Have you been feeling a little blue lately? Do you feel like the winter will never end? Are you trapped in your house in sub-zero weather while your kids literally run in circles around you? Are you less than half-way through a pregnancy that feels never-ending? I have the solution for you! Simply follow these steps and before you know it you'll be holding a sweet new baby on a sunny summer day: 1: After countless "discussions" with your husband, come to the gut-wrenching conclusion that it doesn't make sense to try to move out of your arctic-climate-yet-blessed-with-a-great-economy small town. After all, you want to be closer to family, but not living in their basement.
2: Decide that as long as you're going to be here for a few more years, you might as well casually investigate buying a bigger house in order to make aforementioned winters and children more bearable. But just look for the fun of it, and not because you're all that serious.
3: Start to visit open houses around town, just because it's fun; compare nearby ones to your own, find a few that look interesting, and drool over several that are clearly out of your price range. However, don't think that you'll actually end up moving, because that would be crazy.
4: Find a house that you love in a great neighborhood; make a low-ball offer, get it rejected even though it's overpriced and has been on the market for 18 months, and decide to not pursue it any further. In the meantime, start finishing up all the remodeling projects in your own house that have been 90% done for 3 years. Love your own house more and more with each project that gets finished.
5: One Thursday, hear about a fantastic house that the owners are "desperate" to sell. Make an offer that night, hear back that they will only accept the offer once your house is officially on the market. FREAK OUT.
6: Spend that weekend frantically finishing up all projects - base and crown in the basement, tile floors in the entry and bath, painting and caulking and touching-up all the little areas that need it. Also de-clutter, deep clean, pack half your belongings, and stage every room to perfection. You've watched enough HGTV to practically have a degree in staging and selling a house and you know what needs to be done.
7: Feel your stomach flop over and tears come to your eyes as you get home from the store on Monday and see the "For Sale" sign in your yard - in front of the house that you brought your daughter to as a 6-month-old and your son home to as a newborn. Take a deep breath and go drive by the new house; instantly feel better.
8: Rejoice as agents call all week to schedule showings, even though you haven't had any open houses yet. Get ecstatic as 2 offers come in on the same day. Accept one of them and sit back, amazed at how all of this has happened in less than a week!
9: Realize that "all of a sudden" you are already halfway through your pregnancy and there are only a few weeks until Thaw. Look forward to moving and getting settled just in time for the new baby to arrive. Relax!
Since some of you have asked for pictures:
Little House on the Prairie (Sold):
Big House on the Prairie (Bought):
