Yes, we did it.

I guess we bought a house. Thanks for all of your comments- It was really helpful to read through them and feel normal for freaking out. Those people on House Hunters(HGTV) never seem to be freaking out. What's wrong with them, eh? :)

I'm feeling pretty good about the decision. Our tax return is going to be twice as big as we were planning on (thank you, poverty! :)) and I keep finding ways that we're going to save. Of course, we also keep finding more things for the house that we're going to need to pay for. The house is in a great area and we are getting it for $30-50K less than the other houses on the street. But the previous owners didn't really update some big things like the roof, furnace and windows. The outside AC unit is getting old too. So those things could all break as soon as we get in the home, or last for several more years. Who knows. And the outside is pretty ugly. And the owners had dogs. :)

On the positive side- it's got tons of room (four bedrooms, an unfinished basement) and a great big backyard. So I think it will be okay. We close on February 28th, so we have some more waiting to do. And then DEFINITELY there will be some crazy cleaning going on. And then moving in. And then organizing. Yay! I love organizing. :)

As I've thought about buying a home, I have some serious psychological hang-ups. The responsibility of owning a home- it makes me feel old. Like the four kids I have don't do that. See, maybe there is something wrong with me! Sigh. :)

Housing

Well. Back in October we found a house to rent. We walked through the house, said yup we'll rent it, and she said okay great. She was moving to Texas, so we were going to sign a contract when she got back in town. Long story short, two weeks before Christmas she let us know that she decided not to rent to us. We were stunned, since we were planning to move in the first week of January. It made for a depressing Christmas, to say the least. James does a better job at hiding his emotions. I was a snarly golem for a few days. I drove by the house a couple of times with a carton of eggs in the passenger seat. (Just kidding, but I did want to give her a piece of my mind. I mean, we told our kids about the house and everything!)

So, we started the process of getting a home loan again. Which has taken since October, and is still not ironed out. And we did find a house that we love, although it is at the top of our price range. In fact, we were going to make an offer on it yesterday, but I freaked out and couldn't go through with it. I have serious psychological issues about getting in so much debt. I hate not being able to count on a sure thing! I want to know FOR SURE what the mortgage payments will be, and I really don't like all the unknowns lurking about. Since I've never bought a home, and don't know what to expect.

And it irks me that James is so calm about it. I try to rile him up, believe me. I run through the budget numbers a few times a day, show him how little we'll be able to save a month, run through all these terrible scenarios like his car dying, a freak flood and/or termites. That could all happen at once, you know. And then where would we be? In trouble.

You see my problem. Any home owners that could give me advice? Make me more worried? Calm my fears? Feel free to ring in.

Gross and Funny, but mostly gross

Preface: After it snows, I'll pour a little maple syrup on the new snow to let harden a bit. It doesn't get really hard, just gels up a bit more. Then the kids eat it as a treat.

Present Day: We're coming out of the gym and I hear Brooklyn yell, "Candy!", then scoop up a handful of snow and pop in her mouth, before I could do anything.

Then she spits it out.

Because it's pee.

{cringe}

and before you ask, yes, we have talked about the whole yellow snow thing. At length. She's just impulsive. Sigh. :)