How are we surviving the renovations in the new house?!? Some are wondering and asking and I want to remember all of this so that one day if we ever decide to do this again, heaven forbid, I can look back and remind myself of the things I did to survive! And the reasons not to do it again!
Some key issues since move-in day:
No hot water
No kitchen cabinets/sinks/etc.
No pantry or storage
No washer/dryer connected
No internet
We set up a make shift kitchen/pantry area, set up our small appliances on a new card table we purchased. We also kept handy our plastic dishes and throw away plates, napkins and cups in our pie cabinet.
So far the making of food has not been an issue really. I am sure Daniel would prefer to have an indoor stove and oven, but I don't really care.
We have mostly used the grill and side burner (that has been really helpful and I didn't even know it existed), microwave, microwave oven, crock pot & rice cooker/steamer.
The bigger issue has been no convenient sink to put the dishes/pots in or to be able to just pour something out or grab a wet rag to clean something up with. We thankfully have a utility sink in our laundry room, but it is around the corner so it just takes an extra minute and I still forget I can't just turn around and throw it in the sink!
Here is the other sink we have been using.
Also, I am super thankful we have our new refrigerator in and a week later they finally connected our water/ice maker so I am a happy person again! I love ice..I am an ice snob for sure. We love the new refrigerator and all the space! Thanks Dad for making sure we have our appliances here on time!!
Now that we finally have hot water, it has made a huge difference. Not only do we have warm showers and baths for us and the kids, but when I wash dishes they actually feel clean to me! The little things make all the other stuff bearable! We still don't have our washer/dryer connected. We are waiting on the inspector to come out and give us the go ahead that the new gas line that was trenched last week is up to code..better safe than sorry! I can't even tell you the drama that ensued over a whole week regarding a gas leak and not being able to find it!
We also had some issues with our previous landlord regarding our rental agreement. That pretty much sent me over the edge on Friday. Between the workers in our house sawing random holes in our walls and ceilings to find a gas leak using a water pump and waiting and hoping to see water damage/leak and the landlord issues, I lost it for a bit! It was too much stress for me at that moment. Thankfully, Daniel was there to help with everything and I had sweet friends say prayers that I know helped!
I said all I needed was one thing to go right that day and we had 3 things go right!! God comes through, doesn't he?!! We got hot water, we got internet back working and we got our refrigerator water/ice maker hooked up! I called it a win!
One of the down sides of no pantry..Gauge got into the flour and Crisco because it's just sitting out on a table. Usually we don't know which dog made a mess, but because it was flour and sticky Crisco and Gauge is a black dog..we could immediately tell! Kindof hilarious!
I wrote the previous part of the post prior to Thanksgiving, when we left for 10 days, and surprisingly we came home and nothing had been accomplished! HA! Well, so we did get our cabinets delivered since then, and decided on our flooring to be put in next week along with hopefully the cabinets and finishing out the walls and electrical..it's coming along..slowly..oh so slowly but surely! Here is a shot of Hayes' room. He loves his train table and his new bed from the McLeans..so cute and fits his theme perfectly! It's a great size room for him!
Georgia's room has changed a bit since E got her new bed. She wanted both beds so we are trying it. Takes up a lot of room, but again it's a big room so for now we are going with it..Now I just need to get a few things on the wall!
Emmaline got a new bed from Pop and MawMaw. She loves it and can't wait to fill all the shelves and nooks. And of course have a sleep over on her new trundle!
This in a nutshell is how we are surviving. It's not impossible but not something I would recommend with small children.
And to add to the chaos we are weaning Hayes from his pacifier..cold turkey more than weaning! After the holidays it just got to be too much. I'm over it! I will be posting more about that progress soon!!
The whole idea came about when Aunt Natalie called me to chat about Uncle Toodge's upcoming Med school interviews. She was listing all the places he was going and then came upon his Orlando interview that happened to be the weekend of their 1 year anniversary. She was going to tag along with him and celebrate in the happiest place on earth - Disney! I oohed and aahed over how I wish we could go and then and there I invited myself (and my family) to their anniversary weekend!
I don't know if she and he truly loved the idea, but I just knew the timing was as good as we were going to get. Between the baby due in February, Emmaline being off school, having grandparents willing to care for Hayes, and having an extra pair of hands at the parks and airport it was perfect! 
So me and Natalie got to planning and our excitement was a tad overkill! Unfortunately, we never got to make our matching shirts, but we did coordinate everything we could and made it all work out! Jeffrey and Natalie did get alone time and to have a nice anniversary dinner without the Listi clan! Hayes did get to spend one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa and they said he was an angel! 
And the girls got to be completely surprised with not only a trip to Disneyworld but also their 1st ever airplane flights!
After discussing details with my parents, they decided they would pay for our hotel and plane flights! It was a huge early Christmas gift from them and I don't think it would have worked out otherwise. We are so thankful we could take the girls on this amazing trip, that they could have such special time with us and their aunt and uncle and get to experience a dream! 
I can't tell you how many times Emmaline and Georgia have talked about getting on an airplane and flying to Disney to meet the princesses and see their castle. I am so thankful we got to make their dreams come true!
We left early Friday morning before Thanksgiving from Houston. The girls had no idea we were going anywhere else other than grandparents. It was so fun waking them up early and getting them dressed and letting them open an envelope from MawMaw and Pop. They were so confused. Emmaline was in serious denial once she realized we were leaving at that moment for Disney. Georgia's 1st reaction was to the Minnie Mouse stickers and she proclaimed, "I don't like Minnie Mouse!" It was hilarious! 
Then she understood what it all meant and she was thrilled to fly! What a great morning for sure. I am so glad we got to surprise them with this trip. I also surprised them with some Minnie Mouse ears, which Georgia loved, and carry on bags full of coloring books, snacks, bubble gum, stickers, lipgloss, etc. I am proud to say they did great on the airplane and got their wings for their 1st flight! 
