After life being pretty non-stop crazy for several months, and knowing it would be that way again while Tate adjusts to his new job and we adjust to our life in Minnesota, a trip to the lake was so relaxing and LIFE CHANGING.
We went back to our new house refreshed and ready to tackle the unpacking. The house we bought was built in 2008 and the previous owner was a Pediatrician who ended up being relocated right away and renting out the house for the last 5 years while waiting for the housing market to recuperate a bit. So although our house is 5 years old it feels like no one has ever lived here and had quite a bit of deferred maintenance. All of the walls were stark white and never painted (with the exception of Jace's bedroom and bathroom which were painted tan) and several of the windows had never had blinds installed. There were no hooks or shelves in the garage and many of the closets didn't have enough shelves either. It felt a lot like we had purchased a new build and needed to put a lot of time and money in right away just on the necessities. Our house is a 3100 square foot 1-story with a finished walk out basement.
**The picture above is actually an old rental listing picture from 3 years ago, before landscaping was added, I need to actually take a picture myself at some point. ha!**
We still have a long to-do list with stuff that wasn't finished by the owner before she moved out. The deck hasn't been stained, the tile floors in one of the bathrooms were never sealed, the wet bar in the basement hasn't been stained and no hardware has been installed, the fireplace mantel also needs to be stained, the sprinkler system was not serviced during it's first 5 years and needs repair, the landscaping was completely neglected... etc etc. So although there's plenty of decorative things we would like to do to the house, there is a lot of must-do things that need to come first. It's a LONG list. I'm trying to remember to enjoy the process, instead of getting overwhelmed by how much there is to do. I love doing house projects and really love that we can make this house our own, but I don't function well in a house that doesn't at least feel somewhat "homey"... so hopefully we get to a point soon where the house is somewhat settled in, so that we can just leisurely work on the rest.
I have thought about blogging about house projects as we do them, because I enjoy documenting things and it keeps me motivated to keep going, but I'm not sure if I will. And if I do I may make a separate page to discuss house stuff since it seems silly to post all about material items on a blog that was supposed to be something I wrote for our kids to read later in life. We'll see!
The kids have changed so much since we moved to Minnesota. I knew Jace's behavior would improve some as he approached 4 years old, and had more positive adult influences in his life on a regular basis (grandparents, aunts, etc in MN) but I guess I didn't imagine it would be so much, so quickly. I'm definitely not complaining! He's turned into such a sweet boy. He is still very spirited... but in an enjoyable way now. Thank goodness, because the 6 months or so before we left South Carolina were really rough on us as parents, constantly questioning if we were doing something wrong with him. I had quite honestly quit leaving the house with him because it was too risky and humiliating to take him out in public. I'm sure some of his behavioral improvement is also because Tate travels much less now, and I do believe little boys need their dads involvement a lot during these years.
Lane... wow where do I even begin? When we left South Carolina he was still very much my little baby. He was in no rush to crawl and just enjoyed being held and was very relaxed. He's turning into a toddler before my eyes, and it's very bittersweet to see. I am loving the stage he's in, where we're getting to see some of his spunky personality and watching him discover the world, but it's harder with the second child knowing that the baby phase will soon be a thing of the past. The verdict is still out on whether we will have another child at some point, so knowing this may be our last "baby" is a little sad. I love the baby phase, and feel like I'm a good "baby mom" (sometimes I question whether or not I'm a good "toddler mom" or "preschooler mom"!) so it will be hard for me when his first birthday arrives in November and we put that first year behind us.
Don't get me wrong, I do love the fact that he's becoming a fun little person and actually playing and interacting with us! I love watching Lane and Jace play together and laugh as if they have all sorts of inside jokes already. This phase is so much fun. It's also a lot of work though constantly keeping him out of harms way, so it's a good thing Jace has let up some. ;)
Jace started preschool one day per week. I was torn on whether or not to start him this year, or wait until next. So when I found the one day program near by I figured it was a happy medium and probably about all he can really handle just yet, classroom wise. He seems to like it so far and **hopefully** he is going to behave pretty well in class because he knows he can't go anymore if he doesn't listen to his teacher. After the first day we were driving home and I was asking him all about his day and he told me, "My teacher said "Screaming is for emergencies only Jace"". He maintains that he wasn't screaming and that she was just telling him that randomly... RIGHT. ;)
Life has been pretty great since moving back to Minnesota. We have missed our friends in Charleston, but I think that's just part of moving away and moving home. If you've ever lived in multiple places chances are you'll always miss certain things and people in those areas. I really think it will help once I make some friends in our new area. I've been a shut-in mostly since moving, just because I've been focused on getting settled and taking it easy... I haven't really re-connected with any mom-friends I used to hang out with here yet. I'm getting to the point now where I think I'm ready to branch out again.
Since we're living about an hour south of where we used to live in the Twin Cities, we don't know many people close by (except Tate's parents, they live 5 minutes away!). We've met a lot of our neighbors and they all seem great. It's a huge change from our last neighborhood where no one talked to each other and no one ever hung out outside. Almost every house in our neighborhood has young kids and people are always outside in the evenings. The neighborhood even has a tradition where there is a community "pink flamingo" and if you put it in your front yard that means to come on over for happy hour and bring the family along.
We have a park right up the road that we walk to a lot to let Jace get some energy out. Target and several restaurants and stores are also just up the road, a quick walk away... which of course I love! There's also a large lake for boating about a mile away and there are two swimming beaches on that lake. A mile in the opposite direction is a big county park with hiking trails around a different lake. It's nice to see that although we had to make a super quick decision when it came to house hunting (4 days!) we definitely made the right decision and we absolutely love our neighborhood, and our area. We love our house too, and plan to live here for many years. It will be a lot of fun to see how this house evolves over the years... as the to-do list shrinks. When we put an offer on this house we got into a bidding war with an all-cash investor who saw the same potential in the house that we did... and we feel very lucky to have this home to raise our kids in. It's the perfect lay-out for our family and we are absolutely obsessed with it, white walls, and unfinished finishes and all!
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