white floors

People call us crazy sometimes.  We're almost always working on a project somewhere in the house and if we're not, we're dreaming about one.  We truly enjoy getting creative and changing things!  I'll give you a few more instances of when we've been called 'crazy'.  We got married when I was still 19 and Jordan was 21.  We got pregnant when I was 20.  We had the baby when I was 21 and Jordan was almost 23.  Another reason we're considered crazy: we didn't stop there!  We had 4 kids in 5 and a half years.  Need more?  I'm a stay at home mom!  We're Christians.  We don't have cable tv.  We have one cell phone and a land line.  Yep, we're defying our American culture!  (P.S.  It's not always easy, either!)

The last reason I'll give you for being called crazy: we painted our floors w.h.i.t.e.  You heard me.  We have four sticky-and-dirty-barefoot kids... and white floors.

You may think we're crazy, but we're still loving it!

In January of 2012, Jordan and his dad, uncle, and friends took out the flooring down to the sub floor. That included tearing up vinyl and tile. The kitchen and front entryway floors were also torn up at this same time. It took a couple months for the dust to settle! This was on a Saturday. The next day, we picked up the new wood flooring we had ordered and began to lay it on Monday. Jordan's work was slow so he had the week off which was what prompted us to finally get started on this daunting remodel. So we laid the new wood floor over Monday and Wednesday throughout the three rooms (Jordan had to work on Tuesday). On Thursday, we moved all of the furniture into the girls' bedroom and tore off all of the shoe molding. We were preparing for sanding the floors throughout the whole house which is what we did on Friday. All the while, our kids would play with their toys or watch movies as we worked. The day we sanded everything, they hung out downstairs. They had been sleeping down there the whole week and thought it was pretty cool that they could pretty much do anything they wanted down there while we worked. They were actually pretty responsible! On Friday morning, we picked up the sanders. Then we actually had to move this huge industrial serger for my sub-contracting business downstairs. We finally got started sanding around 10 am and didn't quit until dinnertime. It was another night of take-out which is pretty rare for us! Then right away on Saturday morning, we began painting the floors. We painted until early afternoon. The last area to get painted was the landing by the basement stairs. There was no place to go except down. The paint took a couple hours to dry to the point of being able to walk on so we stayed in the basement and all of us napped - even the dog. And then we started the second coat which went much faster. We were done by the end of the night. What a week...we were exhausted but so glad to have it all done. And it completely changed the look of the house!

crazy....




You can see what the flooring used to look like (first two pics) and though it appears to be chaotic with the kids 'helping' out... I wouldn't have it any other way!  Here's a helpful hint to those of you with kiddos of your own: let them get involved with your projects!  What does it hurt for them to pull nails or work at hammering them down again?  They love it!  Just keep it safe, set boundaries of what they can and cannot do, and they will love to help you!  And you will feel less guilty about the big projects and little family time.  Bring the quality family time into your work :)

That being said...

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