Go go go

We're too busy to post a detailed entry, but here is the condensed version:

Wednesday Packers pack our things

Thursday Loaders load our packed things and take it all away

Friday Close in Missouri, clean out our accounts

Sunday Walk through home in Wisconsin

Monday Close on home in Wisconsin

Monday?? Tuesday?? Wednesday?? Get our things from the movers!

Claritin

Today was my last day as a full time employee, and I found it much more difficult to walk away than I anticipated. Coming home to an empty house isn't helping much from the emotional standpoint. Looking at everything we have to do yet to get out of this house isn't helping much from the physical standpoint.

Being back under one roof as a family in less that a week and a half will surely help my watery eyes, upset stomach, sniffly nose, short temper and intense sadness go away, won't it? Maybe I just need to take a Claritin. Maybe I'll just go cry under the mounds of laundry I need to do.

Maybe I need to take a Lexapro instead.

Inspection

The new home inspection went relatively well. We have a couple dozen items that sooner or later will require attention. Nothing turned up red flags that would require repairs by the seller. We can check that one off the list.

Rest and Relaxation

As Vern wrote in the last entry, we are now in the scheduling and coordinating phase of moving, and find that we need to even shedule and coordinate rest and relaxation. While this does not surprise me, it is challenging to even be on e-mail with each other at the same time, let alone find coordinating times on our calendars to be together to rest and relax. I'm thinking it will help to be in the same city and state...

I have begun the ending process here in Missouri, while Vern has begun the starting process in Wisconsin. Stop the utilities here, start the utilites there. Tricky things are emerging as we get more into the process. The telephone company in the same--can we just transfer the account, or do we need to pay a start up fee again? Same with the satellite service and DSL... I suspect we'll be getting nickel and dimed here, but we'll just have to put on our negotiator hats and play hardball.

I also need to think about setting up my home office, as I am going to be able to transition from full time to flex time at home. My company has been most generous in working though my departure and will set me up with a temporary home office. I wonder if a mahogany office furniture set up would be asking too much.

We have a house!

Finally, after offer, counter offer, counter to the counter, and counter to the counter's counter we have a house. It even wore out the realtor. He settled for a 2% commission instead of a 2.4% commission just to have a signed offer instead of going another round and yet another chance for someone to bail.

The house is in Hartland. We are extremely pleased with the location and yard. We will need to do a little sprucing up to give the house some personality.

Here a few pictures:






We just can't seem to escape black shutters!

We are very excited.

Now we are coordinating:

Inspection
Appraisal
Movers timeline
Loan commitment
Move in and relaxation

We have made it over several really big hurdles. We still have a few more to go. We should be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel pretty soon.

Gulp!

Another day, another offer

We'll see what happens now, but we have another offer on the table on a different house. The house has many things we want, and some that we don't. Location is great, however. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have a positive update on getting a permanent address in Wisconsin!

House Hunting Blues

As I continue the hunt, I still haven't seen anything that has it all. The ones that are really nice, are out in the boonies or otherwise too rural for our tastes. The ones that are in our target areas are just too small, corner lots, or too costly. I'm sure that I am not he first house hunter that has every discovered this phenomenon but as I walk away from each house, shaking my head in disbelief because it wasn't perfect, you would think I was.

House of Vomit

Yes, you read the title correctly. While this is not something we have observed in the homes in Wisconsin we have toured, it is something that has been REALLY up front and prevalent in our home in Missouri. A REALLY nasty virus has taken residence in our otherwise clean and relatively germ free abode.

I managed to succumb first--hot flashes, chills, and numerous visits to all of the porcelain gods in our house. Then, as I am just rounding the corner, blam! Erich gets it as well. Poor kid didn't understand what hit him. Then again, what almost two year old would? He just looks so sad as anything in his gut comes right back up. I'm sad too, since this has been in general at 9 pm, 11:30 pm, 2 am, 4 am and 6 am for the past few nights.

He seems to be on the mend now, after a long, screaming visit to his doctor. "Fluids and bland food when he can handle it. I'd like to see improvement within 12 hours, or we'll need to admit him to the hospital for dehydration" said his pediatrician. Well, that must have put the fear of needles into him, since he hasn't given me back what he drank today, yet.

Just another day in the house of vomit. I hope to have a more friendly title at the next post!

Onward and forward

24 hours later, the bad news doesn't seem quite as bad. Well, yes it does, but now we have a strategy for finding the next house, so we're in fine shape. Stressed and panicking, but in fine shape.

Bad news

We didn't get the house. Back to square one...

House Pictures

And we wait and wait.

Here are a few pictures.

Yes, it even has a flat yard!

Now we keep waiting

While it has only been slightly over 24 hours, I can't stand this waiting game. "Did we get it?" "Are we starting over?" "Did we get it?" "What if we have to put everything into storage?" Eekgads, this is nuts. Guess I'll clean our current house, do some laundry and have a beer. Here's to you, David, for sending us an evil message on Friday from the Union terrace. May we get this house so that Erich and I can come join you for a beverage in Madison.