Sale!

Mr. JCrew and I are Financial Peace University (FPU) graduates. One quote (of many) that I repeat from Dave Ramsey is, “Sell so much stuff, the kids think they are next!” This quote is in reference to selling what you don’t need in order to generate cash to pay off debts. We don’t have debt to pay off, but Mr. JCrew is eyeing everything that will be going into storage.

Since we will crash with my mom while a tenant is renting our place, we will have to put our things in storage. The first thing I sold was Little JCrew’s twin bed storage system. Once I knew that our buyer wouldn’t need/want it, I decided to list it. It went to a lady at church with teen girls. She is redoing their room, and the girls were so excited. I can’t wait to see pictures!

Next thing to go was the dining room table, TV wall-mount and the fridge. Those things are all staying with the house. The new owner bought them from us. The dining room table is the perfect size for the room. The TV wall-mount would be a pain to take down when the buyer would install his own, because he wanted his TV to be mounted over the fireplace too. His TV is 55” (ours is 52”) so, the wall-mount would work.

Most things I sold, I used an Online YardSale Facebook Page for my city. My county actually has quite a few Facebook Pages to sell things. There is a page for just kid things. That is a favorite of mine. It is similar to the consignment sales that occur twice a year, but you don’t have to wait for the sales to find things. I have pretty good luck with selling things. For some reason, I feel safer on Facebook than Craigslist. But when something doesn’t sell on Facebook, I then list it on Craigslist.

The next thing I sold were the white bookcases in the bonus room. I sold those for a third of the price I bought them for.

The couches in the Bonus Room were also put on the chopping block. A friend of ours was looking for new couches for their living room, so they wanted them. All they had to do was find a truck and come pick them up!

I tried to sell the PotteryBarn Kids rug. That was harder. I thought I could recoup the money I spent. It was a $565 rug that I got for $100 from a neighbor. I wasn’t so lucky. It is now in storage and we will use it in the new house.

The guest bedroom bed was sold using Craigslist. I tried to donate to a maternity house in town. It just so happened I was introduced to them that week and I felt a tug to give them the bed. When I called, they gave me a list of their needs, and a full-size bed was not one of them.

Mr. Jcrew had eyes on selling everything! He looked at the porch furniture and asked. I said, “No, I like those!” There are some things I know I like and could not find again if I tried. Those things are staying. I might could find them again, but not at the price that I scored them at. Mr. JCrew just doesn’t want to pay storage for everything.

Selling a house is a great time to do Spring cleaning. I have donated, thrown away and sold so many things! Mr. JCrew was nervous we wouldn’t fit everything in storage. Little does he remember, he is working with two ladies that know how to pack! It thrills us. It uses a part of your brain that gets you thinking outside the box.

Of course, I can’t sell everything; we wouldn’t have furniture to sit on if I did. But it is a great feeling to start living as a minimalist.

Appliance Moving

Alright (in the words of Mr. Brigglesworth)...

I have a house update. I wish it was exciting news, but it's not. I have come to the realization that our housing market is not so hot right now. To all my fellow in-town friends, now is not the time to sell... but it is the time to buy!

Remember when I said pricing our house was the hardest part we were still unsure of? Well, it was our only pitfall. We have had no showings. We've received advise from realtors and they say the only thing wrong is our price. I was so nervous to sell it low, and then to wonder if we sold it too cheaply. But that won't be the issue. We are competing with new construction and they are able to build cheaper than our builder could build back in 2008. The kicker... all that was considered fancy upgrades to us, is now a standard!

So, we've reduced our price to what we bought it for (no upgrades). And because we are doing that, I am looking at everything in my house that I could take with me to a new one. Even those plantation shutters!

I removed my fancy light switch that I love. I don't think the new buyer will appreciate it as much as I do.

And my gas stove was the first thing to be removed. When my mom and dad built their house, I paid for their upgrade to a gas stove. Once they closed on the house, we switched appliances. I got the gas, she got the electric.

I really enjoyed the gas stove and wanted to keep it. So, we switched them back to the original owners this past Sunday.

Mr. JCrew's dad came to help.

I needed to remove the gas stove before potential buyers thought it was what they were getting. Switching electric and gas means having to cut off the gas to the house and capping it off when not using it.

The electric stove helps draws your attention away from the fact there is no backsplash.

It now kind of feels like a new appliance to me.

Once we build, we will transfer the gas stove that is now in Mom's house to the new house and will buy an electric range to put into her house before selling it.

That's not the only appliance that will be replaced. We bought a nice dishwasher over the summer and sold our loud and small old one. We are also going to take the new dishwasher with us! I know it's starting to sound silly, but we can buy a new replacement dishwasher for $180. That's not even looking on craigslist or yard sale sites. The new dishwasher is only 6 months old, and I love it!

And if you look closely at the kitchen cabinets, you'll notice I already switched out the cabinet knobs to the original ones. They were never my style, and I wouldn't use them in a newer house, so I put them back on. It beats having to take them off and soak them to clean them had I used them the last five years. They look brand new and feel new to me!

So, at least some upgrades I did I can take with me. The upgrades I did won't get me any value in selling them, so I might as well. Helps with the costs in the new house as well.

Anything else I should take with me?

Why Do I Blog?

This online diary of mine started back in 2010. I didn’t post often, but it was a way for my family in Florida to keep up with what my parents and I were doing. At the time, my parents were living with Mr. JCrew and I, my dad had gone into the hospital for a while, and I was praying to become a mother.

When I was blessed to become a mom, it was my goal that my family in Florida would feel like they were here experiencing all the milestones that I get to experience. Technology is the best thing for long distance. My sisters and Mr. JCrew’s family get to see my boys at least once a week (here on the blog, Family Friday). There will never be a surprise growth spurt they don’t see! We also try to Skype often so the boys know who their Aunts are. The relationship can’t be one way!

The house stuff on the blog is more for me! I would love for my house to look like one straight out of a magazine, but I have a family and we make a mess! I love the messes. I look at them and smile (after I grunt) and tell myself it means my family is happy!

My house never looks like it does on the blog. Definitely not all the rooms at once! I love cleaning a room, then snapping a picture. For 5 minutes (maybe only one minute), that room is perfect! Whenever I want to see that room clean again, I can go look on the blog!

For the sake of the blog, to make one room pretty, another suffers. I move the kid things out of the room and into another while I take the picture.

While Mr. JCrew is in school full-time and working full-time, we make the most of our two hours together a night as a family. House chores get done when the kids go to bed. That's IF we can stay up. My mom has been a huge help lately. With her help, it encourages me to do little things to keep the house straight. I'm not a messy person, and it actually gets under my skin to see a mess, but for this phase in our life, I appreciate the time with family most. 

The “House Tour” Page is not a “Hey, look at me!” page. It’s for ME to look at. If you haven’t ventured off the main page in a while, the house tour page has been updated… four months ago!

It’s okay. If you’re a blog reader like me, you have enough time to read the new post and then you have to do your chores before the kids wake up.

You know me, I like lists. On the House Tour Page, I’ve been keeping track of all the changes I’ve done to the house and most of those changes have posts to document them. 

As you can see, there is not much left on my to-do lists for the house. I don’t want to over-update my house. I’ve always remembered the saying, “Don’t be the most expensive house in your neighborhood.” Our house was right in the middle of our section of the neighborhood when we bought it, and I think it’s still there.

Becoming a mom, I really think my memory has suffered. I’ll say to myself that I need something at the grocery store, get to the grocery store 15 minutes later, and forget!! Ugh. I write down my posts minutes after I do the project. Otherwise, you’d get a post rambling about unrelated topics because I can’t remember the details of the project. Plus, sometimes I learn things during my projects that I want to share. If I can help anyone save time, money and sanity, then I’m happy.

Now, I will go back to “living” in my house. I will say that my time “off” in between projects is refreshing. I pile on a bunch of projects to meet a deadline and it can be chaos. But the time off with my family is rewarding. I won’t get that time back and I am so glad I have not missed a thing. 

Our friends are getting the short end of the stick a lot. Everyone has at least two kids. Coordinating nap times with free time is challenging. Add in Mr. JCrew's school schedule, and time with our friends is impossible. 

This blog is my attempt at being outgoing and starting conversation. I do not claim to be perfect or have a perfect house. I have a happy family that is centered around God, and that is all I need. 

Thanks for being a part of my blog!

That Wife

Lots of laughs yesterday. What I was laughing at was not the same thing the bank teller was laughing at. I didn’t realize this until an hour later when I told Mr. JCrew the story. :/

We had a lot of unscheduled purchases over the weekend, so on Monday, I was balancing the books. I noticed a purchase that I had to call Mr. JCrew about. I couldn’t remember, and he couldn’t remember.

We all know Mr. JCrew’s memory is not his best characteristic. (He admits it; I’m not throwing him under the bus.) I’m biased towards him, so I give him the excuse that he has so much going on between work, school and family, that there is no way he can keep it all straight. He appreciates my excuse. Me, on the other hand, I have a photographic memory. It’s a really cool thing that I use a lot. It goes along with my number relationships. Playing the silly games with numbers helps me remember them, too!

But this mysterious purchase was not made by me. I found no receipt. I asked Mr. JCrew to run through his daily events of the date in question. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn’t go to soccer practice because he was feeling bad, so neither one of us left the house that evening. And it was “grocery-bill” high and we could not figure it out. The description for the payment only had the city and state. No other detail as to where this purchase was. No address, nothing.

So, I call the bank to see if they had that little piece of information I was missing. He was able to see it was the eye doctor. YES! Mr. JCrew went to the eye doctor that day during lunch! I totally forgot. My photographic memory couldn’t help me there.

I joked with the bank teller saying that was great and all was fine. He did go to the eye doctor that day and I remember him telling me they sold him into buying new glasses (after he told me he was going to be tough and not buy new ones). We never make large purchases when we are not with each other so I couldn’t figure out what this was for. We laughed and I thanked him.

When I was telling Mr. JCrew about the solved mystery, he was laughing, too. He said the eye doctor even called him on Tuesday to say when his glasses would be ready, and that STILL did not jog his memory that the glasses were the purchase in question! Then Mr. JCrew brought it to my attention. The bank teller was not laughing with me on my thought of how relieved I was. He was laughing because I was THAT wife. The wife who sees a mysterious charge on her husband’s card (not hers) and wonders what her husband is up to. He thought I was trying to catch my husband!! Oh, gosh! That was not my intent at all. I laughed even more thinking that was probably what the guy was laughing at. Mr. JCrew knows I’m a sleuth and I find things out.

And I’m still laughing. Maybe I should have been an FBI agent. That would be fun!  

Two Briggs

I really tried hard to provide my children with unique, but classy names. Names that are not Hollywood-crazy, but unique enough, that they will never run into another one like them. And if they did, they would not be close in age.

It’s hard deciding on a name. I was looking for names I liked and wouldn’t grow tired of. My list of names I made in middle school were dated by the time I got into college (Bailey, MacKenzie, Kylie, etc). You can tell a child’s age by their name. My name, Lindsay, is an 80’s girl name. It was a male name before that, and during the 90’s people got crazy with their spellings of Lindsay.

I did know that at the time of Mr. Brigglesworth’s birth, another Briggs was born. However, he was in Pennsylvania. His parents really liked the names Trigg and Tripp (from the Palin’s) but didn’t want to be associated with an infatuation with the Palin’s. So, they found a similar name, Briggs.

I love seeing them walk together, hand-in-hand.

I chose the name because I liked it. I had a friend growing up with the last name of Briggs. Then it was during a football game years back, that I saw the name on the back of a jersey and told Mr. JCrew that I would love to use that as a first name. Years later, I fought to use that name! (Once I get an idea in my head, and I can visualize it, it’s usually set!) Plus, it went with Wilks. I like family names to correlate, but not match. Names that are related by style.

I love baby pajamas!

Most people respond the same to the name. They are indifferent. Rarely do I find someone who loves it. When I do, I feel a special bond with that person. They get me; we must be similar; we could get along perfectly!

Imagine my jaw dropping when I pull a piece of paper out of Little JCrew’s school folder and see the name, Briggs, on the sheet. It was the snack schedule for the month of October.

Kates loves paper and got to this piece quickly!

Holy moly, there was another weird coincidence. Briggs’ name was written on Mr. Brigglesworth’s birthday, October 1st!!! (I am a weird girl that looks at numbers and tries to find relationships. Remember how I made relationships with Little JCrew’s birthday? 8/24 …  2*4=8 … 24 is 8 days after 16 (which is my birthday.)) How cool!

My mind then immediately started wondering what Little JCrew thought of this. His classmate has the same name as his brother! I could totally see this coming if I chose the name, John. How does a two-year-old grasp this?

Here I thought I had unique names, and Little JCrew ends up with a Briggs in his class. I am unaware if this Briggs is a boy or girl. His class is small and I’ve only seen two other boys, and I know one of them is Cooper.

I think that it is really neat to have another Briggs in the same city as mine. He shouldn’t feel so weird by his name then. Although, it is pretty cool to have a name unique enough that when people say it, they know which person you are. I am the only Lindsay at my job, and I like it. Much different than school, where I went by “Lindsay W.”

Changing topics a little and giving a short update on the boys. Nothing new, other than Mr. Brigglesworth walking more independently. He just pulls up on something and walks the halls. I think it’s the cutest thing to watch. He is a little person roaming around the house. If you leave him somewhere, he will come find you!

So close to capturing that sweet smile.

Have a great weekend!

Father's Day 2013

Oh, man!! I could eat these kids up! There is such a sweet love between these brothers.

Last year’s Father’s Day, I made a book to give to Mr. JCrew. It was a book of just him and Little JCrew pictures. It may not have been his preferred gift, but I liked it!

This year for Mother’s Day I got a fruit basket.

This was more of a gift for Mr. JCrew to store all his fruit and veggies, but I wanted it so that I didn’t have all the food taking up precious counter space. I LOVE it. I was picky about looks and how much it could hold. It holds everything! It can be found here. (And it's currently on sale!!)

But for an actual Father’s Day gift, Mr. JCrew got himself a new grill. I was not ready to spend a lot of money, but we found one on sale and he was happy.

That was about a month ago. I couldn't let the holiday pass without doing something. So, the boys and I made Mr. JCrew a magnet. We can display it on our fridge, or if he’s brave enough, he can take it to work and put it on his file cabinet. 

I painted Mr. Brigglesworth’s feet first and made a heart shape on the canvas. Then I painted Little JCrew’s feet and made another heart shape.

I did Little JCrew’s last because I knew that once he saw paint, he’d be all in it and I wouldn’t be able to finish.

Sure enough, that’s what he did. I let him paint and then he started painting his feet.

I now have a copy-cat in the house! I have to now be careful about using a stool to stand on so I can reach into a tall cabinet. I turn around and there is Little JCrew with a stool, STANDING on it like Momma!!

I thought him painting his feet was cute, but not when he wanted to get up and go get juice! I had wipes on hand to quickly wipe him down and the paint is super easy to clean up.

With the paint out, we also made my dad his Father’s Day gift from the boys. My dad was a cattle buyer and his degree is in Animal Husbandry. I could have gotten creative with making animals out of the kids’ hands and feet, but I settled on a tractor and trailer.

I did Mr. Brigglesworth’s foot first and was surprised at how big his foot is! It took up almost half the page. I was anticipating my trailer to be smaller. Once I had both boys footprints, I drew lines and wheels to turn it into a tractor and trailer.

I thought it turned out cute! Next up was to write words on both pieces.

We added a little detail to the feet with the boys' initials.

I cannot say thank you to the men in my life enough. My dad has been there to support me and my endeavors for the past almost 31 years. And Mr. JCrew has put up with me gracefully for the last five and a half! Both men treat my little guys the best that I could ask for. Little JCrew and Mr. Brigglesworth adore my dad and adore their dad. We are always thankful, not just on Father’s Day.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there.

And before I let you go, I have to share with you a new thing Little JCrew is doing. He can now "cheese" for the camera!

I was taking a picture of him and Mr. JCrew. He noticed me and said, "cheese!" He is a ham!

Have a great weekend!

Oh, To Be 28 Again!

I thought I’d over-share slash cheese it up on a Monday morning with a little brain dump of seven things I love about Mr. JCrew. #warningitssappy (#andiusethewordsexy) I know I’ve gushed recently with our recent 5^th anniversary, but TODAY is his BIRTHDAY and it is my duty as his wife to obnoxiously celebrate.

(Mr. JCrew asked to celebrate his birthday a day early because his birthday fell on a weekday. HA! I fell for that one. He opened his gift early and ate his cake.)

Since my blog is basically just a diary of our lives, I thought it was the perfect place to shout a few cheeseball-but-true things from the rooftops. Although we’re far from perfect, I’m so glad he’s mine. Here’s what I’m thankful for:
 
1 – Mr. JCrew’s love of Little JCrew and his patience with him – even when I’m about to lose my mind he’s my rock. An almost 18-month old has demands and opinions that wear you out! Meanwhile, the 4-month old brother wants someone to talk to. I love how imaginative Mr. JCrew is with both boys and I don’t think there’s anything sexier than walking into a room and seeing your hubby stirring a pot of stew with your son at his play kitchen. Or laying on the floor in his room reading him the 23^rd book he’s handed to him. Am I right?

2 – His ability to love a small dog just as much as I do… even though Mr. JCrew resisted my idea to adopt Colby, he fell in love within days. He acted like the dog would be my thing. Colby is now “his” dog and he gives both Anderson and Colby more attention than I do on some days. He feeds them, takes them outside and loves on them. There’s not an ounce of I-won’t-do-that-because-it’s-not-manly-enough-and people-will-see-me in Mr. JCrew (probably thanks to him growing up with two sisters) and I love that about him. He’s confident. One day we might get him a bigger dog breed, but he won’t deny that he loves those small dogs. They may get on his nerves some days, but they’ve snuck their way into his heart and I love him for that.

3 – His love for God. Mr. JCrew has a great testimony. It was his desire to know God better that brought me into his life. Mr. JCrew is a search engine for Bible verses. He recently taught a study in our Sunday School that linked Proverbs verses to the New Testament. He didn’t Google for help. His hunger for knowledge is so captivating. It encourages me to be a better student to the scripture.

4 – His brain. There are many sexy things about my husband, but his quick wit is unparalleled and he makes me laugh until my stomach hurts at least once a day with some spur-of-the-moment quip that leaves me wiping the tears out of my eyes from cry-laughing. To anyone who knows us, Mr. JCrew’s sense of humor is one of his most defining characteristics (along with his whip smart brain full of seemingly limitless trivia knowledge). Heck, he’s so smart that even though he has the answer 99% of the time he somehow makes me feel like I figure out my fair share of things too. How does he do that?! It’s sheer brilliance.

5 – His devotion to me and our family. He has so much on his plate (church / wife / kids / work / school / soccer) and he gracefully juggles it all. He’s willing to make commitments to do what is best for his family. He makes us feel safe, loved, and appreciated – I honestly couldn’t be more grateful. I’ve seen relationships that look like one is chasing another person more or trying harder than them, but Mr. JCrew makes me (and the boys) feel secure and cherished and I could almost cry talking about it. Sorry, I warned you guys this would get sappy…

6 – His hard-working hands and his sweet smile (this might veer off into TMI territory, but he has the best lips ever). #backoffhesmine. His eyes light up when he smiles and his excitement is contagious.

7 – His willingness to help me with “one more thing” and to lay in bed at night and brainstorm our next project when I know he might rather be watching TV, sleeping or out for a run or… you know, getting friendly… while I’m running my mouth about some idea instead. I couldn’t be luckier that he’s happy to be “in the trenches” with me every day. It’s amazing that he has his own interests (soccer/school) while still staying involved with us and not checking out.

I honestly have no idea how I got so lucky. I promise I didn’t hypnotize him or anything. (Although we joke that I whisper to him while he sleeps.)

In summary: he’s the one. Mah man. And he makes me happier than elephants riding bicycles (and those make me pretty happy).

Happy 28th birthday, Mr. JCrew! Thanks for everything and then some.

And so ends my lovefest for el hubbo.

Family Friday

It’s kind of already been going on, but I’m declaring it official… It’s Family Friday! Each Friday you can sit at your computer, with your drink of choice and listen to the latest on the JCrew boys. 

I love those feet!

I did a stellar job of keeping you informed of all the happenings of Little JCrew’s first year, but I think I’ve let the car drive away without me in it. (I’m still waiting at the curb.) I can claim their baby books are up to date, but I haven’t been spilling the details to my long-distance friends and family.

Here is the low-down…

Little JCrew:

17-months old

Words Used In Context: “Hey” “Head” “Hot” “Poppi” – he likes the Letter ‘H’

Favorite Song: “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” Metallica songs

Eye Color: officially brown

Clothing Size: 18 months

Shoe Size: 4-4.5

Favorite Movie: “Finding Nemo,” “101 Dalmations” (That’s actually Mr. JCrew’s current favorite. He uses Little JCrew as an excuse to watch it.)

Weight: 24 pounds

Height: Good question. He can't sit still long enough. A month ago he was 32 inches

Cousins

Concentration Position

Mr. Brigglesworth:

4 months old

Weight: 17.5 pounds (My milk is whole milk, apparently)

Height: 24 inches (he’s a shorty!)

Loves Attention

Talks Your Ear Off

Tricks: sticks out his tongue, puts his whole fist in his mouth, drools enough to fill a sippy cup

Clothing Size: 6 months fits, and 9 months will fit SOON

Eye Color: For sure, brown

Fuzzy hair is coming in.

 

Both of the boys are so much fun right now. Little JCrew lets you know when things are ‘hop’ (aka Hot.) Mr. Brigglesworth puts the death grip on your hair and will put it in his mouth.

To round out the whole 'Family Friday,' Mr. JCrew and I are doing great (thanks for asking). 

We're just waiting patiently to see what happens with sequestration (the downside of being in the defense industry. Otherwise, it's cool). 

Mr. JCrew's soccer season starts up this weekend with a tournament, so we'll be playing outside! I'm going to attempt going to games and see how it is with two boys in tow. 

Kiss your loved ones today. Family is a blessing.