Demo - day 2 and 3

It's starting to get a bit overwhelming! Day 2 went really well, then things got added on day 3. Let me just show you...

Do you love that picture? We knew there were roaches because we saw a dead one months ago with a can of raid next to it. When we got the keys, that same roach was in the same spot. Nope, they never picked it up. Monday night we let off 9 roach fumigators in the house and garage. Those are what I found in the entry and kitchen! They were still twitching! Tuesday the fumigation tent went up and Thursday night we will do more roach bombs incase there were any eggs that hatched.

This next picture, I was not posing! Really, I stood up and was kind of helping myself stand because my back was hurting. Maybe I should see my chiropractor. Oh, wait, he is working with me on our house! Maybe he should take a break to adjust me. :-)

See that big hole behind me? It was fun when I started it, but it got a little overwhelming when I couldn't finish it all in an hour. That is the master shower growing into the linen closet. The heater was moved to the attic, so I have the old heater space for a linen closet.

Here is what exploded through the bathroom as we sledge hammered the back of the shower.

Once I gave up, Dr. C decided to finish the job. He was a little better at it then me.

This was a little surprise. A couple me drive up asking if we have any metal, C up there told them to look in our dumpster and come look through the house. We didn't want the counter top or sinks so they took it. That saved us about an hour.

Here is a little extra something that got added. Under the carpet was this spongy sound or insulating board. It was kind of gross, some parts were soggy and we didn't want pee smell coming through. We also didn't know how the wood would lay over it. So, C decided he didn't want it. That was a day project in it self with only 2 people working on it.

Another not so good surprise, under the carpet was this old 70's tile. This room is only about 1/4 cleared of it. SO MUCH TO DEMO! Will it ever be over?

At least C finally hired someone to do work. I am so happy about that. The over grown trees in the back yard are getting cut WAY back and some down completely.

I love that we can see some sky, but not the neighbors. Oh! and there used to be a rotted out deck there where the dirt is darker with 2 huge bougainvillea plants. Thanks Reed!

With the house tented, we are at a stand still till tomorrow. I bought paint today. I can paint the kitchen, but there is still a couple days of demo left. We won't be living in it when we have to move out of here in 10 days. Hopefully we are only a week behind!

Demo - Day 1

Yay, we got our key!!!

First thing, carpet!

My little helper, he works hard and loves doing it.

Tack strips are a pain.

Can you smell that through the computer?

Look at the amount of animal urine on that carpet I am holding! The next day when I got in my car, I couldn't figure out why I could still smell it. I had showered, double washed and I had clean clothes on. Then I realized, I didn't wash my shoes. The smell is in my shoes!

One of our new neighbors' (already a friend) brought us left overs from their dinner. Yum! Thanks Sarah!

Nails and staples, what a pain!

Lots of trim...

Break time.

Stay tuned for Day 2! Lots of progress.

Packing

Here is a little update I was going to give you last week, but we have got carried away in everything. We have been packing and waiting. All prepared to start demo on our house on Saturday. Here is what packing looks like when L isn't unpacking everything...

Bubble wrap is not popped,

boxes get filled,

and neatly stacked for moving day.

We were supposed to get our keys Friday night, but the current resident decided not to move out of our house on Friday. So, she said Saturday night late. We got a call at 11 pm saying Sunday at noon. We spent our weekend waiting... and waiting... and waiting.

Finally, Sunday at 11:30 am, we got a call, the key was under a rock by the mail box!

We were so relieved! We started a day and a half late, but we got to start finally.

One last thing to sew

Before I packed up the sewing machine, I had to sew one last dress for L. I loved the fabric and had already made her doll a dress.

Aren't they cute together?

Off to play. No time for photo shoots.

Ok, sewing machines packed and it's back to packing for me! Packing is a little tricky with C & L around. It goes a little like this:

Me: (Throwing away junk)
C: Mommy! What are you doing? I've been looking for that.
Me: Do you want to keep this? (A paper airplane, he has about 50)
C: Yes, that's my "special" one.
Me: How about this? (A rock)
C: Don't throw that away!

Can't I just get rid of anything?

Then I find L unpacking her boxes and pulling out babies... because the 5 babies I left unpacked were not enough?

Oh my goodness! These little rascals.

I have lots of fun ideas for their rooms, our bathroom and beyond! I am so excited. You can find me, if you know how (because I don't) on Pintrest to see some of the things I am liking. We are supposed to get our key's Friday and Saturday we will start ripping out carpet and trim. Hopefully I will have some pictures for you the beginning of next week.

Before & After - Pool

We have closed, but don't have the keys yet. Although, I do have the first before and after. The pool needed to be filled for the bank to lend on the house. I guess someone can fall in an empty pool and get hurt. They don't really care if someone falls in a full pool and drowns. That alowed us to take a morning and clean it. Wow! What a difference.

Here is the before:

The bottom was green under all those leaves. We had to scrub the entire pool.

And bag all the leaves.

What a difference, even without water.

Papa taking a lunch break. Is that allowed?

Done! Too bad the pump doesn't work and by the time we have the keys and can replace the pump, the pool will probably be green. At least it will be full.

Don't you just want to dive right in?

Our New House

Well, I finally get to tell you what I have been so busy and pre occupied with! I'm so excited. We bought a house. It is a complete fixer. The inspector told us we have a "bad house." Luckily we got a great deal and my husband is a perfectionist when it comes to his work.

So... Here is the BIG reveal.

This first picture taken from inside the living room looking at the kitchen, the entry, and the stairs, going up and going down. Not so bad, right?

Ew! But look at that carpet, can you smell it through the computer? It's pee and poop from dogs and cats.

Here is the bar in the bottom floor. Did I mention it is a 4 story? Actually it is a tri-level with a loft. I always wanted a 1 story and look what I found. 3 flights of stairs. At least the kids are old enough to pick up their toys.

Lovely, cockroaches and rats were found in the house.

Here is the kitchen on the main floor. That is actually very nice, except for the towel wrapped around the faucet for a leak.

This is the master.

Master Bath.

This is coming out!

C's room, lovely purple with black trim.

L's room. It will be pink, but not like this.

Kids bathroom.

Loft - craft room / play room.

Back patio.

Pool.

Escrow closed today and we will have the keys on June 15th. Our move in date is set for June 30th. We have 2 weeks to work our butts off to make it move in ready. I can't wait to share all the before and afters! I already have one for next week. We got to work on one part because the bank wouldn't lend on it till it was fixed.

Doll house bookshelf

I saw a picture of this adorable little bookshelf made to look like a doll house. I thought it would be perfect for L's new room, so I put Mr. C to work again. Luckily this one only took about a week in-between finishing our bed and work.

I think part of the reason Mr. C likes building things for me is because he gets to buy fun tools to do it.

I just love the way it turned out and can't wait to put it in L's new room.