Home... sweet... home?

So we have finally landed in Marshfield, WI. Mikey is fast asleep in his big boy- toddler bed. Daddy is off to work with actual patients to see today. The guest bedroom sits empty and quiet now that Grandma Robin has left. As for me... (besides enjoying the quiet house) I'm downloading the 386 pictures I've accumulated in the last 2 months and tackling getting the blog updated.

We have been through so much in the last few months... some of it has been very enjoyable the rest has been extremely tumultuous to say the least. Mike and I have purchased our first home together... the most miraculous thing about that is the fact that we are still married. Unfortunately for us we thought we were going with a good mortgage company only to find out that they are absolutely horrid and they don't ever seem to close a loan with out a gazillion f#%* ups! Ours was not excluded from that category and made for really stressful days... no weeks... no months!

That is past us now and we own a beautiful 23 year old english tudor, in a cul de sac, on a double lot with a tennis court (that needs repair). We chose this house because not only did I fall in love with it but, it is a very well constructed, solid house. The original owner that built this house owns one of the best, if not the best, construction companies in the area. He apparently was a stickler for quality and you can really see that in this house. That however does not make you exempt from dealing with old pipes and valves that just plain needed to be replaced. Lucky for us we had to deal with this when they came to deliver our beautiful new washer and dryer. I was so excited when delivery men pulled in the drive way... only to be told that, "hey lady, we can't get this hose off the valve here. Unless, that is you would like us to pull out a stick of dynamite. Your going to have to call a plumber". I'm thinking you mean the plumber that was just here two days ago fixing my kitchen sink that had been dripping so long that it actually started to flood the basement. The one that I just literally opened the bill up and owe him overtime because he stayed here after five? I think it's a moot point to say anymore... this is what we've been dealing with. I've been so exhausted by the time I get Mikey to bed in the evening I'm just plain done. I can't even keep my eyes open to watch 5 minutes of the news. Which I might add that the top stories the other night were the State Fair (which actually was pretty cool) and a tractor show (can't tell you if that was cool or not).

We are all slowly adjusting to our new life here. Mike's getting used to work and how things run there. Mikey is making friends in the two great playgroups we have been so blessed to find. Plus, after thinking about it for a very long time we have decided to put Mikey in day care two mornings a week for the socialization skills he will learn. We have found an excellent lady who runs it out of her house and the kids are all right around Mikey's age. Mikey is really having a great time. Any of you who know us well know that Mikey and I spend all our time together and he's very much a Mommy's boy. He wouldn't rather be anywhere but with me. However we noticed that anytime Mikey would see other kids his age he would look at them with such want and desire to play with them. Our kid NEEDED to do this. I still have mixed emotions. I stay home so I can raise him and I can't help but feel guilty when I pull out of the day care drive. I know I'm doing the right thing and he's having a great time. It's simply play time for him. It's a few hours where he gets to interact with other kids, do crafts, dance and play games without Mommy hovering over him. So enough with the update, let's show you a bit of what we've been up to.

The Zoo

The State Fair

This calf was not even a day old!

My 31st B-day

The Marshfield Clinic Vascular Surgeons

(Craig, Mike and Ronnie)

Our crew... what a great night!

Thanks everyone for helping make my b-day special.

Visiting Florida

Mikey and Grandpa jammin'

Mikey loves trying on Mommy & Daddy's shoes.

The way this kid is growing he'll actually be wearing these soon. ;-)

The Jacksonville Landing

Run boys, run!

Just plain tired from the Florida sun

A hard day at play...

Gotta love moments like this...

Good times with Grandpa

For as stressed as Mike was he sure didn't look it. ;-)

That's all for now... pic's of the house to come.

A summer to remember

A great meal, wonderful wine and fantastic company

If there is a candle then Mikey must blow it out...
our waitress was nice enough to light the candle again so Mikey
could practice his bubble blowing skills.

Playing at the Lake

San Francisco to see Grandma Robin

What's Pier 39 without a little clowning around?

Our family lefty's

Us trying to rest up so we can prepare for the rest of the summer...

This is just the beginning... Florida look out.

Here we come!!!

Thank you Grandma for putting up with us for the week.
We really did have a great time and we enjoyed our time with you. We love you!!!

Transitions

Our lives have been filled with transitions lately. Mike has completed his fellowship and will be starting a new job in Marshfield, WI. We've been working with the Hospital's immigration attorney's in getting a waiver for the visa Mike is here on so he can stay in the US. That is a frustrating and very stressful process. Thank goodness we have such great attorneys that are really helping us through this process. If Mike doe's not get his waiver our family is going to have to leave the country and start a life somewhere else. That might not be a bad thing but, we really like it here in the States and are hoping to stay.

We have been extremely busy with house hunting. This will be the first time I've purchased a home of my own and so it has been very fun and even more emotional for me. Mike is definitely the sensible half of our relationship where I'm ruled by my heart. I think that makes a good balance and luckily for us he liked the house that I fell in love with. Now, it's just going through all the inspections and negotiations with the banks. Fun, fun, fun.

Mike's farewell party

The family

If the inspection goes well this is our new home!

A beautiful English Tudor... I'm a smitten-kitten!

The screened in portion of our deck.

My very own tennis court.
Yes, we have a tennis court on our double lot.

The formal living room

A nice big kitchen

The family room.
The formal living room and family room are separated by a fireplace

The master suite with a wood burning fireplace

The guest bedroom if you want to come and play tennis with me.

Bedroom 3

Bedroom 4 that we will paint the walls and make Mikey's room.

The finished basement

The playroom

That is it for now. We are waiting for the inspection and saying our daily prayers that nothing funky comes back in the report. The house is less than 2 miles from Mike's new job and across the street is a beautiful park with a baseball diamond that the city floods in the winter to make into a ice skating rink. I've been giddy since the moment I saw this house. I think (hope) our family will be very happy there for a long time to come.