Let's Catch You All Up...

(I started this blog the other night, due to obvious reasons, I got tired and went to bed before it's completion..  Finishing it out today)
I'm sitting on my couch with a glass of Jack Daniels and Pepsi on the end table next to me. Before you stage an intervention, this is not a regular occurrence. Obviously, because one glass had me explaining Peter and the Wolf (Sergei Prokofiev version) to Andy while he kindly acknowledged me occasionally glancing over his laptop with a smile.

Alcohol is not the answer to any problem. Unfortunately, after a bubble bath, meditation and some yoga I simply can't get the muscles in my back to relax from how tense they have been over the last few days. I know, it's time to go see a chiropractor but for tonight.. cheers. 

The last few days have been a nightmare. They shouldn't have been. Motivated and incredibly flexible seller, fantastically resourceful realtor, available finances, what could go wrong? 

We'll start with Wednesday. We received our purchase agreement from Maureen via Dotloop that evening. Andy "Eeyore'd" his way through it,  e-signing/initialing at all of the required spots, sans expression or excitement. All of the sudden he exclaimed, "September 19th!!!" The realtor had scheduled the closing for September 19th, a month away. This had us scrambling most of that evening to pull the rest of the needed material together and begin planning our move. After a quick discussion with our Quicken Loans Lender, Nigel,we found out our monthly mortgage payment will be a mere $350 with escrow included at an interest rate of 4.5% and all we would have to bring to the table on the day of closing was $400 (A total closing cost of $1200 that includes the $400 appraisal fee and an Earnest Money Deposit of $500). We went to bed Wednesday night, excited and nervous.

Thursday morning I began Pinteresting. I decided that Antonio Gaudi would be my inspiration. 

Hellooooo Highpoint! Talk about increased appraisal value. I should call This Old House and see what they can do for me.

    On the way home that night, Andy spoke to Nigel who, out of no where asked, "Hey wait, are you guys relocating?" What? Of course we are. Where have you been all this time? Andy, with his fantastic deep voice and North Carolina accent slowly answered, "Yes..."Of course Nigel replied, "Well... that's going to be a problem."The VA requires the homebuyer to provide at least one pay stub from the job they are relocating to, unlike an FHA which simply requires a letter of intent stating the compensation   that has been offered and the date of hire.

How on earth are we going to do that before September 19th? We aren't. We will have to live there for approximately a month before Andy gets a pay stub. So the next 24 hours consisted of Andy and I pulling something out of our rear ends. On Friday afternoon, after a day filled with anxiety, we got the email that the seller has agreed to allow us to rent the home for a month and close in mid-October. Andy will be putting in his two weeks notice after Labor Day and we'll be giving our land lords notice when we turn in rent this month. We should be moving into the house September 20th. *commence lamaze breathing.. now*

My daughter, Haddie (4) was previously enrolled in Surry County's Pre-K program. Now that's going to be changing a bit. Guilford County has already closed their Pre-K registration for a year but they do have a program called Guilford Children that allows me to find a reputable daycare/Pre-K combo for free within the county. Pre-K isn't like Kindergarten, the county has a limited number of spaces and uses assessments to give the places to children they feel are in need of a Kindergarten prep-program. Haddie already knows her ABC's, can write her name and can count rather high. Although I'm not stressed about her ability to assimilate into Kindergarten efficiently, I would like her to have some friends in the area. That's why I decided to enroll her in Guilford Children.

As someone who enjoys consistency and planning, this move may be a bit difficult on Haddie but I'm trying my best to explain it to her. I've been looking for books about moving and Amazon has a pretty decent selection. She has seen pictures of the new house and has expressed excitement about being closer to her step-brothers. I think the biggest thing she's going to miss is her Daddy. We were given a dog recently who has latched herself onto Haddie and I think this will help. She has already shown signs of disciplinary improvement just by having that little friend to take everywhere and love on. I'll write about the dog on another day. Too much to put on here.

We'll be commuting back and forth a few times until the school semester is over, fortunately most of our classes are online.  My grandma was telling me that although she was happy that I was going to be able to experience new places, she thinks that I'm going to miss Surry and realize quickly what I'm missing when I leave. I'll miss that sigh of relief that I exhale every time cross the Surry town limits. Despite it's many flaws, this has always been home but I think it's time for us to establish our own family now. I'm looking forward to disproving the statistics one reads about divorced families by establishing a stable and loving home. I can't wait for Andy to be able to work 40 hours a week and still be able to pay bills on time. I can't wait to wake up at my usual 6-6:30am with Andy still laying beside me. Yeah, I'm going to miss the safety of Surry, but what is safety in comparison to a life filled with stability, substance and vivacity?

You can tell what I wrote today.. and what I wrote Friday night ;) but I suppose it's apparent that the muscles in my back have began to loosen. If anyone feels like helping us pack... You are welcome but don't be surprised if I'm a bit of a nut case. 

Mommy's New to Town

Andy is working over time this weekend so I'm drinking my Earl Grey, and listening to Elmo's sing along entertain my two kids while I get used to being awake. Our next door neighbors Jason and Della came over last night and I had one too many glasses of wine while we played Ticket to Ride after the kids went to bed. Caffeine please.

I was thinking this morning about a conversation I had a while back with someone who said that when he and his wife moved to a Virginia, she had the hardest time assimilating and meeting new people. Many folks meet people at the gym. Although I like Yoga, I'm not really a 'gym person'.

Not me. At all... although her legs are great! *takes another bite of 2000 calorie bagel*

Many NAVY wives who move a lot have resources for this but since we all can't be NAVY wives (You guys are so awesome), sites like Meetup.com exist. 

Knowing that I'd be moving to the area in the next few months, I joined the site and met a group of mom's with kids Augie's age. We recently went on a nice stroller walk and talk. You're not going to "click" with everyone you meet but at least you're getting out there. Editor and publisher of Hip Mama, Ariel Gore said, "I've never been socially outgoing, but I suspect I've gotten more and more ambivalent about making new friends. I'm irritated by how-do-you-do chit-chat but that's how new relationships usually begin." Some have a hard time with the chit-chat. I tend to get too personal too quick. "So how was your relationship with your father?" Don't judge me.


When you're looking at perspective homes, a good site to check out is Great Schools. If you do research, everyone says that hands on homeschooling is the best option. Not all of us are quite there yet.  Some of us work full time and me? Well... I wish I had that ability. I would probably even consider it if my kids weren't social butterflies like me. Haddie's learning style specifically is more attuned to a school setting. Augie might do ok. I have a few years to decide. So for those of us who send our kids to public school, you have resources! If you have a specific school in mind, you can type in the name of the school and see reviews from parents who currently or have recently had children enrolled. If you're new to the area like myself, typing in the zip code and widening the radius a bit helped. I was able to see reading and math testing scores and my favorite part is that the ratings are based on the opinions of other parents.

When we were considering the Winston Salem area as an option I typed in "Winston Salem Mom's" into my google search and came up with a list of websites specifically for mom's in the area. There are similar resources in the Southside, Peninsula, and the Tri-Cities area (Richmond). A specific site I found incredibly helpful for our move to the Triad (WS, Greensboro, High Point) was Triad Mom's on Main. It has a myriad of resources at one's disposal. If you're interested in the area I suggest checking it out.

Bottom line? If you're moving to a new area, you don't have to rely on fate to bring you friendly neighbors and decent co-workers. As a post-partum sufferer myself, I know it's tempting but don't just sit around at home and be lonely. You have options.

The kids and our friend Mary at Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg, Va. Kept the kids entertained for quite a while. *Two thumbs  up*

Exploration

We tend to find houses on Cherry street. For example: Moldy Jonestown House. two floors and a basement that includes small one bedroom apartment. When walked in the front door Sunday morning, after throwing our kids in the car with packages of Pop-tarts and water bottles, we were pleasantly surprised to see something completely different than 413 Cherry which I blogged about on my Facebook. 

The walls were artfully painted a myriad of oranges, yellows, greens overlapping one another. This caused me to exhale the breath I had been holding. I wish I'd held it. "Finally.." I thought. Until I got upstairs. Behind a peeling piece of the hideous wallpaper starting at the stairwell and making it's way throughout the entirety of the upstairs hallway... I saw tiny black speckles.  At my persistence, Andy peeled it back a bit more to reveal even more speckles. That pit in my stomach started coming back.. but it was just a little mold upstairs right? Old wall paper? Something? Not so my dear friends. 

The children enjoy running throughout each house we visit and "claiming" bedrooms and in this case, clearing out any cobwebs. (yessssss....) Moments after Andy and I began to descend the stairs, Cole came running towards us telling us to come to the basement. Augie spit up all over my shirt,  Andy pulled out his flashlight and away we went. 

There was a small wet spot and minor mold build up near the water heater which I assume has a small leak.. but nothing major. After a few moments of the children talking very loudly we forcefully suggested they to go back upstairs and "explore" the back yard. The house is on almost an acre up on a cliff with a pretty decent view of the mountains while also overlooking Jonestown and Elkin. The back yard was over grown but we figured they didn't mind. As we analyzed the mold situation, we heard shouts from outside which, if you're a parent you know is never a good thing. In this case it was. The kids had found an entrance at the back of the house to a small one bedroom basement apartment. Complete with bathroom, kitchen and a hideous pile of white nasty mold in the center of the living room carpet. I immediately screeched, "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!!" and mentally began my plans to dunk each child in a vat of antibacterial hand sanitizer. Andy began ushering the kids out of the basement and we both began calculating the cost of such repairs. 

His parents are getting older and Andy and I are assuming that soon we'll have need for extra space for them to stay with us. The idea of an apartment on the bottom floor with a concrete porch and space for a ramp to easily be build was appealing. I soon learned how unappealing the reality actually was. I spoke to the next door neighbor, a polite gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a local from his accent. He told me that his best friend had rented the downstairs apartment from the previous owner and it had severe issues with water leakage (no kidding!) and possibly some electrical issues. I did some research on our way to see another house (not even worth posting about) and asked a few questions on Facebook and it was decided. This house wasn't going to work for us. Even at 39k.... the cost of repairs would be significantly beyond our budget. NEXT!

Stone Mountain State Park... Approximately 15-20 minutes from Jonestown, NC.