What Ana Does

This is the hard part. Sure, we're not actually doing the packing, thanks to the movers, but this feels stressful. It feels like carrying a 100 lb weight on my back. Seeing all our belongings and questioning 10 times an hour if this was the right decision. And how will we ever be so comfortable again!?  Having done this before ... seven times ... we know that it will all be worth it. Change is always good. Being uncomfortable is a place of growth. And there are brighter days ahead.  Speaking of GROWTH ... I took some photos of the girls by the wall we measured them by for the last night years.   Point to how tall you were when we first moved in ...  And the Sticker Door! On all our adventures, we'd collect stickers to put on the sticker door. "That's a great Hawaii sticker, we'll put it on the door!" We pulled off anything within reach and could come off easily. Hope the new owners are planning to get a new door ... or enjoys funny stickers.  Last but not l...

While we were away in PA getting the lay of the land, our realtor was in our house snapping photos for the listing. We were blown away by the pictures she got. I mean, is this really our house?!  It was a great affirmation of all the work we did in this house and how much it's changed in the last nine years. These are going to be so beautiful to look at in a few years, too. This house was so so so good to us. We'll miss it. 

I found this little gem on the blog we created for Leah when she was a toddler. Sometimes I can't believe I'm not her anymore. I can't believe Dave and I are not just building our family. Getting to know our little Leah. Waiting to meet this little baby. Leah on Her New Playset in our New Jersey Backyard. Alice is in the Photo (Under the Stripes), You Just Can't See Her Yet. This time went by in a blur of sleepless nights, tantrums, tickling, laughter, dancing, chasing, zerberts, worry and tears. What would I tell her if I could get a message back in time? A Few Minutes Later ... Snotsville!

Was going through my photos and spotted these from our last day in the Ferncliff Road house. Unbelievable how big the place looked without furniture. Master bedroom (with the two models) Leah's empty room The basement - ample storage, no? I've got a cleaning crew going in there tomorrow to scrub the place up -- in case we get any showings in January. Fingers crossed!

Two guys showed up today with a HUMONGOUS van. They parked it out front (which should make us a big hit with the neighbors). The Entire Truck Doesn't Fit in the Frame As of lunch they were done with the kids' bedrooms and half the basement -- and are currently working on the master. I'm having heart palpitations. There's a part of my brain that isn't processing this. It's saying I'll never see this stuff again. Which is ridiculous, because I'll be wading through it at the new house -- cursing it. But between now and then, I'm sure I'll think of a dozen things I need that are now boxed up. Meanwhile, they're motivated to get this job done quickly, so we may be unpacking by the weekend. So, yeah, this move is actually happening.

Now that we overcame a huge hurdle, we're in a rush to get out of the old house and into the new one in the next two weeks. (!!) That's not a lot of time. So we're dividing to conquer: Dave is working the phones, settling issues with lawyers, real estate agents, sellers, mortgage guys and all else -- as he's on the frontline. On the homefront, I've got a list of house fixes the inspector found that need to be dealt with under the conditions of the buyout. I need a plumber, a mason, a general carpenter and perhaps a chimney guy -- depending on how this all goes. They need to be in and out before I am, so we've got to rush them through. (Not to mention preparing for the holidays and all the lovely stress that this time of the year brings.) At least we're moving forward!

The guys have been in the basement banging away installing the new furnace all day. We're anxious to feel the warm air and pull off some layers. We're upstairs trying to keep warm and watching the first snow storm of the year ... in October. Really?! And tree limbs are coming down all over the house! You hear a crack and a whoosh -- snow and limbs come crashing down. Crazy weather day. When will the heat come on?!

To sum up: We're putting a new furnace in this old house. That's right. We're trying to move out of this house, but we are putting in a new furnace. Hooray! MY FAMILY IN A WEEK To expand slightly: We've had a parade of inspectors come through the house making recommendations of improvements, so the house is in good shape if we take the buyout. The HVAC inspector found the furnace was unsafe. He unhooked it and, well, we need heat (it's October!). So, I've been getting estimates for a new furnace. I have conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, I hate that I have to replace a furnace that was functioning fine (as much as I knew) for the last 5 years. And it's not even for the benefit of me or my family. And it's going to completely decimate my decorating budget for the new house. However, if we get a buyer, their inspector might have found this furnace issue and we'd be replacing it anyway. And probably at a much higher cost. Of ...

My backyard neighbor has a shed. Just picture a normal-looking shed with a coiled hose hanging from the door. It's a few feet from their house's backdoor and about as big as a lawnmower, wheelbarrow and a few bags of fertilizer. I can see it from my kitchen sink. It's very average-looking. But it's the center of a giant mystery. The family that live there are just as average; Parents and a middle-school son and daughter. Sometimes I see a grandmother sitting outside. They have an above-ground pool and a young German shepherd. The Dad spends a lot of time taking care of his lawn and yard. Mom has a small circular garden. Here's the mystery: The mother and father neighbor enter this little shed several times a day (in all seasons) for a short amount of time, closing the door tight behind them. The children and dog are not allowed in this shed. I've even seen the kids pacing, waiting for the parents to emerge. What the HELL do they do in there? My best g...

I've recently discovered that one of my favorite past-times during this transition is wall improvements. The act of pulling things off the walls, patching up the holes and touching up the paint is like free therapy. Once you really look at your walls - especially five years after painting them - you'd be amazing how messed up they are. And my walls are plaster, so every hole had to be pre-drilled. Case Study: Here's a photo of Leah's dresser where I hung two simple shelves. The mess I made on the walls to hang them haunted me -- though they were easily covered by books and other shelf nicknacks. So this weekend, I removed shelves, spackled the holes (some rather large) and retouched the paint. The End Result: Completely terrific! And I feel great.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT I've definitely noticed cars stopping in front of the house for several minutes, and I assume they see for For Sale sign and are evaluating if they want to come in or not. (And yes, it's kinda creepy.) Also, Leah has noticed we're lacking fall and Halloween decorations, compared to some of our more festive neighbors. (Thanks to our daily walk down the block.) So yesterday I stopped by the landscape store and bought up a bunch of mums to pretty-up the front door. The landscape store was brimming with lots of different colored mums, fun scarecrows and other decor for the season. Plus, I just love a garden center at any time of the year. So, I enjoyed myself and took my time. (Alice was sleeping in the car.) I'm happy to report Leah was very pleased with the final look, though she has requested some scary, hanging ghosts and pumpkins of various sizes. Impossible to please, that one. For now, I hope it will entice more people to check out what...

No one has come to see my house again this weekend. That's two weeks now that we've gotten no visitors. This is very bad news. And it's beginning to feel personal. This is a great house. It's well-built, dry basement, good-size yard and a quick 20-minute drive into NYC (on most weekends) and Meadowlands stadium. I'm walking-distance to a top-rated elementary school and have great neighbors. And it's way cute inside, with new appliances! WHAT is the problem? I realize the economy sucks and getting a mortgage is tough. And, yeah, if you're in a house, it's going to be hard to sell it, but ... sigh ... it's not that bad, right? Come on. Come on! BUY MY HOUSE!

It's big and blue and in front of an absolutely awesome house -- come and buy my house. You won't be sorry! And there's even a cute kid available for pictures and tours. Icing on the cake! VANNA WHITE, WATCH YOUR BACK! By the way ... that's what she wore for school picture day, today. Adorable, no?