Famous Amys: June 2012

Last summer, just as the season was winding down, Taylor felt confident enough in her swimming skills to shed the water wings. And we were so proud of her. And she would kick her legs and swing her arms and come up for breaths and swim from ledge to ledge. It was pretty impressive for a little person. And because we didn’t take lessons or have much water-time during the off-season, I wasn’t surprised when she opted to put her floaties on for the first few pool visits this summer. But. Now she is back in the groove. And thanks to my friend Jen’s underwater camera, I can share her water prowess with the world.

How awesome is that? And adorable. That little girl captures my heart everyday, and watching her grow before my eyes is pretty spectacular. And I am so, so proud of her.

A few weeks ago while I was driving the kids to Paige’s house on the north side of town for a playdate, Taylor was in the back rambling on and on about things that she wants for her next birthday or for Christmas. And in my mind I’m all, Seriously? You JUST had a birthday. Our house is filled to capacity with every piece of plastic, sparkly Princess crap

China

can export. Get over it! And then I snapped out of my eye rolling seizure just long enough to hear her say, Oh Mama! I sure do wish I had a SWINGSET! And then it was like someone hit Repeat in her brain and she kept saying over and over how much joy a swingset would bring her. And because I like to delay all discipline and dream-squashing, I nonchalantly said back to her, You know, Taylor, one day maybe we’ll live in a house where we have a yard that’s flat enough that you could have your very own swingset.

And, my goodness, the minute the words came out of my mouth I immediately regretted it. Because the rest of the drive went something like this:

T: So we might move into a new house?

Me: Yeah. Someday. Would you like that?

T: Can I bring my toys?

Me: Well, of course. We would bring everything from our house into the new one. But this is something that’s not gonna happen for a long time, Honey. We have zero plans to move anytime soon.

T: Are there houses with no one living in them?

Me: Yeah. And, Hey! maybe whenever we move you could have your own room.

T: What about Yukey? Would Yukey come to the new house?

Me: Uh, YES. And so would Ruby. And EVERYTHING we have. It would be just like our house now but a different house. But this isn’t something we doing now. Do you understand that?

T: I am so excited to move into a new house! I can’t wait to tell all of my friends!

Me: TAYLOR! We are NOT. MOVING. Don’t tell anyone that, because it’s not true, okay. Promise me.

T: Okay, Mama. But I sure am excited to get a new house and a swingset.

And then I commenced to beat my head against the window and curse the fact that I even brought anything up. Yes, at one point last year we had thought about putting our house on the market and finding a better set-up, but Chris has been so busy between work and his CFP that we’ve been maxed. Plus the thought of trying to get a house ready to show while finding something to do with two kids and a dog during viewings made me break out in hives. Nope. We are all comfortable, healthy and lucky to have a roof over our heads. Life is good.

So after repeating, We are NOT MOVING, a million more times to Taylor, we finally reached the Scully house and proceeded to invade their residence and touch all of their toys. That’s essentially what playdates are for, right? Trashing someone else’s house for an afternoon. But I at least like to bring wine for the moms and treats for the kids, so we keep getting invited back. And on that particular day, I opted to bring Elliot and Taylor some fruit popsicles for them to enjoy on the porch. And after sending them out to squeal and drip strawberry goo on the cement, I ran back out to my car to get something and when the girls saw me I was greeted with a very guilty Taylor face, which was followed by a wide-eyed Elliot softly saying to me, Tee-Tee says you’re moving.

And because sweet Elliot’s cousin moved away to Colorado last year, I immediately knew what was going through her precious head and frantically said back, Oh NO! Elliot, we are NOT MOVING! Taylor was just trying to say that someday we might move into a bigger house that’s still in Asheville. Hey! Maybe we’ll move into a house that’s really, really close to you! Would that be fun?

And Elliot jumped up with a big grin on her face and said, You should move right there! pointing to her neighbor’s house. And just to be done with the conversation, I chirped back, OKAY!

Oh BROOKE! Didn’t I learn anything from the car-discussion that these little people take everything seriously and don’t forget anything? Apparently not. Because Elliot ran inside right away to announce to Paige that we were moving in next door. And that night at dinner, Taylor informed her Daddy that we were going to live in the house next to Elliot. And then Chris looked at me with a dumbfounded smile and said, Actually, the ironic thing is that a house just opened up down the road from them in our price range that I think we should look at.

And so that was Wednesday. And the next afternoon we had our realtor show us a house that I had driven past hundreds of times on our way to and from Paige’s house, yet had never noticed. And, Wow. It was pretty awesome. And since we were able to find a short playdate for Taylor, just Chris, Luke and I walked through the house, remarking on the accessible layout, large lot and the spacious walk-out basement to a great patio area and semi-private backyard. Of course there were areas that could be improved upon, but the bones were good. And it was in our price range. And there was more than enough room for a swingset.

So Chris and I talked that night and we both agreed that we could see ourselves living in that house. The size and location were perfect for us. Between the Country Club, Taylor’s preschool, our church and our friends, almost all our time is being spent on the north side of town, and it would be so lovely to be mere minutes from everything we use.

So the next morning Chris called our realtor and made an offer. And she called us back Friday night, saying that the owners had countered for another amount. And we agreed to it. And then Chris immediately doubled-over in his chair and started taking deep breaths. WOW! Did we just buy a house?

Yeah. That escalated quickly. And before we could really wrap our heads around it, we initialed a contract with the owners allowing us time for an inspection and other due diligence before we were totally committed. Oh, and Chris had them throw in the riding lawn mower. Because at nearly an acre, it would take him a long, long time to trim the grass with our push mower. And it was a good thing we were quick with our answer and contract, because a higher offer was given the next day by someone who wanted to get into a bidding war with us. And we were all, Heck no, people! That’s what contracts are for, yo. And don’t even look at that mower!

So the inspection was performed a few days later, where a few issues were brought to our attention. And after another week of having chimney specialists and our contractor friend do other assessments, it was determined that all repairs were minor and that we had found a really, really good house. And so we’re gonna buy it. And we are scheduled to close at the end of July.

And to say that I am excited is a total understatement. I am THRILLED. But. I am also a bit stressed by the whole situation as well. Moving equals a lot of chaos and change, which are two things that give me major anxiety. The last time we moved was over eight ago, when it was just me, Chris and a Ruby-puppy. We’ve accumulated a lot of stuff, not to mention two little people, that we will be boxing, transporting and unpacking into a new place. Don’t worry, I won’t box up Taylor and Luke. Well, not unless they want me to. Heck, I might prefer to be sedated and sealed up tight for the entire process.

And I’m also a bit sad to say goodbye to this house. This place is our first house and has been our home for a long time. Lots of wonderful memories in this place. We brought both kids home from the hospital to this house. I will miss it. And I hope the next owners that as good of care of it as we did.

So. BOOM! Big news. And while Chris freaks out about the upgrade and I start overloading a Pinterest board with new house ideas, Luke has no idea what’s going on and Taylor is OVER THE MOON! because not only is she going to have a princess room, a play room and a swingset, but she is now a mere block away from her best friend. Oh my. And when we were playing with Paige and her crew last weekend at the Botanical Gardens, I kept hearing Taylor squeal to Elliot, I am SO EXCITED we are going to be neighbors! And Elliot would jump up and down in agreement. And then Paige and I would squeal and jump too. Because this is going to be awesome.