I must say that the whole home-buying process had major ups & downs. We didn't have the greatest experience during the process, or after when we moved into the house. However, our realtor said she has never dealt with something quite like this before. I'm thinking maybe we were just unlucky. We love our house, but dealing with the contractor who updated (and was still finishing work on the house) was very frustrating. Let's just say, we will never use him for ANY project in the future.
Friday, we got the keys to the house. I came over to clean & mainly to seal the grout on our tile floors and bathrooms before we moved in the next day. I brought a great babysitter over with me to watch Carly while I did this. I'm sure I looked goofy as I sported the pregnant cleaning lady look - complete with knee-pads, mask, gloves, and all windows open. I didn't get everything done that I had hoped, but figured I would be able to accomplish a lot the next day while the men were moving everything. That night Morgan's Mom & Step-Dad arrived to help with the move. We brought 2 truck loads to the house that night and noticed a gas-smell when we were in the house. The guys turned off the gas behind the oven and we would see if we still noticed a gas smell the next day (that way we would know if the gas was coming from the pipe, or from the connection with the actual stove).
Saturday, the full-out moving process had begun. When Barb & I got to the house with cleaning supplies & food, we cleaned out the fridge and then began stocking it with the food. Not too long after, we noticed a puddle of water under the fridge. We opened it to find the ice melting in the freezer and the fridge was blowing out warm air.... We packed up the food to be transported back to the apartment fridge and began trying to get ahold of our realtor, the contractor and the listing agent, to figure out what to do. Major stress was setting in. 2 major appliances were having issues and I was feeling overwhelmed. It was really frustrating because we made sure to check these appliances with every walk-through we did. With it being the weekend, I wondered how soon we would be able to remedy these problems.
I noticed a few tender mercies amidst all the stress and chaos. 1. While the men were gone, we realized we couldn't unpack any more boxes because they were all in the garage. Minor problem - pregnant lady & Grandma in the house (We definitely shouldn't be carrying these heavy boxes...). The missionaries from our church just happened to be knocking doors on our street and asked if they could help. What a huge help! And now we would know someone in our new ward. 2. Carly took a really long nap that afternoon (3-4 hours). I really needed that. It was nice to be able to focus on cleaning, etc. without her running around. 3. Carly was loving Grandpa's water bottle. She loved it so much that she ended up dumping the water all over herself. She was so happy to be carrying it around the house, despite no shirt and half-wet pants. She sure does some funny things that make me smile. 4. Before bed I took a shower. Wow, I really like our shower. No reason to be disappointed there. It got me thinking and I realized that I should start focusing on the positives and the things I like about the house, rather than get overwhelmed and stressed out about the few things that went wrong that day.
Thank goodness for a mini-fridge, a coleman propane stove and a toaster oven. That is how we were able to eat on Sunday. Happy Father's Day! Morgan was willing to cook breakfast on his propane stove, we had sandwiches for lunch, and then baked salmon in the toaster oven (along with rice in the rice-cooker) for dinner.
I don't think I really realized how much I rely on those major kitchen appliances. I felt pretty hopeless without them and almost felt like there was nothing to eat because everything I could think of involved an item that was still in our apartment, or required an oven or stove. So Saturday we bought a fridge to be delivered Monday. Morgan & Dan had to move the cabinet & partial wall over to accommodate the bigger fridge we chose. Then on Tuesday we bought a stove to be delivered Wednesday. All of the sudden with those appliances, my life feels stable again lol. That sounds really funny, but honestly I've felt like a wreck without them. I was so excited to make cookies & dinner right after getting our new stove :)
We really love our new house, especially now that we have fully functioning appliances. I don't know what we would have done without Morgan's parents this last weekend. We were very blessed that they were able to assist with the move and be there for us. They helped us reason out the situation and make decisions. Not to mention, all the help with Carly, with moving, with cleaning... The list goes on and on. They really helped us make a smoother transition to the new house than we could have done on our own.
Other highlights of this week included: installing a garbage disposal, yardwork, spraying around the house for spiders, etc. All these involved multiple trips to Lowe's and lots of purchases now that we are homeowner's. Morgan did great with the garbage disposal. There are a ton of online resources for replacing an existing garbage disposal with a new one, but putting one in from scratch is tough. Morgan had to completely undo the kitchen pipes, take out the existing sink drain, install the garbage disposal, redo the kitchen pipes and hook up the dishwasher drain loop. Wow. What a night! Now we have a working garbage disposal (and I can't believe how quiet it is compared to our last one). Loving it :)
Woohoo! Keys to our house! Time to get to work...
It's fun to play with waterbottles, especially if you can open it and pour the water all over your clothes. I sure love that little face. Note the bedding on the floor. Carly LOVES to play in bedding. She will giggle and roll around, staying occupied for quite a while.
The cabinet & wall moving project has begun. We couldn't have done this without Dan - he was the instigator in this project.
The new fridge with LOTS of space inside :)
Carly had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa! We sure miss you guys!
We went with a convection oven. I am loving it. I made cookies the day we got it and they turned out so good. That night I made a new garlic chicken recipe for dinner. Bake time was 35 min according to the recipe, but it was done in 20 min. I am happy to have my glass top electric stove (I never liked the idea of having gas anyway).
Carly really cracks us up. She has a little green camping chair that she loves to sit in. Over the past couple of weeks, she will take the bag that the chair goes in, and wear it like a satchel. She will just walk around the house with it around her.
She loves to sit on the arms of the couch. Anything that looks dangerous is the funnest thing ever apparently.
Garbage disposal installation.... I was tired just watching the process. Man, this was giving me a headache. The plumbing is like a puzzle. Morgan has a crazy mind that can figure out problems I never could. I sure love my handyman :)
Last thing. I have to brag about my sweet garage-sailing today! My mother-in-law Diane introduced me to garage-sales when we were in Idaho. I really scored today. I got this sweet doll house for Carly for $3. So excited! She has already been playing with it. She has been putting her dora dolls and all the farm animals from her little people farm (also from the garage sale) on the beds and on the elevator.
