Vanneste Family Blog: The New House

We closed on our new house on May 27. Since that day, our lives have been peppered with statements like “there are swimsuits in a yellow bowl on top of a pile of boxes in the living room” and “does anyone know where the Philips screwdriver is?” Facts: the swimsuits were in the yellow bowl. Why? No one knows. And it is virtually impossible to keep track of screwdrivers in a house where the previous owners must not have owned any. I’ve never in my life tightened so many screws.

Mike and I took the 27^th off of work. I would love to say that after we closed, we got so much done. We did not. Pretty much all we did was wander around aimlessly, feeling overwhelmed – feelings that were not aided by the rainy, gloomy day outside. But we got that out of our system before we picked up the kids at the bus stop and brought them over to finally see the house [because we had to move so quickly, the kids had not actually seen it in person].

The timing worked out so that we closed right before the Memorial Day weekend – which meant we had an extra day to work without having to burn down vacation. And holy smokes did we work. I spent the weekend painting Fiona and Quinn’s bedrooms while Mike and three of the best friends ever moved our playset over to the house. Thankfully the weather was perfect for hard labor outside and our friend J has moved many a playset over the years, so his expertise and muscles were invaluable.

F’s room painting went very smoothly, which put me in the dangerous position of over-confidence. The color was stunning from the get go, there were no major drips, spills, or mishaps, and we could almost get away with one coat (we did two because it just looks better). So naturally, Q’s room did not go smoothly at all. Yellow is such a tough color and after one coat, it looked terrible. Like it made me question my painting ability less than 24 hours after F’s room went just fine. Ultimately, Q’s room took three coats – and other than feeling like you are on the surface of the sun, it looks good. There are a couple spots that could maybe use a fourth coat, but I think only Mike and I and our sun-blinded eyes can see them. Most importantly, Quinn LOVES it.

By coat #3 of Chickadee Yellow, my over-confidence had been shattered and reality set in. We had made great progress over the weekend. But not enough. So we called in the pros – and Gma and Gpa J headed down on Tuesday with their paint brushes in tow to help out. First up with the Dude's room. He had been quite patient while the sisters' rooms transformed, but the lower lip was getting a bit out of joint as the days went on. So Gma and Gpa painted his room on Wednesday, to his great delight. It is Smoked Turquoise, which you may or may not remember is the same color their old room was. He is delighted. Then the grandparent painting team tackled the kids' bathroom on Thursday to get rid of the cave-like almost black navy blue color in there. It is now a happy gray and is much more cheerful.

Grandma also washed some walls and cleaned out my kitchen for me, so it was ready for me to unpack as soon as I packed it up in the old house. Gpa started mowing our new lawn ... and promptly joined the dark side, known as Team Mike, in the great We Need a Riding Lawnmower debate. Shortly before lunch on Friday, Gma and Gpa headed home while Mike and I continued moving things over and packing up - as the movers were due to show up first thing Saturday morning.

Were we feeling ready? Not quite. Was it happening anyway? All one can do is buckle up.