After 3 weekends in a row of practically non-stop work on the hardwood floor project, this past weekend was a welcome break. We did some work on the trim, but still managed to spend a lot of time hanging out with family and just relaxing. It was needed. I found it interesting though that "relax" meant two very different things for Bill and I.
On Saturday, our parents all came to the city to run some specific errands, including a trip to the marina where my parents bought their boat. They met us for lunch before they went, and Billy decided he wanted to go along with them. I willingly volunteered to take the children home for their naps. While Billy socialized with our parents and looked at boats, I had some quiet time to myself while the kids slept to get tax documents together and work on some things for a baby shower I am helping host in March. Billy, a true extrovert, came back completely energized. I, an ambivert or omnivert, was actually overwhelmed when the group got back from the marina. I had been introverting for several hours, and after a long week at work where I was forced to extrovert much of the time, I needed the time to myself to energize.
It never ceases to amaze me just how much of an extrovert my husband is. I am so down the middle between extrovert and introvert (on Meyers-Briggs I am seriously smack-dab in the middle), that at times I find it exciting to go along with my husband at large gatherings. Other times though, like when I am really tired and stressed, I need peace and quiet to regain my energy and my focus. So, this weekend, after 3 stressful weekends at home and stressfull weeks at work, we both reverted to our natural tendencies. The beauty of it was, that we were both able to decompress in different ways and separately from each other. So, thank you to our parents for coming down to give Billy the socialization he needed and to give me the quiet time I needed!
Just for the record, I will say that I think Barrett takes after his dad and Audrey after me. When I try to get Barrett to leave school each day, he has to say bye to everyone in the room before he'll walk out the door. Audrey likes to socialize, but she also enjoys quiet activities by herself. Part of that could be the age too. I guess we'll see as they grow!
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
Time to Play
This weekend, we worked on finishing the installation of our hardwood floors. On Saturday, as Billy and I were working to finish up, Audrey and Barrett were getting antsy. At one point, Audrey actually asked, "Are we going to do this forever?" I guess to an almost 6-year-old, 3 weekends in a row seems like forever. In some ways, I am starting to feel like that too. I like to have my house in order. I don't like to have dust everywhere or having to wear my shoes when I am inside my own house. Billy and I have been working while the kids entertained themselves much of the last 3 weeks, and that has been the hardest part of all of this on all of us. The good news is, we're almost done. We need to do some work to the trim, which should be done by next weekend. The great news is that the floors are done, and they look great.
Today, I was fortunate enough to have the day off for the holiday, as did the kids. So, we're home, staying warm inside the house while the snow falls outside. For a while, I sat down on the floor with the kids and played with Legos. It was so nice to just relax and play. After naps, we'll probably brave the cold for a bit to romp in the snow. I am so thankful for this extra day at home. I think we all needed it!
Today, I was fortunate enough to have the day off for the holiday, as did the kids. So, we're home, staying warm inside the house while the snow falls outside. For a while, I sat down on the floor with the kids and played with Legos. It was so nice to just relax and play. After naps, we'll probably brave the cold for a bit to romp in the snow. I am so thankful for this extra day at home. I think we all needed it!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Progress
It has been a long week, and I am so thankful to have gotten through today. There were many times this week when I was asking God if he was just make the constant blows subside. For one, just after my last post, I got a stomach bug on top of my bronchitis. I thought initially that it was a side effect of my antibiotics. However, when Billy came down with it yesterday, I realized that it was in fact a virus I had on top of my other illness. On top of both of us being sick at some point in the week, we both had stressful weeks at work, and Audrey had a rough week at school.
Today I finally am feeling better, so I tried to start off by getting as much done as I could to prepare for the task of starting the floor installation today. Audrey had swim lessons and we had to run some errands, so I got to escape for a while, but when I first got back to the house I became a bit overwhelmed again. Thankfully, we quickly got into a groove, and by the end of the day. We had managed to lay the floors over most of the living and dining rooms. It was a very long and extremely tiring day, but we made it. We couldn't have done it without the help of our parents though. Both of our dads helped lay the floors, Lana was constantly bringing them new boards, and my mom entertained the kids while we worked. There were definitely bumps in the road, and we still have to finish the entry way and the bay window in the dining room. But, in the end, we have beautiful new floors that we absolutely love. And, as long as we live in this house, we should never have to go through this again!
Today I finally am feeling better, so I tried to start off by getting as much done as I could to prepare for the task of starting the floor installation today. Audrey had swim lessons and we had to run some errands, so I got to escape for a while, but when I first got back to the house I became a bit overwhelmed again. Thankfully, we quickly got into a groove, and by the end of the day. We had managed to lay the floors over most of the living and dining rooms. It was a very long and extremely tiring day, but we made it. We couldn't have done it without the help of our parents though. Both of our dads helped lay the floors, Lana was constantly bringing them new boards, and my mom entertained the kids while we worked. There were definitely bumps in the road, and we still have to finish the entry way and the bay window in the dining room. But, in the end, we have beautiful new floors that we absolutely love. And, as long as we live in this house, we should never have to go through this again!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Weekend Warriors
Those of you that know me well know that I like to watch HGTV. We haven't had cable for 5 years, so the first thing I do when I get into my hotel room when I am traveling is turn on HGTV. I enjoy watching the transformations take place and the satisfaction people have when the projects are done. They always show the projects in process too, but let's face it, the proportion of time spent on the before and the after is equal to if not more time than is spent on the actual rennovations. As a viewer, I like it that way. I don't want to see the mess. I want to see the finished product. I am realizing that as a homeowner, I am much the same way. Unfortunately, this isn't television.
This weekend, we embarked on our first major home improvement effort. Since moving into our house two years ago, we've piddled with improvements like putting a backsplash in the kitchen, replacing some light fixtures, planting flowers and getting new appliances. However, we've never taken on a project as big as the one we just started.
Before we even moved in, our biggest problem with this house was the floors. 75% of the floors were covered in white carpet. No, it wasn't bright white, but it was close enough that it shows every speck of dirt, and it's impossible to completely irradicate any trace of a liquid that spilled on it. So, we knew when we moved in that we were going to keep the carpet until it was so discolored we couldn't stand it anymore. Two years later, the time has come for the carpet on the first floor of our house, and we started demolishing the old floors yesterday to prepare for new hardwood floors.
When we first started, it was fun. The kids were getting into it, picking up the tiles from the entry way and putting them in the trash. Barrett even got out his hammer and beat on a few of the tiles first; even though he wasn't strong enough to break them, hitting them gave him a sense of satisfaction.
Then, it started getting really messy and started going downhill. By the end of the day, we'd had to pick up a dumpster bag (which is a genius idea) for all of the trash and I was in tears over the amount of dust that was covering every inch of my house. Billy worked so hard (and was particularly hard on his hands) that he could barely grip a fork today at breakfast. It isn't helping any of this that I came down with bronchitis, so I am pretty much useless (hence why I am sitting here writing this blog post while Billy continues to work).
So, after a whole day of work yesterday, Billy and my dad managed to clear out the tile from the entry way. When we started, I thought we'd be done in a couple of hours. I didn't expect us to be cleaning up after the kids went to bed.
Today has gone more smoothly. We tore up the carpet in the dining room and Billy started trying to level one side of the floor that slopes down. When that was done, we transferred the furniture to the dining room and cleared out the living room. The living room has by far been the easiest part of the project so far. We cleared probably 4 times as much space today in about half of the time it took yesterday.
We cut out some center peices of carpet so we would have something on the floors until Billy and his dad start the hardwood installation next Saturday. Since I didn't really feel like hacking in public this evening, we stayed home for the Super Bowl, ordered pizza, and had a picnic in the living room on the carpet square Billy kept for the living room. It was pretty perfect actually. I definitely can't wait until this home improvement project is done, but I am so thankful to have a husband that's willing to do the backbreaking work while still keeping our home livable for the rest of the family. It definitely makes up for the dust storm that took over my house yesterday!
This weekend, we embarked on our first major home improvement effort. Since moving into our house two years ago, we've piddled with improvements like putting a backsplash in the kitchen, replacing some light fixtures, planting flowers and getting new appliances. However, we've never taken on a project as big as the one we just started.
Before we even moved in, our biggest problem with this house was the floors. 75% of the floors were covered in white carpet. No, it wasn't bright white, but it was close enough that it shows every speck of dirt, and it's impossible to completely irradicate any trace of a liquid that spilled on it. So, we knew when we moved in that we were going to keep the carpet until it was so discolored we couldn't stand it anymore. Two years later, the time has come for the carpet on the first floor of our house, and we started demolishing the old floors yesterday to prepare for new hardwood floors.
When we first started, it was fun. The kids were getting into it, picking up the tiles from the entry way and putting them in the trash. Barrett even got out his hammer and beat on a few of the tiles first; even though he wasn't strong enough to break them, hitting them gave him a sense of satisfaction.
Then, it started getting really messy and started going downhill. By the end of the day, we'd had to pick up a dumpster bag (which is a genius idea) for all of the trash and I was in tears over the amount of dust that was covering every inch of my house. Billy worked so hard (and was particularly hard on his hands) that he could barely grip a fork today at breakfast. It isn't helping any of this that I came down with bronchitis, so I am pretty much useless (hence why I am sitting here writing this blog post while Billy continues to work).
So, after a whole day of work yesterday, Billy and my dad managed to clear out the tile from the entry way. When we started, I thought we'd be done in a couple of hours. I didn't expect us to be cleaning up after the kids went to bed.
Today has gone more smoothly. We tore up the carpet in the dining room and Billy started trying to level one side of the floor that slopes down. When that was done, we transferred the furniture to the dining room and cleared out the living room. The living room has by far been the easiest part of the project so far. We cleared probably 4 times as much space today in about half of the time it took yesterday.
We cut out some center peices of carpet so we would have something on the floors until Billy and his dad start the hardwood installation next Saturday. Since I didn't really feel like hacking in public this evening, we stayed home for the Super Bowl, ordered pizza, and had a picnic in the living room on the carpet square Billy kept for the living room. It was pretty perfect actually. I definitely can't wait until this home improvement project is done, but I am so thankful to have a husband that's willing to do the backbreaking work while still keeping our home livable for the rest of the family. It definitely makes up for the dust storm that took over my house yesterday!
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