HOMEOWNERS & Official start to my 365!

You read that title right! WE ARE OFFICIALLY HOMEOWNERS!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!

After a 1.5+ years searching & 30+ offers one finally stuck & today we made it ours!

Honestly though, it doesn't seem real. I thought, and told myself, that when I have the keys it will feel real. But it doesn't. lol I know it will, it will just take some time. Maybe when I see that bank account a lot lower than I am used to it will sink in ;)

I also am starting my Project 365 today. I said many moons ago that I would start my 365 on the day we close on a house. Today we close so it's very fitting that this is my 365 picture of the day!

1:365 KEYS

Those are THE keys! Nothing special but those little things mean the world to me right now!

I can't believe we are homeowners!

Check out the house. The siding will be going in about a year or so but a new paint job did a world of difference!!

I don't LOVE the green & wish it were darker but it looks light years better than it did before.

I leave you with a kiss!! <3

I am BEAT!

Today was spent at our future home with my mom, aunts, Kyle, Bozer, Fitch, Tim & my FIL trying to get as much of the house done as we could. We got some good news that FHA wasn't coming until Tuesday so we didn't have to stress like we orginally were.

We got the entire garage done, the back & front of the house & almost all of both the sides of the house. We racked up all the paint chips (FHA doesn't approve it if there are any paint chips) which was a pain in the butt! Saturday my family was over there working. They cut the grass, twice over, and ripped out a bunch of crap in the back. It looks great so far! It made me reazlise just how big our back yard really is. It also gave us a look at the back fence, which is a piece of junk. I am going to go talk to those neighbors once we move in & see if that fence is theres or ours. If it's ours, it goes. If not, we will just put up our own fence. Hawk can totally get through the holes & that is the last thing we need!

Everyone is just beat. We worked our buns off! Kyle & I couldn't do it without the help of our friends & family. They helped SO much!

We were so busy that I didn't get a chance to take many pictures. Bummer! But that is okay, there is plenty of time to take pictures once we have the keys. SO EXCITED!

I didn't realize how big of a dork I look when I paint! lol

OMG Panic Mode!

So we close in a few days. Wednesday. Eeek! But as previous posts said we have to have everything done for the FHA final approval by Monday. Monday is coming SOON. VERY soon! We had some snags in our help with my FIL & all the work has stopped.

Can we say PANIC!

Thankfully Kyle has Sunday off. He called in some favors & I am SO grateful that some of his friends are able to come help him. Beer & a BBQ on Sunday for the boys! My family is going over tomorrow to do what they can to help. My mom & 2 of my aunts. My other aunt is going to watch the kids since I have to shoot a wedding & Kyle was to work. My uncle might make it over too which would be great!

The garage is all primed & only the front & part of the side of the house. There is a little bit in the back that is primed but not much. One side hasn't even been touched.

Forgive my crappy iPhone picture. I didn't have my camera with me that day. Surprising I know! But it does happen from time to time. So you can see how far with the primer it has gone in the back. The whole left side of the house hasn't been touch. The right side only about 8 or 9 feet up has been done.

Not to mention we have some painting to be done inside & some trim work to do also. So needless to say there is quite a bit of work still left to do & I am freaking out.

This whole home buying process hasn't been easy for us. Not even one little thing has been easy. It has honestly, been pure hell! The thought of looking for another house in the future, since we won't live here forever, kind of has me wanting to vomit. Hopefully the next time around won't be so rough. Can I just win the lottery please? Then I won't have to deal with any of this crap. I can just pay someone to be stressed for me. Haha! If only right?

It has been ALL panic though. My aunt L & I went shopping today for things for the house. Mainly the bathroom & kids bedrooms. She was beyond kind & bought us SO much stuff. Kegan got all new bedding, which I might add is so awesome, a lamp for his room, shades & a few other things. Karie got all new bedding & a new lamp. Finding her shades wasn't as easy & I think I will end up sewing those myself. She went from, in my mind, having a purple room to a pink & brown room. OMG it's so cute though. Pictures of it all will come eventually. I already picked out chocolate & steal blue for my bathroom ages ago & finally found the PERFECT shower curtain. Did they have it in stock anywhere? Nope. Not even online! It's new so I am not worried. Plus I don't need it right away. They said their website it updated hourly. I will stalk it until I get it. lol I did get a curtain rod & curtain holders.

It felt awesome out buying things for the house. I know that when we are handed the keys to our house on Wednesday I will cry. We have worked so hard for this. It has been a very long year & a half search. Longer if you count the 6 months before that I search Edina Reality online for homes. Either way, it has been really long time. Too long for this mama.

I just have to keep postive. Even though I am in total panic mode I have to stay postive. Even though I feel like I am losing control, or that I never had it to begin with on this house, I have to believe that it will turn out fine. I have some many awesome friends & family there to support & help us any way they can. I am so grateful for that. My support system ROCKS!

1 Week!!!

2 posts in one day?!

Yup!

Not only are Kyle & I celebrating 6 years but WE CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE IN 1 WEEK!!! OMG!

FIL has been over there working on the outside. Only 2 full days & part of 1 was Kyle able to help since he had to work. I hadn't seen the house since Sunday but I saw it today. I am SO glad I did. It is coming along nicely but holy crap does the green look AWFUL. It looks NOTHING like the sample. Only one coat was put on. It was just....bad. We are going to have it tinted darker or exchange them for another color. Something a lot darker.

But it's coming along. The electrician is fixing what needs to be fixed tomorrow. The guy redoing the main floor bathtub was there today.

Ekk!!!

Check it out!

I know awful right?! It's SO much lighter than the sample!!

You can see it's coming along!!

It looks like a new house from halfway down!! Oh & our BEAUTIFUL mailbox! lol

I found this one on the internet:

Think Kyle would be okay with us getting one like that???   Yea....I don't think he would either! lol

6 Years

I can hardly believe it has been 6 years since Kyle & I's first date. We were just babies then. I was still a teenager! Oh how the times have changed. 2 kids, a dog & now a house. Could it be anymore prefect? Well, if we added a white picket fence to the front of our new house it would be. ;)

6 years ago we ate Chineese Food, drank wine (shhh I know I wasn't 21) and watched funny movies. Even took a few pictures with my crappy digital camera that I had back then.

6 years later I am spending the day with the kids because Kyle has to work until 10. :( But I did make him breakfast in bed & let him sleep in for about an hour. We spent a little bit of time taking some pictures, because anything photo realted is the way to my heart!

These past 6 years have been filled with ups & downs but after all is said & done I am so happy. We are far from perfect but we are perfect for each other!

Get to know the Coopet Family

I should probably get around to introducing myself & my family. It is a family blog & most of you know my family is some way or another. But for those of you who stumbled upon my blog & don't know me, here is a little intro!

If you haven't figured out already, I am Kimi or MamaKimi as I am known on the interweb. Right now I have blonde hair, I am kind of spunky & always sarcastic.

I am the oldest of 4 & the only girl. Lucky me. ;) I always want to be a girly girl but I find jeans & tee so much more comfortable. I must admit I have been trying. I do my makeup & hair daily! That is an accomplishment seeing that I am a mom of 2!

If I had to categorize myself in a mom group I would say I am a SAHM. For the most part. I work as a photographer shooting weddings for a company but also do photography on my own. I love it. It is a huge passion of mine & it's great getting paid doing something I love.

My life revolves around pictures. My camera is something you rarely see me without. I take well over 100 pictures a day & have many many CD & hard drives filled with pictures to prove it.

My hubby, Kyle, & I met in September of 2003. I was 19 & he was the "older man" at 24 almost 25. It was love at first sight for me. He is a hard worker. My "Daddy Bear" as I call him. He is oh so handsome & one of the funniest people I have ever met! We have our ups & downs and are far from perfect but we make it work.

On August 3rd at 11:52pm Kegan was born weighing 8lbs 9oz! He came out quiet but has made up for it ever since. He is a handful at times but he can't pass up a good cuddle. He is a Thomas the Train addict & love Chicken Fingers more than anyone I know. He is a blonde little spitfire with an attitude as big as Texas. Kegan is a little smarty. He learns very fast & loves to share what he has learned with anyone who will listen. Hearing his little voice always makes me smile no matter how I am feeling!

 

2 weeks & 2 days past her due date Karmidee aka Karie (Car-EE) was born weighing 8lbs 1oz. Everything in her life has been big. She wants to make sure everyone goes home remembering who she was. My labor with her was fast & CRAZY. She has already been to the ER twice in her short little life for the spills she takes. She is a clutz & a food lover. She is going to be the child who sneaks out of bed in the night & ends up on the top of the fridge eating cookies. I can't imagine life without her!

Now I can't forget my little dog Hawk. My little 9 pound MinPin. He is the best little cuddler around. He would give his back legs for someone to pet him & love him all day. He is a crazy spaz that the kids just love!


My should be simple but something always seems to complicate it. Fortunately, we always come out on top!

Let the work begin!

Even though we don't close on our house for 1 week & 3 days but work has already started.

Before we close FHA had a few things that they said needed to be done before they would approve an FHA loan. One of those things was painting the entire outside of the house. Orginally the seller offered to do the painting but after seeing what kind of job he did on other things, we said "You pay for the paint & we'll paint it!" That way we can fix the trim & do some yard work & other things that need to be done at the same time. My FIL & Kyle are doing all of the work which is awesome.

There is lots of be done. They are nailing in the siding, scrapping off old paint with a wire brush, sanding, taking down & putting up new trim, caulking the crap out of the holes, taking down bee hives that were in the trim & many other things that I can't remember off the top of my head.

As you can see a lot has been done but there is oh so much more to do. I am excited to get the color on. Even more excited to reside it. That needs to be done badly but we don't have enough time to do that before we close. Nor do we NEED to do it right now. The siding will last a few more years. The kitchen & bathroom however won't! Not to mention all the other things that need to be done!




Oh the joys of buying a fixer upper!

The Adventures of Househood!

After many many months of searching for a new home, seeing countless houses and putting more offers than most people do in a lifetime we FINALLY got one! FINALLY! It has been what seemed an endless struggle. We would fall in love with a home only to get beat out by an investor buying the house with cash. You can't compete with that. I would see myself living there. Imagining the kids playing in the back yard. Only to get my dreams crushed. I can't tell you how heart breaking that is. But finally we snagged our own.

I figured that today would be a good day to start my family blog. I had been throwing around the idea for quite some time & today seemed like the day to do it.

Why?

Well, because today we went to our future home & I saw the "Sold" sign.

SOLD! That is one of the best words I have read in a long time. It finally feels real. I even checked the MSL to see if it was still listed as active. It wasn't. Pending. OMG this is really happening! Everything on our end financially is squared away thankfully! We have a few things that we need to do house before closing. Painting the house & we told the seller we would do a few things inside also. He is a very old man & isn't in the best health so my FIL was kind enough to tell him he would do a few things for him.

1 week & 6 days and the house is officially ours!

Take a look at her now. She won't even look the same after we own her.

The kitchen & bathroom are getting gutted. Every surface of the house will be painted & hopefully the wood floors under the carpet are in good shape. I would love to be able to bring them back to life. I am a sucker for hardwood. Not to mention the basement which is my baby & future studio. I can't tell you how excited that makes me.

Welcome to the Adventures of Househood!