the scoop

So a lot has happened in the past month, and I decided to do a post to get everyone up to speed. It may be a little unorganized because that's our life right now! Everyone keeps asking how we can just pick up and move. It is much more difficult than those pre-recession first married days when we had nothing to lose by packing up the uhaul and heading to the Midwest, but everything is falling into place even if it isn't the most ideal situation for all the details.
 chris' job: his work offered for him to stay on and telecommute. He works for a corporate relocation company helping employees of large companies manage the logistics of moving for their job. Much of his job is done by email and phone so telecommuting will be an adjustment in terms of not bring around people in an office but shouldn't be too difficult for his actual work.
 our house:this is a tough one.  When we bought our house in 2008, everyone was saying what a great time it was to buy. I read home buying for dummies and suze Ormans books, we had a decent down payment and got a low interest rate. We were very adamant on our budget despite the real estate agent telling us we should go higher in the buyer's market. We thought we got a great deal. We paid almost 20% less then the neighbors down the street paid the year before. (I'm sure.you see where this is going.) Well, now our house can be listed at the same price the previous owner bought it for in 1999. We obviously aren't going to bring 30k+ to the table to sell it so we will be renting it. We can only rent it for about 80% of our mortgage/taxes, but at least it is something. We found a great couple with a 5 month old baby who love the house and Penny's Dr. Seuss room. We are using a property manager to handle repairs, rent, etc. So hopefully in 3-5 years we can sell it. I'm not thinking the market will be much better but at least we won't have paid the entire loss since we'll be paying a good chunk of our mortgage with the rental income. This is so frustrating for many of my friends too. We are all stuck in houses because we didn't realize what a risky investment it was to buy. It seemed like the next responsible thing to do. I know we are better off than those who bought a couple years before us.  Plus, our neighborhood hasn't fallen as much as others and the houses don't stay on the market as long as some other Minneapolis neighborhoods, but that isn't much consolation when we've lost so much value.
 Penny's daycare: many of you know I'm in love with penny's daycare.  I purposely looked for Spanish immersion and found the best place within a mile away. Penny often speaks full sentences in Spanish especially if I'm not paying attention to her. The other day when she wanted milk and I didn't get it for her right away she said "quiero leche". Plus, the teachers are so wonderful. Penelope still stops every day at her infant class to get a hug and a kiss from Irma, her infant teacher. It's hard to move her and I haven't even told daycare yet because I'm kind of in denial that she won't be going there. Once you've been on their waiting list for over a year the idea of giving up the spot seems sacrilegious.  Unfortunately there isn't a Spanish immersion daycare in Rochester. I found a Spanish home daycare but no spots for over a year. After touring a few centers we decided to go with Primrose for their great preschool and kindergarten program. The staff seems great and it is really close to where we will be living.
 The new house: we will be renting in Rochester. After a frustrating search of dingy apartments and some really beat up houses, we found a place available in march. It is an older ranch house. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms(!!!) And a finished basement. It is in pristine condition. We were the first to look at it. I asked to sign the papers before the tour was over and anyone else swooped in to take it.

The next month: if you find errors in this post it is because I have typed the whole thing on my kindle on the bus ride to Rochester. Yes, for all of February and the first week of March I will have a 4 hour round trip commute. But at least it is on a nice shuttle bus where I can nap,read, knit etc. I'm missing precious Penelope time though so I'm glad it is only a month. Chris will certainly earn superdad award! Amazingly, 2 full buses of employees/students make the trek every day.

 Is it all worth it? After 2 days of orientation and exploring Rochester the past few weekends, I'm very excited for this next Strand adventure!! I'm sure there will be more bus updates over the next month.