When I sat down to write an entry I planned on writing about getting our house ready for sale--cleaning mop boards, de-cluttering, boxing up unused items, etc. But who wants to write about that, let alone read about it?
I thought it would be more interesting to write about our step stool. It's just a plain step stool, nothing fancy, nothing extraordinary. We got it for a wedding gift almost 11 years ago and for most of that time sat unused until about a year and a half ago.
I can't remember exactly when it started but it was when little Kennedy was old enough to understand that she could stand on the step stool and watch what Mommy was doing in the kitchen. At first we pulled it out when we made something special like cookies or pancakes. Then Kennedy became agile enough to pull the stool out of the pantry herself. Then it was used more and more. Then Kennedy found that she liked to play in the sink while Mommy worked in the kitchen. When we tried to put things up high that she wasn't supposed to reach her solution to the problem was her "tep tool".
Kennedy soon learned that the step stool was just that, a tool! She started using the stool to her advantage. Rarely was Kennedy seen in the kitchen without her stool. One time I set Kennedy up with a movie while I went upstairs to take a shower. She usually stays still and never moves while a movie is on. When I got out of the shower I heard a commotion and had a feeling I should check on her. When I came down she was in the garage with her step stool. She had used it to turn on the light and she was playing in the car and just as I opened the door she was reaching up to my garage door remote to open the door!
She has used the step stool to do many naughty things. She recently learned that she could reach the top of the refrigerator if she could get on to the counter. Again, the step stool. This became worrisome and I started storing the stool in the garage but that does not deter her. She is too clever.
Yesterday while I was busy cleaning up the breakfast dishes I turned around and on the top step of the stool, just as big as he could be, was Tristan! I just about had a heart attack! Now the level of worry over the step stool has increased. I guess the step stool has passed down to baby brother now!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Uncomfortable Call
Over the last week I have interviewed three realtors in hopes of finding someone with the right plan to sell my house. At first my objective was to get as many opinions as possible and then sell the house myself. That was before we put an offer on another house. Now we are feeling crunched for time because our closing date will be April 16. This is all sooner than we anticipated and we aren't in the mood to deal with the hassle of selling the house ourselves.
I interviewed two very competent realtors from two different companies. They both came with a lot of information about my house and other houses in the area. They were prepared to win me over. I was impressed with both. The realtor we are using to buy the other house showed up with a packet that I was expected to read over myself (and understand) then measured all my rooms. Not impressed. Where's the pitch? He did offer his services at a whole percent lower than the other two but when it came down to it I felt more comfortable with the other realtors.
I tried to convince Chris that he should be the one to call our realtor and tell him we were going with someone else. We both knew, however, that I should be the one to call since I did the interviewing. I HATE these uncomfortable situations. I am always so worried that I will hurt someone's feelings or offend or make someone angry. It's ironic because I am the customer and it's my money. That's how I am though. I would rather be inconvenienced than offend someone.
I made the phone call this morning and it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. The realtor was very nice and understanding. That was a load off my shoulders. I seem to make things worse in my mind but when I really do it, it's not so bad. I'm still glad it's over.
I interviewed two very competent realtors from two different companies. They both came with a lot of information about my house and other houses in the area. They were prepared to win me over. I was impressed with both. The realtor we are using to buy the other house showed up with a packet that I was expected to read over myself (and understand) then measured all my rooms. Not impressed. Where's the pitch? He did offer his services at a whole percent lower than the other two but when it came down to it I felt more comfortable with the other realtors.
I tried to convince Chris that he should be the one to call our realtor and tell him we were going with someone else. We both knew, however, that I should be the one to call since I did the interviewing. I HATE these uncomfortable situations. I am always so worried that I will hurt someone's feelings or offend or make someone angry. It's ironic because I am the customer and it's my money. That's how I am though. I would rather be inconvenienced than offend someone.
I made the phone call this morning and it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. The realtor was very nice and understanding. That was a load off my shoulders. I seem to make things worse in my mind but when I really do it, it's not so bad. I'm still glad it's over.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Offer
After much deliberation we decided to put an offer on the Weldon Ridge home. We ran into a few snafus though. Before we sent in an official offer we had our realtor enquire about a few things.
1. There is an unfinished storage area above the garage that we thought would be a perfect "bonus room" for the kids to play in. We asked if the builder could finish it. The answer was no.
2. There is some flooring in the hall bathroom and utility room that is not quite our style. We wanted to know if the builder could change that out for us. The answer was no.
After being shot down on both requests we had to think about if we still liked the house. The answer was YES! so we put in an official offer. We wanted to get as late of closing as possible since Chris doesn't start his faculty job until July. We asked for May 15 which we knew as a long shot. Again the answer was no, March 6. We were starting to wonder if the builder just didn't want us to buy the house.
We had our realtor call the builder and ask if she could compromise. She came back with April 16 so I guess we are going to shoot for that. Now we will have to get our house ready for the market. My mom is going to come out to help me with the kids the end of February so hopefully we can get this going and sell our house by the time we close.
Today after church we drove to the house to see how far it is going to be. Our ward boundaries were changed today and we will be going to a building in Chapel Hill. The new house is actually really close to the new building and will be a quicker drive to church than our current home.
1. There is an unfinished storage area above the garage that we thought would be a perfect "bonus room" for the kids to play in. We asked if the builder could finish it. The answer was no.
2. There is some flooring in the hall bathroom and utility room that is not quite our style. We wanted to know if the builder could change that out for us. The answer was no.
After being shot down on both requests we had to think about if we still liked the house. The answer was YES! so we put in an official offer. We wanted to get as late of closing as possible since Chris doesn't start his faculty job until July. We asked for May 15 which we knew as a long shot. Again the answer was no, March 6. We were starting to wonder if the builder just didn't want us to buy the house.
We had our realtor call the builder and ask if she could compromise. She came back with April 16 so I guess we are going to shoot for that. Now we will have to get our house ready for the market. My mom is going to come out to help me with the kids the end of February so hopefully we can get this going and sell our house by the time we close.
Today after church we drove to the house to see how far it is going to be. Our ward boundaries were changed today and we will be going to a building in Chapel Hill. The new house is actually really close to the new building and will be a quicker drive to church than our current home.
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