I keep meaning to update this darn thing, but I usually remember when I'm at work; not the best place for blogging.
So, what's happened since August? House buying!!
We are currently under contract for our first house! We close on January 20th, and I'm freaking out. We both are. We started saving up when we got married, thanks to some good chunks of change as wedding presents, and have been diligently saving a good 15% - 20% of our paychecks ever since. It was hard at times (less clothes buying & going out, no trip at all) but it was been worth it. Around early November we decided that we had saved enough (we went with an FHA loan, which means only 3.5% of the home price down + closing costs) and I started researching online. We got pre-approved for a mortgage, and began the fun process of actually going IN the houses. We spent AGES driving around College Station & Bryan before this point, picking out neighborhoods and areas that we really liked. The top picks for us were Castlegate in CS, Copperfield in Bryan, and a nice area around a big park in CS. The realtor (Sherry Perry, she's great!) started us in Castlegate looking at some great choices, and the house we picked ended up being the second one we looked at. At first, it didn't overwhelm us, but the price on it was great, and it had room for improvement/building equity. The more we thought about it, the more we liked it, and we decided to place an offer, which after some negotiation, was accepted! The sellers were very reasonable, and ended up agreeing to pay our closing costs, which was a huge burden lifted off of our backs.
It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with just over 1500 square feet on a cul-de-sac. It has a great long driveway with lots of trees on the (nearly quarter-acre!!) lot and a big covered porch in the back. We are SO excited. I can't even describe the level of nervousness and freaking-out that is going on. We started packing this week since we were both of from work, and have about 50% or so of the house packed. My to-do list is huge, but we are plodding through it. At this point, I just want to MOVE. I want it NOW! hehe!
I'm also, honestly, terrified of having a mortgage that is twice what we are paying for rent. I know we can handle it, but it makes me wonder how we will afford daycare when we have a baby, or how we buy a new car or go on a trip. I'm sure it will calm down, and it will be easier than I think, but honestly, I wanted to have a baby next year, and I don't know how we are going to afford one. But...these are good problems to have. I just...want to get them figured out? Daycare is what, 500$ a month or so? Plus extra health insurance and diapers/etc? Eeks. I wish we could afford for me to stay home with our kids, but that just isn't an option, and as Matt has pointed out, I would go crazy with nowhere to go all day. I'm not built to stay home. I'm jealous of those who are. I hope I do as good a job as those moms I know who are staying home, or as good as my mom did.
I'll admit it, I've got the baby-crack bad. Good thing I have a sensible husband that will make me buy a baby-friendly car (btw, yuck. I want a sports car. not baby-friendly. haha!!) and have furniture in the house before we go down that road. :p
Ok, in less baby-centric news, the new (not so new job now) job is still going very well. I enjoy my colleagues and the work I'm doing. It keeps me very busy, which tends to keep me less depressed. Always a good thing! It looks like there might be some changes in my department in the next few months, and I'm very interested to see what happens. Matt is doing great in his new position as Assistant Art Director, and is getting the manager thing down.
My sisters are up here at A&M now, which has been really awesome. It was strange at first, because I haven't been in the same city as them in about 6 years, but we are getting used to it, and it's nice to have family up here. They both had really rough semesters school-wise. They are perfectionists like me, and worked their butts off at their schoolwork. I'm really proud of them, but I hope next semester they can relax more. Mom is doing much better, in my opinion. Even though she isn't super fond of her current work situation, I'm really proud of her for getting out there back into the workforce. I haven't seen much of Dad lately, but he should be coming down to help us move.
Oh, right, and the holidays! This year Matt & I stayed at the Marriott in Sugar Land, which was SO MUCH FUN because I remember sneaking into that hotel to use the bathroom in high school, and it just gave me the biggest kick to be a paying guest there now! It was horrible weather the whole time, but we walked around Town Center anyways, and enjoyed seeing how HUGE the area has gotten. Xmas at my Mom's was good this year, everyone is really happy for us and we had a really nice time.
Next time, I'll try to put up some better pics of the house...here's a teaser one for now ...
