The Summer Snafu

So, I've been busier than expected this summer. Not in a, "Wow, look at how many summer projects I've gotten done!" kind of way, but in a phone call from the dean, "Can you PLEASE teach an emergency class section this summer prettyprettyplease?" Yeah, extra money! Woohoo! I have been quite happy to receive it, and it's paid for some expected (insurance premiums) and unexpected expenses this summer (plumbing issues, dog vet bills). But you know those summer projects? They weren't exactly fun and games. We have another wall that needs to be rebuilt on our shed (which houses our well pump), and it needs to be done before the cold weather. Our fence for the backyard needs to be completed so our dog will not wander off for a jaunt around the neighborhood when our son lets her out and doesn't tell us. And the kids' playsets need to be moved/torn down. One old metal playset is probably at the end of its useful life, and I want it to be removed. The other wood playset is in a low point of the yard and ended up in standing water for several months last winter. Suffice it to say, I don't want to encourage wood rot and we need to move it to a better spot before winter sets in (with the rain and standing water).

I don't know what we are going to do about the rotting fascia boards. Our house has the craziest gutter system I have ever seen, in that, it doesn't really have gutters. Yeah, this is not such a good plan in the Pacific Northwest? Instead, there is some kind of membrane running down the roofing, sort of looped up and attached (via glue, presumably) to the top of the fascia boards. The downspouts are attached to holes cut through the actual roofing plywood, and those don't look that hot--I suspect that whoever did this kludgy work didn't properly waterseal the connections, or it has failed in time due to the poor design. So what do we have? Rotting fascia boards due to constant water exposure (I had some MUSHROOMS growing on one fascia board last winter, I kid you not). Plus "gutters" that require constant cleaning of the copious amounts of tree spurge dropping on the roof and washing down in order to get the water down through the downspouts where it belongs. And we have a kludged roof over our deck, attached again with funky flashing and membrane/tar (not clear what sort of combination it is), directly over the fascia board--so the question with the rotting board is, will it affect the structural integrity of the deck roof to pull it off and replace it? Like that is the last thing we need to be worrying about, if we attempt repair ourselves--will I pull this roof down on my head? Yeah, good times.

I had thought that maybe we could brace the deck roof temporarily, yank the fascia board, cut back the overhangs to cut off any damaged sections of the roof plywood, then attach proper gutters along everything with downspouts, etc. But then I regained my sanity and said to myself, "Self, we are the same people who cannot get a shed wall rebuilt in a timely manner, or bathroom molding cut properly without numerous (cursing) attempts...YOU ARE CRAZY to think you could do this yourselves!!" This is a home repair issue that screams THIS COULD GET CRAZY EXPENSIVE AND EXPERT-LEVEL IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. So, probably a better plan is to save, save, save like mad things, try to minimize further damage this winter by religiously cleaning the downspouts and gutters weekly, and pray that we get enough saved to pay a professional to do this little job for us.

Anyway, I *am* finally coming up to the end of summer quarter, so in theory we *could* get the shed wall done, the fence, etc. Yeah, that was the case, until my husband injured...his big toe. Yes, this is a serious injury! My husband, while outside some damp morning about seven weeks ago in his flip flops, lost his balance and actually STOOD on his big toe. Apart from the instantaneous pain and howling, it turns out he has ruptured a very important tendon that attaches to the tip of the big toe, and keeps it straight. So now my dearest husband goes under the knife later today, so that an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in foot & ankle injuries can either a) reattach his shredded tendon (the MRI shows it is like a frayed shoelace, with a tiny bit still attached), or if it's not in good enough shape for that (it's become "fibrotic"), then he will b) detach a different tendon from the base of his big toe, and stretch it up to attach it to the top of his big toe. Yes, a single patch of moss caused all of this pain and agony. Let that be a lesson to you homeowners with moss on your sidewalks--it can be deadly! Mental note: add "rent powerwasher and powerwash all moss from sidewalks" to the summer chore list...

And guess what the recovery time is for this type of surgery? A few weeks? Naaaaaaah, that would give some hope of getting any of the NECESSARY stuff done! Nope, my husband is going to be unable to put any weight on his foot for a MONTH. Crutches and a crawling baby, what a fun combination! And, then he will have a walking cast for another month. Yippee! Followed by an orthopedic shoe and physical therapy. All for a big toe, which I already knew was very important for balance and all that, but crikey that is a long time!

So what are my chances of getting any of these important projects done, by myself, in the next eight weeks? HAHAHAHA! Yeah, I think the same. Unfortunately, I don't exactly have a big wad o' cash to plonk down to pay someone else to do them for me. So where am I? Well, apart from going bonkers trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to get this stuff done, I am poking at the dead carcass of my "extra money budget" and saying, "Well? WELL?? Come on now, I need some more!" And reminding myself that when push comes to shove, as it inevitably has, we have more than enough for our basic needs and we are thus very, very blessed compared to the rest of the world. It's just hard to have started summer with this list of stuff to do, knowing it's important, and now be staring down the eyeballs of what's left of summer and seeing it all go "poof". What should I prioritize? I don't know, I really don't. I'm thinking the shed wall, and see what else we can kludge with the help of very generous friends. But we have such a small good weather window, I would be lying if I said I wasn't very, very disappointed with the turn of events. It just goes to show that even if it's wet and rainy in the spring, you can't delay this stuff. It really does slip away faster than you think.

What On Earth Will Occur in 6 Months' Time

I wish I could say our bathroom was looking more, well, finished. We've just had a three day weekend, surely we could have gotten something done in there, right? But no. We had a birthday party to throw on Saturday, then to clean up after, and Sunday was our day of rest (as it ought to have been). Today we finally got the Christmas lights and wreaths down from the house. (And may I just say that having a bunch of parents and kids under the age of 7 over for a birthday party with Christmas lights & wreath still prominently displayed on the 17th of January was just a WEE bit embarrassing? Ahem.)

We also let the kids have a good roll around on their new bike or in their new toy car, as the case may be. It was a nice day today--not too cold this afternoon, sunny. All in all a treat for a January day in the Pacific NW, so we wanted to enjoy it. Nonetheless, I had some faint idea of getting the rest of the backerboard up in the tub, at least so I could say to myself that it was buttoned up. Nope.

I am feeling horrid because we still have a friend's tile saw sitting out on our back deck, and it's been nearly 2 months since it's been used. I know he wasn't using it for anything, but I hate having someone's borrowed expensive tool sitting gathering dust when we should be pushing forward with this. I also hate the fact that our kids have practically forgotten what it's like to have a fun bath with each other and all their bath toys. Our son hates showers and tolerates them, but I feel like he gets tortured every time we wash his hair. I don't like that.

Of course I am pregnant and hormonal and moody, so that is probably influencing me. I am also waiting for my first paycheck of the quarter, and that is always not fun, because I've postponed some necessary purchases until then. And I don't like waiting to buy things we need (who does?). This is the yucky and necessary part of a budget and being responsible (or doing my best imitation thereof).

But I am wondering exactly what the heck we are going to do in six months' time when we have my in-laws coming to stay for six weeks or thereabouts, and we have no guest room to put them in? The former guest room is now our son's room, and the only place for guests to bunk down presently is on our uncomfortable sleeper sofa (and how well my parents liked it at Christmas...not). And to have 2 adults bunking on a temporary bed in the middle of an open den for six weeks?? Erm, not what I would call a recipe for success! They need a place to call their own, where they can go off and trust that little hands will not paw through their things or disturb them when they need a nap.

Which leaves us with two options, really. Option one is to dislodge DS from his bedroom for six weeks and set him up in his sister's room with his bed. I am not too fond of this option, because I don't know how well it will fly, and we can't exactly test run it for six weeks, can we? It is either a disaster or not, and leaves us with no plan B, except aforementioned sleeper sofa. We can't bring him into our room, because we will have the new baby in there, and there just isn't going to be room. And we could move DD out of her room and into DS' room, but she has more permanent pieces of furniture that would be hard to move, and thus harder to accommodate some adult-sized beds.

Option two is to get our cottage (the detached garage) cleared out of all the crap we have stored in it, or at least put it in some semblance of order, and get our butts (& budget) geared up to put in a toilet and sink with cold running water, at a minimum. I could set aside some funds from my pay toward said bathroom improvement, but we have no idea whether the county would give us a hard time about putting it in, or if we would have to add a new standalone septic tank, etc. And we don't know how we would go about adding it in to the existing septic. Um, fun! But really, we could not ask two people in their sixties to bunk down in a cottage with no bathroom facilities, as making a pilgrimage to the main house in the middle of the night for a toilet is hardly workable.

*sigh* I don't know what we are going to do. I really don't. Neither option is really nice, and we have to figure something out, and SOON if we are going to get a workable plan in place. I really don't know what to pursue. Ay-yi-yi, this is what happens when you move to a house with one fewer bedrooms!

Color Me Gray...and White

Yesterday was my husband's work from home day, and I realized that if we had any hope of moving forward substantially on the bathroom this weekend, I needed to get cracking with painting the vanity and closet door. To speed things along, we bought a power paint sprayer (after trying to borrow one, but the borrowed one had missing parts). Since we have to paint our house next year, it will get plenty of use.

We have a sort of de facto equitable labor arrangement going for bathroom work. DH does the carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and heavy lifting, and I do the drywall, mudding, texturing, and painting. I have no problem with this arrangement, and it has worked well for us thus far. Plus I got to be the first to try out the new paint sprayer. Yippee!

First let me attest to the fact that there is no way you will keep a power paint sprayer looking like new. In fact, I know why they don't seal up the box with a cable tie like they do with other power tools, because if you so much as put paint anywhere in the vicinity of these things, they will get spatters of paint all over them; thus they do not have to worry about unscrupulous folks buying this particular tool for one job and attempting to return it. (As a side note I was unaware of this practice until I returned a circular saw, unused, to Home Depot, and watched the guy check that the cable tie was still in place on the box. Apparently it is not uncommon for people to buy tools, use them, and attempt to return them as new. Pathetic!)

Second, you do not want to use old primer or paint with one of these. They seem to clog with regularity of you tip the sprayer at any degree other than perfectly vertical, resulting in large, phlegm-like spatters of paint on your surfaces. This is made worse with older primer which is a bit thicker (and I know this because I did it). Just don't bother using old paint or primer, or, if you do, strain it or thin it first.

Third, to deal with the aforementioned paint phlegms, have a paintbrush handy and just brush them out over the surface. They will settle out just fine without any brush marks. Also use a stuttered trigger to combat constant clogging.

Fourth, wear a burqa or a similiar all-body covering device, or be prepared to wear paint for a few days. I have white primer and gray paint all over my legs and arms, and that's after scrubbing myself painfully with a nail brush in the shower last night. I don't want to think about what amount of sprayed paint particles got into my hair. I guess that is one advantage to having some gray hair, it is probably not that noticeable!

Fifth, if you attempt to use the tube feed and a gallon of paint, be aware that the tubes can cause the gallon of paint to tip over as you angle around spraying. This can result in the loss of a significant amount of paint. (I'm sure the grass in that area will recover...eventually...) Also, you cannot get the tubes clean without spraying water through them, so it is pointless to clean all the other parts first before attempting to clean the tubes. Just fill the container with water, stick the hoses in, and spray it out for a good five minutes before disassembling everything and cleaning it.

Lastly, beware when cleaning everything out. There are some small parts and it would be easy to lose some while cleaning. Check to make sure you have everything before closing up shop, so to speak.

Well, I hope by this weekend my paint splatters will have worn off. I will attempt further scrubbing when my skin does not feel like it's been assaulted by sandpaper. Of course as soon as I get rid of the paint, it will be thinset and grout getting stuck all over me. Thank goodness I have enough ratty t-shirts to sacrifice to this remodel. Stay tuned.

My Bob the Builder Husband

I am impressed by my husband. He is out there, in the dark, finishing up the stud section that will give us the necessary wall space for the tub, and simultaneously provide us with a useful shelf for the tub/shower. Ok, he is not exactly in the dark, as he has several lights on, but nonetheless I find it very impressive that he is out there laboring away at a time of day when we are normally relaxing in front of the TV or reading books in bed. I suppose it shows just how tired we both are of having only one bathroom, and (hopefully) a new desire to spur on to the finish line with this remodel business.

As for me, well, I sanded drywall seams today, and I re-sanded some of the vanity door fronts. It was the best I could manage with a playdate this morning, walk with the neighbors this afternoon, and my children doing their best to play hard in between. I am doing my best to be content with what progress we make. I had thought that it would be so GREAT if we were in a position to start tiling THIS WEEKEND!, but I don't think that is going to happen even if I wish wish wish, whipped-cream-nuts-and-a-cherry-on-top wishing. I think we will be doing very well if we get the rest of the drywalling done and get the seams mudded and some wall texturing started in the tub/toilet room. I have a vanity to finish painting, as well as a closet door to paint. And we haven't even picked trim or coving yet. I just don't think we are going to be ready to start snapping chalk lines and laying tile this weekend. *sigh* Sometimes this just seems like the neverending project!

A Nearly Clean Slate

SO, we are still in the process of renovating our bathroom. What does it look like now? Well, like this: That is where our tub used to be. It was cut out in pieces, to determine if the dry rot extended underneath it. Turns out the subfloor there was fine. Oh well. The plumbing bits sticking out to the right are the new shower/tub controls, which we paid our plumber to do for us. After the little copper soldering experiment, I am happy to concede that plumbing is not a DIY skill for us at this time.
This is the double sink vanity for the bathroom--very nice, a good knock-off solid surface countertop, and the integrated sinks make it easy to clean. It's definitely coming back in, but first had to go out so that we could deal with this lovely little remnant:
That would be painted over, textured wallpaper...with an oh-so-charming grid with embossed flowers. I'm sure this was stylin' back in about, oh, 1979. We had covered it up with a venetian plaster product--an agonizing multi-day affair that had us cussing a bit and fussing with the right amount of "product" necessary to cover the offending "texture" of the wallpaper. However, since we are redoing the floor and the tub, we decided what was a little drywall on top of it? Might as well do it right.
This was partway through removing the old vinyl flooring (all four layers of it), plus the particleboard underlayment. All of that is now gone, and we have no drywall (hooray, all textured wallpaper is gone!) and we are down to the 2x6 subfloor. We are ready to start putting it back together, folks; and in the process we will master framing, drywall hanging, taping, mudding, wall texturing, tiling, grouting, and painting. We are fixing a few "wonky" bits, like framing in the linen closet 5 1/4" so it will accept a standard size bi-fold door. The gauze curtain 'door' just wasn't cutting it for us. Likewise, we are moving the light fixture box over 3" and framing in 5 3/4" of a new wall bump-out next to the pocket door, so that the vanity will fit the remaining space exactly. In the new wall section, we are installing a mirrored medicine cabinet and a set of open shelves at the front for lotions, potions, and towels. We are even putting in a recessed light at the top, and I'm getting some glass shelves custom cut at a glass shop for the top shelves, to make it really look nice (we hope).

It's a lot of work. Pray for us. DH & I get snippy at the best of times with DIY, and we are embarking on the most ambitious project of our marriage. Let us hope we emerge unscathed, and, dare I hope, the better for it.

Random Bits of DIY Induced Hysteria

First, let me say that I have amended my list of life skills that children should know before they fledge from the nest, so to speak:

1. How to change a flat tire
2. How to put on snow chains
3. How to change the oil in their car
4. How to cook
5. How to clean
6. How to do laundry
7. How to budget & pay bills
8. *NEW* How to solder a copper pipe connection

Yes, I am convinced it is that important, because in learning this particular skill my children could someday save themselves a thousand dollars or more, or whatever the equivalent of $455.69 is in twenty years' time. Because that is what we paid the plumber to completely fix the nicked toilet water supply line, plus to refit our tub/shower controls to an all-in-one lever unit. All for the fine art of copper pipe soldering, yes sir. Yippee.

On the plus side, we no longer have water dripping from any bathroom plumbing into our crawlspace or designated buckets. Yay! And, DH & I have made the decision that instead of patching the vinyl floor, we are going to go ahead and tile the bathroom. I have found reasonably priced tiles, and now I have the fun of planning out the patterns for the floor and tub/shower surround, including what thickness of grout we want, etc. I am wishing we had some graph paper lying around to make life easier, but that's just me. I will probably be fine with some plain old paper and a ruler.

Our kids are coping reasonably well with the loss of their bathroom. We had our first shower instead of a bath last night, and they did pretty well, I think. The only downside is it is now a two person job to get them bathed, because DS has to come straight out when he's done and one of us has to be ready to wrangle him and then keep him away from the shower. DD still isn't too keen on the sprayer but she is happy as long as she gets to hold it, so we will work with that.

Next up we have to remove the vanity & double sinks, then rip up all the old vinyl in that room. DH also wants to get rid of the venetian plastered wall, which was plastered to cover up painted over, textured wallpaper. He just wants to start fresh with new drywall, and I can't say as I blame him. What is a little MORE drywalling when we are going to be hanging cementboard for the tub surround anyway? Personally I will be happier when the demolition is completely done and we are moving forward with putting it back together again.

Hopefully tomorrow we will get the rest of the floor in, now that the plumber has worked his magic. I have to figure out how to get the insulation up in the crawlspace since it's a pretty inaccessible area, so I will have to do as much as possible stapling from above and hopefully we can avoid trying to staple/attach insulation with 6" of clearance (the fun of pipes being in the way in the crawlspace). I hate to drag the kids back to the home improvement store today, but I can't see any way around it since we have to buy the insulation, plus more 1/2" pipe insulation. Fun fun fun!

Like I said, I just want to get started putting it all back together now. Wish us luck, folks.

Where Do I Start?

It's late & I'm tired, so here is a brief summary of our weekend:

1. Rip up vinyl flooring on Saturday morning. Find a total of 4 layers of vinyl covering tarpaper over the particleboard subfloor. Particleboard was exposed to moisture long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, and had pretty much disintegrated, held in place by aforementioned tarpaper...which also held in place the moisture from whatever disaster befell this bathroom earlier in its existence. Moisture was dried up and gone for a relatively long time, leaving DRY ROT. Oh goodie.
2. DH & Handy Neighbor with Power Tools & Experience We Don't Have (herein referred to as HN #1) cut open a bigger hole to find out how far dry rot extends. Discover floor joists are not 16" on center but much further apart, like 24" on center. Hmmmmm. But apparently this was not uncommon "back in the day", i.e. 1978, when this house was built. Main floor joist underneath spongy area has dry rot extending about 1" into the beam. Dry rot extends to either side, toward the bathtub, and toward the toilet.
3. Pull the toilet to find out if dry rot extends underneath the toilet. It does. Cut back boards to determine if dry rot extends under the wall (into the other bathroom & other toilet). It does not. *phew*
4. Cut apart tub and remove to determine if dry rot is underneath the tub. Dry rot appears to be contained and doesn't extend further. *phew*
5. (today) Go to big box home improvement store (BBHIS) for lumber needed for "sisters" for partially dry rotted joist & all the perpendicular joists to be run out to the good joists on either side. Also purchased plywood for new (proper) subfloor and new cement backerboard for new tub surround.
6. Finish removing dry rotted subfloor boards (2 x 6 tongue & groove). HN #1 accidentally nicks toilet supply line with sawzall. Run & shut off water to the house. New priority becomes fixing water supply line so we can have water in the house. I go to BBHIS to get copper coupler, flux, solder, torch, etc. with DS in tow. Return home to try my hand at copper soldering. Fail first attempt. Leave to pick up takeaway lunch.
7. Back minivan straight into the lumber in HN #1's compact truck, handily lined up exactly behind the minivan & not viewable in rearview mirror. Curse self handily for failing to check side mirrors while picking up the bazillion pieces of rearview window which were sprayed all over (gravel) driveway and HN #1's truck & its lumber contents. Call car insurance company, no one is home. Car insurance claim (minus $500 deductible, just to make it sting a little more) is first on the agenda tomorrow morning.
8. Send DH to pick up lunch. Attempt 2nd soldering while DH is gone. Fail again. Give up again and eat lunch. Put DS down for nap. Distract DD with Dora the Explorer with DH attempts 3rd soldering and fails. Pack up whole family for a trip through the Starbucks drive-thru (shameless bribe) and Lowes for a 6" copper sweat sleeve.
9. Get back home, put DS to bed. DH cuts off pipe coupler and fits sleeve, attempts soldering with water soluble flux. I turn on the water again and the sleeve blows off the pipe. Turn off the water (thank the Lord for walkie-talkies) and DH & I have a mini-conclave to determine if we should call our friend the plumber or not. DH heads off to BBHIS again to get a cap for the line so we can hopefully cap it and call it a night. On his way down to the store, DH has a brain wave and suggests calling Helpful Neighbor #2, who plumbed his entire garage addition himself.
10. Call HN #2, who comes over within 10 minutes. He assesses the situation and states that he has soldered many copper pipes. Within fifteen minutes of his arrival, he has soldered on the sleeve and the water is again flowing through the house. Hallelujah! I effusively thank HN #2, who offers to help with anything we may need and also offers to loan DH his air power tools, such as his nail gun. HN #2 also suggests we re-do that section of piping anyway, as it is at a slight angle and might be putting some torque on the joint, which is a bad thing. DH arrives home 2 minutes later and gives a Tim Taylor grin at the mention of an air-powered nail gun. *eye roll*

You know, given the happenings today, I don't think I should let DH anywhere near an air gun of any shape. If you'll excuse me, I have to go transfer money from our emergency fund to cover this little home repair boondoggle.

The Good News & the Bad News

Well, DH did get all suited up in the Tyvek suit and mask yesterday and headed down into the crawlspace last night. The mask lasted about two seconds, as it made him feel claustrophobic, but fortunately he discovered no signs of rodents. Hooray! No droppings, no dead rodents, no beady eyes staring at him, nada. So that is definitely good news. Also he had a cursory look at our ducts and all the insulation on them appears to be in good shape, so another hooray! We probably ought to go back down there again to look at the far reaches of the house, but so far, so good.

Then DH got to the part of the house that he thought was the bathroom. To verify that he was at the spongy floor section, he had me jump on it, which I will post for your amusement:

This particular area is mostly inaccessible due to pipes crossing directly under that section of floor, so DH could only pull back at the insulation a bit to see what the subfloor looked like. This is what he found:

Yeah, that's mold. That floor is a 1"+ thick tongue & groove hemlock or fir subfloor, my friends...so we can only imagine what the subfloor above that looks like, if it's leaking through at the seams on the underside. A positive is that it's not all over the place, making us worry about our house being condemned. It is, however, there, so we must deal with it.

The next step, therefore, is to cut the vinyl flooring in the bathroom, pull it back, repeat with the old vinyl that the installers just laid the new one over, and see what the state of the plywood subfloor is. Perhaps they used particleboard or something that is not rated for bathrooms as their subfloor, and just the normal use of the bathroom has caused this. However, we are going to give the kids a bath tonight, and if we find moisture in the subfloor tomorrow, we will know it is the bathtub. I also have to persuade my DD to use our toilet all day, because then we can really isolate any leak from the toilet from any leak from the tub. I really don't think it's the toilet, as it's brand new, it is rock solid & does not move, and it was installed by a plumber. I would be very surprised if it was a problem with the toilet (and we would be calling that plumber about it!).

I am still thinking it's the bathtub. There is no way of knowing, however, without wading in and causing damage to the floor, which we will at a minimum have to repair. Luckily we have some scraps of the vinyl to use as a patch. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Home Maintenance, Delayed

Well, the time has come on our 30 year old house for some more extensive repairs than we have ever attempted by ourselves before. Our neighbors noticed that our kid/guest bathroom floor between the toilet & bathtub was "spongy" during our vacation. Oh joy. It could be from the toilet, but since we had the toilets replaced about 18 months ago, we are suspecting it is more likely from the hairline cracks which we've noticed around the drain in the fiberglass bathtub. We are pretty certain it is the original fiberglass tub/surround from when the house was built, because the opening of the pocket door would not allow it to fit through. Nope, that puppy has been there since the house was framed in.

When we moved into this house about two years ago, our home inspector noted some chips in the fiberglass bottom of the tub, but he also noted that it did not appear to be leaking in the crawlspace. However, we have noticed since examining the spongy floor area, that the caulk has separated from our vinyl flooring at the tub, and also discolored. We had the flooring replaced about 20 months ago, so this is clearly something that has happened since then. The vinyl has also delaminated slightly around the toilet...so who knows? Maybe it is a leaky toilet...or maybe the toilet has started leaking because the floor is spongy. We won't know until we get into our rodent infested likely rodent afflicted crawlspace to get a good look at the floor under the tub & toilet. I say "we" but I mean "DH", because I have no wish to go crawling around in the fiberglass and feces that is probably the current state of our crawlspace. I'm sure neither does he, but in the assignation of household jobs this one falls squarely into DH's camp.

I am expecting to find some mold, frankly. I am hoping that it is contained to the bathroom, so we can treat it relatively painlessly with bleach, dry it out, and move on with our lives. However, this whole process is going to force dealing with the crawlspace rodent issue, because we can't leave the bathroom open to the crawlspace without inviting a host of mice to crawl in and make themselves at home in our house. I've been there enough times, thank you very much, and I would like to avoid any future problems. Thus we have bought bait and traps, and we will be deploying them post-haste. Furthermore, we will probably have to do what we need to do to keep the little buggers out permanently, which is to get to all crawlspace vents from the inside of the crawlspace and staple fine steel mesh to the inside to keep them out. DH might as well staple up some strapping to our silt-plagued kitchen drain line too, while he's down there, so it doesn't sag between the floor joists.

Actually, there are a whole host of jobs to be done in the crawlspace--the mesh on the vents, the drain line strapping, and also finding and sealing up holes in our heating ducts, as well as making sure they are all properly insulated. With energy prices heading up, up, up, I have no interest in paying extra to heat my crawlspace. We had hoped to do this in the autumn when it's cool, but clearly the rodent issue isn't going to wait. I had just better have plenty of shandy fixings for my DH, I think, plus batteries for the 2 way radios so he can tell me if he gets stuck anywhere. Sorry, remind me again why we bought a 30 year old home?

That Murphy

With our upcoming trip to Ireland (three weeks and counting!), you'd think that it would be the sole preoccupation of my time. You would be wrong. I would like to have it be the sole preoccupation of my time, such that I could leisurely make lists of what to pack, what to bring for the kids clothing-wise (what kind of weather to pack for? How much clothing is really necessary when we have a washing machine available at all times?), what we want to bring back with us (requests from friends, our own personal tea stash, assorted goodies, etc). But no, instead I am dealing with the House What Wants to Fall Apart and the Yard That is Weed Possessed Requiring Serious Intervention.

More house falling apart, you ask? Yes, yes indeed. Because after I fixed our shower, new pipe stems and all, DH discovered a "little leak" under the kitchen sink. A "little leak" from the new connection to the dishwasher, which had resulted in a slight drip and a sagging and smelly cabinet floor with mildew spreading across it! EWWWW!! We removed everything from the cabinet, got a fan going to air it out, and that succeeded merely in making our entire house smell like Mildew. We are on Day Five of the Mildew Smell, and I am thinking that if I can ever host a playdate again I will have to welcome our guests with, "Hello, please ignore the odor, this is the House of Mildew...no allergies in your family?"

DH has fixed the "little leak" with some teflon tape...I will spare you the ungenerous thoughts that rabbitted through my head on about Day Three of The Smell™, but suffice it to say after days of living in the house with the neverending funk, I am a wee bit testy about suggestions to make it smell better (no, Febreze does not work, and no, opening all the windows when it's FIFTY-SIX DEGREES OUT IN JUNE FOR PETE'S SAKE, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS STATE'S CLIMATE?? COLDER THAN SIBERIA, A NEW RECORD IN SEATTLE FOLKS...erg...*wipes foam from mouth* sorry about that...).

So yesterday, I took matters into my own hands after DH had casually suggested, after observing the SAGGING BIT in the back of the cabinet, that perhaps we needed to remove the bottom and replace it. One of our friendly neighbors stopped by for a cup of tea and ended up going home for her crowbar, and together we whacked out the entire bottom while my kids were napping (good sleepers, those kids). And we discovered a wet subfloor, and mildewy drywall and insulation around the copper pipes. Oh. Goody. Because I NEEDED another fix-it project, you know? Just to cap it all off, right before vacation. Thank you.

I pulled in our portable air conditioning unit, not because we NEEDED A/C, but because it has a dehumidifying feature and I wanted to dry out that subfloor, pronto! Voila, 24 hours later and we are looking good. My house still reeks of mildew, and I hustled down to Lowes this afternoon for a quart of odor-killing primer. It's waiting for me in the kitchen now, where I will prime it with a craft brush, because I'm too lazy to go find my painting frame and a clean roller when I can whip it out in twenty minutes with a foam craft brush that I can readily access. Technically I am supposed to use something to kill mildew on it, yada yada yada...but I sprayed it with diluted bleach yesterday, so I'm calling it good. I just want the smell GONE, YESTERDAY. We have plywood, we have a new $12 jigsaw (nothing but the best on our budget, I'm telling you), and I am going to cut out that new cabinet floor tomorrow and drill or nail that puppy in. For good measure, I think I will caulk all around the inside too. Because, you know, I'm DONE with the whole putrefying house smell. I cannot begin to imagine how the folks dealt with it post-Katrina.

And I haven't even discussed today's visit to the pediatrician, where DS was diagnosed with eczema (I see a diet journal looming in my future, along with copious quantities of Aquaphor and Cetaphil), and DD had a large splinter removed from the bottom of her foot. And I didn't mention the ticket I got while driving DH's car for expired tags! I'm thinking we need to plan out meals for the next three weeks, and no one leaves the house until we are headed for the airport. Provided, of course, that I can get our house to stop smelling like a bad episode of "Dirty Jobs".

The "Never Good" Smell

There are a few smells that instantly tell you something is wrong...wrong in the way of, "I'm going to be losing a lot of sleep tonight" (vomit), "This is going to be a messy/ugly job" (dead smell in cluttered shed), or "I'd better find that before the house burns down" (burnt/burning plastic).

The night before last, DH got up to get DD back to sleep when she started crying sometime close to midnight. He smelled...something in the air, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. It was bothersome enough though that he got up again, about half an hour later, to see if he could figure out what it was. It smelled like...burning plastic? His nose got desensitized, but he ruled out any electronics. He came back into our room for a few minutes, then checked again...the dishwasher. Which had completed its cycle and was just cooling down. Hmmmmm. He found a bunch of what looked like green mesh in the bottom. Odd--maybe a kids' toy that DS put in, and we didn't notice until it burned onto the element? It being past midnight, he just turned it off and told me to check it in the morning.

Well, I checked. The green "mesh"? The molten remains of a sippy cup lid, whirled around the dishwasher by the arms. A ceramic plate, covered in the drippy remains of a spatula. The plastic surround of our cheese grater, completely deformed. All sippy cup lids were melted together, and the plastic insert for our blender lid was misshapen. All stuff which we had washed many times before without any issue. Yep, our dishwasher was toast. The thermostat was shot, the cost to repair it nearly that of a new unit.

I spent the day hauling the kids to every appliance store in our area, checking prices and figuring out what we needed in a new dishwasher. We raided the emergency fund to the tune of $500 (I'm including the cost of a Red Robin dinner to appease DD after about four hours of appliance shopping, plus the Dora the Explorer decor from the clearance rack at Lowes) and DH spent about three hours, cussing and sweating, installing the new one. Our neighbor's brother works at an appliance wholesale parts store and he came down and helped remove the waste line with a special set of pliers, but it was all up to DH when it came to cleaning up the MOUSE DROPPINGS GALORE (hantavirus, anyone?) with diluted bleach and sealing up all the holes & cracks behind the cabinets with steel wool & construction adhesive while I ran back to Lowes to get a universal water line hook-up kit for the new dishwasher. Yeah, honey, that's the price you pay for having a Smirnoff Ice after getting the old one out. Too bad sweetie!

He's gotten the new Whirlpool installed now, with its shiny new stainless steel front. He had asked at the store, "Why can't we get a black one? It's cheaper. Do we really need a stainless steel one?" I explained that if we ever had to sell the house in a hurry, for whatever reason, then with a black dishwasher I would feel compelled to remove the (crappy) Kenmore stainless steel fridge and replace it with our black GE Arctica fridge that is currently in the cottage...and if he was willing to sign up for that little job if we ever have to sell the house before completing a kitchen remodel, I was happy to spend $50 less and get a black dishwasher. He said, "But the range is still almond bisque." I explained that if we did in fact have to sell the house in a hurry, the almond bisque range would be removed, in favor of a stainless steel range for about $500, to match the fridge, which is right next to it. He opted to spend the $50. Wise...very wise.

From whatever combination of factors (the disruption, the total deviation from routine, etc), both of our children were constantly popping up last night. Sleep deprivation is never kind, but it is especially unkind to the logic and reasoning centers of the brain. Sometime at around 4 am, after DH got DD to be quiet AGAIN and go back to sleep, he decided that the drip in the shower was "bothering him". This would be the drip we've had in our shower for over a year...the drip I mentioned when it was 'bothering' my sleep and nothing was done about it, and I just learned to live with it. Even sleep deprived at 4 am, my rational brain clicked on long enough to think, it's just because you're tired and your brain is rebelling against another attempt at sleep. I didn't say it, though--one of those 'poke at the bear' dilemmas. Well, I am paying a price for that. DH came out and said, "It's stopped. But the cold water knob is spinning freely now." Oh goodie. Because that is exactly what I want to do today, drag our kids to the big box home improvement store again and also try to find out how to fix the knob online. Yip-pee. *eye tic*

Murphy, go home!

Gah, Home Ownership!

Well, DH & I are finally being dragged kicking and screaming being proactive and engaging in the remodel of our Storage Space, aka the Guest Cottage, neé the Detached Garage. Fortunately for us (aka the Non-Handy People), the previous owners accomplished the drywalling and flooring and painting of the ground floor space to make it somewhat habitable, including putting in a woodstove and an inside stairway. It matters not that they did neither of the latter two items up to code; we will give them their due for having achieved that much and move on with our own plans for the space.

The former owners also left us with the crude genesis of a bathroom in a corner, complete with floor joists to accommodate p-traps and a framed in doorway and tiny bathroom window. What they did NOT do, much to our dismay, is to rough in the plumbing for said bathroom. Which brings DH & I to a bit of an impasse in our work. We know they did some trenching out front and to the side of the house, which indicates the likelihood of connecting into the septic system. In our extreme naivéte when we bought the house, we did not mark these fresh trenches in the lawn, and now the lawn has grown over them and we haven't a clue where they are. Additionally, we have tried and failed to contact the former owners, who still live in the vicinity on one of the local military bases. I am seriously contemplating writing them a letter addressed to this address, and begging the post office to forward it. Can you look up expired forwarding addresses? That, or I might call their church for the express purpose of obtaining their current mailing address. Such is the depths to which I will sink to avoid digging 18" down in random perpendicular lines, hoping to strike whatever the heck they've already (presumably) laid.

The big question is what they have done with the plumbing. Have they already connected in to the septic system? If so, where? There was digging in the front, and there was digging at the side. My money is on the side, but who knows? And if they did connect in, did they go ahead and lay some section of pipe? Where does it end? We don't know. What we do know is that with the location they chose for the bathroom, we will have to put in one of those macerating toilet/pump systems to get the sewage/gray water up the tiny slope and into the rest of the system. I have been pricing these types of units and know that this alone will cost us about $800-900, not including installation. And you start talking about adding a sink, and a corner shower unit, and all the plumbing rough-in for that, plus fixtures...and, well, I think it's not unrealistic to say we will be spending at least $2000, and maybe more like $3000 if we pay a plumber to do it all for us and don't attempt to DIY parts of it. Oh wait, I forgot the hot water heater--that's another $200-400. *gulp*

Now, we don't have $2000 saved for this. I'm thinking we could maybe eat the cost for some of the fixtures and possibly the toilet, but it would be a stretch to pay for all of this out of pocket. Maybe if the car is paid off, and we divert the former car payment, we could swing it, but I'm skeptical. Added to the problem here is that we really need to do some of the work this summer, like bringing the plumbing rough-in actually INTO the building; and it adds to the budget crunch, because the car might not be paid off by mid-summer. I hope it will be, but there's a lot of finger crossing going on here.

I'm not even talking about the reorientation of the bottom section of the stairway, or framing in a wall and closet under the stairs to create a pseudo-bedroom behind it. I don't know how much that is going to cost us, but we will hopefully be DIY-ing that bit with the help of Handy Neighbors, and so I think we can get away with spending a few hundred dollars and call it good. Plus the $500 it will cost us to have the woodstove installed properly and be up to code, because, well, it strikes me that depending on it for the sole heat source in the Cottage, whilst asking the In-Laws to live there for their multi-week visit...yeah, I am thinking that the woodstove is definitely one thing that ought to be up to code.

So we are looking at a ballpark of $4000 to get the Guest Cottage habitable. If I could do some dressing up and fixing of ugly bits, like recovering the torn vinyl with snazzy vinyl floor tiles in an appealing color/pattern, that would be a very good thing. Torn vinyl with missing bits right at the doorstep doesn't particularly appeal as a living condition. The fake Pergo flooring on the other 2/3 of the main floor, while not what I would have picked, is in good shape and it can serve its purpose for years as far as I'm concerned. And the industrial carpeting upstairs is just fine, even if the florescent box light fixtures are past twee and into just Plain Ugly. But hey, you work with what you've got, right? But I'm afraid that the fixes discussed above are really the bare minimum to get that space workable for guests, and we have 9 months and counting until the In-Laws and Sister-in-Law arrive for their Christmas visit.

Did I mention that we still have to finish unpacking and getting stuff OUT of there? Gah! Home ownership!

Someone Call the Maids

Ok. I give up. My house is NOT going to be clean, ever again. Clearly God has other plans for my house. The piles of unsorted mail are destined to be information-rich sources for archaeologists when they finally excavate my house from the giant pile of clutter which is overtaking it. I have thrown in the towel.

A six month old son who catnaps for thirty minutes and then pretends to be wide awake and perfectly happy for ninety minutes does not facilitate a stay-at-home mom doing anything resembling house cleaning. I got some more trim painting done today in our bedroom, because I propped the child up in his pack and play with some toys and ignored him as he whined at me for the last twenty minutes I eeked out painting. Worse still, my DD is following his cues, and only napped for ninety minutes today instead of two plus hours. What next? The bird is going to decide not to sleep at night and serenade us all night long?

What is inimicable and intrinsically frustrating about today is that I *did* manage to get stuff done, it just wasn't pleasant to do it--any of it. I mean, it's not that entertaining to put away the clean dishes and reload the dishwasher, but if the kids are relatively quiet, then it's at least pleasurable to accomplish those ordinary tasks. However, when you have one or both children whining at you the ENTIRE TIME you are working, doing that which needs doing around the house, that makes your nerves more than a little threadbare.

My day was capped off by DH calling to say that his car had a flat tire (bugger), then that a lug bolt had sheared while he was taking it off (double bugger), and finally that a second bolt had sheared off when he was securing the spare tire (oh, h3ll!!!). So I fed the kids by myself (the planned dinner, and not delivery pizza--a miracle straight from God in the form of willpower since I just found a Papa John's gift card) and then loaded their cranky butts into the car so that I could go and pick up DH at the car repair shop, where he was having the car towed. It will be fixed tomorrow (we hope) and life will go on. But boy, days like today REALLY. SUCK.

Excessive Alcohol Consumption

So, here I sit, 1 beer and 2 hard lemonades later, and I can definitely say that I'm drunk. While by many standards, including that of most of our Irish in-laws and friends, that is a very poor drinking record, I plead the effects of breastfeeding and alcohol avoidance. My goodness, I don't remember being this toasted for a while. I have quite a buzz, and it's been some time since I've felt this way. I suspect I will regret it tomorrow morning.

Does Sam Adams Cherry Wheat have a higher than normal alcohol percentage or something? Perhaps when I am sober I shall investigate. Needless to say, the fact that I craved pancakes for dinner and sweets for a snack indicates my total absence of control when drinking. I told DH, "I think I will have to cut out alcohol if I want to lose weight, because I get the munchies when I drink!" And of course, my innate sweet tooth craves sweet things.

Yes, I am having pancakes for dinner--chocolate chip pancakes, to be precise. And the fact that it took me a minute to notice DD artfully scribbling faces on one of the cabinet doors with the green pen I was using earlier to compose a grocery list. Yes, one of my cabinet doors is graffiti-ed now, and I will have to try out Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser to see if it removes it or if I have sentenced myself to repainting that door.

This has been a strange week. I have a new resolve about spending and debt paydown, I have a new budget that proves how broke we are (haha, at least until I cut the cable and phone bills), and I have a new creative streak inspired by the need to cut costs. Our fun family activity for the weekend was a trip to a free local water park, complete with picnic lunch and PB&J sandwich for me, cheese sandwich for DH. DH poo-pooed my bread as being the "leftover" bread from our vacation a month ago, but hey, I didn't care as long as it wasn't moldy. Yes, it's a bit crumbly, but it's been in the fridge and I"m not wasting it.

My plan was to weed more of the veggie garden this morning. After a few tossing and turning nights with DS, plus the heat and DD waking up routinely, I was desperately in need of some sleep. DH bravely got up with DS at 6:30 am (bless his heart) and I slept in until 9! Hooray!

Now I have to find some extra money (HAHAHAHAHAHA!) to pay for the paint for our bedroom, or get reallllllly creative. I don't which it will be yet, but ask me in two weeks. If I haven't saved the money for the paint by then, it will be time for ultra-creative and budget stretching measures. Wish me luck.

The Unfinished Craft

I am great at starting things. I love the excitement of new crafts and projects! It is so fun to sit down with something new and a new idea. The trouble is, I have difficulty seeing them through to the end.

I had to semi-tidy my sewing table when we were having company earlier this week. There, I found the half-done projects I have thrown over there and promptly forgotten about. The felt sea animals based on the library book? I started that three months ago--and 2 seahorses and six jellyfish later, it languishes waiting for me to get a second wind and cut out more critters for embellishment with ribbons and beads. And look, here is the fabric I bought for the Roman blind in the guest bathroom, along with the plastic rings and cord to make it a blind. Hmmm. That one hasn't even been started--just the materials enthusiastically purchased a blue moon ago. And now I have my master bedroom blinds cut out and ready for the simple curtain loop and sewing on of beaded trim and ribbon for tying them up. Maybe that one will actually be DONE sometime soon, since we are going to be painting the bedroom.

I think what I will have to do is to take a whole year for "unfinished projects". This includes the yardwork, and finally finishing our shed...tons of stuff we've been meaning to do, but just haven't motivated ourselves to do. Then, every time we want to start something new, instead we pick something unfinished from our list and do that. I'm willing to bet that if we did that, we would have a much tidier house and yard. Now if I could only DO it and we could stick to it! Hehe. Always the problem of completion... :)

Weekend Chaos & Laziness

Well our kitchen is still nearly done. I'm afraid we passed on finishing the kitchen punchlist in lieu of doing some outdoor work in the garden/yard. And, frankly, we just hung out with the kiddos around the house, and enjoyed a lovely picnic yesterday at a local park! DD was in heaven, as we got to see lots of birds and flowers, and she got to go down to the beach and make sand castles! That is her idea of heaven since seeing Caillou get to make sand castles, plus reading about Olivia making sand castles.

I caved and bought 8 tomato plants after getting yet another death warning from experienced gardeners here about growing tomatoes from seed so late. Ok, hokay, I GET THE MESSAGE! Well that's fine really--I bought several different types and they are different from the seeds I planted, so if I end up with a bunch of different tomatoes that's just fine by me. I planted 2 heirloom varieties: Legend and Brandywine. Also several "Early Girls", a Roma (ok, I guess that is a duplicate of what I sowed), grape tomato, Husky Gold, and Oregon (presumably another early fruiter). Then our neighbors with a shady yard showed up with 3 more "Early Girls" for us, on the condition that we share some of the bounty with them during the summer. No problem!!

I am such a little child about the garden. I have been running around EVERY DAY when I water it to see if the seeds have sprouted yet. Yes, I am a garden geek. I am even starting to learn the Latin names of my plants. Now I know I have the gardening bug pretty bad if I'm doing that. I shaded my eyes from view of the half-weeded shade bed...enh, I'll get around to it this week.

Oh, and DH put his knee through the seat of one of our dining room chairs. I am still not quite sure why he was kneeling on the chair anyway--they date to the Great Depression so they're not exactly spry young things any more, these chairs... Anyhoo, so that gives me another project, as now I have an excuse a reason to redo the seat covers. I wasted no time in bustling down to Joann's this morning to find some fabric for that little project. Funnily enough I found a fabric I originally bought six years ago to recover the piano bench (on clearance, no less), and so I will have matching fabric on the chairs! Woohoo! I also picked up a yummy faux suede in milk chocolate color to make a Roman blind for the kitchen window...as if I will get to *that* anytime soon, ha.

In any case, if you want to see pics of the kitchen redo, I have some posted at www.dropshots.com/stbridgit . Feel free to peruse at your leisure and scoff at my formerly outdated kitchen. Oh, to be bright and clean again...lalala. Maybe I will mount the handles on the other side today...then again, maybe I will just sit here holding DS in my lap while he sleeps. I have my priorities, you know.

Teething, Weeding, & Mousing

I am pretty sure DS is teething. He is not sleeping well during naps now and he is generally complaining about his lot in life with increasing volume. I know he is at the stage where he wants to do more than he has figured out how to do, but the general crankiness on top of it all seems to tip the scales toward cutting those first teeth. I can't remember when DD cut her first tooth--I am a slacker when it comes to baby books or scrapbooking, all those cutesy things. Sorry, if it's not something that I can finish in one session, I am just not going to be up for it. Witness the half-done cross-stitches abounding in my sewing bag. Curtains, bedspreads, that sort of thing--I can see immediate progress, and I can finish those in a few days. All other sewing, knitting, etc--sorry, not quick enough for me! I lose interest before I finish them.

To get off my tangent, I am wondering at what point I should start giving this kiddo teething tablets or Tylenol or the like. I really don't want to medicate my kiddos unless it's necessary, but I haven't got a good feel yet for when it's "necessary" with DS. This is the disadvantage of having a new little person, only 4 months old--it's not long enough to know him real well yet! Oh I know his cries, I know when he's hungry, etc, but the whole 'in pain' part has not factored in thus far, thank the Lord. So I think it will be a month or so before I finally decide what the threshold is for teething, and it will probably be when the little dude is screaming his head off and I can actually SEE a little red swollen bump on his gums. Until then he will have to tough it out--sorry buddy!

We did a mammoth work in the garden last weekend, DS's booger-ish behavior during naptime excepted. DH mowed every corner of our lot and also weed-whacked all the areas that needed it, including some particularly fine specimens of thistle that really ought not to have been allowed to get that big. I did some weed whacking myself, but I have never gotten the hang of the "bump" feeding of the string and so I was quite often stopping to manually unthread some more line and keep going. It was very annoying, so after blasting away around most of the playset and fire pit I happily handed it over to DH and focused on weeding. I managed to remove a good deal of weeds from the shade bed, happily rediscovering all the plants I actually planted in there last fall. They are all thriving, and I even have some lily of the valley in bloom! *swoon* I LOVE lily of the valley, so to have my own little flower stalk of them nodding away under the shade of my cedars just makes my heart happy. I also discovered that one of the weeds is unexpectedly spiny and it likes to stick to my gardening gloves. I would not be happy weeding without gloves, I think, especially since I was pulling up thorny salmonberry sprouts left right and center.

Lastly, we had our pest control person back out again today to treat a recurring mouse problem. Hmmm. DH saw TWO running around the house last night while I was at Bible study. Needless to say, everything on the floor has been through the washing machine today, and I was insistent that the guy actually get down into the crawlspace and try to find where they are coming in. He couldn't find any obvious places, but we now have traps in the house, some of which I have to keep DD away from. Oh goody. No snapping sounds thus far, but hopefully as it gets darker we will trap a few of the buggers. I'm all for protecting wildlife but I draw the line at uninvited guests in my house, especially of the disease-carrying variety. At least they are not glue traps and so they should be dispatched quickly. I strongly suspect we have some holes in the subfloor under the kitchen cabinets, and that is where they are getting in. It's also possible they were crawling through the wide-as-the-Nile cracks around our old doors, which were replaced on Wednesday with much fanfare & trumpeting! Yippee, our doors actually close and we can't see daylight around them! Plus they are fiberglass so much better insulating value--and we have some lovely glass in the front door now so that hallway is no longer as dark as pitch all day.

HAHAHA! DD has discovered the sprinkler outside and is insisting on running through it "with Daddy, Mommy, I want to do it with Daddy." Sure thing sweetie, as soon as he gets home! Hehe. Of course I will have to vacuum & mop the floors when she is not underfoot...drat. Maybe I can have a strawberry margarita while mopping. I'd love to say it will be alcoholic but I think we're out of tequila. Oh well...a frozen margarita will still hit the spot!

Hey Little Booger

A general memo to DS, aged 4 months:

Ok little booger, you have succeeded in bringing your mommy inside when it's a beautiful day out--sunny, not too hot, just a little breezy. And you successfully lulled me & your daddy into thinking you were all snuggled up for your nap, at the appointed time, exactly when your big sister went down for her nap.

We know that you don't understand this, but it is the FIRST TIME in, oh, MONTHS that the weather has cooperated, our schedules have cooperated, and we are both *committed* to getting the yard work DONE, including all weeding, weed whacking, weed spraying, weed blasting, weed removal and general nuisance plant removal. Grass mowing is even now commencing with your father at the helm of the trusty lawn mower, and yet, you sit pouting in your swing and fussing at me as if to say, "Hold me Mommy, hold meeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Kiddo, you are very young, but you have to understand--we do not live in sunny Arizona any more, where it is always sunny and the weather is pretty gosh darn predictable, if at times a little too hot. No, we now live in the Pacific Northwest, where it will try to rain on you even when it is sunny, as if it has lured you outside and now must attempt to spit on you by its very nature. And in fact, it is even now attempting to do this and ruin the chance to get copious amounts of yardwork done.

We have weeds trying to grow on top of weeds. We have a huuuuuuge vegetable bed just waiting for seeds & water so we can grow lots of tasty veggies for you to eat later this summer. Just imagine, your very first fruits and veggies could come from OUR yard! Mommy can almost see the plants that are supposed to be there in her shade bed, which she created when you were growing in her tummy. It's all there kiddo, all this potential, and in order to realize our dream (ok I admit this may be a bit of hyperbole, but it's certainly a fond hope) of having a tidy yard, you HAVE to go to sleep now! Your sister is very cute but when it comes to helping in the garden she is of the "Let's go visit Miss X (neighbor) Mommy!" and "I want to dig Mommy, let ME do it" and frankly we just can't get a lot done with her help. So son, I'm afraid I am insisting that you go back to sleep and let me get back outside and back to work! Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?

DS's response: "Gah! Ah? Blurp." Wide eyed and still complaining at the end of this post. *sigh*

Gah!!

Just when you think you are busy, you get busier! This is going to be quick because DS doth loudly protest his confinement in the swing, but I'm trying to be better about blogging regularly.

So, I have the cabinet doors & drawers to finish for the kitchen. We need to paint one tiny wall near the bird cage to have that done, and I have to talk DH into fixing the pantry door so I can prime & paint it, too. Then I will get to put on the handles and reorganize the chaos of our kitchen, and FINALLY post pretty pictures! I can't wait!

We also rented a sodcutter and cut out a huge veggie garden...and I mean huge. It's about 30' x 12', and another part (it's sort of a wacky L-shape) that is 8' x 10'. I've already got a gazillion strawberry plants in (most free), and onions, and chives, and some potatoes. Still waiting for the potatoes to sprout but hope springs eternal. Now we just have to finish removing the sod we forgot to cut (oops) and then I have 3 kinds of sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, squash, pumpkin, & watermelon to plant! Woohoo!

Did I mention that we cut out a new flowerbed lining the sidewalk, and also sowed that with flower seeds? And I have a ton of weeding to do that I've put off in lieu of these other "fun" projects. I mowed through about 9 loads of laundry yesterday, so that's at least 1 thing that is caught up!

Hmmm, he is really getting upset now. I think my plans to do some sanding and priming during naptime are being flushed down the drain by this little guy. Probably gassy again. Bummer. Enforced relaxation, that's what it is! Oh, and I still have to do today's homework for Precepts. At least I am doing it--I am caught up for this week, just have to get today's lesson done. Phew!

Someone tell me how I got all this done when I was working full-time??

DIY Budgeting

Well, I am all set to start my trial of the Grocery Game, ready to save big on our grocery bill. I even printed up some online coupons to augment the ones from the Sunday paper that I have been assiduously stopping and buying at our local gas station. I was READY to save!

Then I sat down and balanced our checkbook. Oh. Dear. *sigh* Hmmmm...mortgage payment...ACS dues which are overdue and they are threatening to wipe out my "years of service" so I'd better pay up...HELOC...student loan payment...hmmmmmm. Well, that left us with the princely sum of $61.25. Woohoo! Em, not exactly. That is not the stuff which grocery lists with about twenty bazillion items are made of, or more accurately, paid from. Which sucks.

Don't get me wrong, we aren't starving. In fact we have a pretty well stocked pantry and fridge/freezer, so we will be just fine. I have a grocery list of "nice to haves", you see. I used up all our chocolate chips & cocoa powder baking for church last week, so it would be nice to have some more in case I want to bake something chocolate-y. Not this week. Likewise, DS's bouncer is almost out of batteries and I would like to get some more at Costco. I'm out of birdseed--sorry birdies. You'll have to wait a week.

It is just a week. I will lament the lack of powdered sugar and of course now that I know I *can't* bake anything with chocolate I am wanting to bake something with chocolate! I do have to go and buy some Mother's Day cards for my mom & grandmother & great-aunt. Hmmm, I think I might make some with DD's crayons! *LOL* Hey, use what you have, right? Maybe I will let her do the family cards and they can enjoy her artwork. Even better. Needs must, and I must resist the temptation to spend money on the credit cards. We're learning that lesson for the second time, yep, and will be paying for it for 2 years, by my calculations. No more!! I have taken control of the family budget & pocketbook, and we CAN resist the "I wants" when we're down to the dregs. Thank God we have enough coffee to get us through the week, otherwise I'd be getting real cranky. *sigh* I do wish money would magically grow in our garden, but I don't think it will. Oh well. At least I know how much we actually have.