Home decor, yippie!

We just ordered this pretty patio table and chairs set, on sale, for delivery next week. And an umbrella. YAY!! I am so excited for dinners and weekend mornings outside. Shawn said he expects to always be asking "Where's your Mom?" and the kids to answer, "Outside on the patio," after we get this set...since I've insisted we get it so... heartily.

He and I have been having so much fun homecaring the last week or so, since coming back from vacation, that it's really starting to feel like "We have a beautiful home we are proud of." This makes me happy. We've bought and hung (expensive-ish) framed art, put up some curtains in the main living room, cleaned top to bottom, including the front porch ceiling, columns and windows, and picked up the kids' crap which is usually everywhere. God love 'em. I hope they don't feel like they can't just BE, in the house. We don't nag too much, I don't think. When Kate's stuff multiplies we just pile it up on the bench in the den and ask her to take it upstairs. Sometimes she does that. Sometimes we even help her. And shoes. Socks and shoes seem to also fly all over the house and land in the middles of rooms.

Mom and Dad are planning to haul their piano, which was Grandmother's piano, to our house soon. I am excited about this, definitely. I've never "wanted" it before because I really didn't have any place for it. Now I actually have a place, and really, have wanted it all along. How awesome will it be to have a real piano, and the one I played as a child? I think THAT room will start to feel like a grown-up living room, as well, as soon as it's installed. I am a bit sorry for them, not to have a piano at their house anymore. But Mom says no one ever plays it down there, so I'm trying not to be sad. Nor think about the general idea that they're giving me big furniture, as generations do... nope, not thinking about that.

Next up on the projects list: A gallery wall upstairs. We have some items ready for it, and have Pinterested some ideas and tips for inspiration. Just need to find the time to work on it and hammer those holes into the wall. :) We still need to figure out a bookshelf solution for the guest room/play room. And last on my list is to find something new to hang over the bed in the master bedroom.

Well, not last. There's never really a last project with a home, is there? Thank goodness. More fun to come. Future projects: extend the back patio slab (and make it nicer-looking), which will then require fixing/replacing the fence on that side of the house... Fire Pit and comfy chairs around it... this morning I was thinking about a little running bird-bath / water-feature.... lots in the backyard, it would seem!

Good stuff from this weekend

So much to report. :)

• First of all, Friday at lunchtime, Shawn and I went to the furniture store and spent other people's money! Well, I mean, opened a credit card. :) We got a new sectional for the family room/den, and end tables and an ottoman to go with it. Gone are the days of not having enough seating space, and not having a surface on which to put our drinks! Yippie! That evening, Shawn went by the showroom to pick up one additional piece I bought, on a whim, the floor/display model. Totally on-sale. It's a beautiful cabinet. It's in our foyer right now, and might stay there or might move to the dining room, but I LOVE IT.

Don't you love it?

The rest is being delivered next Saturday. Now that we have all the furniture in mind, I think we're ready to start decorating. So yesterday, I unwrapped photos and candles and artwork and wandered around the house, trying to find the best spots for them. Maybe tonight some nails will go into some walls!

This was a weekend of spending TIME at home -- we had no commitments to birthday parties in the middle of the day, no long afternoons at any swimming pool, and I was in the house during times of the day I'm not normally there. I could see how the light from the big window hits this wall and that wall, and it was so nice. I still just love this house, and it's really coming together to be the house I have always wanted.

• Shawn bought, and the kids and I planted, some flowers (thanks, honey!). My first attempt at flowers went awry -- I had bought some lovely hanging baskets, but they died (even though I watered them! I promise!) within 7 days. Sad panda. So let's hope this second effort works out better.

• I finished the whole-house-cleaning that Shawn had started during the week. Now everything has been dusted, vacuumed, mopped or otherwise cleaned (bathrooms), and boy, did it need it. And wow, does that feel great.

• I baked banana bread. Always a satisfying venture.
• We saw a family that we like at Mass, who've now joined our parish. Their kids attend the school, but they were members elsewhere; now they're registered where they belong. I smile every time I see them. File this in the "appreciating friends" category.
• We got the last of the school supplies -- all-white PE shoes for Kate (hard to find) -- and spent a morning shoe shopping in the process. Kate was being a quintessential GIRL, oohing and ahhing over all the pretties at Payless. It was adorable. (Yes, I did also buy her that pair of gold flats, because how could I not??)
• Kate helped me make fish last night, and then both kids cleaned their plates! A miracle!

Let's not talk too much about how much the kids are fighting with one another lately, or how many times they were sent to their respective bedrooms (or how many times one of them refused to go)... let's just chalk it up to We Really Need School to Start Back, Now, and be grateful that happens on Thursday this week. Yes, let's.

Grateful x Infinity

Today, I am so very grateful that all I am required to do is sit at my desk at work. After several nights' worth, and five full days over Memorial Day Weekend and through yesterday, of packing, cleaning, standing, pacing, worrying, packing, and oh-the-deep-cleaning, this is bliss. Let me say that again: TODAY, I am very very grateful to be at my desk, in my cubicle, in my computer job, sitting on my tail and not packing anything. ;)

It's only a small break, of course. After work today, I know I'll get right back into it with the unpacking, but guess what? It will be in our new house. It was so fun to take OUR keys there yesterday, after the closing, and see it empty. Other people's stuff -- even really nice stuff -- can get in the way of seeing the home itself, you know? And we were happy because this is definitely an upgrade. I forgot what fixture or feature made us say it, but we did, out loud. Even though we lost having a basement (to store a lot of crap when we don't know where else to put it), and even though the neighborhood is pool-less. ;) Upgrade. I feel like I want to explain that more: We don't need the house that many of our acquaintances, and even friends, seem to have. The brand-new, custom-kitchen, all-hardwoods basic petite mansion. And we are financially very conservative - we probably could have afforded a lot more than we bought, loan-wise. All we wanted was to get out of our declining neighborhood, and add a guest bedroom. And that's what we did. We also got granite counter tops as a bonus (but we gave up our stainless appliances). Does that help tell you? It's a step up, it isn't a leap -- and I am RELIEVED about that. I wouldn't know what to do with myself in a home like some of the kids' friends have. I guess this is what happens when you live in a metro area with a lot of giant companies' HQs like Coke and Home Depot and UPS. LOTS of people make LOTS of money. Anyway, we are so, so pleased with ourselves and excited to make the new home OUR HOME.

And to sit on my bottom today.

Shawn, bless him, ended up managing the move-out AND the move-in (today), on his days off. I don't think I need to record the whole, long story... well, no, it'll be funny someday.

We had planned it out so well. We thought the movers would be coming Tuesday morning. On Monday when I finally got a confirmation call about our appointment, I was told we had "the afternoon slot" instead. Ooookay. I took it as a gift, because there was still a lot to do. Tuesday, the kids went to school for a last 1/2-day, Shawn went to work, and I went to work finishing all the details. Stripped the beds of the comforters and sheets, and boxed those. Put all the lamps in bubble wrap and boxes. Used my last big box on the pantry/non-perishables, and everything fit exactly. I even had 15 minutes' time to deliver the little gifts I'd gotten for 2 of our neighbors, and to say goodbye. I was walking back home at 11:30. The movers were supposed to show up or call me around noon. Perfection. But they didn't arrive. By 2:00 my patience was out, so I called and they said they'd be there "around 4:15...or 5:00. Or 6:00 at the latest." And I blew up in the customer service guy's ear. I let him know how very displeasing that was... I had taken the day off work! I had things to do tomorrow (Wednesday), not to mention the SALE OF THE HOME, and could NOT reschedule this! And he placated me with "I understand, Ma'am. We'll send a crew just as soon as they're available."

Shawn got home around 6:00 and told me to take the kids -- who had been so good since coming home at noon, waiting with me -- and go eat dinner and go to the hotel. I had used the time waiting around to scrub bathrooms, clean the fridge, and as much other stuff as I could think of that wasn't the floors. So I was wiped, and I left. The movers got to our house at 7:00 pm #AREYOUKIDDINGME. Shawn was later complimentary to them, telling me how hard they worked, and how fast. (Whatever.) They had the truck filled to the brim by 11:00 pm. But guess what? They didn't get everything -- the truck wasn't quite big enough. Hahahaha! Ohmygod.

I'm done talking about it. Soon, distant memories. We have been exhausted the last two nights and sleeping on lumpy pillows in a crappy hotel. So our first night sleeping in our own beds again -tonight!- is going to be awesome. I can't wait. This story arc and "category: real estate" is mostly closed, I guess. What a relief, and what a gift to ourselves. I've had thoughts about it being serendipitous that this has all happened just days before I turn 40. An exciting beginning to Life, Part 2.

The last 2 weeks in our old house

(I have to write down all my feelings about Kate's amazing performance from last Friday. It's captured on Facebook, of course, with everyone's sweet comments, but gosh, it was such a parent moment. Every time I watch the video I relive that high! So, someday soon I will pour my heart out about it.)

It's a mess in our house right now and there's very little we can do about it. That has been hard. I don't feel like we have a place to put all the packed boxes. We HAVE packed boxes... did some more last night. Every night, we must. I've got to stop sitting down at the kitchen table after school. Unless the kids need me to help with homework, I need to be packing.

This weekend I need to get paper plates/cups and we'll start using them for all our meals so I can pack dishes. I got bubble wrap and more packing paper yesterday. Shawn tells me you can write packing stuff off taxes, so I have to remember to put the receipts where I can find them next January! The kids' rooms are... well, they're still full of stuff, but Kate's got a sleepover this Saturday night so I will be in her room until the wee hours to FINISH IT. I think they're going to each get one bag of playthings to keep out, and everything else must be boxed. Poor thing -- she isn't quite understanding that she does get to KEEP her stuff. She asked me if she would still have her lamp and her night table, and she's expressed dismay that I'm taking all her toys away. (Toys she hardly ever plays with, I MIGHT ADD.)

I can't figure out how/when to pack our suitcases for the 2-3 days of moving. The movers come on Tuesday the 27th. We're planning to stay in a hotel that night, and won't have keys to the new house until the 28th around 11am. After the Edenfield closing at 9, we'll go back to Zachary Woods to clean it all up and get the final items we need, and take them to the new house. Probably multiple trips.

I've scheduled move-in for the 29th because we'll have the ZW closing at 4:00 pm on the 28th -- and I don't think we'll have enough time to move in, during that window between closings. So we'll stay in a hotel the 28th, as well. I don't know if that's reasonable or wise, but I think the kids will think it's fun, actually. We thought about doing sleeping bags in whichever house we have access to, but 2 nights of sleeping bags on the floor would be miserable for Shawn and me, we realized. OW. It hurts to imagine.

Lots lots lots to still do. Work is stupid busy for both Shawn and me. Inconvenient of work, n'est-ce pas???

Posts I've started but never finished, and other things - 7QT

I still read Conversion Diary's 7 Quick Takes posts, but I obviously don't participate in the link-up anymore since I'm not publicly blogging. Her format fits this time, though -- I've started at least 3 posts recently that never have gotten finished and I just feel like sharing today, random (and whiny) though it may be.

--- 1 ---

Relating to Others. I had some thoughts going on this topic last week, when there were a couple of days where my coworkers and I barely said two words to each other for 8 full hours. Mostly, it's because we all have so much damn work. There's just not any let-up in this company. I don't know if it's the economy, and we're all doing too many jobs because we can't afford to hire more people, or if it's just our weird policies and procedures that have evolved over time, but some days I hate it. I work with nice people... it's just that we don't take the time to talk to each other. Maybe good morning, how was your weekend. MAYBE "come look at this funny YouTube video. Oh, and there were other thoughts included in this about Smart phones, and Facebook, and how they've also ruined us for relating to each other. Example: I NEVER call friends anymore, just to say hi and see how they're doing. I think, "She's too busy," and "I hardly know him/her anymore." Sad. Even my friends who were persistent about calling 3 or 4 years ago (and by persistent, I mean slightly annoying) have stopped altogether, and it turns out I'm kinda sad about it. This world, man. It's a little messed up.

--- 2 ---

Kids' Activities. Good heavens, this move is badly timed. End of school and summer camp haven't even been on my radar, so I'm late, late, late planning them. I think we've figured out most of how they'll spend the summer. MOST. Kate will have three weeks in Florida, thanks to her awesome grandparents (thanks, Grandparents!), and Alex will have two. Then Alex will go to his sleepaway camp for 2 weeks -- ON HIS 10th BIRTHDAY, sob, sob!!! He'll also be going to a Manga/Anime camp at the local university sometime in June, something I know he reeeeeeeally wants to do. I've got my eye on a week of Theater camp for both of them. (Can't help myself!) And for the in-between times, they'll just have to go to their old daycare camp and hopefully get to go on a few field trips. I wanted one of their second cousins to be their nanny for a week or two, and take them to the pool and stuff, but now that our new neighborhood won't have a pool... besides that, I didn't want to tie the girls down. They're 18-19, I doubt they really want to babysit for 5 days straight.

--- 3 ---

Reading. I bought three new books on my Kindle last week and had high hopes for getting back into reading. I've missed it! I haven't read anything in MONTHS, besides my Facebook feed and blogs when I don't feel like working, and magazine articles. I miss books. But with all the packing to do, it's not looking real good for the rest of this spring, either. The books I bought are:

Astonish Me, by Maggie Shipstead -- I know nothing about the author except what I read in the description and the book jacket, last time I was in a bookstore. But it's about the backstage of professional ballet, so I know I'll love it. And it's fiction. Haven't bought fiction in a great while, surprisingly!

Something Other Than God, by Jennifer Fulwiler -- I don't know why I didn't pre-order this first thing, but I didn't. But obviously I love the author, wish I knew her in person, and atheist-to-Catholicism stories are AWESOME. Can't wait to get it next Tuesday.

Five Lessons from the Carmelite Saints that Will Change Your Life, by Connie Rossini -- on Jennifer Fulwiler's recommendation. I think I put it in my Cart at the beginning of Lent when I still thought "Maybe I'll make Lent count."

--- 4 ---

Lent didn't happen much for me. I was very busy TRUSTing God about real estate (side eyes: was I really?), so I didn't concentrate on anything else, prayer-wise. I ate my usual amounts of chips and salsa even though I had wanted to give them up. Bah. Try again next year? Or does Lent even need to be "fruitful?"

--- 5 ---

Webelos Woods campout. Shawn's taking Alex and his den of Webelos to a serious camping event this weekend. I am so impressed with Shawn, first of all. He doesn't even like camping, and yet he's been on 7, I think, campouts in the last 4 years, with a few more on the way. This one, he's kind-of in charge. Being a Leader and all. He's had the extra stress of planning the menu, getting the food itself, coordinating with who has the coolers and other supplies that belong to the Pack, assigning tents and activities to all the campers for his Den.... it's been a lot. He doesn't like this stuff. And yet, he's doing it (is even good at it - he was in Production/Project Management for a while, after all). So this campout is specifically for teaching the kids to DO IT THEMSELVES. They've all been assigned particular duties, and once they get there, the Leaders aren't even supposed to help. Pitching the tent, cooking the food -- all on the kids' shoulders. No help unless there's an emergency. Alex is the "Grubmaster." I'm so excited for the boys. Kids these days need to be allowed to do for themselves! I think it's awesome. (Profound.)

--- 6 ---

and Girls' Weekend! With the two males out of the house, Kate and I... don't have many plans except she's sleeping in my bed with me. :) Hee. I hope we'll go out to a nice dinner together, maybe invite a friend, and we have a birthday party to attend. She willingly told me that the birthday boy "likes" her... and she also likes him... "kind-of, I mean, I don't want to talk about it!" !!! Hee hee. I'm looking forward to our time together, even though we already spend a lot of time together, she and I.

--- 7 ---

Quick Takes are never that quick, actually! Wowee, this seems long. I've just had conversations with our real estate agent and we're getting closer to having things buttoned up. We might not even come out as poor as we originally thought (although summer camps don't help! Geez!) We're trying to coordinate moving times, talking about the final clean-up before we leave... at Easter dinner I said to the kids, "This is the last holiday meal we'll have in this house..." and none of us was very sad, I don't think. Shrug of shoulders. I've had some mixed emotions telling people, but have been trying to think of it as EXPANDING our circle, not moving it altogether from one place to the other. It's all going to be good, because there's a reason for everything. Yes. It is.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Half caffeinated this morning

It's the Monday after an at-home Spring Break, so you can imagine exactly how the kids and I all feel today. (Well, except Alex, who had a field trip. Lucky duck) I've combed through my work emails once or twice, and had one catch-up meeting already -- all without coffee, which I didn't want this morning. I bought cheap Folgers coffee last week in a fit of "we are running out of money" related to the house sale and subsequent purchase... and it's awful. I didn't think I had become such a coffee snob but it turns out I have. If I don't even want ANY coffee you know it's bad. I brought a big glass of ICED TEA from home this morning, a complete sacrilege.

I'm considering Office Coffee for a mid-morning perk-up.

Anyway, work today is going to be horrible, obviously, after a delightfully lazy week. The only thing I had on my agenda, really, was Find us A House. I woke up when the birdies got so loud I couldn't stand it anymore (around 7:30 most days), took showers only when I had to, did yoga in front of my south-facing window every single morning while the kids watched Disney Channel, and barely did a chore. Oh, and we did find a house. (Were you here just for the update?? Hee.)

We looked at quite a few -- the poor kids (mine and the agent's), being dragged around town all week -- and last Wednesday we put an offer on the prettiest house we've seen. That much is true. It is move-in ready, all updated, and very open, bright, and pretty. It's not Edenberry. We're both still crushed over the loss of that one, and we can't deny it. But it's lovely, LOVELY.

4 BR, 3.5 BA, built in 2000, granite kitchen (and bathrooms!), hardwoods downstairs, a rocking-chair front porch, and a big, flat backyard. There's a small office off the master bedroom. Walk-in closets. The only thing we're not getting is a basement/media room, which wasn't one of our original requirements but we came to think of as something we'd like. No matter; we're both somewhat glad of the reason to pare down and simplify, and try to keep it that way. I take it back, there's one other thing it doesn't have: a Swim/Tennis subdivision. However, the next-door neighbor has a pool (score!) and if we get really determined, I've already inquired about the nearby country club, and it's only $40 a month to swim over there. When we thought about it, we realized we only really swam 4-5 times each of the last 2 summers, in our current neighborhood pool. With rainy days and working full-time, it's just not something we're able to spend the whole summer doing -- not like when I was a kid and we swam nearly every day in summer. We (the kids) swim a lot during our annual time in Florida, and at camps, and we'll make it work.

It's slightly farther northwest than our current location, which panicked me late in the night Thursday after we'd already made an offer and nearly signed on the dotted line, but the good thing about this is, it's a better high school district, and full of families. My agent assured me we will love the community up there, including youth activities for our kids based at the H.S., which sounds promising. Lots of people live up there and it's just as "suburbia" as we're used to, with Super Target (upgrade!) and a Publix on either end of our main road. We predict it will add about 10 minutes to commute times, but those still won't involve the interstates which most metro Atlantans can't say.

We got it for an excellent price, exactly what we were comfortable spending.

We are waiting on paperwork now. I'm freaked out about packing/moving/logistics at the moment, because both closings take place on the same day. How to schedule the truck? I have no idea.

Will keep you posted.

Not meant to be, but...

I totally jinxed it. (No I didn't, I don't believe in jinxes. .......but I totally did.)

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. We KNOW this. We should have known this.

Crushing disappointment.

Big blow.

Don't f*king count your chickens.

Why did we do that?? Let ourselves get emotional?!

Hard to motivate now. I just looked at all the previous listings we've been given to consider, and none of them is as good as that house was. Ugh. Stupid.

Also, the seller is going to get their karma, too. They went w/other offer because those people needed to be out of their house next week (=less risk?). I know because I was in their house that they have a LOT of stuff to get done before next WEEK, and I think they're going to regret it. Not that I wish it on them, but.

Sigh. Just some thoughts going through my head this morning.

Frowny face

They got a better offer.
We even upped ours to more than what was actually comfortable, but it wasn't enough, apparently.

Now YOU'RE riding the roller coaster with us! Sorry to dash your hopes, dear friends/family. We will keep trudging and keep you posted. Sigh.

No jinxies...

We made an offer! We knew from the photos -- we had a good feeling, and the feeling ended up real. It was funny, the FMLS sent us the email about this listing about 4 times, for some reason. We woke up to an insistent FMLS: HERE IS A HOUSE FOR YOU! Thank you, God, for the sign. A big, yellow arrow of sorts. :)

There seemed to be very little wrong with it. One or two little bits of wood rot on the exterior; some fencing that the owner already told our agent they were planning to have fixed (so we wrote that into the offer, of course); but overall everything checked out. It's an upgrade for us without being too much house, and it met most, if not all, of our wish-list items:

• Guest bedroom
• Flatter, smaller yard
• Nice kitchen
• Fenced backyard
• Nice flooring -- (oh, it has the most beautiful wide-plank hardwoods!)
• Decent-sized, equal kid bedrooms with bigger closets than what they have now
• Basement (it's even finished, and fairly nicely, with a full bathroom!)
• Swim/Tennis neighborhood with reasonable dues (we've seen some where the dues are $595 and uhh, no)
• Obviously, price point

I mean, we had to wait for the right day and suffer some disheartening worry in the last 2 weeks, but then God handed us the very thing we were wishing for. (My word through all of this has been TRUST. I haven't always achieved 100% trust, but I've been really trying.)

I mean, not to get ahead of myself -- they haven't accepted the offer yet. They have until 2:00pm today. This market is nuts with the one-day-or-less turnarounds! These people hadn't put the sign in the yard yet! And they're on Spring Break - I'm sure they're feeling shell-shocked, much like we were. My guess is they'll come back wanting to pay less of the closing costs, because who accepts an offer as-is? Nobody.

They decorated to charm me, too. I know the decor doesn't stay, but it had a lot of sweet furniture that was country-chic, but upscale-country, you know? Pottery Barn with purposefully roughed edges, or something. It's hard to describe but it clearly worked. Also, they had a lot of Texas knick-knacks and treasures, so obviously (to those who know I lived there in my childhood, lucky me!) that said "home" to me in a certain way, and made me like them. Apparently they're moving because they've outgrown the space (3 kids), just like we had outgrown ours.

I will update by 2:00! THANK YOU ALL for your prayers and crossed fingers. Really, I felt them. Thank you.

Sherry, I heart you for asking! What's happening...

We're holding our breath is what's happening. We signed the buyers' amendment and agreed to fix a few things. We hope it won't cost us an arm and a leg and I'm relieved that we're finished with the sale -- that document seals the deal, I think (besides the closing, of course).

Today we got a search result that I'm excited about. It's in what appears to be a lovely neighborhood, and looks like it will need some interior paint, but we've gotten pretty good at that! Finished basement, fenced yard, swim/tennis community, closet "systems" in each bedroom... The seller said in the listing that they're putting granite in the kitchen this month. (Saves us the hassle!) As far as I can tell from the photos, it is one of the best options we've seen, so I've already asked to go walk through it at lunch.

Fingers crossed. Trying not to get my hopes up, but you know they're up.

Wishing of another sort

I'm very ready to get back a normal, mundane existence, even though I've hoped and prayed for the events of the last few weeks so long. But I just read Lag Liv's Sunday night post, about her weekly menu and her kids playing outside on the swingset, what she got at Costco and her date night-in with wine and cheese and her husband, and gosh, that all sounds sooooooo nice. So plain-vanilla.

I know we'll get back to that someday. Shawn will mow the (smaller, flatter) lawn on a Saturday and I'll make banana bread or portion out lunch snacks inside while the laundry runs, and while the kids play on their scooters all day, coming in only every few hours to get a drink or a popsicle. I solemnly promise not to say I'm bored with those Saturdays of the future, but to be grateful grateful grateful.

* * * *

For anyone following along with our real estate saga: Friday afternoon the structural engineer told us, "Those are normal cracks, nothing to be concerned about, that'll be $320.00 please." We paid him to put that in writing with his credentials underneath, and then yesterday, before we could hand the letter over.... we got a Termination of Sale notice from our buyers.So our agent went back to the other buyer (we had two offers in the same day, two weeks ago), and thank God they were still interested. We were driving back from Savannah yesterday, but they asked to visit the house again, so Emily had to go over there to make beds and pick up dirty laundry because we had certainly not left the house "show" ready. The horror!! I am glad she's a friend and not just a random agent... I think. I'm glad she's a working mom, anyway.

They sent their offer last night. This roller coaster is full of twists and turns! I am so ready to find our next house. And now the clock is even tighter -- their date was May 12, instead of May 21.

Come on, FMLS, don't fail me now.

This week in buying and selling...

The inspector found issues with our house, which we knew was part of the process, and we knew would not be 100% A-OK, everything looks perfect.... but has been one large cause of our stress this week. Many of the issues are bullsh*tty, I think, like saying "The fire alarm in the downstairs hallway DOESN'T WORK AND NEEDS to be REPAIRED OR REPLACED." Well, no, it doesn't need replacing, jerkface, it probably needs a new battery. I know that it's his job to report everything and to make the buyer BEWARE, but geez. It needs a battery. He commented on everything from foundation to retaining wall to a clogged bathtub drain to possible critters in the attic (also bullsh*t, imho), and can you tell we're feeling defensive about it all?? Urgh. We have to address -- or as our agent says, "get answers about" -- the foundation issues. There's a pretty large crack in the garage floor that I will admit is kinda disconcerting, now that he mentioned it, and I guess our back deck isn't quite level and blah-dee-blah. We're trying to coordinate a meeting with a structural engineer. Joy. I look forward to the day, truly, when all of this is just a bad memory of a tough time. I had a small vision that this is what we'll be doing someday -- looking back and saying, "Yeah, that was awful." [implied: But it's over now and we're much, much happier and better off.]

On the flip side of the coin, I gave up on the house mentioned previously with all of its issues. (Hey, at least our issues were hidden...?) There's another one in that same neighborhood and we're more inclined to like it, now, although I still don't love it. I want to love it. I want to FEEL something. I haven't yet felt anything and it doesn't seem like much new inventory is becoming available. Somehow, me checking my email four hundred times a day isn't making new ones appear. ?!? I know. But it's the first week of Spring, surely there will be something soon. SURELY.

Long story short: The clock's ticking.

The Marietta real estate scene will mostly have to get along without us this weekend, though. We're off to Savannah to visit Shawn's Mom and Dad. His Dad's been ill for what feels like a really long time, and I know his Mom needs a break. I wish we could do more to give her one, but maybe a bit of sunshine in the form of grandchildren will be a help. Maybe I can let her dog out in the mornings this weekend, so she gets to actually sleep in with no interruption.

Under Contract

The short version is: We put the sign in the yard Tuesday afternoon around 3:00. That night and Wednesday, my phone rang off the hook with agents wanting to show the house. By Thursday morning, we had an offer, and ended up signing it -- but not without a lot of finagling all day Thursday.

My stomach was in knots all day. I didn't eat. I don't like talking about money and grown-up stuff (just ask my Dad), let alone all day long. And it was all day, dithering, counter-offering, wondering if Shawn agreed with me on things, texting, calling, plugging numbers into a homemade Excel file I had thrown together to see the ACTUAL costs and gains. (More costs.) So we countered, but knew another offer was coming in, so we sat on it until the last possible moment. The second offer looked better, but was a little more risky because it was based on appraisal. The first buyers then offered us asking price and... it hadn't even been 25 hours but we were more than ready to put the whole thing to bed. And it was an acceptable offer.

We're extremely glad that today we didn't have to leave the house spotless. Messy is much easier.

Closing is set for May 21st so we are heavy into house-hunting today. If you're a pray-er, I would appreciate a thought for good fortune. I am trying real hard to Trust. So far we haven't seen the perfect house. I don't know if there IS a perfect house. I saw a great one yesterday but its issues include:

• wood siding that needs replacing soon
• some house settling that is concerning
• upstairs carpets that need replacing (cats, gross) before move-in
• price is on the high end of our range (but we'd offer less due to all these issues)
• kids' bedrooms on the smaller side

But the positives include:

• big kitchen with updated counters/appliances
• lovely yard with fewer trees than we currently have
• house feels spacious and there are extra rooms, including a finished basement that could easily be both man-cave AND playroom
• it's in a neighborhood we really like

So that's going to be hard. I'm crossing my fingers that this week (first day of spring is Thursday) will see a lot of new inventory and we'll get an alert, go see it, KNOW deep down that this is it, and be able to make an offer.


I've been doing a lot of hippy-dippy visualization to make it so. And straight-up Christian prayers for help and wisdom, too. :)

For Sale

When I thought, just now, that the realtor is there this minute putting her sign in my yard, I got the butterflies.

It's our home, after all.

I've had a lot of "are we doing the right thing?" thoughts this week. People move for a lot of reasons, many of them uncontrollable -- their jobs change, their family needs them "back home," they can't take the winters anymore. Our reasons feel somewhat "first-world" to me -- we want more space (a guest room, maybe an office, maybe a media room, more closet space), our neighborhood has seen some decline. Our house is perfectly adequate. Lovely, even. My heart has felt guilty (of course) about wanting more than I really need.

Yesterday, though, I decided to let that go. Because there's a reason we've been led to do this. There's merit in going after something that will make us happier, no matter if others might call it superficial. Maybe there's a reason we don't even know, but God led us here. He knows we've wondered and wrestled and yes, asked for His help in deciding to move. So it's okay. There's nothing to worry about. Did I tell you that 2 Sundays ago when I was in the throes of this worry, the Gospel reading was, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear...." and "Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself." I mean, if I was looking for an answer from God, there it was.

Yesterday, also, when I arrived home with the kids, there was a police car parked directly in front of my house. He was ringing the bell of the (rented) house next door to me (newish neighbors that we've not even really met.). He stayed there on her front porch talking to the lady who lives there for half an hour. Filled out some paperwork in his car. Went back up to the door. A second police car had pulled up as well. My other neighbors and I all peeked out our windows.

No idea what it was about, nor do I care to know. And I realize cop cars can come visiting in any subdivision, any city, any time. It may not have been a sign, but maybe was more confirmation made me feel better. This House is For Sale!

Check this palace out

Entryway

Living room

This was the room that sold us, in 2002, and it was pink then!

Boooooo, cabinets

Here's where we spend 90% of our time (den).

Master.

New pretty bathroom. Note candle-in-hurricane!

Girly bedroom that nurseried my 2 babies! Sniff!

Man, is this bedroom CLEAN. I still can't believe it.

Sleeping 7 hours a night, week 1, and REAL estate update

The sleep experiment went well... I think.

I was taking notes the first few days but that went by the wayside because at the same time I decided to do this, we amped up the house sale prep. I know, I know, it's all I've been talking about for a YEAR, probably. I'm super sick of talking about it. But... it's finally here, so let's diverge from the sleep thing for a moment.

We have a lock-box on our front porch. (I didn't realize realtors just keep a stash of those in their cars. Ours just opened her trunk on Sunday and stuck our key in there, ta-da!) Today -- this minute, in fact, as I type, the realtor and her photographer are headed to our house to take interior photos that will be uploaded to the MLS. OMG! WTF?! I am not succeeding in the avoidance of "being a nervous wreck."

Yesterday we had the carpets steam-cleaned. It's worth grossing you out to tell you that Kate puked on Sunday night around 10:30 pm and did not make it to a receptacle -- after drinking red fruit punch with her dinner. RED. The stain didn't come all the way clean, even after ZeroRez worked on it -- they warned me that stomach acid was sometimes not save-able, and it wasn't. But I took it as a little gift from God that she did it Sunday night, and not Monday night AFTER the scheduled carpet cleaning.

I took the day at home with her (24-hour rule don'tcha know) as another generous gift, and I went ahead and did some "homecaring" even though I was laptopped and supposed to be work-working. My manager, when I emailed to tell her of the sick day, said, "No worries - hope Kate feels better - just tell HR of any PTO (personal time off) you accumulate." And I thought, yes, you know what? I don't need to sit at the kitchen table all day, I have shit to DO. So I took a half-day. GIFT. Just Windexing mirrors and wiping down toilets, but you know, it made a difference.

Last night after the carpets were mostly dried I wandered around fixing every little detail I could think of. I went digging in our basement and found a glass hurricane and a white pillar candle that, with the help of a random silvery napkin tucked around the bottom, miraculously pulled our master bath together. Haha! We have DECOR! I was feeling a little worried there towards 9 pm that things weren't Decorated enough. Some of the homes we've seen have had nothing BUT big decor. These people spend a lot of time and money at Kirkland's, it seems. Me, not so much, but last night, all my existing pretty things, ahoy. I quick-prayed to ask God to help me find do-dads and knick-knacks that I'd hidden away over the years.

Then I stashed the toaster. Fluffed the drapes. Removed my jewelery. Boxed everything I could lay hands on. This morning after the kids left, more of the same, didn't care about getting to work late (and I WAS late).

The selling of a house is no joke, you guys. I had no idea.

I guess it's good I've been getting more than 6 hours of sleep each night or I would be beside myself. That's my basic sleep report. I haven't been on the scale (I just know the sleep thing is going to take 10 pounds right off immediately, LOL) because it's neatly stored at the moment, where no one can see it. I haven't been exercising because at lunch breaks I've been buying fresh (cheap) throw pillows at TJ Maxx. I haven't been sitting on the couch so I don't know if I've been sleepier or less sleepy (although I did manage to stay awake until Midnight this past Saturday so we could watch Gravity). That's a pretty good indication. But I know it's better for me to sleep more. Onward, with week two! Amen and hallelujah.


I hope to show you today's photos soon. Here's the exterior (from last August):

Front, obvs.

Backyard

Side yard

The paperwork is being finished later today/tomorrow, the photos will be back at the same time, the decks are being stained and exterior trim painted Thursday/Friday, and we are GO for LAUNCH. Say a prayer!

P.S. Realtor just called and said inside looks "perfect." Thank God! Eeee!

Weekend Recap

Instead of moaning about all there is still left to do to put the house on the market (and there is), let me detail, for my mood's sake, all that got done this weekend.

• Kate's princess costumes packed away/other junk thrown out
• 3 bins of toys from Alex's closet moved to basement
• All the random wall art removed and to basement
• Decals and posters off Alex's walls
• A box of books donated to charity
• Linen closet cleaned out/re-organized/box of unused linens to basement
• Lots of toys from the living/dining room into a box/to basement
• Threw out the rest of the bath toys, and a big pile of old kid artwork (sorry, kids)
• Cleared off bookshelf downstairs (just a few items left for decorative purposes)
• Removed bookshelf from upstairs landing to basement (thanks, Shawn)
• Shawn filled in the crack in the garage door so we can paint it tonight 

 Plus, the Pinewood Derby, grocery shopping, yard cleaned up, 2 cars washed/cleaned out (thanks, Shawn, again), kids fed and bathed, Jello made for dessert tonight. And I slept 7 hours every night. So.

I think we're shooting for next week, to have a photographer come and then listing it. Aye-yi-yi.

Bathrooms before and after (not that amazing because I'm not a photographer, but still)

Here is the kids' bathroom before. I put up that trains-planes-and-trucks border before Alex was born, and never changed it after Kate, because she didn't mind.

And here's how it looks now, in an unassuming neutral (Sherwin-Williams Versatile Grey) with a buyer-friendly seashell theme.

I'll get rid of the kids' blue hamper, obvs.

If you can believe this, I never took a picture of our awful master bath Before. Imagine a jewel-toned  wallpaper border at the top, over a cream colored wall (painted over wallpaper, of course.) Horrible. Why did we leave it that way for twelve years?! The world will never know. Here is a During:

 (At least you can see what [non] color it was...) And here are some Afters:

We used Sherwin-Williams Silverplate in this room and I really like it. Our realtor suggested putting a curtain in front of the stall shower door, which we never would have thought of, but it really finishes things. Go figure. I feel really dumb for not ever considering it before. (There's a garden tub behind that wall on the right but there's nothing decorative there yet. I'm torn about putting new holes in the walls but we'll see.)

Of course for REAL staging, we'll get rid of some of the stuff on the countertop. I like both of the rooms so much more now.

Monday cheerleading

A really good and productive weekend can do wonders for one's mood.

And so can a coat of nail polish. Yesterday afternoon, after I spent much of the day scrubbing bathrooms with my hands submerged in water and Mr. Clean, I was really bummed about the state of my hands. Winter cracking, scraping dried paint drips off tiles and counters, and regular cleaning had definitely gotten the best of them. I was feeling a lot of negative things (I was going to write, "like a failure" but see how I refrained?) because a lot of my school-mom friends had gotten all dressed up this weekend for a big fundraising event and I was not feeling pretty. (I didn't WANT to attend the event, but you know how it is. They were all cute in their Roaring Twenties dresses.)

Life decision: Keep the nails painted as often as possible. It's a small thing that makes me feel a little closer to the "supermom" I'd like to be, and like I'm actually handling stress pretty well.

The weekend was PACKED, but thankfully, packed at home, and not running around town. We had started the bathroom-painting project last Thursday but the guy didn't finish and had to return Saturday, 9am until 5pm. I had promised the kids they could have sleepovers Saturday night and everyone would be arriving around 6pm. !! There was some very fast vacuuming and surface-swiping in the second newly-painted bathroom (naturally, the kids' bath) during that hour!

It all turned out very well, and the bathrooms look great. We've RESOLVED not to let projects like that linger for twelve years, in our next house. Ahem. I will post pictures as soon as I have matching bath mats. They're both very grey-neutral, there are no stinking wallpaper borders and darn if some lovely buyer isn't going to love this house!!

Saturday while waiting for the painter to finish, I also packed away some more books and things. It is going to take a long time but I'm editing and decluttering. Anxious to do more of it, actually. There's a charity clothing pickup this Friday and someone is going to inherit A LOT of baby clothes. A lot of grown-up clothes, too.

And work... Work is probably going to be fine. I've talked myself into feeling more positive this morning, grateful to HAVE A job that pays me well and affords me a painter and new bath mats without a worry. I will plan my daily tasks calendar, I will stand up and take breaks, and I only have two hands - I can only do that much. It is not brain surgery, no one will die if I don't get the websites perfectly updated. Actually, all of Atlanta is looking at the forecasts again (snow, ice, freezing rain) so I expect to have another couple of days of working from my kitchen table this week. No one's taking any chances this time around, thank goodness. So this week shouldn't be nearly as bad as last.

OMG, what have we (I) done?!

So yeah, I met with the real estate agent. She's awesome -- so cool about everything while I figuratively flap my arms about, nervous but trying not to let on. She suggests getting our house on the market by February to "beat the crowds" but wow... February is practically here! And we have a frillion things still left to do, not the least of which is decluttering every inch of our living space. Every! Inch! Books, goodbye! Family photos, pack 'em. Jewelry, find a place to hide it. China cabinet -- too full, thin out the crystal. Kitchen pantry and bedroom closets, straighten them up. Bathroom toiletries, stash 'em in a bin under the sink but for heaven's sake, don't leave them on the countertop. And in fact, buy something nice for the countertop! For EACH countertop. Something Pinterest-worthy. (Something that has its tags on the bottom, so I can take it back and get a refund after it sells the house!! Right?!) Don't forget to light your sugar cookie candle and be feng shui about it, so you invite the buyers in with your amazing flow of chi.

I think the staging part is going to really send me over the edge.

Never mind the bigger projects like all the painting. I mean, Alex's and Kate's walls will clearly need to be stripped of their adhesive decals (Angry Birds and Rapunzel, respectively), but then won't we need to cover up all the other marks and dirt? We've been concentrating on the visibly horrible rooms for paint -- the laundry room (finally finished), the trim in the entry/hallway, and I've gotten an estimate for someone to do both upstairs god-awful bathrooms. But now we're realizing there are little walls (ha, "little" walls) here and there that could stand to just be painted again, as well. BOTHER. I don't have time!

We've tried to prep the kids a bit for the clearing out of their stuff. Kate, having no good toy storage in her room, is likely to be hit the hardest when we take ALL THE TOYS, which just live on the floor in various stacks and semi-neat arrangements. Why is it girls have so many "big" toys that don't fit into a toy box? Dollhouse, stroller, pretend salon chair, baby crib....

Let me tell you, this whole move, if it happens, is going to be a full-time job. I haven't been able to fully concentrate on Work-work all week, that's for sure.

P.S. I am excited about the fun part - the buying - as you can imagine. We have our number in mind, and Emily's sent us some listings already. Eeeeee. That's the good stuff! But still, the scary stuff, too. What if what if what if.