House, Ultrasound & CLASS?!

I feel like I'm in this weird time "twilight zone".  Tomorrow marks three weeks since we closed on our loan and purchased our lot.  While I feel like we're moving at a snail's pace, driving by the lot paints a different picture.



More than just a big dirt pile now!

The forming of the slab has been set and everything will be ready for pouring next week.  I never realized what all goes into a slab before you actually haul the concrete out there.  There's the termite treatment, plumbing, some electrical, inspections, etc. etc.  It's a much more involved process than I previously thought.  That being said, I've been very anxious to get the slab poured, because that will signal the first draw on our loan!  Woohoo!  We've come out of pocket roughly $8k, and it would be nice to pay our savings back.  That is one thing that we never really looked into before we changed gears to building our own house - how much money we needed in our back pockets to get started.  I am SO GLAD that we were just blindly and madly saving as much as we could because it has really helped.  The bank needs to know that you can afford the project that you are starting.  They do so much paperwork to prove that, but then, it takes even more money to get the project off the ground before the bank hands over a dime.  I've been keeping detailed spreadsheets of our house budget and the money we've pulled out of savings that will need to be paid back to us.  These items include:

- elevation certificates (proposed & actual)
- General Liability/Builder's Risk insurance & temporary flood insurance
- building permit
- slab survey (for the first draw to be completed), property markers
- dirt/clay for the slab to be built on

There are also closing costs associated with how much the bank decides you will come out of pocket based on the budget to build the house that you sent them versus 80% of the appraised value that they find.  We also elected to make some last minute plan changes, which cost some money.  And, we found our front door, and put a deposit on that.  Oh, and we had to set up a rental service for a port-o-potty for the workers. :)

Once the slab is poured and the framing goes up, we'll do a walk for our stained concrete designs.  We are also getting ready to take a trip to decide on our tub and plumbing fixtures.  Of course we selected a tub size that needs to be special ordered.  Go figure!  The turn around is only two weeks, so that won't be terrible - but, I'd rather get that out of the way.  Then, we'll need to schedule a time to check out paint and make those decisions.  Obviously, the easiest thing to do would be select one color for the entire house - not going to happen.  I'm sure that will take up the better part of a Saturday morning!
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Moving on to the babeh!  Baby Hathcox #2 is growing quite nicely and we have finally entered the second trimester.  I am praying that the nausea and fatigue finally start to subside.  It has been exhausting!  My skin and hair have not been as healthy as they were when I was pregnant for Ethan.  I've been craving fruit and sweets like mad.  Red meat as the main part of a meal has been a big turn-off.  Smells really get to me - and, I can smell EVERYTHING.  I've definitely been more stressed this time around because of the new house, working weekends at Lush and living with the folks.  Otherwise, it's been a pretty nice pregnancy. ;)

Last week, we had an ultrasound!  Baby was a serious wiggle worm!

It's a babeh!

I'm pretty upset that I can't find my doppler to listen to the heartbeat.  I know it's around, but just not sure if it's around the storage facility or the house apartment.  I went ahead and ordered another one.  I used to listen to Ethan almost every night - especially if it was a rough day.  Plus, when the other one turns up, I'm sure there will be another pregnant friend who would love to use it.

I was also informed that BRCC has an ultrasound program and they do free ultrasounds.  I wouldn't be too terribly interested, but I would like to have one at 16 or 17 weeks if I didn't have to pay for it.  They grow so much during this time, and the next time we'll be scheduled to see him or her is at 20 weeks.

Speaking of BRCC, I started my PHR certification course this week.  It's once a week for 12 weeks.  ZOMJesus, it's a lot of information.  Six thick workbooks that will take us 2 weeks at a time to get through, plus the reading material, plus the online modules and e-flashcards on our phones.  Yeah.  I better pass this freaking test. Lol  After I got home at 9:20, I realized how draining Tuesdays are going to be.  I will go straight from work to class for three hours.  This old lady is used to a 9:30-10pm bedtime.  It took me about an hour to unwind after I got home.  I was dragging ASS the next morning.  I just keep reminding myself that it is totally worth it to be PHR certified. :)

So, that's pretty much it for now.  I should probably blog more often since I tend to have A LOT to say when I do get around to it!  And, hopefully some of this house jabber can or will be helpful to someone out there now or in the future.