One Year in Our House

It has almost been a year since we moved into our current house (we moved March 1st). We put off buying a house for the first 3.5 years that we lived in ABQ for many reasons, and I am so glad we did as I'm sure we would have picked out a different house than this before we had our kids, and this house has been great for us. Our house is by no means perfect, but the main reasons we picked this house still make it a great house for us today.

1. It was move in ready
Once you actually move into a house you see all of the flaws, but for the most part this house hasn't needed much work. Of course I wish I could report that every room is perfectly Pinterestly decorated, but there hasn't been a lot of time to think about painting the walls and such, and it doesn't bother me that much as I stay plenty busy just keep the kids alive. Also, we like to spend our weekends doing fun things and neither of us are that excited about house projects, so moving into a house like ours was the right decision for us.

2. The main floor layout is ideal for our family
The floorplan was a huge selling point for me that I wouldn't have cared about if we didn't have kids. Once I realized how much stuff was required to keep three babies entertained, I knew I wanted a separate adult living area where I could remove myself from the primary colors and clutter. In addition to the extra living space, the family room and kitchen are open to each other which has been wonderful so that I can work in the kitchen and keep an eye on the kids. This set up also gives the kids more room to run around since we hang out downstairs in the family room / kitchen 95% of the time that the kids are awake and we are home since it is almost 100% babyproof.

We opened presents for Christmas in the living room and this was definitely the most time the kids have spent in this room together. If one wakes up before the others from a nap I don't usually shut the gate so they do spend some time running around this room (it's just so much easier for me to manage when there is only one!), and they walk through it every time they go upstairs, but they know to go straight to the stairs as we don't want them all running around in here.

Jack enjoying a Valentine's Day balloon and a peak at our living room in front of our family room. If the gate isn't closed properly Jack always lets me know by saying "uh oh!"

Faith enjoying the balloons, and also a great view of our built in shelves which were a definite bonus for our family room as I don't have to worry about anyone tipping the shelves over.

You can see the kitchen behind the family room. Excuse the mess :).

3. The backyard is kid friendly(ish)
Okay, so it would be nice if the yard was a bit larger as I'm sure the small yard won't work so well as the kids get bigger, but the backyard actually has some grass (not every yard in ABQ does!) and as the kids get older I'll be able to monitor them out the kitchen window while they play. And the rocks in part of the yard are actually a bonus as the kids spend so much time playing in them. I know the cinder block wall surrounding the yard is a bit unsightly, but I guess I've grown accustomed to it after living in ABQ for 4+ years so it doesn't bother me anymore.

Jack and Faith hanging out in the backyard

Playing with the rocks

The girls running around the yard, which is a favorite activity these days

4. The neighborhood is great for walks
The location of our last house was good as it was about a mile from the trail head into the foothills, but there weren't many good sidewalks and we couldn't get to the bike path on Tramway with our triple stroller since the fence opening was too narrow. Since we go on walks almost every single day, access to the Tramway bike path and having a safe neighborhood to walk in was super important to me. This location has been ideal for walking and running.

I don't take many pics while we are out for walks, but this one was taken by one of the parks in our subdivision. Notice the nice view of the foothills in the background.

5. The neighborhood elementary school is good
Unfortunately, New Mexico public schools do not have a good reputation and we don't plan on sending our kids to private school, so we wanted to buy a house in a good public elementary school zone without moving too far north in ABQ, since Micah didn't want his commute to work to be much longer than it was at our old place. Hopefully this elementary school still has good ratings by the time our kids get to Kindergarten! It is within walking distance, which will be nice when the kids are going to school.


We are so thankful that we bought this house when we did as it would have been much harder to move once our kids were mobile. And although there a few things we would change about the house (such as the small garage), overall it has been a great house for us this past year and we have some wonderful memories here already.