Big News!

Well, it’s been an exciting month in the Hamer house! After living in our wonderful little house for more than 7 years we decided that the time was right for us to move. Fiona is starting kindergarten in September and we didn’t want to move her after she got settled and made friends, so we wanted to move before that if we were ever going to. The interest rates are still really low in combination with the housing market significantly picking up, so the timing was good.

We gave ourselves 3 weeks to get the house to show ready condition – we rented a storage unit and were so grateful to have the help of Ben’s brother-in-law Erik and his Dad in taking trailers full of stuff over there one Saturday. His Dad also helped us do some painting and sprucing up, and both of his parents were wonderful about taking care of the girls so we could work on the house. Somehow we were ready in time and it looked really nice. It went on the market on a Thursday and the couple who came to see it on Friday morning loved it and made a really great offer that day! Woohoo!!

After that we just needed to find somewhere new! We’re moving to the south metro area and were initially considering Eagan and Apple Valley. Ben works in Eagan and his family lives in Apple Valley so either of those places would be really convenient. However, the same luck that helped us sell so fast also caused other houses to go fast too, so we expanded our search area to Lakeville, which is a little further south. We found the most wonderful bright red house just 5 minutes drive from Ben’s parents, with great highway access so it’s not much further to drive north to take Adele to preschool or for me to go to work (which I do a couple of times a month). It’s also really close to shopping and the zoo and the hippy food co-op, which was a strong preference for me :-) We made an offer and were expecting to be told that it had already sold, but luck was with us again and the seller accepted our offer!

We close on the new place on May 10^th and have the next week to move all of our stuff in before closing on our current house on May 16^th.

So about the house!

First, as I mentioned, it’s red, which I love! It has a deck in the back with a hot tub! There’s also a wetlands in the back and a little pond with a path around the pond which leads to a playground, and the girls are very excited about that! We stopped by to test it out last week and even though it was covered in snow they had a lot of fun.

Inside the front door the laundry room/mudroom is on the right, and the formal living room is on the left. However, we’re not really formal people, so we’ll use that as an office. I work from home so it will be wonderful to have a real office.

Behind the formal living room is the formal dining room but we’ll use that as a playroom. It’s open to the “office” so I can watch the girls while I work and there’s a doorway from the kitchen so I can also keep an eye on them while I cook.

The kitchen is gorgeous with granite countertops and a window overlooking the pond. The dining area is by the kitchen, and then leads into the family room where Ben is already obsessing over the perfect TV for the space.

It has a gas fireplace which I love, and lots of windows, also overlooking the deck and the pond.

There’s a little bathroom off the dining area, and then we’re back to the front hall and laundry room/mudroom, which connects to the garage.

Living in Minnesota where we are currently on month 7 of winter and snow, I have longed for a mudroom. Having a space where wet coats, boots, mittens, hats, snow pants, socks, scarves, kids and dog can be contained, washed off and dried will be wonderful!

In the basement there is a game room, guest bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom also has a sauna which I imagine we’ll probably use once, but it’s a fun novelty.

Upstairs is the master bedroom with a humongous bathroom. The bathroom even has an inner bathroom so you can close the door on whoever is using the toilet and still access the sink in the outer room for tooth brushing. Those of you who are more familiar with Ben will understand why this is such a blessing ;-)

Upstairs there are also two other bedrooms and a bathroom. The girls want to keep sharing for now, so they will have the bedroom with the pond view, or as Fiona calls it, the nature bedroom. 

So that’s the house! We are super excited and looking forward to having lots of people visit! Come and see us soon!

MOP WARS

I know, I am totally off the blogging wagon. And so much has happened that there's little point in trying to catch up.

So TODAY...

Tuesdays are our low key days. Fiona is kind of a homebody and likes to have a day where we don't need to go anywhere or do anything, or put clothes on, and that gives me a day to try to get some housework done. Today we really needed milk so we did make a trip to the store, but she wore her pyjamas. I figure if 2/3 of us are dressed that's good enough.

After we got home I had the bright idea of having the girls assist me with the cleaning. They both love spraying with the cleaning spray and today the floor needed to be mopped. It seemed like a good idea at the time to let them help mop with the toy mop they have. Little did I know that this would be the catalyst for the most epic mop war you have ever seen. They both desperately wanted to be the sole mop user. It was bizarre. At one point Fiona grabbed the mop from Adele, hit her on the head with it and ran away and hid. By the time we were done both girls were crying and I was bellowing the ever useful phrase "BECAUSE I'M THE BOSS!". Madness. At least the floor was clean though.

In an attempt to finish the small amount of cleaning I was trying to do I set Fiona up with her markers and some paper, and put Adele in a separate room with another toy. All was calm until I caught the hint of an ominous sound over the roar of the vacuum. After a sprint to the bathroom I found Adele armpit deep in the toilet proudly scrubbing it for all she was worth with the purloined mop. There was a significant amount of water on the floor, but thankfully I had already cleaned the toilet.

Shortly after that Fiona showed me what she had been drawing. Here it is:

According to Fiona from left to right, we have: Monty, Adele in possession of the mop (standing on the stool), with water on the floor, Fiona crying because Adele has the mop and me trying to make Fiona feel better. I know it looks suspicious but I'm HUGGING her, ok. 

And just to show that it's not all tears and drama, here are a few recent happy pictures.

Adele loves Monty so much. Monty is willing to tolerate her love. 

At the Autoshow this weekend.

Story time before bed.