SOLD!

Andi and I accepted an offer on our house last Friday, eight days after it listed on the market. Wahoo! Our house is now "pending sale" as we await the final closing date of April 15.

To say I'm breathing a sigh of relief is an understatement. Eight days are a tiny blip on the calendar and yet, they were some of the most stressful ones I've experienced in a while. (What? Stay-at-home-mom life doesn't warrant many nail-biting situations.)

For me, it wasn't the actual house showings that kept me up at night; it was the constant feeling of influx. Tory, Aden and I spent countless hours in the car shuffling to and from the cabin and our various weekly activities in the Twin Cities. Chloe (+ the dog kennel) came along with us because I couldn't leave the dog at home during scheduled or potential showings. We couldn't cook meals at home because I didn't want to dirty the kitchen, and I discouraged Tory and Aden from scattering toys all over the house. Oh, did I mention we all had the stomach flu smack-dab in the middle of that?  It was... not the best of times.

The stress of the unknown was terrible on my nerves (and my poor cuticles). Would anyone like our house? How long would it take to sell? Was is priced right? My steady-handed husband gave great advice when he said, "It's out of our hands; there's no sense in worrying. Move it to the back of your mind and wait to see what happens." He was right. We'd done everything we were willing to do to show our house in the best light. Whatever will be, will be.

And, it was. Now that we have a buyer, it's easy to look back on the situation and think say how smoothly it transpired. The housing inspection took place earlier this week, and even that came back with relatively few changes. We'll move into our new place two weeks before we close on our current home, so timing should work well for everyone. 

So what's next for us? Andi and I found a new place to live in a nearby first-ring suburb of the Twin Cities. It's .7 miles away from Andi's office and he's thrilled to live so close to work. I'm excited the kids and I will see him more often during the weekdays, and happy to live in a vibrant neighborhood with shops and restaurants in walking distance of our home.

I think Andi and I surprised all of our friends and family when we announced we're moving into a condo. The reasoning is simple: We spend three days a week at our lake cabin in Wisconsin, and it doesn't make sense to own a 3,000+ sq. ft. house in the Twin Cities that we only use Monday-Thursday. If I'm being honest, Andi does little more than sleep and shower in our current home -- he's usually working! We had a too-big-for-us house that Tory, Aden and I mostly occupied.

Our new place is a hybrid of sorts; a condo that feels more like a town home. It's a brand new 3-bed, 2 bath unit with stainless steel appliances and a fabulous roof-top deck. Construction crews are still finalizing our space, so the builder/interior designer even let Andi and I select our own paint colors, flooring and granite. Best of all, the layout is perfectly functional for the way we live (at least, we hope). I'm excited!    

My goal for the next month is to purge everything we don't use/need in our current home. I've been a selling machine on the local Facebook garage sale site, and it feels awesome to de-clutter for a fresh start ahead.