Home Invasion, I mean Rennovation 2008

Well, we have been mighty busy here at the house. Recently, we decided a few things about our home.

1 - I dislike the color of the walls in every room except our bedroom, our bathroom, the kids' bedrooms, and their bathroom.

2 - I really dislike the fact that there is carpet in the breakfast nook, the entryway from the backdoor (dogs?!?! wet paws?!?! carpet?!?!), and the kids' bathroom (really? potty-training with carpet?).

3 - I did NOT want Cole learning to crawl on the disgusting, old, stained carpet.

4 - Ultimately, before we move out (not that there are plans for that, but some day), we will have to change the flooring. Why wait and then let new people enjoy it? Why not change it for us to enjoy now?


So...the rennovations began. We planned ahead of time. We ordered the flooring, and Chris took last Friday and Monday off from work. We bought the paint (in total, we used 4 gallons of ceiling paint, almost 5 gallons of primer, and 10 gallons of colored paint) and prepared things. When Friday rolled around, Chris's first job was to paint the poorly-painted ceiling in the living room and kitchen. He did that in about 5 or 6 hours while I tried to entertain the kids while taping off the area to be painted throughout the rest of the weekend. On Friday night, we spent from 9 pm - 3 am Saturday morning priming and painting one coat in the living area, breakfast nook, and kitchen. I will save you the play-by-play of the rest of the weekend. It went pretty much like that.


Here are some things that I really don't love about any house project:

1 - The MESS! My husband knows this and really tries to minimize it, but it is inevitable.
2 - The stinking blue tape! It takes hours to put on and then I realize that I have not really started doing anything.

3 - Working into the late night hours - I like to go to bed at 10, thank you.

4 - Have I mentioned how the mess stresses me to the point of near insanity?

5 - Feeling like I am putting my life at risk - standing on the ladder in the tiny half bath trying to reach over and above the toilet cabinet is not fun.

6 - Trying to entertain a 2 year old and a 5 month old, while being productive at the same time. Honestly, it was often better for me to take them out of the house and just let Daddy work.

But I do love:

1 - Good friends and family members who help (thanks Momo and Mike) in some way, either painting or babysitting.

2 - Working into the late night hours, having hushed conversations with Chris (we didn't want to wake the kids), and watching Scrubs/The Office episodes.
3 - Putting it all back together at the end, and admiring the finished product.

So, now that the painting is done, we just have to wait until next Tuesday when the flooring is installed. Yea! :) Officially, every room except the laundry room has been painted in the one year we have lived here. And now, we have an organized playroom for the kids separate from our living room. With toddler and baby toys everywhere, it is nice to have it more contained. I will post after pics once we have the flooring.

After the long weekend of working, I felt like we needed to get out of the house! Yesterday, I took the kids swimming with some girls from our Life Group. They had a great time and Mia actually swam. I wanted Coley to swim, or at least let me hold him in the water, but he did not want it to touch him at all. He started huffing and sticking out his lip anytime his piggies touched. So, we sat on the edge of the baby pool and watched the girl "swim." Then, we met Zum the Mum, Karson, and Campbell at Pump it Up this morning. The big girls played, and Mia really enjoyed herself after getting used to it. She told Daddy on the phone "I was a little scared of the big slide, but I did jump!" After a wonderful lunch at Pei Wei, we are now home and both kids are napping - which is why I am finally blogging!!!

Some other recent highlights:

Cole and Campbell had another "date."
We attended Chris's 20 year Reunion and had a great time!!!

We celebrated Momo's birthday. As you can see, Mia loved the cake and Cole loved watching her!

Cole is now eating veggies. However, the green beans seem to make him a little constipated, so we are going to try a different veggie tonight.

Mia finished swimming lessons successfully. She was rewarded with a doll that actually pees. She picked it out.

Mia is peeing AND POOPING (the first time was today, after Pei Wei) in the potty much of the time. And wearing big girl panties.

We are heading to visit Chris's brother and his family tomorrow. Happy July 4th everyone!!!

P.S. I have a second interview for a Pre-School Director position on Tuesday, July 8. It will probably be about 6 pm. Please say prayers - it would allow me to be with the kids MUCH more!