The Waiting Game of Real Estate

Everyone plays the waiting game...it is perhaps the most torturous game of all. It seems that I play the waiting game at least once every day. Sometimes it's waiting for the baby to go down for nap time. Sometimes it's waiting on the bus to drop the kids off after school. Sometimes it's counting down the minutes until the babysitter arrives. I think the point is that the small things are simply exercise, training methods to prepare us for when the big games are on the line.
My family and I are currently engulfed in the real estate market. The timing and patients required for this specific game is immense. To remain patient through this process is somewhat of an unachievable goal, at least for me. I am not sure what is more frustrating...cleaning like a crazy woman, vacating my home with 4 kids and dogs in tow, or if it's hearing the not-so-kind feedback from the people that have come through my home. Then the waiting game comes in to play again when my family and I are expected to tour other home. When we find the perfect one, we are forced to sit back and watch someone else snag our great deal. It is frustrating to say the least. Perhaps the biggest game of all when it comes to real estate is the process of writing a contract. In today's market everyone expects to get a great deal, and thanks to the foreclosure rate, this has become more achievable than ever before. There are deals to be had everywhere. Hopefully, I will exhibit nerves of steel and the patients of a saint when our family has reached this point, and hopefully we will be at that stage soon....because I am beginning to become impatient!

Hiccups

There is a lot to be said for hiccups...they are annoying little intrusions into our lives. Ones that we do not ask for and ones that are not a welcome part of our everyday. We all experience them from time to time, and they always sneak up when we are not expecting them.
The thing that makes them the most frustrating is that once they arrive we obsess about how to get rid of them. Everyone has an idea of what makes them just go away. Hold your breath, drink water, scare them away, stand on your head, etc.
When one actually examines what a hiccup is they then are able to see the solution. According to Google a hiccup is the "spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm that repeats". It is caused by an upset in the rhythm of normal breathing patterns.
So, this information lends itself to the question...how does one get "rid" of the hiccups? I think this is the most important part of the entire discussion. One can not simply get rid of them. They are a fact of life, everyone has had them at some point. The only way to get through it is patients and understanding the problem. When one takes time to see the bigger picture it becomes much easier to see that there may not be a fix, simply a readjusting until the problem works itself out. Personally, when there are hiccups in my life I find that if I step back and take slow steady breaths I eventually get back to where I need to be. After all, isn't it the moments that take our breath away in one way or another the ones that make us appreciate the roller coaster of life?

Funny Mommy-Moments

I love that we all have those old sayings in the back of our heads. You know, the ones your parents used and you swore as a child that you would never repeat them to your own children.

"Life is not fair"
"Because I said so"
"Some day you will thank me for this"
"There are children starving in China, finish your vegetables"


These are a few examples of the ones I heard frequently...a little more frequently than I would have liked. The funny part is that I have repeated every one of these, and most of them, on a daily basis. This morning as a rather obese raccoon was picking through the trash in the can I found myself preaching to my kids. I couldn't help but let them know about the overpopulation of certain species in our neighborhoods. The problem that comes from little kids that don't eat all their food, the food gets thrown away, and the "wild" animals come to the neighborhoods (where it is not safe for them, or us) to eat the food. The greatest part came just as I was finishing my sermon. My three year old looked at me with his huge blue eyes and said with child like wonder
"Mommy, can I go outside and pet him, he can be my friend. I will feed him all my food!!"
I couldn't help but giggle. Moments like this are ones that will never be forgotten. In fact they will be treasures that I will always hold dear~!

Happy 2010!!

I have made the decision to not make empty and meaningless New Year resolutions. It seems every year I make a resolution that I know I will not be able to follow, and then once I fail, I tend to think "Oh well, I knew I wouldn't do it anyway."

This year, I am going to change things up a bit! Instead of restricting the things that I can't do, I am going to make a resolution to increase the things that I can do!! For example, Instead of saying that I am going to give up a bad habit, I am going to do more of the positive things in my life.

So, here it goes:
1. I am going to laugh louder, smile bigger, and love deeper!
2. I am going to be more forgiving, understanding, and courteous.
3. I am going to be a better listener, a better friend, and better mother.
4. MOST of ALL....I am going to be me, I am going to look deeper and find more of the real me, and let her just be authentic.

I wish everyone a happy, safe, and love filled 2010!!!