We did it!

Minchau...is ours!

The various obstacles and paperwork have all been sorted out, and we've signed all the dotted lines. Our condo is sold. The Minchau house is ours. The date is still up in the air a bit, but it's going to be somewhere between the 15th and the 24th of August. Really freaking soon!

It's been an intense three weeks of playing the real estate game and I'm so happy to be done with it. The ups and downs of falling in love with homes and losing out on (some of) them was more than enough for me. There were a couple of points where we came really close to buying a place in Sherwood Park but neither house ended up working out for us.

I'm really looking forward to moving now. Leddy-ites and a few others aside, I'm more than ready to be out of this complex. I can't wait to have double the amount of living space either, and for BBQ's on the new BBQ! We'll have to have a housewarming party before it gets too cold so we can take advantage of the patio off of the kitchen.

Aaaah, Minchau.

More baby pictures!!!

My brother...the new dad. I'm still trying to get my brain wrapped around that idea.

I just want to squish those cheeks!!
So cool and so pretty all at the same time.
This is the face of a kid ready to take on life.
The new family!
There are few things cuter than a baby yawning.
Yet again with that "Here I am world" kind of look. I can't wait to meet this kid.

Pretty Momma with the pretty babe.

I'm an Aunt!!!

We arrived home from camping just a little while ago. When I checked my e-mail, I was thrilled to see a letter from my big brother Trevor announcing that his wife has given birth to their little girl!!!

They've named her Trina (Trevor and Mina combined) and she's 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches long. Here are the pictures I've been sent. Check out those chubby little cheeks!!!

I'm done

We've sold our home. We don't necessarily have another one to move into.

My solution? Drink a beer and take off camping for the weekend. If it doesn't fix anything, it'll at least keep me from looking at homes online.

Adios amigos!!

This morning's quote

"If God closes a door in your life, get your face out of the way and it won't hurt so much."

- Sherri Rose Shepherd


Also: As of this morning, our condo is officially sold. Weehaw!!!

Updates updates!!

So, here is a condensed version of what's new in our world of real estate.

The house in Sherwood Park is not happening. After looking at a number of substantial drawbacks and listening to our gut feelings, we walked away from it. Whew.

The sale of our house is pending. The only thing left is the inspection, which isn't a real concern since we had it inspected only two years ago when we purchased. Chances are this sale will go through, but until Thursday nothing is set in stone. We're preparing a virtual tour just in case.

About two hours ago, we made an offer on a house we've fallen in love with. It's in Millwoods (Minchau in specific) so Nick stays at the same school and Liam can still bike to work. It's got a big beautiful kitchen, four bedrooms, three levels, and a nice big yard. I'm trying to hold myself back in case the details don't work out and we don't get it, but I've really got my heart set on this place.

And there you have it. Big changes have been the name of the game during the past week, but hopefully things this week will settle down and we'll have some closure next week at this time. I know Liam and I could use a break from the stress!!

Morning thoughts

Some random thoughts to share...

Nothing says "I love you Mom" like puking up chunks of unchewed grapes all over said Mom. Or at least this is what Lily thinks.

Real estate is the key to weight loss. In 8 days, Liam and I have lost a combined total of 17 lbs.

Never mind suffocation, laying over or falling out of bed. The true hidden danger in co-sleeping is Dad. Lily spent a good portion of yesterday smelling of Liam's armpit. Poor child.

Packing up half of your posessions and knowing you won't see them for at least a month is a good lesson on what is truly important in life.

Paint is difficult to get out of dried paintbrushes, harder yet to get off of lino, and impossible to get off of a baby's skin.

Stress? What stres?

I think we're moving to Sherwood Park.

Yikes.

Liam and I keep asking each other if we're really doing this. A week ago, we were still toying with the idea of moving. Today, the sale of our condo is pending, our purchase of a house is pending as well, and half of our belongings are in boxes behind my parents' garage.

Everything came together so quickly that our condo didn't even make it onto the market. In the unlikely event that this deal falls through, we'll have it listed by the weekend, but as things stand right now we'll be out of here on August 15. Holy crap.

Back I go to painting and cleaning!! I'll update as things progress.

A day to remember

The past 24 hours have been, to say the least, quite unprecedented. For your literary pleasure, here is a brief synopsis of the many events.

1:30 am: Liam and I finally crawl into bed after a late night of watching "Walk the Line". (I really enjoyed this movie, by the way, even though "Johnny" made a lot of creepy faces when he was singing.

5:45 am: Lillian wakes up and starts playing and laughing in bed. I refuse to acknowledge that my night might be over after only 4 hours of sleep and I do my best to ignore her.

6:30 am: Lily finally decides to go back to sleep. The world is a good place.

9:30 am: Lily and I finally get out of bed. The world is a really good place.

10:30 am: Mortgage Dude (aka Jamie) phones to discuss our request for a mortgage for a new home.

10:40 am: I hang up the phone, convinced that we're bound to be condo dwellers for at least another six months.

11:15 am: Liam gets off the phone with Mortgage Dude with the news that his number crunching and proposed shuffling of monies has ensured us an adequate mortgage for a real house. I realize what a brilliant man I married.

12 noon: We phone my cousin, our realator from our last endeavour in the world of real estate, to discuss the possibility of putting our house for sale. He tells us he's in the neighbourhood and will stop by to talk to us.

12:15 pm: We have a quick meeting with Realtor Dude and get a more accurate idea of what the sale of our condo and the purchase of a new house will involve.

1:00 pm: We drive to H&R Block to (finally) do our 2005 taxes.

3:00 pm: We finally get to submit our paper work.

3:45 pm: We leave H&R with a paper that says we'll have $3400 deposited into our account within 10 business days. The world is getting better by the moment.

4:00 pm: We make a stop at KFC for some much-needed foodstuffs.

4:05 pm: While scarfing down my food, I completely fail to notice a gigantic pothole. As Liam gives me crap for hitting it square on, I watch our hubcap roll across 75th street through my rear view mirror.

4:06 pm: Liam goes running down 75th to retrieve the lost hubcap. This is the reason why women marry men.

6:30 pm: Liam returns from his box-hunting expedition with 4 boxes and we beging clearing out closets of "extras" that we can store at my parents' place to make the condo look roomier.

8:30 pm: We stand back and look at the pile of boxes and bags sitting by the stairs. It dawns on me just how much stuff we own that we really don't use.

10:45 pm: After going for a walk and getting Lily bundled off in bed, I sit down with a wannabe screwdriver (Mango Five Alive with vodka...not bad, actually) and blog about the insanity that was our day. (I'm noticing, by the way, a direct relationship between my drinking and blogging. I swear I really don't drink all that often!)