Im feeling very vulnerable.

With a move in our near future, we plan to sell our current home. We love it so much. It is perfect in every way, except that it is a smidgen small. With only two bedrooms on the upper level, we feel the only way to move is out, especially since Sully will still be just a little guy when the new baby arrives. The real estate market has been booming in our area, so I thought it would worth a shot to try to sell ours by owner before going the realtor route. I had no idea how stressful this would be.

We began the process nearly a month ago. Boxing up all of the things we don't currently need. Wow, we have a lot of stuff. Slowly, but surely, each room is looking a bit less homey, but more spacious with the absence of photos and nick-nacks (aka clutter?) that populates the corners. I will admit, it looks great, but Im also looking forward to cluttering up my new fridge with familiar photos and silly magnets.

I had the house ready to photo a couple of days ago and it took me all day, shuffling things from room to room so the room being photographed looked perfectly staged. In the end, the photos looked great. The house looks so spotless. After a couple of desperate phone calls to friends and my realtor "am I taking on too much on?," or "am I asking way too much?," I pulled the trigger. I established a zillow site and had Maggie post it to Facebook because I was a chicken. But there, it went viral and shortly after, a sign went up in our front yard.

I was expecting the phone to immediately start ringing, and here I sit, exactly 24 hours later, and not one bite, not even a prank. How disappointing. I feel like I have completely gone out on a limb. In the scheme of things, it has only been 24 hours, but to this very impatient person, every minute has been brutal. Im still asking myself "Did I take on too much?, Did I ask too much?" We are going to give it one month, and then bring in the realtor to take over. So, cross your fingers, and spread the word...hopefully something pans out, and if not, at least I can say we tried.


In case you are interested... :)
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1700-South-6th-Ave-Sioux-Falls-SD-57105/2111722383_zpid/

Recent happenings.

We have had a busy last couple of weeks around here. Although we have stayed close to home, we have managed a full schedule. Dave's friend, John from Montana spent 10 days in Sioux Falls, and spent most of those nights at our house on a blow up mattress in the basement. Unfortunate for Dave, I feel like he put in a ton of hours at work while John was here. Wether they were call days or work days, he was occupied more than usual. Not to mention Sully, who has taken a miserable turn for the worse in the sleep department. More on that later. Dave and John were able to do some things together, mostly dinners and a movie or two. John's wife, Vicky, joined him towards the end of the trip, so they were on the go most of the days she was here.

Sully and sleep...what a frustrating topic. Fortunately he is a happy camper most days. Usually only crying or fussing when he is hungry. Bedtime has been a disaster. It seems we can spend 2+ hours rocking him and giving him a bottle only for him to pop up and start bouncing in excitement shortly after. How exhausting. Dave and I usually take turns, relieving one another after an hour. Often times, we will put him down when he appears to be asleep only to have him wake up and cry when he realizes we are leaving the room. In the matter of a week's time, he cried so hard upon our departure that he would vomit five different nights all over himself, and his sheets. Which, as you can imagine, requires a complete bedding change and jammie change, followed by more rocking. Ugh. The cushion on the glider is nearly shot. After much frustration and a week of minimal sleep, we were both at the end. With a baby coming in a few short months, we have started to let him cry it out. As awful as it is on both of us, we are 5 nights in and making progress. Slow progress, but progress.

We went to Okoboji on Saturday for the day to spend with the Olivers. We stopped at the Farmer's Market for lunch on the way and among the chaos, I lost my phone. I was determined it had either been picked up from the picnic table or that I had tossed it with the lunch garbage. We spent at least an hour trying to track it down, which cut into our Okoboji time. What a bummer. We immediately went for a boat ride when we got there, and took a dip in the water. The temperature was perfect and we all had a great time. It was very short, but very sweet. Unfortunately, we probably wont make it back this summer, but we look forward to next summer. Its the perfect spot for an afternoon or weekend get away.

My mom turned 68 this last Sunday and we had a picnic at The Arboretum. It was really nice, most of the family made it, Liz even brought her new boyfriend (I'm completely excited for her). He is actually a guy Maggie and I graduated with and they are smitten with each other. Ok, sorry for the tangent, back to the birthday party... My mom is very involved with The Arboretum. They are doing some developing of the land and my dad had this awesome idea to sponsor a garden in her name. A few of us got together a couple of weeks ago to brainstorm the wording and a temporary plaque was placed so my dad could give that to her for her birthday. She was so grateful. I think most of us were in tears when she opened it, including my dad. Way to go, dad! And Happy Birthday, Mom, you totally deserve it.

Family swim in Lake Okoboji.

Praire Garden Gift

Grandma Banana with the Grandkids. 

Group photo...(can you pick out the newby? Scoot in, Matt!)

This makes me smile. 

PS. I found my phone!

Martha's Vineyard, MA

Dave, Sullivan and I spent the last week on Martha's Vineyard with a quick stop in Boston on the way over. Dave had the week off and wanted to spend the Fourth on the East Coast and I was intrigued by Martha's Vineyard. Is it a coincidence that 'Jaws' was filmed there over the Fourth of July weekend? I think not.

I have a good college friend who lives in Boston, so we took advantage of their location. We met last Saturday for snacks, a bit of touring and some pizza. We were able to see The Constitution and walk a large part of The Freedom Trail, Dave was in a history heaven. It was a warm day, but really nice to see their life in Boston. Many thanks to Becky and Mike for their hospitality and tour guide work. The stop over turned into a great way break up the long trip.

We rented a great spot on the water, a reservation which required planning way in advance. I think we made the reservation in November of 2012. We extended the invite to my parents right away to come for a few nights, and to Mike and Becky who were so close geographically that it just made sense. Finally, after lots of gentle nudges, my parents committed. Mike and Becky weren't quite as hard to convince. The seven of us overlapped one night, which was The Fourth.

Dave, Sully and I spent the first couple of nights and the final night alone. We hopped into our Mini Cooper and cruised the island, from Vineyard Haven to Menemsha to Acquinnah, and to Edgartown. We would put Sully in the stroller and off we would go. He is such a trooper. We spent a morning at the Farmer's Market with my parents an evening strolling the streets of Oak Bluffs. We spent an afternoon relaxing with Becky and Mike followed by a (full) car ride to Edgartown where Sully ate his first hot dog in the bun and loved every bite of it. It was really fun to have the company. I should mention that Dave definitely had his private 'Jaws' agenda that he stuck to and I was pretty much oblivious to, until it came time for a particular photo here or there. Although it isn't really my thing, I enjoyed that Dave was able to get as much as possible out of it. The night we all seven spent together was interesting, to say the least...

My dad was pretty adamant about getting something lined up on the water, wether it was a fishing adventure or a boat tour, he just wanted to get out there in any way possible. So, lucky for us, we found a captain who was willing to overlook the baby as a seventh person (since his license only allowed him to take out groups of six), yay(!) or yay(?). I had offered to stay back with Sully but when we found the option it seemed right that we all be together. So, we board the boat (which was meant for parasailing and had wicked hydraulics...again, yay(?), kick in, motherly instincts!!!). We started out and it was gorgeous, 80 degrees, the others were enjoying wine and beer, Sully was a sport on my lap taking it all in. As we floated into the Edgartown Harbor, a thick cloud full of a heavy fog rolled in. After a bit of site seeing, we headed out and were greeted by some pretty aggressive waters. Lots of waves crashing into the boat and onto all of us. Burrr. Our captain, Mark thought it was best to high tail it out of there in order to avoid a wet mess. Im sure he made the best decision, but flying through open waters at 40+ miles per hour with a 13 month old on my lap, and being 23 weeks pregnant was less than ideal. With every bump and jolt, I quietly dropped an 'f', an 's' and another 'f' word. Then whispered to Sully how proud of him I was as I held him as close as possible. I was so happy to see the sun and the harbor. I have never felt so uneasy. What an experience. We followed the boat ride up with a grill out and lots of fun conversation on the deck at the house. What a way to celebrate our freedom! I think next year, Ill remember that I have the freedom to say 'no!' ;).

We returned home on Sunday and were very happy to be here. We had a long day of traveling and even though Sully was a trooper, it was hot and sticky and just plain long. We had an awesome week. I have plenty of photos to follow...

Becky and I on The Freedom Trail in Boston.

Family photo with Paul Revere. 

Sully enjoying the view.

Menemsha at the site of Quint's shack.

Cliffs at Acquinnah.

Sully searches for sea shells. 

Sullivan at the Farmer's Market.

Enjoying some of the local treats. 

All smiles before the boat ride. 

A bit weathered in a post boat ride group shot. 

Becky took this of our family on the beach from the house.
Great photo, Beck, we love it.