We are not defeated

Don't count us out. We put yet another offer in on a house, or if its not already in, will be in today. I had a moment of clarity yesterday (odd as of late) when I drove by one of the houses we looked at last week. It happens to be across from our agent, listed out of our range. She showed it to us because she knows it is overpriced (way overpriced--by about 40k at least). She also knows the sellers. They are divorcing and need to sell. It would be nice to deal with them instead of these banks. When I drove by I just couldn't figure out why we would let it go without at least trying. So, we put in what we think the house is worth, according to recent comps and Ethan's other research. Our agent didn't scoff at us like we were way off, so I think that is good. Its going to be hard for the sellers to stomach I'm sure, especially when its less than what they paid for the house brand new in 2002, but that is the reality of the market right now. We sold our Oceanside house as the market was starting to go down, and we took a lower price just to be done with it after 3 months on the market (and 3 months of paying a mortgage and rent). If they want and need out, they should at least counter.

The house is great, has everything we wanted. The only con is that the backyard isn't done. Nothing. Its dirt, just like when they bought the house in 2002. They either never got around to landscaping or couldn't afford it. That is another reason Ethan thought the house was way over priced. It has great upgrades: hardwood all downstairs, plantation shutters, solid surface counters in the kitchen and it is immaculate, but those almost get cancelled out when you know a backyard could cost 20-30k. We ofcourse would do it ourselves, like we have done before (we meaning Ethan and whoever he begs to help him).

I printed out the invitations to Ryan's family party today, now all I need is stamps. It is hard to find a store that sells stamps here. I don't know why. Rite Aide...no stamps. A friend offered to make all the cupcaks for Ryan's playgroup party and I said YES. That is one less thing to do. We went to Trader Joe's yesterday and I got the rest of the organic lollipops for the treat boxes. There is still much halloween decorating to do, but at least I won't have to bake anything that day--which is also the day of Ryan's preschool halloween party so I have to attend and lose some precious party prepping hours. For the family party we are doing catered deli sandwiches and pizza. Less stress for me. Ethan is cleaning the carpets as I type :)

In other grand news, Ryan has slept through the night til 6:30 for 2 nights! He was having frequent wake ups before, and the crying would make him cough...stupid allergies. The coughing would get out of control so I would have to go in there. Hopefully that is now over.

Oh...Ryan goes off track for the month of November. Uh...