Under Construction!

I have said many times how thankful I am that I am able to stay at home with Kellan and how much I want to make the most of my time with him.  There is only one man to thank for that and that is my husband Michael.  Not long after I found out I was pregnant we were talking about what kind of changes we were going to have to make to our schedule and what our possible child care options were going to be.  I remember telling him that I wished there was a way that I could stay home with the baby for at least the first year but I knew there was just no way we could make that work.  He told me if that was really what I wanted to do then he would make it happen.  He said he would just have to take on some side jobs on the weekends to make extra money. 

When he said "side jobs," I was thinking a deck here or there, tiling a bathroom shower for someone, painting, or some other small projects.  When he said "side jobs," he meant building entire houses and selling them.  Not only does he work a full time, very physical job everyday in construction building houses, doing remodels and additions...now he builds houses "on the side" after work and on the weekends.  There is no way we could have financially made the decision for me to stay home with Kellan if it wasn't for how extremely hard he works. 

This was his first project. He started this house at the beginning of August 2010 and it was completed in November 2010. It started out being a rental house for a little less than a year and then sold shortly after. I should also mention that in his spare time he studied a book on electrical work and taught himself how to wire and do all of the electrical work on this entire house. He also does all of the tile work on the floors and shower. There were many nights and weekends that he spent working on this house all by himself (and of course plenty of days that he had his regular work crew over there helping him with big jobs).

Living room overlooking kitchen with ceramic tile floor and granite countertops

Guest bathroom

Ceramic tile shower in master bathroom

His next "side job" ending up being a total remodel on a house that he bought at a good price.  He started this job in January 2012 and finished it in March 2012.  Here is what it looked like before and after.

It is an adorable house and has been on the market for a little while.  We are giving it one more month and if it doesn't sell then it will be for rent.  Here are a few pictures of the inside.

Kitchen with ceramic tile floor

View from the kitchen bar overlooking the living room with hard wood floors throughout the rest of the house

I cannot believe that we do not have a finished picture of the outside of his third "side job" that was another completely new house from the ground up.  He started this house at the end of January 2012 and finished it at the beginning of April 2012.  Right now it is currently being rented.  The renters have the option to buy until January 2013.  Here is the outside during construction...

And here are some pictures of the inside...

Kitchen before it was completed

Master bathroom's ceramic tile shower

And that brings us to his current "side job" that is under construction as we speak!  It isn't finished yet but it looks like we already have a buyer!

This is the house site after he cleared a few trees on July 18th...he dug big holes around the trees with that piece of equipment until the tree fell over...sometimes I wish he didn't tell me what he's doing at work...

This was on July 20...footing dug and poured with fill sand on site



Kellan and I stopped to check on progress after I finished a run...this is Kelly who is planning on buying the house...Kellan LOVED the dog that came over to visit :)

Foundation on July 23

 Foundation July 24

Walls going up July 27

And here it is as of August 4th!

So Kellan's daddy works a lot...a whole lot.  Lots of weekends and nights are devoted to his ongoing projects but he also pops in to see us during the day every now and then for lunch or a snack or just to see what we're up to.  He always makes it home in time for dinner and many times feeds Kellan his dinner and almost always gives him his bath.  He rarely misses a trip to the grocery store and of course you have seen our many "outings" to restaurants, shopping trips, vacations, and day trips.  I think its pretty obvious we're very lucky to have him for a husband and a daddy and also why its so important to me to make the most of my time at home with little Kellan.  Michael is working really hard to make it all possible and we love him very much for it!