Ch-ch-ch-changes!

At the very end of August, we received the unexpected news that our landlords want to move back into our house and that we had 60 days to find a new place to live. Thus began a crazy hectic month that has culminated in a few big changes for our family. The first is that we purchased a home. It wasn't at all in our immediate plans, but when we started looking at other rental houses, we found that buying a home was actually only somewhat more expensive and would afford us a much nicer house in a better neighborhood. We are in the right place in our lives to purchase a home, and it just turned out to make more sense. So, we hired a realtor and began exploring neighborhoods. 

The location of Jason's job meant that we could look anywhere from central Austin up to the northern suburbs. After a few long car rides driving through parts of Austin we didn't even know existed, we were able to narrow our search down to our preferred neighborhood. Then, we started looking at houses. We probably toured 25-30 homes. We found one we loved and made an offer, and then promptly lost it in a bidding war. With such a short window to find and close on a house and then move in, we were discouraged. Jason had a business trip to Chicago, but we decided I should go out and look with our realtor again on a weekday rather than wait until the next weekend. There was one particular home that had shown up on my MLS database search that I was interested in seeing, but the morning I had scheduled to meet up with our realtor, this particular house was listed as temporarily off the market. Our realtor made a call and found out the family was moving out that day and didn't want buyers to see it while it was messy, but they agreed to let us in. It turned out to be a fantastic house that would be a great fit for our family. I tracked Jason down between meetings in Chicago and suggested that we make an offer. He looked at the photos online and then decided we should go for it. So I negotiated back and forth with the seller, and by the time Jason returned home the next day, we were under contract on the house. The following day, we drove him out to see the house with our realtor, and he loved it. We are now moving towards closing and will hopefully move in the last weekend in October.

Our other big change is that I am heading back to work on Monday. I've absolutely loved staying home full time with Nicholas for the past eight months, but it was never a part of our long term plan. I knew that I would return to work outside the home in some capacity. Earlier this summer, my former boss began discussing the possibility of a role for me at his new company. I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue it, but we talked several times throughout August, and it began to sound like a great opportunity for me. Finally, I had a formal interview with the company and decided I was very interested in the position. I accepted an offer in mid-September, but they didn't want me to start for several weeks-- which worked out great because it gave us time to find a daycare situation for Nicholas. 

At this point, we knew we were moving, so we started looking at daycares near our new neighborhood. I toured several facilities that I'm sure would have been fine, but we were so lucky to get into one of the best daycares in the city. It typically has a year-plus waiting list, but they happened to have a spot opening up the week we would need it. And it turns out the spot was opening up because the daughter of one of our good friends from church (who I bumped into unexpectedly when I went to tour the school) was moving up to the next age group's classroom. It seemed like it was meant to be. And, the best part? The new house, my new job, and Nicholas' school are all within just 2-3 miles of each other. I have mixed feelings about heading back to work. Part of me is excited about the new opportunity, and part of me is dreading leaving Nicholas. I know it will probably be a tough couple weeks as we get used to our new routine, but I feel like the pieces have all fallen into place so perfectly that I feel a sense of peace about this change. I know it doesn't have to be forever, but I feel like this job is where I'm supposed to be for the time being. 

So, big changes all around. I have no idea how I'm going to swing this working mom thing. (If you have tips, feel free to share.) I don't even really know what it's going to entail. I guess I'll find out soon enough. And, then we have the fun of packing up our house and moving across town while I'm still learning the ropes at my new job and easing Nicholas into his new schedule. It should be a wild October. But, we're excited and looking forward to getting settled into our new home and new routine.