Casa, dulce casa

October
The kids are asleep and Pedro is at work.  I am sitting in bed with the computer and trying to get inspired to write by reading other blogs and rereading my own.  Remembering just a few months ago when I started the habit (for a few weeks at least), of getting up early, making my coffee and writing. I haven't felt like writing for a while but I love it when I do, so I'm starting now.....I have so much to share.  So much to process.
We bought a house.  WE ARE HOMEOWNERS!!  I still can't quite believe it.  It almost feels as if we are renting again, trying not to scuff the brand new paint or track rice onto the brand new carpet.  Getting used to the sounds of garage doors opening, a gurgling of pipes somewhere in the shared walls.
And the train.  I had wondered if it would be hard to get used to, like when I lived under the L train in Queens, but no.  It is a lovely rumble that passes right in front of our windows more often than I had thought.   How long will we all still run to the window to see it go by, before it becomes common place?
It is the fulfillment of a dream, one that we never imagined possible in our happy, yet ungodly expensive town.  But here we are, with grateful hearts. For the past couple of years we have been working with a lender, realtor and the Housing Authority to buy into a new planned development called Moylan Terrace.  There have been ups and downs, and delays.  Times where it seemed hard to believe that it was going to happen.  Escrow, 30 days in the contract, ended up being 7 weeks.   And in the middle of that we were notified we no longer qualified.  I.  Broke.  Down.  Sobbing in front of the preschool at drop off.   Only to discover, half an hour later when I had calmed down,  that there had been a mistake.  I rushed to fix it and it all worked out.
We got our keys at 4 pm on a Friday, the kids were sent to the grandparents to stay the night and we went to buy paint.  We HAD to personalize it immediately, to fulfill our dream of living in a casa de colores.  With limited time, we decided to just do a couple of accent walls.  We went out to dinner to celebrate, Pedro and I.  Giddy.
So much waiting, and then it all happened in a rush.  I had imagined a posed photo taken by our realtor of us with the key for the first time, and a bottle of bubbly.  As it turned out, we arrived first and the house was open!
And the next day was insane.  We only had one day off together to make the move happen. Got the U-Haul rented, packed, unpacked and returned in 6 hours.  Damn! Thanks to Bryan, Dad, Pat and Paula who helped make that happen.
Have I mentioned that the house is THREE STORIES?  Those were some sore calf muscles we had the next day.
It was an exciting weekend, with other trucks and other families moving in.   Thrilled to know that my kids will have other kids nearby. I'm imagining movie nights at rotating houses.  But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.  (I created a Moylan Terrace Facebook page back in June, 3 months before we were even in escrow.  Is that weird?)
I am so eager to invite friends over, but we have no couch, and I want them not just to see our house, but to see our home.  Which is why I want to first get the furniture, the pictures hung on the walls.  For it to burst with Arias McGrath energy.

For now, we are enjoying the feel of new, clean carpet, and a wide open living room with room to leap and crawl.  And the first rain, heard on the windows.  Even as we spend week two in our new house with sick kids.   And the first week we had an L.A. trip and then a two day conference for me.  And then Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.  I managed, miraculously, to find the box with my glue gun (and extra glue sticks!) to make Lupe's costume.  I couldn't imagine disappointing her since i have always made her costume.  Liam's however was borrowed form a friend.   Good lord, I can;t do it all!  It was perfect though, as his pizza costume had similar colors in felt as Lupe's!  And, she won the costume contest at the Mission!
Non- stop.
As much as I want it to be all decorated now, I have to realize that it is going to take a while. And it's going to be fun!

Update December
We got the couch.  I am sitting on it, next to the Christmas tree, and in front of our electric fireplace with mantel.  We still need to put more pictures on the wall, and shelves to house the books which are still in boxes in the garage.  But we are settling in.   We've had family over for dinner, and playdates with kids running up and down the stairs squealing.  We know most of our neighbor's names.  The kids have played ball in the shared driveway with the other kids and Pedro has put up lights.  The first stain on the carpet and scuffs on the wall.  My mom has settled in to her little sleeping nook under the stairs when she comes to spend the night.  Feeling more and more like home.  Hearts bursting.   So much to be thankful for.