A sneak peek

Currently our new house is in disarray, despite the fact that Henny and Papa did so much to help us get settled, unpacked, baby proofed and even decorated a bit. So for now here are a few pics of the outside, and hopefully some inside pictures will be coming soon.

I love this picture of Emery in the backyard because it really does show you how BIG it is compared to how small she is. I can only imagine how big it seems to her!

Our house is in one of the most picturesque neighborhoods in Chattanooga with quiet, tree-lined streets, older homes with lots of character, a beautiful park with a walking trail, playground and pool ... I could go on and on. I really can't believe we get to live here!

The house itself, built in 1930, is much larger than we ever anticipated buying (thank you down housing market!). To give you an idea, frequently Emery will be heard wandering the house saying "Where's the mommy? Where's the mommy?" (Answer - hiding from you!!)

We think it stayed on the market so long because it lacks many of the amenities newer homes provide, such as updated kitchens that open up to spacious family rooms. However, I'm starting to realize that the kitchen being far removed from the playroom and also protected by doors will be a big advantage for me when I want to escape two precious, but often very needy and sometimes whiny little girls!

In other news, Emery got her first haircut!

Loving the new 'do!

We closed!

It's official! We closed on our house today, and what a relief that was. You hear horror stories of a buyer losing his job the day of the closing, and not being able to go through with the purchase. And when they were a little late showing up for the closing, well, I tried not to imagine the worst.

They were a really cute, newlywed couple and seemed so enchanted with our house and thoroughly excited to be moving in. We asked them a little about how they picked out our house (I'm not opposed to a little flattery!) and they said they'd looked at about 90 and just stumbled into our open house by chance. Well, it was no mistake and we are still thanking the Lord that this all happened so quickly and easily.

For the past month, I've been tallying up a list in my head of little house quirks/issues that "aren't my problem anymore," especially when I've felt sad about leaving. But I didn't want to post them until the deal was done, because what if the sellers saw them and changed their minds?! Now even I'm a little nervous to write them, maybe because I just can't quite believe we really sold it?!

So stay tuned, maybe I'll gather up the courage to type them out later this week!

Sold!

In less than a week. I think this might make for some kind of recession real estate record, don't you think?

When I first moved to Berkley and occasionally saw signs for "Berkley Bill" Wahlstrom, I'll admit, I had my doubts. Even if he didn't have a dollar sign slashed through his name, I probably would still have felt better going with Prudential or Coldwell Banker.

But we've learned from friends that Berkley Bill really does know Berkley, and he promised to cut us a good deal on closing costs, so what did we have to lose?

Now we're grappling with the reality that we need to be out of this house in less than a month, and that means weekends and evenings will be occupied with decluttering, packing, packing and packing ... and of course thanking the Lord for the best realtor in the universe.

Lots of news

I've been debating how to share some of the "bigger" news that we have to report. Since I just don't have the energy to come up with anything clever, I'll just be frank - I'm nearly 17 weeks pregnant and our house is for sale!

These circumstances coupled with the fact that Matt is looking for a new job are about all the change I can handle right now. I feel, though, that I'm managing it all with uncharacteristic optimism and peace. Someone pointed out to me that I might be one of those rare women whose hormones actually balance out during pregnancy. This I have never heard of, but if it means more peace and less pessimism, I'll take it!

I've also recently developed an addiction to playing solitaire on my phone. I've probably played it 98 times in the last week, mainly because I just can't win. And I hate that. Every time I'm so close to winning, I have the superstitious thought "If I win, this means we'll sell our house." Or, "If I win, this means Matt will get a great job."

Ridiculous, I know. While sometimes it feels like the odds are stacked against us, I'm beginning to get the feeling that we'll actually sell our house and Matt will get a great job, and the baby will even be born before I win a game of solitaire.

And you know, that will be just fine with me!

What's that squeak?

A few weeks ago, as Matt and I were going to sleep, we heard an intermittent squeak from the crawl space behind the head of our bed. At first we thought it was a low battery on some electronic device, but that wasn't the case.

The next morning, as I was trying to grab a few extra minutes of sleep, I heard it again. And then I started to get a little concerned, because the rain that was pattering on the rooftop sounded like little feet running across our crawl space. And that got me thinking, what if this squeak is an animal inside our house?

Well, I tried to put it out of my mind, and I did, until this week when I was home alone for a night. And I started hearing it again. Now I'm normally not too concerned about being alone in the house at night, but when I start to get the feeling that I might not be alone ... well, I get a little concerned!

So I stuffed my ears with earplugs, cranked up my sound machine and tried to rationalize the fact that a little squeak really couldn't harm me too much ... unless of course it scurried into our room and crawled up my bedsheets.

I didn't sleep very well that night.

And the next day at work, as I told a few of my coworkers about this mysterious squeak, I got more than an earful of mouse, rat and even bat stories.

And let me just tell you this - researching "where do bats live" or "what sound do bats make" on the Internet is not for the faint of heart. Have you ever seen a picture of a bat up close? Terrifying. They're like terrible mice with capes!

So I went out and bought a mouse trap. But I haven't put it in the crawl space yet. At first I was too scared to open the door and wanted to wait until Matt was home to do it.

And then, funny thing, the squeak went away. And to my knowledge, we only hear it when it rains.

So what I thought was going to be an "exciting" blog post about a family of mice or maybe even a bat or two, or maybe a bird, living in our attic, is really nothing more than a post about small leak or creak that's been robbing my sleep. At least I hope so!

Winter projects

"That would be a good project for the winter."

This is a common statement, I think, one that's used to excuse away tasks like organizing photos and recipes, taking care of paint touchups around the house, and decluttering closests when there are far more compelling things to do outdoors.

I think many of us are waiting for that elusive snow day(s) that will leave us captive in the house, and suddenly these tasks will seem a lot more appealing and manageable.

The problem is, that even though winter is still a ways away from loosening its grip on Detroit, the days actually are getting longer, the temperatures aren't quite as brutal, and the majority of those "winter" projects haven't quite been tackled in our household. Furthermore, it would take a monumental amount of snow to keep anyone housebound in this city.

I did make some great traction this weekend by beginning to paint the basement stairwell and stairs. And Matt pitched in by assembling our new pantry system in the basement.

As for the rest of our "winter" projects ... well, maybe I'll just wear my pajamas inside-out for good luck tonight and hope for a blizzard.