Week 1 @ 3211 Green

We moved in last Saturday (2 days after we got keys) and a lot has happened since then.
Front of the house has stayed the same...

Kitchen Transformation. Original kitchen:

View of the kitchen standing in the dining room. (Looking at the dining/kitchen wall)

Same view of the dining/kitchen wall - but no wall! And no cabinets in the kitchen. Completely stripped. Work will be done with the electrician, gas and plumbing in the next few weeks. Then cabinets will hopefully arrive mid-September.

View from the far living room end - looking towards the dining room.

 And view of the living/dining room with no carpet! Grandma watched the kids for us while Jack & I spent all weekend ripping up carpet. Hardwood floors should be installed within 2-3 weeks. Stay tuned!

And because I don't trust that you will believe me when I say that I worked too. Here's a picture of my two blisters (thumb and palm) after only 30 minutes of work! But I wrapped it up and kept at it. Be proud. =)

 The mudroom is a different story. It had two layers of laminate and a sub-floor in between. Well, we found thousands of staples, and they all needed to be pulled out. Again, another picture for you in case you aren't believing the extent of our hard work this weekend. =)

 

 And after pulling out the staples, the 2nd layer of laminate did not come up easy. We had to use an iron to peel it up - and we'll be ironing/pulling laminate up all week.

The boys. What have they been up to?

Grandma has saved us. She came to help with the boys during move-in weekend. Taught them how to play badminton and brought us food. Then they had a sleepover weekend at Grandma's this past weekend while Jack & I pulled up the carpet. On the way to her house, Colin realized that I was not going to be sleeping with them at Grandma's. They both cheered for joy and screamed "Oh, yeah! Sleepover at Grandma's!"  They are loving this renovation time - it's truly an adventure for them. And when we went to pick them up, we did our laundry, ate food/cookies and she sent us home with very happy boys and more food. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Once we have our kitchen, we'll cook you plenty of fabulous meals. (We're assuming new kitchens come with cooking lessons.)

 Other house things to note:

• We woke up to 3 deer in the backyard. (never would have happened at the old house)
• The next door neighbor has a dog that howls when a siren drives by. The boys and I thought that it was a coyote the first time we heard it. After that, they were a bit hesitant to play in the backyard by themselves. I can't blame them.
• Justin had a rough first couple of nights, but since then, neither of them have shown any signs of stress about our living situation. They are loving it. And honestly, Jack & I aren't too stressed about living here while renovations are going on. We're just happy to be here.
• Jack and I are debating. Is this a dying tree or the first signs of an early Autumn?

•  This is where Jack makes his coffee everyday. (The fridge, microwave and toaster oven are in the garage.)

•  Thanks to our friends, we have gotten through this first week at the house. Not to mention that it's Orientation week at my work - so it's been busy.  Friends helped us out with dinners for 2 nights. Their school was also closed for 2 days so they spent the afternoons with their Oakdale buddies, Evan & Drew. The big boys during their quiet time. =) Thank you everyone for joining our adventure and helping us through it.

 And this picture is from the last night in our old house. I just had to post it. Justin's bed is on the right and Colin's is on the left - but I suppose it doesn't matter when you're brothers having fun. And they usually go to bed with pj's on - I'm not sure what happened this night.

Have a great week everyone!