Catching Up Again!

Seriously? How does time go so stinkin' fast?! I feel like we just got the offer on our house yesterday and we were just starting to look at houses on the other end. We had decided that since there is a 45 day closing window on the loan process, we would start looking right away and if we hadn't found something by July 15th, we would have to seriously reconsider our criteria and possibly look into building something.
We checked with the school district we are moving into about eligibility rules and found out that registration is August 6th and as long as we had a contract on a house and could move in within 90 days, there would be no issue with enrolling the kids in the attendance zone the house falls into. Just fill out this special form.
Our realtor has been working tirelessly, calling neighborhoods and other realty groups and builders on our behalf. One thing that Jayme has really been hoping for is a lot of energy features. He was most excited about one home builder who uses spray foam insulation. Our realtor, Melissa, sent us some info on a newer neighborhood that the builder was in so yesterday he went out to talk to them. The model home for that builder was locked up with an "Out to Lunch" sign in the window, so he went to the next one down.
This builder uses a lot of the newer energy features but not spray foam. Jayme got to talking to the guy about it and he brought up a very good point. It;s REALLY humid in Houston! Nobody quite knows how the spray foam is going to hold up to the humidity. Then he offered to show Jayme a couple houses they have. I don't know if you noticed some past tense in the first paragraph up there, but long story slightly shorter--Jayme found us a house!
The floor plan is really nice. He walked through a completed home and it fit almost all of our criteria. I say almost because the one thing it doesn't have that we really thought was a must-have for us is a fireplace. But you know what we realized? We can put one in later if we want, and we may not want! Here is the floor plan on their website. The house we have reserved is still being built. It will look different than the one in the picture if you clicked the link. Scroll down a bit and you will see the option "Elevation C" with the high arch over the doorway to the second floor. That will be ours.
The lot the house is on is the biggest in the subdivision. It has a drainage pond behind it so there will never be a backyard neighbor. It's on a cul-de-sac and it will never have a neighbor on the right-hand side of it. This gives us a huge yard. Also, there is a fire hydrant on the left-hand side of us which made for a larger space between it and the house on that side. The subdivision has a pool and a splash pad for the kids.
The kitchen cabinets have already been ordered and that almost stopped the whole process. They are a couple shades darker than I would have picked. Not black, but dark brown. I'm a light-wood kind of girl. When I was hemming and hawing about it the sales guy said, "What would you say if I took $5,000 off the price because you aren't crazy about the color but it's too late to change it?" Well, I would say I can learn to love a darker shade of brown!! I still get to pick the floor tile, backsplash tile, granite, carpet and paint colors though :)
The real kicker was when Jayme asked when the house would be ready. The answer: July 15th. Like a bolt of lightning from the sky, right there!! We are heading down on Sunday to meet up with the sales guy and sign the papers and give them some earnest money. Oh, yeah, and I get to see the house in person and pick all the colors!
I will do my very best to remember to document it and post it here next week. Now that I don't have to search for houses online all day I might just have some time to blog, or pack, or look for new furniture, or familiarize myself with what stores are close to the new house, or plan driving and walking routes to the kids' schools, or totally freak out that Pattie will go to Kindergarten in the fall, or.........