Gigglesandgumballs: Update on our housing situation:)

Last week...well let's just say I am glad it is over! I was on the road almost all week. House hunting and house selling is kind of an exhausting process. I really, really, wanted to sell our house on my own....and in the end actually brought a buyer to our realtor, however there is no way I would have been able to keep up with all of the showings and all of the kiddos. We were on a whirlwind of showings the first few days that our house was listed. Thank goodness for a great real estate agent! After 6 days we received a contract on our house. It has a contingency until October 25th, so hopefully they will remove it by then! Until then, it is technically on the market.

Sean is getting a bit tired of the the 6:30AM-7:00PM days and 2 1/2 hours on the road daily, so we decided to seal the deal on a new house. We didn't have an all out house hunt like we had anticipated. We only saw two houses. We really liked the first one and were ready to put in an offer. I mentioned to Sean that there was this other house that was a bit out of our target price range, that I at least think we should look at. He looked at the pictures and agreed. We scheduled a showing and Sean got there a bit early to walk around the yard. I was on the phone with him while he walked around...trying to get there as fast I could. He knew right away...this was the one. This was going to be our new house. I agreed. Yes with any house we will have some updates to make to make it our own.

We are hoping to close on October 15th and move in the following week!!

Things I am really excited about:
~~Sean will be only 3 minutes from his work. Since we have been married he has had a 1 hour daily commute to get to work. This will save a ton on gas and time!
~~We have a yard with a fence! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love our yard now, but I have
always wanted our dog Maggie to have a place to run around!
~~Sean gets his man room! We have a large storage area that is already framed in 1/2 way. He is going to hire a contractor to finish that off and will have a room to put all of his "man" stuff!
~~The kids have their own sinks! The girls will have one and the boys will have another. Do you know how exciting that will be at teeth brushing time? No more pushing and shoving to get to the sink!
~~We have a putting green!?! Yes you read that right! I am seeing a little temporary pool on this lovely fake grass. Won't kill the real grass in the process!!
~~It is a perfect neighborhood for a garage sale and lemonade stand! I am already planning a spring sale! I am sure I will have a lot of home decorations to sell!
~~A place to store my brooms/mops! I love the kitchen! I tend to spend a lot of time in there for some reason. But there is a tall cabinet where I can slide a broom and mop into and they will be out of view! I don't have to walk to the garage anymore!! There is also a place to hide a trash can!!
~~It is close to stores!
~~There is a running/biking trail one block away!!

I could go on. I am just ready to get into the house...start painting, decorating, and get settled! But until then...patience!:)

Here are a few sneak peek pictures! We will definitely be having a house warming party in the spring...so mark your calendars!

I absolutely love the front porch! I can't wait to sit there and watch the kids ride their bikes on the side walk!

Another view! I love the low maintenance landscaping!

Lots of natural light! This is the view out to the back patio! This will be our living room area.

Not super crazy about the wood trim, but it will have to do because the entire house is this color. But I like the nice staircase. There is a balcony that overlooks the living room. This leads up to the kids rooms and bathrooms. The upstairs....not pictured will need a MAJOR paint overhaul!

We plan to tear out the oak around the fireplace and TV an replace with a stone finish. Too much wood! Love the built in book case! Not sure what to do with the upper areas...right now they have ugly dead looking flower arrangements. My guess is that they come with the house....lovely.

I LOVE the kitchen! They just completely remodeled it! There is even a little fridge under the window to hold wine. We don't drink wine, so it will be nice to keep some water cold!