- So looooong, summer! -

Not to be crazy, but hoooooow is it that it's late AUGUST already and all the kids are back in school??!!? Time is passing by in the blink of an eye, and I'd be totally lying if I said I didn't have a bitty bit of a guilty twinge about how this summer went down.  NOT to nod you off with a sob story, but I really had no idea what kind of time commitment came with building a new house [which it's now a very clear blessing in disguise that I took the leap blindly last summer!]. I know it will be all worth it in the end -- at least it better be!! -- but Brian is working more hours than ever and we are feeeeeeelin' the burn.  This general contractor game ain't a joke!  The weekends have become longer and more chaotic than the weekdays, and it feels like we are just providing the bare minimum of fun required to keep our kids happy in order to more importantly make sure everyone is fed and bathed and slept! The poor kids are stuck with me as the solo parent more often than not, and I just feel like my patience wears thin really quickly and my energy runs low most of the time.  Overall, I admit it:  we're totally in the trenches, and I feel guilty and sad that the kids have missed out on a lot of fun "summer things" this year that we definitely would've done as a normally-functioning family of four!

...In the same breath, I'm also notorious for being hard on myself, because looking back at pictures proves that we DID play hard this summer!  And in Brian's absence, Harper and Scarlett have a whole menagerie of grammys and papas and cousins and aunts and uncles who love them and have stepped in to help without hesitation.  Thank you!  And at the end of the day -- without a shadow of a doubt -- these kids know they're treasured and loved beyond measure!

So long, summer 2019!  You were exhausting, but we will remember you fondly!

:) :) :) 

- Simply Staining -

Shortly after painting came staining...

[August 2019]

...and we finally gave Grammy Resa a break from entertaining the kids and put her to work with a rag! ;) :)

This totally looks like a #nbd project, but Brian spent severalllll [un-pictured] nights out at the house until between 12am-2am working working workingggg away. And then after all the staining was finished, he went over all the windows with clear coat/varnish.  Lots of hours in these suckers, but totally worth it! I love the dark stain and and am getting really excited for dark hardwood floors followed by dark kitchen cabinets followed dark doors/trim.  

DARK THINGS, you own my soul!

- Sprayers, rollers, and brushes here, there, and everywhere! -

YAS! 'Tis time for PAINT! Weeeeeeeee.

[June 2019]

Brian hit the ground running with a few weeks of the "boring part" of painting in the form of spraying the garages white and spraying the interior walls/living spaces with primer.  We visited him out there a couple of times, but he had all windows and doors taped off [and the photos look cute and all but let me just reestablish the fact that this was taking place in late June/early July -- AKA it was a very similar feeling to the blown-in insulation hell that I hashed out over here] + there was so much messy white overspray + the smell took our breath away + ZOMG.  We quickly realized it was not a fun environment to play in and retreated to the car!

As he continued to spray for a week or two more, we hit up the paint store for swatches for the rest of the house! 

Agreeable Gray.....let's hope you are, indeed, agreeable!

After a lot of hemming and hawing and spectating of all of the swatches in different lights, we decided on final colors and ordered paint by the gallons! Scarlett's bedroom was up first...

[July 2019]

...soon to be followed by Harper's bedroom! I wanted to let both of the kids paint a few swipes in their respective rooms juuuust so they could say they helped paint their walls; needless to say, Harper painted a few swipes...and a few more...and a few more...

...and that little Energizer Bunny just kept going...and going...and going! She absolutely loved it and was so proud of her work! We sweat our booties off painting [mid-July heat with nooooo A/C, you know...] but of course had fun doing this project together. :)

[PS - Thanks to Grammy Resa for watching Sissy in the background! She got loose for 0.3 seconds and was wrist deep in the gallon of pink paint, so it goes without saying that it's more or less impossible for me to work AND keep an eye on that little pistol both at the same time!]

After the kids' bedrooms came bathrooms and laundry room...

[August 2019]

...and then the largeeee area of kitchen/dining room/living room!  

Our neighbors popped in early one Saturday morning and invited Harper to their son's baseball game.  She loved being there and Brian and I loved having an hour or so to binge-paint without her!  Thanks, friends!

A little more paint in the master bedroom...

...[complete with a sentimental touch and a mini-tribute to the house we fixed up as newlyweds!]...

 ...plus a few touch-ups here and there...

...and VOILA!!! 

Painting is doneeeeeezo!  :) :) :) :) :) 

[[On to staining!]]

- Drive-In -

A full day of working at the house calls for a full night of fun at our hometown drive-in! Lion King, here we come!

After hitting up the snack bar, Harper enjoyed making friends with all the neighboring vehicles and Scarlett stayed busy stuffing popcorn in her mouth by the fistful [call 'da police -- this was the first time a kernel ever touched her lips and there was no chance we were gonna keep it from her without suffering through a full blown screaming/flailing meltdown at the theater!].  

Throwing chairs and blankets and snacks in the bed of my dad's truck was one of my favorite childhood memories [and let's be honest, growing up and having a date at the drive-in in the bed of my high school boyfriend's truck wasn't too shabby either!]. I totally loved being able to share this wonderful past time with my kiddos! 

As evidenced by her wardrobe, we had high hopes that Scarlett would fall asleep quickly after the show started at 8:40pm... Alas, she was the last one standing and marched her way back to the car at 10:45pm with a belly full of popcorn and teddy grahams. Win, is winning, won, has won...everything about this night was a huge success in my book! 

And now....on with the show! 

- Wood Who? -

CONFESSION:  I wasn't a big fan of the idea of these wood porch ceilings [like fo' rizzle, who has wood ceilings???], but marriage is all about "give and take" and I'm a champion at the giving game when it comes to EVERYTHING about this house and so! Wood ceilings it was...  Brian measured and Papa stained:

[July 2019]

...and whaddya know? After 279 hours of labor and a few swipes with the microfiber mop [dusty toddler footprints galore], the front and back porch ceilings turned out pretty sweet after all!

- Rest is for the weary... -

...and Brian's body has not ONE weary bone!

This is a good quality this situation, I suppose, because now that we're over the hump of spray foam...

...drywall + mudding/taping...

...and brick work, the rest of the to-do list falls on Brian's shoulders!

Womp womp!

As of today at 1:38pm:  We're currently 87% of the way through painting [another post to come on that] and my dad and Brian started staining the windows this week! We just bought a [literal] ton -- or two -- of tile last night, and hopefully that project can get going once the painting is finished.  Power is set to flick on today [!!!], and shortly after the A/C is up and running [next week] we can start laying the hardwood floor! Yahooooo, things are a happenin'! 
 
While it's really refreshing that we'll never have to rely on another contractor again, the [kinda unfortunate] situation now is that Brian has been at the new house every weeknight until past bedtime and EVERY weekend day from sun-up to sun-down.  I feel for the kiddos who are missing their daddy! Our neighbor at the temporary house left a bag of apples on the doorknob today with this note:

...and I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a single momma running around like a chicken with its head chopped off, because aside from a masculine looking truck parked in the driveway between the hours of 12:30am-7:30am, there just ain't many signs suggesting a male presence otherwise!  "Fake it 'til you make it!" has become my new motto, and gosh...I don't even know....... Maybe I need alcohol or maybe I need a 3-day nap or maybe I need allllll the calming oils or MEBBE I just need to set the standards rull low and roll with the punches for the next couple of months, because it's .f.u.l.l. .b.l.o.w.n. #ballstothewalls babyyyy!  In the same breath of being flustered, it's also really exciting that it's finally time to kick this thang into full gear so we can finish everything up and MOVE IN TO THIS PRETTY NEW PAD! 

There is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel!

Oy; I've said way more than I intended to say! #hot #mess #express ...and getting hotter! Photos say it best, so here are the last few weeks in a not-so-nutshell!

**********

Brian hard at work adding guides for the roof/stone arch/peaks...

...and installing concrete boards into the shower walls...

...and measuring for front + back porch ceilings [a separate post to come on this]! 

While Daddy works, we clean! 

^^ [And play and sweat and eat and nap and try to stay out of trouble, too.]

And when Daddy shops for blown-in ceiling insulation, we tag along!

...But can we puh-leaseee never say the words "blown-in ceiling insulation" ever ever again?! Brian rented some crazy machine + hose from Home Depot, and this was the most miserable day of work to date for the poor guy who was stuck up there blowing 64 bags of insulation for 8+ hours in 110+ degree attic heat!  Papa Jim continuously loaded  and re-loaded the machine all day as we took turns traipsing up the ladder to check on Daddy [but quickly retreated back down gasping for a breath of cooler air]. Hot tamale! Oy, vey! I literally just don't know how Brian has the constant motivation to do what he does.............

Also! Papa Jim informed us that each bag of insulation expands in the hose to 17x's the size it originally was, so I'm pretty lost with that math but I'm thinking 17 x 64 x 8 to the nth degree of 110-degrees basicallyyyy multiplies out to a hellish experience that we never want to repeat!

In the days and weeks that followed, Uncle Mikey stayed busy on the porch wiring up electrical outlets... 

...and Papa Mark started staining the garage windows...

...and Papa Ron worked on the trench for patio footing!

And every once in a while [but only if we brought some enticing food], we successfully roped Daddy into sitting down for a short break! 

As evidenced by the photos, it is taking quiiiiiite a few people to pull this house off [even the grammys or aunts that are helping with childcare behind the scenes so I can be free to help with petty jobs and cleaning every now and then!].  We are so grateful to all who have lended a hand! 

Phew!

Call me weary, but I'm ready for some REST!!!