The Middle Chapters

Well, just about. The inspection turned up several issues that we will try to work out with the sellers. The sellers have already had their offer on another house accepted. The plan is to close on the house we're buying right before they close on their new house. I assume that they will be motivated to work with us on the things that need to be repaired on their house, so I'm thinking of this as a done deal. The new house closes on 5/16 and we get possession 4 days later.

Next step is fixing up our house and selling it. While I was still out of town, D started to work on things. This morning, while the baby was down (hurray - she actually is still sleeping not in my arms!) I got a bit of yard work done and worked on the list of things we need done to our house - it seems long - and finalized the list of things we want the sellers to fix or pay (at least in part) to have fixed on the new house - also long. While looking at houses and making offers on other houses, getting our house ready seemed like a daunting task. Now that we have a new house that feels right, it doesn't seem so bad. I think we should hire people who can do our work well and fast rather than try to do it ourselves. Although M is getting bigger and a bit more self reliant, I still can't seem to get much done ever. If we just bite the bullet and think of it as an investment that will result in a better and faster house sale, I think it will all work out.

We will be moving to another northern part of our city almost the same distance from downtown. I'm happy not to be moving to the burbs. Although it seems like a great place to raise children, I just couldn't entirely go for it. The extra few miles from my friends seemed like a continent. Now, we'll just be on the other side of the freeway. Yeah!