Another blog to take note of!

I found another great blog with good ideas. It was referenced on Chasing Cheerios and is another Montessori-based blog called The Wonder Years. Like I said previously, I am on the hunt for lots of fun new activities to do with Beanie & this blog has lots of them.

We close today!!!

Yay! Just waiting for the call from escrow to state that funds have been disbursed and WE ARE DONE!! Happy Dance and break out the red wine (I hate champagne).

Our house hunting trip yesterday didn't result in as many ooohs and aaahs as I had hoped, but we did find one that we both really liked. Not sit-down-and-write-an-offer liked, but we are still very much considering it. It was a gorgeous house on a big lot. Six (yes SIX) bedrooms and three bathrooms. Well within our new price range. Big two car garage. Awesome school district. Beautiful kitchen. Big bonus room downstairs.

So, you're wondering what the downsides were right? One, it is a bit farther out than we'd like to be but not too bad. If we knew where Glenn would be working it would likely make this decision much easier. I am sort of hoping (okay, really hoping) we find out something very soon. Two, it is a short sale. Our realtor said it could take months to hear back from the back, although he did mention that banks are starting to get better with quicker response times. Three, its on septic which, I admit, is probably not as big of a problem as I imagine but the only thing I keep thinking of is a crap-filled backyard. Eeeewww!

After sleeping on it I like this house more and more. I'm interested to hear what Glenn thinks after sleeping on it as well.

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As for the TV, I did break down and let Beanie watch an episode of SpongeBob on the laptop before bed. She was uber cranky and had been such a good girl while we were looking at houses (it must be trying to get out of your carseat a million times!). Actually she was in a nutso-silly mood while we were out house-hunting. Our realtor, who had previously told us he planned on working from home a few days a week when he & his wife had children, has probably thrown that possibility out the window for good now ;).

But, it was just one episode and, like I said, she was a very good girl. And we're moving, which throws her whole world upside down anyways. My goal isn't really to completely eliminate TV forever anyway, just to drastically cut down the amount we watch. So, with that goal in mind, I think we're doing great!

Score -- Mass Media: 1, Mommy 0

So, on our first TV-less day (which I should add also include trying to finish packing and loading up the POD) Beanie decided it would be a great idea to not take a nap. Clingy, screaming, teething toddlers and moving don't mix. So, you know what, we cuddled her up on the couch with some pillows, a blanket and turned Wall-E on the laptop. I'm not counting defeat yet, somtimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And yesterday we needed to pack, which meant not having a toddler hanging off my leg all day.

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We are headed out to look at ten (or is it eleven) houses today. I just have a feeling that today we will find one! I wish we could head out and look right now but we are waiting until this afternoon when Glenn gets off work. We figured with such a promising looking bunch it would be best if we all headed out together.

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Beanie is getting not one (not even two or three) but four teeth right now. All four of her canines, or eye teeth or whatever the heck people call them. The top two cut through last week and the bottom two are cutting right now. Its funny how much teething can mess with, um, everything!!!

Unplugged.

We took the TV up to my sister's yesterday so we are officially TV-less. Beanie & I woke up this morning to Glenn watching Wall-E on the laptop. Maybe this will be as hard (if not harder) for us adults?

I'm excited to go to the craft store and pick up some things to do with Beanie. I'm going to wait until Wednesday when we're out of the condo though. No need buying extra things to move!

The FSM versus what?

I've toyed with the idea of writing this particular entry for a few days here. Its personal and I'm sure it might offend some or even give others hope for my otherwise damned soul. Who knows? But this is my blog, right? And the mere fact that I have been thinking about this particular post for a few days means I should probably just sit down and type it out.

Last week Glenn bought some parenting books, one of them being Parenting Beyond Belief. I have heard great things about it and have been wanting to read it for some time so I was excited to hear that was one of the ones he bought. He took it with him while he was out of town and I have been reading The Happiest Toddler on the Block. When he came home the other day I asked him how he liked Parenting Beyond Belief. He said there were a few good things in there, but it was a little too anti-religion, we-atheists-are-free-thinkers-and-you-religious-folk-aren't for him. He said maybe it was more up my alley. I've always joked (half joking, half serious) that I belong to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I'm not "into" organized religion, really religion at all I guess and I've always enjoyed the the Open Letter to the Kansas School Board. Anyway, Glenn and I started talking about religion over our chips & salsa at the Mexican restaurant the other day. He said I would laugh, but that he had been praying lately, although he didn't know to whom. I didn't laugh. The other day when things were going to pot I found myself thinking Please god just let this be okay. Weird, huh? Probably even weirder to me as I caught myself (as I was thinking this) wondering just who I was talking to.

Honestly, I don't know what I think/believe anymore. I know I don't believe in the Big G god, but is there something else out there? Some other force behind the things that happen? Who knows. I know in the last few years I've been placing myself closer and closer to the atheist end of the atheist/agnostic spectrum (not because of Glenn or anything he thinks, much to my uber-religious mom's surprise), but maybe I'm not so atheist as I think.

I've been processing this all in my mind and what better way to help process than to blog? I guess I'll just go back to defining myself as agnostic for now. But, come to think of it, who needs that (or any) definition anyway? Defining ourselves only helps other people, right?

A lightbulb went off in my head.

After some crying, a lot of thinking, and some anxiety about our house (or lack thereof) a lightbulb went off in my head. I remembered our mortgage lady talking about points and how you could buy down your interest rate. I wondered how much house we could afford if we bought a point. Like I said yesterday, if we could just look a little higher I am sure we could find something a bit more promising. Well, good news! With lower interest rates and buying down the rate we can probably afford up to $40k (stretching it a little) more than we were thinking. Yahoo! I am so excited. We have decided to look up to what our new maximum is and hope we could get a little off. Just looking last night I found eight houses in our new price range and in our most wanted location. And they are all updated, remodeled, etc and look like I would actually let Beanie walk around on their carpet. I feel like I've gotten a much needed breath of fresh air.

Another dismal day of house hunting.

Honestly, I am getting really frustrated with what we are seeing out on the market and frustrated with the fact that if we could spend just a little bit more (and by little bit I mean at least $25k) we could probably find a house really fast. Heck, if we could drop $400-500k on a house we could find one this hour. But reality bites and we can't afford that much house so here we are.

House #1 was bank-owned. I probably would've skipped right over it, but Glenn wanted to check it out. It was a great location and very cheap. When I drove up my first impression was that it wasn't nearly as ugly as it looked online. Then I pulled into the driveway and saw the gutter laying (or is it lying...my grammar skills have escaped me) in the front lawn & the fence falling over. I texted Glenn, but still opted to look inside. Think seedy bar restroom. Yes, that's right, there was writing all over the walls. Sharpie writing everywhere. Nothing a little paint wouldn't fix, but there were holes in the kitchen ceiling and wall. I didn't look any farther.

House #2 was a short sale. We had originally skipped over short sales because of the time it can take to hear back from the bank. Now that we're in temporary housing (or will be as of next week) we decided to look at them if they were in a good location, looked okay on the inside, and were a steal. This one met all the criteria but it still needed a lot of work. The roof was tar with wood gutters, something our realtor pointed out would need to be fixed.

House #3 was another bank-owned. Too pricey for my likings, but Glenn had added it to the list. Yea...too pricey and too. much. work.

House #4 was the one I was most excited to see. The pictures were beautiful. Well, they obviously had a really good photographer because our realtor and I both drove right by the house. It was nice (although not nearly as nice as the photographs made it seem), but it was right on a busy street. Judging by the stack of business cards on the counter (but no pending offers) I think a lot of people probably did a double take when driving up to this house.

The last two we decided to skip. One short sale that was too trashed out and another 3bedroom/1.5 bath that Glenn & I decided was probably just too small to even bother looking at.

So, back to the drawing board. I really want to stay close to where we are now, but it is depressing looking at such disgusting houses each time we go out. Sure, there have been a few charmers in there, but they seem few and far between. I am starting to wonder if its time to reevaluate the area we are searching.

Peace and quiet.

Would you believe Beanie has been sleeping for more than 2 hours? And this after not taking a nap at all yesterday. Honestly I don't know what to do with myself! Well, I know what I should be doing, but that's a different story.

We went to storytime again today and then for a short walk with some friends from my mom's group. Then we let the kiddos run around like crazy. Funny, none of the kiddos wanted to run and play in the grass. All of them were more interested in trying to break in to City Hall. All that fun must've worn her out big time!

Okay, seriously the silence in this house is killing me! Haha. I really better get a few things done, although I'm sort of at the point with packing that I don't know what to do next. Most of the things that need to be packed up are and most of what's left we need access to until we move or we're just taking with us to the rental so it doesn't need to be packed. Well, it does but not the same as the rest, you know?

Anyway, enough rambly blogging. I promise I will have more important things to say next time.

Speaking of The Great TV Test....

Obviously I am in sore need of some new fun activities to do with Beanie. I'm going to "steal" some ideas from my friend Jill and from this great blog with Montessori & unschooling activities, but I'd love to hear what fun activities you've been doing lately with your toddler. Please share!

The Great TV Test of 2009

On Saturday we will be taking our 46" plasma screen TV to my sister's for storage. Sorry PODS but I don't trust my TV in there with all the rest of my junk too. Our temporary rental doesn't have cable hoooked up and we've decided to forgo hooking it up in order to save some moola while we're there.

Like it or not we have come to rely on the TV with Beanie. While I don't think television is inherently evil or anything like that, we have let her watch way more TV than I'd like. No one to blame but ourselves so I am secretly glad that we will be without TV for a few months. I'm sure Glenn or I will want to catch up on The Daily Show or The Office on hulu.com and maybe we'll throw a BlueRay in every once in awhile for Beanie, but it will be nothing like it is now. No day long Sponge Bob marathon.

I know how we fell into this "routine." Its pretty hard to remodel an entire house and have it for sale with a baby (now toddler). I'm not trying to make excuses, I just know how we came to this point. And I'm glad we're going to have a major change to shake things up a bit. My intention is to blog about our progress, trials and tribulations of living without TV. I know to some it will sound like "no big deal" but it will be a great change for us (great as in big and great as in wonderful). So, tune in...lol :)

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And, yes, I changed my layout AGAIN. The one I picked out last night didn't do anything for links (you know, to make them stand out from regular text) so I decided to change. I think we've found a winner with the one I have now though, so don't expect it to change again anytime soon ;)

New Layout.

Whatdya think?

Actually I'm not overly pleased with it. A little too black & white I think. But I'm reluctant to change it now because when I did it removed all my widgets on the side and I had to readd them. That, along with the fact that I'm on a new laptop with none of my favorite blogs bookmarked, made it much more of a pain than I was expecting and I don't really want to go through all that trouble again. At least not tonight.

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I lied. I hated it way too much. I had to change it. Not sure I'll go through all the trouble of updating my links again tonight. If you read regularly & blog yourself leave me a comment so I can add your link back (and bookmark it to my new laptop). I've found most of the ones I diligently read, but i know I'm forgetting some!

So, whatdya think of this layout? And not promising I'm not going to change it again. We'll see...the night is young and I don't feel like sleeping. Haha! I'm also "writing" quite a few blogs in my head, but not sure I have the energy or eloquence tonight to write what I want.

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Okay, yea...I changed it about a billion times. And I went back to brown. Nice & Neutral...easy on the eyes. Is it? I think I'm done changing for now...

Great news!

Ah we just got a call from Glenn's district manager that he'll be back at his (sort-of) regular depot this next week. Yay! Yay! Yay! This will make moving so much easier. I just wish he was back here as of today, but he has to head over the mountains again later this afternoon & then he'll be back (for good) on Saturday.

We also went in to escrow this morning and signed our papers. Woohoo!!

Things are really moving along and I am loving the great news we are getting today.

Kids 'n' Pets

***warning -- Shamless product promotion below***

Okay, I just had to blog how much I love kids 'n' pets Glenn's old boss actually invented it (lucky dude got to leave the grocery industry after its success) and I used to always tell my own customers how great it was. Well, I think its even greater now that I have a pet and a kid.

Just now, as I was cleaning up kitty puke (something even worse than kid puke...haha) off the carpet I thought I should write a blog about it. Most of the people who read this blog are parents too so I thought you might appreciate it....

Yea, I was feeling so darn lucky that I was in the master as Sammy was coughing up a huge furball. I was able to slide some of the lining from the umpteen apple boxes we have in the house under him and he actually threw up on it. Score -- 1 for me, 0 for kitty throw up. Yea, all was well until he went out into the living room and threw up again.

Anyway, that Kids 'n' Pets stuff is great. Works fabulously on kitty throw up and many other spills that I'm sure will occur with my crazy toddler. Last time we saw Glenn's old boss he said that he got a contract with Target & Wal Mart (nationwide I think) so give it a try and feed my imagination that maybe someday I could invent something really cool and quit the grocery industry forever. LOL.

Sleep glorious sleep.

It seems that within the last couple weeks Beanie has taken to sleeping longer and later than before. Ever since Daylight Savings Time she has been going to bed a little later, closer to 8pm usually. For the majority of days the last week or so she has slept until 4am before waking for boobie. Which makes me so happy. It seems like progress. We are still cosleeping and probably will continue to do so until we are in our new house. I plan to try to start transitioning her then. I love cosleeping with Beanie, but the whole not-sleeping-with-Glenn-for-the-last-year is getting to me. Both of us I'm sure. Glenn just can't sleep with the three of us in bed and, honestly, neither can I. A queen-sized bed is only so big, you know. So, yea, big plans for the future -- lol -- but for now I am just excited Beanie is sleeping for such a good stretch. If she does stir she usually falls back asleep on her own or does so with a bit of cuddling from mama.

And naptimes have improved too. Beanie has been going down easier for her naps (even went down for Glenn without a fight the other day) and has been sleeping for about 2 hours. Nice!

I'm hoping this trend continues and that I didn't just jinx myself by writing this blog :)

Ammends to the snotty beetches.

Okay, I reread my last post and I don't want to sound like a total crazy so must explain myself....

Sorry, but if I've lived here for 10+ years and you just said hello to me (your next door neighbor) for the first time within the last few months then you are a snotty bitch. If when I said hello to you, you turned your head down and ran towards your door you are even more of a snotty bitch.

If you drive to your mailbox because it isn't right in front of your house then you are just stupid. Same thing for your garbage. It isn't that far away. Oh wait, I have been driving my garbage down now that I have to try and carry it down with Beanie so nix that one...lol.

If you are snoopy and snooty and repeat yourself ten million times when I'm talking to you, I don't want to talk to you. And for gawd's sake, I know what a reserve study is!!! Don't look in my neighbor's windows. I am so glad we're on the top floor so you can't use your snoopy eyes to look through our windows too.

Ah, sorry for the swearing and overall negative tone but I am so over living in this condo and the people who surround me....

We found IT....

No, not a house, but at least a short term rental. A fully furnished townhouse. You don't even understand the weight that has been lifted off my shoulders. I don't feel like a total stress basket now, maybe just half or three-quarters of a stress basket LOL.

The POD is being delivered tomorrow morning so we can start loading it up. Things are really moving along. I can't believe that in less than 2 weeks this won't be our home anymore. Can't believe in a very good way! It has been a long journey getting here, but I am excited to be moving on a finding a house that is ours. The condo has never felt like our home probably because Glenn bought it with his brother before he even knew me. I'm excited for us to pick something out ourselves...a family home in a neighborhood without a bunch of snotty bitches. Well, at least hopefully!

My little monkey.

Today Beanie discovered the joy of jumping on the bed. Not just jumping repetitively, but jumping up high and landing on her bum. She thinks its the most hilarious thing ever, but I am worried she'll get one bad landing and bounce right off the bed so I told her no. Did she listen? Of course not! I asked her "What did mommy say?" and she said "No," giggled, and proceeded to do it again. Guess I need to read a little farther into The Happiest Toddler on the Block and find out the best way to curb this behavior....

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

In two weeks...

....I'll be a good mom. LOL. Deep down honest to goodness I know I am doing the best I can right now, but yesterday I was just lonely, down & out and feeling like I'm doing a horrible job of being a mom. I feel like in two weeks we'll have a new (although temporary) home and we can settle, have time to play, not worry about whether the house is sparkly for showings or whether everything is packed up for storage. It will be done. I can't really explain how much I look forward to that. It is so big to me. I feel like we'll have time to do things we haven't been able to. To sit down and do crafts and make a big mess without worrying that someone is going to knock and want to see the house. To play games and go places bright and early in the morning. To explore. To turn off the tv -- and mommy the computer ;) . I know that being in a new house (or anywhere) and not having ours for sale isn't going to magically change how we've been doing things, but its sure going to make things a lot easier. And I can't wait.

I was very lonely last night. I miss Glenn. Then I think about my friend whose husband is in the Navy or my friend whose husband just up and left. If they can survive and are so strong, then I can too. They've got it much harder than me, that's for sure. It makes me sad that every time we come in from running an errand that Beanie says "dada" as we open the door because she expects him to (finally) be home. She wakes up in the morning calling for him, which I find a little odd because he is home one (maybe two) mornings a week when she wakes up. I keep telling her he's at work and he'll be home Saturday. I know he will get a huge running (tackling) hug and a big smile just like he did on Tuesday. And I know he misses us too.

Beanie and I are off to look at a few houses this afternoon. Unfortunately not much new popped on the market today, although I'm going to check again in a couple hours. I really don't think any of these is going to be the one, but who knows I might be surprised!

I'm a bad updater.

(Yes, I'm still procrastinating)

So....

the contingency expired Monday at 9pm so all is good!! Now just hoping for no problems with the buyer's financing.

the house we really liked from the other day had an offer right away on it. Not surprised...it was an amazing house for the price!

We saw a house in our town go on the market in our price range but it was snapped up right away too. Also no surprise there...it was about $100k less than most houses in this city.

House Hunting trip #2 was a bust. I should've known when the first house we got to had the front door open and some dude passed out on the couch watching TV. Yikes. Did see one beautiful house, but it was way. too. small.

Glenn left on Sunday and was back (and gone already). He'll be home again Saturday and head back over the mountains early Sunday evening.

Okay, did I forget anything else??? Kicking self. I must blog more regularly.

Procrastinating.

That one word describes me to a tee right now. Huh. I just have no motivation to pack right now, even though Beanie is sleeping and its the one moment all day I have to really get some stuff done. I guess when you get right down to it, most all of our non-essentials have been packed up for months. So, I'm packing here and there, waiting for the deadline REALLY to hit and feel the rush. Probably not the best way to go about it, but that's where I am right now. The POD is getting delivered on Tuesday and I figure we have more than enough crap in the garage to get started with. We've packed about ten boxes of kitchen stuff and I need to get to the store and get some newspaper or other packing material so I can box up the dishes. As environmentally minded as I try to be, I think we're going to be paper plating it for a bit. I boxed up all the stuff in the guest bath that we never use. I left out the bandaids just in case. I need to go through my stuff in the master and toss out old nail polish that is probably beyond yuck and other stuff like that. Shouldn't be too bad. Boxed up some of Beanie's toys that she hardly ever plays with. So I do feel like I'm making progress, but I'm sure more could be made.

It does scare the crap out of me that we don't know where we'll be living in two weeks. Ack!! We had found an almost perfect rental. Okay, it was pretty perfect from the ad. They don't take cats. Boohoo. So, back to square one. I posted an ad on CL looking for something and I'm checking every day for new postings. I'm about to just buck up and book the time at an Extended Stay or something, but I keep holding out for something better (and cheaper). My mom said you can cancel up until the night before, so I may just book to make myself feel a little better and get rid of some of the unknown. I mean, its not like I can just show up anywhere with a hubby who goes to bed at 6pm, an almost 2 year old, and a cranky old cat. Plus, I really want to know what stuff we don't want to pack up for long-term storage. Some of it really depends on where we're staying.

We saw an awesome house yesterday. We went up a bit north and looked at houses there. But, in reality, it is probably a lot farther north than we ideally want to be. Especially with Glenn working so far south right now. And, yes, we've thought of moving south but not really something either of us want to do. Plus, really crossing our fingers Glenn won't be down at that depot for long. The house was nice. Only three bedrooms, but more than made up for that with a HUGE bonus room downstairs. The yard was huge and flat. I could totally envision BBQs and backyard playdates there. It was in a cul-de-sac. Move it down about ten to fifteen miles and we would've sat down and written an offer. But, you can't take away the location. There were other downsides...its in a less-than-ideal school district, it was on septic (although there was sewer in the street you could hook up to). Anyway, I keep thinking of this house and wishing we knew where Glenn would be working for the forseeable future, but I also keep thinking about how its not where we want to be. The school district is a biggie for me. Its right across the street from where they're building a new high school which got me wondering if there was going to be a football stadium there...bright lights, loud Friday nights? Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself out of this place?

We went to storytime again today. Beanie loves it although she's definitely not the kind of toddler who sits down and listens to stories. Are any 21 month olds? Her two new friends were there and we had a good time. I'm glad we made some new friends and that they are all so close in age. Makes for fun times!

Alright, I really should go and stop procrastinating. I just realized (or remembered) I haven't had a shower yet today which is something I probably should've tried to fit in during Beanie's nap. I'm probably a bit short on time now so it might have to wait till bedtime. Sigh.

Deep Breaths.

After sitting a day or two and reflecting on what is going to happen the next few weeks I know I can make it through. People have offered to help. I might need to pick up a bottle of wine and have a glass each night while I pack, but I can get it done! My mom had the idea of getting a box for Beanie to "pack." Actually I'm sure that could keep her entertained for a good amount of time.

We are going out to look at more houses today. We are both pretty positive we like the good one (the only good one) from the other day and would like to make an offer as soon as some contingencies pass on the offer on the condo.

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Beanie's bottom eye teeth (or canines or whatever people call them) are finally coming in. This time I'm sure! I can see the pokey part on each one about to cut through. Finally!!!

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Beanie, the bully?? Okay, she's not really but boy oh boy is she a little over-the-top with wanting to give out hugs and love. Both yesterday and the day before she knocked over little kids giving them love. You see, I know she is running up and trying to hug them but, to an innocent bystander (and sometimes to myself) it looks like she's running up and tackling them like a NFL football player. But its not aggressive or anything in nature. I'm trying to figure out how to get her to stop because apparently "no" and "gentle" just aren't cutting it. Any ideas? HUG IT OUT (a la the Office for those non-Office fans...okay seriously, how can you not be a fan of The Office)!!!!

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Okay, I suppose that's it for a Saturday morning update. I'll post up later about day #2 of house hunting.

Freaking out.

Ack! We just found out that Glenn will be working far, far away for the next few weeks. Well, like 2 hours from here (and over a mountain pass...two depending on which route you take). We have housing available there as my dad owns two condos and is trying to sell a house there so he told Mr. Boss Man that he could make it work if it was needed. Better than being laid off, right? But they want him to go Monday. That's right...Monday!!! And sounds like he would be there until (at least until) we closed on the condo.

Sigh. Here are just a few of the many things running through my mind.

1. How the heck am I going to pack up this entire condo by myself? (Actually by myself isn't the hard part, its the whole with a toddler thing that makes it challenging)

2. How are we going to get out and find new properties to buy for ourselves?

3. Am I going to be super lonely?

4. How is Beanie going to cope without Daddy around?

5. How are we going to sign all these legal documents with ease if he is 2 hours away? (I know there's something we can do to make it okay for me to sign for him, but still!!!)

Okay, really #1 is the biggest issue for me right now. As soon as I thought of it I started crying. I thought it was going to be hard with the two of us, but with just me I am totally petrified.

House hunting.

Yesterday we went out and looked at some houses. It was funny knowing how we keep our house -- we try to keep it true to the pictures in this post -- and looking at how other people show their homes.

The first one we went to we knew was a real fixer upper. I mostly wanted to go because the listing didn't display the square footage or lot size and it did have 4 bedrooms. Yea, it was a little too much fixer upper for me.

The second house was by far our favorite of the day. While it was a bit above our price range we are hoping we could talk them down a little in this market. It had 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Nice!! And, even better, three bedrooms on the top floor (very important to me). It had a beautiful yard.

The third was a short sale. You could tell that the owners had started fixing it up and then gotten into trouble. But the best part was that the owner answered the door when our realtor knocked. And he didn't leave. He was a Russian dude (maybe mafia-esque) and stayed in the living room watching TV. That or followed us around with his arms crossed over his chest. Weird.

The fourth was the one we had our eyes on from looking on the computer. It was 4bedrooms and 2 baths, but cheaper than some of that size. Now I know why. When we walked in the first thing I noticed was the smell. Eeeeew! Something reminiscent of dogs and cigarettes. When we went downstairs I didn't even have the courage to go all the way into the bathroom because it was so disgusting. The bedroom down there (obviously a teenager's) was so cluttered Glenn wasn't sure if there was someone in there or not when he pushed open the door. And when our realtor said they must have some big dogs I agreed, noting that they must be big judging by the size of the poop piles in the back yard. And poor Glenn...he stepped into some poop while walking out to the car. Number 4 was our biggest disappointment of the day.

Number Five was cute, but small. Very small. The truth of the matter is a lot of the houses we have our eyes on aren't much bigger than our condo. You don't realize how small it looks to squeeze another bedroom and family room into that space. Makes me really appreciate our open floor plan and big kitchen and living room, but not enough to want to stay here. Number five also only had one bathroom which pretty much sealed the deal on what I already thought -- I definitely want more than one bathroom! At least 1 1/2.

It was sort of discouraging that with "so many houses on the market" that we found only one that we would even consider a possibility right now. I'm thinking we may have to look a little north again. We had been seeing listings that were more affordable in our area, but they still may not work.

We want to go look at more houses on Saturday, as long as we don't hear anything negative from the buyers by then. We'll see. I'm still holding my breath that this offer goes through.

A fun morning.

We didn't really do anything exciting, but we didn't need to. It was the most fun I've had any morning in quite awhile. Beanie and I played with blocks, read books, played with the empty Copperhook box (of which I think I only had one or two) and just dorked around. It was so nice not having to worry that everything in the house was perfect before 10am just in case someone called to look at the place, to just be able to sit and play and do nothing in particular. And talk to my mom for an hour-and-a-half on the phone (which, if you know my mom, really isn't that long).

I think that's been one of the hardest things about having the house for sale, feeling like I had to get so much done every morning that I hardly had a minute to spare with Beanie. Making sure her toys were put away, that there weren't any dishes in the sink or any socks falling out of the laundry pail in the closet. Feeling like everything had to be done to perfection every day all the time.

Our realtor said we'll be surprised when we go out and look at houses (which I'm sad to say -- and a bit pissed -- that we haven't yet) and see just how "nice" they look. I know not everyone would work to keep the house looking so perfect, but in this market I just felt like that would be a bonus for us.

Anyway, I'm happy to say there are dishes in the sink, beds to be made and carpets to be vacuumed but I am here playing on the computer while Beanie naps. And we had a very fun morning!

A Beanie update.

With all this talk of jobs, housing and etc I probably really need to update on Beanie :)

I think she has started the terrible twos a couple months early. Really, some days she just has me feeling like I need to pull my hair out. Other days she is smiley and giggly...her normal self. And she's a little daredevil...NO FEAR!!! Like the other day we were at the drop-in play at the schoolhouse (still meaning to write a blog about the cliquey moms who are always there) and she was climbing up stuff (tall stuff) and wanting to jump off. Glenn has nicknamed her "danger girl." I have a feeling she's going to have her share of bumps and bruises. She has been eating a bit better and we've been trying to offer a wider variety of foods. I can't wait till all the summer fruits are out again because then I know she'll eat well! Or at least I'm hoping it all goes similar to last year!

She is still the cutest thing ever (even her tantrums are kind of entertaining in a way, although I try not to let her see me smile.....she's so dramatic sometimes!). Her hair is getting long (I think I almost need to cut her bangs again) and she even left her pigtails in for a good four minutes the other day. I think that's probably a record!

Well, there's a little update. Time to get some breakfast for Beanie and I.

They accepted!!

Well blog readers, the buyers accepted our counter offer. I still feel like we're not really in the clear...there are still many hurdles to jump. I'll feel a lot better in a week when we know if they've signed off on the HOA docs and binder because that is what caused the last offer to fall through.

I guess today I'm going to be researching some temporary housing and storage. We were thinking of staying at Extended Stay America, but I guess all of their units are one big room which obviously isn't ideal with Glenn's sleeping situation. The only thing I can think of is he could take an afternoon nap while Beanie & I get out and about and then head to bed later, but that hasn't ever really been his cup of tea. We'll see.

I'm still trying not to get too excited (but inside I really am) because I know there is still much that can go array from this point forward.

Cross everything!!

We got another offer yesterday!!! I'm hoping this one will work out, but trying not to get my hopes up. Before we had this very interested party, we had pretty much resigned to letting the offer expire and waiting it out here for a bit. Then when these people came back for a 3rd showing I remember just how much I really do want to get the hell out of here. So we'll see. It is a promising offer, by far probably the best one we've gotten so far, so that makes me hopeful.

They want to close very quickly though which surely doesn't leave us time to find a house and close so we're probably looking at a storage unit and temporary housing. Yuck! Didn't want to go that route, but will if needed. They offered to let us rent back, but we are not interested in that. Done and over with I tell you! I'm going to look up those PODS things -- http://www.pods.com/ -- anyone ever used them, or know someone who has???

Paid to blog?

Seriously I think that would be about the best job ever. A couple things would have to happen first.

1. I'd have to have more readers.

2. I'd have to be a little more interesting ;)

The best intentions.

I always have the best intentions of getting a lot done while Beanie is napping. Like today I was going to work out on the Wii Fit (which I haven't used in at least a month, more likely a lot longer). Well, here I am sipping my coffee and playing on the computer. I could be wet-mopping the floors (just in case we get a call for a showing) but, honestly, I just don't want to. I just want to sit here and do my own thing, which, after all, isn't really too much to ask anyway, is it?

My nomination for stupidest food clerk ever.

Okay, I admit I am a little "uppity" about the service I receive at grocery stores. Working in one for 12+ years just sort of makes you that way. But this one has got to take the cake....

We were at the natural section looking for some yogurt for Beanie. It was out on the shelf.

Me (to clerk who was stocking a cart of organic milk & yogurt): "Do you know if you have any of the Nancy's organic whole milk yogurt?"

Clerk: "I have no idea."

Me: "Could you go look in the back and see if there is any?"

Clerk: "I have no idea where to even look."

Me: "Could you ask someone who might know where to look? I really need the yogurt for my daughter."

Clerk: "You can ask that guy over there. He might know where to look."

So I go over to the produce guy who also tells me he doesn't really know where it is, but at least offers to go try and find it. And he did.

So, clerk who knows absolutely nothing and sucks beyond belief thanks a lot. First off, if you don't have any idea don't up and say that to the customer. At least pretend like you have a clue. And second, a good place to look for yogurt is probably somewhere refrigerated. Like the cooler. And its yogurt, so I'm guessing the dairy cooler. Come on, the produce guy found it!

I admit I sound snotty, but puhlease, you work at a grocery store. It isn't rocket science. Good grief!

On the edge of your seats.

Yea, sorry, I know. I posted such a cliffhanger and then never came and updated. Most of you who read likely follow me elsewhere so you might know what happened. If you've been unable to sleep because I haven't updated my blog, sorry ;)

Let's see. Going to do the abridged version here because I only have a few minutes. Beanie is eating Kix and watching Spongebob so I can type this up.

The house --

We got an offer. It was low. We countered. They countered back. We agreed. Inspection next day. They got the condo binder. Backed out. Bastards.

So, yea, the house is back on the market. There is a lot more to it, actually thinking of hiring an attorney about our HOA and management association but I'll leave that for another post when I have a bit more time.

The job --

Glenn found out someone got injured at another depot and he had about 3 months of work. Two days later at work he found out this guy wasn't injured as bad as they thought so its likely just a few weeks. But his boss did let it slip that they are adding back a route at his depot, we just don't know any detail as his boss clammed up pretty fast after spilling the beans.

Apologies again. The last five days were quite the whirlwind of activity. Now I've got to get around to making the house sparkle again because you never know when we might get a call for a showing!