Someone should tell you ...

There should be some sort of step by step book written for people who want to build a home.
Because when you are going in blind - everything you thought you knew - iiiit's pretty much wrong.  Plus more.  Overwhelming doesn't even begin to describe the crazy.

So, as you might have guessed we are in the process of starting to build.  HOPEfully.

For the last 3 years, we have been living in a rental.  It was my Aunt's house and we moved in after she passed away.  It's a 2 bedroom ranch style home that's around 1,000 sqft.  It's basically a long rectangle with no place for anyone to escape to have their own privacy.  I realize that anytime you have children, there is no such thing as privacy, but at this point; one room has our living,dining,play area all in one, one room houses two boys in one bed, and our bedroom has us + a changing table, rocking chair, crib, nightstand, and wardrobe.  Oh, and a baby,

So, it gets a bit crowded.

And that is why we decided to build.
Where we live there is no market on houses.  Nearly all homes in the area were built between 1950 and 1970 most have 2 bedrooms with random bathroom placement, no basement and maybe a garage that would fit a MINI - although that might be too big.
And would require an arm and a leg to fix up.
We know.
We did that when we first moved here.
Never again.

Fixer Upper we are not.

This was our first house when we moved here in 2010

::Before::

::After::

Saying we hated this house was an understatement.
We hated the house, the location - the smells, everything.

Looking at the pictures it doesn't look as horrible as it felt being there.

Here our a few pictures I found of where we live now.
Not completely updated but it looks quite similar.

::House #2::

But I digress.
What were we talking about?
Right.
Building.

So starting last December (2014) we sat down with some books of plans and started to dream.  I began to reach out to builders starting with one my brother used a few years ago.
He ended up being our final choice and as of July 2015 we started meeting to make the plan for our forever home.

So, my plan is to start keeping up with the build process.
What has and hasn't worked for us.
In the meantime, this is what my table looks like at all times since we started planning!