Ass Monkey and I have moved house now a total of FOUR TIMES since Jacob was born. 

That’s four counts of “I am going to punch you right in the face if you don’t bubble wrap my favourite coffee mug properly before chucking it into the moving boxes” in the last eleven years.

So.. what’s wrong with us? Well, first we were renting near Dublin City Centre and fell foul of one shit landlord and one sound landlord but ultimately we were saving for a house.

In 2014 we moved into what we thought was our ‘Forever Home’ when I was pregnant with Eva in Rush, North Co. Dublin.

And while we LOVED that house and raised our two kids from babies in it AND welcomed Poochi the Wonder Dog #2 – it really never felt like we settled there and we just couldn’t put our finger on it.

Carn Hill House

Until we saw Carn Hill House for sale – an amazing 1930s home between Rush and Skerries in North Co. Dublin. It had, “I’m broken, come fix me” written all over it and you know Alan and I are suckers for a structural sob story.

Cue to almost a year of fighting with the banks (more about those pricks later), some serious doubts about the state of our mental health in taking this on (like, there’s no central heating in the house – AT ALL) and we moved the kids and dogs into their new home.

There is still SO MUCH WORK to do but we are cracking into it. You can follow the progress Here on it’s very own Insta page if you like!

8 Top Tips For Moving House With Kids and Pets:

1. Don’t do it.
2. Just kidding – definitely do it if and when you gotta do it.
3. Don’t tell the kids too much too soon. The entire of Eva’s class and therefore, the town we live in, knew that we had ‘bought that house on the hill’ LONG before we had signed the contracts. Scarlet.
4. Bring the pets for regular visits before Moving Day. They need a sniff around, they need to feel safe – you don’t want them flipping out and hopping the wall to back and take a dump at your old front door for the new owners to find on their morning commute.
5. Don’t move in with your parents while your husband is getting things ready (more on this later).
6. Don’t believe your husband when he tells you it will only take approx 3 weeks to get things ready (more on these ABSOLUTE LIES later).
7. Interior Design is not and should never be, a family sport. Sometimes I fall foul of having the ‘What colour curtains would you like in your room?” chat and suffer two hours of serious pondering, group trips to Ikea, painted illustrations of all the things someone might like, instead of just going and chucking up what I wanted in the first place behind their backs.
8. Keep this mantra alive: “You Can Only Do What You Can Do In One Day”. Set a timer, do a small bit, take a break, drink some wine, hug your kids, thank your other half – you’ll get there and it will be FABULOUS. I promise x

Jacob and Eva were so happy to see the sign go up!