The {Temporary} Homestead: J secured a one-bedroom furnished apartment in the popular Greenwood Village, near DTC {code for: Denver Tech Center}. It is a condo-style hotel place with some people using it as a hotel and some people using it as a long-term apartment = a strange dynamic of professionals, families, and leisure travels...BUT it has a Pool and that is a "must" for the Colorado Summer {so I gather}.
The initial days included unpacking our boxes of food, clothes and supplies that we traveled 14 hours with to make this house our home, that is, for a little while.
Daily challenges include the size of this place is maybe 300 sq ft...yep, less than 10% of the size of our previous home which makes everything smaller - less seating space, less room to run for Miss L and Mr. Cole, the bathroom is teeny-tiny, and of course the galley kitchen is less than adequate...basically, I feel like we are "camping" or roughing it! The one bedroom translates to little girl sleeping in her pack-n-play in our room which often involves less-than-great sleep for all 3 of us. She has started a habit of waking at 5:30am, jumping for joy from her pack-n-play, as she can visually see mommy and daddy from her bed. Miss L runs the roost for an hour and then heads back to her sleeping quarters to sleep until 9:30...maybe 10am...which kind of throws off our day. Good thing I'm a "go with the flow mommy" and threw out "schedules" before she was born!
The {Future} Homestead: We have toured about 20 homes, in 4 different areas {suburbs} of Denver, while on a mission to find the right area. With J working at the airport and the airport located in God's country, far, far away from life in Denver; it poses a big challenge to find a home in an area we like, with an acceptable commute.
The next and perhaps inherit challenge is- this is our 4th home purchase {5th "property" including our hi-rise rental}. With every new/next home, it is human nature to want it better, sometimes bigger, but definitely more your style with less sacrifices. Some people don't purchase 4 homes in their lifetime, let alone, 4 homes in 9 years!!
The last challenge and a bit one at that - homes in Colorado are far different than what we are used to in the Midwest. Each geographic area of the Midwest has it's strong suits in house; however, once you head west, things are different. Smaller lots {less to maintain + cost of land}, less green space {to counter high irrigation rates}, fewer vaulted ceilings {more energy efficient} and when you add them up you find tons of beautiful homes that are RIGHT next to their neighbors and offer very little {sometimes NONE} lawn. It is difficult to quickly adjust to the "Colorado way." Full disclosure: there are tons of neighborhood parks, trails, community spaces and of course a million acres of "playground" to go and explore here.
We are feeling really good about one area in particular; just 10-15 minutes away from the best mall in the City, tons of restaurants, the main highway, best school district in the state, 2 miles to a brand new hospital, mountain views from most roadways and walking paths, etc...etc... We find a house that exceeds our anticipated budget, but we drool and we run to our excel spreadsheet to "crunch the numbers" and we decided to put an offer on this beauty {on Friday}, only to find out we were in a match with two other buyers and one in particular that "wanted it at all costs." Sigh...back to square one. Pit & Peak
Something J and I "borrowed" from the Kardashian family a long time ago was to identify the "pit and peak" or "high and low" of our day/week/vacation/etc. I would say we mostly use this communication tool after vacations, but I think it is handy to ask whenever!
My Pit of the past two weeks have been feelings of guilt as a mom, being frustrated spending every waking minute with Miss L. For nearly the first 10 days, I never left the apartment alone to do anything - sun bathe, grocery shop, get a pedi, etc. I just don't think it is healthy for anyone to spend every waking minute in this situation; everyone needs a re-charge and some personal time. I really felt guilty for feeling so bad about being a stay-at-home-mom. I understand this is what I signed-up for, I understand this is the hardest job in the world, but I kind of really missed getting dressed up and feeling so fulfilled. {insert typical mommy guilt - to work or not to work} I have since communicated this to my partner and have physically escaped the 300 sq ft apartment on a few occasions...even to read by the Pool!
My Peak would have to be this morning. Miss L slept in until 8:30, I made us pumpkin pancakes to share and then while Daddy golfed with some friends, us girls packed up and went to the Farmers Market in our new {hopeful} home town of Parker. It was an awesome Farmers Market and the weather was amazing. We loved strolling the charming downtown village and reading about the historic landmarks on the side streets nestled within the large Victorian homes. It really felt like "home" to me and Miss L loved seeing all of the 4-legged friends strolling the marketplace. Below is snapshot of our fun!
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