Last ones (at least for now)

The bedrooms are the only places where we're looking to do anything right away, and that's mainly because we have our bedding for everyone, and the paint colors that are in the rooms right now don't match.

This is going to be Emily's room. Love all the windows, but man, you should see this color in person. Instant migraine/seizure. It's bright. So...one of the first things we'll do on day one is lay on a ton of primer and paint this room. I already picked the colors to match her bedding. I figure we'll need to paint before she actually sees her room, because if she gets a glimpse of the pink, I'm afraid she'll never allow us to change it. Emily will also have her own walk-in closet, which I'm super excited about.

This room will ultimately be the spare bedroom. It's the smallest of the bedrooms, although it has a walk-in closet (don't tell Dan, but I'm planning on taking that closet over as needed). We have the furniture for the room - it's currently hanging out in Mom and Ron's spare room - but no bedding yet, so not sure what we're going to do with this room color-wise.


This room will be Owen's. The one thing I feel bad about is his closet...it's not as big as everyone else's. Dan assures me this won't matter since Owen is a boy, and he won't care about a huge closet. Still, I don't want him to feel left out. However, it was either a big spacious room with a smaller closet, or the room above which would have been smaller. We'll do this room in a tan that will go with his nursery set and his big boy bedding (and yes, I already got it, but I totally blame my jumping the gun on a fellow guidance counselor and her obsession with Pottery Barn Kids).

Monday is the home inspection, and I'm really excited for it, primarily because I want to measure windows to start ordering blinds for the bedrooms. Dan and I roughed it for a week or so when we moved into our current house with no blinds, but that is not happening with kids who will be up at the crack of dawn.

Our inspection on Weldon didn't go as well as we'd hoped...some things need to be repaired, although for the most part, they seem small. The big thing is that our radon tested higher than what is acceptable, so we do need to do something about that. The appraiser came today as well, so keeping our fingers crossed that the house will appraise for the amount of the loan.

Still can't believe the snow we got over the past week here...I haven't been to work since Tuesday! The piles feel like they're not going to melt until April, but I'm hoping that the snow is over, and I can start thinking spring soon!

More pictures...

More pictures of the new house!

This is the master bath...wish I had a picture of the kids' bathroom, b/c it's much more interesting. They have a turtle motif going on in there, which isn't really my style, but since it's for the kids, it will be perfect.
Our bedroom...best parts you can't see. We have two walk in closets, which I'm so excited about. Finally I get a big closet of my very own!

The dining room...love the bay window.
The family room. The t.v. is wired to go above the fireplace, which may take some getting used to. Just seems odd, but Dan's excited about it.
Another view of the formal living room, which will be converted, at least for now, into a playroom to house the kids' toys.

The Verdict is In...

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!

The One....Finally

Who knew so much drama could happen in just a day or so? Yesterday, Dan and I found not one, but two, houses we liked. In fact, we liked both so much, we couldn't make a decision. Back and forth we debated. We knew we had to act fast if we wanted House A, because there was another offer on it (although we were told it wasn't a great one), and the owners had to answer by last night. We went over pros and cons of both House A and House B. We looked at it from all angles. And before we left our realtor late yesterday afternoon, we'd written an offer on House A. Big sigh of relief. Except....

The owners countered. Now, it wasn't about price or closing costs or anything significant. It was about master bedroom curtains, which they wanted to be sure we didn't think we'd get (we didn't want 'em) and a date that really didn't mean much at all. So late last night, Katie (best real estate agent...seriously, she's helped us through a lot) told us she'd send the new contract over, we'd sign, and we had a deal. Big sigh again, right? But...

I woke up this morning from a dream about House B. As I showered, I kept telling myself the reasons we chose House A. They were good reasons. But they were not enough to keep me from thinking about House B. So I texted Dan for backup. By the time he called me, I was in a full blown panic attack. I was convinced we'd chosen wrong. I sobbed. I couldn't breathe. It was ugly, especially before 6:30 A.M. So...I put in a cry for help to Katie.

Turns out, because the owners of House A countered, we weren't beholden to them or their house. We had an opportunity. After one long list of pros and cons, several emails and texts, and a very near nervous breakdown (me, not Dan), we made a decision. We wrote an offer on House B tonight, and we should hear back by Monday. And the panic attacks? Gone. This is our home, I'm 100% sure of it.

House Hunters, York Edition

I've been waiting for today ever since last Friday (okay, probably ever since we put our house on the market). We are going later today to look at 5 houses that are definite possibilities for us. Although we've looked at houses before, we knew we couldn't do anything even if we found a super nice house, because ours had to sell first. But now...not only can we do something if we like a house, but we HAVE to do something sometime soon so we have a place to go after April 16th!

On another note, the inspection for our house happens tomorrow, so things are moving along nicely. We also have a radon meter in our basement right now, and tomorrow evening we'll find out if we have unhealthy levels. Not only do I not want to spend the money to fix radon, but I'll be a little freaked out that for 6 years, we've been living with it.

Hoping to post some pics of the houses we're considering later on...maybe one of them will be our new home!

Our Big News!

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!

After 3 months on the market, lots of showings but no offers, last night our realtor came over to tell us we had an offer. The offer, to put it mildly, was ridiculous. So for 2 hours we went back and forth with counter-offers. In the end, I think we did well. We didn't go below what we needed to get into a new house, and we have some time to find that next home. I'm excited, nervous, and stressed suddenly all at once! Hoping that next week we'll take a day to look at the houses we're interested in...seven at this point. But...by mid-April, no matter what, we'll be somewhere else!

Christmas pics

I know I'm a little late on this, but here are just a few pictures from Christmas time!

Auntie Amber got Emily just what she wanted...a tutu and fairy wings.

Christmas seemed to be filled with Dora this year...

My super cute, super cool little guy modeling his new shades
Christmas Village, where my dad insists on journeying when he's around for the holidays. I actually enjoyed it much more this time, probably because the last time he took us there, it was blizzard conditions and ridiculously cold.

Overall, we had a wonderful holiday. Emily finally seems to "get it" this year with Santa and presents and everything else. Looking forward to next year when Owen's in the same boat.