home renovation

It turns out that old cliche is true. 

I once promised here that the next house I bought would be move-in ready. 

Oh, ho, ho!  How funny I am! 

Tomorrow, we are closing on a house.  Or should I say renovation project number two?  (Or number three if you count our rental property.)  Well . . . we are closing if all the paper work gets completed by the end of today.  During the two and half month process of getting our offer approved, I've been repeating over and over, "We will never buy a short sale again."  (Hmmmm . . . I feel another cliche coming on . . . never say never?)

It turns out that my husband and I are crazy.  Two gluttons for punishment. 

While looking at numerous houses, I realized what a sick person I was.  Chad once confessed to me on a drive home from a walk-through of one house that he was almost sad to think about buying a house that was move-in ready, because we wouldn't be able to leave our mark on the place.  I felt the same way, despite my vivid recollections of experiences like the ones I documented here.    That's how I knew I was sick.  Demented in the head.  Not only that, but when I saw places that were fixed up, I kept thinking, "I could do everything they've done  in here."  Neutral paint and new tile just aren't that impressive when you know how much it will cost to do the same job on a cheaper house yourself. 

Of course that's not the only factor that has contributed to our purchasing of a home requiring a ton of blood, sweat, and tears.  For one thing, I really want to stay at home with Kaden full-time, and so I'm willing to sacrifice my visions of an over-sized, perfectly-remodeled kitchen, and a giant backyard--for now.  Even though there are days when I want to pull my hair out from the frustration of enduring numerous toddler tantrums, I can't imagine not being the one who reads him his stories before his nap.  I just love watching him learn and grow each day.  If there's a way for me to stay home, I want to do it.  

Is our new house the perfect house?  Well, it really feels like it is the perfect house for our family at this phase of our life.  And hopefully, once all the renovations are completed, it will feel even more so.

I have six jars of sample paint sitting on my kitchen counter.

There's a bucket of joint compound sitting on the table.

Bring it.  We're ready. 

The butterflies have been going crazy in my tummy all week.  I'm so excited to start a new chapter of our lives.  It's time to make another house a home!