Home Sweet Home

This past Monday, our sale officially closed, and this house, became ours.

Our very first home. All our own. No more rent checks, no more landlords.

Of course, that means that when the plumbing decides to act up, or there's a rat in the attic at 3am (heaven forbid), there is also no landlord to call to come deal with it. But, there is such a sense of pride and satisfaction in owning our own house.

The week before we found this house, there was another one we thought we wanted. We had been working with a Realtor at the time, and it was the nicest home we'd seen up to that point (read: no appliances had been ripped out and there were no domestic violence-esque holes in doors). Also, it appeared to be in a really nice neighborhood, something else we had not found. We decided it was as good as we were going to be able to find, even though it was a bit more than we originally wanted to pay. We told our Realtor on Saturday that we wanted to make an offer. He told us he would draw up the papers, and we could officially make an offer that Thursday - oh, and to bring a $5,000 check with us as earnest money deposit. Now, I'm not going to get into specifics of our finances and whatnot, but we are a single-income family, with two kids, one on the way. We don't have very much in the way of disposable income, so when the Realtor said "Five thousand dollars", I literally almost started laughing. I thought for sure he had to be kidding. He knew we were looking to go with a VA loan - no money down, and $5,000 sounded as good as a down payment in my mind.

Richard and I exchanged awkward glances, telepathically asking each other, Is this guy serious?

The guy shifted, and said, "Okay, at least a thousand then."

Another awkward exchange of glances.

The realtor raised his eyebrows, "You have to show them that you're serious about buying, you have to give them something."

We promised to arrive on Thursday with a $1,000 check, although neither one of us knew where we were going to find that money over the next five days.

During the drive home, our excitement over having just made our first offer on a house faded into uncertainty and frustration. We began to feel that maybe we just weren't able to buy a home; maybe this was something that was still very much out of reach for our young family at this time. By the time we got home, 45 minutes later, I wrote an email to our realtor telling him we had changed our mind on the offer, and that we just didn't think we could buy a home now. Essentially, we broke up with him.

The following weekend my parents had been driving around, when they came across a house that was for sale by owner. They got a flier, spoke briefly to the sellers, whom they said were super friendly, and then they passed the information along to us. We thought the flier looked great, although we were still feeling very skeptical from the brief house hunting experience we'd had. The next day we went to check it out, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Looking back now, I am so glad we didn't stick with that first house. Aside from the financial issues we were faced with up front, I realize now that we were going to sacrifice a lot. The house was a good 35 minutes from the school Jacob now goes to. So either I would have had to change and dress three little kids four mornings a week, to get Jacob to school on time, or he would have had to change districts, which we really did not want to do, since the one he is in has such a fantastic reputation. Also, the backyard of that house, while gated, left much to be desired. It was quite small, without much of a yard to speak of at all. The inside of the house was nice enough, but there wasn't any sort of designated playroom, and the family room wouldn't have accommodated all of their toys, plus our furniture. And, to top it off, we were going to pay way over our budget for the house, that, in hindsight, was just so-so.

The house we ended up purchasing? It's perfect, if I may say so. I have so many visions for this house. The backyard, in particular. I think our boys will love spending long summer days out in the fenced yard running, playing, chasing, rough housing, imagining. It is the perfect yard for kids. There is already a swingset, and I would like to add a slide onto it. There is also a seriously awesome tree, that is pretty wide with a low center - the perfect kind of tree for a tree house of some sort, so we are going to get to work building something like that next summer. There is a large deck, which I envision us having barbecues and drinks on while we watch the kids run around in the grass. I am so beyond thrilled about our new home, it really has all of the things that we wanted when we first set out on the house hunt a few months ago. And it was just too ironic that within days of us becoming discouraged, and believing there was no way we could afford a home, we found the one that met all of our needs, and was within our budget. I firmly believe God had his hand on us, guiding us to that house, knowing it was the perfect one for us and our three boys.

Now all that's left to do is pack up our things and prepare for the big move!

So much to do, so little time.

With all that we have going on in our lives these days, I've been feeling the pressure to get us prepared for what lies ahead - mainly having a baby, and then moving. I have started packing up items we won't need over the next four months, as well as clothing that we won't miss. I am trying to downsize where possible, selling furniture and other large things that just simply can't make the move with us (i.e. our treadmill which has been sitting in our garage, sadly neglected for far too long). On a related note, anyone interested in a treadmill?

In the midst of the downsizing though, I have also been bringing in more furniture to our bedroom: baby furniture. We only have two bedrooms in the house we're renting now. Binker and Bug currently share a room, and while there is actually plenty of space for a crib in it, I just don't feel comfortable having a brand new baby sleep in there with them. I know they wouldn't intentionally hurt him, but I worry about them climbing into the crib to get a closer look, or jumping in the crib while baby is trying to nap. So, even though I've never really been a fan of having my kids sleep in our room, we decided the best decision (and safest one), is to have baby stay with us until we move into our new house, where he will have his own room.

So earlier this week I brought Bug's old crib into our room, and today my mom helped me bring the baby changer in as well. I just spent over an hour putting away size newborn to 6 month clothes in the drawers of the changer, putting blankets and stuffed animals on the crib, and organizing diapers that I have stocked up on under the crib. Man, it feels so good to be so on top of things! (For once in my life, ha). 

The thing is, now that it is all set for baby, I feel like he should be here anytime. In reality though, I've got just under 8 weeks to go in this pregnancy. I think that because Bug was born 5 and a half weeks early, I just feel this fire under me, making me jump to action, afraid that we won't be prepared if this baby comes early too. Having a preemie will do that to you. But, I have no reason to think that I won't go to term this time. Everything is moving along on schedule, I haven't suffered any trauma, or fallen down the stairs (like I did with my last pregnancy), which, we kind of assume led to the early birth. So, for all intents and purposes, I may have just busted my butt this week getting ready for baby, only to have his things sit in our room collecting dust for almost two more months. Sigh.

As they say though, better to be prepared than not, right? And now I don't feel myself freaking out so much, thinking we won't be ready for his arrival. And it also frees me up to focus on doing more packing and move-prep while I can, before I've got three kids to think about. I'd like to hope that after the baby comes, I will still be productive, but I'm a realistic person. After having Bug I lived in my pajamas for literally a month. And it was probably two weeks after he was born, that I got around to taking a shower and washing my hair. Husband was gone, and while my mom helped out, it was just a shock to my system going from one kid to two kids, the older baby being only 10 months old at the time. Yeah, I don't know how I kept my sanity through that either. It's just a blur of staying up all night with Bug, then getting up bright and early with Binker. So, don't judge me for letting showers and appropriate clothing go by the wayside, 'k? Thanks.

One of my cousins told me awhile back that it is easier to go from 2 to 3 kids, than it was from 1 to 2, so I am hoping she is right, and that I will find that I am used to being in a state of constant chaos, so what's one more kid? Also, Husband will be home this time, so hopefully I will be able to get showers in on a daily basis. Or at least weekly.

Housing Evolution

When Husband and I were first married we lived in a one bedroom apartment, that was 661 square feet. When you walked in the front door, the bedroom was straight ahead, the lone bathroom was to the left, and the family room/kitchen/dining room was to the right. It suited us for a time, but as my due date for Binker approached, we knew that we need to upgrade to something a little bigger, that could actually fit another human being.

That was when we rented our first house. It was pretty run down, the paint was chipping off the walls, the insulation was non-existent, there was no dishwasher, there may or may not have been mold growing on the bathroom windowsill, and we had sketchy drug addicts as neighbors.

But, for the first few months, I didn't notice any of that. I was wearing my "OMG we're in our first home!" rose-colored glasses. I saw a cute, older home, with two bedrooms upstairs - one where Husband and I slept, and the second which became Binker's room. I saw the third bedroom downstairs, which I figured we would use as a playroom, or another bedroom when more kids came along. I loved that we had a family room, and a separate dining room, it made me feel sophisticated. I saw a a small, cute backyard where I imagined I would play with our son in the summertime. I enjoyed the fact that I could walk to the grocery store, and that the doctor's office was literally three blocks to the left, and our church was three blocks to the right.

The sheen started to wear off pretty quickly though. We soon realized that it was not the best neighborhood for a young family, particularly since my husband was gone so often. And after about the fourth time we had a stranger come knocking on our door, asking for some guy (who I am assuming was their drug dealer), we decided to pack up shop and move elsewhere.

That was when we found the home we're in now, and we've been here just over three years. We knew that Husband would be leaving on his first six month deployment in a few months, so we thought it would be nice for me to be near my parents, so they could help me out, since I would be on my own with a baby. It truly was fate. This house had been on sale for over a year, and my dad called the owner and asked him if he would ever consider renting the house. The owner told my dad that just the night before, he had suggested to his wife that they try renting it out. What's more, the owner was former Navy, so he didn't even tell us his real rent price, he simply asked us what our housing allowance was, and the rest is history.

We really love this house. It's only two bedrooms, but I love the fact that the boys share a room together. We have a large back yard, that the boys love to run around and play in, and we have an apple tree and a plum tree, which I really enjoy picking fresh fruit from every summer. But the best part about this house, by far, has to be the view. We look out over Port Susan, which is a small bay in the waters of the Puget Sound. We know that there is no way we could afford to buy a home like this, so we thank our lucky stars every day when we wake up to this.

Our time here is winding down though. Husband is set to change jobs and duty stations at the end of the year, and our landlords are hoping to put this house back on the market in 2012, so we will be leaving in January. Where we go next is still very much up in the air, as we wait to find out exactly where Husband will be during his next job.

We know that we will be at that assignment for three years though, so we are tossing around the idea of buying a home. The other night we added up how much we have spent on rent in the last three years, and the total number nearly made us cry. Of course we're just thankful to have a roof over our heads, but we would really love to own our own home, and hopefully make some equity in the process. So now we wait to find out what region we will be assigned to, and then we can begin the tentative house-hunting process. Our main concern is finding a safe neighborhood, like the one we live in now. I would like to have a house with at least three bedrooms, so that our next baby will either have his own nursery, or they can all share a room, and then have a playroom for their numerous toys, because Mama is tired of her house being decorated in primary colors, ya'll. And lastly, we would really love to find a house with a fenced yard, so that the boys can safely play outside, and also so that we will have a yard for the dog Husband wants to get.

He claims that having a dog will complete our family. Because obviously, pushing three children out of my body isn't enough.

When I think back on the places we have lived, it really has been an evolution for us, from our tiny apartment we lived in as newlyweds, to the small house where we had our first child, to our current house, which has truly become our home. I will be sad to leave this house, it has held so many memories for us, but I look forward to our next one, and all the memories we will make there as well.