Kelly in NC

One whole week since we moved into the house…and still we are in caos! In just the past two days, I have gone to Target 3 times and have spent well over $500. And that doesn’t include my on-line target purchases. I’m not complaining though. I am really enjoying the process of decorating my new house. From drapes to bathroom fixtures, choosing all the details have been a fun process.
Grayson has adapted well to the new house. He loves running in circles around the kitchen island and has spent a considerable amount of time checking out the new door stops (they are different than the kind we had at the old house). Ozzy on the other hand is still trying to adjust to the change of pace. Tim and I had alot of discussions (heated arguments) about allowing Ozzy into our new house. I guess we compromsied. Ozzy stays outside or in the garage most of the day and comes in the house once it is dark. He is restricted to certain parts of the house and sleeps in the laundry room (instead of in our master bed room). At first the dog pouted and moped around. But within the last few days, I think that he has finally gotten accustomed to his new life. He goes swimming in the pond everyday and seems to enjoy sunning himself in the grass. Of course, he looks forward to when he can come inside and to be honest, I think that he likes having his own “room”.

The boxes seem to never end. I swear that I have been unpacking since all of our friends and family (10 of them!) helped deliver our things on Saturday. All of the really important things are here, but there are still a few things left at the other house. Our goal is to have the remaining things moved by Sunday. So yes, we are officially moved into the new house. I wake up every morning pinching myself, finding it hard to believe that this house is really mine. It is everything that I dreamed about and more. I promise to post more photos sometime soon. Right now we are just way too busy. I am sure Tim is going to walk in here at any moment and yell about me “blogging”. Just wanted to let you all know that everything is going well and that I promise to be back to my old blogging self in a few weeks!

Who knew that such a tiny slip of paper would make our hearts burst with joy? It was such a relief to pass our final inspection on the house today. Now we can have the power and water officially turned on at the house! No more county hoops to jump through; just a few more touch-up details and it will be time to move in!

I guess that I cannot completly explain how relieved we were about today’s inspection until I first explain the ordeal we went through in the past week. Starting last week, we began battling with the county about a mistake that THEY made when we were first issued our permit. In a nutshell, back in April they tried to count attic space (which we could one day finish into a bonus room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom) as unheated living space. I spoke to the guy (in May) who issued our permit who said that the attic space would be counted that way because we would need to insulate it. He also said that if that did not turn out to be the case, then to just call and he would issue a reimbursement for the additional permitting cost and changed the square footage. So last week, I called to have the change made. Of course the guy I originally spoke to has now retired. I explained to his boss the situation, who told me we had two options. 1) In order to get a reimbursement on the extra permitting fees ($250), I would have to apply for a new permit (which of course would include some processing fees). or 2) He could manually change the square footage numbers in the computer, but no reimbursement would be given. Tim & I discussed it and decided to just have them change the numbers on our original permit. Apparently this then threw up “red flags”. The county put a hold on our permit and sent out an inspector to measure our square footage. (I guess they were afraid that we might be trying to cheat the government.) This inspection on square footage prevented us from requesting our final inspection until yesterday.

Then yesterday, our normal building inspector did not show up. Instead we had a substitute. The sub inspector was nice, but “by the code book” and pointed out a few things that if he did the inspection, he would fail us on. We decided to cancel the inspection and request one for the next day, in hopes that our normal inspector would be back at work. See our normal inspector has been very accommodating and a few of the big things that were out of code were situations that the inspector had agreed to “work with us on”. (Translation- agreed to overlook when it came to getting our Final Inspection.) When we found out today that our normal building inspector was going to be out of town ALL week, Tim and I (especially Tim) felt a bit stressed. So today, I ended up leaving work in order to help Tim get the house in “code”. We had to put railing up on the back porch, caulk a few holes in the garage, and insulate our attick stairs. The hard work paid off and we passed the inspection.

On a funny note, I guess the county is still concerned that we are going to finish those attic spaces with out pulling a permit. As you can see on the inspection notice at the top, the inspector did mention those spaces.

Last but not least, Grayson did the most heart melting, wonderful thing today. I was holding his hand as we were leaving his school, when he pulled my fingers to his precious little lips and kissed them! Kissed Them! Complete with a “smack” noise. I stopped walking and looked down at him and said “did you kiss me?” He responded by puckering up and smacking his lips. I bent down and said, “Grayson give mommy a kiss.” He then puckered up, leaned in, and planted a wet one right on my lips. Now how many of you can remember the day when your kid kissed you for the first time? I mean a real kiss? See we’ve been asking for kisses for as long as I can remember and usually Grayson will turn his head- leaving his cheek for you to kiss. Not once has he ever realized that he should be the one giving the kisses. That is until today.

I swear that kid knows just how to melt my heart!

Bare with me here. Only 2.5 weeks until the house is finished….
Since last week, the hard wood floors are now finished and the front door is hung. We passed our plumbing inspection and our well water passed the county test. Today they are putting in the carpet and we are suppose to have our fireplace inspection. This is our last inspection before we have the Final Inspection and try to get our Certificate of Occupancy (CO). We are trying to schecule the final inspection for later this week. There are still a few last details that are necessary to pass the inspection (screening on the back porch, hand rails on the back steps, and the built in shelves under the staircase. Now that is not to say that the house is completely finished. After we get the CO there will still be a list of things to be finished before we move in. Most of them are things that Tim is building himself (the front porch columns, the kitchen island, the mantel), but there is also paint touch-up, landscaping, and the installation of a few light fixtures that have been on back order.
It has finally dawned on me that my days are numbered at my current house. I ought to be packing boxes instead of writing this blog right now!
~Speaking of my current house, I forgot to mention that we have a contract on it. The closing is scheduled for October 30 and we are planning to rent the house back for 1 week in order to give us time to move out. We a relief to not be worried about that!
~Grayson is now free of the Cryptosporidiosis and the HFM virus he had last week. Whew!
~I caught a cold this week and have been scared to death that I had cuaght Tim’s mono. I haven’t had any of the other Mono symptoms though and now my cold is finally going away, so I guess that I am in the clear. It sucks having a spouse that you can’t kiss!
~This weekend we had a blast visiting with lots of family who traveled up to NC for the NASCAR race. My mom, sister, and grandmother drove up from Florida. Tim’s dad, mom, brother, and sister-in-law also came in from Florida, although they flew. And then we also got to hang out with Tim’s Aunt and Uncle from Ohio- who came down with two of their daughters and four of their grandchildren. It was awesome to see everyone, although the time passed way to quickly and I wish that I could have spent more time with each of them.

You can view photos of the house and this weekend by clicking HERE.

Ok, so aparently, I am back to only posting once a week. With the final preperations of the new house underway, I am struggling to find the time to write about all of my daily happenings.
~As for the house, we passed our electrical and mechanical inspections and are waiting to get the other two (plumbing and fireplace) inspections completed. The kitchen backsplash, fireplace surround, door hardware, driveways/sidewalks, closet shelving, and staircase trim are complete. Today they will start the finishing process of the hardwood floors and will hang our front door. I get so excited everytime I walk into the house. It looks almost ready to move in!
~We are waiting to get back the results of the Grayson’s last Cryptosporidium test. We sent it in on Thursday and should get the results anyday. I am hoping that it is gone and I can quit being so crazy with the peroxide. On the same note, Grayson also caught Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus at daycare last week. Tim was especially happy since he had to babysit Grayson all weekend. Since Grayson caught the virus they were required to stay home, just the two of them the entire time. Small house + Tim= Insanity. poor thing!
~In my last post, I mentioned that Tim had not been feeling well for almost a month. After numerous office visits and blood test, he was finally diagnosed as having Mono. That’s just awesome since Mono is very contagious and since he had it for almost a month undiagnosed, I am pretty sure my chances of catching it are great. As of right now, I am feeling ok. Between Tim and Grayson I am considering wearing a SARs mask around here!
~This weekend I went on my Girls Weekend to Helen Georgia. I finally get to mark Oktoberfest off my list of “Life To Dos”. I had an awesome time and couldn’t have picked a better group to spend the weekend with. We had a great mix of hard-core partiers and laid back drinkers. I laughed alot and made lots of great memories. I am already thinking about Girls Weekend 2008. ANy suggestions on where to go?

So what’s been going on in the last week????
~I am off on my fall break for the week and am so excited! Too bad Tim has planned all kinds of things for me to do while I am off from work.
~Yesterday, we recieved a call from the health department telling us that Grayson tested positive for the water-born illness Cryptodporidiosis Apparently a little girl in Grayson’s class got it while swimming in a pool. Beacuse it is very contagious, the health department took a stool sample from every kid in the class (and the teachers) in order to prevent an outbreak. Grayson and one other kid have tested positive. This is a surprise since he has not had any diarrhea-which is suppose to be horrendous with this illness. I am very thankful about that; especially since there is no treatment for the parasite. You just have to let it run its course (usually 2 weeks) and try not to reinfect yourself. Now, since the parasite is resistent to chlorine and most other sanitzers- I have had to clean down all surfaces with peroxide. I also have to be very consciencoius about washing my hands after diaper changes. I guess they will take another stool sample at the end of the week and every week thereafter until the organizim no longer shows up in his BM. Having children can be such fun! Anyone else out there ever catch Crypto? I had never heard of it until now.
~Grading was done around the new house this past weekend and will be finished up by the end of this week. They are pouring our driveway and sidewalks today. The electrical, mechanical, and plumbing final inspections should occur by Friday, and if those pass, we will apply for our Certificate of Occupancy (CO) around the first of next week. Installation of the door hardware, fireplace mantle and surround, and kitchen backsplash are on the calendar for this week too. The house is coming together!
~Tim has not been feeling well for the past three weeks. His symptoms change every few days- nausea, sleeplessness, low grade temperature, indegestion, achiness, chest cold, snot. He has been to the doctor 3 times in the past two weeks and they have still not figured out what is wrong with him. They are thinking that he has just caught a long-term virus- but we are still waiting on the blood work to confirm that assumption. I think that all the stress from the house is finally getting to him. He has started to feel better within the last couple of days, so hopefully the sickness is behind him. I can tell that he is back to his old self, since he is becoming very picky about the house again…
~On Friday, I leave to go to Oktoberfest in Helen, Ga on a girls only weekend. I am very excited and cannot wait to leave. Usually in the fall I go on a Girls Weekend to Savannah Ga. Unfortunately the group of friends from Florida who I usually meet there decided to plan their trip for Ft. Lauderdale this year. Since that was too far for me, I decided to plan my own Girls Weekend. Viola-GWE2007 was born. We have 21 ladies reserved to go and I am certain that we are going to have a great time. I wish that I could have seen my Florida friends too- but oh well. Maybe next year, they will move thier trip back further north!
~My friend Katie sent me this survey to take which tells you which presidential candiate your values most closely align. Apparently, I should vote for former Senator Fred Thompson from Tennessee (R). I’d never heard of him until now. So according to the Candidate Calculator- who should you watch???
~ Last but not least, I thought that I would share two of my top purchases this week:
1. I just bought these jeans from Old Navy. I believe that they have revamped thier sizes because for some unknown reason I no longer wear a size 10 (which I have worn for 9 years) but now wear a size 8! How genius of thier designers to make thier clothes run bigger! Of course, I will now have to purchase all pants from them. I mean who doesn’t like to fit into a size smaller than you normally wear!!!
2. I LOVE dark chocolate and I LOVE peanut M&Ms- so it is no wonder that I double LOVE Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms! Why did it take them so long to make this product??? Has anyone else out there tried these yet? They are delicious!

Sorry that lately all my posts seem to be centered around the house…BUT guess what? Right now my entire life is centered around the new house. So, if you’re not interested, then I suggest that you not bother to check in until the end of October!
We are now down to 1 month and 1 week. I have posted some pictures that I took this weekend, so click here if you wish to see them. Painting is complete (although they will come back in at the end for a final coat and touch ups). The granite counter tops were installed as well as most of the light fixtures. The schedule for this week includes- electrical final inspection, plumbers finishing the installation of their fixtures, and the installation of the septic system. In the next few weeks, we should see grading, driveway paving, hardwood floor finishing, carpet installation, and all of those other miscellaneous last minute details. Tim continues to be stressed out, but at least now the end is in sight. I told him if he didn’t want to be so stressed out, then he should try to get in finished in 4 weeks. He did not find my joke too funny.
Anyhow, as you might imagine, we have spent most of our week and weekend working on the house. I chose our appliances this past week and have plans to select the tile for the kitchen backsplash and for the fireplace surround tomorrow.
We did get a new offer on our current home. The guy needed alot of $ to help with the closing, so we have decided to not accept it. I figure 3 showing and one offer in the first 3 days with a sign in our yard isn’t too bad. We had another showing this morning which seemed promising. We are not in too big of a hurry to be rid of this house, so we have the time to wait for the right buyer to come along. No need to rush into anything!

The count down is on! Only 1.5 months until the new house “should” be finished. Tim, of course, is in panic mode and is trying to prepare me for the worse…it might not finish up on time. But, I have faith in him and am crossing my fingers. Not that there is any real rush. We still do not have a contract on our current house. Of course, we just put the FSBO sign up on Saturday. We have had one showing already, and one scheduled for tomorrow. Selling a house, building a new home, acting as a parent, and working full-time is hard work!
As for progress on the new home, as you can see from the photo above, the painters started last week. The photos above were taken over the weekend and since then, the rest of the trim has been painted white and all of the exterior painting is complete. They have painted all of the trim inside the house and have primed the walls. They should be finished with all the painting by Thursday. I cannot believe how many painters are working on our house. I lost track after about 15. With that much help, it is no wonder how quickly they are moving.
Also last week, we had the well drilled. They were able to find water at 250 ft- so that was a relief. After the first 200 feet, you begin getting charged extra! Tim of course has upgraded the system, with a bigger tank and more powerful pump.
Last week, I chose all of the light fixtures and today I selected the carpet. I also went to Home Depot today and picked out the three ceiling fans. There isn’t a whole lot left on my part, as far as selections and design concerns. The next 6 weeks will be very busy and packed with subcontractors. That means LOTS of STRESS for Tim. The electricians and plumbers are scheduled to be back in the house at the end of this week to install fixtures. (I cannot wait to see my jacuzzi tub!!!) By next week, the granite counter tops should be in and the septic system should begin installation.
It’s moving along now! I can’t wait until it finally finished!

~ Tim turned 31. We celebrated his birthday at his brother’s house with BBQ, watching the race, and of course birthday cake. You can see a few photos from the day by clicking on the picture above.
~Grayson has been sick most of the week with a cold. I finally took him to the doctor yesterday and found out that not only does he have a cold (that has now settled into his ears and chest) but he also has 6 teeth coming in at once. One of the back molars is even coved in a nasty, purple bruise. No wonder has has been so irritable. The dr. prescribed an antibiotic for the ears/ chest and also suggested using Tylenol Meltaways and Triamimic Thin Strips, since Grayson is now refusing to use the medicine suringe. I bought the two suggested products and LOVE them. I recommend them for anyone who might have a similar problem with forcing medicine down thier child’s throat. If only the antibiotic could be administed in this way.
~The contract on our current home fell through. The couple who were going to buy our home had to back out becuase they couldn’t get approved for a mortgage. The husband unexpectadly lost his job, and so now we are stuck trying to sell our house again. I am very disappointed since that means there will be more showings.
~Grayson has finally started saying “MaMa” and actually referring to me. Starting the middle of this week, he finally put it together. Now I get to hear him constantly saying my name as he tries to get my attention or show me something! It’s like music to my ears!
~Tim’s younger brother Joe and his wife Amy are expecting a baby in March! We can’t wait to meet the new addition to the family and are so excited for them. I am betting that it will be a girl! Congrats Joe and Amy!
~The kitchen and master cabinets are finally installed in the new house. You can see photos of those by clicking on the picture at the top of this post. I love the cabinets and can’t wait to see the granite countertops. The countertops were recently templated and should be installed sometime in the next two weeks. This week painting will begin and the well will be drilled. Only 52 more days and hopefully it will be finished!
~Last but not least, I think that I might have to give up drinking red wine. Two times in the last two weeks, I have somehow drank more than I realized and woke up with a terrible headache. Am I the only one that red wine effects this way? I guess I need to stick to the old faithful..beer! Wich by the way I have a new favorite: Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat. Delicious!

(Click on photo to see more.)
Well, the trim work on the new house is complete (except for a few spots where they ran out of material). It looks awesome. I know that it will be difficut to see in the photos, but once the interior is painted, I think you will all be impressed. Tim definitley went the extra mile on selecting great crown mould, doors, and really nice trim details for the windows and doors. I personally LOVE the bench for the mud room…and how about this genius idea: I had the electrician put 4 outlets at the top of the bench. Now we have plenty of room for plugging in cellphones! Smart!

The tile has been started, but it is taking a bit longer than expected. You will notice in the photos that the tile has not yet been grouted and there are a few areas that still need to be laid. The best thing about our tile is that it cost us less than $150 for materials. We were able to get a bunch of leftover tile from one of Tim’s subcontractors. THis was a relief since there have been many areas on our house budget that have gone over.

Cabinet installation will finally begin tomorrow…then I guess we’ll be ready for paint.

It has been a few weeks since I had the opportunity to visit our new house. I finally made it out there on Sunday. Click HERE to see updated pictures of both the interior and exterior. (FYI- there are a few photos of Grayson at the begining of the slide show.) The house is really moving along now and it continues to be on schedule. We are crossing our fingers that everything will continue to progress smoothly. Since my last post about the house, the exterior siding is now complete, sheetrock is hung, and the hardwood floors are installed. This week tile, interior doors & trim, and the cabinets will be installed. It is amazing how much the house changes from one day to the next. Only 2 more months!!!
Also, on another note… We are very close to selling our current home. Our neighbor’s brother came by to see the house on Friday and we are now working on the contract. It will be such a relief to not have to worry about this house anymore…and to not be concerned with showings. I have no idea how people with children can “show” a house…but then again- maybe that explains some of the houses I have had the pleasure of seeing.

No, I am not talking just about the prime number, or the lowest number that is impossible to score with two darts, or for that matter the flight that crashed over Scotland in 1988. (That would be Pan-Am Flight #103 for those who are interested.) Instead I am referring to the record that was set in Charlotte today. 103 degrees. Man is it hot. Due to the heat,Grayson has found the best way to remain cool in our house:

Yes, he is sitting on the air conditioning vent. Too funny! You see, Grayson inherited what I like to refer to as “The Sweat Gene”. FYI-this is from my husband’s family. Both Tim and a few of his siblings (who will remain nameless- you know who you are) have hyper-sensitive sweat glands. Within only a moment of eating something hot or walking into air that is higher than 79 degrees, Tim will get a bead of sweat along his brow. If he continues in those conditions, his body will continue to sweat until he is a disgusting, wet mess. Now of course most of you reading this are thinking- “Yuck! How disgusting. How can you be married to someone who is so sweaty?” But since I just shared all the information with you, I must also tell you that Tim is one of the cleanest people I know; taking multiple showers thought the day, changing shirts frequently, etc. Anyhow, I guess about 2 months ago, I discovered that Grayson had inherited this trait, poor kid. We were out at the new house and had only been outside a few moments when I looked at his face and saw beads of sweat accross his upper lip. Within less than a two minutes, I swear! Anyhow, poor Grayson has inherited the sweat gene and he is surely not appreciating this heat wave.
Speaking of the house, I guess that it has been a while since I have posted a photo of that. Check this one out:

This photo was taken on Monday. The windows are in, the siding is going up, insulation is finished, and sheetrock hanging will start tomorrow. If you look really hard, you can almost see the color (green) I selected for the house. I painted a test square on the garage. The kitchen cabinets should be in on the 24th of this month, so Tim is busting his a** to have the house ready by then.
The past few weeks, since I returned to work, have been very difficult on Tim. I honestly do feel sorry for him. He works over 12 hours a day between his job and managing our house. Many times in the past few weeks, he has only gotten to see Grayson first thing in the morning. As you might imagine, working those long hours does not make him the easiest person to deal with. I just try to keep in perspective that I only have 2 and half more months before the house will be finished and I will have my old husband back…hopefully. Pray that my marriage will make it that long. (Ok that was just a joke…if anything it is our marriage that is keeping Tim sane through this process!) I guess I finally understand all those comments about, “If your marriage can make it though building a house, it can make it through anything.” Of course I heard the same thing about child birth.
Lastly, I have had lots of good news in the past month that I have not had the opportunity to share. First, one of my very best friends, Carri got engaged. I have been waiting on the engagement FOREVER since this marriage will officially tie her to NC! Yipee! That means we will live near each other until we grow old and die…hopefully! (I also really like her fiance- especially since he is Tim’s “hobby twin”.) Second, my in-laws have put a contract on a house that will only be 10 minutes from our new house! They have talked about moving here for over a year and it looks like it will finally be a reality. To make this news even better, my MIL told me that their new yard will be big enough for a pool! Splish-splash, here I come! Third, Tim’s best friend Carter also got engaged. Tim was asked to be the best man and I was lucky enough to be sitting next to him when he got the call and see him get all teary-eyed. (It isn’t everyday you can make my husband feel emotional.)
So there you have it. Lots of information that I have wanted to share, but haven’t had the time.

Wow! It seems as if I blogged more when I was at my real job! Now that the summer is here and Tim has me slaving away on the new house, I have really started to slack at both writing and reading blogs. I only have 2 more weeks of summer vacation so hang with me. I ought to be back to my old blogging self once I am back on my usual schedule. Since it has been so long since I have written, I decided that an Odds and Ends post would be the best way to update everyone on the “happenings” around here:

~Well, I had a blast on my trip to Tn. We hit almost every outlet on the way; stopping at all kinds of stores, and due to my self control only buying a few necessitities. The Character Education Conference was in Chatanooga and what a neat city it is! I will definitly plan to visit there again…maybe when Grayson is a bit older. We ate at some of the most delicious diners and restraunts and even found time to visit Rock City. Of course, we really went to TN for the conference and came back with lots of new ideas for the upcoming school year. A few photos from Chatanooga can be viewed by clicking the photo above.
~Since my return home, Tim has had me busy, busy, busy with working ont he house. The framing is finished (for the most part) as well as the mechanical rough ins. Our stairs are installed (altough Tim is second guessing the steepness- I think they are fine). The plumber should be fnished with his rough ins today and the electrical rough ins will start next week. We had a bit of a set back on our windows (this is why the framing is not completely finished). Tim ordered the windows based upon his friend’s word (a salesman) without ever seeing a sample. When the framers began installing the windows, Tim came out to inspect and was NOT happy at all about the quality. Luckily his friend has agreed to take the windows back and now we are at least 2 weeks out on getting new windows. Besides cleaning up the jobsite, my next job is tile selection for the bathrooms. have I stated how happy I will be when this house is finished???

~To celebrate July 4th, we went over to Kate and Marc’s house. The plan was to grill out and then head to the town’s Independence Day festival and wait for the fireworks. We had a great time grilling out and hanging around with family- up until my niece got bit by a dog. She had to go to the emergency room and after a few stitches- she’s fine. It was a scary incident for everyone. On a positive note- Tim did get his wish and didn’t have to fight with the crowds at the festival. This wasn’t exactly how he planned to get out of watching fireworks-but if we are looking for a silver lining- I guess that would be it. Again view more photos by clicking on the picture above.

~:ast but not least, in the past four days I have spent about $50 on lotion. This is the deal. Everytime I find a fragrance from Bath and Body Works that I absolutely love- they end up discontinuing the line. I recently fell in love with the Pear Blossom scent and low and behold they have decided to no longer carry it. So now what did I do? I went on ebay and purchased 7 more tubes! Hopefully this should last me until they come out with another “clean” smell that I can’t live without. Am I the only one who has this problem?

Well, my summer break is finally here. What I have since discovered is that this summer will not be a “restfull” as originally thought. Tim has decided that I am his construction assistant this summer and has already made a list of things I need to “do” tomorrow. I am not complaining (except for in this post) as I know that he has really worked his butt off on this house already. I think last week almost broke him. He is trying to manage all the houses that are part of his “paying” job and then also manage our project. Not an easy task by any means. As you can tell from the photo above (and the updated virtual tour if you click on the photo) the house is the framing stage. As of Saturday, the entire first floor was finished. Of course they are putting on the exterior wood and will then move to the second floor/roof. Tim has had difficulty with the electric company hooking up the power, hence the framers are using generators (which = more $). He has ordered the windows twice and is at his wit’s end at trying to keep the workers from driving through the front yard. On Saturday we put up more construction fence and hung signs…but I guess we will know tomorrow if they will read them.
So, the house contiunes on schedule and I will officially be “working” this summer…but at least it is at my own pace…and without middle school girls screaming and crying in my office. I’ll probably be ready to go back to school at the end of July.
On a different note, Tim’s mom left this afternoon to go back to Florida. We have had a blast having her stay with us for the past few days. I promise to post photos soon…so check back in a few days.
On Wednesday we will leave to go on our mini vacation. The three of us are driving to Florida for a friend’s wedding and to visit all of our families who live in the area. Tim will fly back by himself after the weekend and then Grayson and I will spend next week treking all over central FL. I am looking forward to the trip- as I haven’t been “home” since the Thanksgiving before Grayson was born. I admit that I am NOT looking forward to the hours upon hours in the car with Grayson…especially the ride home by ourselves, but I know that it will all be worth it! Plus it will be the only vacation we get this year- buidling the house and all.

Yipee! We passed our first building inspection today! That means they will waterproof the house, put in a french drain and then begin framing! It’s starting to move along!

I have made it through another weekend. That makes only 8 days of work until the summer. I must admit that the last three days have passed in a blur. We have been out and about every night this weekend and I am sure that Grayson will be glad to go to bed in his own bed tonight. Tim’s parents came in town for the long weekend and we have enjoyed spending time with them. Nagy will actually be staying in NC for a couple of weeks and we are looking forward to her visit to our house next week.
My brother and sister in law threw a terrific Memorial Day cookout last night. I am constantly amazed at the amount of family and friends that we have up here now (most of them were at the cookout). When Tim and I first moved here the only people we knew were my sister Renee’ and her husband. Now we have two more siblings and their husband/wives, my best friend Carri, and a multitude of people that we have met while living here. I really should get some kind of recruiting bonus from NC for the number of people that Tim and I have recruited to move here!
This morning, Tim, Grayson, and I went out to the house. The footers have been poured and now the foundation wall is going up. Tim says that the foundation should be finished this week, which means that framing can begin by the end of next week. It is hard for me to believe that we are really building a house. But it really is becoming a reality! Click Here to see a panoramic shot of the property from today.
Also, you can click on the photo of Grayson above to see a variety of photos from May. Included are photos of: Grayson 13 moths, Memorial Day cook out; Jack & Grayson, Leah’s Birthday party.

Well, we have the permit, but we continue to be at a stand-still. No, this time it is not the county’s fault. It is ours. See this is the first time we have ever built a house. Yes, Tim builds houses all day long-but he has never had to “estimate” a house. It seems that when we selected our house plan and then kept “upgrading” it with the architect “utilizing all available spaces”, that Tim was not aware of how much all that extra space would add up. Needless to say that when we received the estimates for the foundation/brick and for the framing- our jaws hit the table. At first Tim didn’t seem too concerned. I believe our conversation went something like this:
T: So the estimates came back a bit higher than I expected.
Me: Oh yeah, how much more?
T: Well, I think that the house is going to cost us $50,000 more than I expected.
Me: Are you not concerned about this?
T: Well, I think we can do it.
Me: Are you kidding me? We can do it, but I’m not sure Grayson will ever have a brother or sister. Are you seriously not concerned about this?

For those of you who do not know Tim, he is a very money conscious person. He is the one who will call “Helluava Good” to tell them that his dip container was not very full- in hopes of getting free dip. He is the one who will spend hours and hours researching the best bargain on any major purchase. For him to act like spending an extra $50 thousand was not big deal, floored me. Of course, my questioning then sent him into a tailspin, complete with his inability to sleep that night.

After a consultation with Tim’s brother (who is really good at construction estimateing and said: Remember: More is always more! More space=more $.) we have spent the entire day redrawing our plan. We are reworking the entire second floor- changing roof lines and deleting a lot of the unfinished space. Tomorrow we meet with the architect again. Then it is back to waiting. Waiting for the new plans to be officially drawn and then engineered; waiting for the county to approve the new drawings.

On the positive side, at least we realized that we were over heads before we were really in over our heads. Yes, it will cost us more $ to have our plans redrawn and re-engineered- but it should cost us alot less than $50 grand and my marraige- which I am sure would have been on the line if we had gone through with our original design.

This construction thing isn’t an easy process- but it is definitly keeping us on our toes!

Well, today I had to take a sick day. Grayson started running a temperature at school yesterday. Since he had just gotten over a virus three days before and because he hadn’t been acting like himself the entire week, Tim and I went ahead and took him to the doctor. After an examination, a round of blood work, and my $15 co-pay, turns out he just has another virus. As the doctor said-he’s just unlucky this time and caught two in a row.
But I guess that we are not as unlucky as the last virus! He has not run a temperature all day and to be honest, this is the first time that I have seen the real Gray since he got his immunizations almost two weeks ago. I enjoyed hearing his laugh so much last night, that I even kept him up longer than normal. Today, we have had the best day. Playing, laughing, chasing each other around the couch and coffee table, exploring outside. I must admit that this is probably the best sick day I have ever taken. Truthfully, I think that he would have been ok at school today, but according to the Center for Disease Control, kids cannot return to school until they are fever free for 24 hours. So, thank you CDC. I really am grateful for having the day with my baby!
Also-good news! The county approved our septic and well permit. We signed papers and then faxed them back this afternoon. Now that those are approved, the contsruction permit should be finished on Monday. I said SHOULD! We all know how county governments can work!

I tired to post the house plans two blogs ago and for some reason it didn’t work. I am going to try it another way. It is very similar to the plans that I posted a few weeks ago with some minor tweeks. See what you think:
Front:

1st Floor:

2nd Floor:

Just so you know, we will NOT be finishing all of the space upstairs. Only the two front bedrooms and the computer loft will be finished at 1st. Then the game room, suite four, and then eventually the bouns room over the garage…that is if we ever have the $$$.
Also, anyone out there have suggestions on exterior color schemes? We want to have brick on the bottom floor, cedar shakes or siding on the top floor (painted). I have to make a decision by next Monday, so if you have ideas….send them to me NOW!

Well, it is almost Spring Break and am I ready!!! I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people make comments about how “nice” it must be to get a spring break, my summer off…and oh yea, & a Christmas break. What these people do not understand is that if teachers did not get that break…we would KILL the CHILDREN! Oh yes. It is true. Even at the school that I work at…at the school that I absolutley LOVE to work at. Yes, we need the break. Only 2 more days and then I’ll be free…for a bit at least.
In the mean time, we have had a VERY busy weekend. My mom came up from Florida for my niece, Ella’s, birthday. You can check out photos from her party by clicking HERE. Then of course, as the Gator fans we are, we invited our fellow Gators over to watch the game on Saturday night. Sunday, my sister and her family came over. Whew, the weekend flew.
Then yesterday I had a number of errands to run for the house we are trying to build. We finally decided on a house plan, which you can see HERE. It has changed a bit since the last one I posted. Looks as if the closing will not be until the 16th of this month. After that, the fun will really begin. Tim is already driving me crazy with constant requests and suggestions. (Serenity now.) Please pray for me that I can make it through this process and keep my sanity!
So now maybe you can really see why I am so excited about my upcoming break from work…I am in need of “veg” time!
Oh yea! I almost forgot…and HOW COULD I FORGET??? I also stayed up late last night watching the basketball national championship! Just a quick cheer for all the Gators out there:
“I said it’s great
to be
a Florida
Gator!”

Well, we did it! Earlier this week we finally put a contract on a lot. Yes, Tim actually bit the bullet. For anyone who doesn’t know Tim and the experience of house shopping with him, he is THE most wishy-washy home buyer I know. I cannot tell you how many houses we passed on in the last year only to hear him say 10 days later “I think that we should have bought that house.” The last “just missed” house was actually a god-send…since it is the one who led us to the lot. Of course when we looked at the house, I was ready to sign. It had some issues of course (updating was needed), but it hit all of our requirements including more space, a larger lot, and closer to all members of our family. Tim drug his feet and 7 days after it went on the market (and we had our walk through) he decides we should buy. He calls the realtor only to find the house already had a contract (no shit, the house was a steal) and that there was a back up offer too. Well by this point, we liked the neighborhood so much that we began cold calling owners of open lots. We found one person willing to sell…and without a realor fee! It is a 1.5+ acre lot on a culdesac…that has a pond for Ozzy to swim in. (When we went out to the property last weekend, I even saw to yellow labs swimming in it…I am sure that Ozzy will have at least 2 new friends!) And I guess the rest is history. So now that we have a contract, we now have less than 30 days to decide on a home plan, have the lot approved for septic, well, and of course turn in all of the required paperwork for a mortgage. Am I the only one out there surprised at the amount of paperwork mortgage lenders request? Paystubs, list of assets, W2s, and on and on and on.
Anyhow, this is the house plan that I like the most so far. I like the big greatroom and kitchen island. I think that it will be perfect for all of those weekend family get-to-gethers. There are a few things that we would like to adjust…like maybe another bonus room over the garage, getting rid of the door in the laundry room. What do you think? Anyone out there know of any great home plan websites? We need to make a decision fast and I am SICK of searching.