Renovation time is here!

I did make it through last week without taking anyone's head off or having a sobbing marathon. On to this week - our home renovation project is finally on the official docket. The contractors are showing up tomorrow at 7 AM to get started! I am beyond thrilled. Allegedly they will even finish this week, so I can get started on the interior finish work if I wind up home without a baby next week.

Hopefully the contractors are better at framing than I am with Paint

This is like Phase 3 of our 4-Phase attic renovation.

Phase 1 was to completely refinish one third of the upstairs into a bedroom. That was completed two years ago, down to the trim. The only thing not done was the heat and the flooring (we left the old asbestos tile down).

Phase 2 was to gut the remainder of the area we wanted to finish for bedroom #2 and hallway. That was completed last year, with new wiring, ceiling and walls drywalled, leaving just one wall unfinished - the one that the new dormer window is going into this week!

Phase 3 is these windows. We are not knowledgeable enough to cut holes in our roof and frame in dormer windows.

Phase 4 will be finishing bedroom #2, the hallway, and fixing up the interior of bedroom #1 post-dormer framing (it is also getting a new window, so we'll have to do some touching up drywall and painting, and probably some flooring as well).

So when we're done we'll have FOUR bedrooms instead of the TWO we had when we bought the house. Also, T and E will each have their own room upstairs. Until Baby #3 is old enough to move up there and share with one of them.

Updates to come tomorrow (hopefully good ones!)

Day 4: Over it

Well, I had a good three-day run, but now I'm losing it. I'm sick of being home alone. I wish Baby #3 would just show up already so I at least have some reason for the monotony. I honestly thought I'd go longer than three days before starting to freak out, but I've spent the last hour binge eating cookies and Easter chocolate and all I want to do is curl up in bed and sleep - not because I'm tired, but just to make the time go by faster.

I don't have any other major projects I want to tackle, and doing the 800 million endless things that need to get done just sounds miserable. I need to do something so I don't feel like I've wasted an entire day, but that means somehow gathering the willpower to DO something, and after all the cookies and chocolate, I just don't want to do anything at all.

So yeah. This whole stay at home thing? I'm over it. Now what?

SAHM: Days 1-3

Today's my third day as a stay-at-home mom. The good news? I've survived, and I seem to be sane still. Rundown follows:

Day 1: Was home with E. Only let him watch two Handy Manny episodes. Took him with me to doctor's visit. Organized coupons and went grocery shopping - was nice to not have to deal with insane weekend-before-Easter-and-Passover lines. Took nap. I give myself a B.

Day 2: Sent children to daycare/school and mopped floor. Baby did not miraculously appear, but the floor is clean. Went shopping (did I mention Easter is Sunday? Had to go place a request with the Bunny). Failed to make pot roast for dinner; made Italian sausage instead. Found out E prefers daycare over staying home with me. Not really surprising, but not encouraging either. Downgrading yesterday to a C. Grade for Day 2 also a C.

Day 3: After husband came home yesterday, waste water pipe broke, spilling poowater into the basement. Spent this morning getting that resolved so we can use the toilet and shower and wash our hands and dishes and brush our teeth and do laundry... wow, we're really water-dependent. Took children (both T and E are home as it's Good Friday and there is no school) to Dunkin Donuts to use their toilets (also bought donuts for them). Once water pipe repair was completed (phew!), did some chores. It is now 3 and I want to nap. Feeling very un-accomplished. Day is not over but I would give it a B- because at least I repaired 3 barbies who had broken limbs.

Highlight so far: clean flooring

   

It's the Final Countdown

Baby #3 is expected to arrive in our household in T-8 weeks.

You'd think after having Baby #1 and Baby #2, Baby #3 would just be a piece of cake. But Baby #3 is causing more upheaval than either of its predecessors.

After deciding that this whole Baby #3 was a good idea, I sat down to do some actual math. And realized it makes no practical sense for me to continue working at my job. And no financial sense for me to work at all for at least 4-6 months. Part of this has to do with the timing of Baby #3's arrival (in late April, just before summer vacation - and full-time daycare for three kids is astronomical). Part of this has to do with the basic logistics of having a 7-year-old, 5-year-old and infant. Doctor's appointments. After school activities. Sick days, snow days, and pick-your-son-up-he's-biting-and-hitting days. Someone has to be on call to deal with the regular emergencies that having children entails. Since I'm the lower wage-earner in our two-income household... that someone has become me.

Some days, I think this will be a blessing. Other days, I'm not sure I'll survive. This week is a perfect example. Yesterday, I got a call from daycare. Did I notice that E has a rash? Can I come pick him up and get a doctor to check him out, because it looks like impetigo?

No - I can't come pick him up. I have two interviews scheduled for the afternoon for candidates to replace me at work. But I don't really have a choice, do I? I delay as long as possible so that I can chat with candidate #1, then leave to take E to the doctor. And of course it's impetigo, which means 24 hours before he can return to civilization. Clearly, not working would make this easier on everyone.

It looked like pimples. Or chicken pox.

Today I'm home with E. He's learning the letter M this week at school. I have no idea how to introduce enriching activities to children.  We watch some Sesame Street on the letter M. How the h-e-double hockey sticks am I going to provide him with enriching activities this summer? What if I'm home with #3 when it's a toddler?? My kids have learned letters, numbers, about animals, how to use scissors, etc. - all at daycare.  

I don't even know how to write an M. Do you do the sides first?

Then there's the issue of fulfilling activities for ME. Staying at home means my house will be cleaner, right? (we hope...) I abhor cleaning. You clean a dish, it gets dirty again. You vacuum, and two seconds later there are crumbs and cat hair everywhere. Least rewarding activity ever. And it never ends. Cooking and baking? My husband tells me not to bother, takeout is better. I love working outside the home - I accomplish tasks! Cross things off a to-do list! File applications, write press releases, send emails... I'm a competent individual! I solve problems! ... at home, I just see Christmas decorations that haven't been put away yet, piled up in the corner. A bathroom covered in soap and toothpaste. It's a disaster zone and all I want to do is play Candy Crush Saga. I have serious doubts about preserving my sanity in the months to come.

But it's too late to go back. With T-8 weeks, it's the Final Countdown. Baby #3 is about to turn my world upside down, and I have no idea what is going to happen to us.

Will this be done in time for Christmas?

Two hours tonight to figure out how to increase. Half a toe complete.

Baby, it's cold outside

Zero, in fact.

Three things about winter in my house:
-wood
-drafts
-oil

The thing about wood is, it shrinks in the winter. This mostly causes small changes that aren't irritating but which give you pause. Such as:

-the floor in my kitchen is covered with vinyl. Vinyl does not shrink. So, every winter, the floor shrinks under the vinyl and my kitchen floor has air lumps.
-Also, the wood frames on the windows shrink and make awful noises like ice cracking.

Now, drafts. The kitchen is full of drafts. It is insulated solely by the cabinets. So when you open a cabinet, you are greeted with a blast of cold air. Icy air seeps out from under the corner cabinet and the oven, and freezes your feet. And the door is like a sieve. I have resorted to shoving coats in front of the worst drafts.

Finally, oil. The house is heated by oil. I love the oil company. They have been awesome. But oil is just so.damn.expensive. So the heat is usually 65 or less. Unless we have company. I like having company!

I was reminded today of a problem we do NOT have in this house (knock on wood): frozen pipes.

The project begins

This weekend, our project begins. We were going to finish the upstairs. Then we were going to finish 2/3 of the upstairs. Now, we are going to finish a room upstairs. In the back. In its current footprint.

So... mostly this is just insulating, at this point. Insulating and drywall.
Let's see how terribly wrong this can go.