Woo hoo!!!

So Builder said that the lumber will be delivered and the framers will work around the clock all weekend. Ooooohhhh yeeeaaaah (watching "Ferris Bueller's Day Off right now) chick chicka chicka. We should have a frame and some windows by next weekend!! Yay yay yay!! We may actually be saving some money on the lumber and the windows (the windows bid came in lower than expected--- and NOT from Home Depot! yeah!) and we're narrowing down the carport cedar, etc. This is so cool!!

A house I like a lot

Isn't this a cool house? Totally my style!! It's pretty close to our property too. Lots of new modern homes coming up in the area.

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

When we breezed by the lot today, we noticed that the city was gone (maybe it was lunch time for them). The street isn't all that pretty so I'm sure they'll be back. Builder told Builder Dad that he really doesn't want the lumber hanging out at the lot for long at all. He's waiting until his framing guys are available to have the lumber delivered. Makes sense to me!!

Keeping up appearances

When I went by the lot today, the city had their trucks parked in front of our lot. Fortunately, our builder has spoken with them about needing to get lumber into our zone and they said they'd be happy to move out of our way when it's time. Builder Dad spoke with Builder today and was told that the lumber will be there this week, the framing should start happening soon, and that within 3 weeks, we should have a shell. Keeping my fingers crossed! We'll be by the lot every Wed, Thurs, Fri, and possibly Sat. since the MYEC is open those days. The Little Builders really like the video games there. And they're cheap like Chuck E. Cheese!

Nuttin' New

Builder Dad went by the lot today and did see that the city was on the street tearing it up again. Apparently they weren't in front of our lot today, but could be tomorrow. Ho Hum. No lumber today either.

Trash is GONE!! Ground is leveled!!

The title describes it all!!

E-L-E-C-T-R-I-C-I-T-Y!!!

Yeah! The city hooked us up today!! Waiting for the trash heap to go away and the supplies to arrive!!

Zero, Zip, Nada, Nothing

Hopefully there will be something to brag about tomorrow. Nothing today. Here are some shots of our hood.

Today's Update

Builder's ordering framing material and windows now, the junk haulers will be there tomorrow or Wednesday to haul the trash away, framing materials should be delivered by the end of this week, and he's prepared to walk the workers out there if the street is all jacked up next week. The electric company has told us that they'd be out Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest (let's hope!!). I was so hoping that the Builder Grandparents would have something more exciting to see when they come down this weekend. ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz

Hurricane Dean

Just when we thought it might be dry for a few days--- poof---- here comes Hurricane Dean. This is the exact same time 2 years ago that Katrina hit (I know because I was in the hospital giving birth to Little Builder 2).

We found a really cool door at Habitat, paid for it, and now have to figure out how to get it home!!

Our Builder has just a few days to get everything (supply wise) out to the lot before the city comes back and tears up the street again. I'm crossing my fingers that the electricity will be on (by the city) on Monday, the trash heap will be gone, and some forms will be started next week.

Habitat for Humanity Day

Today we are going to the Habitat for Humanity store to look for some cool interior doors to put on our track system. We're hoping for 32" -36" wide doors. The cooler, the better. We've decided not to put more money into Lowe's or Home Depot, but rather towards doors that are probably much better, much cheaper, and being recycled. If anyone has any other ideas for us, please let us know!!

8:55am Today

Enuff said.

City finishing up Gas Lines, 100% Chance Thunderstorms tomorrow

Our luck- the city was finally patching up the street today where they moved the gas lines and said they were done. The plumbing lines will start Aug. 27th. So we have to get this house built in a couple of weeks. Guess what? Tomorrow there is a tropical storm coming through and weather.com is predicting 100% chance of thunderstorms. Man, give us a break!! Pictured here is our lot WITH the city's gas line tubing on it. The city workers saw me taking pictures of it and swiftly ran over to get it out of our yard. Good thinking boys- we do have a lawyer, we aren't Public Storage, and I'm getting to be a disgruntled Building Mom. Don't mess with me!!

Look Who's Building!!

Well, at least someone's building on our lot (the spider). Cool eh? Also, I've added a picture of our old oak tree. I can't wait to climb that sucker!!

It also looks like the perfect tree for a tree house...hmmmmm- do you think we could move into that before our house is done???

Arrrgghh!!!

If the rain isn't delaying us, it's the city! Builder Dad went back today and the street is still torn up, and they're laying more gas lines. We should have moved into a cheap apartment when we sold our house - at least we could have saved some money that way!!

Tearing up our street

Builder Dad called the city today to find out what was going on with the street and when we could expect it to be cleared up. They said that they had been doing the gas (unlike what they had sent us a letter about) lines and moving them to the other side of the street (so they're not on top of the plumbing). Soooo.... that means they will start the plumbing on Aug. 27th- more street closures, more delays. We're not even sure if they've finished the gas line or not yet (Builder Dad is driving by today to check it out). It's possible that if they're done on our street, then our Builder can get in high gear (if we hear from our architect and get these new drawings- poor guy- we've had soo soo soooo many changes) and get the trash off the lot as well as get the city to wire the electricity to our pole so we can have power out there. We need some walls and a roof!!

Still no street, maybe news on the day care

When we went by the lot yesterday (trying to show our slab off to the in-laws) we were greeted by half a dozen dump trucks, tractors, and workers blocking the way. There's no way anyone could get to our slab during this week. Let's hope they scramble and get this project finished!!

Also, it seems as though we may have come to an agreement with the day care center. Builder Dad met with the director and decided on a proposal. He split the land in half (very generous of him) and drew up a plan to give to the lawyer. He's submitted it to the day care's lawyer and we'll see how it goes. He says it's looking pretty positive, however, it can still take several months to clear it up totally. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that we don't get sued while we're waiting!!

Poison Ivy and No Street!!

So we think there is poison ivy in our backyard. What do you think from the picture? What's the best way to treat it? Yikes!

Also, the city is tearing up the street and our workers can't even drive down it. They are upgrading the plumbing for our block, but we hadn't realized they'd do it in a fashion that wouldn't allow us to get to our house unless we were on foot. Dagnabit... how many more delays can we afford? None, really!! We can't even afford this house!! Okay. So, you can kind of see the torn up street in the second picture. You can also see Awesome Neighbor's house with her broken window and all. Guess she won't be starting her house anytime soon either!!

Daycare Duty

Builder Dad spoke with the director of the daycare center that backs up to our property (or is taking our property). Apparently, she's the daughter of the owner of the property. She got the very short end of the stick when the property next to hers was sold and apparently needs our property in order to be a legal daycare center. Builder Dad and she discussed possible solutions. They didn't discuss the fact that we could be liable if anything happens to a child on their/our property. Anyway, we will be submitting a compromise to our lawyer, who in turn will give it to the daycare's lawyer. Keep your fingers crossed.

House plans/roof/windows

Builder Dad met with Builder the other day to figure out the roof plan/materials, etc. They also discussed windows. Builder said that as soon as we have the roof plan, the shell will go up. He thinks it will take no time at all for that to happen (next week it will be done). So, Builder Dad and I went to Lowe's last night to see if we could find a particular window that we need/want. It must be 1X7, double pained, and galvanized aluminum. Apparently, nobody carries those. Vinyl is the way to go... although you can't paint vinyl and we need yellow frames for the front of the house. I think Builder Dad is going to tell Builder to just go and order some from KRDB or something. Will not be cheap, but we'll see!!--------------When Builder Dad drove by the lot today, he found someone had dumped some cabinet drawers on our dump pile. Thanks! You can see the master bedroom will have some shade in the afternoon too! Nice for napping!!

Also, if you notice the large McMansion in the first pic, we almost bought that lot (in auction) to put a modest little 1300 sq ft house on it. Now it's going to be a very large double family home or something... very ugly and not nice to the neighbors.

Interesting info from Awesome Neighbor

So our neighbor (on the corner) is in the process of getting a permit for a mixed use facility from the city (good luck- didn't it take us a year to get ours for just a residence? We slacked a bit, but still!) and found out some very interesting things about our lot. First it's zoned GR-NP-NCCD. GR= General Retail, which means higher resale value, other things can be built on our lot (Ebay business? Daycare?), etc. The NCCD part (Neighborhood Conservation Combining Districts) provides incentives for building and growth along busier, usually commercial, corridors of neighborhoods, and as such, our City of Austin development fees are waived. Wow! If this is true, we may get some money back from the city. Every penny helps and this is some good news if it's true ($500 can buy a lot of things for a new house!!). Finally, Awesome Neighbor talked to the director of the daycare center that backs up to our back yard (and that has 900+ sq ft of our yard) to let her know that their property is illegally taking over ours (wow- is this Awesome Neighbor really going to be ours???? Alright!!) and she found out that they really don't want to lose their playground (which is on our lot) and that they may really just want some condolences and sympathy regarding it. So, my idea is to clean up the fence a little bit (maybe put a gate on it with a lock) and then just make an agreement with the center that whenever my boys want to play on the playscape, they can (with my supervision of course). Also, if I have to run to the grocery store sans boys, I can drop them in at the daycare center (haha! Wouldn't this be great? They'd be indebted to us for life!!).