SOLD to the lady in the second row!

It's official: We bought a house.

We sold our house.

Wow- it's been a lot more work than I ever anticipated. Cleaning the house, showing the house, inspecting the house, fixing the house, negotiating the house....whew. I'm exhausted - and the work has just begun! We move at the end of May so I'm now measuring, picking out paint samples, ordering new carpet, picking out new furniture, etc. My husband is just focusing his efforts on the televisions right now. : ) That's clearly a full-time job by itself.

But, because we're leaving, I'd like to write a quick "goodbye" post to our neighbors (none of whom read my blog or know my name frankly).

Goodbye to neighbors next door who didn't smile or wave for 8 years....until we saw you with your brand new granddaughter. At least we know something makes you happy.

Goodbye neighbor who willingly told me why DHS was visiting your home. Was it supposed to make me feel better that it was your daughter who had the meth problem and not you?

Goodbye Zeus. Zeus, the big huge dog who makes Clifford the Big Red Dog look like an ant. We love you, Zeus. Sorry that your owners don't love us back.

Goodbye next door neighbor who has frequent visitors on Friday and Saturday nights. We hope someday you will find the love you are so obviously and painfully looking for. And, when you do find that love, we hope he mows your lawn and fixes your garage door.

Goodbye lady down the street who is so darn friendly. God bless you, but for the millionth time, yes, you have told me that your husband is a lawyer. I am well aware. I am sorry that I have never taken you up on your offer to visit with him "should we ever have a need" or "should I ever need a letter written." Thank you for your kind offers, but I think we have it covered.

Goodbye weird guy who rides by on a unicycle. We are so proud of you for never falling on our street!

Goodbye weird unicycling guy's wife who sincerely told us how much you would miss us and how you would love to watch our kids when we move. Um, forgive us for not taking you up on this offer, but we don't even know your name & although our standards of care are low for our children (see previous thousand posts), we don't think this is a good idea.

Goodbye military guy who so honorably serves our nation overseas and has been deployed more times than we can count. I very much enjoy your passion for the US of A, and your pitch during election season as to who I should vote for. Your insight was extremely valuable.

Goodbye new guy down the street. We don't know you but we despise your Iowa Hawkeye flag that waves at us every time we pass it. I apologize that my boys make puking noises out their window when we pass by.

Goodbye old man in yellow house who spends 100% of his time out in the yard. And, while we praise you for your beautiful yard, might you want to take a stab at your garage? When I watch TLC's "Hoarders" show, I am afraid I might see you one day.

Goodbye Ashton (Joey's friend) and family. Although we got off on a rough start when the police visited you because you put your child on your lap and drove around the block, and kind lady down the street ratted you out....I think we've really overcome that incident after a long explanation. And, although we feel you've safely recovered from that incident, we can't really support you pirating movies off of the Internet. But, should you get caught, not to worry - there's a lawyer down the street to "write a letter for you". Good luck with that.

Goodbye babysitter Samantha two houses down. The boys have really enjoyed you the last year. I also enjoyed texting you through your mother when you were grounded for 3 weeks. Please don't come home late again- that was weird.

Mostly, goodbye Anna Banana...our most FAVORITE babysitter in the whole wide world!! Since you are now 18 and moving on to college, our days together were ending anyway. We don't trust anyone with our boys as much as we trust you. We know they are loved, we know they have fun, we know you can handle them. You have babysat Joey since you were 14 and he was just a newborn and you have exceeded all expectations.

It's been real. It's been fun. Maybe not real fun. But, this was our first neighborhood. Our first street. Our first community. And, it will always hold a special place in my heart - even the crazy neighbors. Here is how they would say goodbye to us:

"Goodbye two parents with two crazy kids who don't listen to you. Goodbye to the barking dog who greets me every time I walk by your house. Goodbye to your yard - would have been nice if you would pick up poop a little more often. Goodbye to the 19 bikes, strollers, and mobiles you have for your 2 kids. Goodbye to the balls that I constantly find in my yard because your boys throw or hit them over the fence. Goodbye to you burning your sticks illegally. Goodbye to your white trash Grand Am that has become an eye sore for the entire neighborhood. It's been real. It's been fun. But, it hasn't been real fun."