out a restaurant that Bruce and I didn't even know was downtown called Bayview Gourmet. Unfortunately, I was not at all impressed. The service was incredibley slow, we saw others who were seated after us get served before us and the food really wasn't that great. Maybe there's a reason why we hadn't heard of it before. Hmmm...

Brinley being pushed around by Daddy at the Herb and Garden Festival.

To finish off the day, we decided to attend mass that evening instead of having to wake up early to catch the 10:00AM. I know 10:00AM itself isn't early, but I would have had to get up by 7:00 to get three people dressed and ready. If I can avoid getting up before 8:00AM, I try. After mass, we came home and grilled steaks, which I served with baked potatoes and salad.

Mommy and Brinley opening birthday presents from Grandpa and Grandma.

Brinley showing Grandpa and Grandma that she knows how to 'read' her favorite book--Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Sunday morning, Joe and Cilla came over about 10:00, which is the time they had arrived the other two mornings as well. They must know after me being married to their son for almost 3 years that I am NOT a morning person. Brinley hadn't slept very well the night before (therefore Mommy hadn't slept well the night before) so shortly after they arrived, I was putting her down for her nap. Then, we had a simple lunch of sandwiches, chips, fruit, veggies and dip before they were off on their journey back home. After our guests departed, Bruce and I decided that we should take advantage of Sunday being 'the day of rest' and did just that...rested.

All photos used in this piece were taken by Bruce's mom, Cilla Toman.