We wrote another offer this afternoon and our realtor told us she'd submit it about half an hour after she left our place. We gave the sellers till noon on Thursday to respond. If they say no then we will write an offer on the next place on the list. Did I mention we have a list of 3-4 houses? We're just going to go down the list till someone takes our money. Hopefully we'll have an accepted offer on a house in the neighborhood we like in time for the 45 day lock in for this mortgage rate.
Meanwhile, ou buyers want to come check up on us tomorrow. We contractually agreed to fix 5 things that their home inspector found, and of course they are fixed. But no, they can't take our word for it, they are actually coming to check on us. I suppose on one hand that's fine and so forth, but on the other hand, it is a giant inconvenience and a little insulting. And over kill, seeing as they have another, "final" walk through scheduled for before closing.
Ah well, I guess what it boils down to is we wan to sell this house and they want to buy it. So I will put up with this entitled high maintenance crap for 14 more days. AND THEN WE"RE OUT OF HERE AT LAST!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Packing
Haven't looked at houses since...Wednesday? Or was that Tuesday? Not sure. Anyhow, today we packed. I worked in the kitchen and the Captains went after the rest of the house. We have boxes full of our belongings on every floor of the house now. Where do they go next?
We've decided to go back to the houses in the neighborhood we like. This neighborhood has good schools, low/no crime, and water rights. Captain Obvious has liked this neighborhood for about a year and a half now. In fact, he told some of our friends to look there about a year and a half ago when they were house hunting and they now live there! So, even though neither of us is thrilled about the houses currently on the market there, we really do not have time to wait for the perfect house to come on the market (if it even exists). We're hoping to go tomorrow to have a look at the 3 houses in our price range and put an offer on one. I've searched and searched and searched for the perfect house and have not found it (it might simply not be on the market anywhere, or perhaps we have to build it someday!) so I think it makes sense to buy a house that is not perfect in a neighborhood we really, really dig.
So, that's the plan. Let's hope it happens!
We've decided to go back to the houses in the neighborhood we like. This neighborhood has good schools, low/no crime, and water rights. Captain Obvious has liked this neighborhood for about a year and a half now. In fact, he told some of our friends to look there about a year and a half ago when they were house hunting and they now live there! So, even though neither of us is thrilled about the houses currently on the market there, we really do not have time to wait for the perfect house to come on the market (if it even exists). We're hoping to go tomorrow to have a look at the 3 houses in our price range and put an offer on one. I've searched and searched and searched for the perfect house and have not found it (it might simply not be on the market anywhere, or perhaps we have to build it someday!) so I think it makes sense to buy a house that is not perfect in a neighborhood we really, really dig.
So, that's the plan. Let's hope it happens!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
No New House Yet
Well, Captain Obvious decided to veto the offer before it was submitted. He had some good points and although I found it disappointing and frustrating, I am glad that he vetoed a house he would have been uncomfortable living in! It is not at all productive for me to be disappointed or frustrated, so I've let go of those emotions and have moved on to a different plan. We had a talk abot what exactly we are each looking for in a house and then I complied those lists into a master list. I hope we can find a house we both love which meet the criteria.
Buying this new house is much harder than buying the one we (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) just sold. This time we have a child, and the house/neighborhood we buy will have a much bigger impact on his life than on ours. His needs, as we have discovered, are really at the top of the list. Finding a house that is within budget, with all our requirements and would-likes is going to be very hard. Figuring out where and how much we can compromise will also be difficult.
Today was the appraisal for this house. Tomorrow is a termite inspection. I have not started packing yet. Captain Obvious wants to drive to a new neighborhood to check it out this weekend. I think it is a waste of time to check the place out on the weekend and we should use that time to look at houses while we are checking out the neighborhood. Boo. We will figure it out.
Buying this new house is much harder than buying the one we (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) just sold. This time we have a child, and the house/neighborhood we buy will have a much bigger impact on his life than on ours. His needs, as we have discovered, are really at the top of the list. Finding a house that is within budget, with all our requirements and would-likes is going to be very hard. Figuring out where and how much we can compromise will also be difficult.
Today was the appraisal for this house. Tomorrow is a termite inspection. I have not started packing yet. Captain Obvious wants to drive to a new neighborhood to check it out this weekend. I think it is a waste of time to check the place out on the weekend and we should use that time to look at houses while we are checking out the neighborhood. Boo. We will figure it out.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
STRESSFUL
Wow, I can't believe the intensity of the stress that emanates from the decision to sell our house and buy a new one. The selling of the house was intense enough! My goodness it is insane to think that we put our house on the market just over 3 weeks ago. ...wow I am surprised that so little time has passed. Having a house on the market is intense--especially because our house got a lot of traffic! We had 15 showing in 14 days or something?! Some of those days we were getting 2-4 showings. Captain Adorable not allowed to touch his toys or a make a mess, constantly packing up food and taking it somewhere or eating out (we did not do it too much, but a lot), and constantly wondering who was in my house looking around at the place where I brush my teeth and sleep and all those private things. My private space.
Anyhow, house hunting is also very stressful! Constantly packing food and taking it somewhere (less eating out these days because there is no bleeding time to stop and eat). Being gone for 4-5 hours a day (with my little guy), everyday. Looking looking looking for the Right One. Questioning houses, neighborhoods, school districts, taxes, community amenties over and over and over. And then doing it all again the next day.
We wrote an offer tonight. I hope we get it but if we don't, well, we're going back out on Friday. We've got to get this done by Tuesday next week at the latest to lock in the mortgage rate.
Anyhow, house hunting is also very stressful! Constantly packing food and taking it somewhere (less eating out these days because there is no bleeding time to stop and eat). Being gone for 4-5 hours a day (with my little guy), everyday. Looking looking looking for the Right One. Questioning houses, neighborhoods, school districts, taxes, community amenties over and over and over. And then doing it all again the next day.
We wrote an offer tonight. I hope we get it but if we don't, well, we're going back out on Friday. We've got to get this done by Tuesday next week at the latest to lock in the mortgage rate.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
House Hunting Blows Chunks
So, the buyers have done a home inspection and a termite inspection on our house. Guess what they found. If you said "nothing," or "not much," you'd be correct. The things they have asked us to repair (and that we are contractually obligated to fix) are small and, mostly, in my opinion, trivial. Because, of course, our house rocks. Anyhow the fixes they want are no big deal. Looks like the deal is indeed going forward. Settlement is still scheduled for October 15.
October 15?! FUCK! We need to buy a house, like, a week ago! We saw NINE houses yesterday and none of them was the one. They all needed work or we didn't like the floor plan or had needed new carpet and flower stencils on the new kitchen floor (vomit) so that would need to be replaced too. You get the idea. Sigh.
There is one house that Captain Obvious likes because it is cheap. It has tons of potential. It is in a water privileged community, in area where we want to live. It has a walk-out basement which is unfinished and once we finish that, it will double the size of the house, which is already bigger than our current house (oh, wait, this isn't really our house anymore, is it?). We don't need a huge amount of space, and we don't want to pay to heat/cool a big house, but it would be nice to stretch out a bit. The only problem is that we'd have to live in the grotty upstairs while we worked on the downstairs and then move downstairs while we worked on the upstairs. Not what I want to sign up for in the least. But, my darling husband is inspired. He does good work--very good work, and he gets the job done. When inspired, he does a super good job. But oh my oh my I really do not want to live in a house that we are working on.
Anyhow...my cousin, who is an architect, has agreed to come have a look at 2 houses (one is my favorite...but not perfect at all, and one is the house I discussed above) with us tomorrow and give his opinion. And we're having a look at a house that claims it is completely renovated and needs no work but has no water privileges. We will see...
A cute story:
This morning in bed (he's been sick, so our little Captain has been insisting on sleeping in "mama's bed" I told Captain Adorable that the doctor might be able to take out all my cancer. I went into more detail, but of course kept it simple and positive, but I did mention that I would have to stay in the hospital after the surgery. My idea is to discuss this now and then for the next few months so by the time the surgery rolls around, he will be fully informed and perfectly comfortable with the idea.
A little later I was on the phone trying to schedule a plumber's to come fix the things requested by the buyers and Captain Adorable was using his wooden tongs as a phone. I overheard him and he was saying, "yes, doctor, please take out cancer." Made me smile!
October 15?! FUCK! We need to buy a house, like, a week ago! We saw NINE houses yesterday and none of them was the one. They all needed work or we didn't like the floor plan or had needed new carpet and flower stencils on the new kitchen floor (vomit) so that would need to be replaced too. You get the idea. Sigh.
There is one house that Captain Obvious likes because it is cheap. It has tons of potential. It is in a water privileged community, in area where we want to live. It has a walk-out basement which is unfinished and once we finish that, it will double the size of the house, which is already bigger than our current house (oh, wait, this isn't really our house anymore, is it?). We don't need a huge amount of space, and we don't want to pay to heat/cool a big house, but it would be nice to stretch out a bit. The only problem is that we'd have to live in the grotty upstairs while we worked on the downstairs and then move downstairs while we worked on the upstairs. Not what I want to sign up for in the least. But, my darling husband is inspired. He does good work--very good work, and he gets the job done. When inspired, he does a super good job. But oh my oh my I really do not want to live in a house that we are working on.
Anyhow...my cousin, who is an architect, has agreed to come have a look at 2 houses (one is my favorite...but not perfect at all, and one is the house I discussed above) with us tomorrow and give his opinion. And we're having a look at a house that claims it is completely renovated and needs no work but has no water privileges. We will see...
A cute story:
This morning in bed (he's been sick, so our little Captain has been insisting on sleeping in "mama's bed" I told Captain Adorable that the doctor might be able to take out all my cancer. I went into more detail, but of course kept it simple and positive, but I did mention that I would have to stay in the hospital after the surgery. My idea is to discuss this now and then for the next few months so by the time the surgery rolls around, he will be fully informed and perfectly comfortable with the idea.
A little later I was on the phone trying to schedule a plumber's to come fix the things requested by the buyers and Captain Adorable was using his wooden tongs as a phone. I overheard him and he was saying, "yes, doctor, please take out cancer." Made me smile!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
More and More Good News
After 15 showings in 14 days, we accepted one of the 2 offers on our house. The (prospective) buyers want to go to settlement on Oct. 15. We're suddenly in quite a hurry. We've got to find a house to move into SOON!
Fortunately we can stay with our friends in Takoma Park...at least last time I asked about it...until we can settle. But of course this means that we need to get on the ball and put in an offer on a house ASAP. Like maybe on Monday. Tomorrow (Thursday) the buyers' inspectors are arriving here to inspect and to appraise it...I think...anyhow, of course Captain Adorable and I cannot be here (our realtor will be, though!), and of course my car is not completely fixed yet...who knows if it will have enough juice to get to music class and home, then to somewhere to hang out until the inspection is over, and then home again...
Today I went to NCI to meet with the surgeon. :) He said a lot of things that I really liked and some things I did not like. He said that probably, because of my previous lung surgery, my lung is probably stuck to my chest wall. He said they will try to do the surgery with VATS but may have to convert (change) if they cannot easily dissect the lung from the chest wall. If I have VATS (Video Assisted Thorascopic Surgery) ), they make 2-3 small incisions where they can insert the scopes. The recovery time in the hospital is 1-2 days. If they have to convert to a thoracotomy, the recovery in the hospital would be 3-5 days. A thoracotomay is the same surgery I had in Sept. 2007, but this time the incision would be smaller and they'd surgicall break a rib (and actually remove about an inch of it!) to get inside the chest cavity instead of moving the ribs, which is quite painful for the patient. I'd have an epidural for pain, just like last time.All the treatment would take place at NCI. Which I am happy about! It certainly can't be worse than the hellish stay at JHH after my surgery in 2007.
As I have stated before in this blog, treatment at NCI is free. WOW, a government funded, government run health care system that, in my opinion, has saved my life. And I have good health insurance. Yes, I am in favor of public health care. I think everyone deserves the right to see a doctor and a dentist. Goes hand-in-hand with the pursuit of happiness, in my interpretation of our Constitution. But this blog is not about larger issues, just about my journey...my journey which includes navigating our health care system from the perspective of a well educated person with excellent family support and wonderful health insurance. I am someone who is perfectly capable of advocating for myself and if I am not, my husband and other relatives (FIL, sweet MIL, for instance) would certainly be happy to help out in any way they can. I am one of the lucky ones.
The surgeon also said that one of the reasons to do this surgery is to get me off of chemotherapy! He said he thought I might need to do adjuvant chemo (Definition: (AD-joo-vant) Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure) for a couple of months, but then we'd be done! (The oncologists' opinion may vary from this, but I am not sure at the time I am writing this.) Of course, there is the possiblity that cancer could pop up somewhere else in my body at some later point, but it might not and (as the surgeon said,) "I prefer to be hopeful."
I have been allowing myself to hope a lot this afternoon. My wish to have another baby may yet come true...
Fortunately we can stay with our friends in Takoma Park...at least last time I asked about it...until we can settle. But of course this means that we need to get on the ball and put in an offer on a house ASAP. Like maybe on Monday. Tomorrow (Thursday) the buyers' inspectors are arriving here to inspect and to appraise it...I think...anyhow, of course Captain Adorable and I cannot be here (our realtor will be, though!), and of course my car is not completely fixed yet...who knows if it will have enough juice to get to music class and home, then to somewhere to hang out until the inspection is over, and then home again...
Today I went to NCI to meet with the surgeon. :) He said a lot of things that I really liked and some things I did not like. He said that probably, because of my previous lung surgery, my lung is probably stuck to my chest wall. He said they will try to do the surgery with VATS but may have to convert (change) if they cannot easily dissect the lung from the chest wall. If I have VATS (Video Assisted Thorascopic Surgery) ), they make 2-3 small incisions where they can insert the scopes. The recovery time in the hospital is 1-2 days. If they have to convert to a thoracotomy, the recovery in the hospital would be 3-5 days. A thoracotomay is the same surgery I had in Sept. 2007, but this time the incision would be smaller and they'd surgicall break a rib (and actually remove about an inch of it!) to get inside the chest cavity instead of moving the ribs, which is quite painful for the patient. I'd have an epidural for pain, just like last time.All the treatment would take place at NCI. Which I am happy about! It certainly can't be worse than the hellish stay at JHH after my surgery in 2007.
As I have stated before in this blog, treatment at NCI is free. WOW, a government funded, government run health care system that, in my opinion, has saved my life. And I have good health insurance. Yes, I am in favor of public health care. I think everyone deserves the right to see a doctor and a dentist. Goes hand-in-hand with the pursuit of happiness, in my interpretation of our Constitution. But this blog is not about larger issues, just about my journey...my journey which includes navigating our health care system from the perspective of a well educated person with excellent family support and wonderful health insurance. I am someone who is perfectly capable of advocating for myself and if I am not, my husband and other relatives (FIL, sweet MIL, for instance) would certainly be happy to help out in any way they can. I am one of the lucky ones.
The surgeon also said that one of the reasons to do this surgery is to get me off of chemotherapy! He said he thought I might need to do adjuvant chemo (Definition: (AD-joo-vant) Treatment given after the primary treatment to increase the chances of a cure) for a couple of months, but then we'd be done! (The oncologists' opinion may vary from this, but I am not sure at the time I am writing this.) Of course, there is the possiblity that cancer could pop up somewhere else in my body at some later point, but it might not and (as the surgeon said,) "I prefer to be hopeful."
I have been allowing myself to hope a lot this afternoon. My wish to have another baby may yet come true...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Not So Fast After All
My darling little one is not growing up so fast after all. He still needs me to help him get to sleep at night, and he still ends up in our bed most nights. :D In fact I am glad he is not quite gone yet. I miss him and I worry about him all by himself in his own bed. Sometimes I even go into his room in the middle of the night to make sure he is not too cold and to cover him up if he feels cold to me. Captain Obvious has also admitted that he's been missing our little one, and lately (because chemo has made me more tired), he's been the parent going to get our son in the middle of the night, so we are still one happy co-sleeping family. :) Sometimes I have to put Captain Adorable on the crib mattress on the floor because I can't handle the little feet in my back anymore, but most nights he is only in our bed for the last few hours before morning anyhow.
At the same time, his potty usage is just getting better. Peeing in the potty every time is so much the norm that I do not even reward for it any longer. He initiates on his own, but I do remind him at times like when we leave the house or when we come home from being away. (In fact, he is not shy about whipping it out where ever he happens to be, as long as he's outside--something I am going to have to teach him not to do...) He's very interested in no longer wearing a diaper to bed, so I told him that if he could keep his diaper dry for 3 nights in a row we could switch to cloth diapers and then to undies. The very next morning his diaper was dry and he did his morning pee in the toilet. :) I've been putting him in a cloth diaper for naps and so far it has been dry for 3 naps in a row!
He is also doing all his poops in the potty, which I am still rewarding him for. (He gets to watch 3 episodes of Little Bear for every poop in the potty, which is about 24-25 minutes total.) I was quite, quite impressed on Saturday because he remembered to ask me for the potty seat so he could poop in the toilet while we were out!
Here's the story. My parent, Captain Adorable, and I went to the Baltimore Zoo. It was rather empty for a Saturday because it was a rather cool day with some rain/sprinkles in the air. After about an hour and a half of walking and enjoying various animal exhibits, we stopped to eat lunch at the picnic area. Captain Adorable was of course too excited to eat and soon hopped down from his seat to have a closer look at the squirrels (I think!). He seemed a little contemplative and then said, "Mama, I pooping!" I said, "Oh no you're not!" as I swooped in to scoop him up. He ran from me a little (maybe because I ran at him so fast?) but I snagged him and checked his undies, which I was surprised to see, were still clean!!! It finally clicked for me that he was asking for the potty seat (as I have told him and told him to do). I slapped him on my back (did not want him to walk to the bathroom because walking does help poop to come out), grabbed the diaper bag, and ran, panting, to the bathroom. Once installed on the potty seat on the toilet, he happily did the deed right there in the proper spot! I was beyond excited and proud, but tried to be calm. I felt that it was some kind of pivotal moment. I hope this success means I will never have to throw out another pair of undies again. (Fingers crossed!)
At the same time, his potty usage is just getting better. Peeing in the potty every time is so much the norm that I do not even reward for it any longer. He initiates on his own, but I do remind him at times like when we leave the house or when we come home from being away. (In fact, he is not shy about whipping it out where ever he happens to be, as long as he's outside--something I am going to have to teach him not to do...) He's very interested in no longer wearing a diaper to bed, so I told him that if he could keep his diaper dry for 3 nights in a row we could switch to cloth diapers and then to undies. The very next morning his diaper was dry and he did his morning pee in the toilet. :) I've been putting him in a cloth diaper for naps and so far it has been dry for 3 naps in a row!
He is also doing all his poops in the potty, which I am still rewarding him for. (He gets to watch 3 episodes of Little Bear for every poop in the potty, which is about 24-25 minutes total.) I was quite, quite impressed on Saturday because he remembered to ask me for the potty seat so he could poop in the toilet while we were out!
Here's the story. My parent, Captain Adorable, and I went to the Baltimore Zoo. It was rather empty for a Saturday because it was a rather cool day with some rain/sprinkles in the air. After about an hour and a half of walking and enjoying various animal exhibits, we stopped to eat lunch at the picnic area. Captain Adorable was of course too excited to eat and soon hopped down from his seat to have a closer look at the squirrels (I think!). He seemed a little contemplative and then said, "Mama, I pooping!" I said, "Oh no you're not!" as I swooped in to scoop him up. He ran from me a little (maybe because I ran at him so fast?) but I snagged him and checked his undies, which I was surprised to see, were still clean!!! It finally clicked for me that he was asking for the potty seat (as I have told him and told him to do). I slapped him on my back (did not want him to walk to the bathroom because walking does help poop to come out), grabbed the diaper bag, and ran, panting, to the bathroom. Once installed on the potty seat on the toilet, he happily did the deed right there in the proper spot! I was beyond excited and proud, but tried to be calm. I felt that it was some kind of pivotal moment. I hope this success means I will never have to throw out another pair of undies again. (Fingers crossed!)
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