Moving In

The movers unpacked the two trucks and stuffed a bunch of boxes and furniture into the house.

Boxes are plentiful because of the things stored in closets that will not have a corresponding home. My craft cave is gone so the stuff has gone to Catherine's bathroom storage. There is no closet under the stairs so not sure where that's all going. No closet in either of the boys' rooms but that was mostly just hats and some toys. No coat closet so we're having to improvise some hook sets and use hangers on the hooks for our good coats. Also have to figure out where to store everyone's winter hats and gloves and stuff. I suppose the unit I had in the closet to hold shoes could have a few baskets on top for holding the hats and gloves.

We took a trip into Farmville today to go to Lowes. Closest Lowes is 24 miles away - one way. :-) Farmville also has the closest WalMart and it's the home of a university so there's a bunch of cute shops and neat places to eat. We had lunch at a place called Macadas. It's a sandwich place - tons of yummy  sounding sandwiches and homemade potato chips.

Damages at Lowes after filling up two flatbed carts and a shopping cart AND ordering a dishwasher with delivery, installation, and a 4-year extended warranty...let's just say it was a lot.

Bonus when we checked the mailbox on Thursday night when we got here? Christmas cards and a refund check from the title agency for a little over $900! Yeah that covered a bunch today and the rest was already budgeted in savings.

I'm on my computer trying to back up my iphone 3GS so I can get all that crap on my new iphone 5. I couldn't get a 4 or 4S for some reason. Oh no...I know the reason. Apple is assholish and once they decide you need the next model, they discontinue the previous ones even when they worked better.

Cardboard and more cardboard

Every day I try and pack up another section of the house that isn't being used. Today it was the craft cave! I haven't packed the wrapping paper but that's about the only thing left back there to pack!

Slowly but surely, every room in the house is being filled with cardboard boxes. Dining room? Everything is packed up but the fruit basket and some thanksgiving art that I'm going to throw away.
Living room? Packed but for some crafty stuff I'm still using. Family room? Packed but for the electronics. Kitchen? That'll be last but I have packed up a bunch of small appliances and tools that I'm not

The kids bedrooms will be packed up this weekend and Wednesday. There's not much to do other than throw clothes in boxes, throw stuffed animals in boxes and pull down some shelves/posters/art. I think I'll work on my bedroom tonight. There's still a bunch of stuff under the bed and the closet that needs to be dealt with.

I can't wait to be unpacked already! LOL

We bought the farm!

We did it!

We've actually gone and done it.

We've bought a farmhouse over 231 years old!

We got to the office earlier than we thought - we always make sure to add time to travel because going anywhere around Washington DC takes twice as long as you expect it to. But an earlier arrival time meant we could start earlier - they didn't have any problems with letting us start signing all the paperwork.

As we worked our way through the pile of papers, we told the attorney and our realtor all the newest information we'd discovered regarding the property - the footstones, Thomas Jefferson mentioning by name and county the second owner of the house and his brother, the original owner and his either 10 or 15 children (conflicting accounts of how many kids per wife).

Our realtor, my husband Cam, and I all had a celebratory shot of the whiskey we brought down (complete with black to-go cups LOL). Everyone shook hands and congratulations were offered around. The financing representative from Farm Credit told us that they also do loans for farm equipment and buildings so make sure we keep her information (which I will). The attorney is a big history nut, and we'll need a lawyer and I will recommend my realtor to anyone looking for property down south of here. He was absolutely wonderful and found me the farm of my dreams!

I'll write more later; I'm going to go order my chicks.

Historic Information

I got some information from the realtor today about the house. Was very surprised and thrilled to get the information on the original owner.

The original owner was in the English Navy. He moved to Virginia with his first wife, and two sons; a third was born in the US. His first wife died when he was 68, and he remarried and had eight children with his second wife. I'm still doing the research, he fathered his last child at 86 or so! :-)

Found this website with tons of information about the Floods.

Also included in the packet of information was a little map of the cemetary. Apparently the one headstone there is one of ten or so - but there are eight markers in the ground that are covered with pasture grasses. The other headstone is a double and was for members of the Word family.

Closing is tomorrow. Of course, weird little things are cropping up. The paperwork didn't get to the title person until late this afternoon and we don't know how much we're supposed to be paying. Then, my realtor read through something and discovered that while the purchase agreement has the seller paying most of the closing costs, there's nothing he can find in the paperwork...so this will hopefully all work its way out in the morning because we'll have to leave the house as soon as we get James on the bus so we can make it to the office for the noon closing.

Walk-thru, wanderings, and wants...

Headed down to the farm on Friday. I needed to do the walk-thru to ensure the repairs were made. The ones I could check, I did. I should have gone under the house to turn on the water though…the water pressure remains a concern. However, as the other plumbing work was completed along with the electrical, I’m pretty confident it was dealt with. That and my realtor has asked for the receipts to prove the work was done.

Because we were supposed to have the closing on Friday, I had already planned on taking the day off from work. So instead, I had arranged to tour the primary school so that James would hopefully feel less uncomfortable about changing schools. Transitions are really hard for him. The sensory integration disorder syndrome (SIDS) that he has ends up making transitions, crowds, strangers, unknown and unfamiliar situations that much more difficult,  but he did very well at the school.  Everyone we met at Buckingham County Primary School was super nice and very friendly. They seemed really interested in our kids and our kids seem really interested in their school now as a result. 

The school is newly renovated – I think the principal said the building itself was still being finished (signs of on-going construction are evident as is the incomplete landscaping). I think James and Catherine are going to not only do well, but succeed and prosper. They have a kitchen lab to teach food science, art and music rooms, and about 1000 kids between the primary school (grades k-2) and the elementary school (grades 3-5) but then again, it’s a county-wide school and thankfully we’re only about five miles from either the primary or the middle school. They have self-contained classrooms (for kids like James) and an advanced “novel” program that Catherine would love!

The middle school is not as new, but it was constructed in 2003. They have separate wings for each grade (6, 7, and 8) as well as one for the electives. The nice thing about the middle school is that is has about 450 students. Currently, Andrew attends a combined MS/HS that has over 4,000 students - the main hallway is 1/4 mile long! I'm rather happy that he'll be attending a school that has numbers closer to what I grew up with in an environment that isn't so obsessive/compulsive advanced, IAB, or honors programs. Unfortunately we weren’t able to take a tour because I didn’t prearrange. I wasn’t too sure how long it was going to take at the elementary school and given James’ issue, it made more sense to make an appointment at the primary school.

I was pleased with the mix of all kinds/colors of kids; yeah, so not PC. But honestly, who doesn’t think about that when they are moving? I want my kids to know and learn about various types of people and lifestyles, not just about how the upper-middle class white people live.

The house was cleared of all the furniture. Someone bought the big ass tractor (that we couldn't afford and can't use anytime soon anyway) but they did leave the John Deere ride-on mower that we’ve agreed to purchase. They also left some of the paperwork regarding the heat pump and AC unit as well as the flooring. In addition, they left some plans they had done up regarding making some changes to the house. Not sure we'll be using those, however the first few pages contain the layout as it is, so that’s really neat to have.

The previous owners also left behind some old frames that they had hanging on the walls as art. They were left because the previous owners said they “came” with the house. I can’t wait to hang them where I want them – I have a few ideas to group some smaller framed photos within the frames.

They left a “Welcome Home” note which I thought was super nice and included the names of the nearest neighbors as well as a handyman with whom they had a hunt/yard work arrangement  deal. He does the yard work in exchange for being allowed to hunt on the 40 acres. I’m good with that as long as he doesn’t shoot my livestock and he teaches me to hunt!

Cameron and I wandered around on the land trying to find fence lines and I found some old rusty tractor attachments. I would love to turn them into yard art – I love the whimsical idea of that. I’m going to clear out the area of all the bushes around the house. In the area near the L-shaped porch, I’m going to pull out all the bushes and growth, put the painted tractor parts  (shiny fire-engine red) there, and grow a small herb garden in that area. We got to talking earlier today about how the farm should be – old fashioned, hippy, utilitarian? I want red barns – we’re going to be painting the existing barn and storage shed red  which screams FARM to me along with the big white house. But I want whimsy! I want to leave or at least re-purpose the art sculpture pieces in the yard that the previous owners left. I want to cut down the dead big trees near the house and carve the stumps into mushroom shaped stools, or small backed seats…and paint them wacky colors. I want to paint the chicken coop red but maybe paint the fenced run in all colors of the rainbow. I want the farm to be a happy, comfortable place not uptight and serious.

In our wanderings, we found a pile of discarded weathered wood boards and posts (must have been an old barn) that I plan on using to build the kids a tree house somewhere. Maybe down near the creek – I think that would be a great place to play.

Unofficially...

The appraisal process has been the biggest pain in the ass I could ever not go through again. To begin with, the dude who was tasked with putting the appraisal together decided to take off the entire week of Thanksgiving and not TELL ANYONE so that was delayed at least a week.

Once it was completed, it was almost immediately rejected. The first time. It was sent back with six or seven things to correct. So that Thursday we thought it was finished...no. Check on Monday.

Checked on Monday. MORE TO FIX! This time, the information should be back by Thursday; so ready to us by Friday.

Friday came and no...there were still things that were not good. The underwriter was working to make the appraisal work but still, no...not approved.

Today, Monday was the day... and what to my wondering ears do hear but the fact that it's still not officially approved BUT (this is a big but), it's been sent to the auditor's office. This is good only because the mortgage company clerk said that the paperwork is not usually sent to the auditor's office unless it's already been approved by the underwriter.

There are too many people who have control over my life at this moment in time and it's a bit disconcerting and more than a bit annoying.

Per the closing agreement, we were supposed to do the closing on Friday - THIS FRIDAY! But we don't know if the appraisal is official and even if it is, they (the mortgage company) say they need the sewer/well water report - and we don't have that.

But!!! The electrical and plumbing repairs were made this past week; the roofing repairs were delayed due to rain but should be dealt with this week. The old oil tank area was tested and there are no leaks and no environmental issues as a result of that.

I keep posting wish list items to my amazon list hoping this is all going to pass.  My wish list is here: http://amzn.com/w/1XLV4SSN35RBJ

I've held off on registering the kids at their new school til we know (we were supposed to cut school last Friday to check out the schools and register) and now we'll have to pick another day. I want my kids to see what they are getting into before the holiday break. I want them to meet at least some (in the case of the 7th grader) of their teachers before they start on Jan 3.