Yellow

Another holiday has come and gone and we are still chillin in limbo. But we are in the home stretch. We had a bank inspection on Monday and everything that was on the original budget/bank loan needed to be complete. We were nervous about this. Me especially. I've been nervous about all things bank related since July. But the inspector signed off on everything, so we are just praying that everything gets processed okay. It's at least a step in the right direction! We still have one final bank inspection/appraisal and then the final building inspection. We hope to have closure by the end of this week! Once the work to get the house ready for inspections is done, the work will begin to move in. That's a whole different animal I'm not quite ready to deal with. Didn't we JUST move?!

Things have been coming together quite well, I would have to say. It's scary waiting to see how things you picked out in October actually look in the house. I feel like my tastes have changed a little even in the past six months. Overall I think everything is working out and not displeasing to the eye. But there have also been some definite hiccups these past few weeks. Full disclosure: it's not all fun and games in the renovation business. 

- I previously mentioned that Ben and my dad had painted all of the new drywall/addition areas back in February. Then we had someone come in and paint the trim. He did, and it looks great, but he over-sprayed a lot in the process, not realizing that the walls were done. He assumed they needed the second coat yet. When we walked in one evening and saw this, our hearts just sank. We felt like we were in a good spot, and then it felt like we took two steps backwards. He made it right and fixed all of the walls over the course of the next few days, though there are still some spots where it looks like the wrong sheen or maybe even color was used. Not noticeable enough for us to address right now. In general, the walls, doors, trim, etc. all look great.

- Lighting fixtures turned out to be one of the bigger headaches to date in my opinion. I completely stressed over this. Anything I loved came at a steep price. We finally got to the point where I had waited too long to pull the trigger and the electricians needed fixtures. So we went to Home Depot one rainy Sunday on the way to a birthday party and got what we needed. We ended up just getting inexpensive fixtures that we didn't hate, knowing it was nothing a can of spray paint couldn't fix. My sister-in-law actually once called me the spray paint queen, so I'm always good for a project. Sometimes I just walk down that aisle at Menards to imagine what I can re-fresh next. Did I just say that out loud? Spoiler alert...I actually really like the lighting fixtures now that everything is in place. My favorite fixture might be the one over the kitchen sink that cost $13. Winning. 

- There was some major miscommunication around plumbing fixtures. I had picked everything out back in October for the downstairs bathroom, December for the master bath and January for the kitchen. I didn't give anything a second thought. Then Greg called last Friday morning when I was at a conference in Grand Rapids. Apparently about half of the fixtures were missing at the house and the plumbers were there waiting. I called the showroom and they only had part of the order. They were going to look into it. I never heard back, so when I was finally back in Holland I drove right there to see what was going on. I ended up taking several things back to the house with me and they ordered everything else to be delivered on Monday. Everything is now installed and looks great, but that was frustrating. When I filled Ben in he said "wow, bet you're mad huh?" and I said "yes, but I don't know at who! Seems like there's an unnecessary middle man here and I don't know who dropped the ball. I might actually just be mad at you." And Ben will concur that most of the anger and frustration does end up directed at him. Poor guy.

-I mentioned before that the boys wanted yellow bedrooms. They were also, for a time, arguing with each other and with me over who was getting which room. So my genius plan was to pick one "yellow that's not really yellow" and paint all three original bedrooms the same so that which boy ends up in which room could be a game time move-in decision and all would be happy (except Mom. Because yellow). I hemmed and hawed over swatches and narrowed it down to three. I took those along with three boys (I had our nephew Gavin, Colt's age, as well that day) back to Repcolite to make a decision. I told the lady there what my plan was and she said, "Let me show you 'Straw'..." and it seemed fine to me so I bought three gallons. No sample. Just three gallons. No risk no reward. In this case, minor risk, zero reward. I started painting that night and HATED it. Just hated it. Ben tried to make me feel better about it but I was not happy. I looked again the next morning and still hated it. It has now kind of grown on me. I wouldn't say I love it, but the boys do, so I guess I just need to get over it. They've also come to an agreement on who gets what room, but I give it about three nights before they want to share a room again anyways. Whatever. They've been sharing at the rental and it goes really well. In fact, the past few nights I've had to put Ellis back in his crib because he keeps trying to sleep in Colter's bed. Who am I kidding, it's kind of adorable.

- Most of the windows were replaced in December and January. There was one window that came in wrong, so we needed a new one. The new one was also wrong apparently, so there has just been this one window that hasn't been replaced. The opening was framed and covered with foam board and they were able to side around it. They were FINALLY able to get the last window in a few days ago! Yesssss...check that off the list. Only bummer is that the painter is done and gone and we don't have time to wait, so I just painted the trim myself. It doesn't look near as good as the professionally painted trim, but good enough for Ellis' room I guess. It's just going to end up covered with cars and Fruit Loops anyways. 

Most everything else has gone very smoothly. Plumbers are done, siding is done, electricians are done, HVAC is done, driveway/garage approach is poured...we are pretty much down to some interior things that need to be addressed before the inspections. One thing not covered by the bank but that we wanted done before we moved were the original bedrooms. My dad took charge of these, patching and repairing all of the water damage, crumbling plaster, etc. Then, they needed to be primed with oil-based primer, since we found remnants of wall paper and if there is any glue, it would just smear around if you tried to paint. The stuff you learn when you listen to your dad. My dad and I primed the rooms, including ceilings, one Friday morning. We were a little wobbly by the end. That stuff is nasty. At one point, Corey (Countryside) was on the roof right outside the bedroom window and he popped his head in to check on us to make sure we weren't going to pass out. Thankfully it was a nice day and we could open all the windows without freezing. 

Ben installed the yellow pine flooring upstairs this weekend, which was really the biggest thing left on the list. He got as far as he could before he ran out of wood. Somebody mis-measured. And it wasn't me. We still need a railing/banister at the top of the new staircase, which is built and just needs to be installed. A few door knobs need to be installed, a little painting needs to be done. Other than that, we should be in good shape for the bank. Then, before we move in, we need to clean. I've been tackling this a little the past week, with the help of our moms. It's amazing what a difference a few hours can make. So so good for my mental health. In one of these cleaning sessions, The Moms successfully talked me into trashing the monstrous sectional sofa we had been storing at the Farmhouse. We got it out of our basement in Zeeland and brought it right to the Farmhouse. There wasn't room in the PODS or at the rental, so this seemed logical. Maybe it would have been, if we had somehow covered and protected it. Instead, it ended up with months worth of drywall dust, insulation, maybe asbestos, maybe lead paint, embedded in the fibers. I was still planning to get it cleaned. Well, The Moms talked me out of it, I convinced Ben, and we tossed it in the dumpster. We bought it used from Ben's coworker about six years ago, and it was several years old by then already, so it had lived a good life. But old schmold, that thing was comfy. Oh well. Bye bye big guy

Biscuit jointing the downstairs bathroom vanity top. This was about 11:30pm on a Saturday. 

Dad patching the walls

He was on ceiling paint duty...what a guy.

Finishing up the siding. Looks safe.

Grouting the shower

Ready to make fast decisions on lighting

Luckily for me, the trip to Repcolite with three little buys included a stalled train across the street. Kept them occupied for minutes.

Ellis' legit reaction to the yellow rooms. Jumping for joy. This picture actually seems okay now that I look at it. Much different in person.

My poor Acadia has some hard miles on it from the past 8 months.

Concrete guys prepping for steps and driveway

The last window...I was so excited. Hank told me they charge extra for photos, so if this blog ever makes money I hereby promise to give him five dollars.

My man...working hard to give me the floor I never wanted. I actually do really like it a lot now that it's in. One might call it a leap of faith, since all of the professionals warned us against it and we never even saw a sample of the stuff we actually ordered. I do love those knots though...

Big helpers. Uncle Mike happened to bring over a bunch of hand-me-down toys that morning, including new tools. 

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