Harder than I thought....

So today is day 3 in the NEW HOUSE! yup a new house, in a new town; where I know not a soul save for the realtor...

I thought it would b easy, I'd breeze into town and start talking to folks at the farmers market, bring Joe to school and meet other parents at drop off...but noooooo

I went to the farmers market with the dog. It is a lot farther away on foot than via car, I was parched and tired and silently manic by the time I got there. I bought corn, overpriced almond butter and some bread and then hightailed it out of there. I brought the boys for a walk along the river and we encountered nary a soul...

I brought Joe to school and couldn't muster up the essential chitchat you need to make friends. Everyone knows each other and I am the silent new kid.

I cried on the way home.

It's harder than I thought it would be, and some of it is because of the stress of house induced poverty, the lack of sleep because all of us are allergy sufferers, the lack of sleep because the boys are disoriented, the general unease at not knowing what I am doing.

The park is fun though, and it's quiet at night, and the river rushing over the rocks feeds my soul in a way that I forgot was possible. And the overpriced almond butter is pretty good too.....

House Hunting Humpday

It is only Wednesday. I feel like this week is dragging by. My body feels like it is Friday already, and my patience with the non napping 2 yr old is beginning to wane.

So far we have been looking at houses in our area to get price ranges. They are very varied- they range from 600,000 to over a million. And in some cases I really can't see the differences between the houses. There are also a lot of houses in pre-foreclosure in our neighborhood, but I feel a little weird about foreclosure homes; I think I would feel like I was taking someones home away from them. Of course lets see what I saw if we find the perfect place in foreclosure!

What we are looking for: something with 3 bedrooms (we are going to have at least one more kid, we think, so we need somewhere for everyone), a decent public school nearby, a park within walking distance and a yard....Friends have suggested a condo or co-op as a starting point, and there are a few condos in our area that we could afford; but frankly if I am buying somewhere to call my own I don't want to be sharing a wall with people who I am not related to. I don't want to worry that my baby crying, or my toddler running will disturb those underneath us, I want to crank the stereo up to 11 without fear of someone banging on the walls to quiet us. I've shared space with others in various ways for the past 12 years. I'm done with it.

and call me crazy but the yard is a deal breaker. The dog needs the space, the kids need the space, and I need the quiet that throwing the kids in the yard will provide.