What the BEEP was I thinking?

Christmas is the most joyous time of year, unless you are moving. Then it just plain sucks. No, I take that back it sorta sucks.

Last year my husband and I bought the most amazing home, and we bought it rather quickly. We did get a deal on it and we have been happy here. This home is over eighty years old. After being here for a few months we knew that this was the Money Pit. It is not insulated, AT ALL, and in winter on average our utility bill ranges from $600 to $800. That is another mortgage payment. Or some new shoes for me. It became clear rather quickly that this had been a mistake. Thankfully my brilliant husband had the foresight to put a clause in our contract that stated we could basically give the house back within one year if we decide to. He did this because...a. We bought the house so fast, we didn't want to make a mistake (which we did) and 2. The house is so very old, nobody could have foreseen all the problems. The roof leaks, the entire house needs new windows, the walls need to be insulated. The list goes on and on. A stipulation of this clause stated that if we so choose to not continue with the purchase of the home, we forfeited 10% of our down payment. It is well worth it.
Don't get me wrong, I love this house, it has been a wonderful home to my family, but it's upkeep has about killed us. Also, we won't be the ones responsible for having to sell this house. It won't sell now, that is for sure.

So, as trying as all of this is, it is a blessing that we are able to walk away.

Toddlers

Toddlers are hard. That is an understatment. They are brutal, from about the 12 month stage to about the 30 month stage. Luckily, I am out of that stage with my children. But for the next two weeks I will be chasing around Logan Hayes, aka "Logey Bear". I have only had him for two days, and I already adore this child. He is around 18 months old (prime terror), but so cute you could spread him on toast and eat him up. He is a good baby, he rarely cries and is very loving. He bonded with me immediately and decided that I was the one he could trust. The kids love him. Sarah has begged me the last two mornings to let her stay home from school to play with him, and Ethan asked me if we could keep him.

As I said though, toddlers are hard. As mothers, we get out of practice. Ethan is 3 1/2 now, and only two years ago, he was the same age as Logan. I am not saying that 3 year olds are a walk in the park, but they are almost self sufficient when compared to a baby. I can trust Ethan to feed himself, walk up the stairs by himself, play by himself and to just be by himself. You cannot do this with a toddler. In the blink of an eye, you can find them on top of a table, climbing the stairs, or trying to stick something in the DVD player. They require constant supervision, and I am serious about that. You CAN'T take your eyes off of them, ever! That is why, as parents, naptime is Eutopic!