2 Days...Goodbye home, hello construction site...

We have been so busy working, cleaning and packing and renovating we have yet to say goodbye to the home we have loved for the last 7 years. It is so weird to pack up so quickly and leave. I'm not sure the girls really understand exactly what is going on, except that there is definitely NO pool at the new house.

Soooo...appliances are coming Wednesday along with the moving truck, windows are due to be installed Friday and Saturday then next week the kitchen cabinets!

Overall the second and third floors are finished....the entry level, not so much...:(

Soon, very soon...

I'm hoping the foundation jackhammering comes to a halt before we move in but at the very least it should be done before we return from Disney ;)

Probably wont have a chance to post pics until after Thanksgiving.

Needless to say I am Thankful for my hubs who bought me the house of my dreams! And for our contractor Tony and his boys who have worked weekends, including SUNDAYS to get this all done for us, and Pat who has been working nights and weekends painting, plumbing etc., and Johnny for making the floors perfect, as usual.

More photos

4 DAYS.....Praying to the Renovation Gods.....

We get the moving truck Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. That is precisely 4 days from now...I am scared. Things are coming along fast and furious....As unreligious as I deem myself I am praying to any and all renovation Gods....

12 DAYS.....tick tick tick tick

"I just don't want the house to fall on me," was definitely what the kid sawing the concrete out of the foundation said when he didn't realize I was standing behind him. "Yes, let's try to avoid that," was my reply. The contractor handling the foundation repair assured him (and me) that was NOT going to happen and after a short conversation over whether the house was safe to move into in 12 days they got back to sawing concrete. And yes it's safe.

Lately I have definitely felt like I'm in a horrific episode of HGTV. Behind every thing that is removed another problem manifests. I'm specifically referring to the foundation although this could be applied to the master closet the master bath and what will be the playroom.

Overall it's coming together on schedule. Garage doors were installed, glass block windows in the garage were installed, kitchen is coming along very nicely and thanks a week of "indian Summer" they were able to begin painting the exterior.

Thanks to my husband who works all day and goes straight to the new house to work on things until after midnight everyday I think we will make our deadline!

There should be some good before and after picks at the end of this weekend!

18 DAYS TO GO!!!!!

Yes, that is correct. Only 18 days until "GO" time. I feel like I'm in an HGTV episode the 1/2 hour is almost up and the room renovation is nowhere near complete. Somehow though at the end of every episode the room is finished, looks amazing and there's a happy ending. I am actively denying any episode where this is NOT the case.

So where are we in the renovation? Well fortunately we did hire a contractor. He is working on the kitchen, the exterior paint etc., tearing off the second story deck and replacing it AND the newly found problem in the master bedroom closet floor.

The bedroom floor is being installed and the cork and walnut floors downstairs will follow!

Thanks to our AWESOME painter the upstairs rooms are almost done! Wren picked blue and Izzy, of course, chose pink.

Joe just couldn't resist removing yet another wall/closet but in the end it opens up a study and little nook with a built in bookcase to what will be a great playroom off the family room!

The windows have been ordered and will make a HUGE difference in the appearance and style of the house! Can't wait!

And new garage doors are being installed on Wednesday!!!!

Foundation work is coming along nicely...concrete was poured on Wednesday.

Possibly more "roomates" discovered as raccoon and squirrel feces came tumbling from the ceiling as we removed some trim...Pest control has been consulted....

The attic must have been the "smoke room" as we found a cup with 2 pipes in it while measuring a window with our contractor and window rep...what next?

Keep your fingers crossed. Volunteer opportunities available the day before Thanksgiving as we load up the truck and move to Laramie..trail that is.

DAY 31.....MISCALCULATIONS

Those of you following this may be wondering how we went from 45 days to 31 so quickly. Well unfortunately I didn't account for the fact that we actually have to move 7 days before we have to be out of our house :( Pressure, Pressure and more Pressure....We still have no general contractor hired, windows have yet to be ordered and in general the house looks like a bomb went off. And to top it all off the girls have a "mystery" skin allergy so they can't even be at the renovation at all now.

The other day a contractor we were interviewing told me I was putting pressure on him to have some (not all by any means) things done in said time period. I'M PUTTING PRESSURE ON HIM? We are the ones that have to move into said house in 31 days...THAT is pressure! So after a small teary breakdown (very small) I did what I should have done all along, called our previous contractor and put my brother on the payroll. Best decision EVER! In the last 2 days they managed to gut the kitchen, remove one wall entirely, and rid me of the old appliances! I even got to use a blow torch on some plumbing...thanks for the official "plumbers crack" shot Justin!

Scraping glued down padding off floors, sawing wood in the dumpster to squeeze in more (thanks Justin!). Downing energy drinks with my sister and painting until my hands were camped and swollen.

Joe gets back from Iceland tomorrow and I will be handing the rollers over to him! Hopefully we can pull this off in 31 days!

45 DAYS.....THANKS

A big THANKS to everyone who has been helping us!

Thanks to my friend Jamie for being a sounding board and listening to me vent everyday. Thanks for looking at the house and giving us your opinion on the wall removal and everything else I've been calling you about daily.

Thanks to my little sis "LuLu" because she has been staying at our house keeping the kids alive so we can run back and forth meeting contractors, window guys, order appliances, tear out the most disgusting carpet ever, and not have to haul the kids everywhere to do it.

Thanks to my pregnant, soon to be sister-in-law, Kristin for helping tear up vinyl floors, scrape cork off walls, remove tack strips, and pick out paint!!! And thanks to my little bro for helping with the demolition and securing the property ;)!

So if you want some free lunch or dinner and some free drinks you can volunteer your time at the new crib!

Things that are left to decide on: Windows, full replacement or inserts, and the master bath....Then its pretty much a waiting game...waiting for cabinets, waiting for the foundation to be finished, waiting for windows and waiting to paint....all intersecting about the same time we have to move in....sigh.

DAY 48...FANTASTIC FINDS

Dead birds and the skeletal remains of an entire mouse family (I counted at least 4 skulls) were just 2 of the wonderful surprises our wonderful new house had in store for us! That was in addition to the large amount of old raccoon feces that came out of the old ceiling hood vent which had been patched shut. With the help of my brother and his girlfriend we continued the kitchen demo, removed most of the cabinets and managed to tear up the vinyl floor in the laundry room and pantry. We also made good progress on the cork wall in one of the bedrooms!

The kitchen cabinets have also been ordered! Beautiful cherry cabinets followed by a new quartz countertop should be arriving in about 6 weeks!

50 DAYS... Back Room Deals

Interesting things manifested in the back room at at our local flooring warehouse over the weekend....

Joe and I really try to be eco-friendly in our remodeling choices. Sustainable, renewable choices are top on our list. On a trip to our local flooring "liquidators" we were minding our own business picking out our new cork and bamboo floors when we were approached by a very entertaining salesman. After being asked if we were "married" to the bamboo and cork we were taken to the back room to look at a small, returned selection of (stunning) Brazilian walnut floors. Gasp, did he say "Brazilian?" as in Brazilian rainforest Brazilian? The answer was obvious..."NO WAY!" What small primate had been clinging to that tree before it was slaughtered?

Now comes the back room deal of it all. The floor had in fact been returned and was sitting buried in a pile of other returned flooring (including some Brazilian Cherry) collecting dust. It had been sitting in the warehouse for over a year. It had been a part of 2 "tent sales" one in which it was rained on, and NO ONE wanted to take a chance with it because it was "AS IS," no warranty etc. Joe and I are very familiar with the "AS IS" formality because in fact our money pit was sold to us "AS IS." The price was slashed on the floor and Joe brought it home last night. We opened the boxes expecting the worst only to discover perfectly beautiful flooring that will soon be in our laundry room/rear entry and the hallway, study and reading nook. The guilt is beginning to subside as I think about the longevity of this floor and how less resources will be used in the long run because we will NEVER have to replace it.

Before pics of rooms that will showcase this floor follow.

DAY 52...Progress

After only one week we are making significant progress. Today I ordered most of the appliances!!!!YAY!!!!They won't be delivered until the end of the month but that is good! Everything is coming from Sears! Thank you Christopher Columbus for a Samsung and Kenmore weekend Sale!

Also thank you to to my wonderful husband for trusting my research and judgement and allowing me solo appliance purchasing power!!!

On the way to Sears finalized the garage doors color and style...arriving in 3-5 weeks!

Met with an AWESOME contractor earlier this week! What a great experience (Thank you Susan)....Hopefully we can get him on board ASAP!!!!

Floors will be decided on this weekend....wood for kitchen, cork or bamboo for living room/study etc./ cork for master bedroom.....hmmmm?

More kitchen and dining room demo to come.....Thanks to my brother for much needed help!

Our own private landscaper....Heard things are looking good thanks to Rand for landscaping!

Coming together. And of course, pics to come!

Gathering a laundry list of EXCELLENT foundation, plumber, electrician, landscaper, floor guy, etc....if anyone is in need of any of these services I would be glad to refer!!!!

DAY 56..Estimates...estimates...and more estimates....

Today we got a good sense of how miscalculated we were based on our inexperience. Everything we need done "right now" is going to take upwards of 4-8 weeks :( Windows, cabinets, painting...wow...60 days is the understatement of the year. So sit back and hope for some magic...we are!

On the upside, 1 of the 4 bathrooms is sparkling clean! And the Entry planter is pretty well ready for some greenery!

If nothing else we'll have a really nice fridge and oven and nothing else!

DAY 57

WE spent the morning at the Dr., Wren has strep throat, and the afternoon at the house meeting with the structural Engineer and the Foundation guys. WOW!

$$$ = :(

Well at least when it's all done the back yard will have several retaining walls and a great play space, although much smaller than what we are used to, for kids and dogs to enjoy!

The evening was spent in appliance heaven! Not even coming home to Izzy having vomited all over my bed could rain on my appliance parade.

DAY 58 "Demolition Joe"

Today we actually got to remove some things and discovered some AMAZING wallpaper beghind the cabinets. Joe got a good amount of cabinets, crown molding, and even part of a wall out! Good work honey!

Kids area is secure and entertaining so we actually accomplished something YAY!

DAY 59

Saturday was the first day we actually spent much time at the house and it was short lived. While we tried to come up with a plan for removing the cabinets Izzy hit her head on a counter top corner and received a small puncture. Aside from the initial screams "Mommy, I got blood," she was/is fine. It did however result in an abort mission and a new strategy for keeping kids occupied and safe (TV, VCR, and TOYS) while we continue to do the work that we can do ourselves.

Note to self....Finish lower level family room ASAP and bullnose all counters!

Our New Crib!

"We knew it was the money pit when....."

We could be sitting around a fireplace (yes that actually works and burns real logs) very soon (56 days to be exact) going back and forth finishing that sentence. OR we could be tallying up the phrases used to describe the house we now own ("it has a lot potential"), ("you're keeping THAT!). However, I sincerely feel we will be sitting around a fireplace (one of 2) surrounded by the aroma of pine scented candles and stockings hanging from the wooden slab mantel breathing a sigh of relief ( while sipping a glass of pinot) and saying "Wow, we LOVE our house."

So first and foremost before we start this journey ( 56 days to be exact) of renovations and before we evacuate the home we have loved for the last 7 years and our girls have loved. The home I heard my first barred owl in, mowed my first lawn in and laid my first tile in. I want to say thank you, to my husband. Who has supported my craziness and annoying personality traits, my breakdowns and meltdowns, (please don't start a pool for how many could occur over the next 56 days), and ultimately bought me the house I wanted even though he was sleep deprived and overworked and may not have done so otherwise ;)

Joe, I hope you are reading this because I just choked on pride and I may never say that to your face.

SO.......enough of the sap....I love you Joe! AND I LOVE OUR MONEY PIT!!!!

We hope our friends and family enjoy watching us make this happen!

and.....we hope our girls appreciate this some day!

-Rhea and Joe