Dry Wall, Ceilings and Siding

My mom is in town for the arrival of her first granddaughter.  Since the little princess is taking her good ole time making an entrance, I was able to set up a time to take my mom through our house.  We went on Wednesday and a lot has been accomplished.

First of all, they got up most of the normal siding and started the shake siding.  I am pleased with the color, but I am still a little nervous about the stone.  It probably won't go in until next week because we are expecting a snow storm on Sunday and Monday.

Inside the house, they got up all the drywall and they were stamping the ceiling.  Here are just a few of the rooms.

Dining Room and Stairs

 Kitchen and Morning Room

Morning Room

 

Great Room and Door to Playroom 

 Bonus Room

 

Pregnant Bellies

Some times my students crack me up.  Yesterday they got to go to gym and they played some game using dodge balls.  Apparently a few students kept putting the ball in their shirt and saying that they were pregnant.  When I went to pick up my kids, they were all standing in line just like normal, but they all had a ball in their shirt.  I almost died laughing.  It was so funny!  Then the principal walked by and heard the laughter and peeked in to see what was going on.  He was literally in tears because he thought it was so funny.  Luckily I had my camera at school so I had to snap a picture.  This is only half of my class.  The others were putting the balls away or were too shy to be in the picture!

Insulation, Electrical and Plumbing

 We had our Pre-Drywall Meeting on Wednesday.  I have to say that it went a lot better than our Pre-Construction meeting.  I came out much more excited about the building process.  We were all on a pretty tight schedule but I was able to snap a few photos before I left.
This week they completed all the plumbing, electrical and insulation.
This is the front of the house.  Front Door, Stairs and Dining Room

View of Dining Room from the front door.

 

View of the kitchen and morning room from the dining room.

  

Morning room.  This is one of the rooms I am most excited about.

 View of the Great Room and Office (we will use it as a playroom) from the kitchen.

One of the upstairs bedrooms

The Bonus Room.  I love this room but it will end up being Travis' room.  He has already claimed decorating privileges on it.  He wants to make it a man room. 

 I don't have a picture of the Master Bedroom, but this is the best part of the Master Bathroom.  A five foot, dual head shower with a bench!!!

 Last week they also started the siding!

 This coming week, they plan on getting up all the drywall, painting a first coat on the walls, finishing the siding and MAYBE starting the stone.  It is weather dependent.  I am sooo excited!  It is really starting to come together!

We also got to meet another one of our neighbors this week!

Last Pregnancy Update

I am hoping this is the last pregnancy update with this little gal until she arrives.  I am due exactly one week from today, but I am really hoping she comes early. 

My friend Katrina has been through this whole pregnancy with me.  She was due exactly 2 weeks before me so we went through all the stages together.  If I had any questions, I would ask her.  She had her baby girl on Wednesday so I am hoping to soon follow. 

This picture was taken just 2 days before she had the baby.  She looks amazing! 

At this point, I am not sure what I am most excited about: meeting my princess, being able to get comfortable or not having to deal with one of my students at work. 

This past week has really done me in.  Work has been really stressful with a difficult student and I am beyond exhausted physically and emotionally!  I have not been able to sleep more than an hour at a time.  I realize that I won't get sleep after I have the baby, but I think I will get more than an hour at a time and I can nap during the day. 

My parents got into town last night so I keep telling our little princess that she can make her entrance any time now.  Here's hoping for a lucky little leprechaun! 

Roof and Windows

Last week, they were able to get the roof on and windows installed.  I was so grateful because they got it done the day before the snow hit us.  I wasn't so worried about the snow melting and leaking through with it being completed.  We got about 4 inches over night and now, 2 days later, it is pretty much all melted.  Ohio weather is crazy!

You can also see that they put up the trim.  I don't know if this is just a base for it or what.  I like how it divides up the house though.  The lower portion of the front and around the porch will be done in stone and the rest will be siding.  I am curious to see how it turns out.  That was my biggest stress at the beginning while we were making selections because we couldn't get the stone we wanted and we haven't seen the option we choose in large scale. 

They also got the garage door put in this week.  It still needs to be painted white and have the decorative hardware added for the cottage style look.

 

 

This week they began work on the inside of the house.  I believe they got the HVAC system put in and the electrical should be done.  I haven't gotten an update from our PM this week so I am not sure exactly what has been done.  We aren't supposed to walk through the house unless he is with us, so I have to go off of what he emails us for now.  I would like to go by weekly and walk through with him as long as he doesn't get sick of it. 

Travis emailed him this past week to make sure we were in the 60 day range so we could lock our rate.  It is up from where it was when we first started the process, but it is still a decent rate.  When our PM confirmed that we were within our 60 days, I think he also mentioned looking to set up a pre-drywall meeting for next week. 

While we are waiting to set up our meeting, what are tips that you have for us?  What should we look for or ask about?

Curious Children

I have been pregnant this whole school year, so the students have learned a lot about pregnancy.  They have learned that sometimes pregnant women throw up or need to eat right away or rest.  Today we had a totally new and unexpected conversation that made me laugh.  It was while they were at their tables doing some math. 

It all started when one of my students asked the question, "When you eat, does the baby eat too?"  I thought it was a well thought out question for a 5 year old.  I told him that she does.  I should have seen what was coming next.  "How?"  In as simple language and explanation as I could, I tried to explain how the umbilical cord works.  At this point, other students began to listen in and participate in the conversation.  Then a little girl asked what happened if the cord came out with the baby.  Now I was getting in too deep.  I explained that she is connected until she comes out and then you cut the cord and that is why we have a belly button. Side conversations began to trickle out about the nature of the cord and belly button.  Some students have younger siblings and talked about the "black thing" on their belly button.    

I thought the conversation had moved topics when another student asked how the baby gets inside of you.  I didn't respond right away.  I giggled to myself because I dread having this conversation with my own children, much less other people's children.  I started thinking of a way to steer the conversation in a different direction but luckily I didn't have to say anything.  I just became an observer.  A little girl popped in and said "God puts the baby in there."  I am practically dying at this point.  It was so entertaining to me!  I heard conversations about who God is, why he gives people babies, how the babies get in bellies and so on. 

So, if your child ever comes home with something they learned at school that day...don't judge the teacher.  Sometimes we get put in interesting situations. 

Baby Face

Lately, Travis and I have been talking about what we think our baby will look like.  I was a small baby, but got chubby during that first year.  Travis was chubby from the beginning.  Our ultrasound confirmed that our baby has chubby little cheeks, but who will she look like?  Will she resemble me or Travis more?

Sorry if these pictures creep you out.
Look at that chubby, smushed face! It looks like she is scowling at us.  I don't think she liked being poked and prodded!  (I was never good at seeing the baby in these type of pictures until I was pregnant.  Here the baby is looking pretty much straight at us.  The lower right blurb is placenta.)

 This one is a little harder to tell.  This is a profile shot.  She is looking towards the left.  You can see her turned up little nose almost in the middle of the screen.  Once again, you can't see her whole face because the placenta is in the way. 

Travis decided to go on a quest to figure out what she will look like.  He found a website, put in our pictures, and came up with some results.  It was all his idea!  He wants to know, which one do you think she will look the most like?
Number 1

 Number 2

 Number 3  (I don't know where this brown hair, brown eyes and tan skin came from)

 Number 4

 Number 5

 Number 6

PS-Happy Snow Day to everyone out there!!!!  This day off came at the perfect time!  If you are bummed about it...you can blame it on me.  I prayed for it to come.  If only Travis could have had the day off, then it would be perfect!