Ok, so to be honest it’ll never be the end. I mean seriously I am a borderline shopaholic when it comes to buying house decorations….. so instead enjoy the beginning of the end of Just Another Farmhouse.
See this isn’t even the final product! We need more grass to grow…. but for now it’s a great start!
My favorite part of the house has to be our kitchen area. I had a vision of how I wanted it and a budget that wasn’t even close to making that dream come true. So insert a wonderful vendor who was able to take stock cabinets and turn it into something I am so thankful for each day!
Another area I am thankful for are our three bathrooms. I opted for 3 full baths and went a little cheaper on the boys baths to save money. As you can tell I like white, gray and black.
The living room isn’t totally finished yet…. fireplace and entryway reveal soon… but so far I really like how all my furniture is fitting in the space. One ways I have stayed on budget is by purchasing furniture off Facebook Marketplace and refreshing them (chair above) or the auction site (the couch).
Although it is still not 100% finished I can for sure relate to this mat…. this is already our Home Sweet Home.
The entire build took almost a full 12 months from the time we “broke ground” and over 18 months since we had bought our land.
Roof color, type of siding and color, driveway placement, and land grading were just some of the outside happenings while we were building.
Doors: Masonite Brand
A lot of door and window decisions were made…… probably most of them wrong. Our garage doors were steel and just look like wood ones and the double front door is able to be stained but is fiberglass. AKA cheap.
The island is 10.5 feet long. The lights are off Amazon.
The sink has been my favorite auction buy! The faucet is from Menards.
Built in buffet.
Our builder was amazing and offered fun solutions like this to our non-custom cabinets! He cut the sides down on the drawer, notched a hole int he back where the gas comes in, and now we have a functional drawer!
Master Bath Tile
Black Hexagon Tile: $2.69 a sq. ft
Subway Tile: $.15 per tile
Hexagon Mosaic Tile: $9.99 a sq. ft.
(Floor and Decor)
Way too many kitchen and bath things to mention all here….. so stay tuned for a post on just those areas of the house.
We closed on our property at the beginning of Feb. 2018 Footers weren’t poured until the end of September 2018.But the basement and walls went up quickly after that!
Here are the really boring pictures of the beginning stages of our house. Enjoy, or don’t. I feel like Kyle and I were the only ones who were excited this step was happening.
We are almost into our house. We still don’t have an
exact date that the septic will be 100% finished and we are awarded with the
magical occupancy permit…. but like the monkey who got its tail caught in the
fan… it won’t be long now.
Ok, yeah I am using “dad jokes” but that should just tell you just how delusional I am at this point in our build. I am burnt out on decisions, I am ready to be moved in, and in order to stay positive I have resorted to telling bad jokes…. but truth be told that’s a really good joke and you should laugh at it.
Anyways while I pass the time, I wanted to write a post
about all the things that happen in this limbo period. So here goes:
You spend money.
That’s it. That’s the end of the list. Through the whole building process and in the limbo period, and once you move in you just keep spending money, then you die.
Ok, maybe I am being a drama queen, but seriously I was not prepared for the nickel and diming that happens at the end of the build. So let my pain be a learning experience for someone…… here is a list of things you might have to buy and/or think about when you are about to move into a new house:
There are inches of construction dust. Like it’s raining dust at our house. Maybe that’ll be a new farmhouse trend I can start…. “authentic farmhouse dirt”. So to combat the massive air pollutants in the house I have bought:
A new shop vac (thank you Amazon Prime Days)
A mop/vacuum combo (thank you 30% off Kohls coupon)
A new broom
Another new broom because my husband took the one I bought for the garage.
New vacuum filters- because….. dust.
Cleaning supplies:
Hand soap, dish soap, Lysol wipes, granite
cleaner, windex etc.
Magic Eraser- for when your kid takes a pencil
to your newly painted walls
Carpet cleaner- for a similar reason.
Random stuff:
Trash cans.
Shower rod.
Soap dishes and dispensers.
Squeegees for the glass shower doors.
Curtains, blinds, etc.
Bath mats.
Entry mats.
Towel racks, toilet paper holders, door hooks,
and door stoppers.
Furniture. So I think most of us know that we
might want a new couch for a new house, or hey we have two more bedrooms in the
new house so we need furniture for those new spaces…. But what I want to touch
on is priorities of buying those things:
Make a list of all the furniture you plan to put
in each room. Then mark next to it if you have it already or plan to buy it,
and then write a budget of what each item will cost. I went as detailed as
wanting a wreath for my pantry door.
Then highlight the items that are the most
important to buy. (for example, we had to have a new bed for my son’s room and
a new couch, but the entryway church pew I want wasn’t something I had to have right
away).
Then come up with the goal you need to save or
reserve some of your budget for to purchase those things. Then add some money
because you will forget something.
Personally, I would focus on making sure you
have a place to sit and eat (so either a table or bar stools), a place to
sleep, and a TV so you can turn on a movie to distract your kids.
Another thing I bought here that adds up is
paint and materials to refurbish the furniture I already had to “fit” in more
with my new house.
Decorations……. This should be last on your
priority list but unfortunately, I let this one sneak up on me. So my
suggestion is that you at least budget for some decorations so that when you
decide to buy some throw pillows… ok maybe I technically bought 12…. that it
doesn’t shock your bank account. The thing you have to keep in mind about a new
house is that you don’t need to move in and it be perfect……. obviously I am
saying this to myself and not anyone reading this. SAM STOP BUYING DECORATIONS!
And last but not least I have spent an insane
amount on organization………
Silverware tray.
Drawer dividers.
Shoe organizer.
Shower caddy.
Closet system that was over and above the white
wire racks our builder included.
A crock to put utensils in (OK this wasn’t a
necessity but I LOVE it!)
Pantry and Fridge organizers.
Oh bonus tip: You also spend a ton on going out to eat and gas. I am always forgetting something I need at the store because my pantry isn’t fully stocked yet or because we are still working on 100 projects around the house time gets away from me, so we end up eating out more than I care to admit. Plus, all those back and forth trips to the store and Lowe’s really add up!
Please do better than me if you decide to build a house. Budget better for these little odds and ends and plan better so that you don’t need to blow an entire paycheck on trash cans and cleaning supplies. Oh, and a word to the wise avoid the Target Dollar spot and Hobby Lobby during this limbo period.
I have written this
post about 20 times. In my head and heart I think I know what I want to say,
but then when I write it….. well it comes off like I am being a judgmental
jerk. So please know I am saying this to myself as much as I am putting it out there
for others to see.
Sometimes I have mom
guilt. Ok, well that’s not a shocker I am pretty sure that all moms have felt
an overwhelming feeling of totally screwing it up over the years… but maybe a
little more shocking is that sometimes I am glad I have mom
guilt.
Seriously.
Every day – whether on
Pinterest, Facebook, or the news I read or see things like this:
7 Ways to Raise a Mentally Healthy Kid
(Spoiler alert: you aren’t supposed to yell at them even if you’ve told them to get into the shower six times and instead, they’ve miraculously decided that at that exact moment they’re really interested in homework)
What Not to Feed Your Kids.
(If I have to stop feeding them fruit snacks because of the red food dye I am just going to let you know that my ability to get good family photos or go anywhere in public is out the window)
What Questions to Ask your Kid to Really Connect.
(FYI “WHAT IS IN YOUR MOUTH?!?!?” isn’t on the list)
Best House Cleaning Schedule for Working Moms
(My schedule is “You best tell me you are coming over or expect to see underwear on the floor and pee on the seat”)
How to Date your Spouse/ How to Date your Kids/How to Date Yourself..
(I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the money or time to date 5 people.)
But the bottom line
is… when I see these articles, I think… well crap – I could do better.
In a world where I
have so much information at my fingertips, it is easy to google “how to be a
better parent/wife/homemaker/etc.”
And when I see what
the suggestions are, or what works for others I can really start to doubt
myself. All of my insecurities and fears about how I am failing in these areas
of my life bubble up.
Because when I google “How
to raise a respectful kid” what I am really trying to google is “I am pretty
sure I am failing at raising a good kid because yesterday at his soccer game a
little boy on the other team scored on his own goal accidentally and my kid
smiled about it and I feel terrible that he got enjoyment out of another kids
embarrassing moment and I am not sure how to make him stop being a butthead…
maybe it is because he ate fruit snacks with red food dye in them??”
Condemnation, guilt,
shame, insecurity- whichever way this shows up in your life, is heavy stuff.
You can read articles on how to be a better mom, wife, friend, or Christian and think things like: I will never measure up, I am not doing enough, I am lacking in every. single. way.
You can let it define
you. You can start to identify as the working mom who can’t stay home
with her kids, or the mom who yells too much. You can
think you will never be the fit mom, the crafty mom,
the adventurer mom.
Your guilt can
overshadow the purpose of these articles & posts, which in most cases is to
offer help.
And most importantly it can also make you distant from God. Because when you doubt yourself in these areas of your life….. you are also doubting God.
Do you think God has those thoughts about you and me? Do you think He thinks “Oh your kids made a bad decision so obviously you are a terrible mom”?
No, He loves you… even when you don’t really love yourself.
Here’s the thing though….. I do think that sometimes God lets articles and posts like “How to connect with your kids” or maybe more accurately for me right now “How to get them to do homework without fighting” pass in front of you for a reason.
I think He wants us to grow. (Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.)
I think He wants you to come to Him and ask for help on being a better mom. Not out of self-doubt but because you are convicted in your heart to grow.
I like how Steven Furtik says it:
God will convict you in order to
change you, but never accuse you in order to shame you.
And that is why I’m sometimes glad for my “mom guilt” or maybe I should call it “mom conviction”. That guilt that is actually a conviction from God to change. That little nudge and push that says that I haven’t been truly giving all I have to God and that I need to mature and grow a little in a particular area of my life.
He won’t tell me I’m a terrible mom/wife/homemaker/employee/boss
but I think sometimes He does tell me that I don’t have all the information and
that I have more to learn. I think His goal for me in this life is that I love
Him and show others how much He loves them. I don’t think I can do that very
well if I am not continuing to grow and learn how to love Him better and how to
love His people better.
I usually like to end my posts with a witty comment, but today I feel lead to say a prayer. A prayer for all of us who might have some self-doubt or maybe some of us who are wrestling with conviction.
Dear God, I pray that today instead of feeling the overwhelming sense of guilt and self-doubt that this world sometimes hands us, that instead we just come to you God and ask is this an opportunity to grow? God is this from you? Is this an area that I have more to learn about, or is this my insecurities and fears coming through? God, I pray that if it is my fears that you just come and take those. Replace them with the love you have for me. I know YOU can do anything, but God also give me the confidence to do what you have called me to do. Give me the reminder that you have designed me uniquely to parent my particular children, that you have specifically designed me to be a wife to my husband, and that most importantly you have a plan for me and I pray that you use me for your purpose.
