Sunday, July 15, 2012

And So It Begins . . .

We did the final walk through of our house at 10:00 on Friday.  We closed around 11:30 (after FINALLY finding out the paper work was complete, and swinging by the bank to get a certified check).  My amazing friend Jessica kept Kaden for me all morning.  Thank goodness.  About half way through signing our lives away, I thought, "Thank goodness I am not trying to entertain Kaden right now."  It would have been a nightmare.  Seriously.  After we signed the papers we swung back by the house to pick up the extra keys (the seller was still moving things out . . . such a long story . . . but again, let me stress that I never want to purchase a short sale again).  I went back to Cary to pick up Kaden, then took him to the new house to nap in the pack-n-play while I started cleaning and prepping for painting.  The house is filthy.  Not dirty.  Filthy.  It terrifies me that people were living there before we bought it.  The pictures don't do the filth justice.  I am constantly telling Kaden not to touch anything, and trying to get him to stand on blankets I've spread on the floor instead of the carpet (we are going to be replacing all of the flooring, but are trying to get the painting completed first).  Here's a quick photo tour.  I brought the wrong lens, and quickly realized I couldn't get any wide angle shots, but it is what it is:

This is the outside of the front of the house.  I actually stole this one from the realtor's website, since I forgot to take any pictures of the outside of the house.  Woops.  The eventual plan is to replace the front door.  We are also going to paint all of the shutters black.  The landscaping, of course, will also go through some major changes.  We probably won't get to the outside of the house until fall, since so much work needs to be completed on the inside.  It is by far the roughest house on the block.  Our neighbors seem very friendly and very excited that we are doing work on the house.

I had already swept, shop vac-ed, and vacuumed before taking the photos downstairs, so it doesn't really showcase the state of things when we walked in.   Picture a lot more dead bugs (the exterminator came on Saturday afternoon . . . I set that appointment up the minute I knew we were getting the house).  I will try to get some close-ups of the carpet later.  These photos make it look so much better than it looks in person, which is saying a lot.  The downstairs has a really open floor plan.  This is the family room area, looking into the dining room.  The pass through window goes into the kitchen. We are planning on replacing all of the downstairs flooring with pre-finished hardwood.


There is a half bath to the right.


 This is looking the other direction.  The open door goes into the half bath.
 Here are some photos of the kitchen.  It's going to go through a major overhaul.  We're just not sure what that will entail yet.


 The sliding doors open to a two-tiered deck.  There is a fenced backyard.  It's a small yard, but it's a yard, and it's fenced.

 When you go upstairs . . .
 There is a bonus room over the garage.  This is going to be a guest room for now.  Eventually, when we add another baby to the family, this will also double as an office space.  (Notice I'd already started putting up potential paint samples on the walls.)


This room is going to be Kaden's spot:



This is the upstairs bathroom.  It has a tub/shower combo.

 This is our bedroom:
 And yes, that really is a pink bathroom attached to a brown bedroom.


Double vanity!!! YAY!!! (It's the little things, folks.)
 Garden tub (I am so excited for bubble baths, when I get it fully sanitized, of course).
 Shower, and door leading to walk in closet (YAY!  Not sure where Chad's stuff is going to go . . . just kidding . . . kind of).  The toilet is on the other side of the shower, before you get to the closet.
There's one more bedroom (which we will use as an office), but Kaden was sleeping in it when I took the pictures, and I forgot to get one later.  I'll have to remember to get one tomorrow.  It's a real gem.  All the walls are bright green, the ceiling is yellow, and the trim is bright blue.

Up close and personal with some of the filth (this is what Chad found when he changed the air filter upstairs.  Not sure it's ever been changed):


And now we get to the part where I brag about my in-laws, and you wish they were your in-laws.  They are awesome.  Amazing.  They drove to Raleigh on Friday evening just so they could help us get started on our renovations.  It gets better.  They brought a cooler.  With snacks.  And drinks.  Joy kept Kaden entertained after he woke up.  She even took him home and put him to bed, so we could keep working until after midnight.  The next day, she kept him all day again, and Bruce helped us work, work, and work some more.   Here are some shots of us working on Friday night:  


 I'm looking hot in my painting garb.  Also, after looking at this picture it makes complete sense why my back is in severe pain now.  What was I thinking with that posture?  

 It's amazing what a little paint can do.  It already started to feel TONS better with just one coat.


And because I can't resist, here are some pictures of Kaden "climbing the Daddy mountain" on Saturday before we went called it quits. (Have you read The Daddy Mountain? Super cute children's book.  Go read it to some little cub of your own.)

 My two best one boys:

Our beautiful ceiling fan that my in-laws bought us as a house-warming gift.  It's the same light fixture we had in our den in Kinston, and I LOVE it.  I didn't like anything better than the one we used to have, so we bought the same one.

Everything downstairs (except the kitchen--going to do that in one, big overhaul) has been painted.  We are going to install crown molding eventually, along with chair rail, and picture frame molding in the dining room.

We made a big dent, but there is still SO MUCH left to do.  I am freaking out.  Seriously.  I leave for Utah on the 24th of July, and I won't be back until August 28th.  Chad's going to be moving our stuff on his own.  Not to mention how much needs to be completed before I leave.  Luckily, I'm the only stress case in the family.  Chad seems pretty calm, so hopefully it will work out the way he is envisioning it, not the way I am.

We took a welcome rest today, since it is Sunday.  We went to our new ward (in our church we meet in congregations based on geographical regions, so we will be attending a new congregation) and loved it.  There were lots of friendly people, and lots of young families.  Kaden even stayed in nursery for the first hour without crying.  There were twelve kids in there, so lots of friends his age.  I still had to miss Relief Society (the meeting during the last hour of the three hour block), but one hour without a break down is progress.  We're excited to get to know people, and really put down some roots.

P.S.  Today, Kaden ate an apple whole, instead of having me cut it into slices.  It was a milestone.  He is such a sweet boy.  He has been a real trooper the last few days, especially considering he spent most of Friday and Saturday without any Mommy or Daddy time.  I love this little bean!












17 comments:

  1. Even without love, the outside of the house is darling! I cannot wait to see the pictures of when the house is finished. The open layout will be really nice too!

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  2. What a cute house! And based on the outstanding fix up job you did on your last house, I'm excited to see the end result of the inside of this one! Congrats!

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  3. I think that house is beautiful! I really really liked the outside too! and the photos must really be decieving because you couldn't really see the filth in them. super duper cute house!

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  4. Looks so cute on the outside and I'm sure it will be amazing on the inside! I'm excited to see the final result!

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  5. This house is darling! It has good "bones," and I'm sure with your excellent taste you will make it even cuter. I'm sure all the moving will go more smoothly than you're thinking. And thank heavens for calm husbands who don't get stressed. :)

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  6. This post reminded me when we bought a report house when David was about Kadens age. I remember shrinking when he would try to sit down on the filthy carpet. It was a lot of work, but, it turned out to be a great house. I meant repo house!!! LOL. Good luck!! It will be great'!

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  7. How exciting! It looks like a great house and I'm sure it will be gorgeous once your done with it

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  8. I agree the house is so charming! Gotta love the historic homes with all their detail and charm on this side of the country! I'm excited to see what you do with it. (I laughed when I read about your "we'll never buy. . . " We keep wondering if we'll have the guts to get another fixer-upper next time around.) Good luck

    P.S. Your letter posts are always my favorite. So YES! I would read a blog solely consisting of them. Go for it.

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  9. I love your new home!!!! And yes, you do have great in laws. So glad that they could come help you out.

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  10. Such a cute doll house! I LOVE it. It is sad, we have had our keys longer than you and the only thing we have done is spray out the garage. You are FAST! Good luck with everything! It will look great!

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  11. the outside looks like the UP house! how exciting to make it your own!

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  12. Hey Katie,

    SUCH a cute home! Especially the outside. It looks so southern and I know when you guys finish it will look even better. What is the color you painted on your walls in the den? I like it a lot!

    Stacey

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  13. Anonymous6:55 AM

    What a cute house! So excited for you guys and yes your inlaws are the best!

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  14. That house is super cute! It looks pretty awesome for needing work. Its okay, we've lived in our house for almost 3 years now and I'm convinced it will never be done. Are you planning on living there while renovating your kitchen? Our kitchen renovation was started 3 months ago..and we still need half our cabinets and floor. I lost my mind about 6 weeks ago. Best of luck.

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  15. The ceiling fan with the light looks great. Your doing a good job.

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  16. katie and chad...wow. pretty soon you can just hang out the "contractors for contracting" sign. haha. go girl and boy and of course.old man bruce. looks gorgeous and i know you will do it "right" so have fun and know you will redo it all in ohhhh can you say 12 years for sure. haha. have fun and enjoy the fun of doing it yurself. hugs to you all. we miss you all terribly. ruth

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