could it be?

Could it be we actually have found a new house?!!! After some SERIOUS internet research, this house and neighborhood seems to have everything we both wanted! We double our square footage and add 2 bedrooms for LESS than our house here, not to mention how BEAUTIFUL we think the area is and how much more we like the colonial-style traditional architecture :) We are both enjoying the idea (and the 5 minutes of respite) thinking that we may have made all the major decisions and plans regarding this move!

It was so stressful to figure out how the money was going to flow, all the logistics, would Dave get a job? Would he like his new job? Would the timing work out? All these things were in my mind like a ball in a pinball machine, none of which involved thinking about our upcoming life change becoming parents, for example. I haven't even gotten to that whole notion yet.

However, at the moment (and for the last 5 minutes) at least, things seem to be pretty squared away. I think we spent the last 72 hours talking at length about various scenarios and decisions--what if this, that would be bad---not that I can remember what could have possibly taken that long. All I know is that the sales consultant for our new house said "WOW, you both have really thought about everything. It sounds like you're all set." Which felt good. Oh, and my husband, whom I love dearly, and whom occasionally likes to laugh *WITH* me about my colossal ditzy-ness, actually COMPLIMENTED me and THANKED me for all the organization and planning and financial scenarios I've shown him so that we could make good decisions for the future. My mom said she was impressed too. (Those of you who know me know that this historically hasn't been my strong suit. Ask me to decorate your house or design your logo instead.)

So--yeah, the stress is (cross your fingers) turning to relief--at least for this last 5 minutes, like I said. Today a prospective buyer emailed me to ask me for a blank Purchase & Sale Agreement. Which, I assume, means he is going to give back to me with numbers and signatures. That would be wonderful!


OK, so back to our new house!! Look at the wall panelling in this dining room. Ours will not have crazy furniture like this picutre, so just look at the panelling. The house is sooooo gorgeous--crown moulding, chair rails, big windows with multiple panes--columns. We get to pick everything--the cabinets, the wood flooring colors, the carpet, the tiles, the appliances. It has 4 bedrooms and a study for Dave. It's got a deck and a fireplace. We're really excited. It's in the middle of wine country in the foothills of the Shenandoahs. There are tons of golf courses around. Dave likes to play golf. I assume there are cows and horses. I can't believe it's so inexpensive relative to house values here. Granted, it's a townhouse. But we don't want to mow the lawn anyway.

For those of you who know the Seattle region, our new life will be like if Dave went to Seattle U or UW and worked in downtown Seattle and we lived in Trossachs or North Bend. In a neighborhood the size of Redmond Ridge with trails and tennis courts and swimming pools, with a school district as good as Lake Washington. Just on the edge of the suburbs and a rural environment. I used to think I would loathe the suburbs, and don't even get me started about rural areas, but somehow, when they're close to a large metropolitan area, I really like living on that beautiful edge of civilization. I like the rolling hills, and the cows and horses, and the horsey-fences--but only if they're painted white.

So--it occurs to me that I haven't said much about Dave's thought process with his job decisions. It basically comes down to a strategic career move. More employers would recognize WestLaw on his resume, and there's a huge Intellectual Property Law firm on the first floor where he'll work. Plus, there are long-term career opportunities with Thompson-Reuters--owners of WestLaw. So there you go. It doesn't hurt that they have a huge tuition reimbursement program and excellent benefits. We found out about that stuff afterwards largely. But he's HAPPY.

In other news, cash-flow-wise, Dave will be starting at WestLaw on May 12th, and I will be staying behind to sell the house. For some reason that my mind can't explain or comprehend right now, we can pay for a whole semester of school out of pocket if I stay behind. So there you have it.

In pregnancy news, it's impossible to sleep when you have leg cramps, heartburn & insomnia. It's really fun to be anemic with no energy and 80,000,000 things to do--some of which involve packing and moving large objects. Anyway, I have iron supplements and Prilosec prescriptions now. But that's not helping the leg cramps, and the relief part hasn't totally kicked in yet.

OK, it's late, and I'm going to go entertain myself by doing new furniture layouts for our new house to make sure our gigantic king size bed will fit without looking bizarre in our new house. Maybe I won't have to move everything afterall. :)

More soon! We miss you, email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com.

so many things!

OK--so Dave decided. He wants the job he really really wanted all along. He accepted at Thompson West--makers of West Law--the on-line legal research service. He starts May 26th. Yippee!



I scheduled the movers, confirmed our temporary housing address, and now it's just a packing festival. We leave Seattle on May 10th and begin our cross-country odyssey.

Lumbley and I have our first baby appointment in DC on May 21st. I probably have to move that to after the 26th--dunno, checking on our insurance coverage.

We also had 2 more showings today on our house--one group stayed for 30 minutes. Is that a good sign?!

Everytime someone looks at the house the doggies and I pile into the car and go for a drive. The doggies like to smell all the smells and bark at the horses and cows. Today we walked for an hour before our car ride, so they were pretty mellow.

Our banker is arranging financing for our next house in DC and things are just all falling together. So we will arrive with a letter in our hands saying we're pre-approved with access to a down payment and everything.

I promise to be more witty and clever very soon--when I have a touch more time :)

More soon!
:)

how sweet!

Hi again :) So I hosted 'Noche de Arte' -- mostly because I'm leaving forever, and my house is the most finished it's ever been in my life. It has curtains and art work and area rugs and plants and it's all painted and it even has 'home accessories' artfully placed and everything. The thing I didn't understand until recently is that 95% of the space in your house is not for books and clothes and "stuff," it's best when that space is filled sparingly with furniture and home accessories. That's when it feels calm and tranquil and pleasant to spend time there. So--again--I hosted 'Noche de Arte' because I was so excited about my major acheivement that I wanted to share it with my friends.

I made the most delicious salsa and guacamole and we had yummy margaritas (mine was non-alcoholic) and my girlie friends came over. Noche de Arte started out as an Arts & Crafts get together and it's become a monthly chatfest, mostly about wedding planning and new motherhood. It's a great reality check about balancing everything from marriage to careers to family and where to get the coolest purse like my friend Heather's new one. So--it's deeply rejuvenating.

My friend Helena whom I love dearly and who used to be my running pal, offered awhile back to throw me a baby shower--for which I said 'that's so sweet, but you have SOOO much going on with your new baby and planning your wedding reception--plus I have to move ASAP to settle into my new life in DC---thank you so much, but let's skip it! Alot can happen between now and then. (Like I just want to hold a healthy baby in my hands and make it to August 10th safely--let's see if we can get there). But my friends had other plans...

Normally everyone shows up with all their crafts--so I thought nothing about all the stuff coming through the door. And then after we all had freshly-squeezed margaritas in our hands, Helena put a Tiara on my head and they all said "SURPRISE!" They threw a surprise baby shower for me. HOW SWEET!

I was so suprised. It was the sweetest thing my friends have ever done for me! And it was hilarious. We played "Let's measure Tara's tummy with toilet paper" and "Let's guess which mushed up candy bar is in the diaper" It was super fun. And, I hope not TOO much stress for everyone along with what they've all got on their plates.

In baby news, I am a HUGE heffalump. None of my girlie friends thought so--and they were all like "I was so much bigger by 6 months--no fair" but I have GAINED 20 POUNDS. You're only supposed to gain 25-35 pounds TOTAL. So--at the rate I'm going, I'll be up at least 42 pounds. WHAAAAA. I guess I've relaxed a bit on my good habits. :( Yesterday my doctor prescribed Prilosec (thank God) and there is no surface I am comfortable coming into contact with--chair, bed, whatever. I am just physically uncomfortable all the time.

I just found out--I am NOT diabetic--hurray. They send you for additional tests if you're numbers are above 140 somethings. Mine was 71. But, I am ANEMIC--despite eating my Grape Nuts--which--incidentally, if you stick a magnet close to them, they will stick to it because of all the iron. So--that didn't work. I will be taking additional iron supplements. No wonder I've been so darn tired all the time. And no wonder I had heart palipatations. :(

In other news, DAVE GOT A JOB OFFER! And he's waiting on a SECOND JOB OFFER!! He got the job he really really wanted. And he's also really excited about the second one too. It's going to be a tough decision for him. One had a killer location and it's part of the legal industry, the other is likely to offer a more generous package and he really really liked the people. So--it's a toss up. We have a lot to talk about when he gets back!

We've also had strong showings at our house. My friend Christie is a real estate agent and she says we're doing everything right. (Whew!) She says our numbers are all good--BUT--houses in our area AVERAGE 90 days on the market. #@$%^&*! Double #@$%^&*! So we might rent out 10610 after all. I talked to our banker and I've done some market research, it could actuallly work. More on all that soon.

So--now it looks like our move date is May 11th or thereabouts. Dave's two week's notice, time to schedule the movers, yadda, yadda. So much happening.

More soon! We miss you! Email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com.

finally.

OK, so people came to look at the house today finally. Perhaps it was being preoccupied with taxes? Dunno. We also did some more extensive market comparisions and came up with and average cost/sq. ft. for our area--and consequently lowered our price 5%. Maybe that was it. Dunno. We will see what happens!

Dave is in DC right now, and he even got to eat dinner. Sometimes you don't when you're flying West to East. He said his suits arrived with minimal wrinkling which is good too. He's very much looking forward to his interviews early next week. Me too!

In pregnancy news, my shoes are tighter! I guess that's normal. Irritating, but normal. And Lumbley is quite the KICKER. He seems to like spicy foods and he thinks my bedtime is time to party. I have a doctor's appointment Wednesday, where I get to drink pure glucose and be subjected to a diabetes test. I doubt I have diabetes. I'm already eating everything a diabetic should eat and I exercise and drink tons of water. So--I am not worried. I guess the big deal with gestational diabetes is your baby grows too big and you have to have a c-section. Also, not a big deal if it happens. I just want a healthy baby.

I also scheduled some appointments in DC with my new doctor! By the time we get there, I will be going to see her every two weeks. We will see if I actually make it to my first one on May 19th! Cross your fingers.



In doggie news, we went on lots of walks today and also played frisbee on a very slippery icy tennis court. It snowed last night and much of today--which was very weird.

I know, my blog is super boring at the moment, which is why I haven't posted in awhile. It's a lot of hurry up and wait while you're showing your house and waiting for everything to come together.

More soon!
:)

renters & real estate agents :(

Hi again! Twelve days, 35 flyers, multiple web postings, 3 signs, and ZERO showings later, we still have not had a viable phone call about our house for sale. Though, 4 real estate agents have offered to list it for us, and one woman has offered to rent it out at a $700/month loss to us. Things have changed since the heyday of the day you list it, the day it sells in Seattle. Waaaa. I will host an open house this weekend. Incidentally, it IS listed, and we are paying the buyer's agent their full commission!

So, Dave's job interviews are next Monday and Tuesday. And now he has one Wednesday too with a third company. I am really crossing my fingers.

Lumbley kicks HARD. He's just over 12" long and 1 pound but GEEZ he can kick. He keeps weird hours too. So, consequently, so do I! And, despite the fact that his home is the size of a soccer ball at this point, I have the kind of heartburn that feels like anything I eat just stops at the back of my gullet and goes no further down. No wonder I don't have much of an appetite. I haven't weighed myself lately, but my guess is I'm up around 18 pounds. Mostly baby belly. I still look normal from a total front or back view.

Now we have a storage unit with 45 boxes in it. We still have an alarming number of boxes in the garage. It's nothing like the neat, tidy pictures on everyone else's house for sale ad. I need the TV people to swoop in and help me :)

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Will we get to move? Will I give birth in Iowa? Will we have home or just boxes and temporary housing?
Hrumph. Does anyone have access to a fortune teller?

As usual, more soon.

what a bummer!

OK. So the powers that be are punishing me for my bravado. I actually thought as soon as we listed our house, our phone would be ringing off the hook with people clamoring for a showing. Whatever. No one has called or emailed--despite our perfect execution complete with signage, an MLS blitz, and staging. Whatever!!

If I spin my 'magical thinking' more positively, perhaps the powers that be knew we just needed that one extra weekend to really be ready. Clear some clutter, touch up some paint. Hide certain realities. OK, but we're ready now. It's time for that darn phone to RING, gosh darnit.

I have to say, I love our house when 90% of our stuff is in the garage. It's somewhere between tranquil space that you might see in a magazine, and fun hotel where life is all about TV and take out. Why is it so hard to keep the clutter to a minimum? And why is it so hard to throw stuff away? Why do I need all the stuff in my garage?

We threw the frisbee and the ball for the doggies today on a very slippery tennis court. It was more like ice skating with balls and frisbees. The dogs liked it though and tired dogs are always a good thing.

I've read that it's really important to drink tons of water when you're pregnant, lest you risk pre-term labor. So, I've ramped up my 64 ounces to approaching 96. Apparently you need 128 ounces (A GALLON) a day when you're breastfeeding. YIKES.
Now, if I could just develop a preference for healthy and nutritious food. I'd have it all going on.

OK, it's L*A*T*E and we have special 'move-out' housecleaner people coming at 8:30 am tomorrow. Ciao for now!

Miss you. Email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com.

it's official!

We actually listed our house everywhere today. Check it out!

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/rfs/628113203.html

http://sea.themlsonline.com/details.search/c5dd4e89cc9c296d9ce78bece6d788ab/1/results/28058606

And, Dave's interviewing a lot the week of April 21st in DC. In fact, his former manager at Reuters now works for the parent company of West Law and he sent a glowing recommendation to the hiring manager for the new position. So we are crossing our fingers.

The Title & Escrow company said their fastest closing ever was in 2 days. So we may just be moving May 1st after all with actual money and everything.

In Cesar news (say-ZAHR with dramatic emphasis on the ZAHR!), I bought a doggie backpack for our Aussie, Merlin. In general I am opposed to dressing up dogs in clothing of any kind, except possibly reindeer antlers at Christmastime, but Cesar says a backpack gives a dog a job. Apparently this helps the dog psychologically. Especially working dogs. Though, I am completely mortified that neighbors are thinking I am a total sped--either dog or hiking enthusiast. So it's embarrassing for me. Merlin seems to like it though and he is more relaxed after our walks. So, I will bear the humiliation of too much 'FLAIR'.

Lumbley is kicking a lot and I made Dave read him a bedtime story last night. The Velveteen Rabbit is one of my favorite stories and we will read it religiously whilst Lumbley is in-utero.

We miss you! Email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com