The girls are home! I picked them up from a red-eye back from California Tuesday morning early and drank them in all day. They are so cute and grown up. Ryan is excited to have his sisters back too.
We spent the day at my mom’s house and will leave this afternoon to have dinner with daddy in Pittsburgh. Ainsley cried yesterday when she realized we weren’t going straight to see him. Sad. But the sleeping arrangements in the apartment are so bad and there is so little to do. I thought a day to lay low and roam my mom’s house and yard would give them the boost they needed to make the time change and deal with lack of sleep. It worked like a charm.
My sister, Johanna, came up to spend a few hours with us. Here is her daughter, Autumn, and Ryan on Grandma’s trampoline… or jumpoline as Ainsely calls it. He had a ball.
And now to the big news. We have a house. Before I tell you which one it is I must share that every house we saw there was some big project I wanted to accomplish (too much HGTV). Henry and Terry started joking about what my new $50,000 project would be for each house. For house number 1, it would at least $20,000 excavating and building a wonderful retreat in the back yard. Seriously, it’s quite a hill. For house number 2, it was gutting and redoing the eat-in kitchen. For house number 3…. well, it’s so new and cookie-cutter that there’s nothing to do except change some paint colors. Which sounds really great, but for me, it’s not. Additionally, we weren’t happy with how close the neighbors are (great perception Heather), and I didn’t like the patio was so small, but everything was so well done it seemed a shame to spend time and money fixing it. In the end we just weren’t excited about it. We were more excited to put our stamp on one or two.
We really, really, really liked house number 2. I loved the backyard, or lack thereof. The playground was perfect for the kids and I could picture us eating on the brick patio with beautiful beds of herbs, veggies, and flowers in the clean-up beds lining the perimeter of the patio. But we didn’t know the neighborhood very well and we needed to act fast to keep up with the market.
In the end, we chose house # 1. It needs new flooring on the first floor and a few rooms painted, but all the function is there. It’s one of the only houses we saw that has a guest room in the basement. In fact, we only saw one other house in the last two months with a basement including full bath and separate guest room. It has a basement storage room – also a rarity. Who knew? Other positives: It’s at the bottom of our price range, it’s exactly the right size… no extra rooms, no missing ones; it has a basketball driveway, and a first floor laundry. The only big negative is that back yard.
Anyone want to help me weed?!
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (13)
YEAH! I will volunteer my husband for landscaping I will gladly send him up. ;-D Enjoy decorating.
Kelly
Congrats on the new home!! Can’t wait to see all the wonderful landscaping you do there. I’m sure it will become quite an adventure. 😉
Congratulations! Very nice and, who knows, the girls do like to clean sometimes, maybe they could like to weed too? 🙂
So neat to run into today.
Kelly
If that is what you want us girls to do we can week. Let us know when you want us up. This house looks very similar to your other house you just moved out of.
So happy for you!
Heather – Not chad
Wowzeers can I move into the basment? I cook and watch kids LOL but I would have to bring all of mine so boo….
Lovely house!
Congratulations on your new home! Sounds wonderful, and it is great your entire family is together again. Enjoy exploring the ‘burg! You will have to experience Kennywood during your travels.
Gail
Annapolis, MD
YAY! Have fun making new memories! :o)
I’m so glad you found a house! Praising God on your behalf! (smile)
It looks like a nice one.
Congratulations!
YAY–I was right!!! Congrats on the new house!!!! So glad this one fell in to your lap at just the right time!!
If I lived closer…..I’d be there!! Hills can be fun though for slip and slides and rolling down 😛
Have to laugh about how close you thought the 3rd house was to other neighbors! I guess it’s all what you’re used to. And you should also see our backyard mess! phew! I think house #1 is beautiful! Good luck!!
yay!!! i think it looks amazing!