Less than 2 weeks until closing! Progress pics and shopping trips!

We had a great productive 3 days this weekend!  Saturday, Dan's parents took the kids for a few hours so we could do some appliance shopping.  If you've ever been appliance shopping you know it was a looong few hours! 

I hate how some stores are like car-dealerships.  The sales-people pounce on you as soon as you walk in and they never leave you alone!  Then the negotiating begins..."let me talk to the manager", "ok, let's check online and see what prices you'll get elsewhere",  "well, how much do you think this is worth?", "this is our best price.  Oh it's not good enough?  Let me talk to the manager again.".  Seriously?!  Just give me your best price and stop wasting time!  So anyway, we knew what we wanted, checked a few stores, and ended up with a great deal from Best Buy.  I highly suggest going there for appliances.  No high-pressure salesman, no screwing around, just "how much do you want to pay? Ok let me see if we can do that?". Done.  We ended up getting a Samsung 29cubic feet, stainless-steel, french-door with ice in the door.  Love it!  Bigger than we expected to be able to get and under our set-budget because we got $1200 off!!!  Yes, you read that correct.  I'm a good negotiator;) 

Then my Mom came to watch the kids for Sunday and Monday.  We did a ton of shopping.  It was so nice to go just the two of us and really be able to take our time and think without all of the kids.  We got all of the curtain-rods, all of the curtains for down-stairs and the master-bedroom, new bedding, the morning-room light fixture, and a couple lamps for the master bedroom.  The best deal of the weekend was the china-cabinet for the craft room.  I've been looking for one to store craft supplies and homeschooling stuff for Connor.  We wanted to get something second-hand and paint and refinish it.  I found one the perfect size for the wall with great storage space at Seconds City.  It's a second-hand store by us that drops the price 1% for every day the item is there.  Well, since we've been so crazy busy when I looked at the date the china-cabinet got there I was thinking it would be 60% off.  But, when I went to pay the cashier said "$17.80 including tax".  I had to have them repeat themselves and thought they meant "$70.80".  Nope, I just bought a china cabinet for $17!!!!  Apparently, it's July not June (see what I mean I don't even know what month it is!).  It was 90% off not 60%!!!  Super-score! 

Also, on Sunday we took my parents out to the house to see the progress.  We were excited to see the flooring had been started!  It wasn't supposed to start until Monday so this was a nice surprise!  We chose Armstrong Sedona-Cherry for the foyer, hall, mudroom, powder room, kitchen, and morning room. That was all complete! The carpet will probably be put in the beginning of this week.  We also met a new neighbor!  The lot next to us just got sold and they were checking out the stakes when we were there.  It is a retired couple that is building a PISA.  They have four adult children so I'm hoping for visiting grandchildren sometimes!

A HUUUGE thanks to our parents for all of their help! We had a great weekend and are feeling much better about the few things we still need to do.

And lastly, in our current house news...Our house was listed online last Tuesday afternoon.  On Thursday we got a call to do a showing on Friday.  The people that saw the house Friday loved it and filled out the application.  They also asked to move in early (right after we move instead of Sept1) and to sign a 2 or 3 year lease!  We found out on Monday the application/background/credit check was approved!  So now, we are finalizing the lease and if all goes well we should have it signed this week!  What a huge blessing!  One showing and not even a week of being listed!  Moving in early so we get a little extra income and signing a long lease so we don't need to find renters again for a few years!  It couldn't have went better (as long as the lease gets signed!).

Now for pictures!!!

(Click to Enlarge)

Armstrong 5.25 in planks (pretty dirty here!)

Armstrong Sedona Cherry shown in morning room

Flooring next to cabinets!  We love it! 

The step is in the garage now.

The kids/guest bath

Wire shelves are now in all the closets (this is the upstairs hallway closet)

Shelves in master closet

We have toilets in all the upstairs bathrooms now (this is the master/water-closet).  The powder-room will probably be completed soon now that the flooring is in down-stairs.

I had to check the size of the garden-tub!  Can you tell my excitement?  Actually that's my normal smile but I am excited to not have jets anymore!  Our current house has a jetted tub and I can't stand cleaning those jets!

Basement has insulation on the walls now.  We'll be using this for the kids to ride bikes and play during the winter until we finish it.

Our a/c is working now but there is a ton of condensation in the basement.  I'm not sure if this is because the house has been so hot and the a/c was just put in or if it's a problem.  We're going to check on this.

A couple other concerns are: a chip in the master bathroom cabinet, a chip in the molding of one of the windows, floor that needs sanded in a bedroom, light fixtures not installed in bedrooms (looks like they confused which lights are complete and which are rough-ins), our kitchen faucet is missing (the PM thinks the plumber has it), and the cable box still hasn't been moved (they said it will be done this week).  All of these will be brought up with the PM and I'm sure they'll be corrected.

Some views from inside....

Little girly's room-you can see the pond and golf-course green here.

View from the play-room-this window has a view of the golf course/pond/street and the other window is of the cul-de-sac

Cul-de-sac from the side master-bedroom window (love the Cross the window made in this pic!  God is sure watching over us!)

The other two master-bedroom windows are of the yard/golf-cart path/wooded area

Front of the house with garage door down and dumpster taken away (still needs pillars and door

painted)

Some things coming next:carpet, powder room (toilet/sink installed), master-bath (glass enclosure installed for shower/ garden tub installed),  kitchen (appliances and faucet installed), exterior (door/pillars painted,  final grading and landscaping)

Some Shopping Trip Items....

Samsung 29 cubic feet fridge- $1200 off!

Master bedding- but we got burgundy/reddish sheets instead of the teal shown

Bedding next to curtains

Morning room light fixture-Portfolio 6-light dark bronze chandelier

$17 china cabinet for the craft room!  We will be painting and distressing it, knocking out some glass, and changing the knobs/pulls.  We'll be storing the little things (crayons, paint, markers) in baskets on the shelving, paper, books, etc will be in the drawers/cabinets. 

Less than 2 weeks until closing!!!!!