We just did a final walkthrough today to find out if they did all the repairs, and everything looks good. We even tested the dishwasher, which the inspection had told us was broken, and it seems to be working.
I should be ecstatic, but all I can think about is all the things we need/want to do to the house and the costs associated. I want to paint every room. I want to tear down terrible wallpaper in the hallway. I want to pull out toilets, vanities, and medicine cabinets and replace them. I want to put in new closet doors since the current doors are broken. I want to clean the carpet in the bedrooms. I want Michael to be done putting in the bamboo floors. I want to paint inside the cabinets in the kitchen. I want to clean everything! I want to baby-proof. I want to put a new sink in the kitchen. I want to put new tile in the bathrooms. I want to pull down all the ugly paneling in the den and put up drywall. I want to put in a nice mantle. I don't want Michael to tear down the entertainment center they've put in (hopefully he can salvage it before he tears out the carpet!).
Some of these things we can do before we move in. But, I can't do much while dealing with Isaac, and I hate relying other people (although I have asked for help), and I very much appreciate their generous offers and will take some of them up on them. Once Michael goes in to start putting bamboo floors in the main living room and hallway to the bedrooms, I can't even get in there to do anything because I can't bring Isaac there while he's pulling up old carpet, grinding on concrete to level it, and using urethane glue to glue down the planks.
Michael doesn't even know how long it's going to take him to do any of the work on the floors, which very much worries me. We can really choose to be out of our apartment whenever we want, but I want to plan for the friends who will help us move and I want to know before we have to pay our entire April rent.
I'm trying to be patient, but I'm just really anxious to be able to get started on things I can't even get started on.
But, it will be so nice to have our own house, to have a place for Isaac to run around in a yard, and a place we can do whatever we want with. I'm itching to try different paint colors, and really be able to express myself with my home. I'm not a decorator in any sense, but almost everything we use to decorate our home means something. I'm not a fan of buying lots of meaningless stuff to hang on the wall to decorate with. I'm a fan of functional or meaningful decoration, but that's just my style. I'm hoping this house will be a great creative outlet for me! And the great open kitchen with all the light from the windows will be awesome for doing more cooking and baking! I look forward to eventually starting a vegetable garden, getting some berry plants, and planting pretty flowers in the front.
I would love to do everything at once, and so would Michael, but I think he's going to have to get some patience just like me. In reality, there are only a few things we'll be able to do before moving in and the rest will have to happen when they happen (hopefully within a year).
