New House

You may be wondering, why in the world did we move AGAIN? Fact: This move is #17 (18 locations) in 10 years of marriage.

We had been thinking about moving for a few reasons. Mainly, location. Our house was on a very busy road, not too far from the girls school, maybe a 25 minute walk (5 minute drive), but along the front of our house was a very narrow road, unpassable with a stroller. So, walking has not been an option like we'd hoped. The traffic is insane as it's a one-way road on a major thoroughfare, and large semis have to pass through very early in the morning, shaking the whole house. (Once I confused an actual earthquake for what I thought to be another semi-truck passing by).

We were looking at our calendar over the next several months. There are a lot of days where Michael will have to travel without us. This meant every time he leaves we would need to figure out transportation for the girls to get to school. It's a headache to deal with a taxi to and from school every day. This had become a big stress for me to think about.

More and more we were thinking that if only we lived closer to the new school and the office, we wouldn't need to worry about transportation.

Then of course there was the crazy construction behind our house. When we moved in a year ago there was one apartment building right next to our house, still being constructed. Little did we know that within one month of moving in the houses right behind us would be bulldozed to make room for a second 7-story building. And the construction has been non-stop since, sometimes as early as 5 in the morning until 11 at night, and weekends too. It was especially obnoxious those first few weeks home with Ruby when we were trying to rest during the day and all we could hear was BAM! BAM! and the whir of the saw right in our backyard.

The new apartment building creeping up behind our old house.

Our contract for the current house was up the first week of February, so I had looked maybe twice in the paper, with no luck. We decided that the only way we'd move is if we found a place within very close distance of the girls' school. That seemed very unlikely since we were looking in a very specific area. We thought we'd maybe drive around the area at some point and see if there were any For Rent signs around.

The task of moving didn't sound appealing, especially with a brand new baby, and given the craziness of our travel schedule.

A couple weeks ago we dropped the girls off at school and headed to get Ruby's Guatemalan birth certificate. A couple blocks from the school, we passed a rental sign. We hit reverse and wrote down the number. By the end of the day we had called and looked at it. It seemed really promising. The house was only two blocks from the girls' school! There were pros and cons compared to our current house, but the biggest pros were the nearness to the girls' school and the distance from the construction.

After some back and forth with the owners, they finally said it was ours.

So, last Sunday we started packing the house, and Tuesday we signed papers and moved in. It was fast, but we wanted to get in this week before Michael had to travel overnight on Friday. And next week he's gone for 6 days, so being able to walk to school every day is a huge bonus.

We are loving the house. There are so many little details about this house that are things we didn't seek out but are super thrilled with. Here's a few things I'm really thankful for in this new house:

1. The kitchen. I have actual counter space, more cupboards than I can use, and a pantry. And did I mention that I have counters, where I can actually cut food and stir and cook? Counters. A big deal.

2. Hot water. Any time of the day. Those are two separate things. In the old house, the way we were connected to the city water we often couldn't shower after 8am because the water pressure was so low. Also, too little water pressure meant our insta-hot water heater didn't work. So, showers had to be timed well, and even then it wasn't a guarantee. Now, we have plenty of hot water. And I can shower any time I want. Double bonus.

3. This guy.

He drives around our neighborhood every evening. He's from a local panaderia (bread shop). Any night we want bread, we can walk outside and buy it from him. I've also seen a woman who walks around selling tortillas during lunch and dinner.

4. Speaking of neighborhoods, we are in a U-shaped street with about 30 houses total. We have a guard and the neighborhood is super secure. If we have visitors at the gate, the guard will call our house to verify before they pass through. This means we can do things like walk around on the street and the girls can ride their bikes. We've already done it twice. In Ellie's words, it's "super fun." Being able to feel like we can walk a little and get outside of our driveway to ride bikes makes me feel like we're back in the States again.

Out on our first bike ride.

5. The girls' school is 2 blocks away, a 5 minute walk on a nice wide road with a sidewalk and lots of extra walking space. To drive and pick up the girls could take up to 45 minutes, because of the very organized pick-up system. Although this new school ends an hour earlier than their last school, they were still getting home at the same time because of the traffic. It was sucking up a lot of Michael's time to pick up the girls every day. Now, I can walk and get them in less time, plus get exercise while I do it. This also means we're now about a 25-minute walk to the office. We're only 2 blocks away from a staff member who walks every day, so I might just start joining her at some point.

6. Other little details about the house: the girls have a bar in their closet that is on the bottom half, so now they can reach all of their dresses themselves. We had just been saying how nice it would be if we had one in their closet, and now they have one. They love to come home from school every day and change into a dress, and now they can get them without our help.

7. We have a patio upstairs. It's connected to a great big living area where the girls now have their own play area. Also, notice the mural? It's a picture of the 7 days of Creation. In the upper left hand corner, is Day 1, lightness and darkness. And it continues through the stars and the animals and even Adam and Eve. Funny.

8. We have a little front yard and back yard, and the girls have already spent a lot of time in the front yard/driveway. I love that they can bop outside and play in our yard.

9. On the other end of the 2-story house is a separate set of stairs. At the top is one room, perfect for a guest room or office (we'll use it for both), with a bathroom at the bottom. Michael sometimes likes to work from home, but finds it difficult to do with the girls wanting his attention and trying to find space. Now he will have his own office space where he can work and get away when needed. Bonus room for sure. It will also make a great guest space away from the rest of our bedrooms.

10. Quiet. It's quiet. The loudest noises are birds and a few dogs barking (though luckily never at night).

11. We're within walking distance to the market.

12. Our new landlords live a few blocks away in a nearby colonia that has a huge green space, park with slides and swings, and a basketball court. The wife said we could walk there anytime and tell the guard we are visiting her so we can use the park. Finally, we live near some kind of outdoor park!

This house is such a good fit. Of course there are always some negatives to every place. We lost a master bathroom, a huge driveway, awesome neighbors, a bigger and more open living area space.

Our driveway at the old house. 

But, the pros absolutely outweigh the cons in this move, and we feel so blessed with the timing, and the little details, and the peace we feel about this. We are already completely unpacked, organized, and moved in. We've been working hard, and with the help of a few of our staff, we were able to get everything moved quickly. It was a crazy week, but it was fast, and more than worth it. We are so content.

Our living room