Real Life - You Asked for It!

So many of our friends and family have asked for updated pictures of the house.  I keep putting it off because we are far from done and completely settled.  Things are a mess, furniture is absent, we just aren't done yet. But today I read this post and the follow up comments and realized - its okay!  It is what it is as my sweet husband always says.  This is us ~ this is now!
I'll do a room at a time when they are more finished but for now, here is a mini tour...

This is the view from the breakfast bar in the kitchen - yes there is supposed to be glass in the cabinet door, but its not there yet!

This is the view from next to the fridge - the blue/green room in the distance is the master bedroom.

Here is our living room sans couch and rug.  The couch was supposed to be here on Valentine's Day but looks like at least another two weeks.  Such is our luck when ordering new furniture.  Eventually there will be rock on the fireplace and a mantle too, in white.  We love the built-ins.  I just need some time to figure out the layout.

This is the view from the living area to the front of the house.  Eventually we will have stuff on the walls, possibly a bar instead of the piano...priorities!

The is the guest bath downstairs off the entry way.  Planned to be quite neutral so I can add stuff seasonally.

No great pictures of the master bedroom as this little guy is sleeping off his fever (hopefully).  Not quite sure what is wrong with him yet, maybe a sinus infection?  You can also see one very messy nightstand.  Lots of things still waiting for a home.

No tour of the master bath today either (one of my favorite rooms) because as you can see by that big box there along the wall, there are two guys in there putting up my shower door...finally!  There are two open doors on either side of this little hall leading to the bathroom.  Each side goes into a closet - so far I've even let Josh keep his all to himself. I'm a nice wife like that!

This is the view from the living room looking at the dining/reading room and further in to the laundry/mud room.  Lots of hyphenated multi-use rooms in this house, no?  Very unfinished at this point.  I didn't want to bring the old table in when I want something different for this space. We also need a hutch and two comfy little chairs for the reading nook, as well as a rug for under the table.  All these solid surface floors have me begging Josh for a Roomba.  Now he knows why I wanted central vacuum put in - but alas, it was vetoed.  

Here is the laundry area - I have big plans for this mudroom but my hubby needs a bit of a break from 18 hours days and has some other big projects still.  This is currently functional and just needs a little organization for now.

This is the office/craft room - more slashes in the room titles.  It still needs a desk and work table.  I have another trip to Portland Ikea in me before this room will be done.

This room had me the most scared for awhile after the boys picked the paint color, but then I found this bedding and it has become one of my favorite spots.  This is the guest bedroom and it is actually ready for visitors (hint, hint).

A view up the staircase standing at the front door.

The boys bathroom - its pretty galley shaped so getting photos in here is pretty difficult.  These mirrors are so great for a bathroom with growing boys.  They tilt down while they are shorties but can tilt up as they grow. They were a major splurge even on sale (Josh - don't click on the link :))

Everyone's favorite part - ya gotta have a urinal in a house full of boys, right?

We have a loose Seahawks theme upstairs - this is a view into the shower and toilet room that is separated from the rest of the bathroom by a pocket door should my boys ever decide privacy is a necessity. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Boone's room! Sick little guy = unmade bed.  Overwhelmed mom = undecorated room (so far).

Brody's room and his version of a made bed.  He's having a tough time getting used to sleeping in here by himself.

This is the bonus room.  Right now, it is very much a playroom - they've been cooped up for so long they don't know what to do with this much space except make a huge mess.  Eventually, as they get older and we restock a savings of some sort, it will turn into a media room.  We have it wired for a projector and ceiling speakers when the time comes.

This is how I would prefer the room look. It is the view back into the hall from the bonus room.  A little more organized...

This is a storage area off of the upstairs hall. Behind me is our furnace and in front is an explosion of holiday stuff, luggage, and kids clothing of various sizes that doesn't currently fit either kid.  This area is in need of a few shelves but that is pretty much all that will happen here.

The view from the top of the stairs out of the center dormer.  It is all open to below.

This is that same space from the side, sitting on Boone's bed.  The area joins the boys' bedrooms and has a desk in the little nook.  Eventually it will be their shared computer area, but for now the pocket doors stay open so Brody can see Boone lying in bed.

The view out the back door - the covered porch isn't quite finished.  Hopefully, next week the concrete (stamped/stained) will be done out here and cut down on some of the insane amounts of sand tracked in on my floors!  The wind is intense up here too so with no ground cover at this time, the sand is everywhere.  Better than dust I suppose...

The exterior will be painted as soon as the weather warms up a bit.  The driveway should be graveled this weekend and hopefully, Charter can get the cable installed so we have internet speeds faster than my iPhone currently gets.  Clearwire is sooooo slow!  The lawn will be hydro-seeded when the irrigation is turned back on this spring.  It will not be soon enough but there is a ton of lawn to do!  I hope to get trees planted along the back to block some of riding arena that you see there and landscaping will be a bit farther down the road yet.

We are so happy to be HOME and I am so amazed at what Josh has accomplished here.  We've all worked hard and sacrificed a bit but it is no comparison to what he has endured to get us this far.  He is so talented and has put so much effort in to our home and I am so grateful!