We're Buying A House... and We Could Use Your Help

With Josh's upcoming job in Eastern Washington (about four hours from where we are currently), we decided to try a buy a house in the new area as opposed to renting.  We were so happy to be approved and start looking.  In one whirlwind weekend we traveled (with all the kids, and my mom) to our new hometown to start the search.  During that time we saw a few houses that stuck with us for not so good reasons (dirty underwear in the bathroom, garages transformed into bedrooms...) and some that stuck with us for all the right reasons (bright light, beautiful new carpet...) but it ended up boiling down to this one house that was: a) within our budget; b) in a good school district and c) had a great neighborhood.

I'll share a few pictures here, but keep in mind everything inside is the previous owners.

I fell in love with this house because of the kitchen.  All that counter space, a great big window and lots of cupobards.  Plus they're white, which is my favorite!

This little bonus laundry room space is pretty cool too.  Josh and I may have to play Rock-Paper-Scissors as he's thinking it'd be a good office for grading papers, and I think it'd make a pretty nifty craft room. ;)

The twins will continue sharing a room;

While Wyatt & Carly will share with each other, instead of having all three boys together.

The main bathroom looks small in this picture, but behind the door is a huge amount of space. I'm thinking we will put in a laundry basket for the boys' laundry and maybe a bench for when they're waiting their turn for the shower or sink.

What won me over (other than the kitchen) is the master bedroom.  It's huge. And it has an en suite bathroom, plus a walk in closet!

The garage is a bit cluttered with things they were preparing for their move, but it is as long as the house, so storage will abound! Plus there's a really good size storage shed in the backyard.

We are still in the midst of all the paperwork, but I finally feel like it's actually going to go through, which is very exciting.  I had no idea all the steps involved in buying a house and feel like a "for real grown up" for going through this experience!

This house is going to be a wonderful place to raise our kids.  It's going to need a little elbow grease and some TLC, but we are ecstatic to be homeowners.  But this is where you come in... With all our extra money going towards a moving van, closing costs, the down payment and the few things we need to take care of from the inspection, things are a bit tight in terms of furnishing the house.

When Josh left Alaska in May, everything we owned was shipped in a box via USPS back to Washington.  All the furniture we owned was left behind in Marshall.  Since then we've purchased a table, beds for everyone and a few dressers, but we are still short on making up an entire household since we've been able to live with my in-laws.  I know many of you have been cheering for us to find a job closer to home (and we're so grateful we did!) and I also know many of you have offered help in any way.  So today I'm posting here a list of things we will need (or want) for our new house.  If you have any of these items (new or used... we aren't picky!) please let me know, and we would be so grateful to take it off your hands. 

While I am excited to have a house, as I think of the things we will need from room to room after five years living in the bush, I get a bit overwhelmed.  So a little help from my friends will be lovely.

Stand alone high chair with adjustable tray

Kitchen table chair (one of ours broke)

2 bar stools

Recliner

Coffee tables

Kids desk

Kids play table

Bookshelves

Area rug

Entry rug

Laundry baskets

Laundry hampers

Plate set

Large crockpot

Rocking glider & ottoman

Vacuum cleaner

Mop

Iron & ironing board

Washer & dryer

Storage of any type: bins, boxes, drawers

Thank you all in advance for your generosity.  We are so excited for our family to be together under one roof, we can hardly stand it!

***

Free Chores At A Cost

Coming back this year, as you know, I was scared.  I was nervous about many things, but maybe the biggest was being overwhelmed.  When my anxiety does hit, it's hard to not feel like the whole world is crashing down.

Thankfully my anxiety has stayed under control and things have fallen into place really nicely the last three weeks.  That said, there are some things we have changed to assist in maintaining my sanity.  I wake up with Josh and be sure to shower before he leaves for work; the boys have enforced quiet time in the afternoons so I get a break; and the twins have started helping out more around the house.

If you could come over, this is what you would see.  What you won't see is the medal I deserve for tolerating the standards my six year olds have, when inside my own personal standards are drowning in their tears.  Having the boys do chores (and take responsibility for some things) means that once they have done a job, I really need to leave it alone.  (Even though I really want to re-fold, re-sort, reorganize.)

So when I asked Logan if he could put Candyland away without spilling all the cards (can we just take a minute here and agree that Candyland is the second worst childhood game ever? Chutes & Ladders, of course, being the first. How do you even win that game? It's a trap, I tell you.  Forty-five minutes later you're still playing because that jerk of a little girl stole cookies AGAIN and slid down the big pink slide just when you were about to win!) Sorry... where was I? Oh, yeah, Candyland. So he put the game away, and I had to laugh when I entered the playroom later and saw how he "put it away".  

It's the same with their laundry.  I will wash and dry it, but it is their responsibility to fold it and put it away.  They put things in the correct drawers (shirts, pants, pajamas) but let's just say they don't do it how I would do it.

The first week it took a lot of resisting to just leave it. To let them own their work and struggle to find shirts because their folding leaves something to be desired.  Now I'm just relieved that I don't have to do it.  To make the chore more fun, I let them listen to music when they do it, and it's amazing how much they enjoy that.  (Hilarious side note: their favorite song currently is Ridin' Dirty. Oh my god, listening to them sing along kills me!)

They dress themselves, brush their teeth, make their bed everyday, clear the table after mealtime and clean up the playroom.  Adding laundry to their chore list has lightened my load incredibly.  Another one I added? Putting away the dishes.  It takes them a little longer than if I did it, but it's one less time I have to touch the pots & pans!  Obviously with their laundry (and making their own beds) it doesn't look as good as I would like it to (I mean, they are only six) but the only 'cost' there is perfection.  This morning when Jack was rushing through putting away the dishes, he broke one of my favorite tiny Anthropologie ice cream dishes.  He was apologetic, and I was heartbroken.  But as Josh and I discussed before he left for work, if a broken dish here or there (or an insanely wrinkled stack of size 7 shirts) is the cost of having our boys learn responsibility and be contributing members of our family, then that's a price we're willing to pay.