re: Building New House -- What additional amenities should I consider?

If I had it to do over, I would do foam as well. My builder talked me out of it by offering a product that he claims was just as good made from recycled material that the installers pressed into place. I wish I could remember the name of it.

5 years of electric bills higher than my neighbors who used foam are proving my decision to be a bad one.

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I am in the design phase of a new house as well. Might I ask who your contractor is?

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He doesn't do residential anymore.

Yeah, I know what your talking about. Had a builder try to,tell me that as well.

May as well just do bats if not foam.

Electricly darkened windows for your bedroom. That way when it's hotter than hell in the summer @105 you can crank up the a/c and have good nap in a dark room.
Also network and coax drops in every room. 3 car garage wide enough to allow the doors to be opened when in the garage and not bang the walls or other cars.
A man cave with conditioned power to operate your $80k stereo and video gear.
Bathroom with a bidet to wash your butts when you have the shits from the flu and it hurts wipe.

Nothing else matters if the lot is not properly graded for positive drainage.

I would network the house with cat 5, I put plug-ins and cat5 on the wall about (5 ft) for TV mount and below the mount with the words tying into a network switch that ties into my camera system, so every room has Internet access, each computer can easily connect to each other and I can stream my security cams over the net

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Are you doing a giant walk-in (no door) master shower?

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I am not sure. We have a huge master bath, and I know that we have a shower, but not sure if it's the walk in or if it has a door.

With a 7 and twins 5yo I would get a mud clostet. A place for them to hang their bookbags and kick their shoes off.

Also living in Mobile I would definitely get working aluminum shutters. They will also help save on your utility bill.

Ok, I've done this a few times & made a lot of mistakes. So here goes knowing I will forget a lot. Be forewarned about a project like this, really easy to blow a budget once you get started.
Kitchen - gas cooking appliances - we did two under counter ovens once (great for T-Day feast) & dual microwaves - stand alone ice maker - Jenn-Air frig (did a separate freezer in utility once with frig only in kit) - if room, wine cooler - large, deep sink with pot filler.
Mechanicals - tankless hot water heaters - research radiant heat, so such healthier & efficient than forced air - no copper plumbing - NATURAL GAS GENERATOR WITH TRANSFER SWITCH - foam insulation
Lifestyle - outdoor gas & electric outlets (plan ahead for the outdoor kitchen & crawfish) - easy access to bathroom from outdoors - once did a double garage door on the back of the garage; pavestoned the adjacent patio & garage floor & if rain hit a boil, just open the door & the party continued
A/V/Tech, besides the obvious already mentioned, easy access to rear of components. In a prior life, gear on shelves and cabinets with hall behind - did a camouflaged panel I could remove and easily wire or change as equipment changed - wired security - plan ahead for your programing source, cable, sat, Internet
I could go on for awhile, but think the best thing I can offer, is you & the SO give thought to YOUR family & lifestyle. What would make this house YOUR home?
Use your imagination (when my kids were younger, had a wall switch in the master that would kill the kids TVs upstairs, "bedtime guys") & plan ahead, i.e., PVC under driveway.
I offer an opinion freely & rarely offer advice, but pick your battles with the SO, be prepared to compromise choosing the things that are truly most important to you. Building can be a rewarding, bonding, fun experience or an f'n nightmare.
Good luck!
Apologies in advance for spelling & punctuation OT, on the mobile.