(Old) Home, Sweet Home

Our old house is officially listed with a Realtor. If you want to see it or know someone who might be interested, here it is along with the information of who to contact. Any help is greatly appreciated!

While my other half doesn't carry the same sentiment as myself, it was hard for me to let go. We bought the house shortly after getting engaged. Since then we have been married, brought two amazing children into the world, and had a couple 1st birthday and baptism celebrations.

Taking down the monkey and tree mural in the kids' room was by far the hardest thing to do. I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about not living where the most important memories so far has taken place.

It's not just about the memories either. The house was very dated and needed some curb appeal. A lot of work was put into landscaping and getting the inside updated. So what do we do? Buy a much larger but same type of house. Both were a blank canvas. We started to put our 'touch' into the McCallsburg house before finding our forever home. Now we get to put our own touches into another home that I hope will be enjoyed for many years to come.

We didn't get all of our dream projects done at the old house but they have been replaced by even more (and more expensive) dream projects. One thing that has helped ease my sadness is that it's hard to believe we've only lived in our new house for approximately a month. It really does seem likes it's been much, much longer. I take that as a very good sign.

 Keep checking back to see how we change our new house into our forever home. I have found some great ideas on Pinterest to keep Mark and myself busy.

Kitten Love

It seems as though we've been on the go a lot since moving a month ago. Wow, it's really only been a month? I thought living closer to our parents and work would have given us more downtime. Unfortunately it has been the opposite. Between us visiting people, people visiting us, football games, working on things inside/outside and getting our old house ready to sell.....I feel like quiet time is a rare commodity. Here are few items going on in our world.

There are still a lot of things in boxes to unpack. This week I worked more in the kitchen. The problem is that I can't decide where I want things so there are piles of items on the counter waiting for a home. I started throwing stuff in cupboards this week because It's getting old to look at everything. It really shouldn't be that hard to unpack because it's not as though things HAVE to stay where they are placed. Items can be moved again.

There is a lot of construction/home renovation type things still sitting around because we are nowhere near finished with projects. There isn't 1 room that is finished but some of that stuff is going to have to start being put in the basement or leave the house. It all gets overwhelming! It keeps reminding me of everything that is left to do.

The past few weekends have been spent at the old house in McCallsburg. Speaking of which it finally has a for sale sign! We had quite a few things to do in order for the house to hopefully sell quicker. My family has been a big help in getting all of that finished. They put in a lot of work this past weekend.

At times I think the kids are starting to settle into a routine. Notice I said 'at times'. There are still items that tend to be a struggle that will hopefully pass as we get through winter.

The kids are loving their kittens! As you can see from the pictures, they're tormented. Poor, poor Meow really has a tough time being Evys pick. I keep reminding Evy that we need to hold the cats under the belly, not around the neck. Meow might have lost consciousness a couple times due to lack of oxygen.

I've set a date for the Housewarming Party. I know many people that have asked when they can come take a look at everything. Keep an eye out for that in the coming days. Mark wasn't sure if he should be on board with a party this close to move in but it might force us to get some more things done.

Last but not least, I threw a half dead mouse outside last night! It might have taken me at least 10 minutes to build up the courage along with a lot of noises & squealing but I did it. It felt like a whole body work out afterwards.

We're in! We're in!

We have officially changed zip codes as of Sunday. We have a lot of stuff. Let me rephrase that....the kids have a lot of stuff.

It seems as though the odds have been against us since we started this journey. Issue after issue has come up. Luckily Mark and I are pretty laid back. I would say Mark is more laid back in most aspects but recently I think that has started to change! Here are a few highlights of things that have happened the last 48+ hours:

-I slept a total of 2 hours the first night because of a screeching owl, a couple well-timed semis, the windmill and general outdoor noises. Living next to train tracks previously, I would have thought other noises wouldn't keep me awake at night. It was worse than having a newborn baby at home!

-Lane woke up the first morning saying 'Mama, I slept good and wasn't scared of anything!' Makes my heart melt.

-Luna (the cat) was found and came home on Monday night. In the last 24+ hours she has caught 3 baby mice and what Mark is thinking is the mama mouse. Mark actually praised and pet the cat this morning! I had to pick my jaw up off the ground.

-Speaking of mice. Luna must be incredibly proud of her catches. She left catch #1 in Lane's bedroom which Lane thought was the neatest thing ever. He was still talking to Luna about it this morning. Catch #2 & #3 were found by my foot on the stairs while letting the dog outside this morning. It's an understatement to say that I hate mice, rats, spiders and snakes. Mark had to go look on the stairs because I was afraid to see what it was. Catch #4 happened this morning and Luna proudly brought it up from the basement. Leaving it in the middle of the entryway....still twitching but not able to move. I tried to pick it up, I really did. If you call taking a paper towel, folding it up, and then dropping the paper towel on the floor while running away when the darn thing started to twitch. What have I gotten myself into by living in an old farmhouse?

-Only a couple boxes have been unpacked since Sunday. At this rate we might have things put away by the time the kids go to college. Then again we moved unopened boxes from the move 6 years ago. Maybe I should have thrown those boxes away?

-We plan on having a housewarming party the end of October. Looking around the house this morning reminded me how much work there is still to do before then.

-The kids have started to calm down.....a little.

-I seem to always snack and Mark's parents house. They always have snacks available. Unfortunately they left all of the pre move-in snacks in the house plus some extras. It is very rare that I have snack food in the house because otherwise that's all we eat.

-Grandma Marj's goulash has been a lifesaver since we moved in. The kitchen still is in boxes (including food).

A large thank you to everyone that has helped out so far. From helping get the house ready, watching kids so we can work, dropping off food and helping move. It's all been a big help!