Getting There

We've been working so hard. We've been living between three houses, going back and forth between packing up our old house and sleeping at my in-law's while working on our new house. And we're exhausted. Productivity has decreased and whining, fighting and grumpiness has increased over the past few weeks so we're taking a break from all the renovations and heading back home for our last week before we officially move. We haven't accomplished everything I had hoped to but its good enough and we've gotten a lot done.

BEFORE: Kinda scary

AFTER: Pretty!

BEFORE:

NOW: Still a work in progress, but improving!

 

We still need to replace the sink and countertop and lose the awkward peninsula but it's nice to see progress. 

The secret of our success!

I'm so proud of my kids. They've worked incredibly hard the past few weeks. No one is making them do this. They can decide that they don't feel like working. At times, they have, and thats ok. They know that this is what needs to get done and they are willing and happy to help. That's not to say that no one has gotten tired or sick of all the work but I've been so impressed with their ability and willingness to work, work hard and to stick with a task until it's finished. Tanner has painted most of the house herself. Dominick installed the living room floor almost completely by himself. I just helped with the measuring. He did all the cutting and hammering into place. 

Aravis and Dominick ripped out two carpets, pulled up all the little boards with nails (I'm sure they have a name but I don't know what it is) and pried out all the baseboards. 

 Aravis was most happy when she had work to do. She painted, sanded and filled in nail holes. She worked tirelessly, one afternoon, removing the screws from the old, beat up mailbox that were completely stripped and rusted in place. She stayed with it for hours and didn't give up until she had figured out a way to get those screws off. 

There was more I was hoping to have done before we moved in but sometimes you need to know when to let things go. My kids need a break. I need a break. And more importantly, we need a few last days in our current home before we say goodbye. It will all get done eventually. 

Work, Work And More Work!

This is what the last week of our life has looked like.

Boxes, messes and a stubborn bookshelf that refuses to empty.

Endless to do lists

And neglected children who have been surviving on Popsicles.

And this is what the next few weeks are going to look like.

We're beginning renovations at the new house. It's daunting, but exciting and fun. My work team consists of a 13 year old carpenter, a fifteen year old painter, a 10 year old assistant and an almost two year old anti-productivity manager.  The kids and I are going to try to do as much of the work ourselves as we can.

We've set up a place for Xury to play and nap in one of the rooms that we won't be working on.

I'm excited because we got a lot done today. There is so much to do and we want to get most of it done before we move in at the end of the month. We all worked together, took turns entertaining the baby (Dominick's turn was, by far, the loudest but most entertaining) and ended up getting a lot accomplished. Dominick and I went to Home Depot to get paint, flooring and other supplies. I set up an appointment with an air-conditioning repairman. Dominick took all the doors and hardware off the cabinets and patched a hole in the wall. The girls cleaned the walls, filled nail holes and we all painted. We got one whole room painted. Tomorrow we'll rip up the carpet, start laying down the laminate flooring and priming the cabinets. Just painting the one room made such a dramatic difference that I can't wait to see how the rest turns out!