2012- A 3 months too early review

2012 started with high hopes.  I was no longer on lockdown at the hospital. Elliott was 15 days old and, although he was born 5 weeks prematurely, he was healthy and home. My grandmother had fallen and broken her hip three days after he was born, but her surgery was successful and she was recovering.  Life was OK.

 

Then Elliott got sepsis and almost died.  Then we found out that a very good friend had died completely suddenly on Christmas Eve.  Then Elliott battled a liver disorder that for a long time we believed would take his life or require a liver transplant, and we became hermits in our own home.  Then my grandma's recovery faltered and she died.  She was my last remaining grandparent and I miss her pretty much every day.

 

And 2012 went on the record books as being the shittiest year (I'm sorry about the language, mom) of our entire marriage.

 

But in late May Elliott was deemed healthy and recovered.  And in June my dad told us that my grandma had left all of her money to her 5 grandchildren.  And in July we found out that with some of that money as a down payment we were eligible to apply for a mortgage.  And on September 25th our offer on the home of our dreams was accepted!

 

We close on October 30th!!!

 

This is our backyard.  That's Doug, our realtor extraordinaire.  Seriously, he went above and beyond anything we could have ever imagined.  If you need a realtor, let me know.  He is the guy for you.

 

This is our pool.  Michael would like to include the raft in the offer.

 

This is our raised garden.  We're totally going to plant herbs and vegetables. 

 

This is our shed.  It's very sheddy. 

 

This is our 3 car garage. 

 

And these are the built in cabinets in said garage. 

 

This is our heater.  I think.  It might not be.  It may be some sort of compressor for the heater.

 

This is for sure our hot water heater. 

 

And this is our garage sink.

Here's my laundry room.  The washer and dryer do not stay, which is totally cool, because we have our own.

 

Hello kitchen.  I'm going to cook up a storm in you.  Starting with Elliott's first birthday party. 

 

Three words.  Walk. In. Pantry.

 

The family room.  Isn't it lovely?  We're going to trash it with toys in 2.7 seconds flat. 

 

A gas fireplace?  Yes, ma'am.  We plan on opening all of the windows in the middle of the night in January so we can cool the house down enough to use it. 

 

This is our bedroom hallway.  Pictures of Spencer and Elliott will soon take up residence here and stay for 30 something years until Michael and I retire to Sun City West. (Kidding.  That will never happen, because you will never find me living in the West Valley.  Which means we'll have to retire to Leisure World in Mesa.)

 

Hallway bathroom.  It's going to look so good with all of our animal print accessories.

Bedroom 1.  We told Spencer he could pick his own room.  I'm leaning towards persuading him to this one.

 

Bedroom 2.  The creeper, life-size Santa is not part of the deal.  I'm thinking this will be Elliott's room. 

 

Bedroom 3.  Guest room, perhaps. 

 

The master.  Ahhh.  Serenity now.

Michael and I have had his and her closets for the past 3 years.  I think we'll be just fine sharing this.  As long as he realizes it will be divided 20-80.

 

The entry. Kitchen and family room to the left.  Bedrooms to the right.

 

Formal living room 

Den/office/dining room.  When we live here it's going to be a dining room.  Please come over.  I'll roast a chicken for you and give you a glass of fine red wine.  There will probably be brownies too.

 

 We are SO, SO, SO, SO excited.  This house seriously has every single thing we are looking for.  I told Michael that if I were forced, at gunpoint, to come up with a single "con" for the house, it would be that the oven is gas.  He looked at me stangely and asked if that was a big deal.  I said, "exactly".  An electric oven is much more precise for baking but never in a million years would I say no to this house because of that.

 

I feel like the luckiest lady in the world right now.  And it's all because of her: