Small-town blues

I am generally a city-girl, although I do love visiting the country. Now that I’m living here (in the country), there are definitely some pros and cons. The biggest con being that a round-trip to the nearest Wal-mart, Target or HEB (grocery store) is about 25 miles.

So today, I found a local supermarket. It was pretty small, and as soon as I walked through the front door, I was taken back to my childhood in Birmingham, AL – where my mother used to take me grocery shopping at the Food Giant in Roebuck. It was always dingy-looking, and half the overhead lights were burnt out. And it smelled like penicillin.

Anyway, this old grocery store might be a good place to stop for a gallon of milk or a forgotten dinner ingredient, but I’m definitely not buying anything out of their meat case. Yuk.

Melanie 2.0

Sorry for the lack of posting. We’ve had a crazy last month with lots of company (including my parents, who stayed for a week), Gabriel’s 4th birthday, bad plumbing in the new house, and a long delay in getting internet hooked up. It’s been a good busy, though (well, I could’ve done without the bad plumbing).

We are feeling a lot more settled in, but we still have things that we want to do, like paint the kids’ rooms. We wanted to paint the kids rooms before we even moved in, but with a week-long delay in closing on the house, we wound up not doing it (we’d already reserved a U-haul).

All in all, the house is great. It has a lot more elbow room than our last place (about 300 sq. ft. more) and a view in the back that I never get tired of looking at. True, we’re over 40 miles from where Jay drives to work every day, but so far, I think it’s worth it.

Speaking of Jay’s commute, he got a Nissan Altima last week, so now we have two cars again! Not surprisingly, It gets twice the miles per gallon as the minivan. It’s silver with a black leather interior. It’s cute but I can’t imagine that anyone over 5’6″ could drive it. I’m only 5’4″ and my head almost hits the ceiling. It’s been a very long 6 months since our Ford bit the dust, and I’m very glad to have the van back to myself.

Re: the title of this post, I am trying to turn over a new leaf in lots of areas of my life. I wanted this move to be a fresh start, and now that we’re starting to get settled in, I am starting on my leaf-turning. My main things are time management and sticking to a good schedule…. I always start these things out but slack off after a couple of weeks. I think we’d all be a lot more sane if I could just stick with it.

I’m also going to try to be a lot more … well, Suzy homemaker. Cooking and ironing and homeschooling the kids and such. I am excited about the homeschooling, but I can’t say I’m really excited about the rest. But I know if that’s my “job” I need to do it. Don’t get all women’s lib on me now, it’s only fair for me to “work” at home if my husband is working, bringing home the bacon. And it’s not like I haven’t been doing some of the housework, but I’m trying to start treating it more like a job.

I’ll let you know how it goes!

It’s official

Well, after years of searching, planning, researching, stressing and praying (not necessarily in that order!), we are settling into our first home. We were originally supposed to close on 9/14 but it kept getting bumped back for various reasons, and we wound up closing almost a week later. I’m pretty sure that week of agonizing and hair-pulling aged me 10 years (I swear, I have new gray hairs. Not kidding.).

So, unfortunately, the process was much more stressful and frustrating than the idyllic, blissful dream I’d had in my mind … but the more we settle in, the more I’m excited to have a house of our own.

I don’t have internet service out there yet – I’m currently at my in-laws’ using their computer. I should be up by sometime in the next week or so.

More to come. Sorry for the blog drought!

Unbelievable

Now our closing’s Thursday at 9 am. This is supposedly set in stone, but like I’ve said, at this point, I’ll believe it when the keys are in my hand.

No house yet

Well, first the closing was moved to Monday, then Tuesday, now it’s Wednesday, and that’s not even a 100% certainty.

The builder hasn’t finished yet.

I am having to work really hard not to have a complete ‘come-apart.’

So, we’re sitting in this house with almost everything packed up, waiting. Jay took off work last Friday through next Monday…. this is really not a good use of his time. We thought we’d be moving, painting and un-packing boxes all week this week. At this rate, we’re going to do really well to have the house in some semblance of order before our out-of-town guests arrive Thursday.

Please say a prayer for our sanity.

Hmph.

Well, yesterday we found out our closing was moved until Monday because of some tax form that the builder (or real-estate agent? I forget exactly who.) forgot to get completed.

Today (Friday), I found out our closing has been moved to Tuesday because our house isn’t even finished yet. ?!?!?!

The girl from the mortgage company today said the inspector went out there and found it unfinished (I think it was the electrical). Could the builder and/or realtor have bothered to let us and the mortgage company know about that tiny little detail?

I’ve had to reschedule the U-haul and babysitters twice now. The builder is not returning my phone calls. I am going to have to drive up there tomorrow and demand some answers.

After this development (or should I say LACK of development), I decided to check out our builder on the Better Business Bureau site. They have an unsatisfactory record of resolving complaints. Gee, you think I’d figure out to do that BEFORE getting this far into a new home next time. (All you prospective first-time homeowners, take notes.)

I know one thing for darn sure: Jay and I aren’t signing anything until that house is perfect. I’m not going to fall for any of that “oh, we’ll finish these last few things up this week.” Obviously these people can’t be trusted.

On the other hand, I feel guilty about being so angry about all this … this house is such a blessing and a dream come true. This is supposed to be a happy occasion.

All you praying folks, please say a prayer that everything else will go smoothly, and that Jay and I will be at peace.

I hate waiting

But doesn’t everyone?

This has been one of the longest weeks of my life, right behind the last week I was pregnant with Gabriel.

We “may” close tomorrow, a fact that is making me nuts. The mortgage company has had an entire month to work on our case and they’re acting like they just don’t know if they can get it done by tomorrow.

We’re in a rush because we have family coming in from out-of-state Thursday, and we have a lot of work to do on the new place (painting, etc.) before then. Plus, we have the U-haul lined up, movers in place, and babysitters scheduled.

I think perhaps mortgage companies do this to everyone just for some sadistic fun.

oh, the joys of moving

I’m excited about the house, but I just wish I could skip the whole moving thing. I’ve already done lots of packing and cleaning in preparation for our move this Sunday.

Jay and I usually disagree about the level of cleaning needed when you move out of an apartment/rent house. I say it needs to be absolutely spotless in every possible way (as much as is feasible, anyway). After all, rental companies are definitely going to look for every possible excuse not to give you your deposit back. And I’m not going to let them have one. But Jay thinks I’m wasting my effort. (Which is really funny, since he is the neat freak between the two of us. But that’s a story for another day…)

So, earlier I found myself on my hands and knees scrubbing behind the toilet. This is a place that you can’t really see unless you’re down on your hands and knees with your head stuck back there. But doggone it, I got it clean. Now I  smell like Tilex.

Packing is going pretty well. Most of our stuff is boxed up, already out in the garage and ready to be put onto the moving truck. Almost everything else that we’re still using is in partially-packed boxes, including our non-perishable food, linens and clothes. So all we have to do the last day we’re here is toss the rest of those things in their respective boxes, tape them up, and go.

This blog is getting to be very Seinfeldian, isn’t it? I promise, I’ll have more interesting subject matter once we’re in and settled! By the way, there is probably going to be a period where I’m out of pocket here on this blog – possibly from 9/14 to 9/24. Don’t think I dissapeared, I’m just moving and visiting with family. I’ll be back soon.

Ha

So, earlier today I e-mailed Jay some (really badly drawn) sketches of how we could arrange the living room furniture:

House

Yesterday, Jay, the kids and I went out to check on the progress of our new home that’s in the final phase of construction. It looks a lot better than it did a week ago, thankfully. I think it’s going to be nice when it’s done.

We drove up there after Jay got home from work last night, so the sun was setting by the time we got there. I didn’t realize it, but the back of our home points west (well, more like the back left corner points west), so we can see the sun set each evening from our patio, living room, or master bedroom. This is a HUGE perk to me … I never get tired of marveling at beautiful sunsets.

We close ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! I’m really finally letting myself get excited about it. Oh, my gosh, I have so much work to do. Packing, cleaning, painting, baby-proofing (Mikaela still needs it … believe me.) … I guess I should stop writing and start working!

Work in progress

It’s hard to believe this is going to be ours in less than two weeks (the good Lord and the underwriter willing!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayandmelanie/sets/72157601820890294/show/

New home

I wanted to wait until we were officially approved before I announced it, but we are moving into a new house. We close on Sept. 14.

It’s a good piece north from where we are now, but it’s brand new. It has 4 sides brick, a 2-car garage, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The master bath has a double vanity and his-and-hers closets. If I remember correctly, it’s 1564 square feet.

This has been a long time in coming. We’ve been trying to get into a home for ages now, and some road block always came up. I am officially excited! Thank you, GOD.

I’ll post pix of the house when I get some. It’s built but lacks carpet and appliances. And grass, which they’re supposed to put in a few days before we move.

Where I’m at

I am gearing up to home-school the kids this year. I want to start when the public schools start, but we are still trying to figure out where/when/if to move, and I want to be settled before starting.

I have been accumulating lots of material and finding lots of great resources on the web. But I’ll expound on that in another post.

More on moving: Jay and I looked at our lease and figured out that we need to figure out what we’re doing in the next 30 days, so we can give 30 days’ notice and be out by the end of our lease Sept. 30. I’m not normally so commitment-phobic, but this decision has my stomach in knots. We can’t find anything I like in our price range. And by “like” I mean, “not a total piece of crap.” I’m not being super-picky at all.

Say a prayer that we can find a decent place in a decent neighborhood … man, this has been such a long journey!

In other news, my 17-year-old niece is coming in for a short visit tomorrow. I’m excited about her coming, but I hope we don’t bore her to death.

It’s storming again here (right now). All people can talk about here is the crazy amount of rain we continue to get. At least it keeps everything nice and green!

Oh! I almost forgot. I went into a new children’s consignment store here this weekend and wound up having a long conversation with the owner. I forget how we got on the subject, but after hearing that her 4-year-old daughter has autism, I confessed that I suspect my son may possibly have a high-functioning form of autism. The woman chided me for stalling and said that I need to have him evaluated by a pediatric neurologist. I guess I do, but every time I gear up to make the appointment, he does something that makes me think maybe he’s catching up and doing fine. Then I go hear other kids his age talk and interact with each other and it makes me think, he is NOT fine, and I need to do something. His ‘symptoms’ include a speech delay, odd mannerisms, texture aversion and extreme pickiness with food, an obession with lining up/ordering things, and the fact that he won’t potty-train. Among other things.

This is such a gut-wrenching thing. It’s not that I would ever love him any less if he was diagnosed with autism or anything else, but as his mother who loves him dearly, I don’t want him to have to deal with a lifetime of difficulty from being “different.” Not that the problem doesn’t exist just because I’m in denial. It’s just hard to face.

Houses and stuff

I am so over looking at houses. Everything we can afford SUCKS in one way or another. And I’m not being overly picky, unless you consider not wanting to live in the ghetto picky.

Anyway, I’m just over it. Any good deals get snatched up before you have a chance to blink. I know the housing market’s slowed in parts of the country, but it definitely hasn’t here.

The original home we wanted to bid on had issues that the owner didn’t want to fix. Just in case you were wondering what happened with that.

And another thing I’m over? This Kimkins diet. I thought last time I was on this diet and my hair was falling out I was imagining, but this time I know I’m not. Maybe it just affects different people different ways or something but no joke … my hair is falling out in a bad way. I’m shedding like the cat.

Anyway, say a prayer for my sanity/Jay’s sanity. This house stuff is stressful. I’m overloaded with freelance work still, too … which is both a great and overwhelming thing. At least money’s not an issue right now.

In other news: my to do list this weekend – cut Gabriel’s hair!

house, diet

 So, we have been looking for the perfect home for what seems like forever. We’ve toyed around with all kinds of ideas, from building our own house to living in an RV, but nothing has really worked out (either for financial reasons or feasibility reasons), so we’ve continued to look. 

Actually, we’re way more interested in the land than the home itself. It’s been hard to find acerage in a good area at an affordable price. And with a great view to boot.

But, we found it yesterday…. 2 1/2 acres in the far northern part of the county we live in now. The views are *gorgeous* … you can see rolling farmland and tree-speckled pastures for miles in every direction. The land has a 4/2 mobile home on it. Not my first choice for a place to live (I’m scard of tornadoes), but the land is so beautiful, it just might make up for it. And hopefully, we could eventually build a house on the land. The area surrounding has mostly site-built homes (ie – they’re not mobile homes) … even better for the land’s resale value. And the land is in a desirable school district.

We’re trying to figure out what we can pre-qualify for, but if we do, I really think this one is a “yes.” My picky Jay said he “loved” it after seeing the property yesterday. I told him my only stipulation was that we get an in-ground tornado shelter installed. You can get one installed for about $3K. Not too bad. Maybe we can work that into the contract!

Anyway, please say a prayer for us as we consider this place. We’d be far enough away that we’d probably find another church, which is a huge move. I’ll keep you posted.

In other news, I’m on day 2 of my 2nd try on the Kimkins diet. I’m pretty much subsisting off of lean meat, eggs, diet Dr Pepper and sugar-free Jello. I always do well on diets until about the 2nd week, and then I fall apart. I have instructed Jay to not let me quit this time. We’ll see how THAT goes.

This old house

We’ve lived in this rent house long enough to find out its quirks. Like? The over-zealous toilet that uses about five times the water for each flush than it should. Not only that, it sprays water everywhere, as evidenced by the blue stains on the bathroom linoleum floor (we have one of those toilet tablets, so the water is blue.)

Also, the kitchen sink takes so long to finally run hot water, I’m pretty sure Jesus is going to come back whilst I wait for it.

There’s other little things that annoy, like the impossibly-small pantry, but I still like the place overall. It sure is nice to have more elbow room, that’s for sure.

Yes, I’m still alive

We moved this weekend, very suddenly. We went from not having a single thing packed on Friday morning to being completely moved in and having the other place completely spotless by Sunday. I’m still recovering, and still unpacking and organizing.

Last week, I FINALLY found a great rent-house that was a good price, and in a good neighborhood. It’s older (built in 1983), but I love it. It’s a 3/2/2 with a fireplace and a fenced-in backyard.

So, anyway, I knew we had to snatch the deal up before it disappeared. So, here we are. I’ll post pix and more details soon …

Real estate update

Well, it’s been a long last couple of weeks.

We kicked the original real estate agent and mortgage broker to the curb, found new ones, and made another offer on that same house that we were looking at. However, there was another offer and they decided to go with that one.

Jay and I were driving around in that same neighborhood (that the house we ‘lost’ is in) looking at other homes. When we passed the home we’d made an offer on, the owners were standing outside. I refrained from leaning out and saying “TBBBPTHBPH!”

Aren’t you proud?

Anyway, we are going to take a break for a little while, I think. In reality, we should wait until we find out whether – and where – Jay’s going to get a teaching job before we move. It’s hard to cool your heels when you’ve got 4 people living in a small 2-bedroom apartment, but I know we should wait a little longer.

Lessons learned – a first-time homebuyer’s plight

We are in the process of trying to buy our first home. We came into this process rather un-prepared – that is, without an abundance of knowledge on the subject or the process. Not to mention we only have $900 in our savings account. And the cherry on top: I just started working as an independent contractor for a web design company a month-and-a-half ago.

But, we’ve heard so many of our friends tell us stories about getting into homes for only $500 out of their own pocket - or some other ridiculously low figure – we thought maybe we could, too. And we’re tired of flushing all our money down the toilet by paying the better part of $10K a year in rent.

So, we decided to make a go of it and see what happened.

home update

We went to look at two homes with our real estate agent today. We made an offer on one. Now we have to see if we get approved for it. I'm so emotionally drained from all the drama today – going through the budget, the back-and-forth with the real estate agent, all the talk about the fees, signing the contract, etc. – I just don't even want to think about it anymore.

House hunting

So, in 9 hours we go and look at two homes with our real-esate agent. If everything works out, one of these houses will become our first home. I'm so excited I can't stand it. I'm like a kid the night before a trip to Disney World.

The real-estate agent gave us a list of 30 homes in our price range. We looked through them, looked at pictures on the internet, researched schools and neighborhoods and weeded that list down to 7. Then, we drove by those 7 homes to get a feel for the neighborhoods and weeded the list down to 2.

When I talked to the real estate agent today, she seemed shocked we only wanted to see 2 homes. We're really picky for first-time homebuyers with no downpayment and a small budget, but hey – you gotta be. If two homes are the only ones that are up to snuff, that's fine with me – it only takes one.

company coming

Well, we’re having some friends over for dinner tonight. My husband is cooking as we speak. Cooking is one of those things that I see as a means to an end; my husband sees it as an art form. So, needless to say, he does the vast majority of the cooking.

Anyway, our friends are coming over to give me a much-needed html tables tutorial. One of my job duties is designing/building web pages, and tables are a necessary evil.

I never appreciated web design until I started doing it. I’ve basically taught myself everything I know, which isn’t really that much. But, I have done about 50 pages now, so I’m getting practice.

Back to the company again: these friends live in an impressive house in a nice neighborhood. I hope they don’t feel like they’re slumming coming to our apartment. We have Kool-Aid stains all over the carpet, messy handprints on the walls, and bent-up blinds from my curious little ones trying to peek outside.

But, hopefully, there is light at the end of the tunnel – our realtor has found 30 homes in our price range, and she’s bringing the print-outs to me tomorrow. For first-time homeowners on a limited budget, we’re incredibly picky. I don’t know if any of these homes will be up to snuff … we’ll see.