It's the last day of school (finally!), and the children are utterly crushed. As evidenced by the skipping, prancing, whooping and hollering that accompanied the last trip to the bus stop. I asked them if they were sad to be having their last day of school here, and they never stopped running around in circles long enough to answer. Because today is exciting; they still have business cards to give out (Otto made them business cards with their new address info) and gifts to bestow and THINGS to DO. They haven't stopped moving long enough to be sad, yet. Come to think of it... neither have I....
We have entered the final week, and that means that by the end of this weekend, 95% of everything I own must be packed, given away, or trashed. I sort of hate packing, so I'm mostly getting rid of stuff. Do you need anything? Air conditioner? Dining room set? Some toddler-sized clothing that I still have for reasons unclear even to me? How about some maternity clothes? (Why yes, I was last pregnant over seven years ago. What's your point?) Chris definitely started me on the right track and now if you stop by my house you will certainly leave with a carful of stuff. So. Come on over. I went...
I may have sort of kind of forgotten what a colossal pain in the ass it is to move. Perhaps I blocked it out, much like labor. ("See, I have a beautiful child here! I know nothing of this searing pain and ruined anatomy of which you speak!") Like that. The phone has become my constant companion. I need to talk to lots of people. They are not interested in my pool or my gazebo, but they would very much like to make sure that their bills follow me wherever I may go, so we're spending a lot of time making sure that that can happen. Also Otto and I need to talk approximately twenty times a day...
Let's review, shall we? Last week we made an offer on our first choice house and were turned down, and then made an offer on a second house. (Second Choice House is conveniently located next door to First Choice House.) And after a bit of kerfuffle---not to mention the entire weekend---we were also turned down for Second Choice House. At this point, Otto and I hit the real estate listings and we hit them hard. We found ONE more house that we thought might meet our needs. Otto called his realtor and arranged to see it on Monday afternoon (that's yesterday). My phone rang yesterday afternoon....
Oh, my pretties. The stories I will tell you. The things I'll be able to spill, once this is all over and done. The tales with which I'll be able to regale anyone who might be thinking about trying to sell a couple of houses and buy a new one... well, it'll make you go home and kiss the floor in gratitude, I'm sure. But right now, a good portion of it will have to wait. Fingers are crossed and prayers are being said and once we are all settled in and I am no longer waiting for the sky to fall---assuming that point ever comes, that is---I will say more. For right now, I can tell you two...
Otto and I thought it would be really fun to spend the the last week playing "let's pretend the housing market makes any sense at all." I could tell you the rules, but it's pretty complicated and involves a lot of invective about Otto's realtor, who has become---unfairly or not---the main target of all of my angst about our current situation. It doesn't help that she is very! enthusiastic! all the time! even though half of what she says never actually, you know, HAPPENS. After spending the week playing our delightful new game (or just, you know, freaking out and crying a lot about how we're...
I was paying some bills this weekend and realized that hey, I'm moving in less than a month, and I should probably really stop, I don't know, writing checks on an account I'm going to be closing soon. Duh. Why yes, I HAVE managed to do all of my banking with a local New England bank instead of one of the eleventy national chain banks available in the area, thank you for noticing. Ahem. So this morning, I got the kids off to school and did some work and then set out for the local branch of Big National Bank to open new accounts. Sure, I could've just stayed home and shoved paperclips into my...
We've got about one week for Something To Happen before I enter panic mode, re: the housing situation. The movers are coming in one month. One. Month. If we make an offer on a house in this next week, we could close before my stuff shows up and needs to be left at that van down by the river. I am, of course, dealing with this information by: 1) Not packing. 2) Not mowing the dandelion fields grass. 3) Working into the wee hours every night. 4) Shopping for shoes online. 5) Trying to find a cheap last-minute ticket to get down to Georgia this weekend to see my husband and also maybe look at...
It was about a year ago when I first noticed Andrea Scher's gorgeous Superhero necklaces popping up all over the place. I wanted one immediately. But then I saw how much they cost and I died. It's not that they're too expensive for what they are; it's that I'm an incurable tightwad and I rarely splurge on something for myself. (Splurge on the kids? Sure! Splurge on you? Okay! Splurge on me? Let me get back to you.) I vowed to buy one on several occasions, only to have something come up and make me change my mind. Unexpected expense! Major distractions! Oh, I didn't need one anyway, you know....
