Yikes! A big freaking hairy spider!

So after discovering this dude in my kitchen sink I'm thinking about just boarding the place up, putting out a for sale sign and cutting our losses.  I kid, mostly.

First Day of School!

This is the first year they are all in school all day long.  Taylor and Olivia are in 5th grade and Madeline and Lucas are in 1st grade.

A Funny

One of the exciting things about getting a new house is getting to choose the paint colors.  We still need to add another bedroom so for now Taylor and Olivia chose to paint their room bright yellow and blinding orange.  Luckily the room is in the basement so I don't think this combination will result in retinal damage. 

I've been dreading painting because the kids are so excited about getting to help out.  Since the floor in Taylor and Olivia's new room needs to be replaced I decided to start there.  I just knew they would get bored with the whole thing quickly and no longer want to help me.  But alas, those kids really love to paint.  Lucas did finally decide he didn't want to do it any more but the rest of them really hung in there. 

One of the new toys I bought for the new house was the Black & Decker paint stick.  Chris got to use it first, but then I went to town with it.

It worked really well and after about an hour this is what the room looked like.

Which is where the funny part enters into the equation:)

And the work begins.

So I hired 4 people to help me out with the house.  Sure they work cheap but they are expensive to feed and the whining...

 Under that nasty pad are some pretty nice hardwood floors.

And the work continues...

We bought a New House

Well, new to us, it's actually previously loved:)  Here are pictures of the before and as we fix things I will add posts.   It's a 60's ranch which has only had one owner from what we can tell from the paperwork.  The older gentleman who lived there wasn't able to take care of the yard or much of the house so there is some work to be done.

 The front door opens to the living room.  Yes, the carpeting did smell worse than it looked, thanks for asking!

 The kitchen.

 The bathroom, it's uglier in person if you can imagine that.

 And the main floor bedrooms.

 And then there is more downstairs.

 Another bedroom.

The family room, half of which we want to turn into another bedroom.

Yes, the owners did leave all this crap, even after assuring me they would get it all out.  Grrr

But wait there is still more...
A large room with almost no purpose:

 And a utility room.

 

And then back up the stairs:)

I'll keep writing about the changes we make, we think this is going to make a great home for us. 

Alive for a whole decade!

Taylor and Olivia turned 10 and for the big day they got their ears pierced!

 

Both were thrilled and were so brave.  At the end they received certificates to commemorate the experience.