Toddler in Tow

So we finally did it! - After deciding to put our much loved house on the market - all in the sake of school catchment areas we have finally moved. 6 months later and after 26 viewings. 22 offers and 3 buyers (two of which dropped out at the last minute) we are finally in our family home - and oh my gosh does it feel like that - I have found myself over the last few days wandering around the house as if I was staying at my parent's house as surely this house is too big for us - "its a grown ups house" I keep telling myself but I absolutly love it! Yes it was extremly hard to see our old house go - we put blood, sweat and tears into that house quite literally, taking it from a filthy hovel when we first moved in, to a character filled family home in the space of two years with literally no budget what so ever. Long nights were endured cwtched up on the sofa with numerous blankets around us as we struggled a winter where temperatures hit minus 14 degrees on a regular basis - with no heating and ice on the inside of the windows - together with fun and laughter when it came to chosing paint and wallpaper and having to scrape together odd bits of furniture, upcycling as much as we could along the way. This was also the house that we brought our daughter back to and our first matrimonial home together so mix it all together and it called for quite an emotional send off.

Having owned my first house since I was 18 years old, property has never been something that has scared me or caused me a great deal of stress- having said that I have never sold a property before - choosing to hang onto mine as investments to pay for my retirement :-) - but this move brought a whole new meaning of the word stress - not only did we only have confimation that we were actually moving a week before moving date but we did the whole move with a toddler in tow after the nursery didn't have any extra space for her - now as many would we were wondering how we would quite manage this - an inquisitive and slightly hyperactive two year old does not really make for a good moving companion - HOWEVER she was an absolute star - everything we asked she did, everything we said she listened too - helping to carry her toys and blankets out of her room and helping me clean up the rooms afterwards - dusting and hoovering - one of the best memories I will have of that day is walking out the front door after making the boys a drink and seeing not only the removal men sitting on the front wall but Evelyn snack bang in the middle of them "helping man Mummy" she said "need rest now" as she turned her back to me and carried on her conversation with Gary and Leroy (the removal men) - that girl never fails to suprise and amuse me :-)

All in all moving with a toddler in tow - piece of cake :-)