Let me count the ways

I had intended to do all my catch-up posts in the order listed yesterday, but that first one is going to be a BEAST.  Let this be a lesson to you:  it is MUCH harder to go back in time (duh) and remember what things have or have not been posted on, which things need to be updated, trains of thought that need to be completed.  Do it as you go!  So instead I'm going to start with a word-heavy, rather than picture- and detail-heavy, post.  Ladies and gentlemen, things I still LOVE about the Rome:

- The open floor plan is everything we hoped it could be.  We've had three birthday parties, one sit-down dinner with 11 people, and multiple small group gatherings, and this floor plan just delivers.  Lots of room for people to gather together, but also enough to separate into smaller conversational groupings.  It doesn't feel cramped having more than just the four of us in the room.
- The kitchen.  Oh the kitchen.  I love having counters.  Seriously, here's a picture of our old house so you can appreciate how much this kitchen and I are soul mates.

- The loft is great.  It's where the bulk of the kids' toys are, it's a great space for wrestling them into bed, and I sort all my laundry there.
- Having the laundry on the same floor as the clothing closets is wonderful.  Not really a change from our old ranch, but I grew up in a house where we had to lug baskets up and down stairs, so it's a perk I can appreciate.  Especially since the boys go through so many clothes!
- I like having a porch.  I want to use the porch.  That hasn't really happened yet, other than my cucumber vines climbing the railing, but we WILL get there.  :)
- Garages are WONDERFUL.
- Basements are excellent also.  My husband has pretty much claimed it as his own, did all the decorating and arranging, and keeps all his crap stuff down there where I don't have to trip over it.
- Storage areas...ah.  Not having to climb into an attic!  Or renting a storage locker!  And keeping the kitty litter box away from anything that might resemble human food!  Priceless.
- Staircase.  This one snuck up on me, but I like that the stairs are less steep than other homes I've been in.  The treads are deeper, also, so I can fit all my big foot on it at once.  Which is good when you have a really bad ankle and are accident prone. (Spoiler alert: the staircase will also appear on the things-I-don't-like post)
- Having four bedrooms is a very useful thing.  I can put all my crap stuff in that spare bedroom where my husband doesn't have to trip over it.
- We actually get morning sun in our morning room.  I hung some prisms in the windows, and my boys greatly enjoy getting to watch rainbows on the walls while they eat breakfast.  And the light over there is great for pictures, at least for the first half of the day.
- Elevation E has a previously under-appreciated perk: hanging Christmas lights is SO much easier when you can climb out a window onto a roof that goes the width of the house.
- Nice, big closets in the master suite are a nice perk.
- Linen closets are a wonderful thing.
- More than one toilet is unbelievably awesome.

That's all I can think of right at the moment, but if I come up with something else I'll try and remember to post about it!  :)