House #2

Our realtor (who is also a friend of mine) hosted an open house this afternoon, so I decided to check it out. This house was a huge improvement over the one I saw yesterday, but there were a couple of things that would keep us from seriously considering it. First and foremost, Evelyn wouldn't go to the same elementary school. It never hurts to keep your options open, but I really don't see us moving away from Evelyn's school. It is also missing the garage that is at the top of Troy's wish-list. Those two major reasons prevent this house from being a contender.

Let the House Hunting Begin

Sometime in the next two or three years, Troy and I plan to buy a house. We've talked about purchasing a home ever since we moved here, almost three years ago. Now that we're closer to the actual time we will buy, we've started looking at what's available.

The number one thing on our wish-list is that Evelyn continues to attend her current elementary school, and a close second is the price. Those two items significantly narrow down the area of Germantown where we're looking. We aren't ready to buy anything right now, but knowing what's out there in different pockets of our preferred areas certainly helps.

Here is the house I looked at this morning. The outside looks great, right? I mean, how could you go wrong with living on half an acre in Germantown? Well, once I stepped inside, there was a lot wrong. The layout was really weird, and the updates throughout the house were ridiculously inconsistent. So now we know what a 2,000-square-foot house listed at $439,000 (but should really be sold for $400,000 or less) looks like, and we can go from there as we keep browsing.

A New Sous Chef

Step aside, Evelyn, because there's a new sous chef in town. Whenever I start making something in the kitchen, Julia begs to have her stool put by the island so she can help me. It's quite an adjustment for me to go from a truly helpful Evelyn to an amateur two-year-old Julia. But everyone needs to start somewhere.

Julia is currently working on dumping ingredients into a mixing bowl, usually from a measuring cup or spoon. I've also let her start cracking eggs, but I cradle her hand the whole time. While making rhubarb cake this afternoon, she stirred the batter without spilling - a first for her. She rarely eats what she helps me make, but she really enjoys being a sous chef.

Time Outs

How do we know our little Julia is growing up? She visits the naughty spot about once every two or three days. So far her offenses are silly ones like standing on the couch, drawing on her hands with marker or putting her feet on the table during meals. Julia lets out a fake cry for the entire two minutes she is in time out, which doesn't fool anyone. As of right now, Julia doesn't take her time outs seriously. It's like she is trying to see what the naughty spot is all about. One of these days, she will (hopefully) realize that it's better to be good - and stay away from time out - so she can do the things she enjoys.

Summer Draws to a Close

As reluctant as I am to admit it, summer is coming to an end. With that comes the closing of the community pool. It is so convenient to have the pool within walking distance - a quick three blocks from our house - and we used the pool as our outdoor recreational activity of choice all summer long.
Today Julia preferred playing with her buckets and small animals. Here she is, giving them a bath.

Julia also ventured to the 5-foot area with Troy and "jumped" into the water a couple of times.

Evelyn didn't need as much help as her little sister, but she still relied on the security of Troy being in the deeper water with her.

One more shot of Troy in Evelyn in the pool today - the last day it was open. We had another great summer at the pool!

Pajamas with a Side of Reading

Evelyn's reading really took off over the summer. She went from reading basic words and short sentences to reading entire picture books with little or no help. Julia loves the fact that Evelyn can read stories, and she commonly asks Evelyn to read a story to her. They make a perfect pair - Evelyn is the enthusiastic reader, and Julia is the eager audience.

Hurricane Earl

What did I have in common with Hurricane Earl? All three beaches I visited this past year were affected by the hurricane.

Of the three beaches, St. John experienced the strongest winds and most rain, and there was some damage on the island. Duck, North Carolina - on the Outer Banks - had rain, as well as some pretty bad wind and high waves, but not much damage was done. Fenwick Island, Delaware merely had some rain bands and gale force winds as a result of the hurricane passing by. It's kind of wild to hear about a hurricane affecting areas that I recently visited.