A Turning Point

When we first discovered we were expecting baby #3, I desperately looked at Evans with overwhelming feelings of excitement and anxiety and declared: "WE HAVE TO MOVE."

I LOVE this house. But our 3-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl have proven to require more than 1800 square feet to function. We tiptoe around each evening and every morning--so not to disturb anyone if he or she happens to be sleeping. No laundry, cooking, or dishwasher unloading can ensue during naps or after bed time. (That's my excuse anyway). If Van sneezes, Jean-Margaret wakes up (and she is not a resilient sleeper). How do we toss in a third to this scenario? Moving was the obvious, least stressful option.

Fast forward through four of the most stressful weeks of my life! A head-on collision with morning/afternoon/evening sickness, Jean-Margaret's first ear infection, nonstop house searching, a constant threat of selling our home within 24 hours after listing. We got extremely close to moving. We had a contingent offer on the table. We found a great home--plenty of space (woohoo!) a kitchen desk, huge playroom, spread out bedrooms, a real master bathroom!!, 2 stairways, an incredible backyard...

We would list our house the following day. That evening we told one of our dear neighbors to expect a for-sale sign in our yard. She took Van into her backyard and helped him cut a bouquet of her beautiful roses for me (it happened to be Mother's Day). We came back to our little front porch and watched the sunset by our fresh, newly blooming garden. I cried.

While part of me was convinced this chapter of our lives was over, another part of me was crushed about everything we would lose if we sold this home. All of a sudden, the thought of someone else inheriting our wonderful neighbors, our beautiful view of the sunset, our low-maintenance garden, enjoying Diddy and Evans's patio, losing the quick walk to the pool, the walk to the park, not being able to walk Van to school or play dates or the farmer's market... our cozy little home became quite convenient and overwhelmingly charming.

We have plenty of bedrooms--and by the way--how would our tots adopt to 2 staircases when mommy is caring for a newborn? How would we update that massive kitchen without going broke? Could I tolerate my children rolling around on someone else's carpets until we could afford to replace them? Our entire house is baby/tot-proofed and that took some time to figure out via trail and error. Could I accomplish similar safety in a large new home while adapting to life with a 3rd child? While the new neighborhood was lovely, it just didn't offer the same convenience and charm.

Evans was initialing the contract when I decided I was not 100% ready for this transition. We decided if we were not thrilled about the house--it was not going to be worth the effort to move.  We kept our eye out for a few days in case something better popped up on the market, especially around our neighborhood. We even considered selling our house then renting for a while until we could find the right house.  No such luck. There was not a single house on the market that offered the space, location, and charm within our price range.

Moving through each of these suggestions proved to be more stressful than just staying put. After an all-nighter with Jean-Margaret-- we forced ourselves to have an excruciatingly long and difficult conversation with a final decision at the end. At 4AM in the morning after a sleepless night, we decided it is best to stay put until after the baby.

I am four months pregnant today. This baby will be here so soon! As a little caveat to this entire experience, we decided it would be fun to keep this baby's gender a surprise!! This is NOT my style, but a good friend (hey Sarah) convinced me it would be helpful to have a surprise at the end to help get through the delivery.

While re-working our budget to buy a new home, we started to discuss alternatives to moving. What could we do that's not as drastic as moving but still allow us some family-friendly space in some capacity? A screened-in-porch? Maybe. But Evans had something else in mind.

I got a text message yesterday while Evans, Van, and Diddy were at a boat show. It was a picture of Van behind the wheel of a boat and it said:

"Going for it. Will call when done."

 

Evans earned his captain's license a while ago and has been missing a part of himself without having any access to the waterway!! Every time we visit the beach, I can tell he is counting down the days until we can enjoy a boat. While a boat may be a Band-Aid for our space issue, it sounds like fun to me and it gives us a good reason to get to the beach and lake!

At least now I know what is on the other side of a cramped house. No complaints here:
-No chores during naps or after bed time (check).
-No sanity during rainy days (check).
-A family of 5 residing in 1800 square feet (check).

Seems like a small price to pay considering the alternatives at this point in time.

Here's to turning a corner on the morning sickness (hopefully) and house stress--I am ready to decorate a gender-neutral nursery, and go on a boat ride!