This shiznazz just got real

I feel like a toddler who is keeping a secret. As in, I'm literally bouncing up and down in my seat, covering my mouth, and giggling like a madwoman.

*drumroll*

We have been pre-approved for a mortgage!!

Here is a series of gifs to sum up my thoughts on the matter.

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You guys, this is a BIG. FREAKING. DEAL. After years (YEARS!!) of me being the breadwinner on a relatively humble PR salary, and Brian making poverty level wages as a graduate student - not to mention our student loan debt - we didn't think that we would be in this position so soon.

However, after the birth of our son, Brian in particular took a good, long, hard look at where he was going and did something very brave: admitted that his dreams and priorities had changed. Don't get me wrong, he's still going for his Ph.D. (for the time being at least) but he has decided to work full time as an engineer and extend his doctorate studies so we can improve our quality of life. Not necessarily financially (although his salary is a VAST improvement over what he was making as a grad student!) but definitely in terms of spending time with Owen and I. Being a graduate student is hard work, and those of you who have been there or have spouses/significant others who have gone through it can agree that it's a lifestyle that isn't necessarily family-friendly.

So now, with our powers money combined, we are now in a position where we can own a home. Dude. WE CAN OWN A FREAKING HOUSE. SQUEEEEEE!!

...can you tell I'm a little, insy-bitsy bit excited??

We got pre-approved for a ridiculous amount of money. Like, whoa. Which I guess we can conceivably afford, but then we'll be eating Ramen admiring our beautiful house with no furniture. And that's just dumb.

So, we're looking at houses that are a little more than half of what we got pre-approved for so we can maintain our quality of life. Plus, I'm not so sure I want to buy a pristine house right off the bat - I LOVE older homes and would be tickled pink at the opportunity to spruce one up.

So there you have it. Step one: complete. Now comes the difficult part: actually finding a home we can agree on. Within our price range.

This should be fun.

:)

P.S. - Since I'm still in the honeymoon period of "WEGOTAPPROVEDFORAFREAKINGMORTGAGE!!!", I'll save my tips for the pre-approval process for another post. Stay tuned!