We've been in our new house now for 3 full days now, today will be the 4th. It feels a bit like a piece of heaven on earth here. We are loving it!
Its been slightly....who am I kidding, its been extremely chaotic.... having boxes everywhere, and not knowing where anything is. We've vowed never to move again.
It took me a full day just to get the kitchen unpacked, and i'm still coming across boxes that have kitchen stuff in them. I have empty cupboards still, and plenty of counter space. I even have my toaster oven, toaster, and tea maker on the counter, as well as 3 utensil holders and a knives holder, spice rack..... annnnnd i've still got plenty of space! :)
The house is so bright, like our old house, and I love the views! Out our back this morning were 3 deer! And I love looking out the front, and seeing the neighbors house way on the other side of the culdesac. Our closest neighbor will be next door, and her house is being built next month.
We met our other neighbors, and theres another 3 year old little girl named Avery who lives just a couple houses away. That spells trouble with a capital T!
The cats? Well, they are loving it here too. There was no disappearing acts for 5 days. They seemed to have immediately settled in. They love having all the space to roam around!
The kids are enjoying it here too. Jadon really loves it here. He's very happy. And the drive to school is a quick hop skip and a jump away. The parents are enjoying it too, but we haven't had much opportunity to take it all in yet. I do feel like I have breathing room though, and I think Derek is happy to have his desk back.
The rental is done. My mom helped me clean it all up yesterday, and the keys are turned in, and it has been wiped from our hands now! It was crazy going back in there, I can't believe we lived there for 4 months, it smells so badly and is so dingy! We feel incredibly blessed to have this house.
I'm looking forward to going through the rest of the boxes and getting things organized. Unfortunately I came down with what we think is the flu yesterday, so i've been ordered to take it easy. Which means boxes will have to wait. And I can't break the rules because Derek is working from home today and he won't let me. I'm the only one in the house who didn't get a flu shot. I don't usually get the flu shot unless i'm pregnant, and I usually manage to avoid the flu, but this year is such a bad year, Id be surprised if I came out without getting it.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Counting it down
Almost done! The house will be done in a couple days! Its looking beautiful if I do say so myself! ;) I can hardly wait to move in!
We were joking the other day because the breakfast bar alone at the new house has about the equivalent of the entire amount of counter space we have here in the rental! Even my laundry room beats the amount of counter space that the kitchen in the rental has!
This weekend we ordered our fridge, and washer/dryer. A new washer was needed since our current 9 year old one would randomly leak. This has never been a big problem since our laundry has always been in the garage on a concrete floor. But we didn't want it leaking inside our new house.
On a different note, Avery was complaining that her ear was hurting her last week so after a couple days and no improvement I took her in and she indeed had an ear infection. Just her second one, and it was luckily just a mild to moderate one, and the doctor gave us an rx but said we could wait a few days to see if it goes away on its own. We did that since it wasn't affecting her in any way- she was still acting normal, sleep wasn't affected, appetite hadn't changed, no fever, etc. and it appears to have been the right call as she says a couple days later that it's not hurting anymore.
Jadon had his valentines day party at school last week and avery and I got to help out for that. That was fun, but it's always amusing being around a group of kindergarteners. Avery just walked around socializing with all the kids and grownups...seriously, I have to wonder sometimes if she is really my child with as social as she is, but then again, I enjoy people, im just shy.... It's not like I don't like people. If I weren't shy I would be very social I imagine.
So we've got a very busy week ahead of us, getting things ready for the big long awaited move! There is so much sickness going around right now, we've been extra cautious about it since Derek's big work project is happening next week and the move is happening this week. I realize with Jadon in school there's only so much I can do. I dreaded taking the kids to pediatrics last week for Avery's ear infection. But then again, what parent doesn't dread taking their kid to pediatrics in the middle of cold and flu season? Or any season for that matter! I really really really hate this time of year! Can't wait for summer!
Anyways, busy week, so I should probably wrap this up and get started!
We were joking the other day because the breakfast bar alone at the new house has about the equivalent of the entire amount of counter space we have here in the rental! Even my laundry room beats the amount of counter space that the kitchen in the rental has!
This weekend we ordered our fridge, and washer/dryer. A new washer was needed since our current 9 year old one would randomly leak. This has never been a big problem since our laundry has always been in the garage on a concrete floor. But we didn't want it leaking inside our new house.
On a different note, Avery was complaining that her ear was hurting her last week so after a couple days and no improvement I took her in and she indeed had an ear infection. Just her second one, and it was luckily just a mild to moderate one, and the doctor gave us an rx but said we could wait a few days to see if it goes away on its own. We did that since it wasn't affecting her in any way- she was still acting normal, sleep wasn't affected, appetite hadn't changed, no fever, etc. and it appears to have been the right call as she says a couple days later that it's not hurting anymore.
Jadon had his valentines day party at school last week and avery and I got to help out for that. That was fun, but it's always amusing being around a group of kindergarteners. Avery just walked around socializing with all the kids and grownups...seriously, I have to wonder sometimes if she is really my child with as social as she is, but then again, I enjoy people, im just shy.... It's not like I don't like people. If I weren't shy I would be very social I imagine.
So we've got a very busy week ahead of us, getting things ready for the big long awaited move! There is so much sickness going around right now, we've been extra cautious about it since Derek's big work project is happening next week and the move is happening this week. I realize with Jadon in school there's only so much I can do. I dreaded taking the kids to pediatrics last week for Avery's ear infection. But then again, what parent doesn't dread taking their kid to pediatrics in the middle of cold and flu season? Or any season for that matter! I really really really hate this time of year! Can't wait for summer!
Anyways, busy week, so I should probably wrap this up and get started!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
House pix
Since those of you who don't/can't get out to see the house "growing up", I thought i'd post a few pictures. The first few were taken over the weekend. They are of the kitchen/dining/living area- all one big room. They had just painted all the doors so the doors were all standing in the middle of the living room floor, so it was hard to get a good picture. Actually, it was hard to get a GOOD picture of anything with my ipod.
Here i'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking towards the breakfast bar (and Jadon), and towards the back of the house, or what we refer to as the "wall of windows" since its mostly all windows.
And here i'm standing in the spot where the last picture was just looking, and now looking into the kitchen.
This picture i'm standing back in the middle of the kitchen looking more towards the middle of the living room. We debated about the vaulted ceiling, since the kitchen is also vaulted, but we are so glad we went with the vault! Its such a small vault, but it looks so nice :)
Here is the master bathroom cabinets, just installed today! There will be dual sinks... Derek and I are excited to have our own sinks!
And this is exciting.... my laundry room! :) I didn't get to see the cabinets personally, but Derek said the room and cabinets look huge now. And, the corner cabinet is a lazy susan... a pleasant surprise! Didn't realize it would be a lazy susan! Washer and dryer will go on the left of the cabinets. I'm so excited to have INDOOR laundry facilities! I think my laundry will get done faster, because I won't put off going into the garage to freeze! Also, a utility sink will be in the cabinets also. Another thing i'm really excited for!
I cant wait to see the kitchen cabinets installed! At the end of the kitchen cabinet there will be a desk, which will be home to my laptop, and will be my command center where i'll keep my day planner, my monthly meal planner, and everything else I need to help keep the family and house organized and running smoothly!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Beautiful
Our house is looking really beautiful! I'm so happy with the plan we chose, and I can't wait to move in! Its so light and bright inside, i'm so happy with it!
This week the changes have been less obvious, but they are still happening rapidly. The ceiling was textured and painted, the walls were textured and will be painted this week, exterior was painted and trim is in the process of being painted. Gutters were installed. Garage floor was poured. Interior trim was installed and painted. Someone is ALWAYS at the house doing something, day and sometimes nightly too. It really is like extreme makeover!
So why is there a push to get the house done so quickly? Well for starters, because it can be done. Randy said any house can be built fast, and it does not affect the quality of the house. Usually when a house is built, between each job, the house sits for weeks with nothing happening. For example, after foundation is laid, it sits for weeks. After walls go up, it sits for weeks, etc. These weeks add up to months. Randy just scheduled our house so that there was never any down time, and even sometimes crews were there at the same time.
Secondly, our lender, who has worked with our builder many times before, was pushing for a sooner closing date so we could get locked in at a low rate. (Funny thing is, the day after we locked in, it went up a half a point, so we saved a lot of money there!)
Thirdly, Randy has several other jobs lined up waiting! Funny.... we talked to several other builders who said they hadn't built houses in years because the economy was so terrible. Its because they aren't willing to build quality homes at lower costs. They are more worried about making a pretty penny than just having the work. That's why we like our builder. He's not willing to raise his prices! :) And THAT is why he has work and the others don't.
This coming week pretty much everything will be finished, and I cant WAIT!!! :)
We spent a couple hours at the house yesterday measuring the windows for blinds, and talking with the landscaper who will be doing the front yard this week. We met our future neighbor, who dropped in to show her friend the house because she will be building a house right next to ours, and she loved our floor plan so much shes going to use our floor plan too. Derek's a bit disappointed. He was really excited to have a house that probably no one in the world had. Obviously the floor plan was similar to someone else's but not with the changes we made. Luckily Randy will be building her house also, and he told his designer to change the elevation of her house to look differently from ours.
Jadon's starting to get anxious about moving. We started taking him back to see his counselor a few weeks ago. His counselor said that Jadon is a hard one to get information from, but his session yesterday went really well and he gathered a lot of insight. Jadon really really REALLY hates this rental house, he's excited about the new house, but also confused about moving. He's also still having some underlying issues with the sickness stuff. I figured. Whenever a kid is not at school, thats the first thing he tells me about his day when I pick him up. Or the first thing he tells me is that a kid went home sick that day. Or he seems to be a little anxious when his teacher is out for a couple days. Oddly, he didn't have any problems when I was sick a couple weeks ago.
He really misses our old house, and doesn't understand why we had to move. Its all he ever knew. He's very sensitive to changes in his life. We are learning when something is bugging him, how he is acting.
The other night, he wouldn't stay in bed, and was crying about it, which is not normal unless somethings bugging him. So we went to talk to him. It was really sweet, he tried really hard to tell us what was going on in his little noggin that was bugging him, but he doesn't understand and therefore can't fully put into words. So he told us that he had a lot of boxes in his head, and they all had question marks in them. So we talked to him about moving and the new house a little and how things will get back to normal again, then after that he said one of the boxes turned into an exclamation point. We were proud of him for trying to talk to us. That's the first time he's been able to tell us somewhat whats going on in his head.
On a different note, we signed him up for karate last month. Poor kid, I didn't realize just how much of my lack of balance and coordination he got from me, but its pretty evident at karate. However, after 5 or 6 weeks of karate we are already noticing an improvement in his balance, so we are encouraged! He is enjoying it too. I've heard a lot of positive things about karate, physically, mentally, emotionally. I think its good for him. Its teaching him to be quick, focused, strong, confident, etc. He has earned 4 stripes on his belt. We are working with him at home on everything as well. Practice makes perfect.
Avery is still the same. Nothing affects her! I always sign her up for gymnastics at the beginning of the year for a few months through the college. She LOVES it! Its not my favorite... I hate driving all the way there, having to find a parking spot, then having to walk a mile to get to the building. Okay, i'm being dramatic, but its not the most convenient. Plus there's very little seating inside for the boys to sit and watch, and actually watching can be impossible sometimes. But, Avery loves it, so that's why we do it. She's good too. She's much more agile than her brother. Much more athletic. She has no problem doing everything that the teacher says, and she has got some good listening skills!! When I don't think she's listening, she is. For example, the teacher will set up a little obstacle course thing on the floor, about 6 different things, and then show them what to do all at once. I don't expect a 3 year old to remember what to do for any of them, but she knows exactly what to do, so she was clearly paying attention!
Anyways, daylight savings begins in a month and Jadon's birthday is in a month. Very excited about both! And very glad we will be in our new house for both! :)
This week the changes have been less obvious, but they are still happening rapidly. The ceiling was textured and painted, the walls were textured and will be painted this week, exterior was painted and trim is in the process of being painted. Gutters were installed. Garage floor was poured. Interior trim was installed and painted. Someone is ALWAYS at the house doing something, day and sometimes nightly too. It really is like extreme makeover!
So why is there a push to get the house done so quickly? Well for starters, because it can be done. Randy said any house can be built fast, and it does not affect the quality of the house. Usually when a house is built, between each job, the house sits for weeks with nothing happening. For example, after foundation is laid, it sits for weeks. After walls go up, it sits for weeks, etc. These weeks add up to months. Randy just scheduled our house so that there was never any down time, and even sometimes crews were there at the same time.
Secondly, our lender, who has worked with our builder many times before, was pushing for a sooner closing date so we could get locked in at a low rate. (Funny thing is, the day after we locked in, it went up a half a point, so we saved a lot of money there!)
Thirdly, Randy has several other jobs lined up waiting! Funny.... we talked to several other builders who said they hadn't built houses in years because the economy was so terrible. Its because they aren't willing to build quality homes at lower costs. They are more worried about making a pretty penny than just having the work. That's why we like our builder. He's not willing to raise his prices! :) And THAT is why he has work and the others don't.
This coming week pretty much everything will be finished, and I cant WAIT!!! :)
We spent a couple hours at the house yesterday measuring the windows for blinds, and talking with the landscaper who will be doing the front yard this week. We met our future neighbor, who dropped in to show her friend the house because she will be building a house right next to ours, and she loved our floor plan so much shes going to use our floor plan too. Derek's a bit disappointed. He was really excited to have a house that probably no one in the world had. Obviously the floor plan was similar to someone else's but not with the changes we made. Luckily Randy will be building her house also, and he told his designer to change the elevation of her house to look differently from ours.
Jadon's starting to get anxious about moving. We started taking him back to see his counselor a few weeks ago. His counselor said that Jadon is a hard one to get information from, but his session yesterday went really well and he gathered a lot of insight. Jadon really really REALLY hates this rental house, he's excited about the new house, but also confused about moving. He's also still having some underlying issues with the sickness stuff. I figured. Whenever a kid is not at school, thats the first thing he tells me about his day when I pick him up. Or the first thing he tells me is that a kid went home sick that day. Or he seems to be a little anxious when his teacher is out for a couple days. Oddly, he didn't have any problems when I was sick a couple weeks ago.
He really misses our old house, and doesn't understand why we had to move. Its all he ever knew. He's very sensitive to changes in his life. We are learning when something is bugging him, how he is acting.
The other night, he wouldn't stay in bed, and was crying about it, which is not normal unless somethings bugging him. So we went to talk to him. It was really sweet, he tried really hard to tell us what was going on in his little noggin that was bugging him, but he doesn't understand and therefore can't fully put into words. So he told us that he had a lot of boxes in his head, and they all had question marks in them. So we talked to him about moving and the new house a little and how things will get back to normal again, then after that he said one of the boxes turned into an exclamation point. We were proud of him for trying to talk to us. That's the first time he's been able to tell us somewhat whats going on in his head.
On a different note, we signed him up for karate last month. Poor kid, I didn't realize just how much of my lack of balance and coordination he got from me, but its pretty evident at karate. However, after 5 or 6 weeks of karate we are already noticing an improvement in his balance, so we are encouraged! He is enjoying it too. I've heard a lot of positive things about karate, physically, mentally, emotionally. I think its good for him. Its teaching him to be quick, focused, strong, confident, etc. He has earned 4 stripes on his belt. We are working with him at home on everything as well. Practice makes perfect.
Avery is still the same. Nothing affects her! I always sign her up for gymnastics at the beginning of the year for a few months through the college. She LOVES it! Its not my favorite... I hate driving all the way there, having to find a parking spot, then having to walk a mile to get to the building. Okay, i'm being dramatic, but its not the most convenient. Plus there's very little seating inside for the boys to sit and watch, and actually watching can be impossible sometimes. But, Avery loves it, so that's why we do it. She's good too. She's much more agile than her brother. Much more athletic. She has no problem doing everything that the teacher says, and she has got some good listening skills!! When I don't think she's listening, she is. For example, the teacher will set up a little obstacle course thing on the floor, about 6 different things, and then show them what to do all at once. I don't expect a 3 year old to remember what to do for any of them, but she knows exactly what to do, so she was clearly paying attention!
Anyways, daylight savings begins in a month and Jadon's birthday is in a month. Very excited about both! And very glad we will be in our new house for both! :)
Friday, February 8, 2013
2 weeks!!!
In 2 weeks we get to sign our lives over to our beautiful new home! Which means in 2 weeks and 1 day we will be moving into our beautiful new home! ..... but whose really counting? ;)
We are super super excited, but there's a ton of things that need to be done, here and there and everywhere! The next 2 weeks will no doubt be busy ones, but i'm okay with that, considering the circumstances.
We are super super excited, but there's a ton of things that need to be done, here and there and everywhere! The next 2 weeks will no doubt be busy ones, but i'm okay with that, considering the circumstances.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
House update
Excitement is growing in the Loveless household! We have a new closing date of...drum roll please................................................................................................................................
FEBRUARY 22nd! Yes that is correct, 3 weeks from now!
Interior walls are being put up as I type. Siding is being put up as I type. The driveway and garage are being poured next week. The siding is being painted in the next couple days. After that, all that will be left will be trim work in the house, which may be done sooner and I just don't know it...carpets and flooring's cabinets and counters, toilets and of course sinks and faucets, and painting the interior, and of course all the finishing touches like fixtures. Its really coming along, its amazing. Every time we go is a huge change.
I have to admit, I was a little worried the second we submitted the plans, even after spending hour after hour analyzing the plans until we came up with what we thought was the best possible plan for us. There were still things that worried me. But now seeing it all come together, every time I go I love it more! Its nice and bright, which was a HUGE deal for me. I HAVE to have natural light. That's one thing I loved about our last house was all the natural light. And that is very important for me, especially in the winter months when I tend to get dragged down by the short, gray, dreary days.
In the new house, our plans called for basically our living/dining area to be a wall of windows, but its facing the west. Getting to go there in the middle of winter and see how it is, and there's lots of light coming in, even in the winter.
Another thing that I am really loving is the HUGE hallway! Not long, but very wide! Its so wide because the original plan was, as I think I mentioned a daylight basement plan, so the hallway was where the stairs were to be, so we took out the stairs and put in a huge storage closet area instead, but the hallway is really wide, and it is really great! Several people can walk through there at a time. The kids will be able to run around and play.....
We are really loving our builder as well. He has been great. He's not just out to make a fast buck, even though the house is going up fast. If he were out to make a fast buck, we would not been able to build, it would have been too expensive for us. He's a family man with 6 young kids, the youngest still an infant.
We are leaving some projects for the future for us to do in an effort to save some money. For example, the back patio/porch, we are just having a small 3x3 pad- which is what he is required to do- put in for now, and then we are going to build a deck, and i'd like to put a post up on the end of the over hang on the back patio as it looks funny hanging over with nothing supporting it... IMO. We plan to someday put some stonework on house as well, but not for a long while i'm guessing.... like on this house: Dovetail with bricks That is actually the color we are painting the exterior as well. (I loooooove the color of the doors on that house too, but those doors were much too spendy for our budget, so we had to go with white doors.)
So there you have it! We're in the process of picking out our lighting, which will be minimal. And then we will be picking our faucets, and after that I think most everything has been picked! Phew! What a whirlwind ride this has been! Its still hard to imagine us living in the house.
FEBRUARY 22nd! Yes that is correct, 3 weeks from now!
Interior walls are being put up as I type. Siding is being put up as I type. The driveway and garage are being poured next week. The siding is being painted in the next couple days. After that, all that will be left will be trim work in the house, which may be done sooner and I just don't know it...carpets and flooring's cabinets and counters, toilets and of course sinks and faucets, and painting the interior, and of course all the finishing touches like fixtures. Its really coming along, its amazing. Every time we go is a huge change.
I have to admit, I was a little worried the second we submitted the plans, even after spending hour after hour analyzing the plans until we came up with what we thought was the best possible plan for us. There were still things that worried me. But now seeing it all come together, every time I go I love it more! Its nice and bright, which was a HUGE deal for me. I HAVE to have natural light. That's one thing I loved about our last house was all the natural light. And that is very important for me, especially in the winter months when I tend to get dragged down by the short, gray, dreary days.
In the new house, our plans called for basically our living/dining area to be a wall of windows, but its facing the west. Getting to go there in the middle of winter and see how it is, and there's lots of light coming in, even in the winter.
Another thing that I am really loving is the HUGE hallway! Not long, but very wide! Its so wide because the original plan was, as I think I mentioned a daylight basement plan, so the hallway was where the stairs were to be, so we took out the stairs and put in a huge storage closet area instead, but the hallway is really wide, and it is really great! Several people can walk through there at a time. The kids will be able to run around and play.....
We are really loving our builder as well. He has been great. He's not just out to make a fast buck, even though the house is going up fast. If he were out to make a fast buck, we would not been able to build, it would have been too expensive for us. He's a family man with 6 young kids, the youngest still an infant.
We are leaving some projects for the future for us to do in an effort to save some money. For example, the back patio/porch, we are just having a small 3x3 pad- which is what he is required to do- put in for now, and then we are going to build a deck, and i'd like to put a post up on the end of the over hang on the back patio as it looks funny hanging over with nothing supporting it... IMO. We plan to someday put some stonework on house as well, but not for a long while i'm guessing.... like on this house: Dovetail with bricks That is actually the color we are painting the exterior as well. (I loooooove the color of the doors on that house too, but those doors were much too spendy for our budget, so we had to go with white doors.)
So there you have it! We're in the process of picking out our lighting, which will be minimal. And then we will be picking our faucets, and after that I think most everything has been picked! Phew! What a whirlwind ride this has been! Its still hard to imagine us living in the house.
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