Finished At Last!

All we have to do now is unpack...here are some photos of the finished product!

While I Was Away...

During the last two weeks of a production, it feels like I am not really present at all in my life away from school and the theatre.  This time around that was certainly the case, and for the first time I felt like I was a part of a TV show.  More specifically the show "While You Were Out".  On this show unsuspecting individuals leave their home, and return to it with the surprise of a  remodel.  To me of course, it was not a surprise, but a lot has happened in two weeks.  I would leave home in the dark and return in the dark, so it was exciting to finally see things in the light. The project is almost complete and we are in love with the finished (almost) product!

A Pit and Fumes

No these aren't the main elements of a horror movie, nor am I talking about a teenager after P.E., they are the current elements at our house.  The stain was put on the cupboards today and the pit was dug outside for the new septic tank.  The smell of the finish takes me back to my childhood when I'm pretty sure our house smelled like this for a couple of years as mom and dad built everything inside the house.  The pit....it's pretty scary--maybe the cat from a few weeks ago will find its way into it...kidding....well, sort of kidding!  

One Step Closer to the Finish

My favorite cabinet...the wine cabinet
The wall that the fridge, oven and microwave will be on

The work station/desk in the laundry room

It's been a while since the last remodel update.  First and foremost, I'm excited to announce that we are getting to the end of the remodel posts.  We are almost finished!  This week was a week filled with painting, baseboard installation and most importantly cabinet installation.  It is really starting to look like a house now.  You can see for yourself in the photos!  You will notice that we are already starting to utilize the counters in the kitchen- how sad is it, they aren't even finished and our crap is already starting to accumulate on them.  Old habits die hard. 

Almost There

The dry wall is up, the end is in sight, can't wait 'til we eat in our kitchen at night! (I've been immersed in Shakespeare at rehearsal, can you tell?)

No more support...

Dave and Cooper in the new room
Bella in the kitchen

We had a great surprise today when we got home from a long day of work- our first with students.  The support wall that has been up in our house since the remodel began is finally gone!  Now it's possible for us, and those of you looking at the pictures to get a better idea of the new floor plan. The first picture is a view of the new family room if you are standing in the middle of the kitchen.  The second picture is looking into the kitchen from the new family room.  The third is the view of the addition from right inside the front door.  

It's a Wrap

Today the crews started placing the tiles in their new spots on the roof.  In addition to finishing off that big job, they also wrapped the walls of the addition.  Other than the fact that at this point the outside of our house looks like the homecoming floats we would stuff with McDonald's napkins in high school (think lots of chicken wire), from the outside looking in at least, the end is in sight!

Raise the Roof

Friday was a whirlwind of activity around here.  Inside "the house" the electrician and plumber were wiring and installing pipes like crazy.  Outside the roofers were getting  a good start on their task.  The streets around our house were lined with all of the workers trucks.  I'm sure this really annoyed the neighbors, but as far as we are concerned, the more the merrier.

Walk-Ins "Welcome"

Time for a remodel update...we now have new windows and doors.  The doors are beautiful and really give the existing house an update.  The only problem; no handles/locks yet.  So as the title says, it is a bit nerve-wracking in the middle of the night to know that someone could just "walk-in".

Framed

Here are some snapshots of the latest stage of the remodel.  We still feel like the project is moving along at a good pace.  No complaints yet, let's hope the pattern continues.

And then there were walls

Things are progressing along quite nicely with our remodeling project.  Today, in the midst of a small earthquake, the walls went up.  The framer joked that he knew our house was earthquake safe as he watched the rafters and new walls as the one today was happening.  Now that the walls are up, we are getting quite excited as you can really start to see the shape of things to come. Cooper was adorable when he stood in the space that will soon be a bathroom and said, "what if it rains when we use this bathroom, there isn't a roof."  I think our excitement today confused him into thinking that the project was finished.  Ah, to be five again!

The Shape of Things To Come

Yesterday was the day that things started to take shape around here.  Before 7 am, we heard the beep beep beep of the cement truck as it backed it's way down our driveway.  For some reason the sound made me think of one Cooper's favorite books, I Stink.  Those guys got right to work, the owner of the company was leaving today for a trip to South Dakota with his good friend who used to live in...Iowa.  He said you can't find anyone nicer than someone from Iowa.  Maybe that is why he made a point to finish this before he left for two weeks.  Based on stories I've heard from mom and dad, some sub-contractors are not so considerate.  The kids loved watching the process, and now that it is finished, we can really get a better idea of the size of the addition and where appliances will be in our hopefully soon to be finished kitchen!

It's Karma Baby

During our trip to Iowa, we were discussing the time period when mom and dad built our house in Storm Lake.  I was Cooper's age then and I was telling them that I remember it as being a time when I just ran around unsupervised.  I remember playing hide and go seek in the garage that was packed with all of our furniture and in my memory there is no adult supervision.  Of course, like mom said, she was always there, just busy doing things.  You know what they say, what goes around comes around...Karma baby.  As the remodeling project on our house progresses, I now find myself in my mom's shoes.  The other morning I was rushing around the house trying to get things done before the sub-contractors arrived.  Suddenly, I couldn't find the kids. This is scary when there are huge piles of dirt and holes in the area that used to be our kitchen. Then I heard the giggling, they were in the room where all of our stuff is being stored playing "monster dog" (whatever that is) and loving life. Sounds a lot like unsupervised hide and go seek does it not?

If Walls Could Talk

The walls in our kitchen have been there through the move in, years without babies, two pregnancies, family dinners, party with friends, Cooper's first year of homework and numerous art projects.  They have been there through thick and thin and if they could talk, the stories they could tell.  Enclosed in the wall is the first "project" my dad took on while visiting.  The window seat.  Once it was in, the house felt like ours.  All that sentiment aside, we are excited for the next stage- the remodel. So, hasta la vista walls, it's on to bigger and better things!

Decisions, Decisions

Today our compromising skills were put to the test as we attempted to pick out tile for our soon to be room addition.  We had different ideas when it came to the tile. It finally came down to this; Dave picks the tile, I pick the granite, the back splash and the paint color for the walls. Considering the fact that he wanted to do pergo in the first place, I guess I shouldn't complain.  In order to not appear too greedy, I feel the need to mention that in an earlier negotiation session, he picked out the color of the cabinets.  So far so good, no marriage counseling necessary.  Now, all we can hope is that everything looks good when it is actually in the house instead of a small sample in a fairly poorly lit showroom.