Michael Says...

Rylan brought Michael a book called Chester about a horse.

Michael: "Rylan, do you want to read a horse too?"...(realized his mistake)..."I mean read a book. It's a horse about a book."...(realized his mistake because Erin can't stop laughing)

And the Winner Is...

We signed the lease on our new house tonight, so I feel comfortable revealing that the winner is...

House #2!

The house is only three years old, so hopefully that will mean no major issues with appliances, plumbing, or any other of the things that plagued us in our last 25-year-old house. It has three bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, and screened in back porch. Hardwood floors in the living area, carpet in the bedrooms. (I'm really happy about that - wood is so much easier to keep clean than carpet with small kids.)

The lot is only 0.09 acres, so the backyard is super tiny, but it's completely fenced in so we think it will work. It's only a mile from Michael's office, so he'll have a very convenient short walk to work. It's also less than 2 miles from Cole's school, the library, the grocery store, and the children's museum. We think we'll be able to get by on only one tank of gas a month, maybe a little more. We'll be in a new ward, but we've never felt at home in our current ward, so we're not concerned about switching wards.

We'll be moving over at the end of the month. So excited to have all of our belongings in one place again!

House Hunters: Dream Rental Edition

Since we sold our house, we've been looking around for a new place to rent. We like our apartment, but we would really like a house where the boys can run around outside. We would also like to be "inside the beltline," the area of Raleigh inside the circle formed by I-40 and I-440. Plus, because we were completely screwed by the housing market, we aren't going to be in a position to buy again for many years - at least five - so we want a house where we can see ourselves living for awhile.

Should we choose...

House #1: The completely renovated house with four bedrooms on 1/3 of an acre but farther from downtown Raleigh?


House #2: The 3-year-old house in Historic Oakwood with a small backyard but only a mile from Michael's work and a half mile from both the library and the children's museum?











House #3: The small house with the beautiful fenced in backyard in Five Points but with a really crappy kitchen?










House #4: Or the beautifully renovated bungalow in Boylan Heights with a brand new kitchen and big fenced-in backyard? (Okay, okay, this one is for sale, not for rent, but I really want it. Michael tried calling them and asking if they wanted to rent it to us, but they said no. If someone wants to offer to buy this house for me, I would not object! :)











Actually, we've already made our decision, but you will have to wait for the results after the break...

We Sold Our House!

After 10 long months, we are finally, finally, finally only paying for one house again!