You know it's time for bed when...

Your three year old suddenly starts crying and when asked what is wrong wails, "I have a ooggie!"  And when you respond by saying, "It's okay... I'll get a tissue," he wails back at you "It's NOT okay!"

First order of business...

The closing on the house was a piece of cake!  Other than signing our name another 100 times and munching on chocolate it was rather painless and I came out with a hand full of keys to *OUR* house.  I literally have about 10 keys that go to the house which is a bit insane.

The first order of business with the house was to buy a shovel for the snow.  The owner/real estate agent had shoveled a narrow tunnel down the driveway in order to get the appraiser in but we had to clear the rest in preperation for the movers tomorrow.  It's pretty crazy that we own a house... with a driveway!

I also went to IKEA last night with a friend to buy some window coverings.  It's nice to start with a clean slate but it also means I have to commit to things NOW, like what color of curtains to buy so that we aren't on dispaly for our neighbors.  I'm not very good at committing.  Thank you Anna (not my sis) for coaching me and holding my hand!  Now the challenge is for Josh to actually get them hung.

Background on the/*my* House

It occured to me last night while I couldn't sleep that I didn't give much information about the house.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, but they were small and a bit confusing.

The house is a 1970 split-level in an older established neighborhood with mature trees including a bunch on our lot.  Last year the house went into forclosure and was bought by a real estate investor who completely renovated it and put it back on the market.  All the flooring, paint, doors, windows, lighting, appliances, granite counters, furnace, etc are brand new which is rare in a home in our price range.  I'm very excited to have a clean slate to start with.  Another thing that really was appealling about the house were the schools.  I have heard nothing but good things about the elementary school which is within walking distance of the house. 

As for the layout, the main level is completely open.   When you enter the front door there are stairs down to the family room and up to the bedrooms on your right.  The kitchen sink and refrigerator are on the left on the same wall as the front door, there is a back door to the carport by the fridge, and the stove is on that far left wall.  Directly across the room from the front door is a massive sliding door that opens to the deck and backyard.  I love all the large windows in the house (once I tackle all the window coverings).  All of them are practically floor to ceiling. 

By far the biggest challenge for this house will be STORAGE.  There is practically none and I've been aware of this from the beginning.  It's going to take a lot of planning and creativity to solve but I'm excited for the challenge.

Final Walk Throuh Complete

Yesterday we all went to THE house -OUR HOUSE- for the final walk through before closing ToMoRrOw.  Other than a lot of snow still in the driveway the house looked perfect and I am getting so excited that it is going to be ours.

We had told Sam that we were going to our house, and he had been there before when we did the inspections last month, but when we got inside he came up to me and told me with a concerned look that the house was Patrick's (our real estate agent).  The poor kid is so confused.  For a while he kept thinking that our house was going to be next to Grammies house, now our house is Patrick's, and I'm afraid what's going to happen when we have to switch wards again.

The kids were right at home running amuck in an empty house.  The quickly took off their socks and shoes.  A while later we heard them yelling somewhere in the house, nothing out of the ordinary but it went on long enough that Josh eventually went to check it out..  He found the boys stuck in one of the closets together.  Apparently they weren't distressed about being stuck but Elijah accusingly asked if we had heard them yelling and why we didn't come to help.  Hmm... I wonder why?

Anyway, enough babble.  I've got more pictures to share.  (They were taken pretty quickly beause I forgot my spare battery charging at home so some of them aren't very good.)

View from front door with sliding door in back and the front door with stairs down to FR

Kitchen bar with dinning area in corner and view from sliding door

Lower level family room

Master Bedroom with double doors and lower level bedroom

Other two upstairs bedrooms

I've got so many plans buzzing around in my head.  I can't wait to actually spend some real time in the house plotting it all out.  First things to tackle are the window coverings!

The Melting Pot Experience

Yesterday was Josh's birthday.  To celebrate we were able to go out for a quiet evening together.  We had some generous friends offer to watch the boys for us and we were off.  We had heard about the restaurant The Melting Pot while we lived in Colorado but never took the opprotunity to go.  Apparently they are a chain and there is a Melting Pot here in Columbia.  The Melting Pot serves fondue and it turned out to be a fun, though rather expensive, experience.

The atmosphere was very intimate.  The tables were secluded and the lighting dim.  Each table has its own heat plate intigrated into the surface and the food is mixed and cooked right there in front of you.

We started with a cheese fondue.  We chose the spinach and artichoke fondue.  The waiter/chef comes out with a tray of ingredients and proceeds to mix our cheese right there.  He made it look SO simple and it was really good.  The ingredients he used were chicken broth, minced garlic, chopped spinach and artichoke hearts, and cheese (some white soft cheese) grated.  He mixed that all in the pot (double boiler) then added a bit of parmesan cheese (fine grate) and a titch of tabasco sauce.  The cheese fondue came with bread cubes, tortilla chips, apples, celery, carrots, and califlower to dip. 

Our dinner consisted of a broth mix and a platter of raw meat.  The broth started with a chicken (maybe it was vegetable) broth base and they added some fresh orange juice, fresh lime juice, garlic, and cilantro.  The meat platter was a wide array of options including lobster, shrimp, chicken, brautwerst, and steak- all raw.  There was also a vegetable platter that included broccoli, red potatos, and mushrooms.  They also provided us with 7-8 different little dishes of dips.  The idea was to stab the raw meat and place it in the broth -that was at a rolling boil- and leave it in there for 2-3 minutes until it was cooked then dip it in one of the sauces and eat it.  It was a really fun way to cook and eat your dinner!  My favorite dip was one that had sour cream, cream cheese, chives and maybe garlic in it.  It was super yummy on the vegetables.

Dessert consisted of chocolate fondue - of course!  We got the turtle mixture which was chocolate, carmel, and pecans.  The dippers included strawberries, pound cake (white and chocolate), rice krispie treats, bananas, and marshmallows. (Sweet memories!)

I'm going to be keeping my eye out for a fondue pot and figure out how to do all this at home!  It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my evening with the birthday boy.  Happy Birthday, my love!  I love you so much!