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...