Basement

Finally some pictures! It looks so fresh and clean. John had the lumber for the shelves delivered today. I think he's putting the washer and dryer back tomorrow after work if it isn't raining. He's getting started on the shelves this weekend.

Yippie!!!!!

Small update

We've (er, I mean, JOHN) painted the basement floor!!! I wish I could remember exactly what John said (way) before we painted it. Something like "think we need to do anything with the floor before we paint it?" Turns out, yes. First, we patched some minor cracks and holes. Then we scrubbed the entire thing with a tiny wire brush. That alone almost broke our spirits. No kidding. Then John etched the floor so the paint would stick. The paint said it covered in one coat, but I've never had luck with just one coat. It took 3. Which fits in perfectly since I always say home improvement takes 3 times as long and costs 3 times as much as originally planned. Anyway, it's done!! We're letting it dry. I think we'll put the washer and dryer back over the weekend. Next, John gets to build his shelves!!! I know he's super excited. He has it all planned out. He's going to see if the lumber yard will deliver since he needs several 12 foot long 2x4s. Pics to come, if the sun ever comes out and once I can walk on the floor.

Of course, in true DIY fashion, I got bored with the basement and started something else. John didn't even complain!! I'm doing this one all by myself. In Mary's old room (aka "the green room") I've taken down the closet doors, taken out the clothes bar and shelf, patched the holes, and am getting ready to paint. The current color is some icky, old sorta tan/pink/orange/blah. I'm painting it medium pink.


The color chip in the middle is the one. And it's the middle color. Once it's all painted, that dresser in the foreground will be moved into the closet. Then I'm making a new shelf and painting it lighter pink. I have some green storage bins that will sit on top of it. The entire project was sparked by the dresser. John's Step-Mom gave it to us. It's a beautiful old dresser so I couldn't say no when she offered. But we had no space for it. That closet was full of junk anyway. I'm hoping to paint it in the next week or two.

Hmm, this is turning into more than a small update. More to come when I can get some basement pictures.

If I had time.....

I'm feeling the need to organize. I think it's something I feel in the fall. I know I'm going to be trapped inside all winter, and I hate the clutter of every drawer/cabinet/closet. Plus we've lived here over 2 years and the stuff is accumulating. I'd love to get some stuff organized and cleaned out before we put the Christmas tree up. That would be so nice. Then Christmas, then spring when we'll be outside all the time again.

If I had time I'd:

1. Clean out our closet, and take everything that didn't fit or I didn't like anymore to Goodwill. I'd go through the little side shelf thingy and see what we shoved in there in June 2007 that's still sitting there untouched. I'd get some storage shelving/closet organizers/something/anything!!! to go up over the hanging clothes bar. There's a shelf there now, but I just throw stuff up there and the piles fall over and it's too high for me to reach or see and now it's a huge mess. Then the stuff (clothes mainly) fall down and we think they are dirty laundry. They get washed, and I see them again as I put laundry away. I wonder why on earth maternity shorts or a top that fit me before I had kids got washed. Then I realize the closet is caving in on itself. Then I want to kick my own ass. So, I've asked John for ALL DAY on the 24th to start working on it. Including a trip to Goodwill instead of making a "Goodwill pile" and shoving it up on said shelf and having it all fall down and get washed AGAIN.

2. Organize the girls stuff/clean out the green bedroom closet. This is the place I shove too small/out of season/worn out stuff. I need to figure out what's done and needs to be donated and what I want to save for Ellie (and you know, for when we have a third girl). Right now, I open the closet and throw things in and shut it before more stuff falls out. It's awful.

3. Clean out my craft closet. I'm not even sure what to say about it. It's BAD. really bad. There's this HUGE tangled up "thing" of yarn. I have no idea how it happened. maybe one of the cats got a hold of it? I keep telling myself that I'm going to try to untangle it. I hate throwing things away. But I think I am going to. Then I dropped my bobbin box, and all my bobbins unraveled! Fun. I shoved the door shut before Ellie got to it. I think that's a theme around here. Shoving things in before Mary or Ellie sees. Well, I've reached the breaking point.

4. Organize the linen closet.I did this hmmm, 18 months ago? Another place I shove things. Ugh.

So, If I can get all that done before Thanksgiving weekend, I'll be so happy!! Of course, we need to work on the basement too. We haven't given up on it yet. Still scrubbing the floor. It's my turn to work on it tonight. I'm excited about it as I love scrubbing dirt. If I scrub for 45 mins tonight, and we each scrub for 45 mins tomorrow night, Weds, and Thursday.....hmmm....can we have it done? Maybe. It will be close. I'd love to get it painted this weekend. We already have the floor patched.

Ellie's waking up. Back to work:)

Project 33: fail

Yup, I'm giving myself a big fat FAIL on project 33. My birthday was a month ago. I gave up on the 100 push ups in April. We went on a trip and I couldn't get them in that week and I never went back to them. Ugh. And while I never set out to lose weight this year--I've gained 10 pound. Oh heck, maybe 15. So now instead of needing to lose those last 3 pounds of baby weight, I need to lose 18. Nothing fits. I went to Kohls for some stuff for the girls and tried on a pair of XL yoga type pants and they were too tight on my big fat tushie. In June, I told John I could lose 10 pounds faster than he could. I lost three.....and have gained 10ish since. Good times. I've tired to figure out why. Do I stress eat? Is late night eating a habit I can't seem to break? Yes. When I finally get the girls to bed at night, all I want to do is eat ice cream. And now that the weather is cooler I want baked goods. Pumpkin bread and brownies and banana bread. Now I have a huge zucchini that Grandma Mary gave me, and I will probably make that into bread as well. I love to cook. But then we eat it all in a day or two. Blah.

I didn't want this year to be about weight loss. So I guess I decided to gain instead. I am so mad at myself. I feel like crap. Nothing fits. I can't stand how I look. I feel bad about leaving the house. In June or July, I told myself I would get my rear in gear and that I wouldn't be the 'fat mom' at pre school. Guess that didn't motivate me either. Every trip, every event we've gone to this year, I've said "I am going to lose 10 pounds before X." But I don't. I'm so sick of it. But I feel like I don't know how to start. I mean, I do. Eat less and exercise. Well, the exercise equipment is buried under the stuff we took out of the basement storage area. So who knows when we'll see that again. Plus, it isn't like I was using it before we piled it up with junk. Plus, we are super busy working on the basement (on step 22 part c by the way.....scrubbing 45 years of dirt and grime off the floor with a tiny wire brush. It takes so much energy that the most either of us can do is about an hour at a time before our hands go numb) so there's no time to work out anyway. Excuses, excuses.

I did manage to knit one thing for myself this year. And I have kept my hair cut up which means I have to make myself find an hour or so for myself every 6 weeks or so. But besides that, I don't feel like I have accomplished anything for myself.

So now you know. I still have time, but I'm just not feeling like I have the energy or power to make things happen.

recent knitting

Fall is here! I'm so busy knitting longies for Ellie.


John loved her summer skirtie so much, I made her a fall one.


Action shot! Look how happy Ellie is--she'd just petted the cat and was looking up at John.


I finally finished up these Christmas stockings for my friend Lisa.


And last, but not least, a project I did a while back. Mom's b-day gift. I already gave them to her so she could enjoy them all fall.

Catching up

Well, once again I am behind on updates. We've been busy. Mary started preschool a couple weeks ago. She is doing great! I've been told by the teacher that Mary is "independent" which is not a word I would never use to describe Mary. I've also been told that she is very polite and is very mature for her age. I am so glad it's going well. I was worried about her since we've never left her except with her various grandparents. She didn't cry at all the first day and now runs into the room to go play with her friends while I hang her coat and backpack up on her hook in the hallway. I am so proud of her. The pictures of her in the purple shirt (in the previous post) were taken on the first day of school.

Ellie had a birthday! Yippie! I can't believe my little one isn't a baby anymore. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She's been walking and climbing for over a month. We had a party on Saturday with almost 20 people here. We started singing Happy Birthday to Ellie, and she loved it. She was smiling the entire time. She doesn't get to see my parents and grandparents very often, but she did great and let them hold her, etc. It was a great day. The weather was perfect for playing out in the yard after lunch so everyone sat out there and talked while the girls and their cousins played on the slide, swing, and sandbox.

Singing to Ellie

Normally I would hate this picture because I'm eating, but I think it's super funny!


We're still working on the basement. John went out of town a couple weekends ago, and when he came home he was sick. Now Mary and I are too. I keep thinking we are getting better, but we just can't seem to kick it. Ellie's fine of course. How funny that there can be three people in the house with a cold all coughing and sneezing like crazy and Miss Ellie is healthy as ever. Thank goodness for breastfeeding!


All primed and ready for paint:



John actually took a long lunch today and got some painting done. We need to get the area behind and around the washer and dryer done ASAP because we'll need to wash diapers in a couple days. After John gets off work, I am going down there to give that area a second coat of paint. I'm hoping we'll be done painting by Friday and we can start on the floor (which has several steps that need to be done before we can paint). I'm so excited!

For Amelia