The kid, a new house, and making babies

I've only been temping lately and I wanted to get back into more tracking so I ordered more LH test strips as well as a nifty new toy that can also be useful!

LH test strips, I hope I don't need all 50 of them...

Apparently, you can also check your saliva to see if it crystallizes. The crystallization changes when you ovulate and that can be detected by drying saliva on a microscope slide and examining it. So I got a pocket microscope.  It's small enough to fit in my purse!! And way cooler than the "marketed for fertility looks like a lipstick case" pockets scopes. That would stick out in my purse.

Glass slides.

Bright LED for examination

Test of saliva. You can see some crystallization but during ovulation/fertile zone there should be tons of 'ferning'. I'll hopefully nab a picture when I see it in the next few days!

In other news, I am the owner of this AMAZING front yard! Horses not included, but that's okay! I have my own ;) 

And Kaylee is already in love with this awesomeness in the backyard.

She practiced climbing a rope ladder at the park.

It was a gorgeous day on Lake St. Clair

So she went swimming in her undies. Lack of swim suit bedamned!

Home Inspection Today!

Eric went out to Dryden to be present for the home inspection this morning. I wanted to go, but Kaylee had her first soccer 'practice' so I attended that instead and met up with Eric later at his sister's house.

The home inspection went well enough. There are a few things that need to be done to the property, but nothing glaringly dangerous or super duper expensive.

The only thing we don't know is the status of the arsenic content in the well water. The results of that will come in on Tuesday. Even if the water straight from the well has arsenic, we have a plan for how to tackle that for the barn water so the horses will have arsenic free water to drink.

Once I get the results of the water test back I plan to purchase celebratory manure forks for myself and Kaylee. I already found kids size I can buy online and I'm going to get myself a snazzy one from Tractor Supply.

I'm super excited! We close this month on both houses! Goodbye to Rainbow Place on the 20th and hopefully hello to Rochester Rd on the 22nd! (But maybe not moving in yet)


We'll be going back to look at the property again next Sunday so my MIL and SIL can see it. The current owner, SM has offered to go over where she orders things for horses and stuff, which is awesome, and just generally familiarize me with the property. She's a trainer and is moving so she can have an indoor to work out of through the year.

This fact makes me feel REALLY good about the quality of that sand arena, something I had suspected anyway, but now feel really sure about. I've mentioned this before, but the property is set up exactly how I would do it, and go figure, it's because it was done by someone who had VERY good knowledge about how to go about it.

Things I did Today - Notes on property purchase

I am currently making my own fly bonnets. I need to add edging and ears, but finally I can custom size them!! It wasn't even that hard, I had a few rough patches but I puzzled them out!

I'm also thinking of making some with super fun print fabric and mesh fabric for the ears for hot days.

Progress!!

Today is looking like SUCH a good day!

We got an offer on our WA house! It's lower than we'd prefer by 15k so we're countering and hopefully will hear back. But honestly, if we settle somewhere in the middle I'll be happy.


I also had an ultrasound done to see if there are any physical issues causing

We visited 4 more houses today. The first one was pretty good, there was some work that needed to be done but it was manageable. The barn needed replacing, which was a bit annoying. I'd at the very least need to dig it out because it's all mud from the very friendly cows (they came to greet us!) but the roof was sagging too and there was water damage. But 6 acres with room for an arena!

Feeling Better

Thanks for all your kind comments. I definitely made use of my support network, even if they aren't physically near me, and I think even venting out loud about the whole thing was a big help. I got outside of the house, took Kaylee to a park, and today we went over a Mom friend's house (she's on work from home doctor's orders from some issues in her pregnancy) where Kaylee got to play with a ton of toys and generally had a blast, and I got adult socializing. Yay!

I've also got an appointment scheduled for Monday to see an OB to talk about fertility stuff. I'm giving myself a pass this month and I'm not even looking at periods and ovulation because it's just too much to handle. I've mentally let go of worrying about when our house sells. It will sell when it sells.

Eric did redo the numbers on our finances now that we know what GM will cover in terms of realtor fees for selling the house. They are actually covering MORE than what we originally budgeted for (provided we aren't counting our chickens, etc) which means that, provided our house sells for its new list price of 325k, we'll have a max budget of 375k.

It's a whole new wooooooooorld!


I also found some fun jobs to apply for!

Emotional Stability

When Eric and I discussed moving to Michigan one of our concerns was the lag period, the time we're in now, where we're not in our own space, the horse hasn't arrived and the social circle is not yet replaced. Several years ago now, I had a bad period where, looking back, I was depressed. We were both worried that I might regress with this move. Today was a day where I can admit, out loud, that yes, I see myself getting more and more depressed. There is so much that is out of my control right now and I'm struggling day to day.

 This week is especially hard because Kaylee is on spring break from her Montessori school so I don't have any opportunities for mental breaks through the day. I didn't want to leave the house yesterday and it was more harmful than beneficial. A toddler should not be contained.

 Between selling the house and house hunting, I'm stressed. We just signed paperwork to lower the asking price on the WA house and that's not a happy thing to do, but if we want it sold we need to attract buyers and get more views of the house.

 My MIL is starting to exert more control over her house, despite not living in it. We have been asked to keep the heat low, get a storage pod and move all extra boxes into the garage. Eric suspects that she is going to want to show the house to potential buyers, so if the house is sold, we'll be out of a place to stay. While that's not a huge risk at the moment, it's nonetheless a potential scenario that we need to discuss and plan for.

 I've yet to find new friends who are free during the week. Algonac has shit for things to do, so I have to travel further and look farther afield to find activities for Kaylee. One mom's group rejected me for not attending any of their events when I'd only put in for a trial for a week (their rules stated there was a 30 day window). I do have two online friends in the area, for which I am extremely grateful. I've met both of them in person now, one at the zoo and the other for the maple syrup festival.

 Kaylee has had some issues falling asleep so Eric and I tag team sitting with her until she's asleep so that's cutting into our adult time to just talk, forget about sex.

 We saw the top of the list house on Saturday and I'm in love. I really want to be able to make an offer, more than anything right now. I want our own space.

 I have been working out pretty regularly, which is good! But I'm not seeing a change at the scale, and that's not helping my mood at all.

And we've been trying to conceive for a year now, officially, with no success.  


So, things I've done to proactively work on my mood:

Today I took Kaylee to an indoor play area and rather than going home after we were done, we went to the nearby metropark with the kickass playground AND took a 3/4 mile walk. Then minor retail therapy at Play it Again Sports where I found toddler size soccer cleats. ADORABLE. Kaylee starts soccer at the end of the month and I'm excited!

Being outside today definitely helped me feel better. I need to promise myself to get outside every day.

Tomorrow we're going to a different metropark that has a farm and a 'meet the babies' every morning. That's more for me than Kaylee, but she'll enjoy it and it will get us out of the house.  Thursday we're meeting Elyse (online Mom friend) at her house for coffee. Her daughter will be at school, but Kaylee will be able to run wild in the house and play with toys.

Sunday Grandma is taking Kaylee for the whole day. Eric and I plan to have a nice long Skype DnD session with WA friends. Grandma does not know this is why we wanted child sitting.

I am going to try and get a massage next week while Kaylee is in school. And maybe start moving some of my horse stuff in to the new barn.

I also have my solo camping trip to volunteer for an endurance ride coming up in less than 2 weeks. I am excited about that, except I can't find my hiking boots. Grr.

Most everything else is out of my control, so I'm going to focus on things that I can do for myself. I'm also going to make an appointment to see an OB and talk about fertility.



I was supposed to fly back in May to assist with a horse show at Hollywood Hill Saddle Club. It was going to be the Hunter Jumper's first judged show. We'd previously done only fun shows where you pay for a round in the ring to practice with a jump course. (Notice I still say we... can't help myself)  That show got moved to July because the ride organizer, my friend Jan, broke her leg. I had already purchased my flight before I even moved to Michigan and she didn't let me know early enough to avoid the fee for changing/cancelling my flight. I had thought that I might not be able to make the new date but Eric cleared that up today, so I'll be able to return to WA in July for a day or so to help with the show anyway! That helped cheer me up today.

4 houses visited

The first one was the only good one. Favorite house remains favorite house, by far and away. The barn was even better than I had hoped and the outdoor riding ring is elevated so it drains nicely. In fact, despite there being standing water on other parts of the property, the ring looked dry. There are several pastures plus gravel runs out of each of the three stalls. Everything is fenced with electrobraid and it looks in good condition.

Of the house selling and buying

Our listing!!

I'm pretty excited. It finally is on Redfin. It was posted earlier this morning to MLS and our realtor said it would take a few hours to filter out to all the major websites.

My most favorite part that Eric showed me about Redfin is that it tells you how many views there have been of the listing and how many favorites.

41 views, and 7 favorites!!

Derenda (our realtor) is having an open house on Thursday so hopefully we'll get a few good nibbles then. I'm really pleased with how the work turned out. I wasn't able to be there for the carpet to go in or for the back to be powerwashed, so all I can do is go by the listing photos. I'd buy that house ;)

Maybe this is because I picked the colors, but I'm also loving how well the colors are showing in the photos. My stripe looks fantastic, and the green and blue in the living room and kitchen are nice and sharp. Having the painters come in to touch up all that trim was well worth it!

Eric and I are getting a date night on Thursday while Elyse (Aunt) watches Kaylee. We're finally getting back to the Melting Pot, which traditionally is where we discuss a lot of future stuff. It would be awesome to have some offers come in.

We've been getting some pressure to start physically visiting houses. We really don't want to. It was  hard to visit the Bishop Rd house in Dryden only to eventually hear that it had an offer. I don't want that to happen again until we are able to make an offer immediately. It seems that horse ready property is not common (though acreage with an established pole barn, is) and so we'll be working with limited availability.

There is a house I'm tentatively interested in. It's ready for horses in that it has a decent 8-10 stall barn and 20 acres, close to Eric's work and only a half hour from family. But the house is a wreck. It might be worth it. There are other contenders. We are also getting pressure to buy higher than we would be comfortable. Our budget exists for a reason. If we stay within it, I get to have nice toys, like a truck and trailer. I want those things, thankyouverymuch.

Making my Own Maple Syrup

Today I went to a Maple Syrup Festival. If you know me even the littlest bit you'll know that I LOVE maple syrup. I grew up in New England, I settle for nothing less than the real stuff, from a tree. Aunt Jemima doesn't do it for me and I've been known to bring my own maple syrup in to restaurants if I plan to order waffles or pancakes. Eric calls me a syrup snob, but whatever. It's in my blood. My mom grew up in Vermont where she helped with sugaring and tapping the trees on a family friend's farm. So today I got to learn about the whole process of maple sugaring. I learned this as a kid in elementary school. Every March we would traipse out in the mud and sometimes snow to tap the poor lone maple that stood in the front yard. It was a lot of fun and the slightly sweet maple sap was really cool to taste. So imagine my delight when I realized that Michigan makes Maple Syrup too. And that I could make it myself. (Making it myself has become a new hobby, which hadn't really crossed my mind until we moved to WA) So I took notes from the presentations today. It wasn't totally comprehensive, they have separate classes for that, but I think I got enough information to start next year and at least try. Trees that can produce syrup: Sycamore (gives a butterscotch like syrup), Box Alder and Maple trees. Sugar maples have the highest sugar content in their sap at 2%, all others are near 1%. So you need a LOT to make syrup. The ratio is 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of final syrup product You tap the trees when you have warm days and cool nights. Tree Diameter to be ready for tapping 10 inches can support one tap +6 inches for each additional tap, but no more than 3 or 4 If you want to be totally natural, use staghorn sumac trees to make the spiles that allow the sap to flow out of the live wood. Thi wood is ideal for spiles because the core is really soft and can be easily drilled out by a small hand drill while the outer wood is hard and stiff. You file one end down to an angle all around so it fits into a drilled hole in the tree trunk and notch the other end to hang a bucket or sap collection device (clean milk jugs work well) When drilling the maple, drill two finger joints into the tree at a slight upward angle, 6 inches away from other holes that might have been drilled. The south side of the tree will have more sap flow because that is on the sun side but big trees can be tapped all around. You can identify a maple by the grey bark that peels up on one lateral side. Not a J peel in a peel from the bottom. You boil the sap down and test doneness using a maple syrup hydrometer. You want 67% density. If you go too far you've just made maple syrup candy, congratulations. Just don't burn the sugar. Now I have a new feature to check when we buy a house. Does it have maples?!?! And possible sycamores. And Staghorn sumac.

Before Michigan

So I don't forget:

Things to pack in my car:

• Box of toys for Kaylee
• Tent
• Sleeping bag
• Viola
• Violin
• Saddle
• Potted plants?

To Do List:

• Paint the laundry room
• Empty the third bedroom
• Paint the third bedroom
• Install the trim in the 4th bedroom
• Set up carpet install
• Rip up carpet
• Sell as much furniture as possible
• Schedule the movers date
• Get quote on trim install with carpet
• Make a pvc saddle stand for shipping saddle in car/ship via USPS
• Pick up saddle Feb 7
• Pre write board and farrier checks once departure date is known'
• Pick a realtor for the sale of the house

Interim Post

We're having a great time here in Michigan. It's so awesome to see my daughter blossom under the attention of family, something she's rarely gotten due to the distance between us. I'm looking forward to her having these people more regularly in her life.

It's been great for Eric and I as well. We've had the opportunity to take time to ourselves and do some house hunting without a cranky toddler. More on that when I'm home and can sit and breathe and go through photos. There's so much to talk about!

Michigan Plans

Our holiday trip to visit our Michigan family is getting some planning added to it. We fly in Christmas Day and arrive around 5 pm so I expect we'll do dinner out (sorry restaurants, we're those people, but I promise we tip well!).

In the morning of the 26th I'll be checking out a boarding barn near my mother in law's house in Michigan. It is far cheaper to board there than where I am presently and they have over 300 acres plus inddor and outdoor arena with trails on site so I could really get a lot of riding done. I just hope it's a good place. I'm a tad worried because they talk about 5 day a week turnout being $50 extra a month and they're a huge facility. But they do have stalls with runs and pasture board, so I'll see what it looks like and how we might fit in there. Plus, it would only be temporary until we buy property and get it ready for horses. And if the pasture board looks acceptable, it would save us $250/month for each month that we board in Michigan. 4 months of that is a new saddle.

The preschool that Eric's sister went to is still being run and is a Montessori school. For 5 day a week half days it's $400/month and Eric considered that reasonable to put Kaylee into, which would REALLY give me a lot of time to ride during the week! Right now I only get 2 half days with her school schedule, and for 5 half days the price increase is a great deal.

We were also handed the code for a vacant foreclosure house for us to check out while we're there, and I've got a date scheduled to visit another property and a third is in the works. I'm excited! We've actually got plans for -us- this trip (it's a rarity).

Then off to Connecticut on New Years Eve where I'm hoping to see a movie or two while utilizing grandparental babysitting :D  "Into the Woods" comes out Christmas Day and I REALLY want to see it!  Plus the new Hunger Games and Hobbit movies, if they're still in theatres.