my action pants must be in the laundry

I am completely frozen in my tracks here. I have no idea how to surmount the overwhelming task that lies before me.

My to-do list:
-Pack my entire house
-Separate out all items for the Salvation Army and for selling on Craigslist
-Take pictures of all stuff for sale and attach prices
-Clean, organize, downsize
-Empty our storage locker (which is currently packed to the gills with C R A P)
-Many, many trips to the garbage room
-Purchase necessary items for the new place
-Manage contractors who are renovating the new place
-Clean the old place once empty
-Clean the new place before we move in
-Do our taxes
-Change our address
-Oh yeah and look after my wee baby girl who takes up about 95% of my time and attention

Help!

All I can do is just sit here and stare at everything. I have so much to do I literally cannot even figure out how to begin. So I just keep staring. Doing nothing.

Any ideas on how to get started? And how to get it all done efficiently? I have about 4 weeks to complete all items on my list.

Any help/ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Oh yeah, and as promised, here are a few pics of the new place! (Note that none of the furnishings and decor are ours - the place was still occupied by the previous owner at the time of the photos.)


That guy pacing around is my husband. The other guy (on the stool) is my boyfriend. Haha kidding, that's the building inspector. Although he was kinda handsome. Also, note the exposed beams. Love it! They date back to the first growth forests of the area. Chic AND historic!


This is our view

And of course, my sweet little girl...


More photos to come after we move in...

pack it up pack it in let me begin

I am so happy to report that after an insane crux of real estate madness, the subjects have been officially removed on the sale of our current place AND - even more exciting - we are the proud new owners of a sweet and gorgeous new loft!

Hooray!

Of course, this did not happen without a few hiccups along the way. First off, there was a glitch with the subject removal. The appraiser didn't get his report into the bank on time and long story short, the bank dropped the ball and subjects were not removed when they were supposed to have been. This little detail meant that either we (the sellers) or them (the buyers) could back out of the deal. Fortunately the realtors jumped in and created an addendum to the purchase contract thus buying some extra time. I just got a call from our realtor a little while ago - it's finally official now: this place is as good as sold.

But that wasn't even the stressful part. When we put our offer in on the new place, we didn't realize that we'd be dealing with a total ass-hat. The current owner of our new place fussed and quibbled over every single cent, to a ridiculous degree. She was totally unreasonable and highly insulting to do business with; D and I almost walked away from the deal a few times during our numerous countering sessions with her. To illustrate how insane this woman was, her OWN realtor very nearly quit during this process because she was being so unreasonable. In the end, we decided that a few thousand dollars wasn't worth the risk of losing our dream home so we just ate it and appeased her ridiculousness. Five years from now, we won't remember the extra cost, but we would have remembered losing a great loft because our pride got in the way.

The good news is that the papers are signed and the Papaya family is movin' on up! Yeah yeah to a deluxe apartment in the sky.... (c'mon you knew that was coming...)

So now the fun part - coordinating the renovations and the move... Oh yeah, and did I mention I also take care of a wee baby 24/7? This month is going to be busy. Like really, really busy.

But worth it! We are very, very excited.

Oh how about some baby details? You know, it's only the reason I started this blog. Let's see...
-Maya is sitting up on her own now
-Maya does not like eating solid foods but we're working on it; mummy's boobs are still her #1 fave
-Maya "dances" when she hears music (by dancing I mean kinda rocking and bobbing up and down...OMG it's beyond adorable)
-Maya gives hugs now
-Maya is mastering cognitive reasoning; if you hide a toy underneath something, she knows it's there and looks for it
-Maya is really getting good at babbling. Her sounds are getting more and more complex every day.

She is such a little joy. And what a fun age she's at now. I am really enjoying this kid more than ever.

wheeling & dealing

OK here's all my updates...

House Sale:
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the purchaser's inspection and if all goes well, subjects will be removed and it's a done deal!

House Purchase:
We put in our offer today. Now just waiting and wondering...

For better or worse, all should be buttoned up by the end of the weekend, possibly by the end of tomorrow.

I'm a nervous wreck. I really hope everything goes smoothly and it all works out. I'm scared to get excited but too riled up to just sit still. The worst part is that there is absolutely nothing I can do to affect the outcome on this.

I think I'm going to go eat a pint of soy ice cream now.

Keep ya posted!

signed sealed delivered

Guess what I just received?

(insert drumroll here)

A signed copy of the accepted offer of purchase and sale on our home!

Yup, we got an offer. A darn good one too. We couldn't be happier with the way this deal is working out so far. All looks fantastic, but of course, we wait to pop the champagne (or the sparkling apple juice for those of us who are breastfeeding) until subjects are removed - which is happening this upcoming Saturday following the inspection.

So now, you may be asking yourself: Where oh where is the Papaya family going to live?

Well my friends, we have had our eye on an ridiculously awesome place. Even better that the first place we tried to buy. It's a warehouse loft conversion in the heritage district of Yaletown in downtown Vancouver. Oh yeah baby, we're talking exposed beams, brick walls, reclaimed wood floors, a REAL warehouse loft. It is soooo sweet and just my taste. Can't show you pictures of the inside yet but you better believe if this all works out I will post the shit out of some pictures of our (*hopefully!*) new place...

Just to whet your appetite, here is a picture of the outside of the building...

Anyway, gotta run, it's nearly 9pm and because of all today's excitement I am now just getting dinner on the table.

So nervous. So hopeful.

So excited.

family portrait

Believe it or not, I think this is the only picture of the three of us together (I'm usually the one taking the pictures). This photo was taken today, when we ran into a friend in the lobby of our building. She took this picture on her iPhone (sorry it's a bit grainy) and sent it to me this evening. Just had to share!