fun with forward facing camera

this girl cracks me up!!

kitchen and bath: during pics

kitchen and bath renovation: post demolition, beginning electrical and plumbing work

bathroom vanity and toilet spots

need to center toilet and change plumbing from single to double vanity

bathtub spot

floors and walls torn out because of rotten wood

shower head remnant

more rotten wood, need to replace leaky and damaged pipes

 kitchen

 2 layers of (hideous) laminate flooring torn out

kitchen wall #1

window removed to allow new spot for fridge and more countertop space

kitchen wall #2

 electrical wiring to be redone to meet safety codes 

laundry room

old water heater removed, prepping for new efficient tankless heater

kitchen and bath: before pics

before pictures of kitchen and bath 

(took some pics while previous owner still lived there 

to begin imagining and planning)

you can see my remodel inspiration boards on pinterest

hopefully the after pics will look as pretty as the ones i pinned!

life is a bit cray cray these days..

to wrap my head around all the upcoming events and travel for our family, i needed to write it down multiple different times, come up with 4 alternate options and have a scheduled meeting with my husband to discuss said options that lasted three and a half hours.

first, the obstacles and key players: 

• our apartment lease is up on august 1st and it can't be extended, but our new house is not ready to move in until end of august. we are redo-ing the kitchen and bathroom in a new to us 1940s house, btw. there is only one bathroom, and it currently doesn't exist because it's been torn out, so basically the house is uninhabitable. 

• next, remember that i've been on maternity leave since like january? oh yeah, that nice little set up has reached it's limit and i have to return to work (in california) the first weekend in august. why are you working in california, you might ask? well, because it's been difficult to find the *perfect* job (ie perfect schedule, perfect pay) in austin so i'm going to fly back once a month to work 4 days at my old hospital. that's crazy, you say?! yes, it is also crazy that i can make more working 4 shifts in california than working part-time here in austin. is it worth it do all that? yes, if you refer above, i am redo-ing my kitchen and bath, and i have expensive tastes. 

• plus our regularly scheduled chaos/travel/visitors thrown in the mix

so we have nowhere to live starting august 1, and then i have to be gone for 5 days leaving my husband homeless with our two small children and no help. 

where are we gonna go? what are we gonna do? 

well, we figured out a way to make it all work, so here is what's up:

this weekend: david is at our good friends' wedding in south bend, in, but i'm staying here to pack and organize. my sister grace arrives from chicago to help for a week.

next week for david: traveling to cali and then seattle for work until thursday

next week for mamma: stops at house everyday encouraging speedy, but excellent, work by tradesmen. buys last minute whatever.it.is.they.say.i.need.that.you.never.before.knew.existed, makes sure things completed according to plan, being generally very annoying, tedious and detailed, i'm sure, but i also bring the men cookies and ice cold drinks so they like me and don't f up my house. oh, also, i'm still packing all our crap and watching/entertaining our children.

next weekend for mamma: required nursing recertification course on saturday, couple trips to house moving things with david in evening, sunday morning fly with Tripp and sister grace to madison, wi for gramma's 80th birthday party

following week: mamma returns on monday, movers come on tuesday, we leave for colorado on wednesday and then i fly to california on friday for work, returning the tuesday after that. david stays with kids at parent's house in breckenridge.

after all that: hopefully i can let out a huge exhale

and then after that: we can relax and enjoy gorgeous breckenridge, and pray that there are no house emergencies while we are gone. david will have to travel twice and still be working the next weeks, but at least we are surrounded by beautiful mountains and have nanasue and pop's help.

end of august?: house should be finished and we can move in for real. fingers crossed!

and after that: an even bigger exhale and huge smile after i make a delicious meal in my new beautiful kitchen and eat it as a family on our cute back porch and then take a relaxing bath in my sparkly new bathtub....aahhhh

until then...

*i'm well aware that probably no one is going to actually read through all this, but at least i have it documented so that one day i can look back and think, "wow, we really did that?!"


**also, i'm well aware that this is a first world problem: "our kitchen & bath renovation isn't finished yet, so we have to spend a month in breckenridge, boohoo." woe is me, i know. 

@MammaMagsAustin on Twitter

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