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March 30, 2006

Playing catch up

Ok, time to start updates in real time!

After waiting all day Monday for Wally's boss to screw us with the high counter-offer, we started moving on the house that we *did* get.

By Monday evening, we picked a mortgage company and locked in our rate.

On Tuesday, we faxed in the loan application. An inspection appointment was set for Thursday.

Wednesday, faxed some more paperwork, including the inspection contract. According to the contract, the inspection company does nothing but look at the house, and if they miss something, well, they can't see everything, now, can they? I'm not exactly sure what they *are* doing for $425.

And today, we settled on an insurance company, paid for the inspection and dug up even more paperwork for the mortgage company.

Tomorrow, the inspection company should be sending their results.

Otherwise, I think we're set.

Posted by me at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

On the hunt

I’m having a really hard time writing this post. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say, it’s that I have too much. Summing things up doesn’t seem to do the whole “moving blog” concept any justice, but nobody wants to read my 3 page blow-by-blow either.

We spent last weekend in Houston, house hunting. Friday consisted of checking out a new subdivision and looking at a floor plan we loved on paper, but was lacking in person. (For some reason I can’t let this go – the flow and layout of the house were great, but the proportions were off – the auxiliary bedrooms were just too small for the size of the house.)

Saturday, we met up with Wendy, our realtor, bright and early. She is an interesting combination of friend, former neighbor and former realtor. The first two houses we looked at were ruled them out for the same reason that I loved them – they were in our old neighborhood. I loved the old neighborhood – the location is great, the people are nice, the park was close, but the property values just weren’t appreciating well. After the hit we took when we sold our first house, I don’t think Rex or I are willing to take the chance of making the same mistake twice.

On to the next subdivision. Imperial Oaks was probably highest on our list before we even got to Texas. We have some very good friends there, the schools are decent (although not quite as good as The Woodlands) and there are homes of all ages and prices. We had two homes that topped our list on paper, and they held up in person. Those two homes are the same size on the same street and the same price, but the similarity ends there. One of the houses (pretty house) is on 2,000 feet less lot and has no sprinkler system, but it showed BEAUTIFULLY. The other (big yard house) is nice, if plain, but the space is used more effectively for the way we live our lives. The back yard is bigger, with nice trees that give it shade and privacy. But the turquoise wallpaper in the master bath that just HAS to go!

We looked at maybe half a dozen homes in that neighborhood, some very nice and some not. All of them had something that made them less desirable than pretty and big yard. We decided to go look in Spring Trails, the new subdivision we had driven through the night before. We looked through one existing home and a couple new construction homes, but they were either terrible floor plans (one had no garage, just a garage door!) or too expensive for what you got.

Then we turned into a section that was waaay out of our price range. I ran into their construction trailer just to see if they had any spec homes. Wally had one. One that they had been close to selling when the deal fell through 3 days before closing. One that they were willing to deal on considerably.

Even though this house was way our of our price range, we decided to walk through it. This house is perfect! I love the floor plan. The rooms are all big and open. The kitchen is stunning. The yard is large, in spite of the 3 car detached garage. It has tons of energy efficient and convenience features built in. It is at least $30k above the max we wanted to spend.

At this point, Rex and I were in house overload. Katie was starving and pooped after 5 hours of no food and no naps. Wendy took us back to our car, and we headed out to lunch to do some thinking and talking.

By late afternoon, Rex and I had decided to make an offer on the house with in Imperial Oaks with the big yard. We decided to offer $10k less than they were asking, figuring they would counter right in the middle and that would be fine. We headed over to Wendy’s to sign the contracts. Somewhere in the middle, we started looking at some more homes online, in our friend’s section of Imperial Oaks. There was one that looked quite promising, and the price was acceptable, so we ran off to look at one more house. It was nice, aside from the power lines in the back yard!

At this point, I was close to having a meltdown. We decided to sleep on it, and headed out to see some of Rex’s family.

The next morning, we went ahead and signed the contract and submitted our offer. By this time, neither of us could really remember the details of the house we were trying to buy, we were just going with our gut reaction from the day before. We also decided to look at our perfect house one more time, and see if we could get them to drop the price a little more. I had figured out the numbers, and we can afford that house, we just hadn’t planned on wanting to afford something that expensive.

On our way to the perfect house, we heard back on our offer, it was accepted with no counter-offer! After walking through the perfect house, we decided it really was perfect and put an offer in writing on that house, too. Then we made a mad dash for the airport.

In the end, the builder of the perfect house went up on his price instead of down. He strung us along for a while first. So as it stands, barring any inspection issues or other catastrophes, we’ll be the proud owners of a house I can barely remember as of April 19th.

Whew! And that was the short version!

Posted by me at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)

Indecision

We’ve know we were going to move for maybe a month now, and I can’t say as I’ve really gotten much done. Without having a house to move into or a firm moving date, there’s not a lot I can do. I could be packing, I suppose, but a good half of our stuff is still packed from the move up here. We’re using a good bit of the rest of it. I have been going through everything I can get to and getting rid of things we don’t use anymore, or won’t use in the warm, sunny South.

What I have been doing is rethinking the decision to move, over and over again. We’re giving up a lot, here. My family, some old and many new friends. This rural-in-a-city lifestyle that I love the theory of but has been driving me slowly but persistently insane. The cold.

Oh, wait. Now it’s coming back to me!

Temperature seems like such a shallow reason to move, but the climate in Texas leads to a lifestyle that I love.

After I wipe the tears away, I start rethinking our choice of city. This is where I start feeling the acid eating away at the lining of my stomach. Austin, Dallas and Houston are the top three. Eliminating Dallas was relatively easy – no family, few friends, neither of us had any real desire to live there. Austin and Houston, well, I’ve lived in both places, and enjoyed both. I have incredibly good friends in Austin, Rex’s family is in Houston. It came down to job prospects, both Rex’s company’s future contracts, and backup work for Rex, should he get laid off. Houston is just better for the jobs. I feel a real pull towards Austin, though, so I’m still not secure in this decision.

We’ll be flying to Houston this weekend to hunt for houses. I keep balancing the terror I feel at having to find a house that I love enough to commit to for the next 20 years with the safety net of the tiny, short-term-lease apartment. Wish us luck!

Posted by me at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)

Moving. Yes, *again*

(NOTE: Several of these entries are not real time. They were written as samples that I've decided to go ahead and publish in a blog specifically about this move.)

When we moved from Texas to Maryland, we didn’t have a lot of time. It was three weeks from the time we found out we were moving until we all arrived, with our stuff. Part of the reason we were able to move so quickly was that we were moving in semi-temporarily with my dad. The other reason is that I can’t resist a challenge, and I packed my ass off!

Now we’re planning on moving back to Texas, but without the benefit of a furnished and food-filled house to return to. This is good news in a lot of ways – I’ll finally be able to use the furniture I picked out, and unpack all the stuff I know I own but haven’t been able to find for the last year and a half. The bad news is that there area whole lot of decisions to make in a short period of time, and while some of the decisions are exciting and fun, some are downright ulcer inducing. Picking a city (Rex’s job is letting us move back without specifying where,) a neighborhood, a house (we’ll be traveling to Texas for a weekend – a weekend! - to find the perfect house,) a realtor, a mortgage company. The list goes on and on. Some of the decisions have to be made right away, others can wait, like finding a preschool for our older daughter for the fall.

Follow me on this journey back across the country. I’ll be trying to decipher closing costs while juggling my two daughters, buying a home long distance while my husband is New Mexico working, and trying to work out the logistics of getting two adults, two kids, three cats, one hermit crab and a truckload of stuff across the country safely and hopefully sanely!

Posted by me at 9:40 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2006

Falling behind

We went to Houston last weekend to house hunt. We have a contract and a long drawn out story. I haven't had time to write it down, what with the phone calls, paperwork, reams of printing, kids and lack of sleep.

Posted by me at 10:15 PM | Comments (2)

March 25, 2006

Ready for his close-up

Posted by me at 11:44 AM | Comments (1)

March 24, 2006

Now that we're three, what shall we be?

Posted by me at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2006

I ended up with 96 of the little suckers

Posted by me at 11:07 AM | Comments (3)

March 22, 2006

From crazy to The Lion King, who's unbalanced here?

My grandmother is losing her mind.

Not in the crazy way, but she's losing it all the same. My grandmother has always been sharp as a tack. At family meals, she would ask thoughful, political questions of us, or riddle-like logic problems. She met my grandfather when he was her teacher at MIT.

Now, she orders a glass of wine with dinner, and when they bring it, she wonders why they didn't bring her coffee. By the time the food came, she had no idea what she had ordered. She tells stories from the past, but they're someone elses stories she's repeating, not realizing she was never there. She'll ask the same question three times in 10 minutes.

At first, the forgetfulness was random and rare enough that I thought she just wasn't paying attention to me when I talked. I used to get snippy with her repeated questions. It's taken some time and work to get it through my head that she isn't being rude. And now that it's gotten worse (so much worse it seems, and so fast), it's easier to be patient, but hard not to pity.

Jamie doesn't understand, not that she's been asking questions. The only impact it's had on her so far was when my grandmother was talking to her, but calling her Katie. Jamie didn't answer, of course, because as far as she was concerned, she hadn't been asked anything. Us crazy adults are always asking Katie questions she can't answer. My grandmother actually got short with Jamie for not answering, until I explained why. I'm not sure she's gotten the girl's names right since that time.

As far as I've been told, there has been no diagnosis or treatment. No one has looked into whether this is Alzheimer's or Oldtimers. I don't know enough about Alzheimer's and it's treaments to know if it would make any difference if there was a confirmation.

I've been very fortunate not to have to deal with much death in my family, unexpected or circle of life. I have the feeling the next five years or so are going to be hard in so many, many way.

Posted by me at 9:49 PM | Comments (3)

Herman the "furnace crab"

Posted by me at 12:03 PM | Comments (1)

March 21, 2006

Climbing fool, blah blah blah

Posted by me at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2006

Angel's smile, Devil's eyes

Posted by me at 9:50 PM | Comments (1)

March 18, 2006

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Mama?

Jamie to Katie:

"Slip me some skin."

"Smoooooth."

Posted by me at 9:15 PM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2006

Happy Birthday, Bunny!

I can't believe it's been 3 years already!

Posted by me at 10:29 PM | Comments (2)

March 16, 2006

Frustration, privacy and killjoy

Katie got her pants of today in under 5 minutes while she was standing right next to me. I didn't even see it happen.

It was quite funny.

It's also sad. My 10 month old takes her pants off with fewer tears and more skill than my 3 year old.

Jamie adamantly refuses to solve her own problems. She might try something half-assed once, and then she dissolves into tears. When I tell her to try again, she makes the motions, but puts no effort behind it. Most of the time, she won't even look at what she's doing. By this time, she's usually so tearful and distraught I don't even think she can hear me.

I've told her that I'll help her, if she asks politely and without crying. I've sent her to her room to calm down. I've asked her to calm down and pay attention to what she's doing. I've threatened that we'll have to stay home from wherever we're headed that day. I've taken away watching Blue before her nap.

Is this a stage, or a facet of her personality? I'm sure I need to try yet another approach with her, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what. It doesn't help any that patience and creativity aren't my strong suits, either.

***

Jamie started using the word "privacy" a while back. While she and Katie were standing in the doorway watching me go to the bathroom, she would tell me she needed some privacy. Of course, she screamed like a banshee when I closed the door and gave her some.

In the last week or two, she's started closing the door when she goes to the bathroom, because she can, "Do it by myself!" If only doing it by herself included wiping! Now she goes in, closes the door, pees in the dark and then calls for me. When I arrive, she asks me who I am, and then tells me I'm her butt wiper. I think I'll add that to my résumé.

It's not all about privacy, though. She also goes into her room and closes the door a lot. Most of the time, she's reenacting her current favorite episode of Blue's Clues. She expects me to knock, and then she greets me with a, "Pleased to meet you!" and a handshake. It's very cute and polite.

***

I'm having a hard time relaxing and enjoying the kids, still. The things that amuse Jamie (and often my dad and Rex) rarely even make me smile. I'm starting to think I'm dead inside. Granted, I've never been one to giggle at potty humor, but I'm having a hard time finding joy in Jamie's joy. Oddly, I don't have quite the same problem with Katie. I'm hoping that a lot of this is a reaction to the less savory parts of Jamie's personality, and as she gets herself under control and throws fewer tantrums, I'll hold less of a grudge against her good moments. It's very hard for me to change track from the recipient of all her anger to the audience for her humor.

Or maybe I really am dead inside.

Posted by me at 11:54 AM | Comments (3)

March 15, 2006

Poor disposable pet

God, I love having a laptop with a functional battery!

I went ahead and got Jamie a hermit crab and all it's accoutrements. It's all set up in it's little habitat and hidden down in the basement.

I really hope Jamie likes the crab. This isn't something she's asked for, just something that I hope she'll like. Now that I think about it, maybe we should have hyped the crab, or at least talked about them and made them seem exciting. I'm also hoping that having the crab in her room at night, clicking around in the dark, isn't going to scare her. Jamie doesn't usually scare easily, with the exception of this book. She actually asked Rex to take the book out of her room, even though the googly eyes weren't pointed in her direction.

The crab has already proven to be brave and active. Let's hope I can keep him alive at least until Jamie tires of him!

Posted by me at 10:27 PM | Comments (2)

So much for basking in the sun

Two days ago it was in the 80's.

When I woke up this morning, it was sunny.

Right now, there is snow blowing around the house.

Posted by me at 8:02 AM | Comments (1)

March 14, 2006

Test run

Rex has started his first week of a new contract in New Mexico. He'll be gone until early Friday morning this week, and Sunday through Thursday next week. This is the first part of the sacrifices we're making to move back to Texas.

So far, so good. Although, this is not an accurate representation of what life will be like when he's traveling and we're in Texas. My dad came home around 3 today, and was around to occupy Katie while Jamie finished her bath and got tucked in. Hopefully, the conveniences of the new house will make daily life enough easier that the inconveniences of being alone won't stand out so much. I can hear you all laughing, and you're right, but right now I need my little fantasy.

We've been looking at houses online, and have tickets to fly to Houston next weekend. We've found a few places that look great on paper - one had a floorplan I loved, and was brand spanking new and priced to sell. It's gone already (although the realtor said it had been on the market for a looong time). Two more are on a cul-de-sac street. They are both significantly larger than the house we had before, which actually puts them in the holy-cow-does-this-place-come-with-a-maid category. I like that the street should be quiet, and they are closer to some trails and the pool/park area.

We're also looking in our old neighborhood. This is a little crazy to me. On the one hand, we really liked the neighborhood. It's proximity to, well, everything. The people, although many of the ones we knew have moved. Walking distance to the park. There are several cul-de-sac homes available. Of course, we took quite a hit the last time we sold a house there. The neighborhood is being annexed by the next town, and we aren't sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. And how weird would it be to drive past "our" house every day? Speaking of, I wonder what the new people have done to it?

I'm still not sure this has all sunk in. I haven't done any packing yet, although I'm not that worried since half of our stuff is still packed anyway. Most of the other half is stuff we're still using. I have so many things to do, but I can't do a lot of them until we know when and where exactly we're moving.

Posted by me at 9:15 PM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2006

I'll be going to hell for getting the camera instead of getting her out

But it was worth it!

(And she wasn't crying or upset, or I would have rescued her first.)

Posted by me at 11:47 AM | Comments (3)

March 11, 2006

The cat's meow

Posted by me at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2006

One of those awwwww moments that makes it worthwhile

Posted by me at 12:06 PM | Comments (1)

March 9, 2006

Continuing with our theme

This one was actually taken almost a month ago.

Posted by me at 4:27 PM | Comments (2)

March 8, 2006

She eats at the speed of molasses in a Siberian winter

It's a wonder I can sit through lunch with Jamie anymore. It's no longer a meal, so much as stage for her to speak on while I eat and she fondles food.

Yesterday, I had already eaten, so I sat in the living room (it's connected to the kitchen. I could see her head, but not the actual food.) while she "ate." She spent some time talking to herself, talking to me, talking to the wall. I heard her metion something about cereal. There was water spilled on her shirt. I heard her fork tinkling in her cup.

After the fork in the cup, I went in to see how much she had left. This is about 40 minutes into the meal. Her strawberries were floating in a bowl of water, her "cereal." She had barely touched the mac'n'cheese. Her fork was still stewing in the cup. I convinced her to eat the strawberries minus the water, and somehow managed to get her to admit that she wasn't really hungry so I could put the mac'n'cheese in the fridge. (Although we've never made her clean her plate, Jamie usually refuses to admit a meal is over until she's eaten everything. I can get her to tell me when she's still hungry, but I don't think she has ever said she was full.)

Almost an hour later, lunch was over. Just enough food was consumed to keep her alive an actual nap.

Posted by me at 9:45 PM | Comments (4)

Nothing is safe!

My laptop is on that table!

Posted by me at 1:16 PM | Comments (2)

March 7, 2006

Houston, you're about to have a problem

I've been back and forth. Hither and yon. Over hill and down dale.

We have tickets to fly to Texas to pick a house out of the stack I've found online. Jamie will stay with my dad, the baby flys with us.

I'm honestly terrified of this. I usually know what I want and what to do and aside from hating to part with a penny, the decisions are easy.

This decision is based on our best guess. There's no security, no guarantee. And I know nothing is ever *really* guaranteed, but we literally have no idea what Rex will be doing for his company in 2 months, and that scares me to death. Maybe we should rent until we know more, but I'm not really sure there's any advantage to that, either, since our best guess includes the possibility of a new employer.

I wouldn't mind making a mistake so much if I weren't dragging two kids and three cats down with us. I hate to uproot Jamie now, and I sure as hell don't want to do it twice. I already dread pulling her away from her beloved Grandpa. I know people move all the time, and kids bounce back, but I want to settle somewhere and live where my memories are. I wish we could move into our old house and reintroduce myself to the memories of bringing Jamie home.

I;m gonna start crying again. It must be time for bed.

Posted by me at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)

Wait til you see tomorrow's picture!

Posted by me at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)

March 6, 2006

Don't talk bad about the linoleum, or it will hurt your family

The morning after

Posted by me at 12:54 PM | Comments (1)

Does this mean I'm famous now?

I made someone's blogroll!

Thanks, L!

Posted by me at 8:50 AM | Comments (2)

March 4, 2006

So does she, or doesn't she?

"I know how, but I just don't know how."

Posted by me at 6:59 PM | Comments (0)

March 2, 2006

I suck

I haven't been keeping up with comments very well. The way I have MT set up, I don't emails saying when I have a new comment. It also won't email you guys when *I* comment, and I'm not sure if anyone comes back to check for replies. I know I tend to forget when I comment on other blogs and don't check back, and as usual, I assume others do the same. I also wish MT would thread comments (and it might and I just haven't read that far) so maybe I'm just waiting for a miracle.

In any case, I would just like to say thanks now, all at once, and I'll try to do better :)

Posted by me at 10:57 PM | Comments (3)

She's always had a thing for credit cards, bit I think I may have to keep an eye on her now

Posted by me at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)

March 1, 2006

I'm surprised I can't see the fires of hell burning in his eye

Posted by me at 12:30 PM | Comments (2)

While she was eating lunch

"I love fiber!"

Posted by me at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)