The Apartment Tour

In June, we will have been in our apartment for five years. FIVE YEARS! I mentioned a while ago that we were looking for a new home, one with an additional bedroom. And the search continues. We've seen a few more since then, but nothing that fit our needs. 

My mind changes on an almost daily basis of how much longer I can handle our living arrangements. The pros and cons lists change all of the time. One minute, I'm content to stay here until we find the perfect next-home; the next moment I'm suggesting we broaden our search outside of city limits or rent out someones basement. Should I stay or should I go now? I struggle to stay content with what I have.

Anyway, enough drama. On to the tour I should have given you four and a half years ago!

We'll start in the kitchen, with a photo taken just weeks after we moved in! Me and my lovely baby sister showing off the kitchen. It looks the same except we've just recently put photos up on that big blank wall!

And the dining room (the photo is also from four and half years ago): We've updated quite a bit but I never have my camera around when it's clean enough to show you! We have a new chandelier (Thank you, Lord) and a new china hutch. The table and chairs are the same old squeaky furniture that was given to us when we moved in! 

the new china hutch:

The living room: At one time we had a computer desk and bookshelf in this space, but now William's toys, clothes, diapers, and everything he owns lives here. On the wall to the bottom left of the photo is our television and DVD collection, everyone has one, so there was really no reason to show it to you.

Here is another angle of the living room so you can see how it appears when you enter our home (I'm standing near the door). Also, the dining room starts right behind the couch on the right side of the photo. Cozy, right!?

And now for the bathroom. Everyone has one of those too, but you would be surprised that they don't all look normal. We've seen some interesting ones in our search and I cannot tell you how grateful we were when we found this place. The bathroom was my favorite. It's not pink, it is all in one room, and there is storage under the sink! And it was very clean. 

The last room in our tour is our bedroom. It looked a little nicer before we squeezed the pack'n play in the corner; the lamp and nightstand were actually near the bed. And we had art on the side wall which was removed in the name of book-storage. 

There you have it! Our home. We love it most of the time. It really is hard to find a place (in our budget) that we like as much as this space. We've been spoiled with things like a dishwasher, laundry in the building, and a bathtub. Some of the places we've looked at don't even have an oven -- just a range on the counter! And a new thing I'm seeing is tiny sinks, as in dishpan size. 

Thanks for reading. I will certainly keep you up-to-date in our apartment hunt. Maybe we can start a reality TV show, "Normal folks trying to Live in San Francisco" 

In June, we will have been in our apartment for five years. FIVE YEARS! I mentioned a while ago that we were looking for a new home, one with an additional bedroom. And the search continues. We've seen a few more since then, but nothing that fit our needs. 

My mind changes on an almost daily basis of how much longer I can handle our living arrangements. The pros and cons lists change all of the time. One minute, I'm content to stay here until we find the perfect next-home; the next moment I'm suggesting we broaden our search outside of city limits or rent out someones basement. Should I stay or should I go now? I struggle to stay content with what I have.

Anyway, enough drama. On to the tour I should have given you four and a half years ago!

We'll start in the kitchen, with a photo taken just weeks after we moved in! Me and my lovely baby sister showing off the kitchen. It looks the same except we've just recently put photos up on that big blank wall!

And the dining room (the photo is also from four and half years ago): We've updated quite a bit but I never have my camera around when it's clean enough to show you! We have a new chandelier (Thank you, Lord) and a new china hutch. The table and chairs are the same old squeaky furniture that was given to us when we moved in! 

the new china hutch:

The living room: At one time we had a computer desk and bookshelf in this space, but now William's toys, clothes, diapers, and everything he owns lives here. On the wall to the bottom left of the photo is our television and DVD collection, everyone has one, so there was really no reason to show it to you.

Here is another angle of the living room so you can see how it appears when you enter our home (I'm standing near the door). Also, the dining room starts right behind the couch on the right side of the photo. Cozy, right!?

And now for the bathroom. Everyone has one of those too, but you would be surprised that they don't all look normal. We've seen some interesting ones in our search and I cannot tell you how grateful we were when we found this place. The bathroom was my favorite. It's not pink, it is all in one room, and there is storage under the sink! And it was very clean. 

The last room in our tour is our bedroom. It looked a little nicer before we squeezed the pack'n play in the corner; the lamp and nightstand were actually near the bed. And we had art on the side wall which was removed in the name of book-storage. 

There you have it! Our home. We love it most of the time. It really is hard to find a place (in our budget) that we like as much as this space. We've been spoiled with things like a dishwasher, laundry in the building, and a bathtub. Some of the places we've looked at don't even have an oven -- just a range on the counter! And a new thing I'm seeing is tiny sinks, as in dishpan size. 

Thanks for reading. I will certainly keep you up-to-date in our apartment hunt. Maybe we can start a reality TV show, "Normal folks trying to Live in San Francisco" 

Toddler Boy: 16 Months

Toddler Boy is 16 months old and "so big." I was originally going to wait to do an update until he hit the 18 month mark, but I couldn't wait any longer. So much has changed in the last four months. At his last appointment he measured 33 1/2" tall and 22 lbs 14 oz.

The biggest change is that he's starting to say words! So far we've understood:

•  Ball
•  Apple
•  Up
•  Cheese
•  This/That
•  Da (Dad)
•  Ma (Mom)
•  Juice
•  Pear
•  Jump
•  Bath

Not all symbols are sounded out completely, but we've been able to understand what he's saying anyway. I can't describe the relief I feel when I actually know what he's trying to tell me!

The animal sounds he's learned so far:

•  Dog = wff or panting sound
•  Cow = Mm
•  Monkey = Ah Ah Ah
•  Elephant = Ooooh with arm swinging upward in elephant-trunk-fashion

William signs a little too: milk, more, fish, all done, eat, and yes. We're working on hungry, please and thank you.

He also understand us a lot more, too! We can ask him to put his toys in a basket, spoons in the dishwasher, or close the door and he will usually do so. He knows when dad is going to work and will wave bye-bye and blow kisses. He can stack his blocks (and knock them down) and "vroom" his trucks.

He loves to read. We go through a dozen books before breakfast and repeat them all day long. He's starting to point to things on the pages too. We sing songs and he'll clap or dance along.

Meals are still a little challenging. One day he loves pancakes, the next he doesn't. And so it goes with everything we offer. His favorites are pears, apples, roasted broccoli and bread.

Toddler Boy sleeps fairly well during the night, he will usually stay pretty quiet until 6 a.m. for which we are grateful! He still takes two great daytime naps allowing me to work part-time, we've been told that will change soon.

William is a lot of fun these days! Sure, he likes to whine and demand attention, but usually he's fairly happy to play, read, and stroll/walk outside. He has started to show an interest in being a part of everything we do in the kitchen. He loves to stand up on a chair next to us and see us wash dishes, prep food, load and unload the dishwasher, and be in the refrigerator.

We did a little side-by-side comparison of Baby Babiak at two months and Toddler Boy at sixteen months. He had the same outfit in 0-3 months and 18 months which probably won't fit him much longer.

Toddler Boy is 16 months old and "so big." I was originally going to wait to do an update until he hit the 18 month mark, but I couldn't wait any longer. So much has changed in the last four months. At his last appointment he measured 33 1/2" tall and 22 lbs 14 oz.

The biggest change is that he's starting to say words! So far we've understood:

•  Ball
•  Apple
•  Up
•  Cheese
•  This/That
•  Da (Dad)
•  Ma (Mom)
•  Juice
•  Pear
•  Jump
•  Bath

Not all symbols are sounded out completely, but we've been able to understand what he's saying anyway. I can't describe the relief I feel when I actually know what he's trying to tell me!

The animal sounds he's learned so far:

•  Dog = wff or panting sound
•  Cow = Mm
•  Monkey = Ah Ah Ah
•  Elephant = Ooooh with arm swinging upward in elephant-trunk-fashion

William signs a little too: milk, more, fish, all done, eat, and yes. We're working on hungry, please and thank you.

He also understand us a lot more, too! We can ask him to put his toys in a basket, spoons in the dishwasher, or close the door and he will usually do so. He knows when dad is going to work and will wave bye-bye and blow kisses. He can stack his blocks (and knock them down) and "vroom" his trucks.

He loves to read. We go through a dozen books before breakfast and repeat them all day long. He's starting to point to things on the pages too. We sing songs and he'll clap or dance along.

Meals are still a little challenging. One day he loves pancakes, the next he doesn't. And so it goes with everything we offer. His favorites are pears, apples, roasted broccoli and bread.

Toddler Boy sleeps fairly well during the night, he will usually stay pretty quiet until 6 a.m. for which we are grateful! He still takes two great daytime naps allowing me to work part-time, we've been told that will change soon.

William is a lot of fun these days! Sure, he likes to whine and demand attention, but usually he's fairly happy to play, read, and stroll/walk outside. He has started to show an interest in being a part of everything we do in the kitchen. He loves to stand up on a chair next to us and see us wash dishes, prep food, load and unload the dishwasher, and be in the refrigerator.

We did a little side-by-side comparison of Baby Babiak at two months and Toddler Boy at sixteen months. He had the same outfit in 0-3 months and 18 months which probably won't fit him much longer.

Couponing: Head & Shoulders

The last time I purchased Head & Shoulders Shampoo (for Hubby) was in April 2012. It took a while for him to get through those three bottles, but it was worth stocking up for the price I paid!

The other day, I noticed that he was on his last bottle and they just happened to be on sale this week, and I had a fairly high-valued coupon. I figured it was time to stock up again,

Here's what my transaction looked like:
 -  Two Head & Shoulders Shampoo on sale: 2/$10 (regular price: $6.99 each)
    - Used $3 off 2 coupon
 -  Four Blue Diamond Almonds, 6 oz containers on sale: Buy 1 Get 1 Free ($4.99 each)
    - Used $1 off 2 coupon
    - Used $1.50 off 2 coupon
Total paid: $15.36 including tax 
Regular purchase price could have been: $34

Some of you may think it's silly to blog about these little trips, but it helps me keep track of how much I spend on things like shampoo and I can use it as a gauge for what a good deal is/how much I should pay and how long the products last.

Now, if I would shopped on Amazon.com it would have been even cheaper . . . but I forgot to compare prices before I went shopping.

The last time I purchased Head & Shoulders Shampoo (for Hubby) was in April 2012. It took a while for him to get through those three bottles, but it was worth stocking up for the price I paid!

The other day, I noticed that he was on his last bottle and they just happened to be on sale this week, and I had a fairly high-valued coupon. I figured it was time to stock up again,

Here's what my transaction looked like:
 -  Two Head & Shoulders Shampoo on sale: 2/$10 (regular price: $6.99 each)
    - Used $3 off 2 coupon
 -  Four Blue Diamond Almonds, 6 oz containers on sale: Buy 1 Get 1 Free ($4.99 each)
    - Used $1 off 2 coupon
    - Used $1.50 off 2 coupon
Total paid: $15.36 including tax 
Regular purchase price could have been: $34

Some of you may think it's silly to blog about these little trips, but it helps me keep track of how much I spend on things like shampoo and I can use it as a gauge for what a good deal is/how much I should pay and how long the products last.

Now, if I would shopped on Amazon.com it would have been even cheaper . . . but I forgot to compare prices before I went shopping.