House Hunting

Just got back from a trip to Dallas to look for a new house. We are working with Paige, our realtor there, to try and find something closer to Mark's new office in Coppell, with a commute of under 30 minutes. My biggest "want" was exemplary schools at all levels - elementary, middle and high. Right now, Jacob is just going into middle school, but if we are there for more than three years, he will be in high school!

Paige sent us listings to review online in several different communities. I searched through them all and marked my favorites. We left on Friday afternoon and got to the NAPA-selected, Crowne Plaza Hotel in Addison about 8 p.m. We dumped our luggage and headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner. It was closed. The sign said that we should proceed to the hotel bar for food. The bar, however, would not allow children inside. So we went back upstairs to call room service and there was no answer!! After six hours in the car I was ready to go ballistic. I called the front desk and the gentleman said I could call the bar and place the order, but eventually came to his senses and got someone in room service to call me back. Our dinner arrived to the room at about 9:45 p.m. Awesome.

Saturday, we went to my friend Pam's house. Pam was in the playgroup I belonged to for years. Her family moved to Flower Mound two years ago, so the kids remembered each other and Pam when they saw her. Pam and her husband, Chris, kept our kids ALL DAY Saturday so we could house-hunt on our own. It was such a blessing! We got through all of Saturday's listings and most of Sunday's listings in one day!

House-hunting is so very interesting. Every house has a quirk, a smell, or a feature that stands out. It was fun to house-hunt with my mom in MN because she picked out those things and named the house as such. The Pink Potty House. The Wood Foundation House. The Rice Cooker House and the Working Toilet in the Middle of the Unfinished Basement House (those were actually the same house). Ultimately, the Red House.

So, I present to you...the Nutcracker House! Oh yes ... two cabinets of them in the formal living room right when you walked in the door!

The Bulldog House.

 The NatureSweet Tomato/Giant Lazy Susan Fruit Basket House. This was on their kitchen island.

There were many Indian houses that had strong odors and even one with an extra kitchen in the garage. There was the house with a window that looked right into another window in the same house! (poorly planned addition maybe?) There were a couple houses with kitchens to die for, but then didn't have a playroom or enough bedrooms. There was the house with the circle drive, summer "retreat" playhouse in the side yard and a terraced backyard down to a creek. Stunning, but too small and no grass to play on. There was the MONSTER house in a new development that had five bedrooms, a killer kitchen, a media room AND a the biggest playroom I've ever seen (with a stage even!). It was two lots away from the community pool, but it was way too far away for Mark's commute. Crap schools, too.

Day Two of House Hunting was more successful and we found one or two with potential and one we like enough to make an offer on. But since we put the cart before the horse, so to speak, we have to wait for the relocation paperwork to catch up to us before we place an offer. I won't say any more about THE ONE. I'm terrified of jinxing the deal. My girlfriend says "Visualize yourself living there. The universe will listen." Do you hear me universe?? I WANT THAT HOUSE. Or rather, universe, if it's not too much trouble, we would be so grateful to be able to live there, fill it with love and laughter and Play-Doh and cupcakes. Pretty please. Thank you.

On Monday, we left Mark at his new office and started home to SA. Stopped at Buc-ee's in Canyon Lake because my kids had never been to one. Buc-ee's is like a gas station on crack. Huge doesn't even begin to describe it. Miles of food - including brisket sandwiches, homemade fudge and pickles the size of your forearm. Walls of beverages - ten kinds of coffee with full fixins bar, 40-ouncers for those headed to the lake, and more ICEE flavors than the kids had ever seen. Clothing, including swimsuits, coverups, hats, tee-shirts - especially those with the infamous Buc-ee profile. Hunting gear. Home decor. Gifts. Tchotchkes. All my kids wanted were ICEE's, of course. I got out of there cheap. The bronze beaver statue out front was so hot, it burned their little hands - you can see Lucas leaning away from it!

With a quick stop to give a distressed friend a hug, we got home just in time to eat PB&Js and go to bed!