Let's get packing!

I feel like we have been living in boxes for so long and I know it will not end soon enough! I take on all the packing and organizing the move, except the garage-that is all David!

We are blessed with some awesome friends. Al and Marsha came out to the rental to help me move down the girls dressers, trunks, and our dresser. I was able to if all the girls beds and all the boxes from upstairs. I am still amazed at he difference in strength I have in a year of working out! Shout out to Marsha!!!!!

The school room at the rental full of upstairs stuff ready to be moved over Friday night 

Our friends the Noel's, Justin, and the entire DePiazza clan came Saturday night  to help us load the 26' uhaul along with my armada, and all our friends vehicles. They all came to unload the vehicles Saturday night. Speechless. Sunday David and I met Dan, Scott and Sierra at the new house to unload the uhaul. We loaded in an hour and unloaded in about the same! Amazing. 

David and I made two small runs to the rental and David and my dad did the garage Monday! My parents took the girls Saturday night and they came back Monday....it was so chaotic at least they could just play and be kids. 

My first very loaded run Sunday

Vanilla bean headed to the new house

My last big load!!!

So grateful for friends. Words cannot express the joy that fills my heart because of their pure generosity!!!!

Silly Girl

Emma is changing everyday....every.single.day.

She loves her mom and dad and her sisters too. She asks me every day when she is going to nannys house and looks forward to going to the gym. She loves swimming lessons and stories at bedtime. She enjoys her class at church and sings songs to Frozen all the time. 

It is hard to believe she will be three years old very soon. She is our last baby and there is almost no baby left to her! Bittersweet.

Pretty paint and new carpet smell

The house had an odor....a combination of musty and dirty. The removal of the popcorn ceilings really did not help the smell either; just added to the musty.

Our first goals were to ensure the girls rooms and our room were done for move in. David and I took on the task of the girls rooms (minus the removal of the popcorn ceilings) because they are the only two rooms not being painted the same color as the rest of the house.

We let the girls decide on their room colors, with some restriction. Their rooms are not large so the color had to be on the pale side of the spectrum. Chiara and Emma chose a purple room and mayah and Leah a pink room. 

They did a great job with their choices!!! I would like to write that all went smoothly because it's just two small bedrooms, but no. Like everything else in this house there was a big issue (insert the movie The Money Pit playing over and over in my mind!).

David painted the ceilings rolled the walls while I cut the edges and then did the trim ( which was easy with no carpet!!!). As David was rolling in the pink room the walk started peeling away! Are you kidding? Just flaking off. Would you believe it happened in the purple room as well?!? They rooms do not share a wall! Thankfully our handyman rocks!!! He patched the spaces on the walls, re textured them and we were able to finish before the carpet was installed. 

Originally the only carpet that was being replaced was the master but after getting a closer look at the other rooms we decided it all had to go! 

The carpet.....we chose a stock carpet which is cheap (.98/sq ft) because we don't plan on keeping it in there longer than five years. Lowes was able to get us schedule for a Friday install after a Sunday purchase and late Wednesday measurement. However, when the scheduler called to confirm she informed me that the "upgraded" pad we got was not an in stock product and took ten days to get!!!! What?!?! Deep breaths. She called lowes to sort it out....the end result was the highest level padding from stain master at no extra charge!!! Blessing!!! 

So, Friday comes and I wait for the installers to inform me they are on their way. We were a second job so around 2pm is what I was told. The first call said about a two hour delay due to the complexity of the first job. Now, everything is on a very tight timeline because of when we have to be out of our rental. We had friends coming over Friday to help us move the girls stuff into their rooms. Less stuff for moving day and David had his friends open trailer so why not? 

The next call I got close to 5pm was another TWO HOURS. I started laughing. What else could I do? So, our friends cams over and we loaded up the trailer. All the stuff was dumped in the front two rooms. We then loaded up the trailer with all the carpet we tore out, the cabinets we tore down and trash. Trash that was not ours. Trash that should have been dealt with years ago. 

The installers got to the house around 7:30pm to start. Our painter was working and we were finishing up loading the trash. We took the girls home to bed and David headed back to the house to work on things and wait for the installers to finish. About 10:30 pm everything was done. 

The padding we got was awesome and the carpet changed the look of the bedrooms completely. 

Upgraded padding

Master before with popcorn ceiling on it

Master painted and new carpet

The pink room before

After

Purple room before

After

Cinderella for a day

All four of my girls said they wanted to help at the new house while I painted...how awesome are they?!?!

So, the best job I could think of was to have them start to make a dent in the very dirty floors. If you saw my post about popcorn ceiling removal then you might be able to imagine the layer of white dust left over. It is everywhere. 

So, I painted the fireplace and the girls hand washed the floors. My purpose was two fold: first off they wanted to help and were bored sitting outside while we were there for hours, secondly I believe it is important for them to have ownership in what it took to get the house clean and livable so maybe they will think twice before making or leaving a mess.

They did a great job, though the floors still have a ways to go before they are really clean!

Fireplace

As soon as David and I saw the fireplace we loved it, well except for the red brick part. It was too much the focal point of the room. Someday we will tear it all down but for now it needed to be muted. So, we had our awesome handyman hit it with a few coats of primer. That alone changed the feel of the room! 

We wanted it to be really white though-easier to clean and looks sharper. A coat of semi-gloss later and wow! I am so excited to see it against the new paint but for now I will enjoy the hard work paying off!

Bye-Bye Popcorn!

And the demo continues.....

Our amazing handyman has removed ALL the popcorn ceilings in our new house!  What. A. Mess.  Glad to see it go, but everything is just covered in YUCK.  Regardless, we have been out at the house everyday working. 

The kitchen is getting a makeover as well.  New appliances, but to brighten the place up I am painting the cupboards WHITE!  With just two coats of primer it already is making a difference!

I can't wait to see the walls and ceilings painted this week!!!

David tore up the carpet in all three bedrooms as we await install....hopefully by the end of the week!

Oh yeah and I removed the wall paper border in the girls bathroom!

I can't wait to take "after" shots!!!!

Moving On!

Yup, that's right we are MOVING!!!!  Exciting, scary, and LOTS of work!  We purchased it from a very sweet elderly couple who we had the pleasure of meeting.  You can tell they loved and cared for this home.
 I am going to attempt to document as much as possible of all the changes we are making to the house.  In two weeks I hope there is a great transformation!

Yesterday, after I got the keys I started removing nails and screws and patching any holes.  

The place is filthy, just years of grime mixed with dust.  YUCK!

This is the LAUNDRY ROOM....where clean clothes come out!  The shelving has been completely removed and will be GONE.  Again, YUCK.

I can tell you it was very difficult to really see the space when we viewed the home.  Cluttered and FULL.

When David joined me yesterday we removed the cabinet section hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen, but of course I forgot a before photo!  It already has opened up the space and I can't wait to see how the light comes through now.  David did discover a ceiling mounted electrical socket.  Ugh.  Not ideal, but brainstorming about it now.  I wonder if they make those pull down outlets, like they have in industrial kitchens or garages, but pretty for a home.  Hmmmmm.

We will be out of the house for a few days while our AMAZING handyman is removing all the lovely popcorn ceilings. Then, he paints!!!  I. Can't. Wait.  The house needs clean, fresh, paint....and trim that is WHITE.  

We will most likely stop by Sunday, when our Handyman is off, and remove the master carpet and maybe the other 2 bedrooms flooring as well.  Some other destruction and then a dip in our new pool!  

Thank you Holly

My two big girls finished all levels of swim at Lifetime Fitness!!!! It is great to see how confident they are in the water now and I can't wait to watch them swim and play all summer. 

Thanks to their sweet teacher Holly. She was a perfect match for their personalities. 

Me and mom

My mom invited me out to the botanical gardens in Phoenix to see the beautiful glass art on display.

It was interesting art and as the sun went down some of the pieces seemed to come to life a bit more.

Here are a few of my favorites!

The fire ball before the sun went down 

The fire ball!!

I called this asparagus!

My girls saw this with nanny too....and apparently had snack all over the park!