WooHoo!!!!!

*Update* I wanted to note that we had not called our realtor yet to say we changed our mind about taking their lower offer. He called us first to say he had finally heard from them and they had taken our last counteroffer of 76000! So less out of pocket for us than we expected!! YAY!


They came up to our counteroffer and accepted! The house is sold!

Well, we still have their inspection to make it through which has to be done within 10 days from acceptance. I have confidence there will be no issues.

After that, closing should be within 60 days from now.

We have 6-8 wks to find a new place to live. Time to start looking! YAY!

Here we go again...

Ok. So we made a decision today. We are telling the potential buyer we accept the last counteroffer they gave us. We will have to pay about $2500 to sell the house. However we figured out some other things.

We will get most if not all of our escrow back (I believe, I vaguely remember getting it back when we sold the MD house, though it didn't leave a lasting impression, considering we sold the house at an awesome time and made a chunk of change).
Also we will save having to pay mortgage AND rent, plus Jason's gas to travel there and back Mondays and Fridays.

Jason was discussing the whole thing with his landlady and got her point of view.

She stated that many of the houses in MI are selling for way less than valued, so we will find a nice house, in a nice area, that we are happy with, for a good deal.

Also she made another point. She told him, at least this way, he will be able to go home to his wife and kids at night, in his own home. We won't really be losing anything, cause the house we will be buying will be worth more than we buy it for, so that in the end will make up for our losses. Also he gets reimbursed for certain moving expenses (10 days hotel, 24ft moving truck, car tow dolly), and we should get escrow back, along with the no more rent/gas.

So:

• Selling the house: $2500
• Moving expenses: $2500 (+/- a few hundred dollars)
• Having our family together and not having to deal with all the bologna: PRICELESS!!!!
  

On another note, Jason is officially enrolled in college!! He just has to register for classes. He gets the GI Bill and they are starting a "new" one for veterans, called Post-9/11. It has some awesome benefits, including BAH which is housing allowance! He will get whatever the going rate for the zip code is where he goes to school. His tuition will be paid in full and he gets money towards books and supplies!

He will start in the fall and go half-time to start, since he's been out of school for 10+ yrs.

I am so proud of my hubby. I love him so very much and hope to be a big support to him during this huge transition. (He's also going to be working full-time, probably on 2nd shift!)

update on house

So the realtor called back. They countered our counter, went a little higher and want the closing costs (6% of purchase price) to be paid. We did the math and we would have had to pay between 1500-2000 to sell the house! No way. So we are countering with a bit higher (still 2500 less than asking, mind you we are only asking around 80000 to start) and offering to pay their closing costs. After all is said and done - mortgage paid off, their closing costs, our closing costs and commission fees - we still have to pay around 500 to sell the house! but better than the higher amount that we don't have. Good thing we are going with a VA loan this next time, no PMI and no down payment required. If they don't accept the offer but counter with lower again, we will have to decline. 500 is the highest we are willing to pay to sell the house. Just can't do more.

Glad Jason's company will reimburse us for moving expenses, like the truck, gas, and even a hotel for 10 days while we look for a place to live cause we are moving from out of state - even if it is only a couple hours away. However we have to pay up front so there goes the savings for a couple of months, cause you know it will be 6-8 weeks after we submit the paperwork and it gets approved before we actually get the money back. Although they may surprise me and do it quicker than that.

SO glad I decided to E's party at Chuck E. Cheese's this year. Especially since if we come to an agreement, closing will be just 2 days after his bday, and the house will be packed up and ready to empty, since they want possession that day! I knew there was a reason that I felt so strongly about the ease of a party somewhere else this year!

All right, time for me to hit the hay now. I have been staying up too late the last several nights, again, and I need me my beauty sleep. Or maybe we could call it my "what's the opposite of cranky?" sleep? since if I don't get enough, I'm cranky, irritable and have been known to be downright overbearing in the morning! Just ask my kids, the poor monkeys! Getting on them about taking too long with breakfast or snapping to quickly if they spill, instead of calmly asking them to clean it up while handing them a rag or napkin.

Night, all. More tomorrow. Promise.

Hoose for sale...

(ok, no I didn't spell house wrong, it's a joke. Jill and Jason are the only ones who ever read here that will get it. Jill, in case you are not sure, think SMIB, LOL)

So we got a call today. We have an offer on the house!!!

Bad news: It's a low offer, over 8000 less than we are asking, which may not seem like much but we are asking that amount so we can break even w/ closing and commission fees. Plus not only are they lowballing but they want 6% of their closing costs paid with that amount, so it actually takes us to 12,000 less than we are asking and wouldn't even pay off the mortgage let alone closing costs and commission fees!! We would end up owing 4710.00!! Um yeah, not happening.

Good news: We are countering with a little higher amount (think 1900higher), none of their closing costs pd. We should be able to cover all the mtg, our closing and commission fees and only have to (maybe) pay 240. I would rather not have to pay a single solitary penny (yes that's redundant...). We could always say no and hold out longer. We could also counter a little bit higher, say 2200 higher and break completely even...

Realtor said he's going to talk to other realtor and give our counter offer. Personally I think they are getting a great!!! deal. New windows, new GFA furnace, backyard fixed up and other little updates totaling 20000, and all appliances are staying (fridge, stove, dishwasher, dryer and washer) which are easily worth another couple grand! And we are technically losing money on this deal any way we go since we break even after paying mortgage cause that 20000 was out of our pocket not financed in the mortgage, so we spend our hard earned savings to update and won't see a single penny back from it. I am disappointed about that ALOT in case you can't tell! Oh well, we knew the market is hard right now. But it still sucks. Bad.

Totally not wanting to move again either.

But, good thing coming out of this is we will all be together as a family full time again.
But, we have to find a new place to live, new school for Ethan (and he's adjusted so well to this one, I'm sad to take him out of there), new doctors including cardiologist for Ethan, change our insurance, drivers licenses, and car registrations over to MI, not to mention me not knowing a single soul up there... I think that may be my biggest fear/concern of all. All the other stuff will work itself out fairly easy, even Ethan's school. I mean there are only so many school options. I am scared of meeting new people, I have a hard time putting myself out there, I consider myself shy, I turn into a ball of nerves when I think about going a place where I know no one or have to talk to people I know very little, even now I can feel my stomach tensing and twisting and feel lightheaded!! How crazy is that?! Almost like a minor anxiety/panic attack. Weird.
The thing is when I joined Jason in NY, I was excited, first time away from home, newlywed, going to be with my hubby who I love so very much and I felt a little adventurous. When we left NY, I was scared to move to MD, I was pregnant with E and just didn't know anybody there but met some nice people including one of my BFFs Jill, and moving from there to Ohio was hard for a different reason. I didn't want to leave her but I wasn't scared cause I had family and friends here.
Now I feel like I am home, for the first time in a long time, truly home, except for Jason not being here. I mean, we have both of our families here, I have old friends I've gotten close to again, new friends (Hi Sharon and Pat!) and I've opened myself up a lot to people, IRL and online. Now we are going to move 1 1/2 - 2 hours away, and I am going to be vulnerable. I'm going to be alone. Sure I'll have Jason, but he's going to be working full-time and going to school starting in the fall (YEAH FOR MY DH, love you babe!), and I have the boys, but E will be in school in the fall all day and A wants to go to preschool so badly (he's loving school right now!). And I won't have any friends to talk on the phone with, invite over, go out for a girls' night on short notice, get a babysitter on a weeknight/weekend for an hour or two so Jason and I can go out to dinner once in a while. Right now, we have it so good, his 'rents and sis live across the street, mine across town along w/ my sis living halfway across town. We can call on them day or night, whether its just for a babysitter or an emergency (Alex's accident...) and rely on them. We have friends that will help us at a moment's notice. I think that's why I'm scared. I'm afraid of the unknown. I'm afraid about the what ifs. What if A or E gets hurt and Jason's at work and I can't drive cause I need to help them? I know, ambulance. but what if I panic and can't think straight because of the worry in my mind. That's what happened the other day. I froze for a second, after grabbing Alex, then my keys. I just wanted to help him feel better and calm him, but I couldn't do that and drive! What if something happened to me while Jason's at work, or on a deployment out of town, or school out of town? Right now, E could run across the street and get help if he couldn't remember 911 for some reason. Up there, if HE froze up, or was scared or panicked or started crying uncontrollably, he wouldn't be able to call and get help. at all. and Alex doesn't know how to use the phone yet. I've tried to teach him, we are working on it.

Ok, time to breathe. See I told you! Ok, so this is the most heart-spilling, open post I've ever written, but it's thoughts that run through my head, it's things I've been worrying about and now it's out there. Thanks for reading this far and "listening".

I feel much better now. Really. I do.

So anyway. House for sale, one offer, one counter, if they agree we shall see! We would close the end of July if they like the counter and the House passes inspection.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said:

No more monkeys jumping on the beds!!!!!

Do you see that nasty purplish bump above his eye? yeah. that happened at around 4pm today. He thought showing his brother a cool trick on his bed would be a fun thing to do. He also thought hurting himself, scaring mommy half to death, going to the ER, waiting for an hour with 5 people ahead of us still, leaving and going to Urgent Care instead, waiting a half hour, seeing the dr, getting 4 head x-rays, and then being told just to watch him for 24 hours would be a fun thing to do too! (I secretly think he did it to get 2 suckers from the dr and a chicken nugget Happy Meal from Nana and Papa...what do you think? LOL)

I'm just extremely relieved that he is ok. No broken bones, most likely no concussion. Just have to watch for signs of a concussion for 24 hours, if there are any, go to ER, and get a head CT. Most likely he will be perfectly fine.

Needless to say the menu plan I posted earlier today, yeah, that got rearranged. Already. So I guess spaghetti will get moved to next Monday or I could just shift everything up a day, but dernit all, I want to try those Chili Ranch Grilled Pork (chops)!!

Menu Plan Monday

This week promises to be a good one for us! We are trying a couple of new recipes out and a couple of old favorites. The Chili Ranch Pork and Balsamic-marinated Flank Steak are new to us and I can't wait to try them! I got ground turkey at a really great price this week (5.99/3lbs!) so we are using that instead of ground beef in meals. Jason isn't too fond of it, but he's being a good sport. He says it doesn't taste bad to him, but just different and the texture is different. The boys don't care at all!

Monday - Spaghetti, Salad

Tuesday - Chili Ranch Grilled Pork, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Salad (and possibly Baked Beans)

Wednesday - Teriyaki Sticky Chicken, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday - Hamburger helper (made with ground turkey), fruit cocktail/mandarin oranges

Friday - Balsamic-Marinated Flank Steak, Cheddar and Bacon Scalloped Potatoes, Broccoli

Saturday - Turkey Burgers, French Fries, Corn

Sunday - Chicken Cordon Bleu (frozen premade ones, only bought them cause they were on sale plus I had a great coupon!) Broccoli and Cheese Couscous, Green Beans

Go here to see more menus on Laura's site!

Bittersweet Moments

Ethan goes to a special program for children on the autism spectrum. The program is run by a private provider, who rents 3 classrooms at a local Catholic elementary school. Some of the children in the ASD program are pre-inclusion and some are already in inclusion. I would consider Ethan right about in the middle ground. He spends a half hour going to Sensory Integration, then pre-inclusion morning meeting, then goes to 2nd grade inclusion, then for the last 15 minutes or so back to pre-inclusion for cleanup/chores. During the summer, the Catholic school is closed but Ethan's school is still open. The children go M-Th 9am - 1pm for most of June, July and August with a week break each month. Ethan is preparing to go to 3rd grade in the fall, and was originally upset that he wouldn't get a full summer break.

Dr. B, the director of the school, called me about 2 weeks ago and asked if we would send Alex during the summer months to be a peer-model for the younger kids (3 & 4 year olds). No cost to us, just send him lunch, and he would go the same days and times as Ethan.

Today started summer session.

My youngest child started his first day of school ever!! I am sad and happy at the same time. He is so grownup and happy and excited. He's not my baby anymore. I didn't do a birthday post for Alex because we were so busy I honestly forgot about the blog! Alex turned 4 on May 30th!

Last night, I was getting them out of the bath and we were talking about today and Alex started to get upset and teary-eyed. I asked him if he was worried or scared about going to school or what was wrong. He looked at me with those beautiful hazel-brown eyes of his and said "Mom, I'm sad cause YOU will be all alone!"

I wanted to cry right there, knowing in my heart that I would be missing them both so much, but also because I was touched by his empathy and love for me and my feelings!

Here is a picture of Ethan and Alex on the first day of summer session, and for Alex, school. They call it "reverse-inclusion".

Alex even has his own backpack, lunchbox and water bottle. Don't they look so grown up??? Where has the time gone?

Update on my mom

A few months ago, my mom was in a car accident and totaled her car. She has had neck, shoulder and upper back pain since and the pain has started radiating down her arm. She had an MRI done a couple of weeks ago and was sent to a surgeon/specialist.

Today she had surgery to remove a bone fragment that broke off in the accident and also a disc-ectomy (where they remove a disc?). She has herniated discs and numerous other things going on in there.

My sister finally got a hold of my dad a little while ago. My mom is in recovery still, sleeping. My dad hasn't been in to see her yet. They removed all the bone fragments and are pretty sure that is what was rubbing on the nerve, damaging it and causing her the pain. The nerve will need some time to heal and then we will see if it helps. The surgery went well and she is fine. I wasn't nervous or worried until I couldn't reach my dad, and then my sister Heather called to tell me the same thing! That's when she called the hospital and was reassured. Mom is supposed to spend the night in the hospital and go home tomorrow, but everything went so well, they think if she is feeling ok, she may be able to go home and rest! I know that would make her (and my dad, who doesn't really like hospitals) feel more comfortable and relaxed.

Today we remember...

We remember those who fought for our country. Those who lost their lives in that fight, and those whose lives were changed forever.

Today I remember my grandpa, Louis. He fought in the Korean War and came home to my grandma and their young son, my dad. He was brave but my grandpa was changed forever. My dad once told me that Grandpa would have nightmares or even wake up and forget that he was no longer over there fighting, screaming or worse. It even affected his memory at times when my dad and his 7 brothers and sisters were growing up to the point my dad was called by all of his brothers names at different times and rarely by his own. He had a tough time. He did love his wife and kids but it drove a wedge between my dad and his dad for a long time. It took a long time, but they did become close in the last several years of my grandpa's life.

I remember my grandpa as a different man though. I remember Grandpa O as someone whom I sat on his knee and he would give me butterscotch candy, and chocolate suckers my grandma made. We would go to their house every year at Christmas. Grandpa O. died when I was only 6, at the young age of 54, from an aneurysm. He was kind, funny and loving. I remember when he pierced my oldest sister's ears with a needle and potato. I remember his funeral, the first I ever went to. My grandma told me he was sleeping and I just wanted to kiss him and wake him up. I was barely tall enough to reach the casket and give him a kiss, but I did over and over, just waiting for my Grandpa to wake up. At one point, I even got yelled at because I almost pulled it over on myself! I didn't understand that he wasn't going to wake up, that he was with Jesus.

My grandpa was a Korean war veteran, a man that struggled and a loving grandpa and I miss him very much.

Today I also remember my Uncle Greg, who is a Vietnam Vet. I don't know much about the time he served over there, he doesn't talk about it. Ever. But my mom has told me he served two tours over there. He is a hero to me, just as my Grandpa O. My Uncle Greg is alive and well and a grandfather himself.

Thank you to all who have sacrificed their lives to fight for freedom, and thank you to their families. We must not ever forget them. They are our heroes and loved ones, our past and reason for being free.

So when you are having your cookout today, Remember not only those who fought and died but those who fought and lived and were forever changed and also those whose family fought and died. They are all heroes in their own right. Cookouts are fun but we must remember why today is a holiday.

Kids say (and do) the darndest things #3

I found a sticker in Alex's hair from his straw safari hat from our school outing at the zoo today. It said "Made in Mexico". I chuckled and said "You weren't made in Mexico, you were made in Maryland. And Ethan was made in New York."

He walks out to the living room, looks at his brother and says:

"Ethan, you were made in New York. And I was made in Maryland. By Jesus! I like Jesus. And I like you."

Too cute and so right!

Wordless Wednesday #2

 

Ethan and Heather at the game

Check out more here.

Have you heard this little girl sing?

The little girl in this video has the most amazing singing voice. She has the same diagnosis as Ethan, pdd-nos, and on her website, her mom describes her as a young child and it reminds me of Ethan so much. Even watching her in this video reminds me some of Ethan. The song she sings here is beautiful. Click on the following link to watch. You will not be disappointed!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30386621#30386621

Kids say (and do) the darndest things #2

Mom: "Hey Alex, look at the butterfly"

Alex:  "Do they make butter, Mom?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom: "We are going to Maryland in June."

Ethan: "Hey that's where Jill and Jocey live!" (pause) "I hope we aren't starting my life over again!" (pause) (smile and giggle)

I assume here he was thinking we were moving back to Maryland instead of Michigan. We've talked about how we are moving to Michigan to be with daddy all the time and he seems very happy about that. So I'm not sure why he seemed to think we would be moving to Maryland instead of just visiting. But the way he said it and then his giggle was just too cute!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex: (While talking about people we love and how much we love them) "And Grammas' and Grampas' moms and dads, they are in my heart too!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And according to Alex, cheesy Chex Mix, is now called "Cheese Mex"

Wordless Wednesday #1: Can I share your bed, brother?

Alex climbed in Ethan's bed and fell asleep instead of staying in his!

Check out more WW posts here.

Moving...

Our house is officially for sale. It has been for just about a week. Last Sunday we signed with a realtor and Wednesday he came out and put a sign up, took an outside picture and placed our "ad".

We got our first phone call this morning just after 10am about a showing on Wednesday! That was my reason for calling Jason this morning. A realtor has an interested client and they want to come out Wednesday between 4 and 5! I am so NOT ready!! The house is kind of messy and I figured we would have to put inside pics up before anyone would even show interest. After all the house is pink (ish)! Not very popular color. But our realtor did a good job describing it so maybe that's why.

I am somewhat disappointed though, because the amount we are asking will just pay off the mortgage and the realtors' commissions, not giving us any money! And we put about 20k into this place. The only reason we are moving now instead of waiting for the market to change is so we can have a real family life again. Jason and I (and the boys) are so sick of him being gone all week only to have him come home on the weekend tired, stressed out and quickly irritated, plus not being able to spend time together because when he is home he has to catch up on household things that need fixed, or cut the grass, etc. things I either can't do, don't know how to do or don't have time during the week to do!

Well, off to pack some more things up and clean. Anyone want to come help? LOL

the pool

Yesterday my dh put an ad on Craigslist for our pool. We don't have the time (or money) to put into it. It was here when we moved in and not in the greatest shape. We've never used it. The people before us got it for free, put it up and dug too deep and the liner is ripped and leaks. The pump and filter look brand new but there is no electric hooked up to see if they work. The deck needs some TLC. Anyway, Jason put the ad up yesterday afternoon for a free pool and asked me to check last night to see if there were emails about it. Come to find out, we have to verify the ad first and then its published. So it didn't get published till about 8pm last night. Within about 30 minutes we got the first email, and then a phone call. Someone came out to look at it last night but its too big for their yard (15' x 30' plus the deck). Within the first 3 hours, so by 11pm last night Jason got another 5!!  calls and had to turn his phone off. We have one person coming out today to look and he is *planning* to take as long as it's not too bad, knowing it needs a liner and deck work. I just checked my email and had 5 or 6 emails this morning. I had to call Jason about something else and he said he had 5 messages about it already and somebody was calling through as we were on the phone!! I can't believe how many people use Craigslist! Just amazing! I ended up removing his cell # from the ad, so now they have to email me. Otherwise he will keep getting interrupted at work and get in trouble. We had no idea how big the response would be or his # never would have been on there in the first place, LOL.

Happy Birthday Sharon!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful friend Sharon, over at The Bird's Nest.

Sharon and I were introduced by Jen about a year and half ago. We got to know each other through our blogs and email, and then met in person.
I consider Sharon to be one of my best friends even though we haven't known each other that long. She has been there for me time and time again, listening, giving advice and just hanging out with me on our kids' playdates. Our boys adore each other so that makes it so much better! Isn't it funny how you make a friend in the most amazing ways sometimes? You meet someone, figure hey our kids are close in age and decide to get them together and then end up meshing so well with them.

Sharon, you are a kind, thoughtful person, great mom and wife, and awesome friend. I'm so glad we've gotten to know each other and I don't know what I'm going to do when we move. I will miss being able to just call you and say, hey wanna meet at the park? or what are you doing tomorrow? At least we will be close enough that we can drive down and see you all and you all are more than welcome to visit us anytime. Thanks for being such a great friend and I hope your birthday has been wonderful.