Virtual Coffee Date

It's been quite awhile since I've done a virtual coffee date, which is a way for me to share some random things that are on my mind! So settle in, grab a coffee or tea, and pretend we are sitting across from each other at a cozy coffee shop!

If we were having coffee today...

- I'd probably talk about our super frustrating house search. I'm so fatigued by looking at listings. So many people talk about how fun house hunting is or how much they enjoy looking at listings. Let me tell you, it's not as fun when you really want to find something and are striking out. I'd also talk about how surprised we are how little effort some people put into staging their homes. The market is hot for first time home buyer houses, but in our price range, things are not selling super fast unless they are priced right and have a beautiful kitchen. So staging is still super important. In fact, even though our house should sell very fast (it's a first time home buyer kind of house), we will still really focus on staging it to make sure it gets a lot of traffic and sells quickly. We are also surprised how over-priced some houses are. I imagine the owner must insist on a certain price because it does not make sense to us to price something way over what it will sell for. We've really gotten a feel for things should be priced after looking for 2 years, so I imagine their realtor has to know it's over-priced. It seems like it's best to come on the market at the appropriate price... it's not like you are going to trick buyers into thinking it's actually worth what you list it at! Anyways, I'd ask you to send good thoughts and cross your fingers that we find the right house soon!

- I'm sure we'd talk about Paul, too! I'm really loving the toddler stage. It's so fun to watch him explore the world and learn new things. He's still so obsessed with books. I didn't know that a toddler could love books as much as her does! Whenever he encounters a cat in a book, he wants to show Oscar (see pic below). He's handled the transition to the toddler room really well. He naps for 2 hours on a cot, which is amazing. He doesn't nap that long at home! I'm so glad he takes good naps as his teachers deserve a break. His poor infant room teachers rarely got a break from him as he usually napped for about 20 minutes! He's learning new words and concepts, which is cool to see!

He loves playing with this rotary phone. He says 'hello' in the cutest little voice!

 - I'm sure we'd talk about books since that's one of my favorite topics! I'd talk about how surprised I am that I've had my best reading years since becoming a mom. I guess being a mom makes you really, really prioritize your free time. Also, since becoming a mom, I make way fewer plans and have more free nights which gives me more time to read. So in general, I wouldn't say I'm busier as a mom than I was pre-kids - I'm just a different kind of busy if that makes sense? When I didn't have kids, I kind of hated it when people would say things like 'you think you are busy now, just wait until you have kids!' But now I can say you can be busy with kids or without kids. You are probably just busy in a different way.

- On that topic, I'd talk about how much harder it's been for me to fit in exercise since becoming a mom. Working out before work just doesn't work for me since we are all out of the house around 6:50 am. My day would have to start far too early for my liking. And then I'm busy with Paul until around 6:30-7 and am usually famished by the time he goes to bed. The best time for me to workout would be around 8pm and that's just too late for me. So I've had to settle for considering walks exercise (we take family walks on week nights and long walks on the weekend). I'm content with my weight so I guess it's working out ok? I will admit that I'm a bit envious of moms with flexible schedules. My work schedule is pretty inflexible... I'm also envious of Phil for being able to run during lunch. That's just not an option for me as I'd get so sweaty that I'd need a shower and there's no way I'd have time for that... nor would I feel comfortable coming back to my very professional/polished work environment looking like a hot mess (Phil has access to a shower at work)! I'm reminding myself that this is a season of life and right now, walking will need to be good enough! There are probably moms that would workout at 5am or 8pm but I guess I'm prioritizing other things over vigorous exercise right now.

- We'd close by me asking how you are doing and what's on your mind.

So tell me - how are you and what's on your mind?