Where is the house?

We've been working on buying a house for about two months now.... For the last week or two it has been pretty rough. I keep thinking we're all set and then another problem crops up. We were shooting for the 15th as a close date and we're now being told that it may be as late as the 26th or 27th.

I'm not usually a complainer; I prefer to just hold my tongue and work out a way to fix the problem. This time, however, I am really losing my patience! There have been several rounds of repairs, paperwork, etc., needed, and the sellers' realtor has not been the most reliable or responsible with helping to get the sale completed. (Exhibit A: he told us that missing gutters had been replaced, when they hadn't, so we wasted a lot of time having an incomplete repair job re-inspected.... Long story, but I think re-hashing it will just make me grumpy.)

I planted a whole lot of seeds in little pots to give my future veggie garden a head start, and they are now filling up our dining table, getting leggy and dying off one by one. I'm not sure if it's the lack of adequate direct sunlight, the dry air from our heaters, or too much/not enough water, but they are not doing well. I want to get them in the ground as quickly as I can. The weather is finally turning away from winter's constant rain, and I'm told we'll even see sun later this week! Time to get some plants in the ground, just as soon as we have a yard!

We found out today that we may not be in the house by Easter, which was previously my big "consolation prize" after having missed the deadline to move by the 15th. I was looking forward to doing an egg hunt in our new back yard for Jack. Well, I'm hoping we can work something out with the sellers so we can still move in by Easter, even if we haven't officially closed the sale by then.

In summary, and in an attempt to regain some of my usual optimistic outlook:
Yes, the house appraised much lower than our agreed-upon price and that added some time to the negotiations, but thankfully we have motivated sellers. That means we chopped a significant chunk off the price we're paying, instead of losing the sale entirely.
Yes, the bank appraiser is being exceptionally strict on her requirements for certain repairs and upgrades that are needed before we can close, but that means there will be less for us to take care of after we move in.

That's about all I can file in the "optimism" column for now. Time to go to bed. Tomorrow we'll keep working on our gradual packing and hope that we get a firm close date worked out ASAP so we don't end up with everything packed and no place to go. I've already stalled on the packing quite a bit. It's hard to know that you'll be moving within a week or so, and not be able to get things boxed up and ready. However, the difference between moving in 3 or 10 days is rather big, especially when you have two young children to account for!

Is this normal for the house-buying procedure? I feel like most people have a close date, and that is the date they actually close the sale!! Please wish us luck and think happy thoughts about the Bowlings moving SOON!