SOLD!

As of 4pm yesterday, we are no longer homeowners. This is bittersweet, as I really did like our house despite its challenges and quirks. It's also bittersweet, as it's been a long, hard road to get this sold. We had multiple agents, a deal that fell through, many price changes, and ended up spending far more money on this process than we ever anticipated. Although we didn't lose money on this deal, we certainly did not end up with the amount we originally thought we would. In the end, it was a learning experience, particularly trying to finalize the deal that actually got the house sold. Lessons learned: 1. Don't try to sell a house from out of state. 2. Don't accept bad service from your agent - they work for you, not the other way around. 3. Realize that it can easily be many months before your house will sell. 4. Don't be afraid to negotiate. 5. Sometimes you have to just cut your losses and move on.

Things I loved about this house: the work we put into it to make it ours. From scraping the wallpaper off the living room walls, to selecting the light fixtures (I will especially miss the ceiling fan in the master bedroom), to painting almost every room, to remodeling the bathroom (including tiling the bath), to installing cove moulding and refinishing the beam in the living room - we put a lot of time and money into this little place. And it was special because of that. Would I buy a place that required this much work again? Not unless I knew we were going to be there for at least 5 years. AT LEAST. I'm also a little sad that we won't be able to buy a house for another 6 years at the very earliest. I detest renting, but have accepted it as part of what we have to do to get where we want to go (see blog title).

Things I did not love about this house: the damp basement, rickety garage, giant oak tree, old kitchen with 3 door ways, drafty-ness, cuckoo neighbors with broken down VW van in the driveway (such a lovely view from our bedroom!).

Justin Update: He's over 9 lbs. now, and has a little cold. He's stuffed up, so he is sleeping best in his bouncy chair with his head elevated. Despite feeling bad, he's still being a sweety. Hopefully the cold will be gone in a few days. Once he starts feeling better, we're going to start sleep entrainment. This means that I will not feed him on demand at night (between 12pm-5am), but when he wakes up, I'll delay feeding him in order for him to learn that he can sleep for longer periods without needing to eat immediately upon waking. In theory, this means he should be sleeping for 5-6 hours within a few weeks of starting the entrainment. Wish me luck!