Fingers crossed …

Man on man I am tired. My back hurts. My mind is going 90 miles a hour. And the fun has only begun. I am beginning to think that I will never have a smooth move ever again. The last and only smooth move we’ve ever had was when we bought our house in Sumter and we took 2 weeks moving into the new house. Each day I would pack up a room and take to the new house & put the items where they belonged. That took a week. We saved all the heavy stuff for last & then Hubby arranged for co-workers to come help move the big stuff. It was all done in 4 hours. Then I spent the last week cleaning the base house, doing a room or so a day. No stress, no fuss. It was super simple and easy. Even with a 15 month old at the time. Should have known then that it was going to be a one time deal lol. Oh well.

Hubby went for his "official" TMO appointment to arrange the packers/movers. Of course you know there would be a snag with that. But, we’ll make it work … somehow. If this move doesn’t convince him that he needs to discuss every.tiny.little.detail with me in the future, well I give up. He now realizes his mistake with scheduling his retirement ceremony the week before we leave … again.

So in case I didn’t mention it in a previous entry I’ll do so now. Besides there is more information to add to the story now anyway and I’m sure we could use a refresher on the story anyway. MIL (Mom-In-Law) informed me that yes, she will be coming for the retirement ceremony, plus FIL (Dad-In-Law) – which Hubby doesn’t know about. So shhhhhhhhh! It’s a secret!!! First, I don’t do well with secrets! The less I know the happier I am! And this is so huge for Hubby! He’s all upset thinking his parents don’t love him enough to come share this momentous occasion with him and it’s hard for me to listen to him knowing they are coming. MIL is waiting till last minute to tell Hubby she is 100% coming and then when we go to pick her up from the airport, he’ll be surprised with FIL being with her. Gah! I hate surprises!!! So anyway, she is arranging to come in on Sept. 12th and leaving either the 16th or 17th. Then our friends Phil & Sharla (Phil is a CMSgt and is officiating the ceremony) are driving up on the 13th. The ceremony is Sept. 14th at 2pm. We will be celebrating The Child’s 11th birthday on the 15th since the In-Laws will be here (even though Hubby has no clue). We are inviting The Child’s BFF’s family and 1 or 2 more of her little friends she plays with in the neighborhood. Then hopefully everyone will be leaving on the 16th, or at least Phil & Sharla so that we can pack our suitcases and set aside stuff to keep with us and live out of/off of for the next 2 or 3 weeks till our furniture and stuff arrives in Kansas.

The original plan was for the packers to pack on the 17th & 18th & then ship on the 19th because we turn the key in on the 20th. Yeah, TMO changed their policy and so now the packers will start on the 14th. Uhm, the ceremony is at 2pm on the 14th. We can’t miss that. But we can’t start on the 17th and then they load on the 20th because we turn the key in at 10am on the 20th so that idea is not feasible. So when the packers come to do their walk through, they will be informed that everyone has to leave by 1pm at the latest that day. We will have them pack up all the garage/outside stuff that day. There isn’t a whole lot of it, and normally that stuff is saved for last but since there will be 6 adults, 1 kid & 4 dogs, well, they just won’t be able to start the inside that day. Sorry folks. Housing won’t let us change our turn in date because the waiting list is so long for housing that once you sign on the dotted line, it is a done deal, no exceptions. So although it is a huge inconvenience for them to start packing with a house full of people, it is do-able and we’ll make it work … with God’s good grace.

So if you don’t hear from me from Sept. 12th – 20th, that is why … I’m too drunk to get online! LOL

We found a house in Dodge City. It wasn’t even on our list. Well, I’d been looking at it online but it was a little bit above our price range so I didn’t bother adding it to the list. Our day started out at 4am, attaching the U-haul trailer with his fully loaded tool box strapped to it, to the car. That was not fun lifting that up!! We were on the road by 5 am. I tried to talk Hubby into leaving at 6 or 7 but no, he needed to be there by 10 am because the shop closed at noon. ???? !!!!!!!! So we get into town at 9:20am. !!!!!!!!!!   Dropped the tool box off (took all of 10 mins.) and proceeded to fill our time till noon when we were scheduled to meet with the Realtor. It rained most of the way there. Once in Dodge City, it didn’t rain but it was real cloudy and dreary looking.

The first house we looked at, I didn’t like for 2 reasons: 1) the house smelled strongly of Pine-Sol so that makes me wonder what smell she was trying to cover up 2) the kitchen was in bad shape. The 2nd house we liked and would have put in an offer but the receptionist at the Realtor’s office screwed up & told the home owner the wrong date, even though she had the correct date in the book. So when we didn’t show, as far as the home owner & listing Realtor was concerned, they accepted an offer from someone else. Those people made it known that they wanted that house and would outbid any other offers. So there went that house. We don’t have time to get into a bidding war. The 3rd house was the one I wrote about in my last entry and I will write about that in a minute. The 4th house was cute and quaint and "contemporary" for a young, childless couple just starting out. It would so not work for us. Plus, it had a separate garage/workshop in the backyard & Hubby noticed some warped boards on the outside of it (water damage) and when he started poking at them, I started sneezing so that was my clue for MOLD! No thank you very much!!! The 5th & final house we looked at is the one we put an offer on.

So the 3rd house … the pictures did not do it justice. It looked worse in person than in pictures. It needs a lot of updates, least of which would be paint. The size was perfect but it was going to end up costing a lot of money in the long run to update everything. The garage doors are actually like clear doors but painted. From inside the garage you could see the brush strokes. So those would have ended up needing replacing eventually. The basement access was not in an ideal location (I know I’m being nit-picky). There was only 1 tub in the house & it didn’t have a shower head with it. The kitchen/dining and main bathroom had carpet (SO.FREAKING.GROSS!!!!) while the MB bath had 1960’s tile. The paint was atrocious at best. They didn’t take time or care with it. You could tell they didn’t bother with tape at all and it looked like they used a child’s paint brush to do the work with. That wall paper in the kitchen/dining room was made of (I don’t know the correct name for it) straw/cloth type material. The outside paint job was done in probably 2 hours. They used a sprayer and didn’t bother to clean it off the windows & screens. And again, they used a child’s paint brush to paint the trim. They had painted the bricks in a faux finish that looked tacky at best. Cement had been poured all around the base of the house & it was painted green (yuck!) so I wouldn’t even be able to plant flower beds next to the house. Quite a few of the bricks on the porch/steps were loose or falling off. All in all, as much as I would like to have had that house, the "look" of it was just too stomach turning for me. Then you’d factor in the cost of updating and we’ll, if I’m going to be spending that kind of money, why not just do it from the get go & put it towards a newer, better house that doesn’t need as much work. We went back & drove up and down the street and if we did put that much money into it, we wouldn’t get it back if we sold unless everyone else on the street did the same to theirs.

So we decided on house #5. When we turned the corner to come up on the street, all of a sudden the sun shone through all the clouds. I kid you not! It was such a welcoming site, the sun and the house lol, but I kept an open mind, especially since I knew Hubby was not wanting to spend the few extra dollars lol. He went in before I did and when I heard him say "wow", I took that as a good sign lol. The house had lots of light (coming in from the windows) and I could imagine with the right touch, it could feel very warm and welcoming. I’ve always been all about the warm fuzzies. And those that know me in real life know that I have to have lots of light. I grew up with my Mom having room darkening curtains on the windows (and pinned to the wall so no light came in from around the curtains) and low lighting inside. It always feels like a funeral home in her house. I can’t stand that!!! I have to have lots of light!!! So this house having lots of outside light inside, was a good sign for me. House # 3 didn’t have that but then again, it was real cloudy out when we were looking at it.

The monthly payment will be roughly $35 more a month than house #3. Hubby (the penny-pincher he is) was looking at the final monthly payment so I finally got him to understand that if we went with the cheaper payment we would be spending the difference plus more each month buying stuff. Hell a gallon of paint is roughly $30 by itself. So once he understood that aspect, he was in full agreement with the newer house. Especially since he said he did not want to be coming home after work, renovating and spending his entire weekends "fixing up" – that would all be my job. So this way, he can come home, sit on the couch all evening in his man cave and be a happy retired civilian.

The PRO’s to house #5: newer house, less upgrades; 3 car garage; whirlpool tub in main bathroom; covered front porch and covered patio; corner lot with fire hydrant in yard; flower beds already in place; a nicer, quieter neighborhood; outskirts of town so less traffic; all in all it has a lot of good qualities.

The CON’s to house #5: no fenced in backyard; beyond awful wall paper in the basement & master bedroom; small master bedroom; laminate hardwood floors on main level; tiny, tiny, laundry room (I’m scared our front loaders are not going to fit!); open floor plan for the living, dining, kitchen areas (I prefer separate rooms); small-ish kitchen (but base housing has prepared me for that! LOL); all in all most of these qualities are fixable or can be lived with.

If our offer is accepted, we will do a walk through on Sept. 21st and move in on Sept. 22 with the closing being no later than Oct. 12th. House #3 & 5 are the only 2 that we can take early possession on before closing. We will be "renting" from the seller for $35 per day till closing … which is a lot cheaper than a hotel! LOL And that will give us (and when I say us I actually mean ME) time to paint the living/dining room … that pink wall has to go!! and to paint The Child’s room before our furniture arrives. If I have time, I will also remove the wall paper from the master bedroom too. I’ll worry about the downstairs later on. But for the time being, and preferably while the house is still empty & easier to work with, the painting needs to be done ASAP. My olive green furniture will not go with that pink/melon wall & The Child’s room is a dark blue right this minute lol.

My Dad is home and resting comfortably. They have declined Hospice coming in for the time being. He feels he doesn’t need it yet. But once he has reached that point or my Step-Mom feels she needs the help, then Hospice will come in. They have both told me NOT to come home yet. They both want me to stay here and deal with this move for as long as I can. They both did promise that if things change, they will call me to come home, and they understand the importance that I need 2 days full driving time to get there so they know they can NOT wait till the last minute to call me home. Daddy promised that he would behave and do his best to co-operate so that I can come home right after the house closing in October. If he can make it till then, I will be in the free and clear and can afford to go home for as long as I am needed. Not that Hubby would like that. But he also knows the situation so he would deal with whatever needs dealing with.

In the meantime, I will continue to deal with all the snide "bad daughter" comments I am receiving, hearing, being told about. Sure it hurts that people think such horrible thoughts about me but I can’t control their thoughts or tongues. As long as my God and my Dad know the full story, that is all that matters to me. To hell with small minded individuals. Obviously if I wasn’t in the middle of a move, I would have already been there, to sit around and be useless. But life hasn’t always been kind to me, and things have not gone smoothly for me in the past. I do the best that I can do with what I am given to work with. If you can do a better job living my life, by all means come take over and show me how things can be done much better.

So there you go. I have more I could write about but I’m sure you are tired of reading me at this point. I’ll spare you any more of my mindless ramblings lol. Till next time ….