Second Night

It is the second night in the new addition and the kids are doing a fabulous job!!! I am not sure what I expected, but (knock on wood) the kids are welcoming their new bedrooms and bed times. Tonight was the first official night of getting the kids into their bedtime routines and they were excited. We broke out their new toothbrush holders and toothbrushes they got for Christmas, even Tony was excited by his new toothbrush. Jayna took the first bath in the addition and for the first time in a long time no one complained about going to bed. Jasmine is still a little nervous about going to bed. She said it was kind of lonely in the room by herself, but I think she likes the private space to go when things are crazy here.

Tackling the task of moving is overwhelming, but there is barely anything left in the old house. When I hop back into the house, it is kind of scary. It feels like I am walking through a vacant foreclosed house. Having everything we need in the new place is really good but finding the spots for them is crazy. We took ALL day today setting up the kitchen and I can tell you that it is still a work in progress. I am still trying to put things together and have them work together in the kitchen, but I did cook the first official meal alright.

Everyday we are getting more organized and falling into step. It feels like we have been living in here forever and not just a few days. WOW and in just a few months we will be ripping into the old place. YEAH!!!!

Move In Day

The long awaited day is here!!!! We have been anxiously waiting this day, but fearful at the same time. For the past few days, I have been working hard at hanging all of the hardware for curtains and assembling furniture for the rooms and today was an added bonus when Chris got off work at noon. Together we worked hard to assemble three beds and moved Tony's toddler bed and our queen up to the rooms. It was quite a scene to have to move our queen box spring out the front of the house and walk it around to the back of the house.

We are still two mattresses shy so Jayna and Nick are taking advantage of the last night of sleeping on the living room floor and watching movies. Tony on the other hand gets to celebrate his first night in his own room. I am hoping the little guys likes the warmth of his new room and doesn't wake up with cold feet anymore.

He wasn't quite sure what to expect when I walked him into his room for nighty night and he let out a few cries out when I shut his door, but I waited outside of his door to make sure he was okay. His cries quickly turned into giggles and small talk when he discovered his stuffed horse he brings to bed with him. In less than two minutes, Tony was out for the count. I think that was a good omen. It also helped that we are still putting him in his pack-n-play for the transition so I think he still feels secure in the family bed.

The kids got a kick out of helping Chris put together the beds. Jayna and Tony got their exercise out of the underbed storage drawers of Nick's bed, it acted kind of like a row machine for them.

Nick's bed turned out really cute along with the Craftman's tool/nightstand my mom got for him, along with the additional wall art.

The rest of the kids' room are underway also and finishing touches will be put on tomorrow or Sunday. So more pictures are to come still of the transformation this addition is taking on. So here to the first night in the addition.

We Did It, We Did It

In the words of famous explorers, "We Did It, We Did It". Dora Explorer couldn't have said it any better, but we have officially gotten the green light from the city and move in day is here. Now the days of the kids sleeping on the floor in the living room will soon be behind us. So the goals for this weekend is to get the beds put together, dressers in, and closet organizers put together so everyone is ready to sleep in their rooms Sunday night. I will take the rest of next week to move the clothes and other nic-nacs in the rooms, but at least the kids can sleep in their own beds.

I am not sure if the rigorous bedtime routines will be looked at as much fun but they will all be getting the much needed sleep they have all been missing out on. For sure Jayna will be in for a surprise not getting to cuddle up with her siblings like she has been for the past year on the floor. Hopefully all the little surprises I have for them will pay off for the sacrifices they have made in the glorious name of this project. Stay tuned for those pictures!!!!

Chris worked hard earlier in this week to get this final done and putting the lid on the outside porch wasn't pleasant and moving the mighty windows wasn't fun either. What a guy right? By the looks of the rest of the family, we are already comfortable in the addition.

Caden's Cause

Just doing the little that I can do...pass it on to all you know and come join us!!!! Go to www.firstcandle.org/cadenscause to register to support a GREAT cause.

Not Done Yet!!!!!

Leave it to the city of Maplewood to throw a wrench into the mix. We or should I say Chris has to finish the outside porch before he can get through this inspection thing. So here we are again fighting with the city to get this project finish. I just wish we could get it done, because face it...if the house burnt down today or flooded out tomorrow the city wouldn't be liable in anyway so what good are inspections then? So why can't we just sign a waiver then and be done with it and move in. FRUSTRATING!!!!!! So we are basically back to square one. Plus the porch REALLY? Are we living in the porch area...have the inspectors looked outside and saw what season it was...do they really think we are going to be outside enjoying the porch? AAAArrrrgggghhhhh!!!!! WTH.

LONG Awaited Final Inspections!!!!!

It is HERE!!!! The day has come when we can say the addition is ALL DONE, and bring on the inspections. On Sunday, Justin gave us more of his time and put up the kitchen pendant lights, which by the way are AWESOME, and gave Chris another list a mile long of supplies he needed to buy to get the rest of the job done. Then on Tuesday, Justin gave us the gift to put this nightmare to rest, he finished the electrical. The island now has an outlet and the electrical panel is plum full.

Here Chris is doing his magic, drilling holes in drywall, and this time he was able to do it without hitting any of the trusses. No patch work needed this time!!!




I am left speechless...we cleaned house and tried to make the addition look like we haven't been using it for the past six months and today (Wednesday) we had our first final inspection. This gentleman came around 11:00 and was gone by 11:20 he didn't pass us, but instead left us a list of three things that needed to be finished along with a "have your husband call me" message. What that means I don't know since I haven't talked to Chris about that yet. The electrical part of it went fine and even the under counter lights went undetected; instead, we have to label the panel (breakers and stuff) Justin called that one, finish the underside of the porch ceiling (can lights are exposed right now) and update the basement panel (which will be done in Phase II). So where does that they us? I don't know.

I guess that is how it goes...inspectors!!!! Who needs them? They supposedly did their jobs and my cousin's house still burned to the ground (faulty wiring), lets just hope that doesn't happen to us. So I guess one down (kind of) and six more to go.

Princess Jayna

Here is proof that Jayna can be a girlie girl if she wants to be one. For Christmas she got a trunk full of dress up clothes, which Grandpa John didn't think she would use, and hasn't been able to use it until Valentine's Day. To be honest, I didn't know if she would use it either, but since we opened the trunk on Sunday she has worn her dresses everyday. She has even convinced us to let her wearing them out in public. Jayna went to Menards with Chris with this particular dress on and got lots of compliments on her dress, but it wasn't until today that she found the crown. This weekend she is suppose to go to Erik's cabin with the guys and wants to take the dresses with her there too, we will have to see.

I am actually surprised how well these dresses are made and they fit her just right. So I am going to keep my eyes open for other dress up clothes for her, but I think she likes the full length dresses the best. There is a pink two piece dress in her trunk but she hasn't worn that one yet, so I think I am going to hit the clearance racks for the after Christmas/winter sales and see if I can get a few more dresses.