I gotta tell you. It was a HARD week. It was so, so, so hot. We had so, so, so much work to do. It was miserable. By Friday mid-morning this mother of 5 was throwing a fit any toddler would be proud to copy. I was feeling quite a lot sorry for myself. "It" was just too much. 5 kids. 2 jobs. Living in a parking lot. 3 minute showers. Playing construction worker in every spare minute. Trips to the dentist. Broken Brenna. Hot. Really, really hot! I told Chad in no uncertain terms that I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER insulate anything again AND that we will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER build another house.
That confession in place, let me show you what we accomplished this week.
One thing I can not complain about is the number of people working on our home.
One day last week, concrete was being poured, sheetrock wass being unloaded, siding was being hung, plumbing was being installed, electrical wires were being strung, and framing was being fine-tunes. . . all at the same time!
Siding has begun.
I am normally very decisive, but siding color had me a bit stumped.
I am thrilled with what we chose! It compliments the shingles and copper accents beautifully.
Concrete was poured under the front porch.
Chad and I and the older 3 kids, formed the sidewalk.
The guys will pour it next week.
Here is Miss Sierra pounding in a stake in the nearly 100* heat.
Yuck!
Chad and Jay are working on leveling the form boards and nailing them in place.
I know I keep saying it, but Jamison has been unbelievable during this process.
I am so thankful for his hard work!
The big 3!
Modeling the new sunglasses Krissy bought.
(This photo was obviously taken early in the week, before my melt down! No one near me was smiling on Friday.)
Here is what I spent way too much time up close and personal with this week - INSULATION.
Itchy, scratchy, yucky! yucky! insulation.
The good thing about insulation is that it is light and easy to cut, which makes it a perfect job for a weak, unskilled laborer such as myself. The bad thing is that it is so itchy (yes, I know I have mentioned that)! The itchy is so much worse in the heat. The insulation just sticks to a sweaty body, and in order to not go bonkers, one must wear long sleeves, gloves, and long pants. The exact attire that makes you sweat even more in the 100* heat. It was a nasty combination.
I did learn to run the lift though.
Check me out way up high, working away!
If I had not hated it so much I might be proud. . .
It was a week for thankless jobs.
Sierra and Krissy were put on garbage patrol. They spent hours cleaning up construction mess and sweeping up after all the subs in preparation for the sheetrockers.
And Joshua?
That little honey can keep himself busy forever on a job site.
He is thrilled to find a tool to experiment with.
Although I had a hard time seeing them, there were many blessings bestowed upon us this week:
Blessing #1 - Meals! My mom cooked for us several nights and delivered food to the house. My Aunt Pat also brought us a meal. My friend Sharlene delivered washed and cut up fresh fruit! That helped me an immeasurable amount.
Blessing #2 - The sheetrocker asked to delay his start by a couple of days. Usually a delay is not good, but in this case it was such a blessing! The heat caused all the subs to work more slowly than usual. It was so miserable they just could not move at their usual pace. We were incredible short on time to insulate. Honestly, we never could have been done by Thursday - but we did not want to cause a delay and be at the sheetrockers mercy. So , when he asked for a couple days delay, it was such a blessing!
Blessing #3 - My Aunt Pat drove to town to help me choose paint colors. My brain is too full to tune into tiny details. I knew what I wanted, but choosing the exact hues was just beyond my capabilities. She saved the day, for sure. And it was so fun to be with her! Fun has been in low supply around here, so I appreciated the outing more than you can imagine!
Blessing #4 - I took a real shower today for the first time in 27 days. It was glorious. I also used my mom's washer and dryer. I have a washer at the shop, cold water only. I have been drying on racks in the parking lot. It works. But soft instead of crunchy clothes is a treat! (Several people have offered to wash clothes for me as well. I am just really bad at shipping my stinky stuff off to someone else's home! And the shop washer is working well for the most part - but warm water and dryer sheets were a treat today!)
Blessing #5 - Chad had his employees help us with the worst insulating jobs on Friday morning. We both went in at 6am and worked with the crew. The guys hung all the insulation on the ceilings, which was such a blessing. One of the guys volunteered to stick around and help all day. (They get off at noon on Friday.)
Blessing #6 - BUT without a doubt, the BIGGEST BLESSING of the week, came in the form of our friends!
These two made my week when they walked into our house today!
Just when I was ready to collapse, they arrived infused with hope.
They worked for hours hanging plastic over the insulation!
(Quick explanation as to why we have been insulating for an eternity: Step one was pink foam cut and placed between all the studs and spray foamed into place, Step two was caulking all the cracks in the framing - like between the concrete floor and the studs, Step three was itchy insulation, step four was the plastic barrier, Step five was insulating the interior walls for soundproofing. That mini lesson is more than I have ever wanted to know about insulation!)
Here is a sampling of Tom and Brad's work. The family room (as well as many others) is wrapped in plastic, cleaned, and ready to 'rock. It was beyond encouraging to have you helping today.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Pictured above is the sound proofing insulation.
Jamison and I spent hours and hours hanging this stuff during the last two days!
However,
Blessing # 7 - We are done!!!!!!!!! The house is ready for the 'rockers arrival on Monday. I have never been so happy to be done with a job. Never.
Blessing #8 - My friend Sharlene.
I ran my tail off this week. I worked at both of my jobs. I spent a day in SD with a team from our church loving on kids at a VBS outreach. I worked at the house. I met with subcontractors. I chose paint colors, and stain, and counter top, and glass, and carpet. I tried to cook some and do a bit of laundry. I was insanely busy, and consequently a terrible mom.
But Sharlene came to my rescue. She had the week off and spent it doting on my kids. They swam, they played mini-golf, they found kittens to cuddle, they went out to eat. In short, they had fun. More importantly they had someone show lavished love and attention on them when mom was crazed.
I am forever grateful.
Blessing #10 - Tomorrow I get spend the day celebrating the upcoming birth of my nephew.
It was a hard week. I have no intention of ever repeating it. But were it not for the many blessings in our life, it would have been so much worse.
Next week in construction - sheetrockers Monday, Taper Thursday, Siding continues, Concrete continues. . . (and none of it will be done by me! happy sigh!)
