Changes are coming... there is the obvious one, the one that gets bigger and bigger as each day goes by, but there are also all the little changes going on in our lives right now. Living in the middle of the chaos that has been our lives for the past two weeks, it certainly doesn't feel like little changes!
We've torn out most of the garden in the front lawn and replaced it with grass. It was just way too much work to get it looking pretty every year, and when we eventually sell the house I'm sure it would have been a deterrant to anybody but the most advanced gardener. We still have a nice bit of garden left, but it's manageable! Of course right now the front lawn looks not so pretty, but once the green stuff starts growing in it'll be fantastic! :)
We've also replaced the bathroom. New toilet, new flooring, new paint, new countertops, new sink. The only thing we didn't replace was the tub. That was a big job, handled solely by Danny, and it looks fantastic! Nothing freshens up a home like a brand spanking new room!
Our downstairs office has been dismantled and is currently being turned into Gracie's new room. This was, and still is, a ginormous task. The office was already cluttered past capacity... and all that crap had to go somewhere, since we have no empty rooms waiting for crap to be placed in it! A lot of the crap went to the garbage, where it should have been years ago! The office desk, computer, and filing cabinet got shuffled into the one remaining spare room. The music stuff (amps, mics, and a crapload of music books) is behind the door in our bedroom - not exactly convenient, but at least it's neat, tidy, and fits! Danny's gym equipment is going to be stored in the shed, and the books and miscellaneous crap that wasn't thrown out is currently in boxes, waiting to be sorted. The office used to be a hideous blue and yellow. After being emptied out, I spent nearly 3 hours scrubbing walls and vacuuming cobwebs. Then this week, I painted the ceiling, mudded the walls, and started painting real colours last night. The room is going to be purple and yellow - mostly neutral, with a splash of colour. Being military, we always have to think "what if we get posted," and try to picture the house from outsiders' points of view! I'm hoping tonight to do the second coat of purple, and start on the yellow. By the weekend, the painting should be finished and Danny can put the new flooring down. Then the fun part begins, decorating! I'm quite excited to turn this into a room that isn't a nursery, but an actual room for a little girl to play in and love. I have a million ideas running around inside my head, so hopefully I can pull out the right ones and make it functional and pretty!
We also bought a new car. I don't know how that happened... except that we got a pamphlet in the mail asking us if our car was still the right fit for us, and if not, to take this $1,000 coupon to our dealership, and get a new one, without any penalties for ending the contract early. So I called the dealership, we went in, test drove a car, did a little negotiating, and somehow ended up with a brand new Chevy Orlando for about the same as we were paying for the Vibe. It's a 7-seater, but it not a van, or an SUV. It's what they call a "compact 7-seater." Kinda like the Mazda 5, except a little more head room. It's not actually that much bigger than our Vibe was, and there's room now for family to travel with us, instead of always taking 2 cars. And when the family isn't around, Charlie has extra leg room in the cargo area! She hasn't travelled in it yet... this cargo area is carpeted, and the Vibe wasn't, so we have to find something to put down and protect it before we let her hairy butt in the car!
Well, all of that doesn't sound too chaotic... but trust me, while you're in the midst of it, with a very active (and sometimes petulant) toddler, two full-time jobs, and a (slightly) hormonal pregnant lady, some days have seemed never ending! The worst is the mess that gets created in the midst of the chaos - dishes not done one night because painting is more important quickly add up to one embarrassing kitchen! So I've now added scrubbing and cleaning to my daily to-do list, in an effort to stay on top of it. The good thing is, once it's all finished and cleaned up, the house will have been almost completely redone from top to bottom, and it'll feel so new and fresh and homey. We just have to get through the next few weeks without killing each other.
Oh yes... the in-laws arrive on Saturday for a week. It'll be great to have the company, not so great for the chaos! :) Stay tuned...
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