That is right, we moved the week after Christmas.  Not something I really recommend (“duh” as my friends, the lovely Fairbrother women, would say) but we survived.  Barely.  Merging households is NOT for the faint of heart either, but again we are surviving and dare I say thriving once again.  Everyone hates moving or at least understands its work but it always has its upsides too: organization, culling, throwing out, a fresh start, decorating opportunities and more. And as always, the opportunity to be grateful. We are moving . . . yes it’s work, it’s the holidays but hey we get to be homeowners and we have running water and heat and on and on.  So all is good with the actual move, on the flip side especially.

{I promise I have scraped these windows and adding new door hardware since this photo! BTW the exterior color is SW Dress Blues, that project was completed by the previous owner, Denetta McKelvy, she did so much!}

So this is the deal.  My mom had a cute tiny house on quaint Baylor St in our little town…the kids and I lived a few blocks over near their school (along with my walk-closet I do miss daily, I can admit it). It was great..she could get away at her house and rest and we could have our own time. In fact, the house the children and I were renting was so cute and wonderful it is being feature in the May issue of Country Living! But we didn’t own it and inevitably we spent a LOT of time together with Nana…most meals, some nights if I worked late she would have to go home to a dark house.  She did our laundry and picked up kids many days. (HUGE HELP be jealous) Oh and did I mention we (mainly she) are chronic house hunters.   So after nearly two years of me paying rent (“you are not building any equity” says Nana over and over, did I mention she is a Real Estate Broker) we started looking at properties often.  And driving our friends crazy with “how much would it cost to rewire this house and plumb it and convert the garage” on and on . . . . We finally deciding flipping wasn’t our best option.  She has done that many times in the past (before it was cool I might add) but with my level of work load and they boys sanity to consider, we decided to buy something a little more “done.”  And by pooling our resources we were able to do this more easily.  The figures just make sense.  Share a mortgage, share utilities, share the cost of yard maintenance, SHARE THE CRAZY lol and on and on.

{Yes it is a 1927 Tudor with painted brick, worth living with your mama for I say, even if does need some yard work still and a more fluffing but we thrive on that right? And can I just say i SO see a curved black awning with white trim over the front door!}

Of course there is a flip side.  An adjustment period I might.  My ego.  I will be honest, approaching 42 and “living with my mom” wasn’t my vision for life. But this isn’t the house I grew up in…we made the decision and share the financial burdens together. But still, two women learning to bend to one another and *gasp* give up a  little control of their castle is a journey you might say . . .  But we decided it was worth it.  We try to laugh a lot and apologize a lot when boundaries are crossed.  Oh yes it happens.  See my mom is a spitfire.  She is cute and small and always in a good mood but she IS BUSY and the safety police.  I am moody and more blunt and frankly this honey badger doesn’t care about a lot of her concerns (“Holly, there is crazy wire in the attic OMG what is it, there might be some cardboard under the house, that is hazard!!”).  Deep breaths.  But I really try to respect her and be loving to her.  Watching her go through breast cancer 5 years ago makes that a little easier for me these days. Although I may have said last Sunday,”OMG leave my sh*t alone” or something of that nature, I also know deep within my heart and mind that

WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER.

So lots more coming on this social experiment.  And the house.  And meshing our stuff, and styles.  And how its messing up the boys.  I kid, I kid…they love it. They have their own rooms upstairs and a charming playroom and larger yard! Maybe Nana will even do a guest post.  Maybe she will even become a dog person eventually. Maybe I will become less controlling and moody and learn to let some little things not irritate me so much.  This may not be forever but it’s for now and it is good even though we are only about six weeks in . . . so I will keep you posted.

So pray for us, that this is a sweet chapter in our family’s story.

#threegenerationsoneroof

#dontmovemystuff (unless you are sweeping or vacuuming or folding clothes please don’t stop doing that)