Waiting out the cold...

I know it's been a while since I last posted anything, but it’s only because there hasn't really been anything to post. We broke ground and then stalled as we waited for the money to come. I think we are on the precipice of some fast paced building, but we’re waiting on the cold to break so we can get going. Our lovely county has just recently increased the minimum temperature for pouring concrete, so we’ve had to wait for this cold weather to pass. I’m told our county is difficult to work with when it comes to meeting building codes and such, but I think this is one area where I’m not too bummed about their new requirements. I’d like to make sure our concrete is set perfectly too, so no whining on that front!

I will, however, whine about the stupid basement issue we’ve come across. The most tucked away room in the basement has a closet attached to it. The county says that since there is a closet, we have to have an egress window. So we either take out the window or add a window below grade that has a ridiculous 5 foot window well that no one will actually be able to use as an egress. This, of course, will cost more money. But I really can’t stand to lose that closet on the room since it’s going to be my office. Ugh. So we’ll put the window in. Thankfully, my builder is a thinker and suggested an alternative that won’t be quite as ugly or hazardous as a 5 foot hole in the ground next to the house. We’ll pull some soil away and do a retaining wall on that side of the house, which will cost about the same as the expensive window well. At least it will look better. But when you start coupling that added cost with the other added costs I’m sure we’ll have I start to stress about meeting the budget. I am determined to make it work though.

Casey tells me that the foundation footings are in place though so maybe I’ll head out to the site today and snap some pics. Maybe. I’m not too certain that it will be a very noticeable change, so I might not post pictures of it. Foundation? Sure, pictures will be posted, but footings are not overly exciting.

There are other notable events though…we closed on the construction loan and obtained an address for the new house. I won’t be posting the address online, but if you want it for future reference just shoot me an email.

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Photographic Proof

Ok, here it is. The first pictures of our future home.

I know it's not much to look at, but just close your eyes and picture something great. Or just take this for what it is...a few pictures of a hole in the ground that reveals a whole bunch of clay and rocks. Looking forward to planting a garden in that! Taking suggestions on that front by the way. What do you do with soil that looks like that? Gotta love Missouri! Thanks to Casey for sending those pics like I asked him to...such a good hubby! I sure know how to pick 'em.

Ground Breaking!

Today is the day of Ground Breaking. In that vein, I start this blog as a representative of my little family of two...for now...and a literal ground breaking in that the construction of our house started today! Yeah for us, but as we have neared this juncture I have received several requests to send pictures to let everyone see how it's going...no thank you to squeezing a bunch of pictures into email format and figuring out who wants to see them and bogging down inboxes, I get a headache just thinking about having to add that to my list of things to manage during this process.

So how do you share your life with multiple people across the globe who want to know the progress of the biggest project in your life without adding additional stress to the situation? You blog, my friend, you blog.

So today, we celebrate the beginning. The beginning of a journey that hopefully leaves us a happy little family ready to add more to the picture (when we're ready, so don't push). I expect some trying times ahead, but I think we're ready for the challenge.

I would love to say I can post a picture right now, but as I am out of town I have no access to today's events. This may be a prevalent theme and I'll try to get the man to help when he can, but try not to be disappointed throughout if there is delay in postings due to my travel status. Those are the kicks when the job that's financing this gig calls for travel. So my promise is to post what I can, when I can. So pop some Advil and bottoms up on that glass of water, we're in for some fun-filled stress!!!