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.