Well, my lips have been relatively sealed.
To recap for those who have not had to keep up with the house hunting drama, here ya go….
We met our Realtor in early January while we were in the US, primarily just to meet her in person and to get some preliminary ideas of where we would be looking for a new home. We thought we had a price range in mind but over the following weeks we ran the numbers over and over and decided we just did not want to be maxing out our budget. We have worked so hard to save for a home and it felt silly to save but then put it all into the house and then feel like we were scraping by each month. We wanted to be in an area with great schools, family friendly neighborhood, etc but everything was at least $100k more than we could spend. So we actually offered on a house in an area with so-so schools and ended up withdrawing our offer. There were complications with the seller, i.e his house was on the market for months and he couldn’t decide if he really wanted to sell it. So we moved on. Only the market has not been so slow this year and there are been so few nice homes within our price range! We initially thought we would be buying closer to March or April but with the market being so painfully slow and with so few homes that were even a reasonable possibility our agent really encouraged us to go ahead and make a move sooner rather than later. We had hoped initially for Seth or myself to be able to get back, tour houses and then offer but with the market so limited houses are being snapped up within a couple of days making it impossible to make the trip before making a decision. So we worked backwards knowing we could get out at inspection.
A couple of weeks ago as we scoured the list again a foreclosure caught Seth’s eye. It was one I had put on the “discard list” in the system. His thought was that it was in a wonderful area with wonderful schools but needs a lot of work. We could get it for less because it was a foreclosure and used some of our savings to make it our own. The metro is expanding out our way so we also knew that the house was much more likely to appreciate.
So we offered quite confidently because the banks agent had been quite open about what the bank was looking for. BUT, although they had been slow on offers, an hour before ours another offer came in. And within the next 12 hours 2 more came in. So the next day we learned we were competing with 3 other offers. The bank sent out an addendum asking for our “Highest and Best” offer. It was all a bit tricky because we were in the mountains with intermittent internet. We put in our highest and best and got word the next day that they had chosen our offer to negotiate with. We were pretty stunned. When we learned there were 4 offers we were sure we had little chance. So then we began with their counter, our counter back, followed by another 3 days of waiting for their answer. On Wednesday we were starting to wonder if we should go back to their counter. Our realtor pursued up-ing our price but then decided to wait. On Wednesday night of last week our realtor called at midnight to tell us they had accepted our counter.
So, on Monday Seth flew back to the US for inspection and will be there for a couple of days meeting with various people to get estimates on work being done, setting up lawn care until we arrive in July, going to Jackson’s new school to get the big kindergarten packet, etc. The inspection was yesterday morning. There were no major red flags so we don’t have any major concerns. The house needs lots and lots of work but we are hoping to spruce it up and make it home. There is some quirkiness that we are trying to work out like…say our queen bed barely fitting in the make shift master bedroom…but my husband assures me that it will all work out. If my side of the bed is pressed against a wall with no exit except for to climb over him does that mean I am exempt from night time response duty?! Yep, I think so. Push that bed against the wall. I will take sweet sleep over a bedside table any day. No really, the space will be a complication but we are working with a contractor to figure out how the heck we can miraculously push out some walls. Because I am all about keeping it real here I will be honest and say that this process has been less than fun. For those of you that know me well our lifestyle of moving so much takes it’s toll on me. I have been dreaming of a home of our own for a long time. This house is a huge blessing and I feel very fortunate to have found it but at this point I haven’t felt a ton of warm fuzzies. Dealing with the stress of arranging for other people to look at homes for us and relying on a zillion other opinions to make what feels like a very personal decision has been humbling at best. So I see so much potential in this house but there is nothing that makes my heart giddy at this point….most likely more due to the fact that I have never even stepped foot in it. I look forward to being in it and making it our own. (Many people have mentioned their concern about us not having space for our furniture from this ginormous house, no worries. You should all know me well enough to know I have already made a plan for arranging and selling it. No good and useful furniture will go to waste in this move rest assured 
We will be doing tons of improvements on the house so you can look forward to lots of “before and after” pictures. We are hoping to have most of the bigger stuff done before we move in. We will have a few weeks to work on it before our things arrive from Bern so we are going to try to take advantage of that wait time. We want to do lots ourselves but we are willing to have help on things we don’t have experience with!! Obviously we know nothing is for sure until the keys are in our hands. But at this point things are progressing and we are waiting for the April 6th closing. Stay tuned!
Oh yea, and it is in Herndon, Virginia so we will be close to lots of friends and family. And a Chickfila. And a Wegman’s with childcare. I will be joining Community Bible Study and MOPs with Owen. And Jackson will be embarking on his kindergarten adventure (I am so not ready for this one!!!!) And Seth will be starting a new job with Foreign Aide Department that he is really excited about. These things make me feel excited and anticipate this new chapter in the Kolb family adventures!
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It all started when we were on our trip to Texas. Our kids seemed to do well gradually adjusting to jetlag. Then we made our way to Seth’s parents lake house and “it” happened. Seth and I put Owen down for a nap and headed out for a walk with Jackson. Seth’s mom was sticking around so she could hear Owen when he woke up. Halfway around the lake I heard Owen’s voice carry across the water. But looking across the lake I could see my mother-in-law out front. That could only mean one thing….Owen got out of his crib. by. him. self. He was a free boy with this new skill and has made our lives extra interesting ever since. He did it one day after his 2nd birthday which was EXACTLY when Jackson did it. Only difference is that Jackson wasn’t so graceful and scared the living daylights out of himself so it took him months to try it again. Owen on the other hand had finesse and made it look easy.
By the time we got back to Bern there was no keeping him contained. A stern scolding, taking his pacifier, you name it we tried it, and it didn’t matter, he still climbed out. So, a few days after we arrived back after Christmas in early January we removed the front rail on his bed so that he now has a toddler bed. Take away the novelty and the habit will diminish right?!
helping daddy unscrew the bed.
Well, the novelty did not wear off. After the first week home we were so over the jetlag excuse. Owen was waking up all throughout the night…sometimes 10-15 times a night walking out of his room. He wasn’t fussing or fighting or screaming he was just wide awake and out of his bed. We started out with getting after him, telling him to stay in his bed, one of us lying on his floor, etc. We would lock the door and stand outside of it hoping he would go back to sleep and give up on opening the door and coming out. We have the typical stack of sleep books so we went through the gammat of suggestions. One of which was terrifying to try but actually worked to break his cycle. We would go in just before his typical say 2 AM wake up and we would re-situate him, give him his blankie, etc. Basically we did just enough to not wake him fully but to have him restart his sleep cycle. We had to and continue to have to unscrew his light bulb at night to remove that element of excitement for him. We have transitioned into not talking at all and just walking him back to his bed. Those have gradually been the things that we have seen changes come from.
When all else failed our friend lent us this Swiss baby sheet that is a bit like a straight suit sheet. You zip the baby in to a fitted sheet. By the following picture you can tell how Owen felt about it. He was jumping with so much resistance that he was pulling the sheet off of the bed. Needless to say we didn’t get beyond this initial attempt with the sheet. (sidenote: see the blue fabric wrapped on the rail of his crib….that was from his gnawing on the wood while teething phase)
So between early January and nearly March we have made slow, slow progress. The nights have gradually gotten better but the mornings have remained very early. Owen typically wakes up for the day at 5:30 AM if not earlier. That is when he begins to come out of his room, over and over again. Seth and I tag team and put him back in his room. He now has “the bunny clock” from Jackson’s room that shows him a picture of bunny sleeping or playing.
When asked the sleep rules at bedtime Owen will tell you “stay bed”, “no door”, “wait for bunny” and “no light”. The boy knows the rules….and ever so slowly we are moving towards obeying the rules. Slowly we are getting more rest.
The thought of another round of jetlag and the boys sharing a room starting in July is enough to make me cry after what we have been through. But we will just push through and do what we gotta do. Maybe being together will actually help?! Humor me. No need to reassure me that for years and years kids have shared rooms. I am aware. But I am also aware of our sleeplessness and my own kooky kids and they might not be stellar adapters with sleep. The transition to a shared room will only provide us a “Sleep Sage Part 2” in the future.
If you think of us, say a prayer for some great sleep. And pray for me this week as Seth heads back to the US. the thought of the early morning marches back to the toddler bed solo is a bit daunting knowing I will have the rest of the day sans assistance.
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Well the bad news is we are nearing the end of our last fondue season in Switzerland…the good news is we are nearing the end of our last fondue season in Switzerland. It seems we have acquired some baby tummies around here, only not the sweet, human kind, the “fondue baby” kind. It doesn’t help that each and every guest that comes has been dreaming of a pot of hot, bubbly fondue when they come! We do it for the guests, I say! Recently we had friends for fondue and we were trying to figure out how many times we had had fondue since we arrived. Because we have had 26 guests Seth said at least 26 times…that number is not really accurate because thankfully we had groups of guests which means we didn’t eat it THAT often. Here is the evidence of how many pots we had with guests…the rest are unfortunately unaccounted for. At least we won’t look back longingly on our time here wishing we had just enjoyed it. We have!
Last night I had a girls night out with some gals at the Fondu Hutte…here are some not so great pictures…
We ordered herb fondue and sun-dried tomato fondue. They were both delicious!! I am often scared to stray from the plain old cheese but these were both worth trying at home. If you are local and you haven’t tried the Fondue Hutte you will have to try it out! It’s a cozy set up with furs and blankets around, a fireplace and just generally very wintery and Swiss looking. Great for tourists as well. It isn’t cheap but a fun treat during fondue season. I believe they are only open November through February for fondue and they mainly do group reservations so you have to get a table on one of the few nights when it is open seating. Which I believe is Wednesday and Thursday! So hop on over before they close for the season!
Back to the fondue baby tummy… my goal for the coming months is to get into shape before our move. Unfortunately stress doesn’t normally do amazing things for me like help me miraculously drop the pounds! My attempts to exercise with the boys is comical. Yesterday I did crunches with Owen on my stomach and Jackson whipping around the exercise band. Fun times, I tell you. I am looking forward to Spring when the birds are chirping, the sky is blue and the temps are above 7 measly degrees. I can meet Seth at the door and leave for a walk before he even realizes that he has been abandoned with the starving housebound heathens boys. Here’s hoping for a healthy Spring! And the loss of fondue tummies!
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Our Swiss friends have been telling us about their apartment in the mountains since we arrived. It is in Grindelwald where we went with my brother Graham and my sister-in-law Tina. This past weekend they lent us their place for a few days. I kept it a secret from Seth until his birthday so he only knew about it for a couple of days before we went. I was actually hesitant to go at all considering it would require all of the packing of snow gear and resettling of kids with sleep. But we decided to give it a go and thought it might be a the perfect break from the house hunt stresses. Turns out the kids slept relatively well but the house craziness continued with numerous interactions with the bank and our realtor, i.e. messages in the night and wee hours of the morning. We still haven’t heard the final word on our counter offer but we are hoping for news tomorrow when the bank is back to work.
After a relatively snow free winter here in Bern it was fun to have some really snowy days! We left Bern Friday around lunch time and started with lunch at the Trucker Bar…sounds delightful huh. Seth had read they have the best burgers in Bern….after which I decided it’s just better to wait until the US for burgers. It looked good but was a bit scary. But then again it might have been the atmosphere that threw me. We hit the rode, arrived in the afternoon and geared up to sled and play in the snow. The next morning we went sledding at a place around the corner where they offer ski lessons and lots of winter sports. Seth and Jackson got sled passes and rode the automatic ramp up and the sled down. That afternoon we went to the indoor pool at the sports center. On Sunday we woke up to big beautiful snowflakes. We played in the snow with some oh so grumpy Kolb boys and had a big pot of fondue before packing up and heading back home. The boys slept like champs last night once they were back cuddled up in their own beds. The trip might have been just what Owen needed to jolt him back to being a sleeper.
Here are some pictures from the weekend.
Grindelwald
view from balcony
(not sure if you can tell but it appeared a bird landed in the snow and left his wing markings)
a bit deep for snow angels
happy boy
rosy cheeks
Heidi was our main read of the weekend
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