Building something new

Here we are, 6 months after we moved in.  We finally have Internet service!  My MacBook is broken, so for now I am posting via my iPad.

6 months post move and we still have so much work to do.  Our latest project is setting up a big big room, since we are only a few short months away from expecting a new baby boy!  I guess that means we need a new nickname for Baby L.  If I asked him, I'm pretty sure he'd say it should be little monkey.  He loves to spin around and howl like a monkey.  It's cute...except when he ones it really loud or when we are in the car.

Delays

I have not abandoned the blog; I had to take a break.  

Once the builder started talking about delays I  couldn't bring myself to write anything about the house.  It seemed like writing, thinking, or dreaming about it just made it feel further away. 

We are now back on track.  Depending on the weather, we should be moving in early February.

I'll update this weekend with pictures.

Insulation and Drywall

In the last two weeks, the house has really started to take shape.  On the outside, the siding is going up. Inside, insulation, and dry wall have been hung; cabinetry is starting to go in this week as well.

By the time we got up to the house to check out the insulation, it was dark out.  We were not able to see much.   

 When we came back out later that weekend, they were busy hanging the drywall.  We did not want to get in their way, so we took a few pictures then went on our merry way.

The siding has started to go up on the sides and back of the house.   I am really happy with our siding choice.   When you are in the design meeting, you have several siding samples to pick from, the sample is really a card sized chip showing the color.  We have seen a few other houses with this color, but I was having a hard time visualizing it on our house for some reason.

Now that drywall is up and cabinets are going in, it is starting to feel like a house more than something under construction.  It was fun looking at our cabinet selection, and seeing the rooms closed in.  

I hope you all had a happy Hanukkah, I wish you a Merry Christmas.  I am sure I will write again before the new year.

Anticipation

I  am not very good at waiting.  Everyone keeps telling me now that the framing has finished, the rest will go fast.  Well, I am not sure if it's the growing excitement of the upcoming holidays, or if it's just that I am growing increasingly weary of our little mouse house.   Maybe, its a combination of the two.  I was in a particularly bad mood last night.  Why you ask?  Well, because I went to watch a Christmas special on TV, but it just didn't feel right without the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree.  Yes, I made my felt Christmas tree and Activity Advent Calendar, and that does give our mouse house a festive feel.  It's just not the same.  I miss the smell, I miss the ambient lighting, I miss the glitter of the lights off glass ornaments.  But its not just the Christmas tree that I am missing, is it?  No, it's not just the lack of Christmas tree.   My annual baking spree is affected too.  I am limited in counter space, limited in storage space and limited by my appliances.   I miss my kitchen aid mixer!  (Insert tiny violin here). There are several other holiday traditions, that I have had to put on hold for another year.   I am tired of putting everything on hold.  I am impatient!

So, while I was hoping that the holiday season would keep me merry and bright while I wait for the house, I think instead, it has made me a bit of a grump, not quite a Scrooge or a Grinch.  I still love the Christmas season.  It just doesn't feel the quite right. 

If I can just find the patience to get through the next week, I know I will feel differently.   I start my vacation, and the Christmas tour to visit with all the Grandparents. 

Pre Drywall Meeting

This week we had our pre drywall meeting.  We met with the project manager and walked through the house, pointing out electrical, plumbing etc.

As promised here are some of the inside pictures!

The Garage

Morning room

What will eventually be the kitchen.

Family room

Office

Master Bedroom

Awesome bathtub....I can't wait!

Attic

Well that's it!!  The framing is complete, now we just wait for inspections, insulation then drywall!!

We are getting close, I am soooo excited I can't stand it!

All Framed Up

It's been a busy few weeks, so I am behind with my updates, but the framing is complete!  

Starting with the oldest first!   

I enjoyed watching the workers wrap the house, then cut the holes for the windows and adding the window flashing.

The next visit, the house was complete wrapped, and some of the windows are in.  

The most recent visit, the front porch roof has been framed, the houses wrapped, windows in, and the stairs inside were built.  

Inside pictures next time!  I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Framing is coming along

Thankfully Hubs and I voted earlier in the day, not just because the lines were long after work, but because it's getting dark so early now that daylight savings time has ended.  We raced up to the site directly after work.

We didn't have much time out on the site, and the workers were still there.

The framing is coming along and the house is really starting to take shape.

The front of the house

The back of the house.

Framing the 2nd floor

I was thrilled to discover that the builders were able to start the framing of the 2nd floor, despite the 3 days of rain from Hurricane Sandy.

Framing 1st floor

We were pleasantly surprised to find the framing had begun!

Foundation week 2

Foundation is done!

Footers and Foundations

The following week we saw the Footers being poured.

Then the foundation getting built.

Clearing the Land

After meeting with the construction manger about where the house would sit on the property, and how much land to clear, we returned to the home site to see the land cleared.

Here the land has been cleared, but the trees have not been cleared.

The next visit the land and trees had been cleared.

Occupying our time

Once September hit, and the pool was closed, we knew we needed to plan a lot of  family outings on the weekends to get us out of our mouse house.

The first weekend in September, we took a day trip to Northern Neck, the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.

Exploring the town.

Looking out over the water.

Pretty boats.

Another weekend we went off to explore Maymont, a park with wildlife exhibits and a petting zoo.

Goats!

Koi Pond

Baby L demands to walk by himself.

The last weekend of September was the State Fair! 

This was my first time at the Virginia State Fair, I didn't know what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised by the whole event.  There was so much to see and do!

They had all sorts of animals, cows, llamas, bears, kangaroos, goats and more!

An entire agriculturaal area.

All sorts of rides, from camel rides to carnival rides.

Our little Mouse house

By August we had moved into our temporary mouse-house and put the majority of our belongings into a garage here on the apartment property.

Photo courteous of apartments.com

The apartment itself is 600 square feet, which would be fine if it was just the two of us.  600 square feet for two adults, two 80 lb. dogs, and a toddler, is a tight squeeze.  When setting up the apartment we had to be creative with the space and make sure that each area was multi-purpose.   For example, the nursery is also the office.


The nice part about moving into the apartment in the summer, was having a pool.   We spent many hot summer evenings at the pool, grilling dinner and enjoying the cool water.

Packing and Moving Part 1

Packing with a baby who is learning to walk is hard work.  Baby L was able to unpack boxes almost as quickly as I could pack them.

We chose to move in phases, which equated to every weekend in July we had something to move somewhere.

• Weekend 1 move into the apartment
• Weekend 2 move from storage unit to garage
• Weekend 3 move from house to garage
• Weekend 4 move/sell whatever was left

July was hot and exhausting.

 I just love this picture of baby L,  at this point the house was nearly empty.