Ricky Hans Becker and our Extraordinarily Ordinary Life

Bullets are fast and plentiful

rickyhans — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:03:34 +0000

And bullets allow me to say a lot without actually forming sentences with structure.
Crazy busy. I used to say that all the time, but I don’t think I have experienced it quite as much as I have been lately. I am busy all day long, and yet nothing gets accomplished. That’s one excuse for not posting in, I don’t know, months? Yikes. I see that the last post was September 11, 2010. Many months.
I am showing the house twice today. We lowered the price last week, and I’ve shown it several times since then. We also got an offer, but it was such a lowball that Rick just wanted to ignore it. I talked him into a counter, but the prospective buyer didn’t accept. The offer was 13% below our asking price. The new asking price is the bottom end of the “should sell for” range of the appraisal I paid for just before the house went on the market – so that the price would be reasonable and not crazy. So, yeah, I’m not anxious to stray too far from the new asking price. Here’s hoping today’s showings result in some reasonable offers.
Rick and Ricky are at a Fishing Derby. They left at 6:45 am. When Rick woke up Ricky at 6:15, Ricky bounded out of bed and was so excited that it was FISHING DERBY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! He sounded just like that in ALL CAPS!!!!!!!
Ricky is ginormous. He grew almost 3 inches since last year’s check up, so I know I am not crazy thinking that his clothes that were too big a few months ago are now too short. He hasn’t worn out any jeans in a while – they get too short before he can rip the knees. Here… a shot of the two of us in NYC in front of the Lego Store at Rockefeller Center.
That picture was taken on Ricky’s second trip into New York. His first was Nov. 2009 on a bus trip to see the Christmas Show at Radio City. This trip was on our own to see Mary Poppins. It’s Disney, so it’s spectacular. Ricky LOVED it. His favorite part was when Bert danced up the Proscenium Arch, across the top of the stage and back down the other side. Very cool. Bakka gave him the ticket for Christmas. It was, by far, one of his favorite days ever. We went to the Toys R Us at Times Square where there is a full sized Ferris Wheel. Inside the building. Crazy fun.
Ricky is loving school. And he can read. Very well. All the worrying I did at the beginning of the year is past. Of course, you don’t know about the worrying at the beginning of the year since I haven’t posted since September, but trust me, it was worrisome. He still loves to be read to, but he can read. All by himself. And now that claw machine at the diner is not going to be safe. There is a sign on it that reads, “Diner not responsible for lost money.” We’ve been telling him that the sign reads, “Out of Order.” We’re officially busted. I guess we should bring quarters when we go to the diner from now on…
Huh. I kept the window open from Mary Poppins. The site plays a variety of songs from the show. It’s kind of fun listening to them again.
Speaking of Disney, we are going to Disney World in November. Ricky was disappointed that it is “practically a year away.” He wants to go for April vacation. Then I showed him this. He is now very content to wait until November so we can go to this mecca of plastic bricks. We’re going on a week where school has many days off, so he will only miss 2 days of school. Winning!
I am also planning a trip for our 20th anniversary next year. I plan on doing the full package, since there are a ton of other places we want to visit. Next on my “Must Do” list is this place. Maybe for the 25th…
Here’s another picture to hold you over.
That’s a group of Cub Scouts on a Go See It at ESPN. Absolutely one of the best tours we’ve ever experienced. This Cub Scout thing is a lot of fun.

Do you want to talk back?

rickyhans — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 23:30:44 +0000

Ricky was talking to my Dad the other night. Well, I should say listening to my Dad the other night, since his portion of the conversation was “Hi. Yes. OK. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes. Do you want to talk back to Mama now?”

He’s a man of few words on the telephone. So different than in person!

The waiting is the hardest part

rickyhans — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:12:30 +0000

The house is officially on the market. Sigh. It seems so simple to see that in print, but my God, what a road is has been to get here. We put the sign on the lawn on Wednesday and had an open house on Sunday. We decided to try totally on our own at first. When no one called to see the house, I was sure it was because the open house was only a few days away, so why would anyone bother when they could just come by on Sunday?

I baked mini chocolate chip cookies and got a nice bright tablecloth for the table – the one piece of furniture in the entire house, how’s that for “staging?” I got to the house early, so I could crank on the air and be sure everything was “just so.” It was. And then the waiting started. First a mom and her 7 year old daughter came by. The mom looked around for about a minute and declared the house too small. OK, then, thanks for coming.

There were a few more visitors here and there, and surprisingly, only one neighbor gawking. And it really wasn’t even a neighbor – it was the adult son of a neighbor with his wife/girlfriend/SO who claimed to be searching for a house to buy. Rrrrrrrrrrright. Just look around and run to Mommy and Daddy to let them know everything we’ve done. Which, by the way, if pretty freakin’ substantial, thank you very much.

There were three parties who seemed genuinely interested – a 60ish woman who came with her daughter and grandson, a young married couple and a 60ish widow who came with her 3rd shift-working son. The first woman’s husband had driven by earlier in the week and liked the look of the house. He picked up the flyer that I had made (info sheet, pretty detailed actually) and liked the sound of the house. The wife and daughter made some noises like the husband would probable want to come look, and I invited them to call me any time for a showing. The young couple seemed interested enough to take an offer sheet. The widow seemed impressed with the amount of work done, and that the info sheet was accurate.

Surprisingly, no brokers came. I had gotten a call from a realtor on Saturday asking a ton of questions, and basically telling me I was crazy to try to sell the house myself, what with all the paperwork and disclosures and more paperwork involved. And why was I possibly asking so much for a house in *that* neighborhood. Um, how about because it is very different from the houses in the ‘hood, with the basement, central air, half bath, etc. Thought she might show up, but never did.

And now I wait. Impatiently, of course. Wish me luck.

More soon, lots of new Ricky-isms to tell you.

Do Mom

rickyhans — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:04:53 +0000

Or maybe that’s DooMom?

Ricky says many things when he first wakes up in the morning; many of which are incomprehensible because it is directly related to a dream or thought that he has had in his sleep. This morning, while Ricky was still in bed (at 8 am!), I woke him up with a snuggle and he was happy to find out that I had not yet used hair spray. He played with my hair for a minute and then said, “When you get your Do Mom, make sure you go over there,” and pointed across the room.

Huh? What’s a Do Mom?

According to Ricky, it is like a DooDad, but for a Mom. In this case, it is the can of hairspray.

Totally clear now.

Names, Part Two

rickyhans — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:34:25 +0000

Ricky got mad at me the other day and was very indignant. “Mommy Hans Becker, you are in big trouble!”

Yikes, I better watch it. And I see he is consistent at least.

Ricky wanted to play with one of his new (ish) lego sets. He wanted the one with the castle, but couldn’t remember the name of that building. Here’s what I overheard:

“I want the knight one. Not the night with the owls, the knight with the swords and shields.”

Makes perfect sense…

Welcome Back

rickyhans — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:14:39 +0000

So it seems that one or two people have missed me. Still here. Forcing myself to have time to post. Will be adding new pictures very soon. It seems that the website needs to download to the new(ish) computer. So far, it is taking 35+ minutes. Once that is done, I have several pictures to add. It will take me a while to add all nine months of pictures, but I keep telling myself that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I hope I’m wearing comfortable shoes.

The eyes have it

rickyhans — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:26:15 +0000

One more for the “I have weird and unusual conditions” book – I had an ingrown eyelash on my upper lid that was growing into my eye. Ingrown lashes are pretty common, but they usually grow out and into the top of the lid. The optho noticed this last month at my annual eye exam, and was surprised that it wasn’t bothering me. In fact, I wasn’t even aware of it. Fast forward to this week, and boy have I been aware of it now. On Monday, my eye felt like it had a stray piece of dust or something in it. No amount of rubbing/scratching/searching resolved the problem. By yesterday, it felt like I had a piece of glass in my eye. Not painful exactly, but absolutely annoying and irritating. Today, I finally decided to call the optho to have him take it out. It is actually an entire procedure, with a numbing shot (yes, a *NEEDLE* *IN* *MY* *EYE*) and perhaps a scalpel. And I would have to wait until Monday. My super-dee-duper tweezers and I spent a little quality time together. Five minutes later, I was one lash lighter, slightly bloody and much more comfortable. And no needles.

Six Magical Years

rickyhans — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:44:20 +0000

Six. Years. Old.

*Sigh*

There was a magic party on Saturday complete with 12 little ones running laps in our house. I didn’t think that could be done, but apparently, I was wrong. Much frivolity, much enjoyment of the magician, cupcakes, pinata, and goody bags. Pictures to follow, including red chair pictures.

Family party was on Sunday, complete with the drama of puking and a “You have to tell everyone to leave so I can lay down” speech. Both by Ricky. No one left, Ricky laid down, all was right with the world by presents time.

Happy New Year!

rickyhans — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:25:27 +0000

Aside from feeling like the Yule Log whacked me over the head (from the craziness of the season, not from being hung over), I am feeling hopeful for the New Year that is upon us. Hopeful. Hopeful for so many things. I’m not at all sorry to see 2009 in the record books. We had a good year overall, unlike many. Still not sorry to see it gone.

I have so many pictures to post, including 6 months worth of red chair pictures. Still taking them on the 9th of each month, but just haven’t found time to crop, resize, and upload them. Soon, I promise.

Hope you have a prosperous and happy 2010.

Tooth Fairy Visiting Soon!

rickyhans — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:19:51 +0000

While I was writing the last post, Ricky woke up and came in to snuggle. I asked to see his how wiggly his left front tooth is, and we found that his tooth fell out! I was a bit worried that he had swallowed it overnight, but we were able to find it in his bed. The right front tooth is wiggly, but it won’t be ready to fall out for another day or two.

I had just turned on the light to take the pic, so he is morning light crabby