Y’know, I’ve done A LOT of DIVE-ing into our family goal of being TOGETHER lately. I tell you…house hunting is a dang full-time job. Poor Squatch has looked at so many houses this past month, I feel sorry. And the downside is that there are more we wanted to look at, but they had accepted offers within hours of being listed.

It’s a crazy housing market out there – if you’re a buyer, that is. I check realtor.com first thing in the morning when I wake up, again around 9, then at lunch time, again at 3, at dinner between 5 and 6, and then one last time near 8 or 9. It is nuts – if you don’t hop on a house ASAP, you cannot get in to see it for days, or there will be multiple offers, sight unseen, by dinner the day it is listed. When I go online, I look to see what is new, pull up the new listing, look at the property details (there are a lot being sold “AS IS,” which means they are instantly taken off the list), map it to figure out distance for Squatch to get to work, check the property history and then look through the pictures. If the pictures pass muster, then I send to Squatch. It does sound like a lot to do, but I can get it done in about 2 minutes.

One of the first things Squatch and I did last summer when we initially were looking for property was come up with a list of Must Haves, Nice to Haves, and Dealbreakers. If there is anything on the Dealbreaker list, I can instantly dismiss it. The house, at a minimum, needs the “Nice to Haves,” for me to even forward on to Squatch. I have noticed that there are a lot of homes that do not have good pictures taken – these ones instantly rise up in my book. If a home does not show in the top 10% in the pictures, I know that most people will just pass it over and not even see the property in person.

When I look at the pictures, I can re-imagine a home in different colours, with different floors. I can place our belongings in the different rooms, in multiple set-ups,and I keep myself open to what is being shown. I will have a list of items for Squatch to get a better look at when he is on site to see if they are just a bad picture, small items to be fixed, or major issues that we do not want to go near with a 10-foot pole.

I have to say, it is nerve-wracking to be house hunting when you are not there to see the homes. Most of the weight is on Squatch’s shoulders to make the final call as to whether or not we make an offer or pass. We just made an offer on a home a few days ago. Squatch was the first to get in to see it, and he said there was another realtor and potential buyer pulling into the driveway as he and our realtor left. The realtor did let us know that this seller is not reviewing any offers until Monday evening, so that does leave us with several days of NOT knowing.

I know it sounds crazy, but I have already moved on and am looking to see what else is available out there. I’ve done the same with past offers we have made. I know we are not the only ones making offers, and we are not going to get into a bidding war on any home. And, with as quickly as the market is moving, not having a backup place to view is just insane.

So, we just sit and wait for Monday night or Tuesday morning. And until then, I’m going to be sure I take time for me. Being so focused and involved in this search, I can feel myself getting tense and being short with Little Man. He doesn’t deserve my frustration.

With this gorgeous spring weather, Little Man and I are spending plenty of time outside. Heck, I even turned off the heat and opened all the windows to get the fresh air and benefits of the outdoors inside. Seeing Little Man digging in the dirt, riding his bike, and playing with his trucks in the yard invigorates me, and reminds me that there is so much more to life than the house hunt.

In garden news, it’s looking great! I transplanted my herbs on Saturday, 4 weeks after I initially planted them. Little Man walked around and watched as I did it, wanting to play and dig, but I had to keep telling him he could not. I don’t want to take any chances with these babies. Plus, there is just something to grounding and amazing about working in the dirt in your bare hands (I got new gloves, but they didn’t fit as well as I would have liked).

I did leave the plants outside both Saturday and Sunday. I may have left them out a bit too long on Saturday, though. They looked all sad and wilty when I brought them in. I watered them again, as the soil was extremely dry. I’m hoping that with them next to the kitchen windows, and the little bit of time outside each day, they will grow stronger and be able to spend the summer outside.

Now, I was on the fence about whether or not to plant anything else. If this offer gets accepted, closing is 4 May. So, in 6 weeks, I will be driving 5 hours north with Little Man, and do I really want to have potted plants with me?

Yes, I do. I want to have something growing this summer. So, I expanded my seed starting this go-round. In my usual small greenhouse, I started 2 peat pods each of Sugar Snap Peas, Florida Broadleaf Mustard, Purple Top White Globe Radish, Marglobe Tomato, and Delicious Tomato. The egg carton has 2 pods each of Scarlett Nantes Carrot, Tall Utah Celery, Sweet Spanish Onion, Sweet Banana Pepper, California Wonder Bell Pepper, and Ashley Cucumber. Hopefully, these will all take, and I will have some great veg this summer!!!

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