A Demolition Party!
A Demolition Party!
William is due in four weeks as of today. We are anxiously counting down the days.
This past month, we had a work weekend here at the farm. The original plan was to clean out the pool, but when the work day turned out to be humid and raining on and off, we opted for an indoor project instead. We decided to start demolition on the main floor! A huge, huge thank you to everyone who came to help!
We started by finishing removing the shingles from the den wall.
After that, the boys took down the large, fake beams running across the ceiling so we could start removing plywood.
After removing the plywood, we found an old wasp nest in the wall. It was giant! The wasps had been getting into the wall from the electrical outlet on the outside of the house. Luckily, it was abandoned.
Removing the faux beams to get to the panelling. 
Matthew opted for removing the left section of this wall paneling the easy (read: fun) way.
We had a great helper!
It took several hours, but we managed to strip the entire den of walls.
While the boys removed there rest of the walls in the den, the girls and I started on the kitchen. We took down all the decorative trim and panelling, and removed the lights and outlet covers from the walls.
It was pretty much time to start on dinner by the time we finished everything, but we made time to have a little bit of fun.
The following week, Rylee and I headed to Nene's house to help can beans. We dressed in matching farm outfits!
And in case you were wondering the best way to pick beans while pregnant, here you go. Get a table to put the plants on (so you don't have to bend), prop your feet up on the bucket, and throw the beans in!
I think Rylee had a good time.
We also had a HUGE rain shower that seemed to last days. The entire front yard flooded (this is just from a couple hours of rain).
I was a little worried the pond would flood the driveway and Sam would have to walk the rest of the way to the house. Rylee and I walked down to check it out during a break in the storm. Mere inches were all that was left keeping the driveway water free.
We also found this hidden gem on the property. Who knew we had our very own waterfall?
One of the days when it wasn't thundering but still pouring, I sat down just inside the door and let Rylee play in the rain. It was so adorably cute!
Then the weather turned miserably hot, so Rylee and I went to the pool at Nene's several times (mostly for Momma to cool off). Rylee LOVES the slide.
We also convinced Nene to come to the farm a couple times to help me start removing drywall from the kitchen. I was dying to start on it since after the work weekend, there was a small hole where you could see from the old kitchen all the way into the temporary kitchen. I could only work for about ten minutes at a time before triggering contractions. Nene could go about thirty before she got super tired. You have to have strong muscles to take down dry wall!
Sam's parents got to come up for almost a whole week while Sam was off from work (his work has a mandatory shut down week in July). We weren't able to get super much done because of the horrendous heat that drained us, but we did take a day to remove the rest of the dry wall separating the four rooms we are opening up. It looks amazing! The main floor has so much natural light, now.
For those interested in what's happening next in terms of renovation: We've been in contact with a contractor for months getting quotes on all the work he is doing for us. We sent in the last list of things to get the final quote back before we can start signing paperwork. So we need to:
1) get the quote back
2) get an appraisal done and double check with a loan officer to make sure that we are going to be able to wrap the construction loan in with our mortgage
3) move all of our stuff out of the addition because it's being torn down.
And I think that's it, people! That's all that has to happen before we can start the HUGE renovation project.
What's entailed in the HUGE renovation project you ask? Putting in HVAC, replacing sewer lines, tearing down the addition, tearing out the front porch and replacing it with a new one (10 ft deep the entire length of the house), tearing out the back concrete patio, digging giant trenches around the house (to replace the leaning basement wall, put waterproofing up on all the walls, and install outdoor drainage systems around the house), and replacing all the windows. There may be more I'm forgetting.
We are currently debating on replacing the drywall ourselves since a lot has to happen before we can replace it and some of the projects we are doing ourselves would need to happen while some of the other projects the contractor is doing would be happening (replace electric, replace waterlines, replace indoor sewer lines if necessary, add pocket doors...). It's kind of hard to explain, but Sam has a plan in his brain. In addition, replacing the drywall one room at a time instead of all at once, while more labor intensive and more time for Sam and I, would allow us to still live in the house while the renovations are going on and not have to worry about trying to move ALL of our stuff back out of the house (or into the garage as was Sam's plan...I have doubts it would all fit), move somewhere for a couple months, then move back in. <--Which sounds not only exhausting but also super stressful considering we are having a baby sometime in the next four weeks. We shall see how our plan fits in with God's plan for the farm.
In other news, I'm official! Now if only COVID19 would calm down so people would start getting married again. Not the only way I get clients, but it's the main way.
Lastly, here's a cute picture of Rylee eating with her Daddy. Little does she know just how much life is going to change soon with a new little brother!
Aaaand I finally found the perfect buttercream frosting recipe. You're welcome.
Brown-sugar and Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
1. Whip butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a mixer. If you are going to use a kitchenmaid mixer, use the paddle attachment not the whisk.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until it's all incorporated.
3. Add milk a little bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
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