New House!

So I'm starting to recover from the shock about this house!  Last week at this time, we'd just returned from an evening open house, followed by a trip to the park and driving around looking at houses.  We were both feeling discouraged about our prospects of finding a home in this town.  The open house was nice, but a 3 bedroom on a busy street.  All the other homes in our price range required major work or updates, were on a busy street or backed up to a lake, and/or had virtually no backyard.

So on Monday morning when this house came up on my listing portal from the realtor, I immediately knew I wanted to see it ASAP.  Steven was about to go out of town but was able to slip away, and our realtor was able to get us in on short notice in between other showings he had that day.  We all loved the house, and we were immediately ready to make an offer.  That evening and the next day found us hesitating about the pricing and concerned about the number of showings and offers the house would have.

To make a long story short, by Thursday morning our offer was accepted, but I was still in shock and not ready to believe that we might actually get this house.  The idea of finding a house in our price range that was ready and fully updated was just not on my radar.  Not only is it updated, but it has 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a huge yard, and is on a cul-de-sac street within walking distance to a Catholic church! 

Slowly, I'm adjusting to the idea that we might really be living in this house later this year!  Steven and I just kept giggling when we pulled up the listing again later in the week and noticed different things about the house.  We initially didn't realize that it comes with a huge stainless steel fridge (hopefully with a working ice-maker)!  It has an alarm and sprinkler system!

I thought I'd always want to live in a single story home.  I like living on the same floor as the kids and being so close to everything they're doing.  I like to know what they're getting into and I like that the little ones are just down or across the hall when they need us (sickness, bad dream, potty training, etc).  But recently I've started to feel different.  We have a loud family, and our rental home has almost all tile floors.  By the afternoons, my head is spinning and I am just wanting some quiet space for myself.

I watched or read something the other night about "reclaiming your home."  I think this is something that has slowly happened to us in the past few years, and maybe even more this past year.  Our bedrooms are all very close to each other, and so the master bedroom and bathroom have become a place where little people are randomly coming in and jumping on the bed, leaving piles of toys and books, leaving toothpaste everywhere, and refusing to shower anywhere else!  With such a large playroom right behind our main living area, and with large open doorways connecting them, everything feels like it's part of the playroom.


I hope that having our bedroom on the main floor, while the kids' rooms and playroom are upstairs, will help us to reclaim more of a quiet place downstairs for adults.  I love having a kid-friendly house, and I enjoy having friends over and having these large living spaces to share with them.  But I am also excited about restructuring our house in this way and reclaiming some spaces for ourselves.  And I really, really can't wait to have a quiet evening reading in my new garden tub.  That has been my dream for many years!  To get both a garden tub and an updated white kitchen with granite...this is one happy mama!

Okay, more happy reflections on home buying in the coming days.  Have a lovely week, friends!