Under Contract and Foundation Setting

After weeks, months, stressing about cleaning, and spot painting, cleaning carpets, scrubbing showers, replacing windows, Chris dedicating hours to yard work, washing every item that can fit in the washing machine; I am happy to say our Kingsmill house in under contract this evening.

We listed and had first viewings at an open house late morning on Saturday. Though, our realtor told us she received a cash offer at 2am...2 in the morning! What?! Who does that? Anyway, she told them we were not accepting offers until the open house. Our realtor told us we had 18 families come through our house. We then had 4 private showings that same evening, until 6:45. We were pretty exhausted, including the dogs. Nora, thankfully, did not throw up once even though we were in and out of the car several times.

By the evening we had 2 notifications of incoming offers. In the morning we had 3.

All were either list or over.

After a little back and forth (and more showings in the mean time) we finalized a deal with one buyer for over asking in under 30hrs since listing.

We were flabbergasted by our luck. Not only did we get strong offers hours after (and even before) listing, but had such great feedback about our house, both in words and in price points. My prayers were heard and answered. I am forever thankful.

Now we go under inspection. I will not be surprised if we need to fix a couple things, or even tweak the price to compensate. No matter what comes up, I am confident we are in good standing and well on our way to moving closer to our new house.

Which, finally got its foundation poured on Saturday! :D :D :D

View from the street

View from our backyard

This weekend has been a whirlwind, but there is still so much more to go. More updates to follow!



M.LEWIS

The (not so) Calm Before the Storm

Life is about to get crazy.

We are listing our current house for sale on Saturday, accompanied with an immediate open house. That means from 11-2pm we will vacate the house; Chris, myself, the girls, AND the pups. We will travel with our car sick dog all the way to my in laws house to camp out for a few hours.
Please say a little prayer for us and our house. May the right buyer bid on our house, and quickly. The faster we find a buyer, the sooner I can begin to pack up the entire house. Oy. That is an overwhelming task at this point.

Latest news on our new house? There is none. :\ Still no foundation poured. I must say, trying to stay patient about it is getting more and more difficult. I did email the builder asking about the timeline, so hopefully he will have some good news for me later today. I certainly don't want to come across as whiny or naggy, but the saying "the squeaky wheel gets the oil" comes to mind. We'll see if that works in this situation.

In the mean time, I am a list-making machine.
A list for cleaning what and when, a list for future color-coding packing boxes, list for change of address notifiers, a list for chores that need to happen...and when, etc.

Seriously, moving this time is far more complicated and stressful than the last move. I sincerely hope this is our last move. This introverted homebody is not cut out for it.

I will update with some actual news soon. Cross your fingers for me!

Waterlogged

This is what my news feed looks like lately.

This is almost daily.

Just in 12 hrs...almost 2"

That 20% is the lowest we've seen in some time! I hope it continues!

You are reading this right. That's approaching the +5" mark.

In February, we were in "exceptional drought" the highest level. Today, we are drought free...and flooding in every local lake.

Yay. More coming.

Just in case you don't know where were are in these maps, we are diagonally in between Addison and Mckinney, about half way, give or take. So look back over those pictures...yeah...it's depressing. Not because this rain has almost busted the entire state out of drought (this is a good thing.) but because we are STILL waiting for the foundation to be poured at our new house (boo!). 

Why, oh why, did this rain even have to happen the spring we were supposed to be building our house?!

This rain has delayed things BIG TIME.

We were supposed to have drywall going up in the house now, but instead all we have is still pipes sticking out of the dirt. We are waiting for the rain to stop, for things to dry out, and for the sun to shine for several days with NO rain. Then, and only then, can we get our concrete foundation poured and cured for framing.

This weather has dampened my spirits and drenched the soil. We were supposed to be moving into our new house at the end of August...and that's clearly not happening.

Due to the rain, we will have to move into an apartment for several months. This was not in the original plan. Never did I want to take away my kids' (and dogs') house without putting them in a bigger, beautiful, new house. This depresses me.

What makes it worse is when people try to tell me all the rain and flooding is good, and that they want more rain. 

I'll wait until you put thousands of dollars down on a new house, spent hours picking out floor plans, lots, flooring, paint color, doors, light fixtures, tile, etc.; I'll wait for you to guess when to put your house on the market for a short 3 week close (crazy market right now!), then do a home inspection, fix any found problems, pack up your life, move into a small apartment (with 2 kids, 1 skittish dog, and 1 carsick dog) all with NO work being done on your house; I'll wait until you are delayed, and delayed, and delayed, watching your apartment lease grow longer and longer, envisioning your kids getting fussier and fussier, THEN I'll look at you and say "This is great! I want more rain! What's your problem?"

I'm not going to lie, that little rant made me feel a bit better.

I know our situation could be far worse, but still, this is so far from ideal it's not even funny anymore.

I know the house will be built eventually, but my mood sucks a lot lately, and for good reason.

Sorry if I don't get all chipper and the expected 3"+ we're scheduled to get in the next few days, my enthusiasm has fizzled after the first 15" we have received. Every rainy day is another delay to me, and nothing else. That's just what life feels like to me right now. Did I mention we got .76" of rain in 3 hours last night? Where is the Texas I know?

Can we fast forward to summer? This will be the only time I will want to. :(

M.LEWIS

Rainy Days and So Many Mondays

We are in a brief relief of all the rain we've had this spring. It picks up again tomorrow. It's been great for the drought, but terrible timing with the building of our house.

We were supposed to hit dry wall in a couple days, but instead, we are still waiting for the foundation to be poured. So, that means, our whole timeline has been delayed, at least a month.

It's been frustrating and stressful. Our original timeline was going to be difficult enough. Finding a buyer who would let us stay until the new house closed (mid-late August) with a signed contract before drywall (mid-late May) was going to be a long-shot. That's a long closing period, and overlapping the start of a new school year.
Now, with new delays and probably future delays, our timeline is just not working. Our new closing date? Who knows.

So, through all the up-in-the-air issues with our current house and our new houses, we have decided to go ahead and list our house, get in sold, get the contingency taken off our new house, and "tough it out" in a apartment for [hopefully just] a few months.

That has been difficult to digest. I know so many families live in apartments, and I sound a bit hyperbolic, but it is a huge change for our family.
Not only will it cost a lot more money to pay movers twice, pay a rent higher than our current mortgage, pay pet deposits, pay for internet setup, setup water and electricity accounts, actually move everyone and everything twice, BUT we would be giving up our 2200sqft house for something half the size. Oh, and finding one that allows huskies is surprisingly difficult.
And there is still a possibility that our planned 3-month lease could go longer if this pesky rain won't quit.

We have been planning this since January, and here we are mid May and we are barely have a foundation. This process has been s l o w. I just keep praying for the rain to move out and on to somewhere that really needs it. Sure, we did need it, but we literally have flood warnings weekly, so we're set for now...and I would really like this gnawing pit in my stomach to leave. We have so much excitement, money, hope, and plans tied up in this new house...it's just so irritating it doesn't exist yet.

I keep praying that this process gets easier, that the plans get rolling, that the weather cooperates, and that we will be financially secure at the end of this ordeal.

I love the house we're building, that's why it's so hard to wait so long. I know by the end of the year we will be in the house (with any luck, for several months by that point) and it will be all worth it. That is the drive for my patience. I remind myself of this, but I struggle a lot.

Funny thing is, we haven't even listed our current house yet. We have been told it will sell fast, and I sure hope that is true. That is a whole different stress.

I don't want my kids to be uprooted and confused, but I know they will be. I feel guilty taking away their home without putting them in a better one. I want this awesome opportunity to actually feel awesome.

So much uncertainty, so much needed patience. I must learn to adapt somehow, and so must my household as a whole. Dogs included. Oh, boy.


M.LEWIS

Rx to the Rescue

I rarely go to the doctor for myself (unless I'm pregnant). I go for the kids and dogs, but for me, I rather just tough it out. I don't want to take the kids with me and I don't want to ask someone (my mom) for assistance. I usually pop a couple of Tylenol, drink fluids every hour, and try to rest. (I know, hahaha.)

Monday I had a sore throat. We stayed home all day and watched movies. It wasn't terrible, but it was a long day. Tuesday I felt better. My throat didn't hurt, but my head was filling with congestion. We did leave the house for a bit, but by evening time I was feeling really run down.
By Tuesday night, I felt terrible. I took every medication I could and I still felt like death. I got very little sleep and by the morning, I felt weak, exhausted, and sore.
My nose and face were throbbing, my throat was raw, and my neck was swollen making it hard to swallow. I started running a fever and with my strength and stamina teetering on zero, I did what I had to do.
Unable to properly care for my little ones, and almost unable to care for myself, I called my mom and then I called the doctor.

I was diagnosed (a few hours later) with acute sinusitis, aka, a severe sinus infection.

A few hours later I was home, antibiotics and steroids coursing through my system, I was feeling a bit better.
By bedtime I had my second and third round of steroids and another dose of antibiotics and I was doing a lot better.
I slept. I slept more than the last 2 nights combined.

This morning I feel miles ahead of where I was just 24hrs ago. I am not one to jump to the doctor or to load up on antibiotics, but man, I know when I need to, and I am so thankful I did.

Thank you western medicine. I love you.


M.LEWIS

Avenida Progress

While things are wildly unpredictable in our household lately, it's nice to know (and see) progress is being made on our new house. Sanity is a distant light slowly growing bigger and brighter. Though, I emphasize s l o w l y.

This will pick up sooner than I can imagine, at least that is my bet. Seeing as I have never built a house before, this is just my best guess.

Here is our progress thus far:

Lost cleared and leveled

Foundation lined

Trenched for plumbing

Plumbing! Pipes are visible! 

Crazy as it sounds, these pipes are the first thing put in (beside the already-there dirt) and they are so exciting!

I will be so happy when there is an actual foundation! So go away for a bit, rain. My house needs a floor!

Oh, and just for fun, I took a picture of a spec house in another neighborhood that is the same layout as our house; I then photoshopped in our bay window and our cedar garage door design and added corbels. It is not our brick, stone, paint, or stain, but you get a good idea of what our house will look like. I tend to look at this picture almost everyday.

My computer transformation

Final computer rendering (again, not our brick, stone, etc.) SO PRETTY

In mean time, we are getting our current house ready to list. I am trying very hard to keep things looking as new and clean as possible...very difficult with our 6 month old husky pup. Did I mention sanity being a tiny glimpse of hope far away? 

Life is stressful to say the least, but knowing that I will be in my dream house in a matter of months helps me push forward. Do I have another choice? No, not really. But I could be crying a lot, and I'm not. ;)

Hopefully no more illness, no more dog destruction, and hopefully soon, a quick and flexible buyer. Not too much to ask for, right?

M.LEWIS

Avenida Foundation

Foundation framing!