Boys and Their Toys

Wow, it's really been almost two months since I updated my blog.  Shame on me!  Whatever could I have been doing that I didn't have time to blog?  Ha ha.

Let's see...where to begin?  Most of the work on the inside of the house is done.  We still have a bit of tile work and some touch up painting to do.  I think we (mostly me) got burnt out on house stuff.  So, the painting is still going to wait a little while.  I'm calling it a "Winter Project".  The tile is waiting until our tile guy is free.  It's great on one hand, he gives us a discount by working around his other job.  However, since his other job is super busy, we wait.  Which is okay.  I definitely like having a bit of reserve building up in our savings account again. 

One of the inside projects we just finished was installing the stained glass above the water closet door in the master bathroom.  When they framed the door, they didn't go all the way to the ceiling for some reason.  We had them leave it, and decided to figure out something cool to put there.  This is our solution.

I think it turned out pretty cool!

This weekend, Mark and his friend Mark, (Ha!) brought over the tractor and dump truck from "the other Mark's" house.  We've had this huge dirt pile out in our front yard since excavation took place. 

We weren't sure where we were going to put it, but finally decided to put it out on the weed patch, um, I mean back yard.  Well, the back yard where there is no grass, only weeds and the barn and chicken coop.  We are really, really good at growing monster weeds!

My husband definitely looks at home on a tractor, doesn't he?

Hopefully, this project will get done soon.  I think they only two that are enjoying it are Mark, and our dog Macie.

We hosted our first real dinner party last night.  It was so much easier having more room.  We are also hosting Thanksgiving this year.  Yikes!  It's no secret that I am not a huge fan of cooking, so to take on a whole Thanksgiving dinner seems a bit crazy.  But, hopefully, I'm up to the challenge.

And now, it's time to go drag my darling husband off of his tractor.  I hope he doesn't throw a tantrum...

Stainless Steel...

Okay, as of this weekend, all of my appliances are in!

I've used the oven once, and the cook top once.  The microwave is getting a great workout.  The poor dishwasher never contains anything but coffee cups.  But, they are in AND functional.  Aaahhhhh...

I'm actually excited to start cooking again.  Seriously, who woulda thunk it?  Now, I just need to unearth the boxes with pots, pans, and silverware.  Oh, and Mark is working on installing cabinet doors, so I should maybe wait until that is done before I start putting things IN the cabinets.  Or not.

Loving the huge master shower and tub.  Probably would love them even more if someone else was cleaning them.  I did discover the best way to clean my shower floor is to use a mop.  Again, bigger is better...only if you're not the one cleaning.

**Just a note since I started this post 3 days ago...I actually cooked real dinner last night.  Yes, it was just tacos, but that was Syd's request.  Tonight, I get creative!

Dirt, dust, and debris...

OK, so today, I discovered where my mess tolerance level lies. 

I honestly could not stand one more minute of our bathroom being a disaster area.  We still had all the craft paper covering the floor, which in turn had a layer of dirt, dust and other debris covering it.  There was grime covering every surface.  I understand that a house under construction will not be operating room clean, but this was ridiculous.

On a side note, I think both of my parents will find this post humorous as my tolerance level for messiness was much, much higher when I was growing up.  ;-)

As soon as the girls walked out the door for school, I armed myself with just about every cleaning product known to man.  I was a one-woman army of clean.  The first thing to go was the dang craft paper.  Of course, every time I pulled up a piece, it left behind a strip of masking tape.  This only added fuel to the fire of me wanting to conquer the crud.  I spent a good 15 minutes removing all the small strips of tape off the floor.  And the dust that accumulated from just removing the paper was awful.  Every surface needed to be scrubbed starting at the ceiling and working down. 

So, while the bathroom still isn't in pristine condition...I can actually walk in there without fear of my head exploding.  It took me a good hour, but I think I won....

Here are a couple pictures of my progress.  Obviously, there is still A LOT of work to be done, but at least it's a start.

This is actually going to be our linen cabinet.
Huge bathroom, nowhere to store towels.
Classic.

The shower. 
Tile turned out great, thanks to Curtis!



Still need to hang the mirrors,
as well as finish (or start and finish) the back splash.



Hooray for granite day!

Ah, yes. Today, my granite is being installed. Gone are the days of my new appliances sitting in the living room. Gone are the days of unpacked boxes of kitchen stuff.

I'm actually in Portland typing this. I can't believe I was able to give up control and NOT be there for installation. Honestly, it's killing me. But, I'm sure it will be a fabulous surprise when I walk in the house tonight. Do I think the appliances and boxes will magically be removed from the living room? Well, no. But I can guarantee they will be gone by the end of the week! I will definitely make sure of it!

The master shower is finished and the rest of the tile in there should be done by Wednesday. Syd's granite is also being installed today along with her sink. So, by end of week, we will have all four baths done. Finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Bring It...

Okay, so last post I was in the midst of a temper tantrum.  Got over that.  Things were bumping along as smoothly as possible.  Until last night...

Mark went in to take a shower before bed, and we had no hot water.  Mind you, we've all been using the one functional shower in the house.  Yep, one.  So, if we have no hot water in that part of the house, that means the old water heater isn't functioning.  The new water heater for the addition is probably working fine...we just don't have a shower ready there yet.  Awesome.

I love my new bathtub.  But only in as much as I like to soak.  Not my ideal for actually getting clean.  But this morning, the whole family had to take a bath instead of a shower.  When the girls complained, I mentioned that they could take a shower, it would just be a cold one.  They decided that a bath was just fine.  I actually made them wash their hair in the utility sink since long hair being washed in the bath never seems to get especially clean.

So now, I'm waiting on the plumber to come check it out.  Hopefully, it's an easy fix.  I'd rather not buy another new water heater!

But, I didn't burst into tears.  I didn't stomp my feet.  Truly, the first thing I thought was "Bring it on".  Maybe I'm finally growing up.  ;-)

It's time to put on your big girl panties and deal with it...

Have you ever seen a grown-up throw a temper tantrum? Stick around.

I got a call this afternoon from the granite place.  You know, the place that is coming Friday to install my granite?  Yeah, apparently, they're not coming.  They discovered a crack in the slab today.  So, I asked calmly when they thought they might be able to remedy the problem.  They informed me that our new installation date would be September 12th.  ANOTHER 10 DAYS!  Not another 10 days from now...another 10 days from the original installation date.

No, no, no, no, no!  Please, please make it stop.  I'm so tired of eating at restaurants!  (Seriously, I NEVER thought I would utter those words.)

Honestly, I just wanted to cry.  I realistically know there is nothing I can do about it.  Perhaps that's why it's so frustrating.  I mean, I have been accused of being a control freak before, but I didn't think anyone was serious.  ;-)

It's a tenament on Wheels...

Well, we've had our first house guests.  Cousin Eddie and his family, (Oh wait...it's my dad and step-mom ) drove over in their new motor home to visit us.

You can see it fits nicely in the spot previously occupied by our dumpster...

Not much progress on the house since my last post.  Tile should be done in the shower this weekend.  It will be nice to have that job completed!  I think that would give us our only fully functional bathroom.

The girls started school yesterday.  I'm so thankful to be close to school.  Especially since we woke up late and had to rush to get ready.  We were able to get all morning tasks completed, and still walk to school...all in 39 minutes. 

Honestly, the walk to school in the morning has been so great.  Obviously, the novelty may wear off as we've only done it twice, but the weather has been amazing that time of morning.  We get to chat on the way to school, and the girls even let me hug them goodbye when I leave them at the crosswalk.  ;-)

Still counting down the days until the granite comes.  Life will be much simpler when we have an actual kitchen to cook in.

For now, we just have to relax and enjoy the journey.  We'll just call it an adventure...

We ain't first class, but we ain't white trash...

Hallelujah!  The 20 foot dumpster is gone from in front of my house.  I can't tell you how tired I was of seeing that monstrosity every time I pulled into the driveway.

We also now have a hooked up washer and dryer.  I can finally catch up on some of this laundry that's been piling up for the last week.

Oh, and we're up to 4 toilets, two showers, and 3 bathroom sinks.  We even have a couple bathrooms that have a sink AND a toilet functioning.  Oh yeah, baby.  ;-)

We still don't have a kitchen, but like I said, that should be completed around the 2nd of September.  We're still eating most of our meals at restaurants. 

Our beds are actually set up, we only had one night of sleeping on mattresses on the floor.  Here's a shot of our first night here...

I had Syd sleep in Peyton's room since we didn't have the blinds installed yet and
her room is on the front of the house.

So far, I think most people that hear how we're living think we're insane.  I might have to agree with them.  It's certainly not ideal, but it's been working out okay.  Although, I'm not sure it's any different than someone living in the midst of a home remodel.  I'm just telling myself it's kind of like camping...except with indoor plumbing.

Oh, and thanks to Sawyer Brown for the title inspiration.  If you don't know the song, the next line is fairly fitting as well...

I ain't first class, but I ain't white trash.
I'm wild and a little crazy too...

Hoarders???

Nope, it just looks that way.

The view from my front door. 
Wouldn't you love to come home to this?

We officially moved in to the new place. Is it done, you ask? Oh, heavens no. We have no kitchen. The granite is scheduled to be installed September 2nd. Seriously. So, while I could use the stove, it's not hooked up.  I have no dishwasher. And while I could obviously live without the dishwasher, we don't have a sink either. I do have a utility sink, but I'm not sure I really want to wash a meals worth of dishes there.

We have a toilet, a sink, and a shower.  But not all three functional in any one bathroom.  It's a bit comical to see us trying to get ready to go anywhere!  And don't even get me started on the coffee situation. 

But, we will make it work. We can be tough...I think.

Today's post brought to you by the letter "F"...

and the makers of Advil and Prozac. ;-)




This might just be the expression of a crazy person...


Last night, my brothers-in-law Scott and Chris, and nephews Brandon and Tilson worked with Mark to get started on the cabinet build and installation.  Chris and Tilson assembled all the kitchen cabinets, while Mark and Scott worked on Syd's bathroom.  This is pretty much where the letter "F" comes into play.  Here are a few of the Tverdy boys hard at work...

And while the Tverdy boys were working, the Tverdy girls were here...

Yes, this is a couch in my driveway...

At some point, someone thought to ask "Where is Sydney?".  Well, we found her, in my closet...

She had been to a sleepover the night before.
I'm pretty sure she was sleeping for about 3 hours
before we realized we should probably wake her
 or she'd NEVER get to sleep that night.

We did take a break and go to dinner.  But by the time we finished working for the night, we were all exhausted!

Today was an equally busy, busy day.  I really want to thank my sisters-in-law Julie and Teresa, and my niece Donna for all of their help packing.  They worked like crazy and got the majority of our kitchen, garage, and bathrooms packed and loaded into the trailer.

Just a small portion of the boxes they packed today.

I'm sure it will only take me a day or two to sort out where everything is.  I am also pretty sure the "B" box will be my favorite...booze, binoculars, bulbs (as in light bulbs), and a bible.  Yes, these items were all in the same cabinet.  Weird.  Best quote of the day "All we needed was some bullets, and we'd have ourselves a crime scene". ;-)  Honestly girls, I'm so thankful for your help!

While the girls and I packed, the boys (minus Brandon who got stuck here helping the ladies) finished assembling the cabinets and installing them.  The doors all still need to be attached, but I can finally see how the kitchen will look.  It's so much nicer for me than trying to envision the final product from a piece of paper.

The guys also hauled the new appliances over.  I love them so much!  The only issue came when it was time to move the ginormous fridge in.  We ended up having to take the front door off the hinges, but in the end it fit...barely.

One last thing to mention...
If you come to my new house, you no longer have to worry about being the first one to scratch my pristine hardwood floor.  Somehow, I discovered the first scratch.  I can rest easy now...the suspense would have killed me for sure.  Here is the picture of the hardwood...I dare you to try and find the scratch. ;-)

1 week and counting...

Today, the carpets were finished, the front door installed and all but two light fixtures are in.  It's starting to look like a real house.  Oh, and we're up to two functioning toilets now.  Yeah, baby.  Frankly, I'd be happy with two, but no, we're going to have 4 bathrooms to clean.  What was I thinking?

We're going to try and get some things moved this weekend.  I've scheduled movers to come do the heavy lifting next Wednesday.  We have to be out Wednesday so they can do the final walk-through that evening.  We close Thursday.  Oh, dear Lord...

The rest of the trim should be done this weekend.  The doors should be hung.  Doorknobs installed.  Tile finished.  Hopefully cabinets installed, as well as vanities.

I did order the granite for the kitchen today.  I also picked out a remnant for Syd's bathroom.  Unfortunately, it takes about two to three weeks for the process to be finished.  Which brings me back to things I still need to buy.  Faucets.  Ugh! 

I purchased mirrors for the bathrooms today.  As well as some miscellaneous things I tend to forget about.  You know, like a shower rod, and shower curtain.  Those would probably be helpful.  The master shower is a walk in, but in the event that the tile isn't done, we're going to need to use the main bath which requires a shower rod and curtain.

Every time I go to the store, I think "Wow, this is the last thing on my list that I really, really need."  Then something else comes up!  Just realized today that I need to add blinds to my list.  I'm sure the people in the nursing home would love to catch a glimpse of us.  On second thought, maybe blinds can wait.  I'm guessing the people in the nursing home can't see that well anyway.

It seems as this blog progresses, it gets a little crazier with each successive post.  Obviously, it's following my mental state.  I'm getting a little crazier with each passing day.  I go from super excited, to super stressed out in a matter of seconds.  So, if you've made it this far without your head exploding, congrats!

"We Have A Real Flushing Toilet, Mom!"

This was the message I received on my phone the other day.  As I was in Vancouver attending a funeral, Syd called and left me a voicemail.  Now, I know toilets are not super exciting to most folks, but when you've had a stupid porta-potty out in front of your house for a month or two, you'd be pretty excited about indoor plumbing too!  Now, we just need to get rid of said porta-potty AND the 20 yard dumpster that is currently sitting in our driveway.  We're totally classing up the neighborhood, dontcha think?

I arrived home today and we drove directly to the new house.  The guys were in the midst of installing the hardwood.  I must say, I love these guys!  Not only do they work cheap (beer and perhaps pizza) they are doing a great job.  Here are a couple pictures of the hardwood...



Before...

Part-way through after...













Even my dad, who came for Sydney's birthday, got in on the action.  It's now 10:30 pm and they aren't home yet.  I'm sure they are going to be exhausted.

Curtis had a bit of a set back on tiling the shower while I was gone.  Something to do with the drain.  I trust him to handle it.  Honestly, I really don't even know exactly what the problem was.  He explained it, but I'm running on 8 hours of sleep in the last two days, so I may have checked out a tiny bit during the conversation.  And really, he will make it right.

We got both girls rooms mostly painted before I had to leave.  I will admit that I had super big control freak issues leaving Mark to finish the bit of edging in Peyton's room.  I'm sure it's fine.  I actually didn't even look at it while I was there.

Speaking of toilets, we're waiting for the other three to be installed.  Along with the master vanity, and a couple other things, the toilets are hanging out in the master bedroom.  Again, super classy.

Sydney asked if she could take some pictures while we were painting.  I had to laugh at the things she chose to photograph. 

My jeans after day two of kid rooms.
I said I was a good painter, not a clean one.
The walls however look fabulous...

Her sister being goofy...

The paint pan...

Herself, of course.
Kind of a creepy one...

Daddy making sure Mommy won't kill him.
Very, very careful...

And me with the
"I need to get this done
in the next 15 minutes so I can get home, shower, pack
and catch my flight in two hours...
take the freakin' picture already!"
face...

Apparently, the hardwood will be done tonight.  Then we tackle cabinets.  That will be a huge project.  I wonder if our floor and tile guys need a beer incentive to come back?  I'd even buy the good stuff!

2 1/2 Weeks?!?!?

Okay, the freaking out has officially begun.  It dawned on me yesterday that we must be totally out of this house in 2 1/2 weeks.  Why did August 18th seem so far away when we accepted the offer?  Yikes.

So, not only do we have to pack this house, we have to finish the new house.  Right now, we're waiting for the hardwood to de-humidify.  As soon as this happens, we can start laying it.  Hopefully, that will just take a couple days. 

Today, my job is to finish unpacking the boxes of wood, in hopes that being totally exposed will help the process.  I also need to finish all the touch-up painting.  I'm pretty sure this will take all day.  If I have any time left over, I need to try to get the girls rooms painted as well.

To add a level of difficulty, I have to head to Vancouver for a funeral on Thursday.  I'll get home Saturday morning.  I wouldn't dream of missing the funeral, it just adds another layer, you know?  We also have to find time to celebrate Sydney's 10th birthday somewhere in there.  She turns 10 tomorrow.  And here I thought the next 2 1/2 weeks will go quickly...what about the last 10 years?  Whew!  Can't dwell on that though, or I'll be in tears.  She is, after all, my baby!

So, after the wood is installed, we can start on the cabinets.  Once the cabinets are installed, we can have them come measure for the granite.  We also need to install the vanities, buy toilets, install the doorknobs and the doors, stain the front door, finish the trim, get the carpet installed, and it seems like there are about 10 new things to do every time I turn around.  I'm guessing we will be moving in without counter tops.  Which means no kitchen sink.  That should be super fun, huh?

We've already told the girls that the next couple weeks are going to be days of super late bedtimes, and little adult supervision.  I think they were slightly excited.  Wish I could be equally so...

SOLD!

Yes, we sold our home.  Oh my gosh!  The emotional roller coaster has just begun though.  I have such mixed emotions about the whole thing.  We love our house.  But, we also really love the new one.  I keep thinking back to all the girls "First day of school" photos that have been taken in front of the front door.  We started this tradition in Preschool!  I love going back and looking at how they've grown and changed from year to year.  Now, intellectually, I know that I can just as easily take a picture in front of the new house.  However, it's just one of those emotional moments.  It also seems weird that we won't have another Christmas in our current house.  I will even admit that I burst into tears when we got the offer.

We've lived here since Peyton was 11 months old.  Each of their birthdays have been celebrated here.  It's the only house either of the girls have ever known.  There are so many good memories here! 
The girls are seemingly unaffected by these things so far.  I do expect Sydney to have the hardest time with the transition because she takes after her mama in a lot of aspects.  (Read is "a bit resistant to change" or a "control freak") ;-)

Having said all that, we are truly thankful that the sale has worked out the way it has.  We honestly couldn't have planned the whole thing better if we tried.  (Not that we had any control over any of it, of course!)  The couple that is buying our home is from California.  They're paying cash, who does that?!  They do want the fridge (even though we explained the ice maker doesn't work) and they asked for the porch swing.  I had to say no on the swing as my dad built it for Mark and I as a wedding gift.  I think they understand.  My dad did say to give the darn thing to them if it would be a deal breaker.  Ha!

It appears as if our closing date is August 18th.  As long as the inspection is clean.  We should be done with the new house the week before that.  So, we have a little bit of time to make the move.  The girls go back to school August 24th, and that was my "hopeful" date of us being in the new house.  I think we're sneaking in under the wire with a tiny bit of breathing room.

How many engineers does it take to pick out and purchase tile?

Well, if you were with me today, it took 4.  Plus the non-engineer (me) to remind them that the shower is 4 feet by 6 feet, NOT 4 feet by 5 feet.

Yes, I survived a couple hours with four engineers.  They were actually quite funny, and super helpful. 

You may be wondering why an engineering team was needed to pick out and purchase tile.  Well, one was my husband.  The second was the one who has graciously agreed to install the tile for our shower.  The other two just came along for the ride.  And to have lunch.  :-)  Truthfully, the tile was already picked out.  Mark hadn't seen it, not that his opinion would have changed my mind, of course.  And Curtis needed to see what he'd be working with.  Plus, he'd done all the measuring to ensure we ordered the correct amount.

It looks as if we will actually be starting painting this weekend.  We decided to wait until all the doors and most of the trim were hung.  There is still much debate on what the ideal way to go about the actual painting is.  I think we're going to do trim, doors and ceilings first.  Then walls.  But that's today's idea.  Tomorrow's could be much different.

The hardwood was delivered Monday.  It's soooo pretty!  I can't wait to see it actually installed.  Installation however, cannot start until painting is done.  Bummer.  Oh, and 1500 square feet of hardwood takes up a lot of room...



stack #1

stack #2



The actual wood

The wood is actually random length.  I had a bit of a freak out when I opened the box and saw two identical sized boards.  I think it should go really well with the dark cabinets we picked out.

I may have mentioned that we had an error with the framers.  The door of our "water closet" (I just learned this term...it's the little room where the toilet goes) was not framed in correctly for some reason.  We never really noticed until the doors were being hung.  Oops.  So, we decided to build a box above the door which will have a piece of glass.  It's essentially a really high window.  ;-)  I think it actually will be pretty cool.  We're trying to decide if we want to do some sort of cool stained glass or just a clear window type.  So many decisions!!!

The paint lady at Home Depot hates me...

But, really, it's not my fault!  I swear!

Went in today to buy paint.  Picked out what "sheen" I wanted, and took it to the lady.  (Insert Charlie Sheen joke of your choice here...)  When she went to get it off the shelf, she realized that they don't carry eggshell in 5 gallon buckets in medium base anymore. 

So, after her trying to talk me into a different sheen, I decided to stick with what I wanted.  This resulted in her having to mix 20 single gallons of paint.  See, it's not my fault.  If Home Depot would carry what most people request in paint, she wouldn't have had to do all that extra work!  I also had to pay the individual gallon price, so she got her revenge.  I picked up 15 gallons of trim paint for the doors, trim, and ceilings as well.  Have I mentioned that I spend a lot of freakin' money at Home Depot these days?

We've had a bit of a slow week as far as working on the house.  We had hoped to start painting this weekend, but have decided to wait until the doors and most of the trim are up.  I have a picture of the rough idea.

We've done a lot of cleaning up after all the dust created.  This was Peyton's take on "Please go vacuum your room"...

Yes, she used the vacuum to write her name.
Then went out to play.
Awesome.

Mark got a little more into his work.  The white you see on his pants is actually dust.  Well, mostly dust with a bit of primer.

Speaking of primer...

That was super fun to try to get off.  Oil based primer is definitely NOT like latex paint in the ease of removal.

But, speaking of super fun,  Nathan and Danette came over for dinner on Sunday.  Actually, they brought us dinner at the new house.  They assured us that the lack of table, chairs, and restroom were not a problem.  Dinner was great, and we so appreciated getting to take a break from working to hang out with them and eat their yummy food.

You may be able to guess that Makenna, Peyton and Sydney appreciated the vast amount of dirt they could use to make a mess. 

Thankfully, Nathan and Danette also assured us they wouldn't hold it against us.  However, their upholstery may never be the same.

Under budget? Yeah, baby...

We've had a tense couple of days communicating with our banker.  Somehow, the way the draws were set up, it looked like we were going to be about $21,000 OVER budget.  Mark and I have been very diligent in calculating our costs and estimates.  We knew something had to be screwy.  So, we sat down with our builder and realized that many things that were listed as line items on our side were being duplicated on his side.  We haven't turned any billings in that over-lapped that way, it's just mainly the amount we need for completion.

So, after all our craziness, it looks as if we may actually be $5000 under budget or more.  That is with the additions of the roof and HVAC.  How you ask?  Sweat equity.  And a lot of it!

Paying a sub-contractor to paint the interior of our house was going to run about $5,000.  We are doing this ourselves.  I think with paint, primer and supplies purchased, we're saving a little more than $3500.  We also decided to forgo a few of the additions we had planned.  Our siding on the existing house will wait a year or so before it's replaced.  (This will drive my control freak self nuts of course)  We had intentionally over-estimated some of our unknown costs as well.  Our flooring will be considerably less expensive than we budgeted for.  As was lighting, and some of our bathrooms items.  We opted to not re-tile Peyton's shower...she can live with beige forever, as far as I'm concerned.  The tile is in excellent shape, it just may not be the prettiest.  :-)  And, she's 12.  And will have her own bathroom.  It's ridiculous, really.

As for progression of work, we finished our priming on Saturday.  They came today to texture.  It needs to dry for 24 hours or so, but I think we will wait until Thursday night to spray the ceiling.  After ceilings, we spray walls.  Many of the interior doors are being installed.  Although, any that will be over hardwood will have to wait...until we actually have hardwood.  After paint, we will install flooring.  We are actually installing the wood floor ourselves.  Mark works with a couple guys who used to do it for a living.  I'm not worried.  Much.

After flooring, we do cabinets, the remaining doors, toilets, light fixtures, tile for the shower, etc.  Not necessarily in that order, of course.  I got a call today that my custom-made back door is ready.  Yay!  I can't wait to see how it came out.

No pictures to share today.  Well, maybe one of me cruisin' on my new ride.
You know, since I have so much free time and all...

Home Sweet Home...almost.

We are currently in the midst of primering. (Or perhaps priming?)  Unfortunately, this results in a huge mess.  Below, you'll see exhibit A...

My hand after day 1.

And, exhibit B...

Child Labor Laws obviously don't apply at the Tverdy house...

I've been able to cover most of the walls in two days.  Mark went over tonight after work and worked on covering the ceilings.  Most definitely a "boy job".  I still have to go around the edges, but hopefully, we can finish up by tomorrow. 

We decided that since we had to primer the new drywall, we should primer the existing house as well.  Our reason?  Well, let's just say when we bought the house it had a bit of a "funk".  We are covering walls, ceilings and any sub-floor we didn't pull up with Kilz.  Now, if you have never used Kilz, let me warn you.  When they say you should use a ventilator mask, they aren't kidding.  However, we did not opt for the ventilator route.  Since it is an oil based primer, it also does not clean up as easily as latex paint.  I've taken 3 showers, and still can't get most of it off.  My skin is not very happy with the scrubbing for sure.

On the new addition, we didn't have to use Kilz, so the photos of the girls helping is the okay to breathe stuff.  I actually didn't even let them come over while I was using Kilz.  They did an okay job for their first time painting.  They may have a way to go before I can hire them out though...

Another exciting thing happened today.  They created space for our new door to the patio and poured our step.  I decided to drive our contractor crazy and write in his pristine concrete.  I warned him ahead of time, and so they were nice enough to leave a little space for me.

This is the before picture of where the door is going:

And here is the "almost" after...

You may notice that the wall to the right is gone. 
That's one of my favorite changes.
It makes the whole space seem so much bigger!

We really are getting closer.  I don't know that either of us can see the finish line, but we are moving at a pretty rapid pace.  After we prime, we move on to door installation, painting, flooring, trim, cabinets, light fixtures, tile and I think the last piece of the puzzle is the granite counter-tops.  I'm really hoping we can move in around the first or second week of August.  I'd like to be mostly settled before the girls go back to school August 23rd.

This obviously isn't my wittiest, or most exciting blog post, but I'm just plain exhausted.  So, look at the pretty pictures, and pretend you've been entertained.  :-)

GGville

While Mark and I are home toiling away on the house, the girls are happily ensconced in GGville.  (For those of you not familiar with this, it stands for Gramma and Grampa ville.)  We've discovered that GGville is a lot like Disneyland, only with less rules...
GGville has things not seen in the normal world.  Like breakfast dessert.  There are no chores required, and things like teeth and hair brushing, and showers are not required.  I'm not even sure if they are suggested.  But, really, what are grandparents for if not to spoil your children and then send them home, right?

Life is rough...

Since the girls were gone,  Mark and I took a trip to IKEA in Salt Lake to outfit Syd's bathroom (also the main/guest bath) with a vanity.  Unfortunately, I should never enter IKEA.  We came home with a pick-up load of stuff.  We bought light fixtures, towel racks, toilet paper holders, and a myriad of other things that we just had to have.  And when I say "we" this is not a figurative "we".  Mark was just as bad as I was!

One of our projects upon returning home was finding a place for the tv in the family room.  I think what we came up with will look pretty cool.

This is a picture of the fireplace in the family room before...

That area now looks like this...

The tv will go above that box.  The box is actually a built in for the DVR etc.  You can't really tell from this picture, but the wall is actually built out a bit...a little architectural flair, if you will.  I think once it's painted it will be pretty cool.  We opted to take out the fireplace since it was one of two wood burning fireplaces in the house.  We really would never have used this one.  The one in the living room will stay however.

As for the rest of the house, the drywallers are done, as is the roofer.  The tape/mud guys were there for part of today and will be back tomorrow.  Once they are done, I take over.  I've got to prime and paint the entire house.  Seriously. 

We will prime the entire house using one type of primer for the existing, and one type for the new drywall.  Why?  Really, it all comes down to money.  We are using Kilz on the existing house to cover any gross smells, and or stains (I haven't seen any, but I'm not taking my chances.  Yes, I DO have issues...).  The Kilz is way more expensive than the primer we are using for the new drywall. 

After I/we prime, they will come back and texture.  Once the texture is done, I can put on the first coat of paint.  We still have floors to put down, as well as all the new doors, mouldings, cabinets, backsplashes, tile in the shower, another coat of paint, etc, etc, etc.  Some of the remaining work will be done by us.  The rest we will hire out.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it. 

The past couple days, Mark has been home.  We've gone over around 7am and not been home until 9pm at the earliest.  He goes back to work tomorrow, so since the kids are gone, we'll head over when he gets off work.  We both were excited to get done by 5 today, and couldn't wait to come home and sit on the couch.  Just about the time we started talking about it, we got a call that someone wanted to show our current house.  So, we headed to our home away from home...Home Depot.  The employees there are starting to recognize us.  I don't think that's a good sign...

The drywall truck

Our bedroom with drywall. 
The blue area is the entrance to the master bath.

That's how we roll...

Throughout this process, we've come to realize we have some pretty great friends.  Not only are our friends great, they've also got some really cool stuff we can borrow.  Between nail-guns, screw-guns, pry bars, miscellaneous power tools, and the dump truck, we've hardly had to buy anything.  Oh, and yes, I said dump truck.  Don't any of your friends own a dump truck?

This truck has been instrumental in our latest project, removing the shingles.  We've decided that we are in fact replacing the roof on the existing part of the house.  There were a couple leaks that needed fixing and since we had planned to replace it next summer anyway, we figured we should just do it now.  After all, it's only money, right?  However, since our budget has already taken a hit in the form of HVAC and a water heater for the addition, we decided we'd be wise to save the money it would cost to have the roofers remove the existing shingles and do it ourselves.  Honestly, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Mark's brother Chris, nephew Tilson, Mark and I are the crew.  My brother-in-law saw an article somewhere that said it should take a 4 man crew about a day and a half to remove the shingles from a 1700 sq. ft. house.  Well, since we have a crew of 3, 3 1/2 if you count me, and our square footage is more than 1700 sq. ft., it's taken the better part of 2 days to get about 2/3 done.  Add in that we have not one, but two layers of shingles, and I think we're doing quite well.  Unfortunately, Mark and I will have to finish the rest tomorrow without Chris and Tilson.

Day 1, I seemed to be considered pretty helpful.  By day 2, my job was not nearly as glamorous, as you can clearly see.

The girls quite enjoyed being able to get on the roof whenever they wanted.  Even Syd, who is afraid of heights.  Her first couple times up and down the ladder were quite traumatic for all involved though.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated.  It wasn't too hot, we had a slight breeze and so far, no rain.  Lots of water was consumed, and a whole lot of sunscreen applied.  Since all 6 of us have red hair, and only Sydney and I tan, it could have been quite disastrous.

A new twist on family meal time...

Below is a snapshot into one night of the Tverdy family's new existence.

This is what happens to family dinners when you're knee deep in a home remodel...

The sub floor seems to be coming along nicely...

The room that still needs sub floor...

The super fun circular saw with laser...

The fireplace that is no more...

The Bossman...

The Bossman's Boss...doing the grunt work...

These photos are courtesy of Sydney, our 9 year old, and resident photographer.  Without her, I'm pretty sure there would never be any proof that I actually contributed to this project!