There’s no sign in the front yard yet. But I imagine it every time I pull in the driveway.

Six months, George and I sigh. Next March.

We’ve decided to stop letting the housing market run the show: we’re putting our house up for sale next year, for better or for worse. The market in our area has made small, steady improvements, and we hope that by next year, things will be looking up a bit more. It’s clear that there will be no profit; if we can break even or just end up less than $5K in the hole, we’ll be THRILLED.

We had a real estate agent take a look at the house in January, but at the time–especially because we had a not-quite-3-month old baby who wasn’t sleeping through the night yet!–we just weren’t ready to deal with house showings and counter offers and apartment hunting and packing. Now… now we are. There are just a few things left to cross off our list: The basement needs organized. The master bedroom is the only room left to paint. The yard/landscaping will need spruced up after the winter. A few other minor items (new knobs for kitchen cupboards, new faucet in master bathroom upstairs, a fresh coat of stain on the deck), and then–we’ll call the real estate agent back.

Oliver loves his preschool so much that we’ve decided to stay in this area for the following year (assuming that he will need a second year of preschool before starting Kindergarten). After that, we’ll have to finalize a few decisions which will determine whether we stay in Ohio or move to Boston. We’ve already found a few fantastic 3-bedroom apartments/townhouses around here to consider in the meantime.

One way or the other, we feel good about moving forward. It’s exciting. And as much as we love this little house, the home we’ve made with each other and our two little boys, it’s time to make a new home elsewhere. Ridding ourselves of the high property taxes and the cost of maintenance and repairs will save us a LOT of money (and time!) so we’re able to DO MORE (various activities for the kids, save up for their college years, take vacations, etc).

Six months from now, the sign in the front yard won’t be imaginary anymore.

“Once you make a decision, the Universe conspires to make it happen.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson