New carpet!

This week has been crazy busy. We were able to get our carpet installed on Friday and it took us all week to prepare for it. Starting on Monday night, we moved all the non-essential furniture and toys downstairs to the bedrooms. Tuesday night we removed the carpeting in the living room and hallway. If you need any reason to buy new carpeting read on. (If you don't want new carpeting, also read on for the horror stories!) When we moved in there were these mysterious round, yellow spots all along the edges of the carpeting. We figured the previous owners had houseplants and frequently overwatered. We were able to cover most of them with our furniture. When we removed the carpeting, it had soaked through all the way through the carpeting and stained the subfloor as well! Good reason not to have real houseplants, I say. We also discovered about 1/2 inch of sawdust covering the entire subfloor as well. That was just the beginning of my vacuuming fun this week. Our wet/dry vac doesn't filter the exhaust air very well (I discovered) and pretty soon, I could barely see due to the dust in the air! That just prodded me on to my next project - that took me most of Wednesday. I washed all the walls and baseboards in the living room and hallway. I also painted all the baseboards. The previous owners must have had a blue vacuum because there were a lot of blue scuff marks I've been wanting to cover. Wednesday night we didn't get much done because I went with Jill to "My Neighbor's Kitchen." We assembled 5 dinners with some other sisters in my ward. Thursday night was our BIG night. We couldn't do too much before because I still had to teach preschool. But Thursday night, I put up all the tables and chairs downstairs and we filled that area with drawers, toys, pillows, etc. We moved both our beds (disassembled the bunkbed) and mattresses downstairs. We moved our dressers and all the bedroom doors out to the garage. I once again got to vacuum all the sawdust up in both bedrooms. We also had to move the couches, entertainment center, coffee table, bookshelf and Christmas tree into the living room. Steve had to disassemble the girls' closet system as well so the carpeting could go down in one piece. I did most of the little stuff, while Steve had to do most of the big stuff! Luckily, Jill watched E&E for us for a few hours so they wouldn't get underfoot and could still have fun!

That night we got to have a sleepover downstairs. It took awhile for the girls to calm down, but we eventually all got to sleep. Ella woke up crying a few times, so eventually Steve switched beds with her. We got a late start Friday because of exhaustion and the girls staying up late, but I was able to get the girls and myself ready by the time the installers came at 8:30. We had to camp out downstairs in the few feet of living space we had left. The girls really did well and found some dolls to dump everywhere. I sent them to a couple of friend's houses so they wouldn't get cabin fever too bad! The installers did a good job and were done by 1:00. The girls were at a friend's house, so I got their room ready first. It took me about an hour just to wash the walls and baseboards and vacuum the room. (They had told me to vacuum with the hose attachment, because it would be too rough on the vacuum beater bar the first time. So I ended up eventually vacuuming the entire new carpet 4 inches at a time. My back and neck were in terrible shape when I was done!) I carried the girls mattresses upstairs (BY MYSELF) so they could nap on them. By the time I got them down for a nap, I needed one as well! (However I read the American Girls catalog that came in the mail instead!) I was able to get my room washed before the girls woke up. When Steve came home, the hard work began. Our first priority was the bunkbed and our bed. It took us most the night, but we did it. It's Sunday now and I still have a lot of small stuff to put away, but most the big stuff is back. And so far I'm reaching my goal - put everything back clean and dust free, and bring up less stuff than I took down. It's looked so good with less junk around! It was a TON of work, but it looks fabulous and I'm so glad to have it! I hope we can keep it nice even though I have two small girls (and a husband)!

E&E loved all the excitement. Once we got all the carpet up in the hallway and living room, I made a pathway from the bedrooms, down the hall, and through the living room with area rugs. The girls had a blast running from one end the other. They were good about staying on the rugs or wearing shoes. We had no tack strip accidents! Emily told me she loves her room empty because it looks so clean. I may take her up on her offer to get rid of some stuff! The first thing Emily did on the new carpet was draw letters. The carpet was all matted down and she wrote all our names on it! What a smartie! Come visit when you can!