Checking In

Hello All!

I feel like that's how my life has been the last 6 weeks. I'm checked out most of the time, and every once in a while, the clouds clear- the sun breaks through and I can breathe! We've had some major life changes, and in the last 6 weeks we've:

had a new furnace installed

re-sided the front and side of our house

replaced our roof

new carpet

three bedroom closets built

two bedrooms sheet rocked, taped, mudded (I'm a mud hen now!) sanded, textured and painted

the entire house, upstairs and down, textured and painted

sanded and refinished our hardwood floors (I sanded some- I'm an equal opportunity floor destroyer)

we have a basement bathroom that went from a muddy pit dug through our foundation to fresh cement, new framing, sheetrock and two coats of mud. The cute vanity, mirror and shelf are eagerly awaiting their new abode.

Did I forget anything? Let's see... new baseboards? Did I mention those? Vinyl tile in a couple of basement rooms....Our deck still needs to be pulled down and rebuilt, and maybe our kitchen cupboards, floor and counters replaced.... and the exterior of our house painted... in the next....what...10 days?

That's the goal anyway.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my mom for putting us up for TWO WHOLE WEEKS whilst our home was gutted. It was so nice to chill on her basement couch in my underwear flipping channels and drooling when it all got to be too much. Want to see what I've lived through?

The new master closet. Lewis has now learned to run electrical. A valuable skill indeed.

Our beautiful new floors! To get a mental image of what they used to be like, a few months ago, I had Liam lay down on his back so I could adjust something, and he said he couldn't, that he had an owie on his head. I felt the back of his head, and yes, there was a little lump. It was a raised black dot. I grabbed some tweezers and gave the dot a tug and....my stomach lurched. A splinter an inch long came out! I mean, it just kept coming and coming! Apparently, Liam had been scooting along the floor on his back, and zip! In goes an inch long piece of floor!

This is a barn floor no more.

This is what one half of my kitchen looked like last week. If you crane your neck, you can see my computer in there somewhere. Explains my lack of blogging, huh?

A new basement closet, and a very traumatized little dog. It's gonna take them years to ever feel secure again.

Yes, life has been kinda like Dante's Inferno. Every time I think I've arrived at the final ring of hell, surprise! There's one that's worse.

There have been definite bright spots though. A friend who sneaks dinner into my fridge while I'm gone, another who was experienced enough moving furniture to help me maneuver a king sized bed through a tiny hall, and ice cream waffle cones after cubs. Cooking with my mom in her kitchen, watching my dad play catch with my boys in their back yard...

I think we just cleared a major hurdle today in our plans though, and I've spent the last two nights in my very own bed, in my very own master suite. The new carpet is soft, and no animals have defiled it, no children have been sick on it and it feels so soft between my toes. I love the shiny floors, and I love bedtime now that four boys aren't crammed in one room. Ah! Blessed quiet.

So, could it be? Is it all downhill from here? I've never really listed a home for sale before. It's easier than what I've been through so far, right?

Right?

***If you know our plans already, you know why they're secret, so please keep them quiet for ONE MORE WEEK. Then I'll be able to announce them and include pictures! (yay) Feel free to discuss them then, ok?***