Can I scream now?

Because I kinda wanna scream.

So, after not being able to get in touch with my GC since last Monday, I finally hear back from him this morning.  I figured that everyone is taking a nice little vaca with the holidays, but dammit to hell just take the 30 seconds to respond to a text or email!  The biggest question I needed an answer to was regarding whether or not I needed to push back the girl who was set up to do the antiquing on the kitchen cabinets Thursday.  All I needed was a yes or no.  We went by the house yesterday and found no paint.  I went ahead and told her it was highly doubtful that the house would be ready for Thursday.  Turns out that I was correct.

We are waiting on the trim carpenter to come back to run all of the base boards and trim up to the cabinets.  Apparently, he's been "very busy" and is supposed to be coming to do our work on Friday.  The painter is supposed to start a week from today, and that will take all week.  So, assuming all of that goes down as it should, my antiquing lady should be able to get in on Saturday, the 11th at the earliest.

At this point, I am completely exhausted with the house.  Breaking our budget has become inevitable; it seems.  We have been saving as much as possible, and at this point are praying that everything works out.  There are a few items that I am waiting on for updating the budget (i.e. lighting fixtures, possible changes from cash payment).  Plus, I've developed a super nice sinus drip and head cold.  If you run into me over the next week, watch out! ;)

But, hey.  At least our cabinets look beautiful:



Stove side of the kitchen

 

Sink/dishwasher side of kitchen

Damn you Starbucks!

I should probably just stay away - it would be for the better.  Every.single.time that I go to Starbucks and someone pays for my drink or I pay for someone else, I have a terrible day.  So, I am interested to see how today will go since the girl at the window didn't charge me for my tea since they were out of the cinnamon roll I wanted.  Maybe in some weird Twilight Zone, that means I will have the best day of my life.  A girl can dream, right?

This morning I realized how negative I have been lately.  As much as I try to not be downtrodden in front of Ethan, I know he can sense it.  Yesterday, I finally hit a wall.  This morning, I got up and decided that things just cannot stay like this for me any longer.  It's not healthy for me and Liam, Michael or Ethan.  I prayed about it on the way in to work and just asked for guidance.  At this point, that's all I can do.  God works in funny ways.  You keep trying to control things and pushing yourself to limits, and He just sits back and lets you do it until you finally collapse and realize that He is all you need.  Thankfully, I'm there now.  Yesterday, I finally collapsed and today I am asking that He point me in the right direction and lead our family.  Why is it that I get to these points?  Why can't I just continue to let Him lead us?  Because I am so stubborn - and that's the damn truth.  As things progressively get more beautiful and wonderful, I try to control them and manipulate them into better when all I should do is sit back and enjoy what God has in store for us.  I am not perfect at all, and times like this serve as a very humble reminder.

I went to yoga at lunch, and it's amazing how much better I feel.  I got to release some tension and just laugh.  Laughter is such an amazing medicine.

Good news on the house: The last of the cabinets are being installed as I type!  The locks will be on the doors this weekend, and the painter is scheduled to start Monday!! WOOHOO!  The master shower is done, the tub backsplash will be completed shortly, and the kitchen backsplash has been measured for.  Check out the progress we've been making:


Loving our brick!

Back patio

Master Shower (upper half)

Master Shower (lower half)

 

Slowly, but surely

This kid must think I am some sort of pinball machine.  He could care less about what time of the day or night it is - he likes to party ALL the time.  This morning was the first time that I recall his antics waking me up, though!

Updates on the house...
- My tile guy sent me a text on Monday to see if we had picked up the tile.  W. T. F.  Nope!  Sure haven't!  Thought that was your job!  So, guess what Michael and I got to do at 8:30 Monday night after we put Ethan down (with my parents at home, of course)?  Deliver the tile that Michael had to run over to the flooring store and pick up!  Let me say that tile is heavy and a Matrix was not designed to carry it.  I was absolutely nervous the entire time we had possession of the tile.  Thankfully, we made it there and back with no issues.  The next afternoon, he got started and worked until late.  The shower should be finished by Saturday.
- Our cabinet man had installed more cabinets, which was awesome to see when we dropped the tile.  He is supposed to be installing more over the few days.  I believe we just have the island/lowers in kitchen, mantle, master closet and some doors left.  Fingers crossed that maybe we can schedule paint for next week!!
- Yesterday, I met with the lighting fixtures guy.  He gave me a couple of catalogs to go through, and last night Michael and I did just that.  We agreed on pretty much everything, so that was a breeze.  Now, I just need to schedule a walk-thru with him to make sure we get noted what we will need - and get a price.
- Speaking of prices... I had a small freak-out yesterday over the budget.  I asked our GC to meet with me at some point this week to go over the invoices with me.  According to my budget spreadsheet, I haven't paid for a few things but I know that can't be right.  I think what has happened on a few lines is that I received an invoice or two that had two or more budget items on it, and I did not separate it properly for my spreadsheet.  I need some help decoding the invoices to make sure I know who I have paid and haven't - and, where we really have busted the budget.

I'm telling you...building a house is stressful.  Staying on budget, not letting people screw you, making decisions to upgrade certain things, etc. is unbelievably stressful.  I am hoping that after I sit with Dustin and get everything straight, that we will be able to better plan for the rest of the items.  We can make some cuts on things like fixtures and landscaping - those we can always come back to later.  But, then you have the driveway yet to be poured that you are basically at their mercy on pricing.  Oh, and the remaining brick for the lip of the driveway and outdoor kitchen.  So, yeah.  Stressful.

I take my PHR test on Tuesday.  Can you sense the excitement?  I will be going through the online modules to check where I'm at over the next couple of days.  Then, I plan to brush up on my weak areas the couple of days leading up to the test.  Say a prayer for me!

1 holiday down...

So, turns out that our tile had not been ordered.  And, with the Thanksgiving holiday, it took a few days extra to arrive.  Supposedly, it was delivered yesterday afternoon and picked up this morning.  Fingers crossed that maybe we'll get our shower and tub backsplash done for the weekend - and maybe some more cabinets!  We did get a load of cabinets in last week, and I took some pictures but will wait to post when they're more complete.  We still need to decide on landscaping and light fixtures...

As far as physically, I am feeling more and more beat down every day.  I don't know what to do to make it better.  My HR class finished Tuesday night and I will test on the 17th.  My hope is that once the stress of the test is gone, I'll start to feel more upbeat.

I know that part of it is the holiday season and where we are right now.  I feel like a turd to complain, but emotionally, I feel out of place.  For the first time in our marriage, Michael and I don't have a "home" of our own for our little family.  We are so grateful and fortunate that my parents have space for us to stay during this transition time.  I just didn't realize how the holidays would affect me here at the end.  Throw in a nice serving of pregnancy hormones and you get a barrel of fun!  Michael is a trooper and more supportive than I could ever give him credit for.  I am truly blessed.

With the pregnancy, I'm still cruising along - which I am EXTREMELY grateful for.  My biggest hope for this (and any other) pregnancy is to be as uneventful as possible.  However, little Liam Edward is quite the mover and shaker!  He definitely likes to utilize all of his allotted space for activities.  And, by activities, I mean kickball and/or soccer.  Maybe we'll have two little NFL kickers!

Hopefully, I'll have more updates after the weekend. :)