Tips For Selling Your House Quickly With A Toddler

Finding out the news we were expecting baby #2 in May, we decided it was time to put our house on the market and find something larger. Our house isn't super small...under 1,700 square feet...but we want something we can grow into and stay in for many years to come.  

This was a great starter home for us.  I know I will cry when we move.  This was our first home purchase and more importantly, Vivian's first home.  I'm sad she won't remember her time here, but we certainly will!

We made the decision just before Christmas to sell and went live mid-January. January isn't the 'ideal' time to sell, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Now, when you have a toddler on your hands...in my case, an 18 month old, it can be very challenging. You want your house SPOTLESS and DE-CLUTTERED.

Before meeting with our realtors, I deep cleaned the entire house.  I cleaned ALL the base boards, light fixtures (amazing how much brighter it makes your home when you do this), rented a carpet cleaner from Home Depot and cleaned all the rugs and carpet,  cleaned all the scuffs off the walls, scrubbed every door removing the dust, scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom cabinets inside and out, cleaned under the top cabinets removing food splatter, made the stove and oven look brand new by getting the 'gunk' out from around the knobs and around the stove top and cleaned the food from inside the oven, cleaned the tile grout in the kitchen.

It was an EXHAUSTING JOB.  Especially after caring for Vivian all day and cleaning at night.  Totally worth it though!

When our realtors came to our house they could not believe how great our little home looked.  They said it would sell itself.  There was nothing we needed to do.

Our house was on the market just under 5 weeks when we got an offer that we accepted.  Our house was like a revolving door with potential buyers.  It was shown to someone almost everyday, which means you have to clean EVERYDAY!!!  

Here are my tips:

1.  Deep clean before meeting with a realtor to list your home.  Make small repairs if need-be.

2.  De-Clutter, De-clutter, De-clutter!!!  Rent a storage unit to clean out your closets and toys that your little one doesn't play with. Potential buyers want to see the size of your closets, not all your belongings. You also don't want toys everywhere.  We also have a FROG (a room above the garage) that we had an inflatable mattress on a bed frame for guests that we took down.  Wanted to show the potential buyer how large the space was.

3.  Remove as many family photos as possible.  Buyers want to imagine themselves living there and not focused on the family that currently lives in their potential home.  We only left a few pictures of Vivian up, table framed pics only...which was only two.  I hated putting hers and our pics away, but I wanted to make a quick sale.  Leaving non-family portraits on the walls are fine.  We have a few professional photos and paintings of our historic town we live in that we left hanging.

4.  Windex, Pledge, Clorox Wipes, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Stainless Steel Appliance Cleaner, Tile and Hardwood Floor Cleaner will be your best friend during this process. 

5. Dust, vacuum, sweep, make sure your kitchen and bathrooms are spotless when you know you have a showing. The kitchen and bath are the two rooms that really sell your home.  

6.  If you have any decals on your child's wall, take them down.  Very easy to do.  I had one over Vivian's crib that I removed.  Buyers may think it would be something difficult to remove.  

7.  If your little one naps, make sure your realtor knows when his/her nap time is so they can block that time for showings.  

8.  Have as many open houses that you can.  We had 3 open houses in 1 month!  You want as much traffic as possible.  

9.  If you have dog, take him with you or have a neighbor or doggie day care watch him.  If the water and food bowl is inside, put it where no one will see it.  We tucked Brody's away in the garage.  We looked at homes where there dog was in the garage or in crates. It may be a pain, but buyers don't want to hear a barking dog while touring your home.  If you have cats, make sure the litter box is outside and cats aren't roaming around the house.  We looked at two houses that had cats and you all you could do was smell cat.  Opening the closets, cat smell.  Walking into each room, cat smell.  Walk into the front door, cat smell.  Horrible.  Pet owners, make sure your house is smelling fresh and clean and not smelling like animal.

10. Buy new bath mats and hand towels to use only for showings.  After a showing, put them up until your next showing.  Don't use them for yourself.  Speaking of your bathroom, hide your shampoo, body wash, loofa, bath cloth, toothbrush, face wash, toothpaste  underneath your sink.  Hide your trash can as well.

Make sure all bath toys are put away and not hanging out in the tub.

11.  Organize your linen closet.  I made sure towel colors where organized.  I also put all meds, nail polish, etc in a basket and left it in the back of my car.  Again, I wanted buyers to see the space they would have.   

12.  Get down and clean around the base of your toilets.  It gets nasty down there!  I also cloroxed the entire toilets to make them white as possible.  You want to remove all the dust and hair.

13.  Clean all of your windows.  Amazing how dirty they get.

14.  When you have a showing, open all of your blinds and turn on every single light in your house.  You want it bright as possible! 

15.  Make sure your yard is well maintained.  Hedges trimmed, pine cones picked up, pine straw racked, fallen limbs are thrown away, front porch, back patio and garage swept clean.

16.  If your little one is still in diapers, don't put the diaper in a diaper pale.  Throw it away in the outside garbage.  You don't want dirty diaper smell in the room.  

17.  By keeping your home tighty each day, it will leave you less stress when you have a showing request the same day it was requested.  Clean after little one goes to bed and deal with the little pick-ups the next day.  

18.  Have snacks, drinks, diapers, wipes ready to take with you when you have to leave your house. 

Every single comment we had from each showing was how immaculate our house was and so well maintained.  It was great hearing, especially being a stay-at-home-mom to little miss Tasmanian Devil.  

It was the BIGGEST PAIN IN THE BUTT, but totally worth the constant cleaning. So happy we are under contract and we have made an offer on our 'forever' home that the seller accepted.   

Happy Selling!!!!  

  

     

Snow Day

Wilmington got a little treat Tuesday morning.  Snow!  It wasn't a lot, but enough to lightly cover the ground and make one little girl happy.  

It was gone by the afternoon leaving only ice in the trees.  It was a great excuse to stay in pj's all day long. 

Thank you for the nice scenery, Heavenly Father!

 

 

27 Weeks Pregnant and Vivian is 20 Months Old Today

Today Vivian and I share something special with baby Joanna, 4 months away from Vivian turning 2 and we'll meet Joanna in 3 months.

Vivian I cannot believe you're going to be a big sister soon!!!  You are going to love your sister to pieces I know.  Mommy is ready for you to have a playmate : )

Vivian at 20 months, you weigh 21.3 lbs, you are 31-1/4 inches tall and your peanut head is 44 cm (3rd percentile).  You are a dainty thing.

Your vocabulary has sky rocketed over the last month.  The CUTEST thing you are doing is when you call for your daddy.  You go, "daaaad."  I love it and so does your daddy.  You also love saying, "apple," "nana (for banana)," "bubbles," "bye bye."  

You love to color and already know some of your colors.  You still love your books as well which makes mommy happy.  You know most of your body parts when we ask you to show us where they are.  For some reason when we ask you where your knees are, you squeeze your eyes tight.  It's hilarious and we have no clue why or where that came from.     

You love to slide.  There's no slide too big for you.  You have turned into a daredevil!  You also love to climb.  Your favorite thing climb on is the kitchen table.  You are constantly climbing up there and we've even let you sit there while you eat.

Speaking of eating, you are so random.  One day you'll eat all day long and other days you barely eat at all.  You do love fruit thankfully, and breakfast!  

You love to run.  You'll just run around the house yelling.  It is so funny!!  You go even wilder when you are wearing only a disper.

You are back to loving baths.  We had a rough month when it was pure torture for you.  So happy you love them again, especially back to loving bubble baths.  

You love giving hugs and kisses...I can never get enough.  You are the sweetest little girl in the whole entire world.  Don't think you don't have tantrums because you do.  You get frustrated very easily.  Mommy is ready for you to be able to vocally tell me what you want and don't want.  

I love you on all the good and bad days little girl!!!

--------------

 How Far along are you: 27 weeks

Weight Gain:  18 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity tops, but I'm thinking I need to break down and purchase some bottoms.

Food Craving:  No cravings lately

Food Aversion:  Nope.

How Are You Feeling:  Good but tired.

How Are You Sleeping:  So so.  I have a hard time breathing at night.  Feel like I have 10 lb weights on each of my lungs.

Miss Anything:  Nope.

Any Discomforts:  I have occasional "growing pains"

Any Movement: She's little miss dancing queen.

Symptoms:  Just my oh so fun nose bleeds in the mornings.

Labor Signs:  No

Gender:  Girl!

Mood:  Happy and tired

Excited For Anything:  We are currently house hunting.  Praying we will find something soon since our house is currently under contract.  Not excited for this, but I have my glucose test on Wednesday.  Ready to see if I'll be diagnosed again.       

Valentine's Day

What a wonderful second Valentine we had with our little lady.  Even though she's a complete handful, she's the sweetest girl.  I can't believe last year she was just over 7 months old.  Just a tiny peanut! 

Little girl woke up to her Valentine happies.  A book, reusable stickers and a teddy bear.

She loves The Little People books.  They really are cute!

After B woke up we went for a late breakfast which turned into lunch at Crepes and More.  The line and waiting for your food was ridiculous.  I think we were there for 2 hours.  When we were standing in line, the French owner talked to us saying we could cut the line if we wanted.  We go there often, ha.  We didn't, but was nice that he offered.   B and I both got the ham, egg and cheese croissant.  So buttery and flaky.  Definitely worth the wait.  Vivian got the egg and cheese croissant which she ended up eating half of it.  She thought it was yummy!  Before we left, the owner came to us saying he had a Valentine's gift for us.  He gave us a chocolate croissant to go.  So very nice of him!

After our late breakfast/lunch we headed home in which Vivian fell asleep in the car.  We napped on the couch.

  

B made reservations at the Osteria Cicchetti  for dinner.   Vivian looked so cute in her little Valentine's dress!

I ordered the tortellini michalangelo with a spinach salad, B had the chicken parmesan and Vivian ate bread.   

We skipped dessert.  If I hadn't gobbled up the chocolate croissant an hour before leaving dinner, I probably would have ordered something.

We got home and started Vivian's bath.  B went to a basketball game and I crawled into bed after Vivian went to bed and watched tv.  My kind of Valentine's day!!    

Next Valentine's we'll be sharing it with two little ladies!  Still can't believe that one :)

Heart Shaped Strawberry Hand Pies

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I would make Vivian and I a special treat.  I've had a major sweet tooth lately...maybe because I have my glucose test coming up on the 25th and my high risk Dr says I'll be diagnosed with gestational diabetes again...so I'm getting in all the sweets I can.  Not great for the growing waistline, but I want to enjoy yummy treats while I can.

I did make B some Valentine cookies so he wouldn't feel left out.  I did an easy recipe of 1 cup butter, room temp, 1 cup sugar, 1-1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 egg, 1 tsp water, 3 cup self rising flour.    

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla

Add egg and water

Add flour and blend

Divide dough in half and wrap in saran wrap.  Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface and cut them using your cookie cutter.  I used a heart shape since I wanted Valentine cookies.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes, take them out just before the edges are brown.  I like to like my cookie sheet with parchment paper for easy removal and clean-up.   

Use your favorite icing or make your own. 

Now, back to the hand pies.  These were so good and so incredibly easy to make.

The recipe makes 4 hand pies, but you can make 8 if you use 2 frozen puff pastry sheets.

Heart Shaped Strawberry Hand Pies

Ingredients 

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farms)
4 - 8 Tbs of strawberry preserves.  The original recipe called for cherry jam if you prefer cherry over strawberry. 
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup powered sugar
1-2 tsp water

Directions

Thaw your pastry sheet either overnight in the fridge or at room.
temperature for 40 minutes.

Preheat oven at 425

Lay your thawed pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll out your pastry sheet to at least 12 inches long.  If there are any cracks in your pastry, add a little water to smooth it out.

Cut out 8 hearts.

Place 4 hearts on a rimmmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. My heart cookie cutter was small so I was able to cut out an extra one.

Add a tablespoon of your preserve or jam to your heart cut out.

After filling your heart, go all around the edges brushing your lightly beaten egg.

Top with your remaining heart cutouts.  Seal your hearts by pressing a fork all around the edges.

Pop in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

You may have some hungry beavers trying to wait patiently :)

While your pies are baking, mix your powdered sugar and water.  Mix until smooth.  Drizzle on top of warm pies.

You can double the recipe by using both pastry sheets if you want.  This also makes for a nice after school treat for your kiddos or indulge them for yourself.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

I'm really digging this whole making a yummy breakfast on Sunday's. Lasy Sunday I made crepes. Since Vivian has a hard time going to church, we stay home and watch Dr. Charles Stanley instead.  Vivian is terrified of church nursery, they page me everytime or I end up sitting in nursery with her, and she is too wild to sit in 'big' church.  Even sitting in the very back, I hate distracting everyone.  If I can't listen to the sermon, I know no one else can.  This will only last for a short time...hopefully.

I'm going to attempt to try out a new breakfast each weekend.  I want to improve cooking skills!  Even though its me just eating it...B is more of give me an cheese omelette, sausage and toast kind of guy.  I'm more sweet and savory.  

I love oatmeal.  I eat a bowl almost every morning for breakfast.  I've tried the overnight oats before, but didn't care for the texture.  I liked the idea of not having to make breakfast, just grab and go.  When I found this oatmeal bake on Pinterest I thought I would give it a try.  It was really good!  Even better the second and third day.  I was able to eat on it longer since it was just me gobbling it up.

    

 

Baked Honey Berry Oatmeal recipe adapted here

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

Dry Mixture:

2 cups oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

⅓ cup packed brown sugar

Wet Mixture:

2 cups nonfat milk

2 eggs

½ tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsps honey

1½ tbsp melted butter

2 cups frozen mixed berries

¼ cup pecans, separated.  I would have used walnuts but I was out.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar. Set aside.

In a seperate bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, honey, and butter.

Layer half the berries in a 2 quart baking dish and top evenly with the dry oat mixture. Pour on the wet mixture, then add the rest of the berries on top along with the roughly chopped pecans or walnuts.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the oats have absorbed the liquid. Serve hot or cold!

^^Mine took longer to bake, more like 30 - 45 minutes.  Honestly, I'm not sure what size baking dish I used and I think that's why it took longer to absorb the liquid. 

   

Life According To My Phone

Two peas in a pod

24 weeks and 1 day

Vivian kissing Joanna Grace

The night before getting that nasty 24 hr stomach bug.

Tropical Smoothie date

Sleeping beauty 

Play-Doh fun!

Rearranging Targets shelf

Daddy time

Playing in the sink while mommy bakes

These two

Love her oh so much!!!

7

Where's your tongue Vivy?

New friends at the park

24 Weeks and 1 Day

How Far along are you: 24 weeks and 1 day 

Weight Gain:  11 lbs.  Started at 114.6, weighed 128.8 the other day.  So, 14 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: I only wear maternity tops, no bottoms yet.

Food Craving:  I've been eating a lot of fruit lately and salads.

Food Aversion:  Nope.

How Are You Feeling:  Great! 

How Are You Sleeping:  Descent.

Miss Anything:  Nope.

Any Discomforts:  Nope.

Any Movement: Some days she's more active than otherd.

Symptoms:  Just my oh so fun nose bleeds in the mornings.

Labor Signs:  No

Gender:  Girl!

Mood:  Happy and tired

Excited For Anything:  We finally decided on a name for baby girl.  Also, Valentine's Day will be here soon.  I already have all of Vivian's goodies :)  I still need to get a gift for B :/  

Sunday Morning Breakfast

I love crepes!  My favorite breakfast treat.  They are light, doesn't leave you over stuffed and just plain delicious.  I usually go to Our Crepes and More  for the yummy treat.  I always, always get the Versailles...crepe filled with strawberries, bananas, nutella, dollop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  So good! Costing almost $9, I thought I would attempt making it at home.  I did leave out the ice cream and whipped cream, which worked out really well.  

I'm not the greatest cook and I am the worst at making pancakes.  I somehow have the hardest time flipping them and they become jumbled up pancakes.  For me, crepes were a lot easier to cook.  Very easy to flip.  

I halved the recipe since it was just me eating them.  V doesn't care for the texture of crepes.  She did take one bite and that was it :) B isn't a crepe fan either.  Surprise, surprise!  I did eat all, but two.  Blame the pregnancy hunger :)  

You can use whichever filling you would like, or you could make it a more savory crepe vs sweet.  I prefer sweet!  

I mixed the batter by hand vs using a blender.  Add flour little by little to make the batter lump free.  You do not want any lumps!! After mixture is too thick to mix, add your milk while whisking.  The batter will be runny which is what you want.  

Recipe adapted here for more detailed instructions on making crepes.

Skillet sizes you can use and batter amount:

8″ skillet: 2 1/2 Tablespoons batter (I used this size)
10″ skillet: 3 1/2 Tablespoons batter
**YOU WANT THE CREPES THIN, NOT THICK LIKE PANCAKES.  USE LITTLE BATTER FOR EACH ONE** 

Coat skillet well with butter.  I used the suggestion of leaving the butter in the wrapper and coating the bottom by rubbing it with butter.  I coated the bottom after making each second crepe.

Basic Crepes Recipe by Our Best Bites
Full Recipe:
  
2 eggs
2 Tbs canola oil
3 Tbs sugar (omit if making savory crepes)
1 C flour
1 1/3 C milk

Half Recipe:

1 egg
1 Tbs canola oil
1 Tbs and 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/c cup and 2 Tbs and 2 tsp milk 

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on low speed until combined, or whisk by hand until there are no lumps.  

If whisking by hand, combine your egg, oil and sugar first.  Add flour little by little while whisking.  Once batter is too thick to whisk, slowly add your milk while whisking together. Remember, no lumps!  The batter will be runny which is what you want.  Not a thick pancake batter.  

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium-high heat.  Hold pan with one hand while you pour the batter with the other hand.  Twirl the pan in a circular motion pouring just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan.   

Place on cooking surface and cook until edges are set and you can easily run a rubber spatula around the edge of the pan, 30 seconds.   Flip crepe and cook an additional 15-20 seconds.  Remove crepe from pan and either keep warm in the oven or cool to room temperature.

Fill with your choice of savory (meat, cheese, vegetable) or sweet (pudding, mousse, pastry cream, fruit) filling.  Top sweet crepes with  with Strawberry Sauce, Buttermilk Caramel Syrup, Hot Fudge, or just a dusting of powdered sugar and sweetened whipped cream.
Unfilled crepes can be stacked between sheets of waxed paper and refrigerated or frozen.  To thaw, leave at room temperature.  

 Like I said earlier, B isn't a crepe fan.  He wanted sausage, egg and toast.  What the boy wants, the boy got this morning.  I was in the mood to make a good breakfast.  

Side note:  I have one silly girl.  Loves wearing anything but a hat and bow on her head.  Also, she wanted to wear these clothes over her pj's.