New Houses!

So we are set to close on the sale of our house on November 30. We still have a couple items on the repair list left to fix, but the packing is coming along. We are headed to Munich from Nov 6 to the 15 and I want most of the work done beforehand so that I can actually relax and enjoy the trip.  I've turned the dining room into packing central and it is starting to fill up with boxes.

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks, but we are also now under contract to buy two other houses - one for us and the baby and one for Azra and Milada. Hopefully we'll close on both them immediately after the sale - possibly doing all three closings on the same day!

Here is a picture of our new house and here is the link to the listing with more pictures and information.

Outside is great - all brick - even most of the backyard is fenced in brick (with split rail across the back). Inside, pretty much everything needs to be painted - from the kitchen cabinets to the panelling to the trim to the fireplace. But I think after a full paint job and with our furniture its going to be transformed. Its a totally solid house that is really well-built and well-maintained, and most of the mechanical stuff has been replaced in the past two years (new ac, new furnace, new plumbing pipes to the street, new outside electrical box, etc.). We'll need some new appliances as well eventually, but the ones there all work even though they are a bit older.

And here is the townhouse for Milada and Azra and the link to the listing. 

Their house is more move in ready, with recently updated kitchens and baths and new laminate flooring. So its good we won't have many projects at least at one house. Its in a really nice condominium complex with a pool I plan to come over and use next summer! But the best part is that even though its in a quiet residential area, it is a less than ten minute walk from a bunch of grocery stores and restaurants and other stuff so Milada will have access to a lot of stuff even if its another few years until she gets a car.

Fall Fun - Trips and Company!

In addition to buying and selling houses and getting ready for the baby, we've had a lot of other activity lately, including many of our typical fall activities.

We went to the Oktoberfest at the German restaurant that we try to make it too every year. This time we went with a friend of Miran's from work (Virag) and his wife and some of their friends.

We also spent a wonderful half week at Topsail Island thanks to Mom and Dad. It was very relaxing to have a change of scenery and sit around chatting with everyone each day. There was a lot of board game and bridge playing and taking pictures of my baby bump was another popular activity!

 Cecilia and the girls also visited for a week-end right before the beach trip so Mom and Dad and Aunt Maggie were here as well. Miran got a makeover:

 Ingrid read a book to Nanny and Aunt Maggie at the children's library:

 We celebrated Mommy's birthday:

And we spent the day at the Renaissance festival, where Miran and the girls got juggling lessons, the girls both climbed the wall, and they all did archery.

 

 

Halfway there!

Today we are officially at 20 weeks, so halfway through the pregnancy! It is going so quickly, especially lately when I'm totally distracted by this crazy house stuff.

I'm not sure, but I think I might be starting to feel him move. Sometimes I have a sort of feeling like there are bubbles inside me, which could be him swimming around. It is faint and definitely no kicks or anything.

At Margaret's request, here are a couple of recent more attractive bump shots showing where I am at this point.

We accidentally sold our house!

Many of our readers know this story, but if we haven't talked to you in the past week and a half - a lot has happened.

So, after we had our house painted and it looked super cute, I posted it on Zillow using the "Make Me Move" feature where you basically name a dream price, write a short description, and include a few pictures. So we didn't even list it with an agent or post it as for sale by owner. I was just curious to see if the paint job increased the value and if we'd get any views and saves.

Within a few days, an agent contacted us and said he had clients who wanted to see the house. We said ok. A few days later they came back for a second look. The following day they made an offer, which we countered, and then they countered and we agreed.

Last week they sent an inspector and now say they are working on a repair request, but want to send a HVAC inspector first. So we should find out about that this coming week. We hope they don't ask for too much as we aren't planning on agreeing to anything big. The appraiser should come soon and we hope goes well and that the house appraises at the purchase price.

They are working towards an October 31 closing, but have agreed to rent to us for the month of November. This works out well for us as we'll close before having to move, which means we'll have the money to close on a new house if we can find one on time. We are excited about this unplanned life shakeup because if this all works, we stand to make enough money to pay off some debt and get a new house.

I was excited from the beginning, and though Miran was a little more cautious about the whole thing initially, at this point we are both really hope this works as we excited about a new house and changing things up.

Last week we went to look at one house with a realtor that was 85% ok. It was fine really, but neither of us was totally sure about it. The layout was nice and it had a great sunroom and multilevel deck overlooking the woods, but there was some exterior maintenance issues and the garage was very small. The neighborhood had great amenities, but all the houses seemed a little neglected. We are going out tomorrow to see a couple more houses, which are really different from one another, but each have things going for them as well as things we are concerned about. So we'll see. If we don't find something in the next few weeks, we'll probably just find a rental for a couple of months so we can look a little more.

It's a Boy!

We had our second screening ultrasound today. Between the technician and the doctor, we were looking at the baby for 45 minutes. He was pretty wiggly and was mostly face down so they had a little trouble getting all the measurements and taking good photos. They measured everything from different parts of his brain, to his lip, to the chambers of his heart, to the lengths of his limbs. He is perfect and all measurements were normal. They also checked my cervix and somehow how are able to conclude that I am very low risk for preterm labor, so that is good news as well!

Here is an overall shot - he is too big to fit in the frame now at 7 cms from crown to rump.

And here is the shot he'll be embarrassed about in middle school.  It is looking from below in what the technician described as "diaper changing position". But it gives a nice clear view proving he is indeed a boy. Apparently the umbilical cord is also wrapped over it and tucked between his legs. She labeled the legs to help with orientation.

I also had a lot of bloodwork done Monday when I finally met with my obstetrician for the first time. All those tests came back normal. This included the second phase of the sequential screening, which in combination with the tests from 12 weeks confirm he is healthy and there is very little chance of birth defects.

My obstetrician, Dr. Yavorski, seemed very nice and I was comfortable with her. She was very behind and I had to wait quite awhile, which was annoying, especially after taking 6 weeks to get an appointment. Maybe they have too many patients. But once we were talking she seemed patient and made time for all my questions.

I see the obstetrician again in 4 weeks and have another ultrasound in 6 weeks.