First home Fixer Upper

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 bei...

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 th...

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...

I already wrote this post out a couple days ago and auto save didn't work, so I gave up in frustration. Ha! So this post is going to be a bit longer as it will cover a couple days, so strap in. Pat has torn out the ceilings in the master bedroom, hallway and Joshua's room.  He was able to frame in the master bedroom last weekend while I was at work. I've been working every weekend since we bought the house so construction days have been short. It's been frustrating for all of us to not get as much done as we want. Our new dishwasher and oven were delivered on Monday! I had to run over there after the boys got done with distance learning to meet the delivery guys between 11 and 3. While I waited I cleaned up the front yard a bit. We have a massively overgrown privacy hedge with a huge palm that keep dropping fronds on the lawn on one side  and a bunch of roses and English ivy taking over said roses on the other side. ...

Pat has been working non stop these past few days! He got the water heater placed and PEX lines in running from the original copper piping to the new location in that corner straivht back.  He also replumbed the laundry hookups and ran a water line for a garage sink and the ice maker for the fridge on the other side of the wall.  This is where the door into the garage used to be. Now, its right around the corner! I am constantly amazed at his craftsmanship. He is so cool. Construction is going slower than we want it to. Pat keeps running into more problems because this house was a rental and no repairs or upkeep was done well, just good enough. We are so lucky to be able continue to stay with my mom!

This is what i finished on day 2. Well, mostly finished. I now have a greater appreciation for parents putting toys together on Christmas eve with sub par directions. The directions for this monster were ridiculous. BUT I did it.  I also put the plastic down on the carpets in each of the bedrooms. Construction to put in the ceilings is happening soon! This will be Luke and Claire's room. Those black squares are chalkboard paint. 🤷‍♀️ Here is the master bedroom. We are trying to figure out what we want to do with that window. It's huge and off center and not great.I am excited to have my own closet again! The master connects to a Jack and Jill bathroom that will eventually become a master bath once Pat puts in the second bathroom for the kids.  Day 3: Pat went to the house alone last night. I am sure it was much easier to get stuff done without the kids there and me asking "What do I do now?" all the time. It still made me sad that ...

 We bought our very first house. After 9 years of marriage, 4 moves, 3 kids, 2 dogs and a partridge in a pear tree, we are home owners. It means so many things to us, but for me, the biggest dream come true is setting down roots.  We bought a fixer upper. This home has great bones and hasn't really been touched since 1978 when it was built. But that means it has wall heaters and a previous swamp cooler. An HVAC is the very first major buy that we are doing. It isn't glamourous, but in the Sacramento 110 degree heat, it is 100% necessary. Luckily, buying in January means we have a little time to put it in. Day one: erect the trampoline for the kids so they can stay out of the house while we work on it. That's the idea anyway. The first real thing before we start putting ceilings in the bedrooms for the HVAC ducts is moving the door to the garage from the kitchen around the corner and into the living room. This will give us much more useable space in the kitchen and a better ...