Life with Jack & Zach: Home Sweet Home

Around the first week in October, Steve and I decided to start house hunting. We spent many long weekends, sans kids, to look at houses with our realtor. We would try to target about 8 houses on one day since we were on a tight deadline. With our lease up on the apartment, we tried not to rush the process to quickly, but it was hard knowing that January would be here before you know it. After looking at several houses, we found it! Our search was targeted around Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo; no reason in particular--just where we kept finding houses. However,the house we found is in San Clemente. After monitoring the house a few times, Steve noticed the seller had reduced the price again so we jumped on it. Steve toured the house one night after work to see if it was worth viewing. Sure enough it was and so he took me during lunch. At that time we decided to put an offer on the table. After going back and forth a couple of times, we were able to settle on a price.

We close on December 20th and will move in around January 15th. We decided to do some work to the house prior to moving in as it will be easier that way. We are going to repaint, put in some hardwood flooring, redo the master bathroom and kitchen. It was somewhat livable in the current condition; however, since we have some time, it would be best and most effective for the sake of the boys. We love the house and it is perfect for us and our guests! :) It is a two story with plenty of room. There is a family room off the kitchen and living room and dining room off the entry. There is a bedroom/office on the main floor with a full bath. Upstairs has a nice size master along with three additional bedrooms, one will be our office, guestroom, and the boys' room. What we like about this house is the boys' room in particular is huge. There is enough space to store all their toys and then some. Most of the houses we toured had very small bedrooms and always left us asking, where are we going to put this, that, etc. We eventually will need to put in new carpet and redo the 2nd bathroom upstairs, but we can do that down the road. Steve loves remodeling and I like designing/decorating so we have been finding enjoyment picking out colors, cabinets, flooring, and tile, etc all over again.

The house is at the end of culdusac and there are a lot of kids. We never had this before so we are looking forward to potential block parties and walking around the neighborhood with boys. The backyard is a fairly decent size. The seller did not do much so basically we can design the backyard the way we would like, of course when the time is right. Our backyard is sheilded from neighbors from the sides and in back of us; we have what is called a greenbelt. For the most part all of the yards are gated and so the boys will have a lot of fun running in and out of the house. Plus, we have a nice size kitchen window so I can keep my eye on them as I am cooking or cleaning up.

San Clemente is south of where we are currently located; great area and is family driven. We are a short distance from the beach. Our commute will now be about 30 minutes vs 2 minutes.:) Since Steve and I literally work a block away from each other, I am hoping we can car pool if anything 3 days a week. We shall see!

I was hoping to take pictures the one day we were there taking measurements, but the family was in the midst of packing and so I decided to forego pictures until a later date. I do however have one of the front of the house I can share until I am able to post "before" and "after" pictures.

Steve and I are happy that we can start the new year off moved into our own home. The apartment has been fun, but not for us with a family; great if you are single and don't have much. I am looking forward to having all of our furniture with us instead of using the rented furnuiture. More so, just having more room. Since July, we have had to make some big decisions. Needless to say we have been on overdrive since then and so we are looking forward to moving into the house and settling down. Even more so, be able to relax. Researching houses in the evening and touring homes over the weekend during the past couple of months is draining. I am really excited the boys are going to have space since they are at an age where they are active and just want to run around.