Really?!

So our closing goes off without a hitch. Until . . . we start talking about how everyone is lined up to start digging and tearing off on Monday. Oh wait . . . another hitch. You know how when you buy stamping supplies, spices or jewelry at a home party and you read the fine print and you have 3 days to cancel your order no questions asked - the rescission period. I guess we have that too. We don't want that - we have everything ready to go and pretty much did in June, but now we have to wait until Thursday or Friday just on the off chance that we change our minds this weekend. We are not going to change our minds! Our poor contractor has been put through the wringer on this one. Call all the subs and put them all off for three of four more days and hope that they are available. But hey we have the $$$ now.

Ceremonial Ground Breaking

Maren asked if she could start digging the hole. How could we really say no to that?

Katie got home shortly after this bright idea was hatched and "dug right in."

More Interior Shots

These shots are of our 3rd bedroom turned TV watching area. The new family room should prove to be more open and will hopefully contain fewer doors. This area will become part entry way, part lesson waiting area and part hidden away desk/computer area.
This is the second shot of the current master. The window will multiply and become two and Maren will be happy getting a room that will be more "tween friendly" than the one below.

As cute as collecting pigs is when you are 4- 10 years old. Maren has turned it into an art form like no other. Just about every square inch of this room is covered in pink or pigs. Grandma Bonnie spent a lot of time making the pig curtains and bedding, along with the matching pajamas, but it will soon be time for Maren to move on. The bunk beds will be looking for a new home and our guests will have a lovely queen guest suite in which to stay. We can't wait to see you in February.

Interior Photos

This is our current "master bedroom." When the project is done Maren will be moving in here. The window that you see will be gone and she will enjoy the hers and hers closets to your left. She will enjoy two new windows that will be featured later on your tour.
This bathroom was recently re-done by my very own handy husband. Thank you to the squirrel or chipmunk who decided to chew through the floorboard. I will repay you with lots of nuts later in your life!
Here you see our not so spacious entryway that seems to scream "GO AWAY!" I can't wait to show you the view in a few months. We will soon be able to greet you and hang up your coat.
This is our front room, which will soon be our dedicated music room. It is quite a nice room especially when my very own handy man is tickling the ivories!
An now, for the best feature of the house as it currently stands, the built in Easy Bake oven. It is what all young women with a minor in Home Economics dream of cooking and baking with at age 38. Not only can you not cook a turkey in it, you cannot fit a full size cookie sheet in it. Now this ladies and gentlemen is what we call "Living the Suburban Dream." Any takers before it gets replaced?

New Roof Line

Here is what the roof line will look like when the addition is finished.

Before Photos Kitchen and Exterior

To the left is our kitchen. The biggest reason why we are remodeling. There is no room for anything fabulous to happen here. We manage and this is definitely a first world problem, but we cannot wait to have a kitchen where more than one person can fit in it at a time!

This is our main entry to our house from which we dump directly into the kitchen. This will soon be our mud room and laundry area.

This is the South elevation of our house. The current windows are Maren's bedroom and our bedroom.

The front and back of the house will change dramatically. The entire roof will be removed, elevated and replaced with a new roofline so it will not look like a remodel, but a new house.

CLOSING DATE

THURSDAY, SEPTMEBER 24 cannot come soon enough! Bring it on.

I can almost smell it - but what the heck is taking so long?!

We were finally told that closing and digging will occur the week of September 21. I sure do hope that everyone is telling me the truth because I can't wait!

Our lovely contractor has informed us that he will be able to sell our old (2 years old) AC unit and save us some money toward our new, bigger unit! YEAH!! I love not wasting and saving money in the process. We also received our 3-D drawings of our new roof line. I so wish that I could figure out how to post them on here because I finally have some idea of what this house will look like on the outside.

C.L. also submitted the plans to the city for approval - let's hope that does not become another hurdle to overcome! This weekend Merle gets to move any plants that he cares about that currently reside anywhere near the back of the house. I'm so glad that I have a dirt loving husband!

The Players

The Players in this Adventure:

Rachel: 38 year old wife, mother, teacher - I will be trying to work, manage and stay sane through this adventure all while driving children to activities and keeping all other players fed and dressed in clean clothing - not an easy task since our kitchen and laundry room are huge parts of this remodel.

Merle: 47 year old husband, father, teacher and musician - He will be working and teaching through the process. His main job will be to make sure that all of us will be staying on or under budget at all times. Even if we are on or under budget he will be worrying or talking about it constantly. The biggest hurdle for Merle will be figuring out how his NINE foot concert grand piano can continue to live in the home during construction, unharmed and under budget.

Katie: 12 (almost 13) year old 7th grader - Katie will be continuing her arduous schedule as a student, dancer and flute player through this. This construction process is a big pain for her, since last summer our construction project garnered her a large "teen suite" in the basement. The rest of the family may have to encroach on her space at times, therefore bugging her BIG TIME!

Maren: 10 year old 5th grader - Maren will continue her regular schedule as a "happy go lucky" 5th grader during this process. She doesn't really care what happens as long as she gets a bigger room and a much larger closet as an end result of this adventure.

Walter: 6 year old neurotic Rat Terrier - If we could hear him during construction he would be heard saying, "I think it's done now, yep it's done now. Please can it be done now?"

Zoey: 4 year old black Cocker Spaniel: Her mantra is and always will be "Where's the food? Hey guys, Do you know where they're keepin' the food now?"

Stella: 1 year old Brown Tabby cat - She just does what all normal cats do - eat, poop, entertain, explore and nap.

C.L.: General Contractor - General Saint, so far. This man has had to do more paperwork than ever before just to have the privilege of digging a hole in our backyard. He just wants to get this party started!

Off to Underwriting!

I just got an email from our banker telling me that the appraisal is done and PERFECT and our file is off to underwriting!  I cannot wait to see a big old BOBCAT in our backyard digging!