D.O.N.E.

That's it!

I am DONE with everything in the house! WOOHOOOOOO!

Painting: DONE
Carpeting: DONE
Countertops: DONE! (will post pic later!)
Sink installed: DONE
Boxes unpacked: DONE
Pictures hung: almost DONE!

We have been working like dogs around here and we can finally say we are settled in.  The very last box had a few pictures in it to be hung and I am taking care of those this afternoon during nap time, hopefully. 

There are still a few minor things that need to be done, but for the most part, we are very settled and very moved in.  No more big projects for a while-- phew! 

Oh, did I mention the water damage I did?  Our very first night in the house, I was bathing Cal and I sat on the bathtub.  I leaned over to wash him and there was a loose bolt on the toilet.  Water started leaking out, unbeknownst to me.  Eddie came in a while later and saw some water on the floor.  He tightened the loose bolt and we cleaned up the water and thought everything was done....wrong.  I was in the kitchen the next morning and we had about 6 HUGE water stains on our ceiling from where it had leaked down through the beams.  UGH!  My freshly painted house was tarnished! (cue the drama queen).  It ended up not being as big of a deal, but we do have to get the ceilings painted... just waiting on the painter to return my call... it seems it is taking him a while to get back to me.....grrrr.... I am more mad at myself for screwing it up!

Other than that and a few other small things, we are very settled.  And it feels great.  Really really really great.  I packed Andy's hospital bag yesterday, just so it's ready, just in case (although he isn't going to come early!!!), and I made a list of things to throw into my bag. 

I will continue to do housing posts, but they are going to be interspersed with posts about BABIES!!!

Before I end this post, I have to list my 10 MOST favorite things about this house:

1. all of the SPACE we have!
2. the garage (again, space!)
3. the neighbors-- so so so sweet! the ones directly next door have brought over brownies, roses from their garden, and fresh strawberries they picked that morning....seriously.
4. having a laundry room upstairs-- I do NOT miss hauling laundry up and down stairs
5. the attic- I could do an entire post on how large the attic is. It is really quite amazing
6. my closet.  it has become my happy place.
7. the yard! Cal and Hank LOVE to run and run and run!
8. having a vacuum cleaner upstairs and one down.  I was given another vacuum cleaner for mother's day (thanks, momma!) and it makes the world of a difference having one on each floor!  I actually vacuum everyday!  I do the upstairs one day and the down the next so I am able to stay on top of the vacuuming-- it's amazing the difference it makes with the dog hair! (yes, I realize this last one makes me sound so so old and so so like a lazy woman, but think of how much more you would run the vacuum if you didn't have to lug it UP and DOWN the stairs every time!  It's just so easy now!)
9. the screened in porch.  Cal plays out there the majority of the time we are home. All of his big push toys are out there and he is so content to play and just be outside
10. really, I love it all.  I never thought I would be THIS happy in a new house.  But I really really really am.  With the new paint and carpet, it feels like a new house-- like a brand new, never been lived in before house.  And I really could not be happier. Yes, moving is a total biotch, and moving when 9 months pregnant is anything but convenient, and having a toddler there "helping" is certainly challenging, but let me tell you: ALL of that, was so so so so so worth it for this house.....

The Bonus Room

The new house has an amazing "bonus room" and it really is a BONUS room.  When we first looked at the house, before even coming inside, we thought we would make this a play room for Cal and then we would finish the attic for a man room for Eddie.  I just wanted a place for Eddie to have where he could sprawl out and watch TV....and it wouldn't be right on my pretty new furniture downstairs!! hehe! He also wanted a spot like that, and this works perfectly!  We hung some of his sporting "stuff" on the wall (a framed picture from the Master's, a collage of sporting event press passes that he's been to, etc etc...).  They are important things that we want to display, but it's tricky finding the right place to display them.  This works perfectly!

This room is HUGE-- it is seriously a TON of space.  Cal LOVES this room and loves running back and forth from the master (opposite end of the hallway) into here. 

An added BONUS to the bonus room is the study that is right off of the side!  We really did not want to use up bedroom space for our desk/computer/stuff, and we originally thought we were going to use the downstairs living room as a study/play space for Cal...then we came into the BONUS room!  There is a nice sized room off of the bonus that works perfectly for this!  Technically, it isn't a "room" because there are no closets in here, and I think it would be kinda small for bedroom furniture, but it works perfectly for use as an office!  That way, I can be in here working away while Eddie is watching TV in the connecting room, or vice versa, but we are still spending time together...sorta! :)

Anyway, we are loving all of this SPACE that we have to spread out.  Cal has some toys upstairs and some down (a TON are on the back deck!) and he just loves to play in both areas-- happy as can be to be upstairs or down!  As I wrote below, we would like to someday get a train table or something for the back corner for the boys... someday!

Here are the pics!

These are two pictures that I took before carpeting and paint, the day we closed:

 The one above is standing in the doorway to the study, looking out into the playroom (window treatments came down immediately). 

The one below is looking into the study.

Here is a video that was taken "before" the paint, but after the carpeting:

And here are the AFTER shots:

Looking into the study (this is only half of the room, behind me there is a little side table and lamp...see it in the reflection of the picture?)

 Looking into the playroom:

 The other corner-- we are hoping to one day put a train table there for the boys! The study door is the opening you see:

I hung some more pictures in here last night and didn't want to get out my camera (i.e. my PHONE) to update these... just suffice it to say that there are pics on the walls now!

Soooo....there's the BONUS room!