First home Fixer Upper

Pat woke up this morning with a surprise day off for Cesar Chavez day! We decided to spend the whole day at the house and try and get some work done.  I put a countdown to moving day widget on my phone screen and it's just stressing me out more than it is exciting me. 17 days left and there is still SO much to do. We got a ton done today though! I started in the master bedroom putting in insulation and hanging drywall. That stuff is dang heavy! But look what I did! I'm pretty proud of myself. I like learning from Pat. He's a good teacher and very patient with me; like when I sanded the drywall mud into his freshly siliconed sink. Sorry babe. 😬 Pat worked on getting some ducts put together. We are one length short though, so we have to wait to put it in the ceiling until we can get another one fabricated.  He is so awesome. He has never put in an HVAC system, but he has done so much research and figured it out! He has an incredible eye for detail and does every

Pat explained to me tonight that any help I give him, whether it's cleaning, mudding, watching the kids, etc is real work that he really appreciates. I, however, have been feeling a little left out of the renovation process.  After I put yet another layer of mud on the kitchen (Hopefully the last! 🤞) I asked him for a job to do.  You guys, he let me tear out a whole wall! I did that! I learned how to use an oscillating tool! I was popping nails out of the studs like a pro! I feel so strong! But also really weak. My arms are like jello right now. Hammers are heavy! Pat joked that most people renovate by putting up new blinds and maybe windows. We do everything the hard way and tear out walls and install our own HVAC system. Out with the old, in with the new! Pat worked on getting some framing and ducting installed in the master bedroom.  We have this material much left... 🤪 Claire helped by standing in the window and by being really

The past few weeks have been starting new little projects here and there. I've been trying not to post anything unless we have something finished because watching drywall mud dry is super boring.  But I have fun things to show now so here goes! Pat has been working on the kitchen a lot. We are semi updating a few things. We hadn't planned on new counter tops for a few years, but the joints in the old counters were so warped that we decided on just putting new laminate in. If you give a mouse a cookie he will want to put a new sink in.   Honestly, it looks so much better in the kitchen now, so I can't complain. The new sink is much deeper and nicer than the previous one. Pat has been working hard to demo the bedrooms and hallway to make room for the HVAC ducting and lowered ceilings. He has a buddy at work that has been helping him with sizing and tips on how to make it as efficient as possible. We are putting ceiling fans in, a whole house fan and a vent in the

The electrical situation in the kitchen has put a big damper on our timeline. Every time Pat finishes something there is another problem that needs to be addressed before moving on.  However! He finished the lights and switches last night!  There are six lights and fortunately they are bright enough in the vaulted ceiling to need something different.  I've been working on getting the righthand wall straight. It bows in something fierce and the counters don't even touch the wall. 🤦‍♀️ Pat says I'm getting better at mudding. Yay! It's definitely messy and really drying out my hands though  🤣 I believe installing the microwave is the next step in here. Pat spent the better part of a day getting a new vent in. It was a ridiculous process because whoever worked on this house previously didn't do anything right, just good enough for a rental property. We met one of the neighbors yesterday. He's a landscaper and was giving Pat tips