Being Proactive

Well, we're kind of over it. With no real end in sight, an expired contract, and the bank calling for yet another property appraisal on the short sale house we're trying to buy, we are headed to the East Coast this weekend to find a new home. If we find one we love, we will make an offer. Unless, of course, we magically hear an answer before then (highly unlikely). The good news is that we have found about 12 houses that all look very promising. It feels good to finally be back in control, after sitting around and waiting for the bank for nearly seven months. We are so done with them! I could go on and on... but that's not really the focus of this blog (though it certainly does affect our family life).

In the meantime... Let the packing finally begin! I didn't want to start packing prematurely, but the houses we're all looking at are regular sales and we would be looking for a quick closing... so I guess it's time! Tomorrow morning, I'm going to load the kids up in the wagon and walk to my old coworker's new house (a few houses up the street). He had stopped by a week or two ago to tell me he had a ton of moving boxes we could have, so I'm hoping to take him up on that offer. I don't even know where to begin, but it still feels good to be proactive!

In the meantime, summer continues here in full force. Today's agenda included running errands in the morning, watching Mommy exercise (which is apparently VERY entertaining), having a picnic lunch (as usual), lots of playing outside, pretending the wagon was a boat (with a broom for an oar), talking to the kids next door (and Bonnie) through the fence, splashing in the pool, riding bikes, and (my pièce de résistance) "painting" our back fence with paintbrushes and buckets of water. Dinner was good, the house was clean, and I felt like Super Mom. So... there you go! Not a bad day, despite a few typical meltdowns over who-had-what-toy (refer to Nikos' face, below, for photographic proof, haha!). Here's hoping that we have some real progress by this time next week!