The House

I mentioned back here that we bought a house. It's all happened really quickly and to be honest, I'm still digesting the fact that we are going to be moving to the suburbs. It was always in the plan. An inevitable move of a young family from a small condo in the city to the space we need in the burbs. It's just taking a little bit of time to come to terms with the fact that we are moving. I'm sure it's normal nerves I'm feeling, and I know once we are there and moved in, it will eventually feel like home. But for now, I'm focusing on enjoying our last few months in the city and getting excited (and anxious!) about all the renovations we plan to do on the house.

It all started about a month ago when I was having panic attacks at 2, 3, 4 am. I would wake up in a cold sweat and freak out about having a newborn, a toddler and a dog in our little condo. I started worrying about taking the dog out to pee with two kids, about staging and showing our house when we want to move, about finding a new place, etc. all with a newborn. And toddler. And dog. It just overwhelmed me. So Rick finally told me to just call the realtor and start looking. If we find something great, we'll move now instead of later. I saw 18 houses in almost 2 weeks. There were only two I wanted to take Rick to see. One of which is the house we eventually purchased.

There's not a lot on the market right now, and in our price range, every single house needed some work. Even at the top of our price range, these houses were not perfect. Luckily, we got a great deal on the purchase price of the house because it's in really poor condition and had been on the market for months with not a single offer. Truthfully, I don't think many people could see past the 70s decor or the smell. Luckily for me, I watch a LOT of HGTV and am not a first-time-homebuyer so I can see potential. And this house has it.

It's on a street that dead ends into the elementary school that our kids will eventually attend. It's got a huge basement (which was a must on my list!), an open kitchen/living room space, a mudroom (swoon!!) and four bedrooms. Plenty of space for us to grow into. The kitchen needs a complete gut, the master bath needs a total gut and the rest needs cosmetic updates. I plan to overhaul the exterior in the Spring once the ground thaws and we can repaint the siding in mild weather.

So there's a lot to do. No doubt. We close mid December and plan to start construction the next day. We hope to move in March, and hope I don't go into preterm labor. Or go on bed rest like my last pregnancy. We are currently working with our contractor to draw up plans, and I've begun the beginning stages of shopping and researching tiles, cabinets, vanities, etc. It's a lot. Especially pregnant with a toddler. But, I know it will be worth it in the end and I know we will be so glad we did this now instead of next summer when we have a new baby to juggle.

So for now, I'm trying to embrace the stress and focus on the positive. We get to make this house into our home.

Here's a picture of the front of the house.

 Like I said, it needs work, but I can't stop looking at it and reminding myself, "this is where I'm going to raise my babies." And that is what I'm so excited about. Life is good.