up in the air.

Its been a bit of a hectic week or so in the C house. After being told by many a Michigan folk that a program graduate was getting a job (good sign) and selling her little house, we decided to contact her. After several long emails back and forth, lots of pictures (such a cute house; all redone inside.) we started contemplating actually buying this house and actually trying to be in contract by April 30 to qualify for the first time homebuyers tax credit. Oh, so naive were we. We had calculated how much we pay in rent as being how much we could pay in a mortgage payment, which makes sense for us but apparently not for a mortgage lender. Lenders assume you have credit card debt and student loans and car payments, etc, so they only allow your payment to be a certain percentage of your income. And if you don't have ANY debt or ANY payments to make because all your furniture is hand-me-down and you live on a tight budget? Too bad, the rules still apply. And since our income is, ummm, low, we would only qualify for a too small loan to buy a house that is actually worth the trouble of buying. So at this point our living situation is up in the air. Too up in the air for my taste. The door is still open to buy, but at this point it is likely just not worth it. Was I crushed? Only very, and only for like a few days. I'm starting to remind myself of the perks of renting and we have found some cute townhouse-type things to look into instead of hard-core apartment living. I'm praying we are done with that. My dad reminded me that with me being a stay-at-home mom and Chris a full-time student, its pretty amazing we were able to even consider buying a home. So true. Here's to buying a house! . . . . in four years.

what might have been.

our living room. 3:00 this afternoon. the hangers prove i actually tried to put the laundry away.

poor child wouldn't go down for her morning nap. so she was REALLY ready for her afternoon one. i ran to the restroom and came back to find she had tapped out.hey look I made Carly a blanket. the stitches are a mess and are everywhere. turns out sewing in a straight line is not as easy as assumed. she will have 10 of these blankets before i figure it out. thats ok, though, because they are my favorite blankets ever. On St Patrick's Day morn I got a call from my dad asking if Carly and I would like to come out very soon, as Chris is in a rather intense segment of his thesis. Sounded like a good plan to me, so we are headed West this Saturday. I really am so excited. I feel like I could use a little "getting away from it all". And Carly has grown up so much since Christmas and I'm excited my family gets to see her an extra time before May (when we are going to see my brother off to his mission). And I love going home. Carly has become a bit of a golden ticket in that regard. But I will miss my main man dearly. I'm not sure what he is going to do with himself, as he won't have to make me dinner, clean up all my dirty dishes, and stay up all night listening to me freak out about being homeless in Michigan. But when we get back his thesis will be *done* (except revisions), and he will defend a few days later. Big days in the C House. I was 15 when I first stepped foot on an airplane, and 19 for my second flight. Carly will be heading up in the air for her second time at just 7 1/2 months, and for her third at 9 1/2 months. She is quite the golden ticket.

the golden ticket in her new umbrella stroller. i figured we ought to get one for our frequent flying.