I Baked Cookies

I baked cookies today. For most of you this may seem like a small feat. And for me it used to be. Lately, however, it is truly a treat to bake cookies..........or keep the laundry caught up....... or run the vacuum more than once every two weeks. The house renovation has completely consumed our lives. I know it will be worth it in the end when we sell it but for now- I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I think I am just tired. Physically and mentally. As the project grows closer to completion I am bombarded with several decisions. Small things that now seem like huge deals. Paint color, trim finish, counter top style, carpet color, style, weight.............the list goes on and on. Not only do we make these decisions but we do the work too. We have been working on this flip house since early February and we are trying to have it completed by the end of April. It is down to the detail work now which always seems to take the longest amounts of time.

There are some nights when I feel we have been doing this forever and yet other nights it seems like we just started. The nights get longer and our time at home seems shorter. I don't even want to total up the hours we have put into this project. Right now I stay busy totaling up receipts and balancing the budget. I will say though- I am glad I am not the one writing the checks for all of the renovation. It makes me sick to my stomach looking at the pile of receipts quite frankly. Maybe it is worse knowing it isn't my money. I don't know. With all the budgeting and working on the house life keeps moving. It is hard to find a balance..........and enough sleep.........but we keep going with or without either.

Cali is changing and growing so much! She learns something new everyday it seems. She is trying to crawl right now but enjoys scooting and wiggling and rolling to get to where she wants to go. She also has something to show you..................


New teeth!! She now has 4 teeth! Two on top and two on bottom!! She does this thing where she wrinkles up her nose and wiggles it and she looks like a little bunny. It is the cutest thing.

Kyle can now tell anyone, in detail, exactly how a furnace or hot water tank works. Really. And he has a new love for broccoli! Yeah!!

Bella now has to have a mountain of friends in bed with her. I love this picture- it reminds me of ET when he is hiding amongst all of the stuffed animals. We did receive a diagnosis for Bella a couple of weeks ago. She has what is called PFAPA. I will do a post about it soon (hopefully) but if you type PFAPA into a search it will come up with a ton of information. She still has to go back to her Ear Nose and Throat Specialist to see about her hearing loss and what is causing it.

Here is what we have been up to at the house. I really loved these ceilings from the first moment we saw this house...............

But while I was painting them I decided I didn't like them so much anymore.

You see that ladder?? Yeah, it's like a 10 foot ladder. See how high above the ladder the ceilings still are?? Have I mentioned how TERRIFIED I am of heights??? Yeah.

I don't know what we were thinking. We painted the entire first and second floor in less than 4 days. Two days and two evenings after work to be exact. Are we nuts or what?!?!?!? When I say paint I mean: paint every ceiling, prime every wall-two coats, paint every wall-two coats. 4 bedrooms, two hallways, living room, kitchen, bathroom, stairs. NUTS!!!! It looks good though!

The crown moulding is now installed on the cabinets...................

My Dad came up last Saturday and helped hang the doors and trim (Thanks Dad! You are the trim King!)

We used 5 inch baseboards which look amazing! All white trim, six panel doors, baseboards, etc. The only problem here?? Well, we had planned on spraying all of the trim and doors before installing them. Needless to say the sprayer did not work, it was SO cold in the garage we could not paint...................so now I am left with painting all of this now that it is installed. EEEEKK!!

Bella is an amazing little helper- especially when there is a broom involved!!

What is that hole in the basement floor you ask????

We are adding a bathroom in the basement where there was not a bathroom before. A full bathroom.

Yes, we have a ditch running through the basement. Let me tell ya- the kids are having a ball with this! We have to strip them as soon as we get home at night because they are covered in dirt!!! LOL!! Poor little Thomas trains though- they are working very hard in those ditches!!! :)

How in the heck am I supposed to clean up that mess?!?!

Well, that's it for now. I would like to promise that it won't be this long between posts next time, but honestly.......... that is a call I just can't make. I miss posting every day. I miss visiting my blogger friends. I miss getting all of your comments in my inbox every morning. I feel like a part of me is missing right now and I think that is it- I have fallen from the blogging world............. a temporary hiatus I guess. Maybe in May I will be back on top of my game!

Miss you all!!

~Heather:)

PS: IF YOU HAVEN'T Checked out my Sister's new blog you have GOT TO go see her! She is so much fun! Super Talented! And not quite as long winded as me!! hee hee Whimsical Ways

Things Are Moving Along

Oh my goodness! I can not believe it has been so long since my last post! Oopsie!! Needless to say we have been very busy working at the house. It has really absorbed our lives........but we are all enjoying it so much still!

Check out our progress!!

The bathroom is actually further along than it was in this picture. In fact it is ready for the ceiling to be painted and the walls to be primed and then- on to my tile!! Wohoo!! I can not wait to tackle that tile because I am so anxious to see what it looks like. And yes -Picket- I will be doing step by step pictures so that I can do a special post just for you!!

Here is the bathroom. New drywall, new stomped ceiling, new plumbing and the concrete backer board is being installed.............

We built double closets in the master bedroom. His and Hers!! There were no closets in this room before! These frames are now covered in drywall. I guess I need to start snapping more pictures!!

We built a wall and a closet to make the house have 4 actual bedrooms. Before you had to walk through this room to get to the master bedroom.

So, there is now an actual hallway that leads you to this new bedroom and the master. We left the closet that you see off to the right there (and no- the bright yellow paint is not staying) That should make a very nice large linen closet!

Here is a picture from inside the new bedroom, complete with a nice new closet of it's own!

Remember this weird nook here to the left of the stairs? It looked as though the wall was just hanging in space and there was a gaping hole down into the basement......

Well, we framed it in......................

Added drywall.................and VOILA! We now have an entry closet!!

Drywall was hung and finished......................

My perfectionist husband is still putting finishing touches on the drywall but we are almost there.

And my favorite project so far???? Here is a picture of what the kitchen looked like when we started work on this house..................

Nice, huh?? NOT! Well, here is the kitchen now..........

It's not even done and it's a million times better!!

I love the white cabinets................especially with the amazing light that this house has.

I even found a cute little dishwasher!

And then we have my husband's least favorite project thus far (other than the drywall) I cam up with this fantastic idea to add overhead lighting in all of the bedrooms. Because these weren't there before.................

My husband had to go here..............

The attic. The master bedroom was an addition to the house and it has it's own attic above it. Where the two attics join together is a very tight squeeze. You see that tiny little hold by my husband's feet in the picture above??? Yeah, it was like..........umm........maybe 18" at it's widest point.................

My husband- turned- origami- contortionist was most certainly swearing at me in his head. The things I put him through. He had a little more wiggle room once in but still not ideal working conditions.

In my opinion all of his squeezing and hard work was worth it to see these.......

But I'm sure if you ask my poor husband he will have an opinion of his own!!! LOL!!!

They do look good though! He even picked these out himself. Good job Baby!

We still have a lot to do but we are getting to the fun part- paint, trim, flooring...............the finishing touches. The time where we will get to really see our accomplishments!

The kids are still having a ball and love the house. Kyle and Bella call it their house. I guess we'll see what happens! In the meantime, I have already been on the search with our realtor during the day looking for our next flip. We would like to have another one lined up when this house is finished.

Hope you are all doing well!! See ya soon!

~Heather:)


ALSO: My Sister now has her very own blog!!!! PLEASE go welcome her to blogland at Whimsical Ways and tell her I sent you!!

Gertie Has a New Hat!

The roofers finished the roof yesterday!!! Gertie has a brand new hat and she is looking spiffy! Yes, I named the house. Gertie is a woman that was a good friend of the family who passed away. She was a petite woman and she was feisty! The other night when I was pulling away from the house Gertie popped into my mind. This house is feisty! She is worn down from years of abuse and neglect but she is strong and with everything we have been doing, and plan to do, she is going to be like brand new. Maybe it is crazy to name a house. Not that I think houses have feelings but just like people- family- they have a past, a future, and a story to tell. They keep us warm and protected from the elements and the outside world. They hold our loved ones, our treasures, our memories. I think they deserve a name. Besides, calling it Gertie sounds so much better than just saying "The House" all of the time. And yes, I think I am getting attached to the house.

Anyway, Back to Gertie's new roof! I failed to take a picture of the front view in all of my excitement but I did get some side views. Although there is not as much color variation as I had hoped, the new black roof looks fantastic!! We had them use the dimensional shingles and they give such a nice touch!

I am planning on painting all of the shutters when the weather warms up. The black shutters are so faded that they actually look blue!

We have started hanging drywall in the kitchen and it is coming along nicely. Drywall is heavy and not my favorite thing to do but when you see the room starting to look like a room you kind of forget about how much hanging drywall really sucks.

Marc had to buy a new toy...........er...........I mean new tool. He picked up a spiral saw and it has come in sooooo handy already! He has been very clingy with his new toy though and hasn't let me play with it yet. Hmph!

Kyle and Bella had a ball creating an amazing masterpiece with painter's tape. These kids can entertain themselves for hours with the simplest of things.

They are so creative! Now, this isn't the type of things we would allow hem to do at home but they have a little more leeway at the house. It is, after all, a construction site and, well- they gotta have some fun!!

I met with the roofers yesterday as they finished, met with the investor, and met with the carpet person who came to measure rooms and give us an estimate. Marc will be installing the carpet but we found a wholesale carpet place where we can get nice carpet for dirt cheap! Less than half price of what you would paid retail. So, carpet man Brad came to get measurements and called today with an exact figure. I was SO excited to know that we will be coming in almost $500 UNDER budget on flooring!! WooHoo!!!

Well, that's it for today. We are going to try and get more drywall hung in the kitchen tonight and if we finish that we are going to start hanging drywall in the bathroom.

Have a great day!

~Heather:)

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off to Work I go!

Wow! What a crazy busy weekend. Marc had Friday off so we worked a full three day weekend at the house. While Marc was working in the kitchen on the new electrical I tore out the old fiberglass tub and surround and then removed the toilet. At some point this little window had been installed.........and whoever installed it apparently didn't use a level. We had boards literally off by as much as two inches!! How to remedy that? Well, I got the bright idea of using a chisel and a hammer to shave the boards to the point that they would be level- don't worry, it doesn't interfere with any structural stability. We just had to rebuild a "frame" that would be flush and level in order to hang he concrete backer board so that we could tile the tub surround.


Once the tub area was ready to go Marc replaced the toilet flange in the basement toilet so we could remove this toilet. Once I took the toilet out I discovered a.......................issue. The toilet and remaining wallpaper was covering up a large patch of black mold. We weren't planning on ripping out all of the drywall in the bathroom but we were left with no choice. We can't leave moldy walls! So, I ripped the remaining drywall out and we are left with this.............

The above picture cracks me up. This house is a three level split. Here, I am standing in the kitchen and can see straight through the bathroom!! Not so good for privacy, eh? LOL!!!

Poor Marc worked for days on electrical. There were more than a few wires that were left in the wall that someone had just cut and tucked up in the rafters. Problem was most of the wires didn't even have wire nuts and tape on them................Oh! And they were live!!! How this house didn't catch on fire by now is beyond me. Some of the things we are finding makes me think that these "Do It Yourself" shows are waaaaaaaaaaay too encouraging.

Marc is installing can lights in the kitchen, new outlets, switches, everything will be brand new and up to code.

And just to give you an idea of how much we have gutted so far......................this is the trash and demo debris we have removed- thus far from the inside of the house................

To put this in perspective the house has a three car garage. The trash and debris take up a two car garage area and the pile is between 3 feet and 4 feet high!!!

And as much as I am for recycling and reselling to people who may be able to use this stuff, NOTHING and I mean NOTHING was salvageable. All of the doors had huge holes in them, cabinets were overtaken with mold, carpets were stained with animal......stink. Apparently the dogs were never taken outside to use the potty. Yuck.

I did something Friday that I never thought I would have to do. I fired an Amish person. I did. I feel terrible. However, when I spoke with him Thursday he had still not pulled the permit and was trying once again to push the start date back another two weeks. URGH!! We can not wait that long...............or try and count on him then and have him push it back again. We can not hang drywall until the roof is complete. So, I called four roofers Thursday afternoon, had three bids in by Friday morning and hired a crew Friday morning. The owner was back within an hour with the permit and the supplies were delivered within two hours. Now THAT is what I am talkin' about!

I was so happy until we pulled in the next day and found out just how bad the roof was. When all of the old layers were removed we were left with the bitter fact that over half of the boards on the roof are bad and need to be replaced. cha ching! cha ching! cha ching! Well, there goes an extra thousand bucks. But, it has to be done.

We were actually surprised that the roof hadn't collapsed with the weight of snow!

The crew was very busy this weekend and I think they are hoping to finish by Tuesday if the weather holds out.

Kind of weird to see big gaping holes in the roof!!!

It is so exciting though and I can not wait to see what the finished roof looks like!! I was left in charge of picking the shingles so hopefully they will look good!!!

When the drywall finisher came out to price his labor he advised us to rip out the remaining kitchen drywall so that we would get a smoother finish. Which means- easier and less time consuming for him which means- cheaper for us!! So, we gutted the rest of the kitchen. I do have to say the pry bar is, by far , one of my favorite tools!! I think every girl should have one!! LOL!!!

My husband told me Saturday when I was gutting the bathroom that I work like a man. I got all sappy and thanked him. I thought it was a huge compliment. I asked him if ,when we got married , if he had hoped for a prissy ladylike woman for a wife or a crazy tom-boy that isn't afraid to get dirty. He laughed and said he had hoped for a good combination of both! And that I could be a tom boy while we are working on the house but he would prefer I go back into "lady mode" when we leave!!! LOL!!!

We picked up the flooring that we will be using in the kitchen and living room. We don't need it for a while still but it was on clearance and it was too good of a deal to pass up.

Bruce laminate flooring- actually looks pretty darn close to real wood and even has the wood texture. The color is "Brazillian Cherry" and I think it will be gorgeous. All 25 boxes of it.

We also have a window!!! Woohoo!! This was Marc's favorite project so far. I thought the kitchen needed to be open to the living room so that it would have a more updated look and to allow the kitchen to seem larger than it actually is. So far, it is doing just what I had hoped!!

On the living room side here will be a little bar area where people can sit on stools and watch the cook in the kitchen. The wall is high enough on the kitchen side, however, that all of your dirty dishes and kitchen mess will be hidden when people walk in your front door.

Marc and the kids are very happy with the way it turned out!!

After a VERY long weekend we were all tired and ready to go home. I can't remember the last time I was this tired or this sore but I am turning into my kids. Every morning I think "Can we go to the house now!" It is that that great novel that you just can't put down. You stay awake until all hours of the morning because you are so eager to see how it ends. Although we still have 6 weeks left in our time frame and a lot to do, we are excited. We are now at the point where stuff is being put back together and we will be able to see big results with almost everything we do.

The kids are still having a great time and so are Marc and I. Maybe I am officially nuts now. We have had so many people tell us that we have taken on too much, that it is going to be impossible- especially with three small kids in tow. Although I admit that it is a huge undertaking.............. we will be able to do it. Our kids are amazing and enjoy being at the house. I just hope we all keep this same enthusiasm for the remaining 6 weeks!!

~Heather:)