It really is time

Ok, it's time for another post. I can't locate my cord to download pictures so it's going to have be picture free but I have too much to update. My attempt at documenting our life (I don't scrapbook or write in a journal) through this blog is failing miserably. So here's just a quick summary so that I'll have some memory of this crazy time.

1) We bought our house and have officially moved in. Buying this house has consisted of a whole lot things.

a) big estate sale to empty the house so that we could move in. We did the sale one Thurs, Fri & Sat and it was amazingly successful. Thursday morning we ended up with a constant crowd of people until about noon. We probably had a least 10 people there at a time the entire morning. By the end of the weekend we had sold almost all the stuff. We finally had stuff that people up here were interested in. Kid stuff doesn't do to well up here. We ended up with 2 bedroom sets left and a washer and dryer which we put in an auction that will happen the end of this month. That was a little bit of a pain but my dad came in and saved the day and has taken many loads out to the auction. Thanks Dad!

b) we wimped out and hired someone to paint the entire house. In the end we ended up with 6 different colors (purple in the girls room, tan in the the master and boys room, darker tan in great room, blue in kids bathroom, and lime green - yes lime green in the master bathroom and laundry room, plus the pretty white/slightly cream for the trim. I love all the colors and am so happy that we have it all done. John also managed to rip out the weird fake fireplace before the painter came and luckily so because he did a great job fixing the wall.

c) once the painter was finished we were going to have the tile done but it got delayed because it was on back order so we decided to just move in. Moving week was a little overwhelming but thanks to my 2 sisters it was doable.

d) we moved in and set to work trying to organize. Eventually we got our tile installed and then found out our carpet was also on back order. (I guess the annoyance was balanced by the fact that it confirmed that I had chosen a good tile and carpet and was getting a good price - apparently a lot of people were choosing the same thing).

e) Angela persisted on getting me to tackle the garage so with Alice's help for a couple of days we cleared it out, tucked a lot things away and prepared for our second yard sale. From our move we personally had a lot of things to sell. We held the second one and once again had a lot of traffic. Probably not as much as the first but we still got rid of a lot of stuff. It made me realize that we unknowingly picked a really good weekend to do the first big sale.

f) The entire house has vaulted ceilings (except the bathrooms and laundry room) including the 2ND and 3rd bedrooms and sometime in all of this it was thrown out there that we should build a loft in the girls bedroom. The more John looked into it the more it became a reality. Before I knew it he'd built it and we were able to have the carpet installers even install carpet up there. I have to say John has done some cool things since I've known him but to me this was one of the most impressive. I love it, everything about it. And I'm so impressed that he went from talk to almost finished in a month. I think the kids are going to absolutely love it and it looks so cool! They still have an 8 foot ceiling but it has an opening on the far end of the room. You don't even see the loft when you walk in. Anyway, I can't think of a better way to have added a playroom to this house. Way to go John!

g) This week we finally got our carpet in and let me tell you I love it! I was worried at first that I didn't like the color but the last 2 days I have fallen in love with it.

h) I forgot to say that somewhere in the last month I also went through the house and installed all new door handles and I LOVE them! I think it makes such a huge difference.

We still have a lot to do for the house (baseboards, yard, kitchen counter, etc) but it's coming and we're having small and big victories every week. I really like the layout of the house and am very happy overall with the house itself. The back porch is so great to go sit on especially during a rainstorm. It's nice to be close to the park and the store and we seem to have really great neighbors. In fact this week we had a neighbor come over and invite us to a neighborhood BBQ this Sunday at her house. Fun stuff.

Angela and Alice and my parents get a gold star for all the help they have given me. Alice watched my kids on numerous occasions and her and my mom were a huge help with the first yard sale. They came every day and worked the outside garage stuff while I worked the inside bigger stuff. They were fabulous! Angela devote all her time off this summer to me. It was amazing, she taught summer school and then came and lived with us for basically a month. She changed so many diapers that John started calling her our diaper Sherpa. She basically stepped in and did anything from cleaning the garage to changing diapers to babysitting so John and I could go out to getting up in the night with Collin to putting all the outlet covers back on. Needless to say I miss her greatly and tried everything I could to get her to just move in as a full time nanny/friend. And if anyone is wondering if John was OK with all this, he was. It was a big help to him and he and Angela get along great and well he's just a really good sport about a lot of things.

In the end I probably could spend my whole life trying to say thank you to my family and still never feel like I expressed it enough. It really meant a lot to me and to be completely honest there is literally no way I could have survived it all without them. Seriously, I'm already barely surviving and adding a move to that would have put me over the edge.

In other news, the kids started school this week. Oddly enough we're not entirely sure who Bridgett's Kindergarten teacher will be, it's been a little bit crazy but she's attending and loves her teacher. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she'll be able to stay in her class. She has afternoon Kindergarten and so far has 8 kids in the class. Pretty crazy. Madison started 2ND grade and was thrilled to get the same teacher Hannah had last year and was very happy to have her friend from Kindergarten back in class with her. I'm adjusting to being on a schedule again and hoping to one day have my house clean...