Holy Home Repair, Batman!

We took down our pictures and wall hangings yesterday and it's finally sinking in. 

We're moving. 

It just doesn't look like our house anymore. 

Which is a good thing, because some things really needed to go--- like our vintage yellow 70s linoleum and faux wood formica countertops. 

The bottom of the countertop had "Meadowcroft Lot--144" written on the bottom of it from WHEN IT WAS BUILT. Meadowcroft is our condo association and Lot 144 is our lot number. 

We hired a handyman to rip out the counters, sink, faucet, and sink base cabinet (that was falling apart), which was rather practical because it took him eight hours to get that out and replaced. It would have taken me three weeks, way too many youtube videos, lots of take out food (gross), and quite a lot of mental swearing to get that done. Because the one thing I've learned in home repair is that to get a "straight forward, simple" job done you will have to make at least two extra, unplanned trips to the hardware store. 

Because crazy things came up: For example, the over zealous garbage man threw part of my NEW countertop onto the asphalt to be collected when the truck came around. The handyman caught this before it actually get thrown into the truck and with a bit of adjustment, cut most of the dinged side off. Or, when one of the base cabinets was moved over three inches, we discovered an unused electrical outlet behind the cabinet. What the…? So now it has a metal cover on it and is only partially hidden by the base cabinet. 

But he fixed it, and I didn't have to, 

and we averted the three-weeks-youtube-take-out-swearing scene. 

Before: 

In progress: 

After: 

I love my new countertops and accessories, but I still cringe when I walk in my kitchen because… it's just not done yet. 

We replaced the kitchen floor a few days later, which is not as wild as replacing the (ONLY) bathroom floor. Turns out,  is easier to live without a kitchen than without a bathroom. Food prep does not have to be done in a kitchen. Pooping, well, needs a toilet. 

Unless you're little and cute and it's still legit for you to poop in your pants. Then, by all means…

While countertops were not on my DIY list, leveling out the hole where the front bushes was. And after a friend lent us her wheelbarrow, we put Raeford in it. 

And leveled out the topsoil. Threw out some grass seed. And watered. 

Do you see all three littles? 

 And the kitchen floor made the DIY list. We'd already done the entry and bathroom floors, and saved the biggest for last. 

It's still light outside in these pictures. We've been at this project for about five hours. 

After the babysitter leaves, we switch off working on the edge pieces and herding our herd and finish laying the last tile a little after the littles are in bed. 

The sun is down, and we start to grout.  

It looks pretty fantastic. I wish I had taken a picture of our washer, dryer, stove, and fridge in our living room. It felt really weird to reach from the table to the fridge to get milk. But Rae liked climbing behind  appliances, especially when he needed a time out. 

The hardest part about not having appliances in our kitchen was not having a washer and dryer. The boys' laundry was already overflowing when we started our kitchen flooring project, and Rae exacerbates the laundry dilemma by pouring water on himself and changing outfits multiple times a day. So, he was down to wearing Joe's clothes. And being naked. 

Aside from the nakedness and the appliance zoo in our living room, we were done before General Conference started. So we got to "watch" all of Conference. 

Well, as much as you can with three hooligans. 

Happy Easter!