My name is Brooke, and I'm a terrible blogger. In my defense though, we've had A LOT going on the past few months. Let me re-cap what has happened since my last post in October....
I survived Thanksgiving in San Antonio with the in-laws, then spent a fabulous 10 days in the beautiful mountains of New Mexico over Christmas/New Year's. It definitely ranked up there with the best vacations ever (even though my kids HATED the snow and downright refused to go outside!)
This was Kate's reaction every time she stepped outside. I guess she's a Texas
girl through-and-through!
Avery was a little more tolerant, but still would have much preferred to be inside.
The whole crew (aside from my kids, who were toasty warm inside)
When we got back from New Mexico, Josh decided that we should put the house on the market and see if we got any bites. We had no real hope that it would sell, since it sat on the market for 6 months a couple years ago. But, with the tax credit ending in April, we decided to try. Here's the whirlwind part....
Feb. 19--house went on the market
Feb. 21--first showing
Feb. 23--the first people who saw the house made an offer! It was a terrible offer, but eventually we were able to find a price that worked for both parties. Getting to that point took a couple of weeks, so I was still having to keep the house spotless for other showings.
March 1-finally had a signed contract on the house.
March 1-20--searched frantically, day and night for a new home...failed. Learned that Josh and I have extremely different "must haves" when considering homes. His requirements were ridiculous (mine make perfect sense). He seriously wouldn't even look at houses that backed up to another house. He wanted to back up to a greenbelt. That eliminated 90 percent of homes on the market. Our marriage was under serious stress, so we decided to just stop looking and move into an apartment for a month.
March 20th--Said good bye to our first home and moved into a ridiculously small apartment.
March-April--Made offers on 2 houses, with no luck. Finally made an offer on a third house, and it was accepted. The house was in pre-forclosure, so the paperwork was insane. We not only had to deal with the seller, but the bank too. I can't even count the number of times we almost backed out. Oh, and the owners, being mad that they were being foreclosed on, decided to take the oven, ceiling fans, shower heads, thermostats, and drawer pulls before handing over the keys. Morons. So much for going out with dignity.
May 16th-finally closed on the new house!! It was a pain in the rear, but in the end, all the trouble was worth it. We got a fabulous house, and a killer price and already have more equity in it that most people have after 5 years.
Since then, we've been constantly busy with hanging ceiling fans, buying appliances, unpacking, painting, etc. It's been crazy, but I love it. Kate and Avery have made themselves right at home, and are loving having so much more space. The neighborhood is great too, with 7 pools and lots of ponds and walking trails.
SO....all that to say, I've been busy and blogging hasn't been on my list of things to do. Not to mention, we didn't have Internet in the apartment and for the first couple of weeks in the house. Life is calming down now, and I really do want to get back into this. I'd post a pic of the house, but I haven't downloaded any yet. That will come next, for now, I'm saying good night!
It was fate. I've been wanting a DSLR for ages, but couldn't stomach the price tag. But then I wandered into Target after my dentist appt the other day, and here this one sat. On clearance. For $200 lower than the normal price. Sweet. Watch out kids, mama's got a brand new camera!
