Distracted

I had thoughts to share this morning, things I was contemplating during my quiet time. But they've evaporated into thin air.

You see, I started some laundry. Then making a meal plan and shopping list. Next I reviewed my calendar for the week. And balanced the budget.

Oh wait, the dryer just finished.

Now, where was I?

Distracted...right. I also spent a few minutes daydreaming about shopping for some new clothes because I have so few that fit. Which led to fantasizing about losing weight. And then I began to wonder if I'd ever find time to exercise. Which reminded me of the multitude of unfinished projects in my life (photo albums, painting the house, etc.).

I believe I have a case of writing ADD. If I don't stay focused and get my thoughts down first thing (read: by 7am), they are forever lost. But that's not actually the point of all this rambling...

The point of my rambling - I need a list. (Yes, I know what you're thinking! Pat always says I spend so much time making my lists that I run out of time to actually complete tasks.) The fact is, I find great satisfaction in crossing items off a list. So rather than merely thinking about all that I want to do (and yet putting it off for another year), I am going to create a "top project" list for 2011. My goal: Complete at least one project each month for the entire year.

I have been avoiding some projects like the plague, because I fear they will never truly be finished. But maybe they can be, if only I were focused. Because you see, my ADD issue carries over into other parts of my life, too. For example, I'll start uploading photos from 2003 (yes, that far back, people!) only to realize I really ought to defragment the hard drive. I'll pull out the painter's tape to begin staining the windowsills only to discover how badly the windows need to be cleaned.

Am I the only one who struggles with this?! Or do you have home project ADD as well? And if you don't - for goodness sake, tell us your secret!!!

Walls and Baseboards and Paint, Oh My!

We are very close to moving back into our basement. I will be so glad to eliminate the three million extra piles of "stuff" from my living room and kitchen! And I know Pat will be thrilled to have the garage back.

As the end of the renovation gets closer, I find myself growing impatient. The fact that Kai is not sleeping through the night at almost two years of age, due to the fact that I cannot ignore him when he fusses, due to the fact that he's sharing a room with Braeden who really needs his sleep, has me exhausted!

But soon, it will all go back to normal... Ahhhhh...

Here is the feature wall of the family room. (Interesting tidbit - the dark brown paint actually smelled like chocolate!) As you can see, the first piece of furniture was moved in the moment the carpet was laid.


In this next picture I'm standing with my back against the brown wall so you can see the full length of the family room. We haven't quite figured out what we're doing with those posts yet - ideas? I'd kinda like to leave them uncovered, as the kids think it's the mostfunever to climb them.


If you're wondering about the mattresses and sleeping bags - Pat and the kids camped out down there while I was at She Speaks. And in case you were unsure, I absolutely believe it's proper renovation etiquette to NOT clean up assorted piles of supplies as you work. Everything - tools, compressors, vacuums, and such should remain randomly laying around until the final details of the project are complete. Okay?

The bathroom has the most work remaining - countertop, sink, mirror, and accessories still to be done. Thankfully, the toilet is in fine working order!


This is my fabulous flooring in the bathroom and laundry room. There is a seat on the toilet already, the one you see on the floor is the new one I purchased because the original wasn't quite good enough. Have you ever shopped for a toilet seat? I cannot believe how many there are to choose from!


Speaking of the laundry room...


Do you remember this wall? (Coming down the stairs on the left is the concrete foundation of the house - if it were drywalled over the stairs would be v.e.r.y. narrow. So the previous owners thought that covering it in some shagadellic orange carpet was a fantastic plan.)

Here's that wall now (from a different angle, so you can get the full effect).


Speaking of shagadellic - did you know that shag is back "in?"

We Have Walls, People

And ceilings.

And what's that all over them? Oh yes - it is PRIMER!

We worked until the wee hours (like 1am) and used six whole gallons of primer. I woke up this morning and promptly took two ibuprofen. I put them in my purse to share with my slave-driver mother (thanks mom!).

It's getting so close! There are some touch-ups to be done with the mud (today), ceilings to be painted two coats (Thurs), walls to be painted two coats (Fri and Sat), flooring to be installed (next week Mon-Wed), and then a whole lot of finishing to be done (doors, baseboards, trim, light fixtures). Okay, now it doesn't feel quite so close.

But once the carpets are in, the TV and a box of toys will be placed in the family room - pronto! It may not be ready for moving back in, but I tell ya I sure am ready for some of these kids to move on out of my bedroom (the only TV in the house right now, and did I mention the weather has been crappy?)!

Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em

Best summer recipe down at the bottom. Oops. If you are visiting from WFMW, consider the home reno thought a bonus! :-)

Some thoughts on do-it-yourself home renovations...

Doing it yourself will always take longer and cost more than you expect or plan for. When we began gutting the basement in May, I was telling people that our expected completion date was the end of June. Ha! My new, more realistic, six times revised date of completion - mid-August. My only goal is to have the kids moved at least one week before school starts.

It is worthwhile to weigh the the time expense of doing some jobs yourself versus the financial costs of having a contractor take care of them. We got new (larger) windows for the basement. The labour costs to have them professionally installed were in the ballpark of $700-800. This job is one that will easily be completed in one day by my very capable husband and father-in-law. On the other hand, the mudder/taper that we hired (this is one task that I believe MUST be done professionally or you will be left forever regretting it) also offered to hang the drywall board. His costs for this task are $800. My workin' guys estimated this task at roughly two weeks worth of work (evenings and weekends). Two weeks. Um, yeah, $800to cut two weeks of work down to two days - totally worth it!

Here are some updated pictures to show that we really are making progress down there...

Look at all the pretty insulation!

A newer, larger window (this one is actually big enough for someone to climb out of, if necessary).

This is what 108 sheets of drywall looks like! Installation is scheduled to begin either Friday or Monday (depending on when our contractor finishes moving his family to their new home).

Bathroom. And no, the toilet will not remain in the tub permanently, lol.

My little laundry room right at the bottom of the stairs. And it now has a handy pocket door attached to it!

Doing it yourself, and knowing when not to do it yourself, for home renovations - this works for me! For more WFMW, check out We are THAT Family.

(Okay, I apologize. I totally suck. Apparently this week was a themed WFMW on "best summer recipes." So to make it right, here is my best summer recipe::
- buy a large watermelon at your local grocery store
- cut into slices, then take several pieces and mush them up
- add to 1L of orange juice
- mix in blender
- pour into popsicle moulds
- freeze
Voila! Yummy real fruit popsicles. *grin*)

For earlier updates and to track our progress...

A Week in Pictures

Skeletons of walls are cropping up around the basement.

Look - it's a bedroom!

One crashed-up car has been repaired and paint has been touched-up.

A whole new car has been built and painted.

Kindergrad has been celebrated.

(Next year, three out of five will be in school full-time. Breathe...)

And sleepy-movie time in Mom & Dad's bed has been enjoyed. (Yes, each one of them is sucking their thumbs and cuddling a special blankie. If the wee one were pictured, he's be doing the same. In fact, only one out of five has not had either of these habits - though he will bring cars and small stuffies with him wherever he goes.)

Randomness

My mom and I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred on Sunday. Twenty minutes of exercise daily for a month that is supposed to transform your body. I may never know if it works, because there is no way I can do it every day! Things like reaching in the cupboards and walking down stairs have become new forms of torture for my aching muscles. I keep telling myself that walking around in all this pain has to be burning calories.

Some of our children are killing me! Like stabbing knives in my heart.
- Abbey (7) has informed us that Jordan loves her. But she doesn't love him back. Phew. No, she loves Colby. Sadly, Colby loves someone else in their grade 1 class. What?! You are too young for this! I'm not ready!
- Shea (4) shared recently that she has a boyfriend at playschool. When she speaks the name 'Cooper' she blushes (seriously, she's four and blushing over a boy?!) and giggles hysterically.
- Thankfully, Megan (6) has thus far resisted the advances of the naughty boys in her kindergarten class.
- Call me sexist, but the fact that Braeden (11) has apparently been Jessica's boyfriend and Kassidy's boyfriend over the past couple years just doesn't cause the same level of myocardial infarction as hearing my girls giggle over boys.

The basement renovation has been at a relative standstill for a week. Pat has been away for work, and I have enjoyed the noticeable absence of banging and bashing coming from the basement. But I have to say, Hello?! We've got a schedule to keep here people! Let's get back to work now. I would really like my children to be a little more spread out before the crummy weather of August hits.

Another thing that's been getting in the way of renovating progress is the upcoming soapbox derby. You might remember that Braeden raced last year; not sure if I mentioned it or not, but in his last race he had a small collision with the sidewalk. While his car needs some repairs and touch-up paint, a whole 'nother car needs to be built and painted! Abbey is going to be joining in the downhill fun. In a little over a week!

And since his name is missing from this post, I'll just give you his adorable little face. My Malakai (1.5). Blurry photo courtesy of camera-stealing child.

Little Known Fact

If you think a jackhammer sounds loud when you drive past construction, it is at least 10 times louder when it's going on inside your house. Even if the jackhammer is in the basement and you are in the back yard, you must shout in order to hear yourself speak. Anyone got some Advil?

Progress

As you can see, we have made a bit of headway on the basement reno. The demolition process is so close to being done I can taste it! (And literally, we can all taste the dust whenever the furnace kicks in. Nice, eh?) Walls are knocked down and hauled out. Old, moldy (ack) insulation garbaged. Glued-down carpet scraped up. Orange shag on the wall ripped down with gusto!

I feel a little guilty putting that list of work on my blog, because I didn't do much of it. My husband (the super-hero) did most of it on his own, with some great assistance from my father and my BFF's teenage son. I did haul chunks of drywall and ceiling tile out to the dumpster, and I've swept the basement floor no less than forty-six times, but that work somehow doesn't compare when we're talking a massive dumpster and three or four pick-up trucks worth of garbage.

See that pile of lumber and garbage bags in the corner? That is ALL that's left! Well, besides cleaning up the mess after the window holes get cut bigger. And disposing of the old furnace and ducting once the new one is in. But hey - putting in that new furnace is the first step in rebuilding. Yahoo!!!

The Secret to a Happy Marriage

Have you ever heard how some couples just can't work together? We've got lots friends like that - if they get working on a project together, the inevitable result is arguing. Oddly, Pat and I are at our best when we tackle a big project together.

Since we bought our thirty-some-odd-years-old house three years ago, we have slowly and methodically been working our way through the necessary projects.

It started with the squishy layout on the main floor:

The wall straight ahead is between the kitchen and the dining room. See the tiny walk-through doorway? That is how we were to bring our food to our table - through there and onto the carpeted dining room! No thank-you.

Though my camera doesn't show it well, once the wall was gone the remarkable contrast of the lemon yellow linoleum and the pink carpeting was positively blech!

The lemon yellow linoleum was, I'm sure, seen as a lovely compliment to the lemon yellow glass tile backsplash when it was all originally installed. And those cupboards - again, totally top of the line thirty years ago.

Once the wall came out (within a week or two of moving in), we felt compelled to cover our kitchen and dining room floor in something that was not lemon yellow and would not absorb every spill ever made. Our short-term, inexpensive solution was this laminate. Oh, and that lovely dresser you saw in the top picture - replaced by a sideboard from Ikea (I love you, Ikea).

You will also notice some fresh paint on this wall. Perhaps you're giggling at the irony that we removed all the previous owner's yellow only to put up our own yellow - fyi, this is dijon yellow, people! Big distinction. :) The paint change happened a good year after the wall came out, the flooring went in, and the countertops and tile were changed (coming up below), but I am tragically forgetful about taking before and after pictures...

It took a year or so, but we did eventually replace the backsplash with this mosaic (for any home improvement gurus out there who are wondering - the stone is tumbled chiaro). Under the stack of dirty dishes you will also notice the dark brown counter (good ol' formica) that we put down to replace the (you guessed it) lemon yellow formica that the previous owners adored.

When we (ahem, I) finally did get to the painting, we went with the dijon yellow as the main color, and this great red for the dining room and one wall of the living room. See that bench? Built by my handy hubby to help with seating and storage for our crew - the bench probably came a good year after the paint. But whatever!

And finally, three whole years after the kitchen project began, the cupboards got a new look (though I still have to do a couple wee paint touch ups).

Now that we've got our main floor updated (with a few small exceptions such as the glitter in the stippled ceiling - never going to try that one, the master bedroom - maybe next year, and the bathroom - ditto), I think we'll take a little rest from home renovations.

Nevermind! What was I thinking? We seriously do get along way better when we've got a project on the go... (The following pictures of our basement were taken this morning. Again, no before pictures.)

Little Rays of Sunshine

Stealing the idea from my friend, Bobbie at 40 Shades of Pink... Today I am thankful for:

- spring weather

- Grandparent's day at playschool (and Great-Grandma is here for it!)

- freshly cut and dyed hair with no more roots

- a tidy house

- emails from friends

- Dr. Pepper slurpees (I'm right on top of the healthy eating today)

- Fruit Loops ohmygoodness, I just now noticed that they are actually called Fr00t L00ps (seriously observant, people, that's me)

- healthy children at school

- home renovation projects that go on forever, because I am so glad I have a home I love

- the smell of fresh paint

- babies taking afternoon naps

- the last day of swimming lessons

- and yes, Advil

My To Do List

I have this crazy bad habit of giving myself reams of projects to work on whenever the kids are on school holidays. I realize that this makes no sense. It would be much more sensible to work while at least a couple of them are at school - less kids means less distraction. So, I'm going to blame it all on Pat and tell you that when it's vacation time he gets motivated. I'm just going with the flow...

For the last few years, we have invited friends with kids over for New Year's Eve. This way, no one needs to get a sitter, kids can be put to bed if needed, and the basement is totally kiddo friendly. It's always a fun evening filled with board games, food, and noise. I would like to point out that NYE is Wednesday and today is Sunday Monday. The deadline for project completion looms dangerously close!

Pat suggested that we should finally refinish the kitchen cabinets. After all, we have lived here nearly three years now. And they are especially ugly. Since I am not willing to get in the way of my husband's motivation, we went for it. Pat is making the doors beautiful for me, by stapling a "frame" around the outside edges of the front. He has also (bless his heart) taken care of all the sanding. I am the painter of the house.

We would be right on track to completion before D-Day NYE, except for this pesky little thing called work. That Pat has to go to. All day today and tomorrow. Maybe even Wednesday. So here I am, major project on hand, five kids home from school, and a large social gathering in my home in just three days.

And you know what large gatherings mean, right? Cleaning, creating food trays, putting away Christmas decorations, organizing the kids' space, more cleaning, and um - of course - not having your entire kitchen cupboards strewn across the kitchen table and counters.

All work and no play

Looky! We might be getting a new camera. I took a few pictures of the construction zone for ya.


Check out my handsome and hard-working hubby. This whole roof project has been taking a LOT longer than anticipated. We're now onto day 13 or 14. To be honest, I've lost count. I'm exhausted from watching it all, so he must be dead on his feet. See that roof in the background? That's what our shingles were looking like 2 weeks ago (actually, I believe ours were worse).



Here they are now. Much better. You may be wondering about the multi-coloured appearance of our home... Originally, all the trim, soffit, fascia, and eaves were white (as is the siding that is on the front side of the house - this stuff on the back is stucco, which is also on the sides - I can't explain why, but all the houses in the neighbourhood were subject to this horrific trend) and the shingles were black. My vision for the future consists of dark beige siding and shingles (as close to beige as I could find), with black trim, eaves, etc. So we get to have this funky look for a year or two until re-siding the house fits our budget.



Don't you just love this awning on the front?! (Ohmygoodness, please ignore the table with empty slurpee cups.) It's new. Eventually the trees and flowers will go and there will be a veranda underneath the awning. Already, the face of our house is transformed! I really wish I had some before pictures, but the camera was not available when construction began, and who thinks to take a picture of the front of their house in the event that a renovation will occur?

I'm liking this new camera - what do you think?

Old Camera (auto mode),left side: New camera (auto), right side:















Weird. I assure you I was standing in the EXACT same spot. And I did not use the zoom. Though that first picture of Pat up top was zoomed with the new camera. Pretty, good, eh? Sadly, no matter how amazing the camera you use, a poor photographer can still totally screw up the shot (for example, by not noticing the table with junk on it, lol).

A Little Busy

Sorry. Not posting this week. Hubby re-shingling roof. Me busy keeping kids safe from harm and feeding men. Pictures to come. Many posts this weekend. Over and out.

Late to the Party

Better late than never, or so they say... I'm linking up with the Design Time blog carnival at Mary's place. Mary's family is moving into a foreclosure, and she's looking for some ideas. I've got a few suggestions of what to do, and what not to do!

Do: Check out her site for other participant's design time posts.

I'll start out with some lovely samples of, well, the beginning. We bought our 30-some-odd-year-old house 2 years and 4 months ago. As you can see, we started out with a (mostly) nice white clean slate. A little elbow grease to eliminate the lovely *ahem* floral borders, and I had a blank canvas!

Don't: Paste on floral wallpaper. Anywhere! Ever!

This is our stipple ceiling. You will note some interesting flecks. The camera doesn't display these in all their splendour, so you may have missed the fact that these flecks are (wait for it) sparkles! We have yet to do anything about our starry night ceilings. I just can't bear to bid them farewell.

Don't: Do I even need to say it?

The picture to the right is, in fact, right-side-up. I am standing at the top of the stairs, looking toward the basement. If you're wondering, yes - that is burnt orange shag carpeting on the wall. You'll notice the lovely shade of rubber-backed office carpet on the floor, selected to match. The bad shade of yellow on the wall - my bad choice. We'd love to one day completely gut the basement, reconfigure the layout, and put down some quality carpets. But I just don't know if I could ever bear to remove the shag from the wall!

Please, please, just don't!

Here you will see the view from our kitchen to our dining room. Well, you can certainly see the big wall between them. If you look carefully you will also note the linoleum in an adorable shade of lemon yellow. Next to it, the carpeted dining room. Ack!

Seriously, don't.

Step one, much to Pat's enjoyment - knocking out the wall.

Do: Open up spaces that make you feel so claustrophobic that you want to scratch out your own eyeballs. (Um, make sure you have someone who knows stuff check out if your walls need to be there because they, like, hold up the whole house.)

Also Do: Remove old, dated, horrifically ugly flooring and replace with something nicer.

For the main floor, I was desperate to try something bold, with a 'pop' behind it, and I was dreaming of red. For obvious reasons, red could not be our main colour, so we selected a complementary yellow. (I don't know why I say 'we,' I do the paint in this family. Pat does other labourious jobs that don't require perfection, patience, and multiple coats. LOL!)

Do: Colour. Really, just DO IT!

Do: Art. Paintings. Photos. These are all good things to put on your walls. It makes it seem like people really live there.

Don't: Ask to see any other walls in my home.

Do: New light fixtures and window coverings. Choose to match your personal style. If you don't know your style, um, ask for help at Home Depot. ;)

(If you love the paint colours, they are from the old Benjamin Moore collection - Dijon and Bonaparte. I used Totem's colour match system and used their store brand paint. Um, DON'T! It's pretty good paint overall, but for strong colours...let's just say, 4 stinkin' coats later!)

Here's a close-up of the painting pictured above my loveseat. I had a budding artist friend custom make the 3x3 foot red orchid for me. I asked her to creatively build in the word Yahweh so that it was visible, but unobtrusive. Nice, nice work Angela!

Here are some handy little projects Pat has completed over the past 28 months...

Do: Cool storage options. This one's from Ikea.

Don't: Ever let me see your bookshelf look as disastrous and cluttered as mine! It's shameful, really.

Do: Create bench seating for large families. This is a major space-saver!

Do: Completely change the look of your kitchen by installing super-uber mosaic tile backsplash!

Don't: Forget to refinish your dated cabinets to go with the new backsplash. (I especially don't recommend waiting more than a year to do this, or you might just give up and settle for ugly.)

Don't: Leave appliances and dirty dishes on your counter when taking pictures. Sheesh!

Okay, at the risk of making this post even longer, I must tell you that I have saved the best for last! I am about the least artistic, crafty, creative person you will ever meet. BUT, I have a gift of creating kid bedroom masterpieces! (Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it!) I may have mentioned that I LOVE colour. And stripes. Stripes are fun, and cute, and oh-so fun!

Do: Be asymmetrical. It's not square. (Get it?!)

Do: Let your kids help in ways that won't destroy all your hard work. Note the removable Tinkerbell stickers.

Do: Let other people do the work that you're not talented enough to do yourself. (Thanks for the freehand work - Pat and Mom!)

Oh, how I could go on. We're nowhere near done yet - just pluggin' away as time (in-between births and birthday parties) and finances (when feeding 7 mouths doesn't split my purse into smithereens) allow. But, pretty proud of what we've done so far. Next on the 'to do' list: re-shingle the roof. Fun times!