Just when you think it's safe to rent a house,

I had a great trip to our new hometown yesterday. My new realtor friend was lots of fun and she adored Miles, which gives her major points in my book. We had fun eating lunch, chatting and looking at houses. I found the one I really liked: it's brand new, on a sizable lot, in the town we were hoping for. The street isn't the best, but the newness of the house made up for it in my mind. So Neal and I discussed, agreed, and I applied for a lease. When I got home late last night, Neal wanted to see more about it. So we mapped it, we rechecked the elementary school rating, and then we checked out the sex offender map.

After our recent run-in with Mr. Psycho in our backyard, we're a bit more vigilant about the quality of our neighbors. Well, it turns out that the backyard neighbor (with very easy access to that backyard over a short chain-link fence) is a convicted child molester. Aggravated s. assault on a child, to be more specific. There are only 4 such people in the whole city (I promise it's a nice place), but of course, one of them lives on the lot attached to that one. So, lesson learned, always check that map first!

Needless to say, we quickly ditched that brand new house, and we're now pursuing our second choice (above). A nice house, with fresh paint, new carpet and a HUGE backyard. Not too shabby.

Jet Setters

Miles and I are getting ready for a quick trip to DFW tomorrow. We're flying up in the morning and home in the evening, meeting with a realtor, renting our own little car, and eating out for lunch AND dinner. Should Miles wear a business suit? :)

The best part is, we're looking at HOUSES! Because yes, dear friends, who have stayed with me through thick and thin, we are, in fact, MOVING. And we are excited. And sad. But trying not to dwell on the fact that we're leaving so much behind. It's not that far from here, hopefully our local friends will come visit. You know who you are. :)

We're trying to dwell on the fact that Neal is actually finishing his quasi-lifetime of schooling and getting a good job. Dwelling on the fact that he will no longer be performing slave labor at the dental school. That people will pay him to do root canals instead of us paying them. Dwelling on the amazing blessing it is that we sold our house. Dwelling on how wonderful it feels to have made it this far and have been happy the whole time, despite our perpetual student status and our constant refrain of "when we're done with school . . . " or "maybe when Daddy gets a job, you can start karate (or insert other parental promise here)" . . . We feel like life is finally really getting going for us, and we couldn't be more excited.

We'll be moving mid-June, taking a couple of weeks to settle in and visit family, then Neal will get started.

We're off to find a house; wish me and Miles luck!

highlights

The highlights of our trip to DFW:

For the kids, the highlight was their first swim of the year.
In the fabulous La Quinta pool, no less.

For me, the highlight was all the lovely real estate. Lots of pretty houses!

Sold?

It looks like we may have sold our house! If everything goes smoothly, we'll be closing in about 30 days. Now, I've heard too many real estate horror stories (mostly from my parents), and I don't want to put the cart before the horse, so we're not saying it's SOLD until we actually sign the papers. But it looks like we'll be out of our house by the end of June! I'll tell you more about where we'll be going in a later post. Ahem.

Luckily for me and my purging ways (I love to get rid of "stuff"), I'm involved in a community yard sale this weekend. Just in time for me to do some major closet cleaning and furniture ditching. I'm not a seasoned garage saler, however, and I know that some of you are, so I'm coming to you for help! Since the sale is not at my actual house (it's in a parking lot), I'm not quite sure what the set-up will be like. I have a ton of clothes to sell, mostly adult clothes, and I'm scrambling to figure out how to best display them. I thought of asking the dry cleaners if I could rent a clothing rack for that morning, or maybe I'll string a rope between two trees to hang the clothes from. But there might not be trees. My final idea is to use a shower curtain rod and a couple of chairs or ladders. Bulky and in the way, most likely. I really dread a pile of clothes on a blanket on the ground, simply because I know they won't sell as well, and the unfolded mass will drive me crazy for 4 hours.

Any ideas? Best garage sale tips? Do you think I'll be the only seller who needs a calculator?

Also, I have a bit of stuff to sell. I really want Miles' crib bedding to go to somebody who'll take care of it, so I thought I'd offer it up on my blog before it comes with me to the sale on Saturday. It's from the Chase Nursery Bedding line from Pottery Barn Kids. It's still available at full price on their website, click here to see more and let me know if any of you want it!