Tuesday, September 12, 2017

We Have Found Our Dream House in Peculiar, Missouri!!! #PeculiarMO

Welcome to Professor McLoughlin's Home for Peculiar Children. We are moving to Peculiar, MO, population under 5,000, from Overland Park, KS, population around 190,000... and we could not be happier!

Things we can have in Peculiar that we could not have in stuffy OP:

1. Chickens
2. Fireworks
3. Fun on things like ATVs and lawnmowers
4. Peace and quiet
5. Stars

No, really, this is my place now. I still can't believe it. We move in right before Halloween!
Here are some pictures so you can check out our new home as of October 17. The searching for it for over 2 years was the EASY part. The getting our 1966 home ready to sell has been the CRAZY part for the last 6-plus days since we found out our offer was accepted.

First of all, the house came to my email inbox Sunday before Labor Day. One week after my grandma died. I was chilling by my aunt's pool, which we ADORE and thinking how much it stunk that pools always close on Labor Day and how great would it be to have your own pool?! And my husband was joking about how fun to have a bar ... like my aunt and her husband have ... just a fun place to entertain.

We went to see it on Labor Day. We were the first to see it! Then people started coming in droves! And making offers! And our amazing realtor, Jacqueline Elbert, stood in the front yard with us and prayed about the house. And we just kept praying. And waiting for what seemed like forever but really ... it was not long. Wednesday night after coop we got a text from Jacqui saying to order the POD. Aron was at work and I was wrangling kids and I saw the text and started crying happy tears. I felt like Miss America or a lottery winner.

Turns out the plan is to HOMESCHOOL at the bar and out by the cement pond. The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres are coming to mind for me here.

Digressing. Sorry about that. I'm shocked my brain works at all anymore and that I have found five minutes to post this. Things like hygiene and eating and sleeping have gone by the wayside.

So I'm just going to write later about all the cool signs that pointed toward this place being ours and how disappointed I would have been had it not worked out and how excited we are to meet everyone who lives around there, including TEENAGERS!

So here are some photos from today when we went for the inspection. The owner was there AND I LOVE HER ... she reminds me of my Aunt Cathy so much. Yes, the one with the pool. And her grandkids called her husband POPPY ... don't get me started on the Poppy sign (my dad and my grandpa).

Michael and Sam singing songs while scrubbing up old carpet glue.

I spent part of the morning with a paintbrush and Goof Off trying to get years-old paint off the wood floor from someone who painted the trim without taping the floor and then put carpet down. BAD KARMA upon you. I have half a mind to look you up in city records and read you the riot act.

See that? Yeah, that's our SALTWATER pool that the owner herself told the kids they could test out. Cheaper and better for your skin. And HEATED. And possibly open late October. Stay tuned.

Is this a dream?
How many homeschooled kids can say they were schooled at the bar?

Gotta have drinks for the schooling. What would Pink Floyd serve? Toaster oven and you're all set.

Downstairs living space

The boys' bedroom is hugemongous! This is one end of it.

And this is the other end of it.

Plenty of space for all our homeschool books and supplies.


So many great family photos are gonna happen right here.
Okay, gotta get back to the Goof Offing white paint thing and then more carpet glue scraping and mopping floors and staging. Half our stuff is in a SAM (store and move). They went out of biz but Fry Wagner here in town got their storage units so I was surprised to see this and it was so funny!



We had some AMAZING helpers and the PROCESS of getting a house ready to show was torturous and I don't recommend it. People tried to warn me but I didn't listen. I like to learn things the hard way :-)