Nesting Instinct Insanity

So, I felt this burst of energy yesterday. I wasn't sure if it was just the feeling of freedom because this is Labor Day weekend, or... something more sinister.

I spent the day cleaning everything in site. I scrubbed the kitchen down to the bones and swept the entire house -- including moving all the furniture and sweeping underneath it all. Along with some help from my sisters, we cleaned out the living room by moving boxes and the poker table into storage, and the wine fridge and Riley's cage out of the room. Now, the only things left in the living room are the things relevant to putting down the new floor! YES!

Suzi and I worked a little more on the nursery. And, I was able to figure out what else we're going to need for baby girl.

It was a very good day. I felt productive, and only slightly insane -- that poker table is heavy!

AND! I wasn't the only one being productive!

Thrifty Man and my little brother got the very last of the roof project materials returned to Lowe's and the last pile of wood shingles into the dumpster!

(It gets even better!)

While my wonderful husband was at Lowe's, he decided to look at baseboards and trim for our bedroom!! So, he bought it and stained it all yesterday! I'M SO EXCITED!

Today, we'll be finishing up the last few projects in the nursery and maybe even get some of the trim up! It's going to be a great weekend :)

Oh. And, hopefully, I'll be laboring on Labor day. Really hoping baby girl gets here soon. I'm becoming extremely impatient.

:)

Remodeling with a Bun in the Oven

We bought our home at the end of last November with grandiose plans to remodel it over the course of the next several years. So, I made my To-Do lists for several different time periods (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years...), and kept them stored away neatly in the back of my head.

Then we found out we were expecting. Surprise!

So, among all the worrying, praying, hoping and loving that has gone on since January 14th, I somehow found time to re-evaluate my to-do lists and come up with what I believed to be a very reasonable list of requests. Essentially, all I wanted was a complete master suite, kitchen, living room, and dining room.

But, getting there has proved to be very, very difficult.

So, here's a recap of what has been accomplished in the first 7 months that we've owned our home.

1. We have stripped the wallpaper from the master bedroom, the dining room, living room, part of the kitchen, and the stairwell and hallway:

We're really good at destruction. Apparently.

2. We have ripped the carpet out from the master bedroom and bathroom, stairwell, living room and dining room. And have torn down a shelving unit in the kitchen.

3. We have repainted the master bedroom and bathroom, living room, dining room, the kitchen cabinets and half of the hallway.

4. We have put down the wood floor in the master bedroom and tiled the dining room. (Yes. That leaves the master bathroom and living room floor-less, as of now).

5. I have installed new hardware on all the kitchen cabinet doors.

With an exception for our almost complete inability to totally finish the projects that we start, I would say that I'm fairly pleased with our progress. In a matter of a few short months, we've transformed this ugly house into our home by giving it the face lift it desperately needed.

Buuutttttt... old homes come with many, many surprises. So, here's the list of projects that have been added to the To-Do lists since we started renovations:

1. As of the end of January: baseboards/door trim for the master bedroom.

2. As of the end of March: fix the plumbing in master bathroom so we can have a working bath/shower. Also, repair the waste line so *hopefully* our toilet will flush better.

3. As of the end of March: fix the plumbing under the kitchen sinks so they will drain properly, and set up and install the dishwasher. (This is becoming increasingly more important with my ever-growing belly: standing there, against the counter, to do the dishes is extremely uncomfortable and painful).

4. As of the end of May: fix the electrical wiring in the master bathroom so we can actually have overhead lights. WOW! (This is actually HIGHLY essential due to the many midnight trips to the bathroom).

5. As of the end of May: fully repair the hall bathroom's door. It was broken over Memorial Day weekend, and has been fixed temporarily. But, will eventually break again. (Hopefully not when we have company over.)

6. Get an overhead light for the counter between the kitchen and dining room. It's a very dark space.

7. Paint, decorate, and furnish the nursery. (This is a BIGGIE!!!) I have not started this project at all, yet.

So, really, the only room that is COMPLETELY done at this point is the dining room.