Welcome Home!

We were originally going to come up in December to look for a house, but I'm glad that we waited until spring break to do it. Over the past several months, we've looked at hundreds (really -- no exaggeration there) of listings online. We've been working with an agent for the past couple of months. Each week it seemed like we had fewer and fewer choices. First off, not many houses in NC have fences (BOO). That narrowed down the choices a lot and we weren't really willing to negotiate with that.

When we arrived in NC on Thursday, we had 7 houses to view. We drove by several of them on Thursday night (Vivian wouldn't go to sleep until 4 am) and weeded a few more off the list because of the lots. They had "death" decks, which meant that they were built on stilts. "Deck has scenic view" means my kid is going to not have a backyard to play in, nor is the dog going to be safe while she is outside doing her business. Our favourite house -- the listing expired Friday morning. We were supposed to view it on Saturday afternoon. Doesn't make for a happy mommy!

There was another house that Chris really liked -- close to the YMCA, which I would definitely be frequenting again. There were tenants in the house who refused to leave during the showing. NOT A GOOD SIGN! So, we decided to give that house a thumbs down!

At the end of our real estate tour, we had two houses to choose from. Yes -- two!

House A was overpriced (Prestonwood Country Club), had a loft...NOT a bonus room (like the listing stated), and didn't have a fence. The back of the yard dropped off into a stream or creek. Not really a good option, but we could work with it.

House B was in the same neighbourhood I lived in when I first bought my house in NC. LOVED that neighbourhood and several Triangle Mommies live there! They even have a MMO (Mom's Morning Out) program! The yard is fenced (yeah!), there is a bonus room (yeah!), the lot isn't scary (yeah!), and there is plenty of room for our family (yeah!).

Our application on House B was accepted last night, so we're now looking at a move-in date of April 15th!!! We haven't worked out the logistics of exactly when we are moving, but we'll figure it out! :)

It has been reallllllllly nice to be back to NC. We've been able to see several friends in the few days that we've been here, including 3 1/2 month old twin girls (and their parents). I've been able to eat out for lunch and dinner. The options for gluten-free dining here are amazing! They're even better than a couple of years ago. We've been to PF Chang's (we currently drive 2 hours each way to eat there now), Carrabba's, Bonefish, Cafe Harmony (also a wonderful place to eat if you are vegan), and ZPizza (twice). We've also been to Harmony Farms, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and two Harris Teeters.

So...now the countdown begins. At least I have more than 2 weeks notice to move across states...unlike last year!