The MOTHER of All House Posts

The rumor is that we've moved into the house. Finally. And that all the plumbing and foundation repairs are done.

That is true.

The rumor is that we got a decent allowance from the seller's insurance to replace the floor torn up by the foundation and plumbing people.

That is true.

The rumor is that the allowance was generous enough and that we were diligent enough in finding and comparing carpet/tile people that we were able to accomplish some major work to the house as well, such as getting a new water heater, revamping some electrical to get the right kind of outlet for the range in the kitchen, and making a big hole in the wall between the living room and the family room.

That is true too.

What you HAVEN'T heard is that redoing the floors happened just this last week, so we've been living out of boxes and in relative chaos for 10 days. During the first weekend of those 10 days, we also had my dad, my brother the Former Marine, and my Other Brother and his little family over to help with the painting. (I would have pictures of their visit, but I couldn't find my camera. I knew it was in a box *somewhere*, but I just couldn't find the right box.) When we made this plan, we were supposed to have the entire month of August to move in and get things ready. Instead, we had the last day of August and the first two days of September, with the first of our company coming on the third day of September. It was some crazy and stressful times. (Major shout out to my visiting teachers and my in-laws--all of them--for all the help they gave us.)

Add to that the fact that we had no hot water and no functioning stove (though I did prove to myself that it is possible to feed people using a Foreman grill, a crockpot, and a microwave--thanks to my sister-in-law for scrambling eggs in the microwave!), and I'm just grateful they're all still speaking to me! Though the Former Marine did say that of all the cold showers he's ever taken, the ones in our house were the most refreshing. And thanks go to my fabulous in-laws for opening their home, and their bathrooms, to us and our guests during our time of need.

But we got through it. Half of the painting is done--turns out my dad is some kind of painting machine--and the floors are finally in and the stove, the all-important stove, is now functional. Wahoo! Normal life can begin in a few more weeks, once I have the painting done and the boxes unpacked.

ANYway. People have been asking for pictures. Let's do a before and after, shall we?

The kitchen before:


And after (note the red wall!):

(I got a little excited and started taking pictures as soon as the carpet was down--not everything had been put away yet.)

The living room before:


And after (same angle. Notice the hole in the wall?):


The garage conversion/homeschooling room before:


And after (still needs painting, but the wallpaper is down!):



The girls' room before:


And after (I know, I know, I need to take a better picture. Trust me, there will be another blog post when all the big stuff is done):


The Boy's room before:


And after (don't mind the big pile of junk--it disappeared shortly after I took this picture):


And our room before:


And after, and still in need of a paint job:


It's starting to take shape! And I loveloveLOVE the new carpet. So soft! So pretty! So unstained!

There will be another blog post soon when I've accomplished the following:
-painting both bathrooms, our bedroom, and the homeschooling room
-putting up all the curtains
-unpacked a few more boxes
Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to enjoy the hot water some more.