Back to where we began

This has been a very busy week.
We are getting ready to move back to the house we started our lives together in - with a mixed bag of emotions, we are heading back and are going to make the most of it.

It's probably not too surprising, with the loss of Q's job and owning 2 houses, something had to give. We are, like millions of Americans, in the midst of selling our current house as a short sale. Totally sucky. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

These past few months have been so stressful and I've spent so much time worrying, it's not even worth describing.

We are getting so close to the end of our ordeal.
Our current home has a firm offer and we are about 2 weeks away from hearing from the bank that the sale has been approved. In the mean time, we gave our renters notice, and they moved out as of June 1. And we began ripping and tearing as of June 2.

I can't believe what happens to a house, as a rental, in a matter of two years. Be warned. It's not pretty, and we had really great tenants, but their dog...dear Lord...the stink was so bad...seriously, I cried!

We decided that we wanted to / had to replace the flooring before we moved back in - I can't imagine the girls on some strangers carpet...ugh!! So, to Ikea we headed and purchased their click lock flooring - it is two words....affordably AWESOME!

Brynn and Q spent the entire week working - she worked really hard!

This is the kitchen before

This is the living room before

This is the dining room to master view after

And this is the living room after

To say that I am amazed, proud and beyond thankful for all of Q's hard work is a serious understatement. He really was like a machine this week and I'm not quite sure how he accomplished so much all while being Mr. Mom.

Floors were Phase 1 of the 'great clean up.'

I'm on next - we are repainting the living and dining rooms as well as our master bedroom. Secretly, I'm excited. Painting is like therapy for me. I love it! In fact, when we first lived in this house, I painted the kitchen 3 different colors in a mater of 14 months - no lie! Robins Egg blue, Red, and then finally mocha brown.

I'm feeling some serious Potterybarn inspiration - as always. I'm shooting for the clean whites, creams, natural wood, black accents and grass green for my punch of color. Tomorrow I am heading over, armed with my many paint samples to tag the walls figure out the ideal shade of creamy vanilla with a hint of khaki. Why can't the paint store just mix that up?

This should be a really interesting transition for us.

We are reducing our square feet by HALF!

Elsie wasn't even one when we moved out and now she is three AND there's a Brynners now too!

I feel like a single story will be much easier to manage our family on, and it's weird to say, but this house feels more like home than the one we are living in now. It's like we had to take this big financial risk (which unfortunately tanked) and try a totally different floor plan to figure out that we were not all that far off from what we really love to begin with.

This has been a really interesting time in our lives. That which does not kill you, only makes you stronger, is SO TRUE! Q and I have really had to let parts of our pride go and suck up the realities of not being 'fiscally perfect.' It's a hard pill to swallow. I totally understand how people's marriages end because of financial strain - because it really does suck. Being so close to the end of this all really does make me appreciate that it's the quality of life, not the quantity.

It's a big circle to go around in only to figure out or realize where your priorities are and maybe, just how far away from them you drifted.

I'm coming back priorities.

I drifted away, but now, I am on a motor boat, headed back at full speed!!