TILT!

I think I know what a pinball in a pinball machine feels like.

You think you are rolling along one way then BAM! you end up going in a completely opposite direction. So you decide this direction isn't so bad. You kinda like this direction. Then BAM! off you go bouncing and spinning and rolling in yet another direction.

Umm. You are probably thinking, "Where is this post headed? Could we please just get back to pictures and videos of the kids?"

We took the For Sale sign down in front of our house this morning. We are not moving. . . for now. If you recall this post, we were all set to move to Chapel Hill. Our house was on the market; we cleaned out closets; we told friends and neighbors that it was just a matter of time before we left. Mentally, I was prepared to leave our house, neighborhood, friends, church, preschool, etc and make the transition.

After a series of events over the last few weeks at Kevin's work, it looks like the best thing for us (for now) is to stay here and have Kevin commute up to Chapel Hill one or two days a week. If we were to move, we would run the risk of getting up there and then possibly having to move again within the same year based on the needs of his company. The commuting part will not be fun, but we can deal with that. Not having to sell our house in this terrible housing market is a huge blessing (we were going to take a significant loss on it).

So after 6 weeks of trying to constantly keep our house in perfect shape for any potential showings, we can get back to life as we know it.

Today I think I'll ---

• leave the beds unmade
• leave the dirty dishes in the sink
• leave the clean, folded laundry on the dining room table (what else do you use yours for?)
• put our family photos back where they belong (we were told to take down any personal items)
• put my weekly menu and calendar back up on my refrigerator (I've been lost without them)
• actually let the kids play with their toys without telling them to quit making a big mess

I think Sadie may be the most excited of all. When we did have a showing we took her to our neighbor's house with a fenced in yard and tied her up there. It's been pretty cold here lately. Let's just say for a dog who spends 23.9 hours inside a toasty warm house, she was less than thrilled when we left her there.