Everything is cool when you're part of a team

"Everything is awesome
Everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome when we're living our dream" --The Lego Movie

This song is often running through my head.  These days it is also becoming more of a mantra.  Life is C-R-A-Z-Y here.  Why you ask?  Because we decided to put our house on the market.  I'll just let that sink in for a moment.

While we've thought about it not seriously off and on, about a week and a half ago we decided we were going to the sell the house.  Never to do things half-heartedly, Dave and I have attacked the process.  We are an awesome team.  We have done more on our house in 4 days than in the whole past year.  While Dave works like a man possessed on all the small home improvement projects, I have been cleaning/packing/decluttering and calling/arranging all outside help.  Linus asked us why I was making Daddy do all the work.  I was not impressed.  The Port-a-boxes arrived yesterday, announcing our plans to the neighbors. They are already filled and ready to go.

My days are now filled with deep deep cleaning the house, scrubbing baseboards and so forth.  If you ever have tried to move/take on massive cleaning projects with small children under foot, then you know that it is nearly impossible.  I feel like I am losing my mind.

Eileen is very good at undoing my work, as evidenced by a peanut butter and jelly covered railing.  Once we get the house on the market, I'm going to have to get extra creative on keeping the kids out of the house all day and into the early evening. 

Now to answer your big question.  Why move?

With 3 kids, the house has gotten a little crowded.  We have a small kitchen which was tricky to use before kids.  I yearn for a driveway the kids can play in and a larger backyard.  We looked at the looming projects/dreams for the house and decided we would rather just move into a house that was a little more turnkey.

It's is hard to say goodbye to our house.  It is so cute and has a wonderful vibe.  I love love love my bedroom.  It's my own personal refuge.  We are surrounded by amazing neighbors.  I love that Linus plays with the neighbor boys behind us all the time.  We will never find a house in a more walkable neighborhood or with more storage.

We're hoping we will be able to keep the kids in the same school.  We've really built a life there and within the larger NW region of Seattle.  The goal is to stay in NW Seattle.  That may be easier said than done.  We may have to venture to the eastside of I-5.  I think Maple Leaf would be okay.  I'm willing to go as far north as Shoreline.  I don't care if I could buy a giant house with a giant yard, I'm not moving to Everett or Snohomish (no offense to people who live there).  I love Seattle. I'm a stay-at-home mom who needs to be able to get out of the house.  I need activities, coffeeshops, like minded people.

So really, our house hunt may become our own great white whale.  We hope to put the house on the market very soon which may be problematic in terms of having a place to live after selling.  The housing market where we live is red hot (another impetus to sell).  It would be amazing to find a place that better fit our needs and also gave us a lower mortgage.  I'm trying to stay positive and not worry.  Meanwhile, I just psychotically sing to myself, "Everything is awesome....."