We're HOME!

Loooong overdue here.... So, we moved in, and gradually unpacked. At first I didn't have internet, then I couldn't find my camera - yada yada yada. And THEN.....

I got huge:

And then Aubrie was here! Just like that! October 14th, 8 pounds 9 ounces.

Since her hat is covering up all her pretty hair, here's another picture. 

She'll be one month old on Monday. We love her. :o)


Anyway, as for the house - projects have slowed down since we moved in, but that's a good thing. It's nice to have somewhat of a life (well, after recovering from child birth that is). Of course we still have a LOOOONG list of things to do that should keep us busy for the next 5 years or so. So this blog ain't goin' nowhere!

Here are some pictures taken around the time of moving in. Keep in mind, these are of the "Keepin' it real" sort of pictures....especially the ones I took a week or so after moving in....

(notice the super hero underwear on top of the PJs)

We're still quite UNorganized in many areas, but it looks much nicer now. I will try to post more current pictures soon, but remember - I have 3 children now. ;o)

Home Stretch

Well folks, it's taken us longer than we thought it would - by a week or two - but even then it's hard to believe how close we really are to moving in! If we can get enough help, we should be able to finish up the last few crucial projects this weekend, and start settling in over the course of the following week. Whew! August was a crazy month with lots of things going on that took us away from house projects. But, we still managed to make lots of progress and here we are!

The bathroom tile is all done, along with the trim work (baseboards and 1 door). It looks superb and all that's left is paint, and putting it back together! 

We also bought the floor paint. Assuming we can get by with one coat, it has ended up costing us 1/3 of what we expected. This is a HUGE blessing because we just weren't sure how the cash flow was going to work in this last month.

We had some help last night with taping off baseboards and sweeping, so we should be able to sand the floors either tonight or tomorrow night, and start painting the floors Friday! That's really the only thing - again, besides the bathroom being put back together - that needs to be done before we move in.

And we are SO ready to be settled in. There will still be projects to work on, but the difference will be that we'll all be HOME together while they're getting worked on. No more back and forth between "house" and "home". No more rushed early dinners and late bedtimes for boys. No more single parenting. 

I must admit I'm dreading the actual moving process. I'm capable of so little these days. Either I get tired really fast, or am in pain from being on my feet too much. So packing and cleaning will be a challenge. One way or another it will all get done and then I just have to tackle the UNpacking bit by bit.

Here are a few pictures from last night - also happened to be our 8th wedding anniversary. :o)  Don't feel bad we were working though. We just got back from a long weekend at the cabin on the lake. It was very relaxing and refreshing, and we came back ready to go gung-ho on the last leg of pre-move projects. 

I will take pictures and post after the last couple things are done, right before we move in!

Bathroom update

We took about a week long break from going to the house, to prepare for and travel to a family event in Oklahoma City. When we got back, John's brother came over one night to get him started on laying the bathroom floor tile. This is John's first time doing tile so it was a fun challenge (I think?) for him. He did SUPER!!!! I love love love it. 

First though a few other updates....

 New hardware installed on the screen door, after the inside was painted to match the rest of the trim in the house.

 Bathroom vanity painted a nice glossy walnut. It was hard to find a paint color that was as dark as I wanted, but it turned out perfectly!. We will be getting glass knobs for the drawers and doors. Once again, here's my inspiration for the bathroom:

When I was Googling around for vintage/Craftsman era bathroom images, two things kept popping up: subway tile, and the really small bathroom floor tiles (in various shapes and patterns). Thanks to a heads-up from my online friend Rachel, we found out these two kinds of tile also happen to be very inexpensive at Lowes! I'm totally in love with the look, and as you can see John did a superb job! He's starting the tub surround tile tonight, which will be white subway tile with a black edge, white grout. 

We used charcoal gray grout. So perfect!

Since we had replaced a couple doors, we also needed to buy new trim for them. While the style doesn't match any of the other trim in the house, it's what will eventually be throughout. Inspiration from this blog. John loves working with wood, and it shows!

Note the new door knobs too. I really really REALLY want glass door knobs but was sad to find out they are PRI-CEY!! So for now it's the $15 oil-rubbed bronze look from Home Depot.

Sigh, it's already started. Surprisingly, this is the work of Joseph. I didn't know he could draw musketeers so well, but apparently he can.


Today when I was over at the house briefly to get these pictures, I also took the chance to paint the bathroom wall color samples (now that I can walk on the floor). Again, keep in mind my inspiration photo above. It's from a Pottery Barn catelog and I came across it several years ago. At the time, I envisioned using the wall color in a mud room or sun room or breezeway - in other words, a small room with lots of light, and a gardeny feel where I could put lots of potted plants. I even have some greeting card prints I've been saving to frame and hang.

Since this house has no such room, I'm using the look in a bathroom after all. It fits the bill nicely though - it's the only room in the house with a south-facing window so it gets lots of light and will be perfect for potted plants. I'm thinking maiden hair fern, coleus, and a geranium for a nice small pop of color.

Anyway, here are the two colors I'd narrowed it down to. After they handed me the samples at Home Depot, with the little dots of paint on the lid, I panicked a bit. They looked much lighter and brighter than I was picturing. But so far, after putting it up on the wall, I think they're very close to what I wanted after all.

This one is called Envy, from Sherwin Williams

And this one is Grasshopper, also Sherwin Williams

Envy on the right, Grasshopper on the left.

Envy in the middle and left, Grasshopper on the right. They are veeerrry close, but Envy is a bit more bright with more yellow in it. I haven't told John which one I prefer, and when he gets back tonight he'll tell me which one he likes. But, I will tell you all - I prefer the slightly more subdued Grasshopper. I think the room has enough light to not need the extra brightness, and it's pretty much exactly what I was picturing!

Home Time

Anybody ever watch that show on PBS? As a girl I loved it - along with This Old House - and still do. I remember seeing an episode or two a while back where the current lady builder co-host was pregnant. I tried to find a picture online but searched in vain. Anyway, I like to think I'm like her - although my capabilities in building projects are much more limited during pregnancy. Bleh. But hey - I can change out switch plates and outlets, remove wallpaper, paint, reinstall cabinet doors...I'm good for something anyway! Just don't ask me to be on my feet for too long, or bend over...or work on anything for more than an hour or two before I poop out. :-P

We are getting SO close to being move-in ready! I will take pictures and post as soon as I can get over there and take some. John has been getting LOTS done this week! He really is amazing. Such a go-getter, and so good at everything he does, whether it's painting, trim, basic plumbing and electrical, tile (new skill!), carpentry, drywall, taping, trouble-shooting, heating and cooling....yeah. Pretty cool.

Here's what's been able to be checked off the list from the last post, thanks to a little extra help from Friends and family - Philip, Paul, Grace, Sarah, Sara, Elisabeth, Tim, Peter, Mark, Steven, Goodwin - You guys are the best!!!

• Replace switches, outlets, and wall plates upstairs 
• Remove vinyl kitchen floor 
• Finish priming and painting window frames
• Finish painting the front screen door
• Prime and paint bathroom cabinet
• Paint bathroom mirror frame
• Install phone jack in front living room
• Wash windows (insides and outsides, up and down) and screens
• Clean stove and oven
• Sweep/vacuum floors in prep for paint
• Tape off baseboards and cut in paint on floors around edges (too much bending over for my belly)
• Prime, paint and seal floors upstairs
• Touch up paint on cabinets and doors
• Hang curtain rods (assuming we're able to buy them soon)

Not crucial before moving in, and lower on the priorities than the above....but in case we get enough help:

• Mowing the lawn (on-going  - we hate having to do it when there's work on the house to do but we try to keep up as much as possible)
• Shoveling rock mulch from the front yard
• Remove basement wallpaper (we have a steamer!)
• Remove basement carpet !!! =D
• Clean out basement fridge and freezer
• Wash playroom walls and trim
• Remove playroom doors
• Prime playroom walls and trim
• Dust/clean/vacuum storage room

If you're of a mind....

FIRST of all....I don't remember if I mentioned this in another post already. I've been meaning to. But I want to  give a huge shout-out of THANKS A MILLION!! to a super group of friends from our church who came over a month ago and helped us out for a morning at The Projects. They did the work of organizing helpers to come and do some clean-up and it was MAJOR blessing to us! In just a few hours we were all able to do more than John and I alone could have done in at least a whole week, and they made it fun too. We had people scrubbing walls and trim, pulling carpet and staples, basically getting the house all ready for primer and paint. It was just incredible.

People have asked us what's next, and what we're working on currently. So here's the to-do list! And MOST of these things don't require a whole lot of skill... ;o)  We are actually trying to drum up some help August 6th (Saturday), so if you want to come help, yay! We'll feed you, and be sure to invite you to our home for a party after we're moved in, this fall.  =D

This is what we need to accomplish before we can move in:

• Replace switches, outlets, and wall plates upstairs (it's mostly done already)
• Remove vinyl kitchen floor (about half left)
• Finish priming and painting window frames (just the parts that show when the windows are open)
• Finish painting the front screen door
• Prime and paint bathroom cabinet
• Paint bathroom mirror frame
• Install phone jack in front living room
• Wash windows (insides and outsides, up and down) and screens
• Clean stove and oven
• Sweep/vacuum floors in prep for paint
• Tape off baseboards and cut in paint on floors around edges (too much bending over for my belly)
• Prime, paint and seal floors upstairs
• Touch up paint on cabinets and doors
• Hang curtain rods (assuming we're able to buy them soon)

Not crucial before moving in, and lower on the priorities than the above....but in case we get enough help:

• Mowing the lawn (on-going  - we hate having to do it when there's work on the house to do but we try to keep up as much as possible)
• Shoveling rock mulch from the front yard
• Remove basement wallpaper (we have a steamer!)
• Remove basement carpet (at LEAST the carpet in the playroom and part of the hallway)
• Clean out basement fridge and freezer
• Wash playroom walls and trim
• Remove playroom doors
• Prime playroom walls and trim
• Prime storage room

John will be working on laying tile in the bathroom floor and tub surround - in August, as soon as we have the money to purchase tile and supplies. He's never done tile before and is reading up on it - but if you have time and experience (or tools) we'd love the help!

Slow by Jerks

This was a rough week for us as we had some of that once-every-30+ years hot muggy weather. I heard one person say it was hotter here than anywhere else in the world one of the days, once the humidity (82° dew point) and heat index were calculated into the actual temps. Who knows really but it was hot! I just stayed inside. John of course, being an HVAC-R guy, gets busy when the weather turns south. :-P He spent those three hottest days working overtime on hot roofs (and one of all those nifty gadets he uses was measuring 146° at one point up on a hot roof!). So we had little time for the house, and even took a night off (!!!!). So this is what our week looked like:

Sunday - skipped church and slept, we were both feeling sick. Went to HD and bought a bath/shower fixture so John could start on fixing the plumbing.

Monday - skipped softball because John was working quite late (hey, at least he was getting paid to be in the heat!)

Tuesday - John worked late, then we went and just took some measurements at the house. City inspector   requires us to show deck plans so we had to draw our property and house dimensions. I help hold the measuring tape. ;o) I also finished painting the front door! So I'm good for something anyway.

Wednesday - stayed home!

Thursday - John worked on welding the plumbing in the bathroom; I screwed on four bathroom cabinet doors and replaced one light switch. :-P

Friday - I stayed home and John finished the welding. Took the boys and got back at 8pm, much earlier than usual.

These are the bathroom and master bedroom doors which we replaced several weeks ago. Nothing TOO fancy, just hollow-core, but pretty. :) The old ones were just plain and flat, and had some holes. These are the 2 most visible doors of the 4 total upstairs so it was a good switch - and we got a great deal! Now to find glass door knobs somewhere.

Now, the kitchen cabinet hardware up there? Not staying. Nuh-uh. It's the old stuff but we don't have the moola to get new stuff yet. Kind of painful to go through all the work of putting the doors back up knowing we have to take it all down and replace it eventually, but we don't know how soon it will be before that happens. So we did.

And for as many skillz as we have, painting and hanging cabinets isn't one of them. There are drips, the sheen is wrong (thank you pregnancy brain), and many of the doors stick or rub. Ah well. I had some inner  conniptions over the whole thing and now I'm over it (and, gulp, some not so inner - sorry Hubs). There are more important things in life than perfect kitchen cabinets. Some day I'll go over them with a coat of semi-gloss, and they'll have new hardware. And SOME day, way down the road - we'll just replace them with new cabinets and PAY someone ELSE to install them. Until then, they're at least worlds better than before!

And here's my pretty pretty door! We - the John and Elizabeth Family - we are Blue Door people. So if we plan to call a place Home, it gets a Blue Door.

I'm envisioning a cute chair (maybe with a brightly colored pillow), a very large blue planter, and some kind of rug on this porch. And maybe something vertical to go with the tall ceiling? Ideas welcomed! 

And yes, the screen door handle is not yet put back. I swore when I removed it that I would remember how to put it back in. But then, I didn't. So oops.

Pictures!

This is called knock-down, and it's how our ceilings look now. Good-bye tobacco stained popcorn! John and his brother Paul scraped it all off - this was at least a month ago now - and then sprayed all the upstairs ceilings and "knocked" it down. It was a HUGE help to have Paul there! It's a big, messy job. They've both had years and years of experience doing ceilings and it looks SO so much better. 

Here's what it looked like after we (John actually, all by his lonesome) painted July 4th weekend. Our friend Troy, a painter by trade, loaned us a sprayer and gave all kinds of tips. He does houses with smoke damage a lot and recommended a shellac-based primer to seal out (in?) the smell. He said Kilz sometimes just doesn't cut it and while the Zinzer BIN shellac primer is 2x as expensive - we weren't taking any chances!

As you can see, he painted pretty much everything but the floors! Which will get their turn later next month. As I said in my last post, the difference is amazing. Happy sigh. =D

Here's what we worked on last weekend....

Putting cabinet doors back on

(Usually what the boys do is....Connor plays with neighbor kids outside until he or they have to come in. Joseph is Daddy's shadow but sometimes plays outside too. When they come in, they "work", or play with whatever toys they brought. Sometimes they color or watch a movie on the laptop or iPod).

Now for - THE DOOR! Drum roll please...

It took me one evening just to tape everything off for the screen door. And as you can see (but hopefully didn't notice right away) I didn't think to cover the porch floor at all... I'm SO happy with the color of spray paint I picked. I guess we'll have to deal with the floor later.

On Friday night (a week ago) John and I had our first real date in months. We ate at home alone and then went to Lowe's to price out tile. Here's what we'll be putting on the bathroom floors! After Lowe's we sipped cold drinks at the Barnes & Noble cafe while browsing books on home decor and renovation. =D

On Saturday (Day 2 of a looong stretch of hot and muggy to the max here in MN) I finished painting the front door...but ran out of blue paint with 3 of those squares to go. And by then I was ready to call it a day.

John and his youngest brother Philip got a lot done though. They got the bathroom completely torn apart, removed the vinyl floor, and put up tile backer around the tub! Thanks for the help Philip!