The last 8 weeks have been both the busiest and most fulfilling weeks Ridhwi and I have ever had. Our house is now a home and while we are loving being homeowners, it hasn't been the easiest process.
We bought the house in early September and were very excited but also a bit overwhelmed. The renovations started with our floors - we detested the flooring on the main level. It was white "hospital" tile with dark grout that never looked clean and a mixture of carpeting that was placed strangely in the living room. The house felt cold and lonely, even in the summer. We decided we could wing doing the flooring but we wanted to get it done right away so our stuff would be out of the way and the girls wouldn't be exposed to a construction zone. At first we tried some contractors but as soon as they found out that Ridhwi was a doctor (which we tried unsuccessfully to hide), they got very expensive and they also couldn't do it on the timeline we were needing. After quite a bit of research we finally found an independent contractor that would gave us a very reasonable price on labor for only himself and we set the date to begin work. However, since we chose to not go with a team, it meant that we had to deal with ordering the flooring, underlayment, glue, etc. and pick it all up in Green Bay ourselves instead of having it taken care of for us.
The house was unsafe for kids so, for a couple of weeks, we found a school to put them in full time from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm while we worked on the house. After some searching found a Montessori school we loved. The first day we drove an hour from Rapids to Wausau, dropped the kids off (I might have cried a little), and then rented a cargo van and drove an hour and a half to Green Bay to pick up our flooring. While we were driving, we realized it wasn't going to work to live in Rapids and commute to our new house so we made an executive decision and drove our van back to Rapids, shoved our mattress and the kid's mattresses in the van, packed some boxes and clothes, and officially "moved in" to our new home. Those weeks were crazy because we could barely function in the house yet we were living there with nothing more than a few mattresses on the floor - no oven, no working washing machine, no internet, cable, nothing. We had a lot of microwavable food and picnics in our upstairs bedroom - where the kids mostly stayed when they were home. Over the weekend when they didn't have school I would take them on errands and to the library so Ridhwi and Mark (our contractor) could work on the floors without worrying about the kids.
We did a lot of the demo ourselves since we were on such a short timeline. Our contractor had a few previous commitments he had to take care of (understandably) but he was willing to work with us over the weekends, which we appreciated! The next two weeks were full of painting, doing the floors, and trying to give some sort of steady environment to the kids. I painted the entire main floor while Ridhwi scraped tile and grout, removing carpet, and taking tack strips out of the floor. I think Ridhwi was glad to go back to the hospital after all the work on the house! After three weeks, the floors were completely finished and we could walk on them. We also had moved in and began to unpack. We had a few mishaps like losing all of the hardware for the cribs (which Ridhwi amazingly and painstakingly figured out how to put together). We got everything unpacked and cleaned the sawdust from the floors, counters, and bookshelves. We had some furniture delivered which, coming from a two bedroom apartment to a house, was very needed. It's been busy and crazy but we are really happy with how it came together.
We've had to learn about random things too, from how to care for our new floors, how to care for granite countertops, how to properly operate our fireplace, and things about drywall, bathtub jets, electrical wiring, cable, furnaces, refrigerator filters, and various appliances that we never thought we would need to know.
It's been crazy moving twice and having home renovations in just 5 months, but we are happy to be here and are truly starting to feel settled. The kids are really liking the house - they have a big bedroom and plenty of room to run around. At first they wouldn't go to sleep without one of us in the room with them, but now they are back to their old schedule and are enjoying being here. Because we are so busy, we have decided to keep Amita in the Montessori school a few mornings a week, and she is loves it. In fact, I think it's the best thing we've done for her. I am planning on writing another blog post outlining all the reasons we love this school and how it is better than her previous school. Ridhwi and I are still talking about homeschooling versus alternative schooling and are still trying to figure out what we are comfortable with and research all of the options available in Wausau.
So now I am enjoying being in our new home, watching the snow fall outside, and thanking God for my many blessings: a roof over our heads, a warm home, food on our table, my wonderful husband and children, and this life He's given me.
We bought the house in early September and were very excited but also a bit overwhelmed. The renovations started with our floors - we detested the flooring on the main level. It was white "hospital" tile with dark grout that never looked clean and a mixture of carpeting that was placed strangely in the living room. The house felt cold and lonely, even in the summer. We decided we could wing doing the flooring but we wanted to get it done right away so our stuff would be out of the way and the girls wouldn't be exposed to a construction zone. At first we tried some contractors but as soon as they found out that Ridhwi was a doctor (which we tried unsuccessfully to hide), they got very expensive and they also couldn't do it on the timeline we were needing. After quite a bit of research we finally found an independent contractor that would gave us a very reasonable price on labor for only himself and we set the date to begin work. However, since we chose to not go with a team, it meant that we had to deal with ordering the flooring, underlayment, glue, etc. and pick it all up in Green Bay ourselves instead of having it taken care of for us.
The house was unsafe for kids so, for a couple of weeks, we found a school to put them in full time from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm while we worked on the house. After some searching found a Montessori school we loved. The first day we drove an hour from Rapids to Wausau, dropped the kids off (I might have cried a little), and then rented a cargo van and drove an hour and a half to Green Bay to pick up our flooring. While we were driving, we realized it wasn't going to work to live in Rapids and commute to our new house so we made an executive decision and drove our van back to Rapids, shoved our mattress and the kid's mattresses in the van, packed some boxes and clothes, and officially "moved in" to our new home. Those weeks were crazy because we could barely function in the house yet we were living there with nothing more than a few mattresses on the floor - no oven, no working washing machine, no internet, cable, nothing. We had a lot of microwavable food and picnics in our upstairs bedroom - where the kids mostly stayed when they were home. Over the weekend when they didn't have school I would take them on errands and to the library so Ridhwi and Mark (our contractor) could work on the floors without worrying about the kids.
We did a lot of the demo ourselves since we were on such a short timeline. Our contractor had a few previous commitments he had to take care of (understandably) but he was willing to work with us over the weekends, which we appreciated! The next two weeks were full of painting, doing the floors, and trying to give some sort of steady environment to the kids. I painted the entire main floor while Ridhwi scraped tile and grout, removing carpet, and taking tack strips out of the floor. I think Ridhwi was glad to go back to the hospital after all the work on the house! After three weeks, the floors were completely finished and we could walk on them. We also had moved in and began to unpack. We had a few mishaps like losing all of the hardware for the cribs (which Ridhwi amazingly and painstakingly figured out how to put together). We got everything unpacked and cleaned the sawdust from the floors, counters, and bookshelves. We had some furniture delivered which, coming from a two bedroom apartment to a house, was very needed. It's been busy and crazy but we are really happy with how it came together.
We've had to learn about random things too, from how to care for our new floors, how to care for granite countertops, how to properly operate our fireplace, and things about drywall, bathtub jets, electrical wiring, cable, furnaces, refrigerator filters, and various appliances that we never thought we would need to know.
It's been crazy moving twice and having home renovations in just 5 months, but we are happy to be here and are truly starting to feel settled. The kids are really liking the house - they have a big bedroom and plenty of room to run around. At first they wouldn't go to sleep without one of us in the room with them, but now they are back to their old schedule and are enjoying being here. Because we are so busy, we have decided to keep Amita in the Montessori school a few mornings a week, and she is loves it. In fact, I think it's the best thing we've done for her. I am planning on writing another blog post outlining all the reasons we love this school and how it is better than her previous school. Ridhwi and I are still talking about homeschooling versus alternative schooling and are still trying to figure out what we are comfortable with and research all of the options available in Wausau.
So now I am enjoying being in our new home, watching the snow fall outside, and thanking God for my many blessings: a roof over our heads, a warm home, food on our table, my wonderful husband and children, and this life He's given me.
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| Ridhwi spend many quality hours with that drill scraping tile grout off the floor. It was a painstaking and backbreaking process |
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| The room behind the kitchen was turned into a homeschool room and the yellow room on the right is our dining room. Everything had to be scraped. |
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| It really came together! (Yes, I already have up Christmas decorations) |
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| The dining room is my favorite room in the house. It has windows on three sides and even with the snow outside it feels warm and cozy. |
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