Shutters

J and his good friend Ryan put up shutters Saturday evening. They look fantastic! I can't wait to get that front door painted now.

Family Fun

Last night the kids and I went with my parents, brother, and his children to a family fun center. We had the best time!

Cousin picture. G,B,E,and B:

E riding the horse:

G having a good time playing putt putt golf:

B's turn to ride the horse:

B and G are flying the helicopter together:

Glow in the dark mini bowling!! My kiddos had a blast!

Cousins riding the indoor train:

My brother and niece:

G and B playing skee ball. I LOVE skee ball, one of my favorite things to play, second to air hockey.

G and cousin B. They have the best time together!

Thanks Mom and Dad for making more sweet memories for my children.

House Update

We have been super busy with the house the last couple weeks. The last of the door trim is going in, crown moulding was caulked, closet shelves/pantry was built, security system was installed, electricians came back to fix some lighting and install smoke detectors, doors are being sprayed, door knobs are being put on, the list goes on and on. Oh, and we got gutters today!

J and I had to make a run to a neighboring city for several things last Wednesday?? or Tuesday? Who knows what day it was! He went in his truck with the trailer attached and B and I went in my car. The brick tile that we are using for the mudroom, 3/4 bathroom, and kids' bathroom came in, so he picked that up, along with the 15 lite door we are using in the mudroom. Those are my wants for a little added character in the house. Anyway, B and I met him at Lowes to get tile for the master bathroom floor and shower and 3/4 shower. We were running a little behind on time and Sherwin Williams was going to close in 30 mins, so B and I had to run and get the lacquer while J loaded up all the tile. After we were both done we met for a quick bite to eat and then headed to Hobby Lobby. Mirrors are half off this week and I wanted the nice, thick framed mirrors for all the bathrooms. We got lucky and found all our mirrors. What a night that was.

Now, time for some pictures.

Master bedroom closet shelves (some of them):


Kids' bathroom linen closet, pretty standard:


G and B's closets will have these shelves running up the middle for toy baskets. Then they will have clothes rods on the top and bottom of either side.


The mudroom was re-painted. We chose a different green and it has a little more brown in it than yellow, so it is not so bright.


J, Mark, and Tyler were setting in the 15 lite door in the mudroom. I can't wait to pull that paper off!!


Our gutters were put on today. Interesting story- we wanted dark gutters and the gutter company that we chose could not get dark gutters, but another gutter company that we got a bid from could get the dark gutters. So, they ordered the dark gutters and then both gutter companies installed them together and split the money. Whatever, I'm just glad I got the dark gutters.


It is coming along....there are a lot of big projects left, as well as numerous little things that are so time consuming. If only I could wiggle my nose or snap my fingers and it all be done. I would do it in a heartbeat for J. He is physically exhausted and I am just mentally and emotionally worn out!

Great day for a Picnic!

Our weather was beautiful today with temps in the high 60's and should be the same for tomorrow. We took advantage of it and picked up dinner for the family and headed to the park. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together. J has been working so hard on the house- fun family time was way overdue!!

The kids could hardly stand watching the other children at the park while we had our dinner. G was not as hungry as she was before we got there. ;)










G enjoyed sliding and B would only slide on Mommy or Daddy's lap. He loved climbing up and down the stairs.





B's response when he went down the slide for the first time "Weeeeee!"






I love making great memories with my husband and children. It's the little things.

Painting Parties

J has been doing a lot of painting by himself. He comes home from work and gets some loving from his babies and then he goes to paint until almost midnight. The last two weekends he has had a lot of help painting and we are so thankful. Last weekend my parents helped and his parents watched the kids so I could join in on the fun. ;)

My sweet husband cutting in trim:


Here is my Daddy cutting in trim. We were teasing him because he has a pair of painting sweats that he wears every time he paints. We could find the paint colors of just about every room of our past houses on his pants. He and my mom are so helpful and we are very thankful for them.



My Mom was taking a little break from painting and was using the shop vac to clean up the floors. That was a chore! We took turns and it turned out to be one of my main jobs after I got fired from painting. I was trying my very best cutting in and could not keep it off of the trim.



And here is the man of the house.....walking around drinking a Diet Mt. Dew and inspecting everyone's work. He is probably the reason I got so much on the trim. My hand got a little shaky as he was breathing down my neck.


Today J had some help from good friends of ours. I didn't get pictures of everyone, but a huge thank you to Ryan, Kris, Shook, and my Dad for all the time you gave painting.

This is Shook rolling stripes in G's bedroom. G was supervising him.


I gave a tour to my friends Dawn and Bristle. Dawn, Kris, and Khloe will live right around the corner from us when we finally move in and we are so excited! I foresee lots of dinners together and playtime for the kids.



Khloe and G making shadow puppets on G's bedroom wall. They were being so silly and having the best time together!


Precious Khloe, aka Chatty Kathy! I love that she is talking up a storm.

A Little Giddy

I stopped by the house after work today and loved what I saw! Mark was putting up crown moulding, actually he was almost finished. We weren't originally going to do crown...we thought we would save some money now and it would be something we could easily add ourselves later. I never mentioned to J that I REALLY wanted it. I think Mark said something to him about how much better it would look and, of course, we know that. J decided to get it. I am so thankful. It is the icing on the cake! It really divides the brown wall color and the khaki ceilings, yet also helps to blend them at the same time.

When I got home I pulled in the driveway to see my copper apron sink sitting in it's box. I couldn't wait for J to get home to rip it open! It is so stinkin' perfect! I absolutely love it.....the brown and black mixed together and the hammered copper. I squeeled. I love it that much.

This and That

Yesterday was a little discouraging for us. The kids' bathroom vanity was being delivered and as the delivery guys were carrying it out of the truck J noticed a large hole in the box. He told the guys that he wanted to inspect it before they left, so he took the box apart and the front of the vanity where the doors are was caved in. So J had to refuse it. It goes back to the company and we have to order another one. J said that other than the damage it was a beautiful piece. The wood and granite were gorgeous and coloring was perfect.

J went to the house after that and the carpenter had split trim pieces when he nailed them into the walls, so J has a lot of spackling and fixing to do this weekend. The exterior and interior door knobs were delivered yesterday. The front door handleset was incorrect and the rest of the knobs just felt cheap. They will be going back and we have one last brand to try. I am ready to get our house locked up!

J also had to go back to the bank yesterday to start the loan process over again. I am devastated. I know everyone goes over budget when they build, but I was just so determined to stay on budget. Our biggest mistake was paying the framers by the hour instead of by the job. They took forever and put us WAY OVER in that area of the budget! Anyhow, we'll put all that behind us and keep on truckin'!

The electrician hung exterior lights yesterday. I am very happy with them.







We still need to paint the mounting piece the color of the shakes.


I think J has enough garage lighting to work on various projects.....not sure why one of the lights isn't finished.


Mark and Tyler are working on trim.


We tested out the paint for the living room/kitchen and all other open spaces. We LOVE it!


Excited about how the front door is coming along....trim work looks great. Sorry about the ladder. I really didn't want to move it, obviously.


Now, I thought this was my very favorite color of paint that we chose. It was going to be for the mudroom..... no longer. Too bold for even my liking. I bet I can use it for some projects for G's bedroom.


I apologize for the negativity at the beginning of the post, but building a house is not always peachy. With that said, we have still had an amazingly easy build, no major problems and for that we are thankful.