And I'm Back

We are completely in the house now, although we are definitely not completely unpacked. Our cable got hooked up yesterday morning so at least now I can resume recording our progress.

Here is a run-down I've what I've accomplished in the last 10 days:

• E's room is completely functional and decorated. I have everything unpacked, put away, hung up in the closet, and things are on the wall.
• The kitchen is functional and mostly full. I know there are some missing items here and there that will need a home, but I have a place for most things and can cook again!
• E's toy room has a cubby shelf now. It needs to be anchored to the wall, but it is there and it seems like a good way to store his toys.
• The guest bedroom is box spring and mattress less right now due to the box spring being to big to get up the stairs (sigh) but the bed-frame is together at least.
• The bathroom is now completely unpacked and organized.
  
• Our bedroom has everything up on the walls. M is getting his clothes unpacked, etc. I have a ways to go. Mostly because I need to donate a lot of pre-baby clothes that are just never going to fit the same again.
• Some pictures have gone up where they are meant to be in the living and family rooms.
• Our washer and dryer are hooked up and being used. M and my dad replaced the dryer vent outside and the drying is working much better.
• I have tried a few furniture arrangements in the family room and think I have settled on what I like best. We are going to need another chair to complete it.

We have a couple other things in the works. M is working on arrangements for purchasing a piano and having it moved.

We are figuring out what furniture we are going to want to get for downstairs. I was considering a sectional, and I won't rule it out, but I'm not sure it is a great option for us. Right now I'm leaning towards an arm chair for the family room and a writing desk and small rocker or arm chair for the living room. I would like to eventually replace the couch and move it to the basement family room, but there is no rush. Originally I thought I wanted to move both the loveseat and sofa to the basement and get new ones, but I like the loveseat again the back wall so much that now I think that is going to stay up here.

One thing I've discovered as I'm trying to hang pictures: these walls are hard as rock! It is seriously VERY difficult to get nails in them. Removing nails is another problem. Some come out without a problem. Others pull out very hard and end up chipping plaster and paint on the way out. There is no way to tell ahead of time which way the nail is going to be. I've tried to use as many existing nails as possible, but some are just at completely wrong heights and others are just spaced all wrong, and some I just have nothing to put on them at all.

O' Christmas Tree...

I put the tree up. It doesn't have lights or ornaments yet because those are still sitting in our apartment basement, but it is now up in the family room at the house.

Today was an all-around great day for getting things, although it feels that very little actually got done.

Since we were out doing a little Christmas shopping at the mall today and Lowe's is right there, we stopped in. There were some practical things we needed like salt for the driveway/sidewalk and salt for the water softener as well as new furnace filters.

Then there were some other things I wanted to look for. I found a new shower head. This is one of those upgrades I like to do because it is so simple and can be done relatively inexpensively and I feel like it makes a big difference.

I also wanted to look at closet/cabinet organizers. For being an old house I have to say the closet space is really fantastic; however, unlike our apartment there wasn't a whole lot of built-in shelving that was left behind, so we are in need of some of that. Plus, they make these great cube storage units that would be excellent for E's toys upstairs. We didn't actually get anything like that today, but I am trying to see what is out there and what kind of cost to expect.

One of the great surprises today was finding a rug for up in the play room. I had been looking on-line at some of those roadway/town rugs for upstairs, but they were really expensive! I saw this one for $19 and had to get it. Which led us to check out the area rug selection for the family room. We weren't actually planning on getting anything today, but then we saw one that we both liked and it felt nice, and the price was good for the 5x8 size. Then we looked closer and saw it was on clearance so we had to get it! Unfortunately at the moment it is now covered with artificial pine needles, but those will be vacuumed up. I wanted the 5x8 size to help define a seating area in there rather than a full sized room rug. I really feel like that is more than we need.

After our shopping excursion E needed a nap, we needed lunch, and I needed boxes from the liquor store to pack up our glasses in. M went out to get those and my parents came down with my twin bed my sister had borrowed last year. I was ready to get that because then I have somewhere other than just the floor to lay E down for a nap until we actually get moved in.

Well it wasn't just the bed that they wanted to bring down. They had talked about getting us a housewarming gift and given us a list to choose what we wanted. M and I both settled on an electric fireplace. Well, the ones my dad had seen and wanted to get were all sold out. So we chose a second glider chair and ottoman for our upstairs deck. It turns out the store had the fireplaces back in stock, so my parents went ahead with our first choice and surprised with it! I really was happy to have it there before we are really moved in so that it looks more like it really belongs there. It does give the living room a much cozier feel. Of course that could also be because we finally turned the heat up since the gas switched over to our names today!

Anyhow, we got a few more boxes packed and moved over today, although I didn't really get any unpacking done. I took down all the painting tape from our bedroom and got the vent and light plates back up. We finally got their old shower curtain down (and that was a lot harder than it should have been!) and our shower curtain up. I'm not sure why they didn't take their shower curtain or bath mats with them, but I had to get them out of there. Not that the shower curtain wasn't nice, but I had to feel like it was our bathroom not someone else's.

The whole "this is actually ours" thing has been interesting to deal with. It doesn't totally feel like ours just yet. It is starting to feel a little less like theirs. The rooms I painted feel better. It felt better when my bookcases came over last night and my books went in them. My library always makes it actually feel like my home. The bathroom being switched to our things helps. Overall I guess that the 2nd floor is starting to feel most like ours. I know it will help a lot when our furniture and everything gets there. It helps too the more trash we get out. It isn't all the seller's stuff either. Some of it is stuff that has been there for who knows how long. The storage shed is full of stuff! There will certainly be plenty of spring cleaning to do!

Last but not least, before leaving I took down most of the curtains that were left and brought them back with me to wash. They were really dusty, especially the kitchen curtains! They are all clean and ironed as needed and ready to go back now. I can live with the curtains for now, but I am definitely going to want to do some different things, I am just going to have to take some time to figure out what it is I want to do.

We also brought the cat over with us today. She mostly stayed in her carrier, and when she did come out she stay within about a 3 foot area. I was kind of surprised about her reaction. When we moved here we brought her down a few times before the big move and she was exploring everywhere. I guess kittens are more open to change than adult cats are. I think she will love it once she gets used to it.

A little more paint and a few more boxes

I went over to the house this morning to do some touch-up on the master bedroom walls. It only too me about half an hour or so and I took care of the glaringly obvious thin spots. Or so I think. I went back this evening and it looked pretty good. Dad thought so too.

Mom and Dad came down with the truck. They brought a second-hand entertainment center for the basement family room.

We moved some more boxes over, I hung a few things on the wall although I'm not sure if they will stay or not. The baker's rack and all three bookcases and their contents were moved.

I brought the Christmas tree over. I'm not sure yet whether I'm going to put it up or not.

Earlier in the day we met with the Culligan guy. The water softener in the house has been rented since 2002. We were told we could keep up the rental or look into a different system. We know we need the softener. It is city water just like we have here, and if we don't use a product called Lemishine in our dishwasher, everything will come out white. We have extremely hard water here. It isn't iron so much, but it is definitely lime! I was also interested in a drinking water filtration system. Except after hearing all our options I'm not really sure what to do other than that I know continuing to rent is not a good option for long-term.

The other thing that is frustrating is that I went downstairs with Dad and M for the first time since we got the keys and did some looking around. The filter in the furnace needed replaced, which is no big deal, but I'm wondering why there were three dirty ones still sitting downstairs? Also, although there were empty salt bags by the water softener, there was no salt in it and my dad claims that there couldn't have been any salt in it for the last few months at least!

I kind of know about some of the circumstances the sellers had with needing to get out of that house and some tough stuff there family has been through lately, so I don't want to be too critical. On the other hand, I do find it frustrating that recently some of the things hadn't been as maintained as they maybe should have been and that so much stuff and a lot of trash was left behind. I can't complain about dust though. I did say I would rather have the keys a few days earlier than wait for the cleaning to get done. If you know a good way to remove frozen rotting pumpkins that have been left on the porch let me know!

Of curtains

Our day started off with a trip to Target. Our primary reason was Christmas shopping, but there were several other things I was wanting to look at too.

I came away with a dish rack for the kitchen sink (I am so happy to have a double sink again!) and some sheers and curtains. I think the sheers are going to work out. I got four panels for the large window in the family room. They are that "crinkle" look, which works perfect with the window scarf that also is that crinkle look. I've had it forever and wanted to hang there too anyway. I also tried a tie shade for the bathroom (that will be returned, it looked awful and isn't really functional) and curtains for the master bedroom (too short, will also be returned).

My mom did have four lace panels for me. She thought they were 63" but I'm pretty sure they are 72". Anyway, I hung them up in the master bedroom and think they look pretty, but it is perhaps a bit too feminine for M's tastes. They will stay until I can find something I like better.

Actually they will have to come back down in the next couple days. The master bedroom definitely needs a second coat, or at least some heavy touch-up; there is too much yellow showing through. On the other hand, E's room is looking good enough that I took the tape off and decided that one coat was enough. Later I did see some little spots were the pink shows through just a little, but I'm not going to bother worrying about it. Furniture will probably cover it up anyway, and you have to be really close up to see it. The weak spots in the master bedroom are much more obvious.

We did get a few boxes moved over and put away. We brought the empty boxes back and my boss had some book boxes for us, so I already have several packed up and ready to go over again.

Too be honest, I'm getting a little nervous about the packing. Sometimes I think it will be no big deal and other times I think that this is going to take forever.

A Little History

While we were there the sellers were by. For one thing, they needed to move the swing set and the porch swing. There were also a few curtains she intended to take with her.

While I was talking with her I learned something interesting.

Our house actually used to be split into two apartments.

I would never have guessed that. The house doesn't have a split-up feel to it I would have expected from a house that had been apartments.

The other interesting thing is that the 3rd bedroom was once a kitchen for the upstairs apartment.

Painting - Day 1

I had two goals for today.

1) Get the attic/3rd floor cleaned
2) Get started painting

The first goal was actually pretty easy. The playroom needed swept and the guest room needed vacuumed and dusted. After I swept the playroom floor it became obvious that it needed mopped too.

My mom and dad came down to help and my sister B came to watch E at our apartment.

While my dad and I ran to the paint store, M and Mom took care of the attic. When we returned ($87 later) the attic was finished and Mom was even working on the family room floor. She continued to clean in the kitchen while we prepped the master bedroom and E's bedroom for painting.

E's room was a 5 year-old girl's room and pink with Disney princess vinyl wall decals. Thankfully the vinyl came off easily. We finished up getting that room prepped for painting before lunch.

After lunch M, Dad, and I returned to the house. Mom stayed with E and B came over to see the house for the first time and help prep the master bedroom for painting while we got started on E's room. Dad and I got the whole room painted and decided it will probably be good with one coat. We painted it a shade of blue called "Songbird" in an eggshell finish. I was sure that room would take more paint, but when we were done we had over half the gallon left.

The master bedroom, on the other hand, just seemed to soak up paint. With four doors (hallway, out to deck, two closets) and two windows I thought for sure that it wouldn't take much paint. I don't know if it was because it was a flat finish or what, but we had maybe 1/3 left when we finished. The color we chose was also a blue, but more of a gray-blue, called "Scandinavian Sky." I'm not sure if we will need a second coat or not.

Getting the Keys

Yesterday we got the keys to the house. Or more specifically, we got a key to the house. We weren't scheduled to get possession until December 21st, but the sellers mentioned they would try to get it to us earlier. I emailed our agent on Thursday afternoon to see if that was still a possibility and got an email back Friday morning that we could have the keys that day.

So before heading home for lunch M stopped by and picked up the key. I was SO excited to go over. We ate a quick lunch, bundled E up, and headed over.

It was really odd finally being in the house and not having the seller's things there. It was also the first time in two months that we had even been in the house. And it was cold. And it was dusty.

The heat was turned down to 60 degrees, enough for the pipes not to freeze. I didn't feel right turning it up when the gas wasn't going to get switched over to us until Tuesday.

As for the dust, part of getting the keys earlier meant that they hadn't cleaned yet since they were planning on doing that Sunday.

We re-explored the house and noted what had been left and what hadn't. All the curtains were still up and the bathroom stuff was still there. There was lots of random stuff here and there and things in the basement. There were still boxes on the front porch and at the side of the house.

It was actually a little overwhelming to see everything that needed done. Not that they were huge projects, but when you have a 1 year-old it isn't always easy to do things. I keep telling people that what I need more than anything right now with regards to helping us move is to watch E!

We stayed there about an hour surveying everything and then went home to formulate a plan.