House hunting: The showings

Here's the first house hunting post.  Start at the beginning, it's more fun that way.


We arrived in Reading Wednesday afternoon and we had a full day of showings Thursday and Friday.  Sofia was an absolute champ the entire time.  Seriously, the kid is amazing.  We ended up seeing eight houses on Thursday and she didn't melt down at all!  There were a couple of times it was a little touch and go, but she's such an awesome kid and she hung in there until the end!


But I'm sure you want to see the houses right?  

I'm blurring my pictures because YHL blurred theirs.  No other reason.

We were super excited about this house.  It was super charming online with lots of cool details that you only find in old houses.  The kitchen floor was amazing and it was updated with the latest and greatest appliances so it seemed like the best of both worlds.  The neighborhood was so cute and the hills and windy streets reminded me of San Francisco.

However, there was some carpet that would need to go, there was only one bathroom for the three bedrooms upstairs and the yard was not at all baby friendly.  The backyard had a really steep slope and the front yard had a pretty serious drop to the sidewalk below.  Not to mention it had basement laundry, and it was one of those dark and scary basements too.  Plus, I looked at those stairs and the thought of going up and down every day with the stroller, the dog, groceries or all three just about did me in.

This is the other reason the bathroom would need to be gutted, immediately.

I know the swastika was originally a symbol for balance and peace, but it

has some pretty serious negative connotations too and I don't need

that kind of energy in my new house.

As much hope as we had for the first house on our list, it wasn't a match made in heaven.  On to the next one!

What you can't see all that well is a decently sized Colonial with tons of potential.  Immediately, my DIY mind started daydreaming before and after pictures.  We'd trim the hell out of those trees so you could actually see the house.  We'd get rid of the giant white fence and put in something less in-your-face.  Inside the fence, the yard was amazing but overgrown.  It would be nothing for Drew to get to weeding and making it beautiful.  


Inside the house, the stairs were right inside the entry, which was another thing I didn't like.  If I had to have stairs, I didn't want them smacking me in the face right when I come in the front door.  However, I was willing to overlook that because the layout was decent and there were hardwood floors on the entire first floor.  Plus, the sellers left us a sweet note!

It was such a sweet touch!

They had kids and I totally sympathized with them having to go through the showing process.  It's so weird to be on the other side and I wrote them back, thanking them for letting us see their house.

This house had ah-MAY-zing bedrooms and I fell in love with them.  They had tons of natural light and they were huge!  There was even a built-in baby gate at the top of the stairs!

I loved this detail!

This house was the cheapest of all the ones we saw, but it was the farthest away from Drew's work at twenty minutes with no traffic.  It also wasn't in one of the top three school districts, which is a major deal in Reading.  School districts rule all up here and we were concerned about that from a resale standpoint.  I certainly didn't want to have trouble selling the house, especially knowing it wasn't our forever home.

Plus, the kitchen would have to be gutted and it had basement laundry.  There was room to move it upstairs but that would be lots o' money and we didn't want to shell it out for a house we both weren't in love with.

The next house was in the right neighborhood, good school district and had a decent yard.  The inside was decent as well.  It had a mix of hardwoods and some carpet, the bedrooms were decent and the basement was finished.  However, there was nothing overly remarkable about the house and we both agreed to keep it on the list if we didn't get blown away by any other houses.

The next one was in a non-descript suburb, but our agent wanted us to see it for comparison.  It took me .01 seconds to dismiss it because there was carpet almost everywhere and it was super dirty and where there wasn't carpet, there was really cheap laminate and it totally turned me off.  I'm all for laminate if it's well done, but this definitely was not.  We crossed this one off the list, saying that we'll let someone else have this house.

The next one was a 1960s rancher that had been completely redone.  It was in the good school district, beautiful neighborhood and I didn't even mind the single garage.  In my mind, I'd already claimed it for my car.  Drew's from the North, he can be the one to freeze his ass off.  Inside, I liked that there were hardwoods everywhere and it had main floor laundry!  The full basement was the size of the house and it was partially finished and not at all scary.  However, it was DINKY.  It was smaller than our house by a good amount and that made me really nervous.  While we aren't busting at the seams in our current house, I wasn't sure how well we'd be able to downsize and I just kept saying 'but it's so SMALL' as we left.

The next one was a quick in-and-out because it smelled super strongly of cat pee.  Plus, Drew and I are both allergic to cats and there was a ton of carpet and I told Drew I wouldn't even DREAM about moving in until all the carpet was gone and it was seriously fumigated.  All he heard was 'money money dollars make-me-broke' so this one got ruled out pretty quickly.

This house looked like something out of a storybook.  It was stone and had a very English countryside feel and I immediately liked it.  Of course, all the giant bushes would have to be trimmed and/or removed to see the beauty of the house, but Drew the Landscaper would make short work of that.


Inside, it was even more charming.  The kitchen would have to be completely redone from the ground up, but it had so much potential that we could both see it.  The yard, although small-ish, was adorable and with a little trimming, it could be a really cozy retreat.  We were both chattering with all the updates we could do to make it a home.


Then we got upstairs.  To the bedrooms with no closets.  None - that's how old the house was.  The previous owners had to have had wardrobes in every room, but it was vacant so there was no way to tell.  Plus, the only bathroom up there was teensy - I'm talking there was barely enough room to turn around, and that was the only bathroom for all three bedrooms!  The floors would need to be re-finished, closets would have to be created and the bathroom would have to get completely made over.  Not to mention the basement laundry and the stairs at the front door.


We were starting to feel like we'd never find the house for us.

The next house was around the corner from the last one, both in the good school districts. It too was stone and I loved the rounded front door.  We walked in, and at last, no stairs smacking you in the face!  And the kitchen!  I kept saying 'I don't hate this kitchen!'  Even though it was smaller, I could totally see myself making dinner and being happy in it.  The bedrooms were decent size, with closets this time and I wasn't even that annoyed with the basement laundry, which is really saying something!


However, the bedroom layout was a little odd, with two upstairs and two downstairs.  If we had more than one kid, somebody would have to be downstairs and I wasn't super comfortable with that.  Plus, one of the bedrooms was right off the kitchen and we've learned from our own house that having a bedroom off the kitchen isn't ideal.  Every time we got negative feedback from the showings on our own house, it had to do with the bedroom being so close to the kitchen and we didn't want to get caught in that again.

The final house on our list put a bad taste in my mouth before we even saw it.  We had requested to see it on Thursday, but the sellers declined, saying that it wasn't convenient for them.  They said we could come on Friday, but only after 2:30.


I'm sorry what now?  I've gotten calls for showings with 30 minutes notice and I always approved them.  I hated it, but that's the game and if you want to sell your house, you have to approve showings.  I really resented the fact that these sellers declined our showing request and I made sure to tell the agent to pass that on when she gave them feedback.  Plus, it was in a subdivision that was a million miles away from Drew's work and it had lots of carpet.  Besides, it was just an okay house and I felt like if they were going to be cocky enough to decline showings they better have an amazing kick ass house.  But whatever, let their house be on the market for 10 months and I bet they'll be jumping at 30-minute showings too.


We'd seen all the houses on our list and nothing really grabbed us like our house in Texas did.  We were a little discouraged when we got home that night but over dinner, we started hashing things out and really going over the pros and cons of the houses that weren't immediately crossed off.  


As we talked more and more about where we were in our lives, what our financial goals needed to be, what we wanted for our daughter's future and where we saw ourselves in five years, some houses began to fall away and others emerge as front-runners.  We talked even more about design possibilities and projects we could undertake and how our future home could look and we narrowed our choices even further.


A little more conversation and number crunching brought us down to our final two choices.  The next morning, we called our agent and asked her if we could see our final choices once again.


So which house did we pick?  I'll tell you tomorrow!  

House hunting: The criteria

Hello, gorgeous!

We're back in Texas after a whirlwind house-hunting trip and I have so much to tell you, so everyone do a 'stay asleep, baby' dance/prayer so I can get through it all tonight!

But first, the beginning:  What we want in our new house.

Drew and I approached this new house like getting the privilege to push the reset button on our lives.

Because what's a post without illustrations, right?

When we bought our house in Dallas, it was a very gut-driven move.  I walked into the striped breakfast nook and was like, this is my house.  We called our agent that minute, he came over and we put in an offer the next day.  It has been a great house and we have loved living here.

However, we'll be the first to tell you that living here is a financial stretch.  We could afford it and our lifestyle, but not much else and with the baby getting older and starting school, things were looking tight.  So when we started talking about the new house, we knew that we needed to find something cheaper.  Luckily, Reading has a much lower cost of living so that wouldn't be much of an issue.  The only challenge would be finding my dream house up there because I had a bit of a list:

• I wanted hardwoods everywhere.  No exceptions.  We got into many a tiff over that one because nearly all the houses we looked at online had carpet somewhere if not everywhere and I kept telling Drew not to look at the big houses because he'd be ripping out aaaallll that carpet and putting in hardwoods.  
• Main floor laundry.  I do laundry nearly every day and I wasn't trying to go up and down a billion flights of stairs for the rest of my life.  Plus, we don't have basements in Texas and basement laundry scares me.  Killers and goblins live in basements.  Fact. 
• All one level, if possible.  Again, a billion flights of stairs is not my idea of a good time.
• The same size as our house or larger.  
• In the good school districts.
• Close to Drew's work.  I don't want him leaving at five in the morning or getting home at seven at night because of his commute.
• Close to Target.  Yes, that is a real point on my list.  Target is my life.
• Close to everything else.  I'm not trying to drive half an hour to the grocery store.
• Cheaper than our house now.
• Has to have charm and personality.  No cookie cutter houses for me.
• Attached side garage.  I don't like seeing garages when I drive up.
• At least three bedrooms, preferably four.

Drew's list:

• Cheaper than our house now.
• This Isn't Our Forever Home Desiree, So Stop Being Crazy.

I was not optimistic about finding all the things I wanted but I did my best to keep an open mind.  However, what I refused to budge on was the actual house hunting part.  I did NOT want to look at any houses until it was actually time to *look* at houses.  I do not window shop, it's pointless.  If I'm not buying, I'm not looking.

On the other hand, window shopping is Drew's favorite pastime.  He has been looking at houses since last September.  I would hate coming into the sitting room and seeing Trulia up on the computer.  I would hate it even more when he'd be like Babe, come look at this!  It always led to What the hell FOR?  We haven't sold our house, we don't know when we're getting up there, and who knows what will be available when that *does* happen?  It's a waste of time!!!  Then he'd get upset, then I'd give in and look through dozens of pictures of poorly staged/photographed houses which I'd pick apart.  'Are you serious?  They didn't even make the BED!  Do they not WANT their house to sell?  What the hell kind of paint color is that?  OMG, RED carpet?'  Then Drew would get annoyed, tell me I could just go already because I was supposed to be looking at the house, not the design.  Whatevs.

So, that went on for freakin-ever, until the glorious day when we could actually look at houses for real!  Because we were finally freakin moving!  Our agent in Reading started sending through lots of houses and we started narrowing down our picks, until we had a pretty solid list when we went up there this past weekend.

Next house-hunting post, coming right up!

The Ergo and a cup of wine

Hey I've got a funny joke for you:  Who has two thumbs and should *NOT* have stopped taking her Zoloft?  THIS GUY!  Desiree Wynn, nice ta meetcha.


What a day.  Good LORD what a day.  Let's start with the most fun part.


I thought I was pregnant.


According to the start date of the spotting I had when we were on vacation, I should have started my period on Monday.  Oh PS, I'm probably just going to type a bunch of words and not link to previous posts or put pretty pictures because we're not going to talk about how many times I refilled my cup of wine.


So the spotting on June 10th.  Well, me and the hubs had relations, shared the marital bed, did the bow chicka wow wow on a day when I was to have ovulated.  I didn't realize until I checked the app on my phone (there's an app for that)  and was like, Oh SHit.  The last thing in the world I needed was to get pregged up just as we sell our house and move and I start DIY-ing everything, so OF COURSE I was preg.


Except I wasn't.  I mean, I'm not.  And I'm surprisingly disappointed.  Which has me all fucked up the head because now is NOT the time.  I don't want to drink the water, remember?  But when I saw the 'not pregnant' on the test, my heart did a little sinking flip flop, which then colored the rest of my day even though I didn't want it to.  Nor did I want my brain to spin out and get all loud with thoughts of secondary infertility and what if I *can't* have any more kids, but wait maybe I do want more kids, how come I'm not pregnant, oh god my body *is* broken, everything sucks.  And more stuff like that.  So that was awesome.


THEN, the appraisal on the house is tomorrow morning.  More stress because it's the next step and what if the appraiser says our house isn't worth what we're asking for and the buyers walk away and then we're back at square one and we *don't* get to be together as a family and this bullshit keeps on going.  And then Drew was like, 'let's clean the house all super sparkly so the appraiser says our house is worth like a million dollars and the buyers pee themselves because they're so happy they're getting such a great deal' except there's no let's in this particular game.  It's 'Desiree you clean the house while wrangling a busy toddler who's teething her face off.'


Because yeah, my kid is a holy terror because of the teething.  REmember when I wrote that post that teeth are overrated?  They are SO fucking overrated.  I took her to school today because we leave town tomorrow, thinking I was going to get so much done.  No dog, no baby, I was going to be Superwoman.  Except I wasn't.  What happened to my day?  I swear, it was like I dropped her off, did a load of laundry and had to turn right around to pick her up.


Then I picked her up and her teacher was all, 'she didn't eat her lunch.'  Mommy guilt heartSTAB.


'She only napped for 30 minutes.'  heartSTAB


'She didn't poop.'  heartSTAB because my kid is the most regular kid on the block.  I can almost time her morning and evening deuce and the only time it doesn't happen is if she's stressed.  HeartdoubleSTAB


'She cried off and on all day.' STABmyfacekillmenow


So of course I was questioning my life as I drove her home, wondering if this mother's day out program is even worth it, because she obviously hates it and probably hates me for leaving her.  I held her extra close and promptly fed her when we got home and she ate like she had never seen food in her life.  Seriously, call CPS and take her from me because I suck as a mother.  Wait, don't take her from me because I'll die.  But God, what's the point of taking her to this place if it's jacking her all up?


She nursed and slept like she'd been waiting to do just that all day so I was scraping the bottom at that point.


Then she woke up with new life, just in time for me to realize how little time I have to get everything done.


Clean the living room, that it took her 2.5 seconds to demolish.
Finish the laundry.
Mop the kitchen floor. (I actually got that one done.)
Try and get her to eat dinner. 
OH YEAH, pack for our trip tomorrow!  NBD
Clean the house so the appraiser says it's worth a million dollars.


Did you know that toddlers can destroy your will to live with just a few well timed screams?  Because they can.  And Sofia was ready to make me pay for leaving her with the monsters at Mother's Day Out.  PS, they're not monsters but by the way she'd scream if I put her down, got more than two inches away from her, or dared to break eye contact with her, oh yeah, they were monsters.


I got more and more anxious as the thoughts of all the stuff I had to do before we leave tomorrow swirled around my head.  But if I put her down, she screamed like her very soul was on fire and she was being eaten by twelve limbed demons all at once.  And you may be a better man than me, but I cannot take that shit.  It shreds my nerves and I can't remember my name.


Which is how she ended up strapped in the Ergo and I ended up with a small cup of wine in my hand as we walked around the darkened house.  It was a small cup and again, we're not going to talk about how often it got refilled.


But I'm slowly calming down.  And guess what, the appraiser can suck my balls because I'm leaving dirty dishes in the sink.  I am one person.  And sometimes I can't do it all.  Sometimes all I can do is walk around the house with my baby and a cup of wine, because PS she refused to nurse so the wine was A-OK.  She's either weaning or was too agitated to nurse, which is real frickin agitated because the kid will nurse anytime anyplace.  


At any rate, she finally fell asleep and I'm so rattled I had to sit down at the computer with my SMALL cup of wine and calm the F down.


Today was a real I Suck As A Mother day.


And I still have to pack.