This post should probably be titled, "The Tornado That is Monica Getting Ready for a House Showing with Five Little Kids" or "Nursing in a Minivan", but I like alliteration so Mutterings it is.
I should preface this post with two disclaimers, 1) I really am super excited about moving and 2) I really do like my realtor. Any mutterings that give you ideas to the contrary are just me blowing smoke.
I have unlimited access to the best moving advice around. We moved a lot growing up and my mother has made moving a bit of an art. That doesn't necessarily mean moving is always pretty, but she knows what she is doing. So I took her advice and interviewed realtors before choosing one to list our home. I actually liked everyone I interviewed and it was a really hard decision. But I went with the one who was the most honest (aka meanest) and we have had a dandy relationship ever since. One of the questions I asked all of the realtors I interviewed was, "How much warning am I going to get before a showing?" All of them responded that usually they will schedule appointments the day before but occasionally they get scheduled the day of and would certainly give me at least an hours notice. (This makes me laugh out loud now.)
We had one showing that was scheduled in advance (aka not the day of) and all other showings were scheduled the same day with only one of them giving me an hours notice. We even had one that gave me ten minutes notice. That was fun.
So with that as background, let me just say that having the house on the market has been interesting. Whenever I get the call for a showing it is a whirlwind. After the first showing I vowed that I would be a little more prepared in advance the next time, "just in case". But it was SO stressful trying to keep things picked up and also let the kids have any type of fun. It ended up being way too much television watching and a very grumpy mother. And of course we had two days in a row with no showings while I was on my "just in case" plan. Double grumpy mother.
Here is a quick run down of me running though my house for the hour after I get the call, and this list doesn't include if I have to nurse or change diapers or clean up pee off the floor from a three year old who is winning a major power struggle:
make sure all drapes and blinds are open, clean kitchen counters off, put any dirty dishes in dishwasher, if dishwasher is full of clean dishes and I don't have time to empty them, put dishes in plastic bag and throw in back of van, sweep any crumbs off kitchen floor, empty any really full garbages, send oldest child who is home outside to straighten up the bikes on the back patio, remake kids' beds, pick up any toys in kids' rooms, tell Brisbane (and whomever else is home) to go potty, clean bathroom counters, pick up all bathroom mats (my realtor told me to do this...weird), sweep the front porch if there is time, put twins in car seats, pack up their swings and put in garage, throw any odds and ends in laundry baskets and put in garage, fold up playmats and put in garage, load all three (or more) kids into the van, go back into the house and make sure everything is in order, make sure stroller is in trunk, drive away and desperately try to entertain kids for who knows how long.
And sometimes I had the pleasure of doing that multiple times a day. Good Grief!
Then there was the day that we had three showings. Plus a sick toddler. That was the day we ate Dairy Queen in the van while watching Smurfs on the travel televisions while Brisbane took a nap while I nursed twins. All while sitting 200 yards from my house willing the agent and potential buyer out of the house with my mind. (For the record, my mind powers were not as strong as I wanted them to be.)
Thankfully the house was under contract fairly quickly. We listed on a Thursday and were signed the next Wednesday. If the buyer's agent had been a little quicker we could have been under contract much sooner. Considering the person who ended up buying our house was our very first showing (go figure).
Today we had the inspection and we spent two hours out of the house eating lunch and playing at the park. Why is it that everyone wants to see the house at lunch or dinner time? Don't these people like to eat? Needless to say, we have eaten out a lot this last week. I am praying that the inspection process goes smoothly because I don't know if my nerves can take another showing.
Mack and I will be flying to Belleville in a few weeks to house hunt. We are very excited but the logistics of this move are proving difficult. That's because we are dealing with the combination of a medical student, five small children, and the Air Force. It's a doozy.
And I am exhausted. <mutter, mutter, mutter>
