Househunting...

At the very least, watching the real estate agents' eyes widen in horror provided a much needed dose of comic relief. A change in circumstances means that Simone et al are presently in the market for a new home. When the kids heard that Simone and hubby were going to visit three possibilities, the kids unanimously decided to stay home.

Very funny... Simone wipes the tears of laughter from her eyes...

Let's rewind and get back to reality: of course all the kids wanted to see what their next home might look like, they wanted to make sure that none of their teachers lived next door to the new home and most of all, they wanted to argue about which room was going to be theirs.

So everyone piled into the Kia Rondo and off they went on a Saturday afternoon adventure. The dog stayed home because he might have pushed the real estate agents over the edge and Simone didn't want that on her conscience. Bad enough that she was arriving to view the houses with four children in tow.

"Holy smokes! Did the whole family come?" asked one agent.

Well, no. Two of them are in university and Simone's mother-in-law hasn't made up her mind yet as to whether or not she wants to live with the clan.

"How in the world did you fit all those kids in the car?" asked another agent. "Hey, and it looks as though you have a dog as well!" Simone does not clean her car nearly often enough it seems... Was it the clumps of dog fur that gave it away? The dog nose marks on the inside of the windows? The collection of dog toys, offerings vainly aimed at reducing the amount of damage the dog might do to the car?

"This house is not going to be big enough for you," stated the last agent bluntly. She was right.

In the end, only one of the three homes they saw came up as a distinct possibility.

"I call the red room," said the 11 year old.

"I wouldn't mind the basement," said the 13 year old.

"I liked the first house we saw," said the 15 year old.

"Back home now!" ordered little B.

Indeed.