It's time to begin.....

Kakiste

Thanks- I do understand it's a valid question. (and I don't perceive it as critical) 

I'm not aiming for perfection, just functional. I'm not going to wait for the kitchen to be fitted before I move in if they can't do it for a number of weeks (because the old kitchen is perfectly functional to cook on in the meanwhile (the kitchen fitters can also work during the day whilst I'm in school- I can shut the door (and put a note on to keep shut) to the kitchen/utility room and keep the cats in the rest of the house (then the workmen have access to the rooms they need and the downstairs bathroom but the cats won't get outside (pet cats have to be kept in for at least a few weeks following a house move to establish themselves in a new house before you can let them out) If I'm in moved in during the refit then I will use my camping stove and microwave to cook with whilst they're fitting the new one.  

Though I guess there's always the chance that the kitchen fitters may have a gap and be able to do it within the next week. 

The only things left to sort are a fridge freezer and my daughter's room. (Again it doesn't need to be totally completely done but I want it to be painted and with her bed and curtains up and a wardrobe in there so that she doesn't have the realisation that her parent's are divorcing then followed by disappointment when she sees a slightly rubbish bedroom.) Meanwhile if I can't pick up the futon bed from my friend before I move in then I'll sleep on the sofa bed in the lounge for the first few days. 

New neighbour changing her mind did delay things by a week or so (the cottage had a built in fridge freezer and built in wardrobes in both bedrooms so that's set me back) so if she had moved out last Saturday then I would have moved by now. 

Things like painting the rest of the rooms and sorting a  washing machine (can use the PE departments one at work for a month or two- Headteacher has already agreed)TV/xbox/sideboard/bookcases can all wait until I'm in and have the time/money/fb market place luck to sort them out. 

CRANKY40

I perceived it as “soon to be ex” not being able to tell daughter anything along the lines of “your mum has made you give up your perfect bedroom to slum it in a house without furniture” or something along those lines. 

We ate a lot of toasties while the kitchen was being done in the house we have now. The House Troll was delighted because toasties were his favourite thing back then 😊

Kakiste

Yep @CRANKY40 that's also a factor. 

One really big issue that had been playing on my mind the last few weeks was what happened if husband decides that he won't going to stay in our current house- mainly in regard to daughter's playhouse that we built in the garden last summer- everything else from the house can either move with me or move with him but the playhouse is really big and the cottage didn't have enough outdoor room.... (however we built it in sections so it's possible to dismantle it fairly easily to move) What with having a garden I realised yesterday that if he does give up the house and move somewhere else then I could always move the playhouse into my new garden. (Randomly I noticed yesterday when I was there after work that there's a section of flagstones along one wall (I think intended for a shed base?) that would be literally the ideal foundations for the playhouse and where the flagstones are would mean that the playhouse doesn't overlook anyone's windows or gardens- it instead looks onto a country lane and then the church grounds (it has a 7ft high lookout tower with a ladder on one end!) 

I've just nipped down to the storage building at work and there's a really nice looking wardrobe and also a matching chest of drawers and bedside table that have no damage and are in excellent condition. I spoke to one of our maintenance people (randomly he used to work at my old school on the care team looking kids from my form group so we know each other really well. He says that all the furniture belongs to the school (not specifically to any previous kids) so it'd be worth asking my headteacher if I can buy it off the school once he's back in next week (he's off doing a leadership tour of some other schools a few days this week) He also offered that if Head says yes- he'll run it up to my house for me with one of the other maintenance lads after work in their van so I don't have to cut any more fingers (everyone has heard and thinks it's funny) which is really nice of him (I offered money but he said it's repayment from the amount of times I stopped kids attacking him in the last school.) He also pointed out that in the room of dead electricals there is a 40 inch TV that they've just been donated by one of the electricians and said it would be worth asking if I could buy that off the school as well as he's tested it on Tuesday and it works fine. 

In work news (shockingly enough I do actually do my job additionally to mooching around old furniture stores, posting on MSE and leaving early!) All my year 10s passed their mock history exam yesterday- just finished marking their papers this morning. Decent bunch of grades. One of my year 11s (previous school refuser) has now agreed to come into my room to finish his outstanding work for qualifications if I'm the one to help him with the work (he likes my subject and already finished the work for that last term but he's behind on nearly everything else) so we've completed his ICT work yesterday and finished 2/5s of his English work first thing this morning. Plus my year 8s were absolutely wonderful yesterday- they were remembering things we learned last September and using it in their work. So very happy on that score 

Humdinger1

Fab news all round @Kakiste! The house is really sounding like by far the better option.  Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

satchmo1

I'm full of admiration for you @Kakiste

I'm also full of admiration for your lovely work colleagues who are so very supportive. 

Here's to a smooth transition to your new home for you, your daughter, and the cats.

Kakiste

@satchmo1 Yes it's a lovely team to work in. Everyone is super supportive of each other so lots of people help each other with house moves and building projects, babysitting, car repairs etc and a bunch of people go wild camping and wild swimming together every weekend in the summer- I'm going to go with them when I can this year! Most of us from the previous school have all worked together since 2009 and the remaining bunch of people have worked here together since about 2002- so it's a proper family feel. 

(The TA who used to be a student here had his flat entirely kitted out and decorated by our staff team- he'd been in care since he was 9 and has no contact with family so was moving in with very limited stuff.) One of our older TAs properly mothers him so she still goes round to his house at the weekend and they batch cook for the week together as she was worried he wasn't eating properly as a 20 year old living on his own. (to be fair he's said to me that he was mostly eating supernoodles so she called that one correctly) 

I will honestly never leave this school if it stays like this- lovely place to work. 

In interesting work news I took a crowbar off one of the year 10s yesterday afternoon who was going after 2 of my form with it. No-one still has any idea of where he got it from but it was certainly an adrenaline fuelled end to the day!

Work friend and I have sat together and ordered brand new curtain poles together this morning and a blind for the bathroom (previous tenant took everything with her inc. down to the light bulbs!) so I've ordered them in grey wood as I think that'll match nicely with whatever colours I later paint the rooms. Bunch of stuff arriving for daughter's bedroom today- my friend in the reception office is going to give me a shout when it gets here and I'll run it up to the house at the end of work today. 

Kakiste

Picked up a fridge freezer on marketplace over the weekend. Dropped it off at the house Sunday afternoon but it needs to stand for 24 hours before I can turn it on. 

GeorgianaCavendish

Brilliant that so much is coming together for you and it sounds like things are moving quickly now.
When will you be able to put your daughter's room together? Have you been able to sneak out anything more from your current house to the new house, or is it now a case that you need to not leave such obvious gaps in the wardrobe etc?
Without wanting to put pressure on you - do you have any idea of when you will move (and tell your ex) ? Does he have any convenient hobby weekends coming up soon so that you can move the cats etc? 

Kakiste

I'm hoping to speak to my headteacher about Thursday- I have a big gap in my day timetable wise and I'm going to ask that if I'm not needed for cover could I bug out after lesson 1 and then paint the 2 walls in her bedroom before I'm needed back in school at lunchbreak. If that's Ok with him/comes off on the day then I should be able to get it done in one go. 

I'm planning on heading to the house straight after assembly a couple of days this week and assembling her bed in increments. I unpacked the mattress when I was there briefly yesterday as it's one of those ones which needs a few days to fully puff up to normal depth. Found someone selling matching curtains/bedding to the ones she has in her current room on fb marketplace so she's posting them to my school for me this week. 

I also need to speak to headteacher about the furniture I found in the store last Thursday and whether or not I can buy it from the school but he's not been in since I've discovered it. Otherwise I need to get back on facebook and sort out a wardrobe for daughter. 

I've managed to get 4 outfits for me moved across and 5 for my daughter as well as a coat and a spare pair of shoes each. Need to move a bunch more stuff across this week. 

We're all away together this weekend coming (hobby trade fair in the midlands) and staying with friends there on the Sunday.  However what has occurred to me is that there's a gap between when I get home on a Friday and when husband gets home (gym) so if all basics are is sorted and in place by next Friday (24th) I could leave work at start of assembly that day and be home by 3.45 (when he's usually not home until 6pm) which would give me time to get the cats and cat stuff and move them (and possibly 1 other trip also if the cats play ball) so that's possibly a good day to do it. If not then going the next day would give me 3-4 hours whilst he's at the hobby group. Friday though to me seems like a possible better option as I give him a lift home from the gym- so he's very unlikely to turn up back at home (which is potentially an outcome on the Saturday if it gets rained off/he gets injured) plus it means I would be able to drop the bombshell on him whilst at the gym (usually meet him in the gym cafe) which is full of people and he's less likely to make a scene (also I can park my car in the massive supermarket carpark across the road rather than the gym carpark so he won't be able to spot my car on his way out) 

Humdinger1

@Kakiste it's all coming together! I don't want to insert worry where it's not warranted: how do you think he'll react while being driven home by you (just the two of you in the car?) after you've broken the news in the gym cafe? Is it even worth having a cab booked for him to take him home while you head off to your new house? Love Humdinger xx