New House...this is a long read :)

As mentioned previously, Rob and I (and Aiden, B has no idea) are very excited that we are buying a new house.  Settlement is this week (what?!?!?!!) and it's all starting to really sink in and hit us.  It's been a crazy month.  In fact, I just realized today it was exactly one month ago on January 24th, that we we went to look at the house.

I'll back up a little bit...

Over the past few months Rob and I have been open to moving, although we have not really been crazily looking at houses.  We've only seen one other house, which was back in November.  We did end up putting in an offer, but it just wasn't meant to be.  After that happened, the holidays hit and things were a bit crazy, so we didn't have too much time to think about it.  After the holidays, Rob and I had a conversation about what our plan was- do we keep looking? do we feel like we need to move? can we inevitably stay where we are?  The truth is, we are very happy in this home, but we are realizing that as it is right now, it's not conducive to our growing family.  After that conversation we basically said that over the next year we would be open to moving if the right house came along.  But, we were not going to feel pressure to move somewhere.  It had to be the right house.  And if after a year, that didn't happen, then maybe we would look into finding ways to make this house that we love so much work for us.

About a week or two after that conversation, this house popped up on the market.

Rob looks at real estate every day.  He pays close attention to new listings, reduced listings, he's all over it.  It was a Wednesday afternoon and I randomly decided to just go on my phone and see if there was anything interesting.  I saw this house immediately and was drawn to the price and location.  It is a street that is literally 2 blocks from us, and one that we actually looked at a house on back before we bought our current house.

From the pictures I could tell it needed some work, but it didn't look terrible and had some things that we don't have in this house- half bath downstairs, front porch, garage, one more bedroom.  Rob was sleeping upstairs after working the night before and it was about time for him to get up anyway, so I immediately called him on his phone to wake him and I said, "there's a house you need to see, it listed today".  His response, "I already know which one you're talking about".

The next day we went to see it and the rest is history :)   We found out that there were 8 showings that day!  So, we quickly got our offer in the next morning and by the following evening, we found out that they had accepted our offer.

The past month has been busy, and we can't believe that in just a few days it will officially be ours!  Our plan is to take a little bit of time to do some work before moving in, but there are a lot of projects that will keep us busy for a long time in this house.  But, we're very excited.

We are going to be renting out our current house, so there are things we are trying to get done here as well.  The close location of the new house should make the whole process easier.

Things are about to get even crazier than they've been the past month, but did I mention we're excited?

This house has so much character, I'm looking forward to sharing everything with you!  So, stay tuned.

PS. it has one of my all time most coveted thing in an old home...pocket doors!!  Somehow, we failed to take a picture :)

5 years...and some big news

Aiden turned 5 last week.  I can't believe he is 5 years old.  I know everyone says it, but it's true, time is going by so fast.  In the fall he'll be going off to kindergarten, and while I am super emotional about that, I am also a very proud Mama.  Aiden is a sweet boy, and watching him learn and grow over the past 5 years has been a blessing.  I am so excited to see how he does with his next journey in life.  He's so social and loves school, so I am eager to watch him blossom even more over the next year.

We celebrated with family last weekend, and of course I had to have somewhat of a theme, so I went with mustaches.

We decided to forgo the "friend" party this year and instead took Aiden and two of his best buddies bowling.  Aiden has been asking to go bowling for a long time now, and I think it lived up to all the anticipation.  They had a blast and Rob and I had so much fun with the 3 of them.  Doing things like this for Aiden bring me so much joy.  

It was a good birthday.

Unfortunately, we ended the week with the stomach bug.  Brady got it first and then Aiden and I followed.  Thankfully, Rob stayed healthy and was able to take care of the 3 of us.  Brady is still recovering, he hasn't bounced back as quickly as his big brother.

And now, for the big news...

Yup, that's our soon-to-be new house.  We're so excited.  More on that soon...

Painted Backsplash

Hello!  I'm sorry that for the past month my blog has said, "Merry Christmas"!  I've just accepted the fact that I am really terrible at posting, hopefully you have too :)

I hope everyone had a great New Year and you're sticking to all your resolutions!  I finally finished a project that I started months ago but then procrastinated on finishing.

We have talked about putting in a backsplash, but never got around to it.  I realized I could do this at basically no cost (I only bought a sample of the dark gray color).  So, I figured I would go ahead and try it.

I used a stencil from this book and chose this one because I thought it kind of looked like tile.

It was a bit time-consuming, which is why it took me so long to finish.  I only had one (15in?) square stencil and would have to do a couple coats for each stencil.  I used a sponge for the area above the sink, but realized using a small roller was MUCH quicker.

The design is imperfect in places, but I am happy with how it turned out.  Rob helped finish it off with some trim on the edges. (ignore the touch up paint that I need to do in this pic).

You can also see some of the other changes in these pictures, like the chalkboard above the stove.  It's just a piece of wood we had in our basement that I painted with chalkboard paint.  I've been having fun changing it up every couple of weeks.

Also, the window above the sink we've had in our basement for years.  I just wiped it off and put a piece of wrapping paper behind it.

So, I can finally cross that off my project list! 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! The gifts are all open, our tummies are full of sticky buns, and we're enjoying the relaxation of the morning. We're looking forward to spending time with family later today and tomorrow! Wishing everyone a blessed day!

Time to mourn

I know I normally don't talk too seriously on this blog, but it doesn't feel right not saying anything about what happened last week in Connecticut.  Myself, along with everyone else in this country are devestated.  And as a mother, I cannot even begin to comprehend what these families are going through.   It has felt like there has been a black cloud following me around,  and to know that it is their reality...there are no words.

I have done my best to avoid the news.  I have not watched one thing on TV about it, and most of what I read is through the interenet news or things people post on facebook.  I don't want to read the arguments about the politics of it at this time. Quite honestly, I have tried my hardest to stay clear of all of it.  Mostly because I don't want to consume myself with it,  and I have wanted to respect the grieving town and families.  But, in doing so, I have suppressed my emotions.

I realized something last night as I read the eulogy that Noah's mother gave at his service yesterday.  I need to let myself mourn.  These children deserve to be grieved over, their families, mourned with.  So, I finally gave in.  I cried for a long time.  I prayed hard for the families, I thought about the children and how similar they are to my Aiden.  I cried and prayed over my sleeping children.

Life is hard.  It's scary.  Being a parent is the hardest and scariest thing I have done. I know that these children don't belong to me, that they belong to God...but that is a difficult reality, and one that maybe I haven't totally accepted.

So, right now, I am allowing myself to mourn for these children and their families.  I am choosing to focus on them, to learn about them, and to read the wonderful things their families say about them.  I will think about the too short lives they lived here on earth.  I will will hold my children closer and thank God for every day I have with them.

You can read the beautiful words from Noah's mother and his uncle here.

Christmas Decorating Inspiration

Thanksgiving came and went and I can't believe the Christmas season is already here.  I haven't felt too motivated to start decorating, which is kind of unlike me, but the snow that we got today helped get me in the mood. 

I lit my favorite winter candle, turned on my Snow Angels record and broke out the twinkle lights. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again...twinkle lights are the easiest and best way to decorate for Christmas.  Just put twinkle lights everywhere.

I love this idea to make a twinkle light curtain (from the Land of Nod catalog)

Also from Land of Nod is this fun room

And last, this picture makes me swoon.  I love everything about it!

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and aren't too stressed yet!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am overwhelmed by how blessed I am; amazing husband, healthy children, warm house. There is so much to be thankful for. Wishing everyone a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!