Saturday morning Erick and I rolled out of bed early and spent the morning at Lowes, Home Depot, Winslow Supply, Target…watched our money trickle away on all of the “unfun” things that homeowners have to buy (aka pipes, heating elements, putty knives, etc…)
*Oh for Home Decor!*
To make up for all of the necessities, I ordered this from etsy seller Handgrown Pottery (had to have a little fun, you know). I have such an obsession with bowls. We have no pots or pans, no silverware, no utensils, but we do have bowls!!
Saturday afternoon we spent the day with Ashley who generously helped us scrape more wallpaper. And I have found the answer to this business! A steamer, water, and vinegar. We borrowed my parent’s small steamer, and I felt like breaking into the Hallelujah chorus! It was like wallpaper remover’s bliss! And then it busted…. We heard this terrific pop and somehow the pressure got to the steamer and it is sadly with us no more. (grrrrrrr) However, as long as we keep the paper really soggy with a half and half mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle, it does the job pretty well. Just not as well as if we had that steamer back!
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Sunday after church we loaded everyone up (the boys, Papa and Nonnie) and we struck out for the house once again. The only big annoyance of this business is that we only have the weekends to work, and it’s so much easier if the boys aren’t around, but 2 days in a row of not seeing my kids is AWFUL!! So along with us they came! Fortunately, Grammie and our new friends came to our rescue and we had an amazing afternoon. Work is so much easier with a fun group! It certainly breaks up the monotony of it all. We are happy to report than Andrew and Erick got our plumbing up to par, so we now have use of the bathroom (no more runs to the store for potty breaks!) Next on the agenda is getting our heating pipes replaced, and Erick has become a master with sauter. He has completed the repairing of breaks in the living room and is almost wrapped up with the kitchen.
Dad took the cabinets down in the kitchen so I can release my design angst on the fake brick. 
Time to see it go!
While we were hard at work, the G kids kept Ry and Jack entertained. They had SO MUCH FUN. The previous owners of our house had an above ground swimming pool, so there is this gigantic sand pit in our back yard. At first glance I was horrified, but then I realized it was a blessing in disguise! What kid wouldn’t give and arm and a leg for a gigantic sand pit?! Eventually I’d like to line it with ocean rocks from our travels and put a fire pit in the center. But it will always remain a great place for the kiddos to get down and dirty. And get down and dirty they did. We had on and off again showers (which they LOVED), so of course the sand turned into mud (which was great for making sand castles and cities). But there is nothing like watching kids at play. It makes my heart so glad! Next time I’ll remember to bring the boys a change of clothes. 
Hard at Play
Dancing with Glee on our ghetto porch (I love that we have a porch, but I can’t wait to change it from screen to glass!)
The scrapin’ ladies
Dad tearing down the cabinets…
Today we are ordering our new flooring (yipee!) As soon as it’s down (click and lock…shouldn’t take a terrifically long time), the bathroom tiled, and the heating pipes fixed, we’ll move in and finish while we are there. I’m hoping by the end of the month?
Have a great Monday!
