The perfect rental

The rental market in our town is much more limited than I expected. I gave our agent an impossible list of things I wanted out of a rental. 4 or more bedrooms, a room to do my massages, a room for workout equipment, a basement for storage, a fence and a pool in the neighborhood. And I want it available in three weeks. Oh, and they have to allow my dog. She practically told me it was impossible. Still, she was up for the challenge. I'll be damned if she didn't deliver on every single wish on my list. She even got the price for the exact target I had in mind. She's good; she's very good.
Got the papers signed today and wrote the deposit and POA dues. We are moving in 3 weeks. One week ago today, we didn't even have anyone looking at our house. What a week.

Sold

Over the past two years, I had almost decided I would never be able to see that word on the real estate sign in our yard. Two years. It was so stressful, I can't even explain. During the time we had our house for sale, I got pregnant, had the baby, and now he is almost 14 months old. Having three boys in a house for sale was no fun, to say the least.
I don't want to revisit the whole situation right now. We closed this afternoon, and we are so relieved. We have about 3 weeks till we move. The rental is still in final negotiations. "Onward and Upward," as my husband has been saying all week.

almost there

Today is the last day of the buyer's three day due diligence period. We are almost there. At 8am today, we are having a heating and air man come out to figure out why one of our units is "making a noise" that has the buyers "concerned." Even the inspector can't figure out why they cared about this. He simply recommended a service. So, that's what we're gonna do. Otherwise, the inspection was "perfect." Gotta admit, when I first heard that I freaked out a little that the sale was gonna go bust because of a noise from the air conditioning unit. My agent is slowly realizing that I'm a little bit crazy and a lot insecure.
The rental market around here is bleak. There just aren't many rentals with at least 4 bedrooms, room for me to do my massages, room for our workout equipment, a fence, and access to a neighborhood pool. All for the relatively low price I wanted to pay. Go figure. I have driven the streets for 3 days and my agent has been searching too. I almost decided to pay too much for a house that fit most of our needs when I got a call yesterday from the agent. She had just found a house with every single feature I listed! It was just available for rent (was for sale), and someone was going to see it at 6pm. So, of course, she had gotten us an appointment for 4:30. I made the offer on the spot. Now I couldn't sleep last night waiting to hear. The couple wanted to talk it over last night and let us know today. I'm a little scared because I took my baby with me. They are middle eastern, and we, first of all, forgot to remove our shoes. Then he mentioned how baby's "eat cereal everywhere" and he has white carpet. My agent insisted repeatedly how spotless my house is, and I threw in the fact that we are very strict and I own my own carpet cleaner, etc. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Still, I give props to my agent for even finding it. That's why she's got the reputation she has.
When I can, I'll update about today's events. It will be a big day. Hell, it's been a big week. Best birthday ever.

Suck it Monkeys!

Sorry. That's what I plan to say to the owners of this golf course when my house finally closes. That's right, our house is finally under contract! I'm still in disbelief and shock, but the agents feel sure it will close. I've been keeping it a secret until I felt sure. It was all so weird and sudden. On our bike ride Saturday, I had talked to hubby about just taking it off and forgetting about it. Then, I got a text, A TEXT!, from our agent with an offer from a couple who've not even seen it. They wanted to close this week. After that, it all happened so fast. They couldn't come, and their parents were buying it anyway (I know. I know!), so the parents flew in and out of town Sunday to see it. Loved it, made the offer, and Monday morning my phone rings off the hook with appointments. Got the inspection done, the appraisal done, both agents finding us rentals. If all goes well, they want to close tomorrow. That's 4 DAYS from first contact. My head is spinning, and I'm a little nauseous. It's not anywhere near the price we wanted, but these days, it is acceptable. If we didn't take it, who knows how long it would be before a great offer came along. And these people are a dream to work with. No contingencies. They are letting us stay till the 25th without paying rent. They offered to pay all the closing costs. And they are quick and decisive, which we love.
So, that's (hopefully) the end of my real estate saga. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is bright and happy.

Catch up

I've missed posting on several events lately. When I'm feeling low, I just can't bring myself to write. I tend to just run around aimlessly or drink red wine instead. Let's see if I can catch up...


February was a hard month for me, so I'm gonna skip it for now. SKIP...


March 2nd, however, was my baby Tiki's birthday. Somehow, he's already one. Poor kid almost got overlooked because we've been so busy, but we did manage to make him yummy tacos for dinner. His party is Saturday, so I'll try to post more on that later.


Last night, S pulled out his second tooth by himself! I couldn't pull it; it just grosses me out. My hubby couldn't do it either. Finally, the poor kid took matters into his own hands and popped it out. I would NEVER have done that as a kid, but thank goodness he may be a little more independent than I was. He was proud, and very excited the tooth fairy came last night.


The biggest news, though, is that we moved into the office over the weekend. They opened for business yesterday. Things aren't really completed, but it's workable. They are so happy. It looks great, and the space is gonna work nicely. I'm trying to get some art from my friend the photographer and my friend the painter, so I'll post pics when all is settled. My tile job has drawn tons of compliments, so that's exciting. Just furnishing it and bring in the essentials (trash cans, coffee mugs, etc) is keeping me so busy and driving the kids crazy. Thanks to my dear friend, I bought Orla Kiely mugs, plates and bowls. They're adorable. We are quickly going broke, though, due to all the unexpected expenses, so my husbands about to cut me off. I can feel it coming.

Gotta run for school pickup, but I'll try to post pictures soon.

My Three Year Old

Somehow, three years have gone by since I brought my sweet Booboo home. His was the hardest pregnancy and the longest delivery. That's bizarre to me, though, because he has been so sweet and easy going his whole life. He has a way of charming everyone he comes into contact with. He simply adores both his brothers. He is independent and strong, yet he loves to sit in my lap and cuddle.

After he was born, we just kept waiting for it to get hard. It never did. He just glides through life seeing the good in things. For instance, after his Thanksgiving party at school today, we were walking to our car. It had been lightly raining earlier, and it was chilly and overcast. Most people would have found it to be cruddy weather. Nate says, out of the blue, "It's a beautiful day, mama. It not raining anymore. It's beautiful." I looked around me again. I had not seen it like that. But as I looked through his eyes, I realized it was beautiful. The air felt crisp, not chilly. The ground was wet, but it was refreshing. The clouds gave the sky a nice hazy look. My little three year old boy teaches me how to put things into perspective. That's the kind of person he is and always has been.

We talk about what he'll be when he grows up, and I truly believe the sky is the limit. I ache to think it'll be here too soon. Time has a way of rushing by, and we are so busy with our days that we miss it. We ignore the beautiful days right in front of us. I want him to keep his innocence and excitement... his enthusiasm. He turns to at least one of us in the family every day and says, "you're my best friend." I can picture it so clearly. I hope I don't forget. I want to remember every little habit and expression. That's what I like about this blog. One day I'll be an old woman, and I'll only have my memories. I hope Nate will have wonderful memories too.

Nate, you're my best friend. I love you, sweetie.

Getting Better

We had a much better day today. My mom and I took the kids to the mall. I always feel better at the mall, even though I'm not a huge shopper usually. I had a gift card to Macy's I'd been wanting to use, though, so I got three great pair of pants. I wanted shoes for the kids, but the guy at Stride Rite said to wait until black Friday for their sale. I stopped by Party City to get eye patches for all the kids coming to Booboo's party on Saturday. It was a MUCH better day than yesterday. The kids seem to be climbing out of the germ pit. Maybe I can even send them both to school tomorrow and get started on the cake!!!

At the office, the builder started the demo this week! I love the smell of construction. Or in this case, I guess it's deconstruction. I thought I smelled the hint of cigarette smoke too. I love that smell... construction and cigarette smoke. It always reminds me of my dad when I was a kid. Thank God he stopped smoking a couple months ago! I never thought I'd see the day that happened. So, things are looking up around here after a very hard week.

On a good note...

Let's move on, shall we? Surely I have more going on in my life than a depressed housing market. There is some real estate news I am very excited about. We seem to have come to an agreement on the office space for my husband's practice.

We weren't in the market for any space and have been renting forever. Someone in the same building selling his space began pursuing us, but we couldn't afford it. Because he had no other prospects, he continued to call us. Finally we had a meeting and decided to go for it. That was a month and a half ago, and today we finally seem to have made a solid agreement and got all the details in order. We are to close just before the year's end. Now, my husband doesn't count his chickens before they hatch, but I am very excited!! The space will need complete demo and rebuilding, so it will be a nice project to distract me. Also, it will be wonderful to pay a mortgage instead of rent, and this is one of the prime medical office buildings in our town.

We are picking a builder by Monday (hopefully), so construction will begin soon. The wonderful man we are buying from is allowing us to work on it before we close so we can get in at the new year. Our last obstacle is the lease for our current space. It lasts through 2009, so we just have to pray we find someone to sublet. I'll try to get over there to get some before pictures so I can document the journey. Maybe we'll be rewarded for buying in this down market by getting a buyer of our very own.

The results are in.

One loved it and can't afford it. The other doesn't love it. My agent suggested I drop my price FIFTEEN THOUSAND, and I did.

Second Showing!

As soon as we got home from the first showing today, our agent called and asked if she could bring someone else for a showing at 5pm. Thats wonderful for two reasons. The obvious is that we got another showing. The second is that I didn't have to clean the whole house again for the second man! Two birds with one stone~

breakfast room

Our agent and some of my friends who decorate have been telling me to put a table and chair in the room next to the kitchen. We had used it as a dining room, but we were advised to move the dining room table into the formal dining room when we went on the market. So, this became a sitting room. Today, I bought a table and chairs from one of my friends, and we finally got this room set up the way it should be. It looks SO much better. I wish I had done it years ago. I got them for a great price, and I love that they are "pre-owned."

We had a showing at 3 pm, so maybe this will be the change that sells this house! I'll let you know!

I'm back online!

Man, I've really missed having access to my computer! I got a new desk this week for an area near my kitchen, so I could finally move the computer out of the baby's room. My cousins were in town, and they helped me get the computer hooked up after my husband and I assembled the desk. Not surprisingly, given my inablilty to plan, my cousin found that we had no phone connection near the new desk! Ahhhh! During the middle of our "What do we do now?!" conversation, my hubby casually suggested he run a phone wire to the new location. Why, my dear, I think that just may work! So, today he got my phone jack in, and I am up and running! (thank you, sweetie)

As an answer to a question I got today about the house. Nothing is happening. We had an open house which drew two lookers, and I think that is great. Also, a man dropped in last week and asked about the house. My agent said he called her and she's worked with him in the recent past. He currently has a very low offer on a house in a nice up and coming neighborhood that is heading for forclosure. She doesn't expect it to work out. So, maybe we'll hear from him again. I'm okay today though. I have my moments... I think the winter will be fine because I like this house during the winter. It's the spring and summer when I get the big itch to move on. I want a super energy efficient home and access to a pool in the summer. Plus the winter just goes by so quickly. I'm optimistic that the spring will bring in a new, refreshed group of buyers, and the economy will begin to recover.

In the meantime, I need to go begin to prepare for a big multi-family yard sale some of my friends and I are having next weekend. I'm trying to talk them into having mimosa's like my friend did at her recent yard sale. Fun!

So down...

It's so hard to feel positive right now. The election has me crazy. I feel like we might get some hope back if we feel happy with our president. I've been on the fence about who I like better; I wish we could pick and choose policies.

I don't know where we are going in the financial market. Part of me feels like we are a nation of spoiled bratty kids who don't know how to manage our money, so a little recession (okay a big one) may help us set our priorities straight. What I worry about more, though, is how vulnerable this makes us to our enemies. I feel like we are a big, loud target right now, and that is frightening.

Lastly, the housing market. My two showings Saturday may have just made me feel worse. One couple loved the house except the kitchen isn't big enough. Really, how big of a kitchen do we need, people??? The other couple want a more private back yard. Mine backs up to a golf course. I can't blame them for that.

We're gonna have our first public open house Sunday. Really, my agent is just trying to make me happy. I don't expect anything to come of it.

I'm very down today about it all. I know we just have to ride it out. I think maybe things will begin to look up after the election.

taking advantage of the times?

Hopefully somebody has finally decided to take advantage of the BEST TIME IN HISTORY to buy a house and are gonna buy mine! After a long, long drought, our agent finally called last night with TWO showings scheduled for today. I'm not even upset about having very little time to get ready for it or being out of the house for 4 hours with the 3 kids. I've really tried to be a good sport about that the whole time. Look where it's gotten me... No, I'm not slipping back in to pessimism. I'm gonna be positive. This could be the one. Just when you give up, right?

Coocoo Started Kindergarten

I can't believe our little Coocoo started kindergarten this week. He did really well, and the teacher said he was very sweet and a little bit shy. When he finally decided to talk about it, he said, "momma, can you believe it was my first day of kindergarten and I already made a new best friend?" That made me sooo happy! Booboo really missed him and cried when we had to walk out the first morning.

I have mixed emotions about it. It nice to have a quiet house in the mornings. On the other hand, I miss him. Booboo misses him. When he gets home, they run downstairs and play until dinner time. They really bonded over the summer, which was my number one goal this year. On the first morning, he kissed me and dad and the baby, but Booboo's the only one he looked up from his drawing for and really hugged.

Now Booboo asks for his school everyday. He'll go to a church program for 3 mornings a week this year, but it doesn't start for another month. I think he'd be just fine if I left him at the big school every day with his brother.

I won't be tiling tomorrow because

WE HAVE A SHOWING! It's the first showing in over two months. Because it's been so long, I've really neglected some cleaning. So tomorrow will be all about getting this place back in shape. It'll put me a day behind on the tiling schedule, but who cares! Oh please let this be the one!

Do you think the unfinished tile job in the bathroom will be a big turnoff?

a great idea

I just read a very interesting article about screen savers. I'm one of the people who has a floating photo slide show of my children for a screen saver. I've struggled with the idea of turning my computer off when I'm not using it, but I've never considered just turning off the monitor. I used to be good about turning off my computer at night, but I've gotten very lazy about that. So, here's to putting in a little more effort when it comes to the energy my computer uses. Every little thing makes a difference, right?

Change

I saw that Obama won the Democratic nod, and I'm happy for him. Even though I know little about politics, I've read many times that he is a good choice. I can't say that I have any devotion to a party; I tend to vote according to the person's views and history. I live in the south, where I was born, and most everyone I know is Republican. That's why I was so shocked when my dad said yesterday that he felt Obama is the best choice of the people running. It made me want to learn more about him. Still, I don't think I paid attention to the history being made until I saw this post.

Now, I feel so emotional and hopeful. Hopeful for change, yes, but also so proud for our country. It hadn't occured to me that my children will read about this in their history books. I need to save the paper and put it in my most recent baby book. The last time I did that was the morning after 9/11. How I pray that this man will figure out how to correct all the wrong decisions made in the time that span between the two events.

I'm still here

This is the first picture I have of Gray smiling!

We are so busy around here! I had no idea how little computer time I'd have when I started taking care of three kids under five. I forgot how seldom your hands are free with a newborn too. Partly it's my fault for not wanting to put him down.




The boys LOVE him! I'm so proud of them for not being jealous and for how much they care about him.

I'm working again, and that gives me just enough of a break to remember being an adult. It gives Guy nice time alone with the kids too. And I'm trying to do yoga every evening to keep my back from hurting. Holding him has my upper back so sore! The kid's a chunk already!

I'll try to post more often now. If only I could type with one hand.

mini update

I've been so obsessed with this baby that I haven't made time to read or write any blogs! I'm so behind. He is so sweet and soft and adorable. We all just love to put our face on his sweet skin. Life is getting back to normal, though. I started back walking with a friend on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I'm planning to resume my two massages a week on Monday. I like to be in a routine, so it's good to settle back in.

Poor baby Gray had to have his circumcision Tuesday, but he's been amazing about it. Besides crying immediately after, he's acted like he hasn't really noticed. We've shown the house several times since his birth, but no offers! It really isn't fun trying to prepare the house for a showing with all these little people around. Thank goodness my mother lives near. She has been very helpful!

Well, I hear him crying, so this will have to be it for now.