Wednesday, July 06, 2016

our new home

We are in!

It's been days of unpacking, sorting, deliberating and mainly marvelling at the fact that we own an actual house.

And that we can't hear each other from floor to floor.
And that each room has enough space to host an archery lesson.
And that there's a garden, with actual sun in it.
 This is the dining room. It has high ceilings, wooden floors downstairs, it's a Victorian house built in the early 1900s. High maintenance, but bucket loads of charm.

 My morning view. Complete with little boy playing with his fire engine downstairs.

 Our garden and patio.
Hallway looking into our kitchen. The kitchen is pretty much the total size as our lounge, kitchen and bathroom was in our flat.

I didn't leave the house for the first three days, in between unpacking and having to go and have a lie down.
We haven't painted, that will come a month or two after the baby is born (less than one week, oh my goodness oh my goodness - we made it. We made it into our house before I exploded), and I have ordered 8 000 different things to be delivered here, including three wardrobes from Ikea for the children and spare room alone.

It's heaven. It's true what they say; you often don't realise how toxic a place or environment is until you leave it. Our flat worked for us most of the time. But now looking at it, the awful women who lived above us, the damp, the fact that we were all on top of each other, all these little things, just weren't ideal. She made it Hell for us, and living in cramped space is just not for me anymore.

Suddenly we have bright, airy rooms, with sunlight streaming in, and a really good feeling about the place. We felt it the moment we first saw this house. I thought, "I could definitely live here." There's just a homely vibe as you walk in. The bathroom isn't pokey and windowless; it's a proper, large family bathroom with natural light, overlooking our garden.

I feel so lucky, and so relieved.

Seb's room is coming along, as is hers.

Commuting in and out is going to be interesting; but that's next year's problem. Apparently it'll only take me 15 minutes more than what I did from Clapham, so I'm hoping that's true.
Sebastian started a few stelling-in's at his nursery and without tears. It's a much smaller nursery than where he used to be, and sadly on the top floor so I just hope they take them out regularly to the garden. They seem nice though, and today he started a full day.

I have to go into a hospital a few times to be monitored on that [harrowing, painful-memory-bringing-back] device, the same one I was attached to to monitor Sebastian for a week after Molly had passed. 

Other than that, my last few days before having our baby girl will be filled with building flat-pack furniture, hanging shelves and pictures and not doing very much.

Which suits me just fine, given life is going to be 24-hours sleep-deprived busy from now until, like, 2020.
Scarily, that's not even an exaggeration.

7 comments:

Val said...

Oh Peas! It looks wonderful - so happy for you. Hope you have many, many years of happiness there. Good wishes for the coming weeks. Not long to go now. x

The Chantal said...

Lovely house, so glad to see the change in you through your writing, can tell your spirits have lifted and you're less stressed. Everything is working out :)

Coffee and Books Cape Town said...

Well chosen! Well done!! Xx

Coffee and Books Cape Town said...

Well chosen! Well done!! Xx

Gypsy said...

WOW, looks like such beautiful place!!! Congrats on getting in before the wee little lass is here!!! I can't wait for your next post to know she is finally here! BEST OF LUCK FOR EVERYTHING PEAS & Co. xxxxxx

Debbie said...

Looks BEAUTIFUL!!! Congratulations, that really is no mean feat. xx

Mattie said...

There are many great things about becoming a homeowner. I remember the second we finally got our key after mounds of paperwork to sign, and we opened the front door to our house. True joy! And watching our kids run around the house felt so good, especially since we were staying at my in-laws! It made it all the sweeter!