Missing In Action- an overview

So, it's been some time since I've had the time or the desire to log on and write something here. I've been busy with a capital B!

We decided to start up house-hunting again, in hopes of getting some winter prices before the spring market gears up. So I went to see a few places with our realtor, and found one I REALLY liked. So we made an appointment to see the place on the following Friday evening with my husband, and all hell broke loose:

"Dawn! There are TWO offers on that house and they are going to decide TONIGHT. Can you guys come today to see the house????" Ummm.... sure, just let me call my husband and see if he can skip out of work early. Husband even contemplates putting an offer in without even seeing it because I like it so much. I refuse to let him consider that at all. Hello? I'm an impulse buyer. I need him to rein me in!

So we go and see the house, which my husband agrees is what we've been looking for. We make an offer- higher than what we planned, lower than what they wanted. They pick us and counter offer. We low ball again, knowing what number they really probably want. But, we are now under contract for a house. Ours isn't even on the market yet.

There is lots of scrambling, cleaning, rearranging, disposing as we schedule an open house for this past weekend, which went fairly well, but of course, we're still on the market. We've figured out how to swing the downpayment for the new house should we not sell ours, but we're hoping to god we don't have to do that. But we may.

If you've never had an open house with 3 dogs and a toddler, let me tell you, you need to break out the vodka and take a few swigs. Thankfully, my mom watched all 4 of them, but only for the night before. Therefore, I was cleaning until 3am, and back cleaning again early the next morning. Things you learn when cleaning for an open house:

- Dry Erase marker does not dry nor erase when streaked across the master bedroom carpet (cream-colored, mind you) an hour before your toddler leaves for grandmas.
-Spot Shot stain remover is a GOD.
- Fabric Softener Sheets removes toddler-sized crayoned alphabet letters etched into the newly painted basement wall.
- Fabric Softener ghost letters left behind after the crayon is removed do not remove as easily.
- Potty training during the course of trying to sell your house is pointless. Poop and pee ends up where it shouldn't, and you will have an ulcer from the stress of keeping a "spotless" bathroom.
- Chocolate milk spilled the on an upholstered chair the night before the open house is still visible the next day. You only hope the people are staring at all the cleaner things.
- You will clean and organize and paint and rearrange, only to say "why didn't we do this 5 years ago???"

I'm busy as hell. But we need an offer. So cross your fingers really hard. And your toes.

I'll try to keep you posted.