Our Bathroom is Finished. And Natalie Overshares. But She Predicts that Many People Will Sympathize. And All Will Be Forgiven.

Cue the Angels: HALLELUJAH!!

UGH. I was so sad when our bathroom totally fell apart because of an upstairs water leak. It especially sucked because it is the only bathroom on the first floor. Which meant running up and down the stairs whenever the "urge" hit.

So, I have the most sensitive bladder/bowels in the universe. I realize that I have to go and then in less than 10 seconds it turns into an emergency. So NO warning. And running up the stairs to use the toilet is a total nightmare. Especially with an unpredictable toddler who knows how to open doors. I end up gating her somewhere or snatching her and dragging her up the stairs and barricading her in the bathroom with me. I am a desert creature on car rides. I don't eat or drink anything for hours before going somewhere just to avoid an argument with Troy about stopping again. And what I mean by that is Troy laughs while I cry because I think I'm going to have an accident in the car. He has suggested that I wear diapers in the car. Just to run up to the gas station. Because 10 seconds is my limit. It's bad.

So what I was REALLY trying to say, is that it is ABOUT TIME for the bathroom to be finished. It was broken for exactly 13 days. The bathroom issue with Natalie has only gotten worse since having a baby. That is the reality of pregnancy and childbirth people.

Here's the timeline of "Operation: Repair Bathroom so that Natalie Can Run to it About 5 Times a Day and Troy can Laugh at her"

Troy discovered the leak on Saturday. The plumber came saturday night and ripped everything out. Sunday, the environmental people came and started with the big industrial sized dryers. They were in the house until wednesday. The dryers were removed.

The following monday, the insulation guy came. He did the outside of the house and the inside of the bathroom. Here's the insulation finished:

The drywall guy was here monday evening and all day tuesday. And then the drywall:

Wednesday the drywall guy came and sanded all the drywall edges to prep for painting in addition to adding the texture to the walls for the inside and outside stucco. Then the door frame repair guy/reinstalled all the bathroom hardware came thursday. The painters came friday.

In just enough time for Troy and I to have friends over for dinner and drinks and be able to use the bathroom. Without touching the walls. The paint was still wet but there was no way I was running up the stairs after a couple drinks. Win. I am just SO grateful that the damage was not more invasive and we didn't have to pay for the repairs. SO grateful.

Backyard Landscaping: Demolition is Step 1

We have officially broken ground on the yard and the pool!!

We have our plans fairly finalized with the landscaper and so far, it's going great.

We are completing our backyard project in 2 stages. The play area/hang out area will be done in the next 2 weeks and the pool will break ground in the spring, just in time for use next summer.

Step 1 of the play area was demolition. For the pool. That requires some explanation. Our electrical is on the opposite side of the house from our side yard where the pool is going. All of the electrical needed to be wired for the pool before the play area went in because if we waited until spring when stage 2 starts, the play area would have to be dug up and we would have to pay for labor costs and been out a backyard during the entirety of the pool digging. That would have been sad because we hear that fall and spring in Vegas are gorgeous. Thank goodness, because the weather isn't giving us high hopes thus far.

So while all of the mess with the bathroom fixing is going on, the landscaping company shows up, with a GIANT backhoe. I was like, "oh no." There were 5 people working at the house. 1 doing drywall, 2 doing outdoor stucco siding, and 2 operating the big backhoe for the yard. I was like, I did not sign up to be a construction manager. It was SO loud. And it was almost Avery's nap time when the jackhammer started to dig under the fence in the side yard for the electrical for the pool. RIGHT under her bedroom. Of course.

So here is the progress so far:

The area above where the backhoe is sitting is where the artificial turf is going. The area where the covered porch sits is getting doubled in length (extending straight out) towards the back fence with pavers. The pavers will cover the existing patio and extend straight out so that half is covered that the other half is in the sun. The pool is going on the side yard to the left of the patio. We are having the safety gate (required by law in the state of Nevada) installed now to keep Avery and Optimus out of the "unfinished" portion of the yard.

Here is the giant trench dug all the way around the house by the backhoe for the electrical.

The whole back fence is getting 1/2 inch gravel in "copper rose" color all the way around the edges of the yard. The whole backyard will be framed with about a 3 foot border. Like a picture frame with the gravel being the frame and the turf/pool/patio all in the middle. We also have to be strategic about plants and flowers because Optimus likes to kill everything will his kryptonite urine. We are going ceramic pot shopping and potting everything and running irrigation into the pots. So those will become a permanent fixture of the house.

This is another view of the trench. They filled it all back in after they laid the electrical. The electrical is for the pool pump going next to the air conditioning units, which we plan to fence in (they will be right next to the pool deck).

We are supposed to start actual landscaping on October 1st. We are already approved through the HOA, so that's a relief. They are saying that the play area should only take about 4 days. I am hoping by my birthday we will be done :) BBQ in the back yard!!! WOOO HOOOO!

Non-Desert Dwellers Take Note...You Know Who You Are...

Have you seen this??

Or this???

Or tons of this???

IT'S NOT FALL IN THE DESERT YET! IT IS DEPRESSING ME!

I want to wear sweaters and jeans. I want to drink coffee on my porch and go for evening walks. I want to put out my fall decorations. They are my absolute favorite of all my holiday decor. I want Avery to be able to wear pants. How sad is that? I just want Avery to be able to wear jeans. Instead, I am SO SAD because they are turning off the splash pad at the playground by our house on October 1st. And it's still too hot to be outside without the splash pad after about 10am. COME ON FALL! I am so ready for you. All my summer clothes are BEYOND worn out.

And I am not the only person who feels this way, okay?? On behalf of everyone who lives in the desert, please keep your fall happiness to yourself. It makes me SO sad every time I see these posts. I can hardly bear to think about the deliciousness of a pumpkin spice latte because I cannot bear to think of walking outside carrying one. When the weather outside is like this:

A little sensitivity would be great. Because all of us out here in the desert are feeling a little pain.

Send some cool weather our way. I think our kids are going to be surfers and hula dancers for Halloween because we cannot bear to think of putting our kids in clothes that would be fall appropriate.

Dear Fall,

Where are you? Why have you forsaken me? I miss you so much. I miss my jeans and hoodies. Avery had ADORABLE sweaters and leggings that she is going to grow out of before she can wear them and make me cry.

I miss you and I love you.

xo,
Natalie

ps. All of you haters are going to get a dose of remorse around April when it's GORGEOUS here and I'm all "yay warm weather, look at us outside" and it's raining on you!! (sticks tongue out)

Rant over.