More Work Done

Since Ty doesn't work on Fridays, we (read "he") got a lot more work done on the house yesterday. He headed over at about 8:30 and got to work on the gas line. The house is heated by gas, but we also wanted the clothes dryer to run on gas, so he had to put in a gas line from the furnace to the dryer. He had to tear up the entire wall in the laundry room. He had to take the laundry folding counter off and take the cupboards underneath it apart. I dropped by at about 9:45 so I could pick him up to run a few errands. We dropped Samantha off at the Paramount Theater for a party and then went shopping for kitchen chairs. We also took Tristan to the comic book store so he could show them his report card and get his gift from Topps Trading Cards. I think we found the perfect chairs. Now we just have to decide if we'll get them. We also went to Ace Hardware so Ty could pick up a part he needed for the gas line. Then I dropped him back off at the house and then I went to pick up Samantha. We went to lunch and took Tristan for a haircut. Usually, my sister-in-law does it, but it was a bit of an emergency. The boy looked like a sheepdog. Once his hair was a little less shaggy, we went back to the house so we could get it all cleaned up for Jeremy's wife, Sandi, to come for a visit this weekend. Jeremy is in Iraq (keep him in your prayers, please) so she's doing the single parent thing. I got a Migraine and had to lay down for a bit while the kids worked on the downstairs bathroom and family room. At a little before 4, we took Tristan over to his Scoutmaster's house for a camping trip. Then Samantha, Zachary, and I headed back over to the house. Ty had gotten the gas line completely run and checked for leaks. He got the wall repaired, the cupboards put together, and the counter put back on. He repainted the walls and cupboards. The room looks like he never touched it! You would never know that it had been completely disassembled. He amazes me. He also did all the touch up in Zach's room and the spare bedroom. When we showed up, I puttied a few spots, removed some screws and nails I missed before and puttied those as well. Ty continued to touch up and I scored the wallpaper in the master bathroom in preparation for removal. Ty removed a swatch of paint from Samantha's room and the living room so we can take them to Home Depot and get the analyzed. Those are the only two rooms the previous owner didn't leave paint for. So you see, we got a ton done yesterday! Maybe we will get it done by next weekend.

Don't Judge Me

Last night, Samantha came to our door with a stomach ache. It was so bad that she was sobbing (which doesn't really help matters, but...) Anyway, I have a confession to make: I'm kinda happy she was sick. Now before you judge me too harshly, let me explain. It gave me the chance to be "Mommy" instead of just "Mom." I don't get to be "Mommy" to Samantha anymore. She's getting to be such a young lady. But last night, after getting her to lay on her stomach on the floor, I got to lay down beside her. I got to rub her back and whisper encouraging words in her ear. I ran my fingers through her hair. I pressed my forehead against her forehead and told her she was gonna be fine and No, we couldn't sue Little Caesars. I stayed with her until she fell asleep and then I tucked her blanket snugly around her before going back to my own bed. I really enjoyed being "Mommy." So you see, I'm not some freak with Munchausen Syndrome, I'm just a mother who occasionally misses that little girl who used to live here.

The Work Begins

This week, we started work on the house this week. And there's so much to be done! Ty wanted to begin by re-vamping the closet in the master bedroom. The previous owners had it full of organizers and it just didn't work. I don't know how they ever had it full of two people's clothes! Actually, when we visited the house when we were still looking, the wife had already moved out, so it was just his clothes and they filled the closet. Anyway, Ty completely disassembled it, removed the drawers, adjusted the length and depth of the hangers, and added shelves to the bottom for our shoes. The end result was twice the closet he started with. He did an amazing job.
When Ty was looking for all the pieces of his table saw so he could work on the closet, he brought several boxes from the storage unit to the house. A few of the boxes were full of books and games, and since we aren't making any changes to the shelves in the living room, I started unpacking a little.

We had to go through all the rooms and remove about a million screws and nails. I don't know how they could possibly had that much stuff hung on their walls! Then Samantha and I went through the rooms with this Sheetrock putty stuff and filled the holes so they can later be touched up with a little paint.
Those white ones are buggers! They are wall anchors and they leave HUGE holes in the walls. I hope the putty keeps.
Do you see all the paint stuck to those nails and screws? That is the epitome of laziness right there. They couldn't be bothered with removing them before they painted, they just painted right over them. There were several layers on those things!
I have been amazed by the things the previous owners have left behind. The cupboards and drawers in the kitchen had all kinds of things left in them.
Besides all the garbage found in the corners, I also found all this. Most of it was crap, but the dish clothes, dish towels, and pitcher are pretty nice.
The backyard is loaded with dog poop. I don't think they ever used a pooper scooper. There was also a plethora of balls, chew toys, and feeding bowls lying around the back porch and yard. But the Pièce de résistance was the cat. Yes, I said "cat"! We couldn't figure out why this black and white cat kept hanging out by the back door. That is until we looked under the blue bucket. do you see the hole cut into the side of the bucket? The bucket was upside-down and there was a pillow under the bucket. It was the cat's little home! Can you believe they LEFT THEIR CAT??? Un-be-liev-able! When we took the bucket out of the backyard, the cat moved on. I hope he's okay, wherever he is.
The cupboards were lined with this contact paper that I think has been there since the house was built in 1982! It was the butt-ugliest pattern ever created and it was peeling up all over the place.
Can you believe all the paper I pulled? It took almost an hour to get it all out. That stuff can really stick to wood, you know? The paper filled that blue bucket from earlier. It was amazing.

There is still a lot to be done. Ty has to run the gas line to the dryer so we can have a gas instead of electric dryer. There is a hole in the guest bedroom that the previous owners cut in the wall in order to get to the water line. That has to be repaired. The master bathroom's wallpaper is peeling off and needs to be removed so we can paint the walls. The plumbing under the kitchen sink is leaky, so Ty needs to get that taken care of. Tristan's room will need to be repainted because there were so many nails and nail holes in the walls that once they were puttied, the walls looked like they were polka-dotted. But you know what? It's all ours! There's a lot of work to be done, but it will all be worth it because it's all for our home. I can't wait to move in!!!

We're Closed!

A few weeks ago, we noticed this little addition to the "For Sale" sign in the front yard of the house we're buying. So we had to stop and take a picture. A few people drove by as we were getting the picture done and they got big smiles on their faces when they saw what we were doing. I think they were happy for us, too.
This morning, Ty and I met with our Realtor, Kim and the title lady, Theresa at AmeriTitle. Ty wrote a check for the down payment and then it was on to the paperwork.
It took us an hour to get all the paperwork signed. There were so many disclosures and contract agreements to sign. Several were simply repeats of the same thing, over and over again. Ty's hand was very tired by the time we were finished.
Then, outside the front doors, Kim handed Ty the keys to our home. OUR HOME!
(Commercial break: Kimberly Hurley is an amazing Realtor. She bent over backward for us. She was there for us every step of the way. When the seller's Realtor kept screwing things up, Kim was the one who cleaned up the mess. And quickly, too! If anybody is looking to buy a home in the Idaho Falls area, I would strongly recommend Kimberly Hurley-208-313-4148) After Kim gave us the keys she gave us a huge gift basket from Great Harvest Bread. (I think my diet will be suspended until all the goodies are gone.)
On the way home, we had to stop by the house. We tried all the keys and played with the garage door opener. When the kids get home from school, I'm gonna pile them all in the car and take them over so they can run around in the empty house. Ty's already there. He is starting the renovation to the master closet today. I'm so excited that the house is finally ours. Now I can't wait to get everything ready so we can move in. It's gonna be great!

Pathetic Puppy

Mayzee does NOT like to get a bath. If I'm not careful about getting the supplies ready for her bath and she sees the bath paraphernalia, she will hide behind the couch and it's next to impossible to get her out.
She's very good during the bath. She stands very still and lets me scrub her really good, but she looks at you with the most pathetic little face. And that face stays until she's completely dry. She is very good at "The Guilt Trip."

I Can Do It All By Myself

Zachary is so proud of himself. I decided that it was about time for me to teach him how to tie his shoelaces. I've been a little intimidated about teaching him. I haven't taught anyone to tie his shoelaces since Tristan was 5 years old. (A neighbor taught Samantha, I didn't think she was old enough. -I was wrong!) Anyway, I bit back my unease and began showing Zach how to tie his shoes.
At first it took him a long time to get them tied and his knots were really loose, but soon he got the hang of it. Now he's a shoe tie-ing fool. And he's VERY proud of himself.