Its been forever and a day since I blogged. Its hard to get the time to do it here at my Mom's. Its either the kids, or the computer is in use or I get too frustrated by the dial-up to even try.
We had an offer on the house over the weekend. Um, unfortunately they wanted us to pay $6,000 of their closing, which was not gonna happen. We countered with increasing the sale price by $6k and we'd be happy to pay closing, but they declined. Bummer. So far, no other legitimate offers. We are trying to be patient and upbeat, but its so hard. Its only been like 13 days.
So I had strep throat, and then I stopped taking my antibiotics for like 2 days and then it came back, the nasty little bug. So I have to start another 10 day stint of antibiotics and you can be sure I won't miss another dose. That strep was nasty.
Tomorrow the kids and I, Becki, Mom & Jenni will be going to the aquarium. Should be fun.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Monday, May 15, 2006
There seems to be a lack of inventiveness and creative problem solving with our repair peeps that are here.
How difficult could it be to sit and ponder a way to make it work since the parts you requested I get you at Lowes, according to Lowes, do not exist in any easily attainable way. I can think of about 5 different ways to make it work and that was just on the way home.
Instead, you are constantly on the phone with someone (we'll call him Mr. X) who has to give you step by step instruction for every tiny issue you come across. Seriously, these guys are chatting with Mr. X at least half the time they're working.
You'd think that if they've worked on a lot of houses (which I assume they have done in order to get their jobs) they would be used to different problems and situations, but apparently not. Mr. X, the all knowing and unseen (who, for the record, I would have really liked to have been HERE instead of at some undisclosed location handing out advice) seems to have to dole out information for anything to get done at all.
Perhaps I take for granted my own creative problem solving using tape and glue and do not understand the complexities of higher level home repair.
In any case, I wish they would hurry the heck up.
How difficult could it be to sit and ponder a way to make it work since the parts you requested I get you at Lowes, according to Lowes, do not exist in any easily attainable way. I can think of about 5 different ways to make it work and that was just on the way home.
Instead, you are constantly on the phone with someone (we'll call him Mr. X) who has to give you step by step instruction for every tiny issue you come across. Seriously, these guys are chatting with Mr. X at least half the time they're working.
You'd think that if they've worked on a lot of houses (which I assume they have done in order to get their jobs) they would be used to different problems and situations, but apparently not. Mr. X, the all knowing and unseen (who, for the record, I would have really liked to have been HERE instead of at some undisclosed location handing out advice) seems to have to dole out information for anything to get done at all.
Perhaps I take for granted my own creative problem solving using tape and glue and do not understand the complexities of higher level home repair.
In any case, I wish they would hurry the heck up.
I'm boooored.
Right now I'm at the house , waiting for our contractors to finish the work they should have finished on Friday. Hopefully it will not take too long, as I have to wait for them to leave before I can do most of the work.
I'm feeling like a new person. I thank the heavens for antibiotics. After feeling that I would die Friday night, Saturday morning I woke feeling much better. Mom and Aaron headed over to the house to clean it up and do the yardwork, while I stayed at home with the kids. Jason had come over Friday night and told us that the house WAS going on the market because we had already signed the papers authorizing it do so on Friday and it couldn't be redone without resigning everything so we just let it happen. After they left, the house was shown that day, then on Sunday it was shown 5 times. Wow!
Mothers Day was good. Jason bought me an iPod. I really have no need for an iPod, but have been wanting one to use while on walks and things of that sort. As I type this, I'm downloading songs off my CD's to it :)
Becki bought some rib roasts, potatoes, corn and I made some strawberry shortcake. Grammy and Grandpa joined us for dinner and we all had a good visit.
Tomorrow Jason said that we can start looking (as in going with our agent) at houses. Yipee! I'm so excited to start doing this. We have a few that we are very interested in around Monroe, Sultan, Bothell, North Bend and Everett. We are open to any of those locations... its just finding a good price and some of the options that we want. For me, that means a spacious kitchen and trees so our house is not insanely hot in the summers.
Right now I'm at the house , waiting for our contractors to finish the work they should have finished on Friday. Hopefully it will not take too long, as I have to wait for them to leave before I can do most of the work.
I'm feeling like a new person. I thank the heavens for antibiotics. After feeling that I would die Friday night, Saturday morning I woke feeling much better. Mom and Aaron headed over to the house to clean it up and do the yardwork, while I stayed at home with the kids. Jason had come over Friday night and told us that the house WAS going on the market because we had already signed the papers authorizing it do so on Friday and it couldn't be redone without resigning everything so we just let it happen. After they left, the house was shown that day, then on Sunday it was shown 5 times. Wow!
Mothers Day was good. Jason bought me an iPod. I really have no need for an iPod, but have been wanting one to use while on walks and things of that sort. As I type this, I'm downloading songs off my CD's to it :)
Becki bought some rib roasts, potatoes, corn and I made some strawberry shortcake. Grammy and Grandpa joined us for dinner and we all had a good visit.
Tomorrow Jason said that we can start looking (as in going with our agent) at houses. Yipee! I'm so excited to start doing this. We have a few that we are very interested in around Monroe, Sultan, Bothell, North Bend and Everett. We are open to any of those locations... its just finding a good price and some of the options that we want. For me, that means a spacious kitchen and trees so our house is not insanely hot in the summers.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Well, well, well.
Wednesday night I felt really dreadful and got no sleep. Thursday morning my throat was so sore and my entire body ached. I was having chills and the shakes. I could not function.
I called Mom at 8:30, crying, and asked her if we could come over early. When I arrived, I had a fever and was in very rough shape. 3 Advil and 2 Benadryl later, I was still sleepless and not much better at all. I then took some Nyquil. Still, no sleep and no relief. When I went to bed that night I took 3 Tylenol and 2 Benadryl... no go. At 11pm I wandered back down to the living room and told Mom that I didn't feel well at all. She felt my head and I was just raging with a high 103 fever. My throat was swollen too.
She put me back in bed with a wet washcloth on my head and finally I was able to fall asleep.
This morning I woke up with my tongue and throat feeling "coated" and extremely sore. Made an appt with the doc and it turns out I have one of the worst cases of strep throat she's seen in a long time. GREAAT! The nurse and doctor were quite appalled, and said that they were surprised I was able to drink anything and that if I had been showing signs of dehydration they may have admitted me to the hospital. Luckily, I'd been forcing myself to drink even though it felt like knives cutting me up so that wasn't necessary. My strep test actually came back negative, but she said that it could be a resistant strain or maybe because its only my second day there isn't enough bacteria there. Well, she had to take another swab for a more indepth culture and my lord it hurt so bad. I actually started bawling and grabbed her wrist. The doctor felt so bad and got me some tissues. She was very sympathetic.
So I have my antibiotics and am taking heavy-duty painkillers, which seem to be working much better for my body aches.
Our plans of putting the house on the market tonight probably will not go forward. The trim/bathroom floor people did not finish and they don't work weekends *roll eyes*. They'll be back first thing Monday morning to finish up. That will also give us some more time since I wasn't able to do the house stuff I wanted due to illness.
While I was at the house today talking with Jason, the For Sale sign was put up. Weird. We also got a big batch of flyers and a keybox on the door. Its very real now.
Wednesday night I felt really dreadful and got no sleep. Thursday morning my throat was so sore and my entire body ached. I was having chills and the shakes. I could not function.
I called Mom at 8:30, crying, and asked her if we could come over early. When I arrived, I had a fever and was in very rough shape. 3 Advil and 2 Benadryl later, I was still sleepless and not much better at all. I then took some Nyquil. Still, no sleep and no relief. When I went to bed that night I took 3 Tylenol and 2 Benadryl... no go. At 11pm I wandered back down to the living room and told Mom that I didn't feel well at all. She felt my head and I was just raging with a high 103 fever. My throat was swollen too.
She put me back in bed with a wet washcloth on my head and finally I was able to fall asleep.
This morning I woke up with my tongue and throat feeling "coated" and extremely sore. Made an appt with the doc and it turns out I have one of the worst cases of strep throat she's seen in a long time. GREAAT! The nurse and doctor were quite appalled, and said that they were surprised I was able to drink anything and that if I had been showing signs of dehydration they may have admitted me to the hospital. Luckily, I'd been forcing myself to drink even though it felt like knives cutting me up so that wasn't necessary. My strep test actually came back negative, but she said that it could be a resistant strain or maybe because its only my second day there isn't enough bacteria there. Well, she had to take another swab for a more indepth culture and my lord it hurt so bad. I actually started bawling and grabbed her wrist. The doctor felt so bad and got me some tissues. She was very sympathetic.
So I have my antibiotics and am taking heavy-duty painkillers, which seem to be working much better for my body aches.
Our plans of putting the house on the market tonight probably will not go forward. The trim/bathroom floor people did not finish and they don't work weekends *roll eyes*. They'll be back first thing Monday morning to finish up. That will also give us some more time since I wasn't able to do the house stuff I wanted due to illness.
While I was at the house today talking with Jason, the For Sale sign was put up. Weird. We also got a big batch of flyers and a keybox on the door. Its very real now.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Busy like a bee.
My entire body hurts. From my aching head, sore shoulders, sensitive fingers, stiff back, creaking knees and crying out for mercy feet. Every day seems filled with endless little tasks. Touch up paint here, sweep this, pack that, organize this shelf. The house has never looked this good, probably not even when it was just built.
My Mom came and took the kids this afternoon. I am fighting off what I think is a nasty cold. My throat is sore, and some of this aches I feel are more sick type than sore-from-working type. While she was gone, I had a good cry (always so good for the system) and cleaned carpets. Thanks to Grandpa's techniques, the carpets look fabu! Like, good as new.
The kids were back at about 7pm and my Mom hung out for an hour before heading back to pick up Jenni from AWANA. While she was here, she went to put Gwen on her shoulders and accidently put her in the path of the ceiling fan. *Cringe*. Luckily, Gwen suffered no greater injury than a long bruise on her cheek and probably a headache, poor child. Poor Grandma too... She felt pretty bad about it.
Tomorrow Aaron comes to do yardwork, the agent will stop by for keys and then we'll all head back to my Mom's. I'll be back on Friday to clean up after the fixit peeps are here. Its weird to think of this really happening.
Oh, if you'd like to see a flyer of the house, click me
My entire body hurts. From my aching head, sore shoulders, sensitive fingers, stiff back, creaking knees and crying out for mercy feet. Every day seems filled with endless little tasks. Touch up paint here, sweep this, pack that, organize this shelf. The house has never looked this good, probably not even when it was just built.
My Mom came and took the kids this afternoon. I am fighting off what I think is a nasty cold. My throat is sore, and some of this aches I feel are more sick type than sore-from-working type. While she was gone, I had a good cry (always so good for the system) and cleaned carpets. Thanks to Grandpa's techniques, the carpets look fabu! Like, good as new.
The kids were back at about 7pm and my Mom hung out for an hour before heading back to pick up Jenni from AWANA. While she was here, she went to put Gwen on her shoulders and accidently put her in the path of the ceiling fan. *Cringe*. Luckily, Gwen suffered no greater injury than a long bruise on her cheek and probably a headache, poor child. Poor Grandma too... She felt pretty bad about it.
Tomorrow Aaron comes to do yardwork, the agent will stop by for keys and then we'll all head back to my Mom's. I'll be back on Friday to clean up after the fixit peeps are here. Its weird to think of this really happening.
Oh, if you'd like to see a flyer of the house, click me
Monday, May 08, 2006
Well, its official. This house is on the market come Friday evening.
We met with the realtor today, signed everything and she took some pictures for flyers (another person will be coming later to do more). We decided to price at $285k. The realtor felt that was a good compromise between pricing high-long sale time and pricing low-short sale time. The houses on this street have gone super fast. She said to prepare mentally for a month, but everything around here is selling within 2-3 weeks.
Surprisingly, she gave us almost no feedback about what we could do to improve the house. She was impressed with what we'd done and how clean it was. What she didn't know was that we've been working our butts off. I've broken and worn down every nail, my body aches. I'm so tired I can barely sit without falling asleep. This clean and tidy house came at a great price! :)
The only part I'm nervous about is the fine timing of finding a new house and this one selling. We asked for closing + 3 days to vacate, which really is not much time at all. Pray that it all works out!
The contractor will be here Friday morning to put in the trim (which Jason is out getting right now and we will paint) and fix the bathroom floor. Then, we'll do a final cleaning and the kids and I will take off for Mom's.
We met with the realtor today, signed everything and she took some pictures for flyers (another person will be coming later to do more). We decided to price at $285k. The realtor felt that was a good compromise between pricing high-long sale time and pricing low-short sale time. The houses on this street have gone super fast. She said to prepare mentally for a month, but everything around here is selling within 2-3 weeks.
Surprisingly, she gave us almost no feedback about what we could do to improve the house. She was impressed with what we'd done and how clean it was. What she didn't know was that we've been working our butts off. I've broken and worn down every nail, my body aches. I'm so tired I can barely sit without falling asleep. This clean and tidy house came at a great price! :)
The only part I'm nervous about is the fine timing of finding a new house and this one selling. We asked for closing + 3 days to vacate, which really is not much time at all. Pray that it all works out!
The contractor will be here Friday morning to put in the trim (which Jason is out getting right now and we will paint) and fix the bathroom floor. Then, we'll do a final cleaning and the kids and I will take off for Mom's.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
We are exhausted. We've spent every waking moment packing, cleaning, organizing, thinking, planning. We got lots and lots done, but there is still more to go.
Our agent is coming by tomorrow to do a walk through, then we'll decide when to put the house on the market. Depending on when we can get the trim in and fix the bathroom floor (we got a quote and all that already) we may be on the market in a few days. A house very similar to ours just sold down the street in less than two weeks, though I feel it was very underpriced (275k), given an identical one across the street sold for 10k more a few months ago.
We found a perfect house in Lk. Stevens. We've even been by it twice. The yard is not much bigger than what we have now, and its close to other neighbors but there is no HOA and the inside is PERFECT. Exactly what we want. Big kitchen (lots of cupboards), hardwood throughout, family room and den. Over 2,100 sqft. Nice. We are trying to not get too attached.
Our agent is coming by tomorrow to do a walk through, then we'll decide when to put the house on the market. Depending on when we can get the trim in and fix the bathroom floor (we got a quote and all that already) we may be on the market in a few days. A house very similar to ours just sold down the street in less than two weeks, though I feel it was very underpriced (275k), given an identical one across the street sold for 10k more a few months ago.
We found a perfect house in Lk. Stevens. We've even been by it twice. The yard is not much bigger than what we have now, and its close to other neighbors but there is no HOA and the inside is PERFECT. Exactly what we want. Big kitchen (lots of cupboards), hardwood throughout, family room and den. Over 2,100 sqft. Nice. We are trying to not get too attached.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Dreadfully tired. Every day is full of work and stress as we prepare.
Today Shelly picked up Ethan and spent the day with him. She dropped him off at the doctors office this afternoon for his and Gwen's appointment. I didn't get to talk to Shel, so I have no idea how the day went or what they did. Ethan sure was tired though.
We were at the doctor today for Gwen's 1 year well-check. Here are her stats:
Length: 30 1/4 inches (75%)
Weight: 16lbs, 14 oz (-10%)
I can't believe I have a 1 year old that weighs 16lbs! Her weight is back off the charts, but the doctor didn't seem overly concerned as Gwen is meeting and well ahead of most her milestones. She's just a lightweight.
We also had her look at Ethan's eye because he still has that stye. She agreed to give me some antibiotic cream. It needs to be applied 4x a day for 2 weeks. Oddly enough, after he woke up from nap there was some goo around the eye and his eye watered all evening. It looks like the stye might actually be draining and this before I even got the eye cream in. We applied some heat tonight, then the cream and he was surprisingly patient. Hopefully this will resolve the issue so we don't have to take him for the surgical procedure.
Tomorrow Mom is coming over with a bunch of boxes and will babysit/visit while I get stuff done. Once Jason comes home we'll go to Lowes and get some stuff we need to make things look nice, then do what we can.
Off to bed.
Today Shelly picked up Ethan and spent the day with him. She dropped him off at the doctors office this afternoon for his and Gwen's appointment. I didn't get to talk to Shel, so I have no idea how the day went or what they did. Ethan sure was tired though.
We were at the doctor today for Gwen's 1 year well-check. Here are her stats:
Length: 30 1/4 inches (75%)
Weight: 16lbs, 14 oz (-10%)
I can't believe I have a 1 year old that weighs 16lbs! Her weight is back off the charts, but the doctor didn't seem overly concerned as Gwen is meeting and well ahead of most her milestones. She's just a lightweight.
We also had her look at Ethan's eye because he still has that stye. She agreed to give me some antibiotic cream. It needs to be applied 4x a day for 2 weeks. Oddly enough, after he woke up from nap there was some goo around the eye and his eye watered all evening. It looks like the stye might actually be draining and this before I even got the eye cream in. We applied some heat tonight, then the cream and he was surprisingly patient. Hopefully this will resolve the issue so we don't have to take him for the surgical procedure.
Tomorrow Mom is coming over with a bunch of boxes and will babysit/visit while I get stuff done. Once Jason comes home we'll go to Lowes and get some stuff we need to make things look nice, then do what we can.
Off to bed.
Monday, May 01, 2006
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