Pacing Ourselves

We've hit our first patch of stressy-grossness in the home building process and we haven't even broken ground, yet! We made a list of all the things that need to get done in the next 30 days, and then argued about how and when we were going to do them all. Early on in the process, we both agreed that we didn't want this new adventure to be one that caused any silly fights, but that agreement was apparently drafted up right after we ate some Sparkle Glitter Cotton Candy & danced and pranced in our Rainbow Garden Fountain... lil unrealistic, is all I'm sayin'...

So, some of the more important things on the list to get started on:

-Meet w/ foundation expert: This is to make sure our small backyard is not going to be a snow slope.

-Sign & return inspection report: Since our builder has contracted to purchase our house at closing if we haven't sold it yet, they had a home inspection performed and found a handful of small things for us to agree to repair.

-Clean out garage/PURGE: This kind of began tonight. The house is in SHAMBLES, y'all. I'm talking rubbermaids strung all over the living room... it's driving me nuts and my chocolate intake has gone up this month. We rented a storage building so we can clear out our tiny garage for potential buyers.

-Sell random furniture, etc. to have $$$ for new stuff

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The best part of this story is that B was upstairs cleaning (and pretending to purge AKA just putting stuff in new boxes and sitting them in the hallway) and found a letter from my bridal shower that said to open when we were "Moving Homes". It was one of those meant-to-be moments and we sat together on the couch, took a deep breath, and read the sweet letter. It was just the reminder we needed.

Picking Out the Specifics Part 1

Oh, lawdy! Our lot is officially SOLD! We went and visited one night when we were child-free for a little while and walked into the thick mud and felt so excited! Nevermind that afterward we had to clean our shoes off with baby wipes and threw them in the floorboard and the next day Billy's dad was helping me clean out the car and it looked like... well...

Meeting with the foundation expert as soon as we can to discuss the "lay of the land" once the house is built. It's a small lot, as most middle-of-the-city areas require, but we love that in front is a protected wet land and it's not an east to west facing house like we have now (BIG heating/cooling bills).

I thought building a home would be relatively easy as far as selections, since we're building it off the model home we fell in love with. Woo boy, I was wrong (and so was Billy)!

Just a tiny portion of the things we've been deciding the past few days:

-Do we want brushed nickel or oil rubbed bronze fixtures?
-Granite or quartz counter tops?
-50, 66, or 80 gallon water heater?
-Wrought iron railing or wood?
-Glazed or unglazed cabinets?
-Soldiering above our exterior windows?
-Red, cream, or brown brick?
-Carpet, laminate, engineered hardwood, tile, vinyl...

It's a lot. And there's a little bit of pressure because once we've created and signed the contract, each change we make will cost us about $200, and rightfully so because the builder would have to re-order, re-plan, and it would cost them time and money, as well. But it's tough having that on us, because we want this house to be as perfect as it is in our heads.

But after trying several times to add everything we wanted and subtract what we didn't, it consistently added up to about $5k over budget, but I think we can live with that.

We should go into official selections soon, and then building will begin! Is this real???