The Final Countdown!!

Less than 2 days until we are official home owners!!! Update: We are closing on Friday at 1:00pm instead of Thursday at 4:30. There was a slight delay in some paperwork, so Friday had to be the day. We found out that the underwriter approved everything today and the loan was approved!! Phewww.... not that there was really any question, but you never know! My mom is still flying in tomorrow night and planning on cleaning Friday (thank God for that, lol). Stanley Steamer is coming Friday morning before we own the house, lol. We are getting access to enter the house since close will be that day anyway... plus I did NOT want to change those plans!! It has been enough to scramble with Friday at 1:00pm. I have an OB appt at 2:00pm at Stonecrest... closing is at an attorney's office in Murfreesboro... wish me luck!! I have to go to my appt, so it will have to work.

It will be a very busy weekend of moving and unpacking.... but the benefit will be so good, I know! Right now, I am SO tired and stressed..... I just need to get on with the show, lol. Work has been really stressful lately... mainly just a combo of work and all this house stuff... it is taking a toll on me. I am guessing that I have lost more weight.... I will find out Friday at my appt. I need to eat better.... this little one needs that!! Kaya sat down on my stomach hard last night... she didn't mean to or anything.. but it hurt pretty bad.. then today it hurt as well. I think everything is ok... just one of those things I have to pay more attention to her with.

Well, I have some emails and a big Mary Kay order to place... yeah, I am getting a little closer to getting that whole thing moving, LOL. Happy week before Turkey Day to everyone! I can't wait for some good eats and time to chill next week!!! :)

My little Tomato!!!

Forgot to say 'Happy late Halloween'.... Kaya was a tomato for Halloween!! Grandma D and I made the costume that was really easy to do. Here is the pic from Parenting Magazine of a professional who made the costumes. There will be pics to come of a non-professionals version, LOL. She was super cute and had a good day. The poor kid was a little sick.. just a cold, well she might have the dreaded A word... allergies. Dr Rosser thinks allergy testing would be a good idea. Not that I am at all opposed to her getting tested... it is just the whole realty of her having allergies. I hate that idea. Having suffered from my won allergies, that is one of the worst things!!! We have already discussed if she is allergic to cats..... then Blackie and Violet will be needing a new home! Cross that bridge if even needed. I think I will take her in this afternoon to get the blood drawn, so the results are ready for her 2 year check up on 11/16 (yes a month late, but that is what I get for having to cancel her original appt in October, LOL).

Kaya had a Halloween party at school where she had a lot of fun! By the time it came to trick or treating that night, she was just ready for bed! But, we did do a little... and she was getting into the idea of... ring door bell, get candy!!! Then there is her mom... I still have not given her any candy, LOL. Poor kid, that is half the point of Halloween! That night, she fell asleep on the way home in the car (yes, we drove b/c there is slim pickings in BFE, lol). Then last night she just needed to get to bed early. I managed to eat plenty of candy yesterday though, LOL. This weekend, I will let her dig into the candy a little! I am not going to completing deprive the kid... one piece, lol.

OK... off to bed.....

Sleep and House

I have had issues sleeping lately..... I think a lot of that stems from not being used to sharing the bed for so many weeks, LOL. At any rate... it isn't that bad... not like when I was big and pregnant with Kaya, but still it is WAY too early to have sleeping issues!!! The weekend is right around the corner and I WILL be catching up on some ZZZZZ's!!

So... drum roll please......

The bank accepted our offer!!! We are both VERY excited yet cautious at the same time, LOL. After the last house ordeal, we are attempting to be patient until we sign those papers!! In all honestly, I was a bit surprised the seller's bank agreed to our low offer. We did the math on the thing and unless this seller had a a lot of money down on this house when he bought it, there might be a loss for this bank... but then that isn't our problem, LOL. The home inspection is today at 9am. Then the appraisal will be sometime next week. I am just hoping for no major surprises with the inspection.... which there shouldn't be any considering it is only a 4 year old house, LOL. My mom is set to fly here on 11/15 (the day we close) to help with moving and cleaning (this house needs a good cleaning by her and I... we will get it perfect, LOL). I think we might have a local small moving company actually do the physical move for us.... we have looked into the cost, and it really is not that bad considering all the physical labor that would save Mark and Chris, LOL. Of course, I have a harder time rationalizing the cost, but it won't be me moving all the heavy stuff, LOL. The plan is to go crazy the weekend of 11/16-18 with moving and unpacking... once again, my mom is the BEST person to have around in this situations (and others too). She gets going and motives me to just get it done now! In the past, we have been successful in moving and unpacking almost everything in a weekend. Of course the week after that is Thanksgiving... so I want the kitchen, dining room, living room and such all put together so we can have a nice relaxing Thanksgiving in our new home! Oh, note to self... make sure we have a fridge bought and delivered before then, LOL. That is another thing still up in the air... the stove, dishwasher and microwave are not the greatest ones in the world (not that we need that, but something nicer than the cheapest is good too, lol), so we are debating about just buying a whole new set now while we have to buy a fridge. Hmm.... then that is money spent now on things that are not a MUST. We have other must buy's very soon... most important being a fence. While I tend to oppose fencing the whole back yard (I just like the freedom to roam, I guess), that really is not an option. There is a storm drain in the back between the two properties.... I know a very curious 2 year old that would LOVE to investigate that!! Yet another debate... I would like a vinyl type fence or better yet iron, LOL. Mark loves it when I default to the more expense options! We have done some pricing on options... so that will be one of the very first big things we do. Other than that though, there is nothing really pressing. Of course, I have already thought about all the new furniture I want to buy since we will finally have our own place to decorate. One thing at a time, Meredith!!!!

Well, I am feel sleepy again... so I am off to get a few more hours of sleep. I have a cool open house thing at a friend's house tomorrow... where I will be having my first real big Mary Kay selling opportunity. Wish me luck! After I get settled at the new house, that is high priority to get organized and more aggressive with Mary Kay. I know there is good to be done there... and money to be made that will make things more comfortable when I stop working full time.

Happy Friday to All!! Happy November as well!

Breathe.........

That is what I keep reminding myself!!! Here is a quick update of live over that last month plus.....

We didn't end up getting the house as mentioned before... roof needed to be replaced as condition of the loan, seller refused to pay for any of it, so we refused as well, LOL. We have an offer on a different house (a MUCH better house... as faint would have it, this one could cost us less money and is bigger and better in a lot of ways). All we need for this house is for the bank who the seller financed to approve our offer (the seller has been trying to sell for a long time and we suspect he is almost to the point of foreclosure). Waiting on a bank takes time of course, but if all is well... we will close on November 15th, just in time for Thanksgiving. I am being MUCH more laid back with this house.. fully knowing that there are some things out of our control. My mom along with myself have a very good feeling about this one (which I never really had about that last one), but we will see. Here is a picture of the house....



We all returned from our trip to California safe and sound. My mom, myself and Kaya returned on 10/15 and Mark returned from Reno on 10/18. We had a little birthday party for Kaya on 10/19. We went to the pumpkin patch on 10/20 which both Grandma and Kaya loved!! Grandma had to leave on 10/23 (sad for all of us!) and Mark was traveling last week as well. He got home on 10/26 late and is home for awhile! Actually his boss has decided that there might be very little traveling before the end of the year!!! I have to thank his boss later, LOL. Last week was week #7 of him being gone every week except for one week in that seven weeks! Phew... I think that is a bit much! The funny thing of course... is that he NEVER travelled in the past, LOL. After things are going smoothly in Reno, he will travel very little. Oh, Mark's promotion.. yes, he is now the Training Supervisor... which means more responsibility, people to supervise (lol) and more money! That last part is the best plus in our eyes! We get this house bought and get through Christmas... and then we can seriously talk about me not working full time! That is music to my ears.

Not to forget about hearing little Lovell #2's heart beat on 10/19. Grandma, Mark and Kaya joined me for my second OB visit. The little guy/girl has a good strong heart beat!! So far, it is in the 150's..... so the speculation is that he is a boy, LOL. But then time will tell... all will have to wait until April!!!

Well... I am loving the awesome fall weather!! I do not have a ton of fall decorations out as we are moving/not moving. The garage is in total disarray, but I know there is an end to all of this... we will get the right house for us soon, have no fear. This coming week will be one where Mark and I will have to remember what it is like to live together again, LOL. Honestly, I am looking forward to that... looking forward to get moved.... just looking forward to all that is to come!! Peace and Hugs to All!

Some bday pics of the 2 year old

Kaya and Grandma on the train to San Francisco

Kaya at birthday dinner @ Chevy's... they brought the sombrero out!

Kaya enjoying her birthday ice cream

Awww, sweet birthday girl!

Happy Big 2nd Birthday Kaya boo!!!!

(posted 2.5 weeks late)

WOW! You are two years old, Kaya!!! I admit there is still some of me that thinks of you as a little baby... most of the time I see you as the big girl that you have become!! Over the last 6+ months since I have been working, you have been growing up at a much faster pace than I am comfortable with, I admit. I treasure all the time that we have together that much more though!! You are really the sweetest girl! You are very loving... giving hugs and kisses and saying "I love you mama" and "thank you mama" without any encouragement... you simply do that on your own. Your vocabulary is amazing... saying words like "halitosis" and "aticulating truck" (cousin Jack is so proud) still cracks me up! You are saying a lot of full sentences like "where did it go?", "I am ready for dinner"... and many more. You have recently learned how to jump all over the place and still enjoy doing that a lot. One of your favorite past times has become play dough... which is fun for Mama too! You are understanding the idea of having a baby brother/sister more and more.... you love to kiss the baby in mama's belly and you love to feed your baby. You are also getting more and more independent!! You like to say things are "Kaya's" or "mine".... which we continue to work on the whole idea of sharing.. have no fear, someday that concept will make sense to you. You really like dresses and un-dressing yourself... you do a great job with that! You love to help with everything we do... making pancakes or other food items, brushing your own teeth (Mama still does a run through just in case), and helping put groceries away or anything else that we are currently doing. You just like to be involved, and I have no problem with that. You play well by yourself as well! Like all of us, you need some alone time... and I respect that!

Each day, I count my blessings that I am able to call you my daughter!! You are a lot like me... at times you and I struggle with our strong attitudes, but most of the time I smile knowing that I am lucky enough to see the world through your eyes! There are times when I really struggle with working right now and I feel you are not getting as much of my influence as I want you have (because deep down I feel I need to be at home with you, but I also know this is a temporary thing), then I see you do something that I taught you (like saying 'please', 'thank you', and 'your welcome' to people in public) and I know you are my daughter all the way and that I am doing the right thing for you right now! In the end, that is all the matters! I love you very much Kaya!!!

$500 cash please!

So... not only does our realtor not trust this silly women we are buying our house from, but her realtor doesn't trust her either!! LMAO. Both realtors suggested that we add $500 in cash (that we will receive at closing) to fix any repairs ourselves (or with whom we choose), and not leave the seller responsible as she might fix them herself or something. I thought this was hilarous!! She is not doing anything about the roof which still pisses me off some. I got out of Mark that the roofer said there were no shingles that were damaged all the way through, so like a lot of hail damage it is spotty. I am sure any insurance company wouldn't pay to replace the entire roof anyway. So... if we get hail damage that is worse while we own the home, we can file our own claim. If we don't, the roof life is shortened slightly, but we will probably replace it in the time we live there anyway. I still think the $500 cash for us is pretty funny!! :)

Never mind!

Well, the seller backed down, LOL. Yesterday morning, our agent called us to tell us that the seller re-thought her dumb decision and that we are back on towards buying the house!! We had the inspection Thursday afternoon... which went pretty good. The inspector had two concerns... 1. roof looked like it had hail damage and 2. the hot water coming out of the tap smelling like sulfur/rotten eggs. We had a roofer come to the house yesterday, and he determined that yes it was hail damage and estimated $7,200 to replace the entire roof. The water thing is likely just replacing the anode rod (whatever that is, LOL) which is max of about $50. We have $500 listed on the offer for repairs, so obviously this goes a bit over that! Likely though, this might have already been claimed on her home owners. At any rate, we are hoping this isn't something that makes this women back out again!!! I look at it like... no matter what she does, sell the house to us or someone else who might pay more money, anybody with sense would demand a home inspection and the roof would come up!! The roofer said that he has gone to a lot of houses for the second time with new home owners and given the same hail damage estimate from a few years ago. I know that it would be nice to have the money from the insurance company and not spend it on the roof... but this is a situation where we would have a hard time getting our insurance company to cover the cost since it is documented on the inspection report before we purchased the home. Note to self... if we plan to not own this house for too long (which we are on a 5-10 year plan), we probably should get any type of damage like this fixed when we have the insurance money, LOL. Good thought for future!

Anyway, we are moving forward to the October 19th closing date. Mark is going to get home from Reno on the 18th, so he is here in time for closing. I have a buys afternoon planned that day between my OB appt and Kaya's 2 yr appt, but my mom will be here too to help with all of that. We have not done any packing yet, LOL. That is today... pack Mark and Kaya for them to leave for CA tomorrow morning, clean the house some b/c it is a complete mess (baby shower at your house on Tuesday night Meredith.. don't forget, LOL) and start packing the spare room/den. I want to get almost all of that room packed and then get it ready for my mom to sleep on the bed that is buried at the current time. Then my mom is flying back with Kaya and myself on Oct. 15th. My mom is the BEST person to have around when you are moving!!! She doesn't mess around at all!!! She already said that most of the week after next, she will take Kaya to school and then pack during the day. How easy do I have it? LOL Seriously, I am SOOOOOO grateful that she will be here (oh, this was planned for her to come that week anyway to help out some while Mark was gone, but now she is going to stay another week too!!). I will obviously help when I get home from work. Of course that week is a wild one too. Kaya's 2 year pictures on Wed the 17th and then the Light the Night walk on the 18th. Phew.... I am tired just thinking about all that needs to happen before Halloween!! Oh yeah, I decided to make Kaya's costume too, LMAO! I just couldn't find one that I really liked to buy for the money, and I found the cutest thing in Parents magazine. There is no sewing involved and it looks super easy... of course, you know how that always goes!

Well, time to get to packing, cleaning, and doing the mounds of laundry! I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend!! The weather is just BEAUTIFUL!!!! Enjoy it!!

Bring on the drama!!!

Well, you know that saying "If it is too good to be true...." I was thinking that big time today!!! Mark called me this morning to tell me that our real estate had just called him to say that the seller wanted to back out of her end of the signed offer agreement contract. I was like "WHAT THE F*CK?!". She stated that she felt she wasn't getting enough money for the house... so she might just rent it instead!!!! Well that is great that you think that... but it is a little too late for that one!!! LOL

After me fuming for a good hour or so.... Mark still went to the planned inspection at 1:30 this afternoon, because bascially we are moving forward as planned towards our October 19th close date (that got updated from Oct 15th due to Mark being out of town all that week). Our agent talked with the title company attorney's, and they basically said that we have all the legal recourse that we could have on our side. This woman signed a legal offer contract and that is that!! We are NOT backing down at this point. We just can't let her get her way or whatever crap she is trying to pull. Mark thinks she might have gotten another offer right after ours or something. I think it is that... or she is trying to play the money game with us (which she is not getting another penny from us) or she is just an idiot!!!! At the inspection today, her agent's office (it was not her actual agent that was there, but another agent for the same office) said that the house was staged (furniture and all, which I suspected b/c all of the furniture was too nice to just be sitting there) and this woman did this for a living... like she might be a flipper or something. What a dumb ass though!!! You would think she should know better!!! We offered her the full asking price... so she just needs to get over the whole thing, LOL. Her decision to maybe just rent or whatever should have been made in the 50+ days the house was on the market!!

So.... like I said, we are moving forward like all is fine. We will be there at close, and if she doesn't show up.. she is screwed! At that point, we will have to decide if we want to sue her or not for the house... which all that we have talked to (our agent, title attorney's, mortgage guy) think that a judge would rule on our side no matter what b/c of the signed paperwork. At this point, I don't think we would want to go down that long road.. that would be pretty nuts!! You have to think that the fact that we didn't coward away today shows her we are serious and that she better stick to closing... otherwise, she could be in for a lot more money!!!

So.... bring on the drama!!!! I should have know that buying a house for us wouldn't be so simple!!!! LOL

We got the house!!!

The seller asked to close on October 15th!!!! WOW!! Mark pulled the boxes down from the attic and the packing has begun! Our mortgage guy thinks the loan can be done in that time, so we will see!!! We don't have to be out our rented house until October 31st, so we have some time to move! We are VERY excited!!!