It’s true. Small spaces can make your family close. We have lived in our <1000 square feet house with our growing family for SIX years. When we found out that our third little crazy one was on the way, I was SURE, as in ABSOLUTELY positive, that we HAD to find something bigger.
But then I found a way to accept the possibility of staying put AND leaving work to stay at home. The idea of toting an infant and 2 year old to school every day was one that I just couldn’t grasp as feasible. Mommy definitely would’ve lost it. On a regular basis.
We even managed to fit all THREE of our crazies into one room… with a loft bunk bed and crib sitting caddy-corner. I’ll never forget how shocked we were that the crib could squeeze in there with the bunk bed. Never would’ve thought that would work either.
We have gone up and down, back and forth, and all around on our house plans. We’ve dreamed and hoped and then realized it wasn’t the right time. I came to the place where I could be thankful and even love where I was living even it all its crampiness. :)
So, where are we now in our House Plans?
No promises that these plans are definite and won’t in fact crumble around as they always have in the past, but as of this moment, we are currently working with a real, live realtor and have begun our House Search.
Ye, we have.
{squeal}
Our agent came highly recommended and we actually started our official house looking last weekend. Unfortunately our first looky-loo was a bust, and all three didn’t meet our hopes and expectations.
I think one of our biggest criteria is seeming to be privacy. We are loving the houses and neighborhoods with lots of mature trees and woods galore.
One house in particular rose to our top fave last weekend. We emailed our agent so we could go check it out this weekend. It’s in a great neighborhood with lots of neato things, and it has a great private yard.
It has been on the market over 200 days. Yet, somehow, we mentioned it to our agent Saturday, and she emailed us Monday morning that the owners had gotten a strong offer on Sunday!
What!?
We are going to try to be mature and not whine too much. :) We’ll focus on the fact that something better is out there for us.
We have several more possibilities on our list to go see Saturday. Hoping that one of them will be the one!
Here are our top three faves as of right.this.very.moment…
It’s hard to really believe that this time is legit, and we are really moving forward. Our plan is to find a renter for our little house, so we will be ready to move as soon as we can find a house and close a deal.
Am I crazy for considering a move DURING the school year?
I am so excited to be able to get busy decorating and making this new potential house ours. I haven’t been reading DIY home blogs for 4-5 years for nothing. I am ready to paint the kitchen island and slap on some bead board wallpaper and spray paint some door knobs.
I love Sarah’s kitchen with all the personality she’s added…
Let’s go, people.
I also can’t wait to give our Haylee-girl her very own space. She has shared her room and space since she was almost five. That meant not a lot of opportunity for her own safe place for “her stuff.” It always had to be put up out of her wild brother/s reach. Davis is not going to know what to do without her, of course, but we’ll face that when we have to. Wouldn’t this super cool DIY loft bed from Ask Anna be great?
So there it is. I’ve laid it out there and revealed that we are looking for a house.
Just don’t hold me to it, K?
Do you have any house hunting tips to share? What’s your favorite website for searching? We’ve been using Zillow quite a bit. Love that it has an App too so you can save your favorites at home on your computer and then use your phone to find them all when you’re out doing recon drive-bys. :)
Wish us luck!
So excited for you guys! After so many years in a small house, you still managed to be grateful for and work with what you had….and that’s what I’m aspiring to right now. The houses you’re considering are gorgeous and I’ll be praying that something works out for you quickly.
Thanks for including me in this. :) Good luck on your house search, I can’t wait to see which one you choose!!!
Anna
askannamoseley.com
We’ve been doing the house search for a few years…along with trying to sell ours twice. Since you are staying in the area and the state (unlike us, lol), good choice to rent out your place. We enjoy using Trulia.com to hunt houses (shows a lot of pics) and they have a good app, save your faves, etc; but, sometimes they don’t update the status of a house as quickly as Realtor.com. Both realtors we are working (here and in VA) with prefer realtor.com, says it’s pretty quick about updates. If you watch House Hunters, or Property Virgins on HGTV, you can get good tips on house hunting. It’s hard not to get attached to a house that seems to fit you perfectly, but it’s never a done deal, till the contract is signed. And even then…with inspections it can be iffy on sealing the deal. As much as we have looked, I can pretty much see myself in almost any house we look at – moving in mentally is ok…then you’ll find that perfect house! :) SO excited for you…and a tad jealous that you get to move soon, *wink*. One of these days we’ll be moving too! Congrats!!
I get a really bad impression from the third house. It seems dark and flat and lifeless from the front view. But if the interior and backyard are perfect I’m sure there are things you can do to add some 3D to the front.
I’m so excited for you, Renee! I know the agonies of growing families in tight places (think 36 feet of RV)! We just bought a beautiful house last summer. We looked and looked, and waited, and the Lord just dropped the perfect one in our laps! I knew it was “the one” the first time I saw the house. Paul was in New Mexico, and I was house-hunting on my own (scary, huh?). We were able to get an amazing deal on it, and are loving it! We have had a lot of DIY on and around the house, and we moved in the first week of school! It was crazy, for sure! I know you will make a lovely home wherever and whenever you find that perfect one! Can’t wait to hear what happens!
Very exciting, but stressful at the same time! Good luck in your house hunt. I’m sure the right house will be found!!
So excited for you Renee! Love the first 2 house pictures – I bet they are gorgeous inside too! :) Ohh, you will have blog post topics FOREVER if you move :) I know you can’t wait to do projects and make it HOME :)