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Monday, June 3, 2013

Pros and Cons

We have been in the new house almost a month now and we are still getting used to it. Almost all the boxes are unpacked but we still need to hang pictures and bring some stuff over from storage to really make it feel like home. I am ready to be settled but very disheartened at the thought that it will likely be time to move again before we are really settled into this house.

I like the new house alright.  It has a very drawbacks that I don't love but can live with.  I have to tell myself a lot, "This is a rental. You won't live here forever."  Mostly when I am doing the dishes, this comes up.  I hate the sink.  It is so shallow.  When I try to rinse dishes, I end up covered in water because it sprays everywhere.  And the dishwasher is tiny.  I am not sure how that is possible since it is the same size on the outside but the inside definitely has less room.  I honestly think we could do 2 loads of dishes a day and still have an overflow.  And that is hand washing all pots and pans.  I guess I have been spoiled by my old sink and dishwasher which I didn't realize were all that special till now.

I am also missing my bathtub.  I don't even miss having 2 sinks in the bathroom because that hasn't really been an issue for us but the tub I miss. I am mostly a shower girl but there are days when a nice soak in the tub is warranted.  I don't have that option here.  And, no, I am not going to go to the boys' bathroom and use their tub.  I also miss being able to bathe Jackson in our bathroom while Sean showers in his.  Jackson's bedtime keeps getting pushed while I wait for Sean to finish.  I think we are going to need to switch this out somehow.

Also, our "2-car" garage is not so much a true 2 car garage.  In theory, you could fit two cars in there if at least one of them was a SMART car.  But alas, we have a Camry, a 4Runner, and Chris's patrol car so only one car is allowed in our garage at a time.  The problem is the laundry room juts out into the garage.  Even the Camry came all the way to the door when we tried to park it on that side and we were barely able to shut the garage door.  So a 1-car garage it is.

But it isn't all bad.  We have space!  It is amazing how much more room 300 extra square feet is.  Sean can play in his room.  Jackson can play in the living room.  We have extra room in our room.  I almost don't know what to do with the extra space.  I feel like I need to fill it with stuff.  And some of the space will be filled once we get everything out of storage but then I like have the room to move without feeling like we are tripping over each other.

And we have a pantry that you can walk in that isn't the size of a linen closet.  And we have an island in the kitchen that is the best place for serving food and making lunches and prepping meals and I will never have another kitchen without these two vitally important pieces.

We also love that there is a playground across the street.  We have taken the boys there several times.  Plus Sean has made friends and he goes out and plays with them on the weekends.  Somehow, even with kids on our street, Sean never had friends in the old neighborhood.  It is nice to see him interacting with children besides the ones he goes to school with.

So it isn't the perfect house for us but it has a lot of good features and we are happy for now.