We have a (mostly) finished wall in the office!

It's been a long time coming, but we finally  have a mostly finished wall in the office. It's not really what we originally intended to put up there, but whatever. It was immediate, cheap, clean, mostly pre-finished, and as my neighbor says "Nothing is ever more permanent than that which is meant to be temporary", so I chose something that was pretty while I was at it. :)

Here's what we started with this morning. Now you can see why I just wanted to put something up there. I mean I was thrilled just to have a real wall, but as progress goes it was time to move along. I started out by removing the plastic from the wall, the ceiling strip that held  the plastic up, and then I got to work removing all those staples (why did I put in so many staples?!). I also had to get out a handy little specialty saw and trim some of the shims at the top of the wall.

After all that, here's what I had, a clean, fresh, wall-o-studs. I'm going to add here that I haaaate popcorn ceilings. You may or may not be able to see the little section that is nearly popcorn free, that happened when we put the wall up, but when I took the plastic down little bits of that crap went everywhere. It was all I could do to restrain myself from stripping it all down. I'm pretty sure that that will happen in another month or so or in the spring at the very latest. Baby steps, baby steps. On a side note, see that stupid ceiling fan? Yeah, it's going tomorrow. The light broke and I've hated it since I installed it due to said crappy light.

So here's the wall all covered in some lovely faux beadboard. Now I wouldn't usually go for such a thing, but in our tiny little office and given the fact that it's only on one wall, I think it's cute. Yes I know that there is a huge gap at the top and bottom, and yes I see the crack where the panels meet (yes this is paneling) and yes I also see the little nail holes. The crack between the panels actually looks way worse than it is due to the fact that only the front of the panel is white so you see the brown edge. Baby steps, I'm just glad there is something there other than plastic.In due time I will get some putty and fill those holes and some trim to finish it off.

All in all, I don't think it's too shabby. Tomorrow I will replace that stupid ceiling fan with my sweet track lighting, and maybe if I feel particularly motivated, I will sneak off and get some trim to cover that gap at the top because it's gonna drive me nuts, I just know it. I might even start to putty, I dunno. I'm pretty sure that no matter what color I eventually paint the rest of the office (maybe a nice light green?) I'll leave the "beadboard" white because I think it looks better in that color. On a random side note, I also got to use the air nailer today and if I install trim tomorrow I will get to use it again. :) Thinking more on it, I'll probably just wait to add the trim because I need to add trim all the way around the room and I'm just not ready to do that yet. Just try not to look at it if you visit. :) ~Kellie~

Too early starts

At 6:45 this morning I finally made it out of bed to deal with the baby who had been crying since 6:30 when his daddy came into our room to get dressed for work. I have to admit that it's always nice to see him first thing in the morning, even if he is about to leave me with the remainder of this post. :-p So I stumble to the baby's room and feed him, that always makes us happy. We get to snuggle for a few minutes and both wake up a little, then comes the diaper change which is now a trick sometimes as he has become fascinated with the light switch near the changing table. He hasn't managed to turn it on yet and I'm thankful for that, I don't think either of us would be prepared for the shock of it. By the time I get his diaper changed, his sister is creeping into the room. She's cute in the mornings though being a creature of habit, if her routine requirements are not met within a timely manner they become demands.
I make it to the kitchen and realize that the boys have left their door open and are presumably playing a video game with some loud obnoxious music that I'm sure their father would approve of, but it drives me nuts. I close the door and move on. I get the baby set up with some food, get the girl set up with her routine things: her shows, a cup of milk, and this morning, her favorite breakfast food, gummies. Don't judge me, it's still super early and the milk at least is healthy. She still won't eat cereal and the number of things that I view as suitable for early morning that she doesn't turn her nose up at is slim. Anyway, my salvation this morning is a hot cup of yesterday's coffee, some smooth Etta James, and this blog. I can hear the boys making noises that sound like fighting Tasmanian devils through the wall. I really must finish my side soon to offer more of a noise barrier. I'm pretty sure that K is in the living room singing into a microphone, it's sort of garbled so I'm not 100%. I have to go to the grocery store today with at least 1/2 the kids, and I'm hoping that it's just too early for the sun and that it's not really gloomy like rain outside.
I'm moving on to another Etta song and pondering what we're going to eat the remainder of this week. I really want to stay home and work all day since I lost part of yesterday being domestic with cleaning and laundry and such. I still haven't folded it, fail. I remember as a kid I was always an early riser, I mean like before daylight. I was almost always in bed before 8 because I was just plum tuckered out. When I say kid, I mean jr. high/high school age. I'm pretty sure it continued into my mid twenties. I really don't think this dislike of abrupt early morning starts began until I hit 30. I used to think that mornings like this were a myth. At least when I was an early rising kid I was up and quietly out of the house so that my parents could enjoy the morning in peace. I came back in at a suitable hour when my mom would make breakfast and then I was out again until lunch. Obviously these were my Saturday and summer hours as I did go to school despite the fact that we lived on a farm. Maybe that's the problem with my kids, we live in a subdivision, we have cable, there's more than one of them... huh, I've never really thought about that until now.
Since it's been about 20 minutes of Etta and hot coffee, I think I am now ready to face part of my day. I'm still not ready to get out of my pajamas and leave the cave, don't rush me, I'll get there, eventually. ~Kellie~

Shedding

There's alot I could say here, but I'm gonna keep it short-ish. I've been thinking for a while about things that make me happy and things that don't. Recently I've given these things more thought than usual. For starters, we decided to relocate our dog. We didn't "get rid of him", because that would imply things that were not true. We felt that we weren't doing the best we could for him. When we got him we had 3 kids and life was easier. As he grew up, much to our surprise he was super playful. We were totally expecting him to just lay on the couch like our previous dog, but that wasn't his nature. There was nothing in the world wrong with him, it really wasn't him, it was us, so we decided that rather than tell him "no play" all the time we'd find him a home preferably with another dog that he'd get along with and humans that had time to throw his drooly ball over and over and over. We found a great couple with a French Bulldog named Murphy. They brought Murphy with them when they came to see Bromley and they instantly hit it off. Murphy wasn't afraid of him and Bromley really got a kick out of another dog. His new human mom sends me text pics and updates to let me know that he's ok, and we are free to visit him if we want to. I miss that dog every day and I feel like I failed him, but in the end I know that he's happy with humans to play with him and a doggy friend to hang out with.
Another major change came with Henry's job. It's a long story and I don't want to get into it, but he decided that it was time for an employment change. He's really happy with his new job even though it's twice the drive that his last one was. I don't think the drive bothers him but I don't care for it. Aside from that I like the new job too. It's a job. People go there to work. That's all.
I've also been giving some thought to little things that bug me. Like all those groups and pages I somehow got into on facebook and all those newsletters that come via email. I've been an unliking, unsubscribing, no thank you kind of fool today. I have more to do tomorrow. I don't need to be tempted by things I don't have time for. Speaking of that, I have suckered, my mom has graciously volunteered to help me finish a ton of projects that I have hanging around the office. I intend to take them to a craft fair that I have yet to apply to and sell the crap out of them. I hope I come home with empty boxes and a wad of cash.
All of these things are kinda like spring cleaning except it's fall. I fire up the pumpkin candle, which has no wic anymore so I'm left putting chunks of it into my warmer thingies, and purge away. Most of this purging is nothing personal, just time to lighten the load. I have my real friends, and enough ideas and projects to keep me busy for a long time. I don't need any more of either. That's not being mean, it's just how I feel. Keep it real! ~Kellie~

Keeping up with the Jones' (part II I think)

I've struggled with something for a long time. I've said people were wrong about it and criticized them for their decision. If you're one of those people, I'm sorry, the light just came on and I realized some things. Here's my struggle, and some of you no doubt have the same one, why can't we have what they have. This is in reference to one specific point, and that is housing. I will break this down into categories. I am not naming names though some of you will undoubtedly be indirectly pointed out, you'll know who you are. Most of my female friends are SAHMs, which will come into play in this. Most of us make approximately the same amount of money unless otherwise noted (you'll see why).

Category One: Good location Close to the office, crappy house

Henry and I and some of our friends fit into this category. We chose proximity to the office over a super nice, well finished house. The plan was deliberate since we didn't want to live with someone else's high end choices that we didn't really care for. You know, you looove the house except that one thing that  you're not sure what they were thinking. We had great aspirations to update/upgrade things, and we still do, but life gets in the way and you end up dealing with things that you don't really like because you don't have time or money to fix it. When you see a friend's house that is all nicely finished, you think to yourself, "man, I wish WE had that". This friend might live in another town, which will bring me to the next category. My opinion: He's happy with the 12 minute (24 minutes/day) commute, She's gotta look at a house she doesn't love 18 hours/day, but they get to spend extra time together. This category is great if both of you need to get out and about alot. Everything is close. If you don't need to get out much (like me) it makes little difference except in the evenings when everyone is tired and hungry and homework has to be done and dinner made, then it's nice to have an extra set of hands.

Category Two: Farther from the office, great house

I have friends who fit into this category. They live in a town a little farther away from the office than us, the commute gets a little sloooow at times, but they have a really nice house. They don't have to fix anything, and everything is pretty and nice if not new. They chose a nice house over proximity. My opinion: She's happy with a great house 18 hours/day, his drive is sometimes crummy at 25+ minutes/day one way (waaay more time if the weather in inclimate because people here don't know how to drive in rain much less snow), and they spend a little less time together. This is one category that I have been highly critical of. Now that the light has come on, I'm thinking this might not be such a bad idea. You get more for your money house wise if you're farther from the office, but does that really make up for less time together? I guess it depends on how crummy the traffic is. I've also said that you save on mortgages, but you pay the difference in auto upkeep and gas, and then there's that pesky time thing again. Anyway, given my current situation, I think I'd seriously consider this category if I had it to do all over again.

Category Three: Far from the office, house you may or may not love, but you do/have other things

I have friends that fit into this category as well. They live really far away by my close commuting standards, the traffic is awful, he gets home super late sometimes, sometimes the kids don't really see him, they aren't totally in love with their house, but they have alot of land, or they go on great vacations, or they send their kids to private schools, or they have some other thing that they are willing to sacrifice for. My opinion: He hates the drive, She hates the house, they spend little time together, but they have something that makes up for it? I still don't get this group. I can't think of anything that is worth both of us being unhappy with things 5-7 days/week. There may be something super awesome about that location that I'm semi unaware of, but still I will never fall into this category. Don't be mad if you're one of my peeps who falls into this group. I love you but I haven't totally figured you out yet,

Category Four: Close to the office, great house, but...

This was the last category that I came to realize. I have friends who fit into this category and I've been beating my head into the wall trying to figure out how they do it. As I said earlier, we all make somewhere near the same salary, so how is it that they can afford this? I know some of my friends do a different mortgage length than us and that could explain it, but then it hit me, the people who fit into this category BOTH work. She may or may not stay home with the kids, but she had a part to full time job. Like a something that makes money job, not just changing diapers and such. My opinion: He loves the commute, She loves the house, they spend alot of time together, but she has to work. This might work because the kids are in school/daycare, or maybe they're just self sufficient, or maybe she works in the evenings or on weekends, or whatever. The down side to this is that if she works outside the home and has to do it on alternating schedules from him so that all of her paycheck isn't spent on daycare, their time together gets squashed.

My point to all this is that I realized I don't/can't have it all right now because my situation is different. In a few years, I will have the opportunity to be like the ladies in group four and I can fix my crappy house, but until then, I just have to suck it up and do the best I can with what I've got.

~Kellie~

Boys Room Reveal

For all those who have been asking for pics of the boys room all finished, here it is. It's not perfect and we don't care, because we know that they will probably destroy it in some fashion at some point. They'll either knock a hole in a wall or draw on a wall or... I'm gonna stop speculating there as there is no telling what might happen in there. Boys are weird, and ours ain't misbehavin' but they are boys. Anyway, here's a little before so that you can appreciate the effort. Here's what they had when they moved down here.

 The view from the door. Dark is about all I can think of here.

 From the door to the right. Still dark, and you gotta love that kinds pinky beige-y paint.

Here is the piece de resistance, the "wall" that divided my room from their room.












You can see the construction phase of the reno here.

Anyway, after a weekend renovation turned into TWO WEEKS, here is what we have now.

 The view from the door. Yay, there's light!

The view from the door to the right.We'd buy them real furniture for their clothes, but they'd just color on it or put stickers on it or ruin it in some other way so we stick with the cheap plastic bins that they don't acknowledge enough to try to tear up. It's the same principle about cheap sunglasses vs expensive ones, you know, you pay alot of money for them and lose them the first day, but those .99 ones from a gas station, you can drive from Nashville to Reno with them on the top of your car, pick 'em up and put them on when you get there.

This is an interesting situation. They *had* a huge console tv that took up waay too much space so we gave it away. They now have a computer (which has been living in a pile in random places in the house for like a year). They will eventually get a t.v. that, while smaller, will be on the wall and up high enough that they can't sit with their faces plastered to the screen. The wires and such will be straightened out at some point, but for now, meh.

This is just to the left of the door when you walk in. By shifting the bed down to the other end, it feels a little more open when you walk in. It'll also keep them from peeking out the door from bed when we are up and they are not. Oh, by the way this is a real wall and it is painted a nice latte color. The trim is now white instead of whatever that other color was.






Let's recap so that you don't have to keep scrolling up and down.

 BEFORE

 AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER!!!!!!

So there you have it, folks, the latest renovation at our house.

~Kellie~

Moving Mountains

Ok, so we're not really moving mountains over here, but we are building walls! A wall to be exact, and it feels like a mountain has been lifted off my shoulders. This new wall officially divides my office from the boys room and also makes our house a real 4 bedroom since they have 4 walls, a door, a closet, and a window. Helloooo added property value. Ok, maybe not but whatever! I'll take whatever I can get as long as it means not having them peeking over the wall to see what I'm doing, or hearing every word uttered over there, ooh ooh, and my favorite, I can work late at night or early in the morning and turn the light on without bothering them. It's not sound proof enough to run the machine, but I'm not sure that anything short of a bunker would do that and let's face it, I'm not really into working super early or super late when it involves sharp pointy things moving at a high rate of speed. The transformations are not complete, but here are some pics to get you guys up to speed.

Ok, so the pic on the left shows my temporary wall during construction/demolition/whatever you want to call it. It may actually be better than what was there before, just kidding! Most of the boys crap got crammed into my office, and a nice plastic sheet was screwed to the ceiling via a piece of scrap wood, and duct taped to the wall. Not our best plan with the duct tape, but it did what it was supposed to do and the wall has to be refinished anyway so... It was very important to keep dust and dirt and the like on the boys side of the wall and AWAY from my machines which were covered in their own little covers in addition to this massive plastic wall.
The photo on the right shows what we saw when we removed what we thought was the interior wall but as it turned out there was a wall within the wall. That explained alot as to why the crap we could rarely hit a stud in the wall, and why there were seemingly studs going side to side with huge spans between vertical studs. So let me break it down for you as to why we saw this. They poured a slab for the garage, and it had a rim around it. Think of a cookie sheet, that's kinda what they poured. Anyway, when they decided to convert said garage into living space they encountered the aforementioned rim. To get around having a weird rim inside the room, they framed a fake wall on top of it so that the rim was in the wall and the drywall went all the way to the floor like a normal wall. They did hide/get around the problem, and since the framing was just to hold the drywall up, they used the fastest, cheapest, crappiest way to do it. Now you know. This pic also shows the new header for the window going in.

So in these pics, we see daylight! YAY! On the left, we see that the window has been completely framed out, and the last of the siding is being removed. That's Henry on the outside and his dad on the inside who is accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Lexy. Oh the dog fur in my house after 3 days of TWO dogs inside. She's a super sweetie, so I don't mind. All the excitement actually wore Bromley out and he had to take a day long nap to recover. YESSSSS!!
So the pic on the right shows the window installed. The boys have a nice view of the side of our neighbor's house. I asked them about this and they said they didn't mind since they have no windows on that side anyway. A few of my plants were smashed flat during all this, but the are resilient and will bounce back or come back up next year so whatever. It's a small price to pay for progress like this. And speaking of progress...

 The boys have THIS!! 

 I, on the other hand, have THIS, but I'm ok with it. One disaster at a time and this was always part of the plan. We will have to have their room finished so that all of their stuff (which is scattered all over the house) can be moved back into their room so that MY stuff can all be moved out so that the room can be made into a disaster area. The ceiling will have to be scraped, some wallpaper border removed, and of course, the wall will have to be covered. Even in its current state, it's much better than THIS, which is what I had before.

Hey, speaking of this, does anyone need any bifold closet doors?
~Kellie~

How Kellie got her groove back, sorta

So I was having serious issues adjusting to life with 4. This last one really blew me away from norm way more than I thought it would. Maybe I'm just old and set in my ways, but I'm choosing to believe that I had a good rhythm going and he just completely disrupted it. It's ok, I wasn't mad or sad about it because I expected it, but I had to find a new normal before I lost what sanity I had left. The first month was all cute and new, then by month two I had sort of gotten into a rhythm but it was not at all the one I really wanted or needed. I started looking at why I felt so hopeless (I was seriously starting to wonder if I had PPD) to really get an idea of what I needed to do. The things that were bothering me were: 1. lack of sleep, 2. the detailed house work was not getting done. 3. I felt like Henry was having to pick up all of my slack- enter deep guilt, 4. I felt like I was Mama all the time since the baby was eating all the time and his nap schedule and Kinsley's were not jiving at all which leads me to 5. I didn't have a "work" time. 6. I felt like I didn't spend time with the kids other than to care for their needs. This was all made worse by the fact that I felt so overwhelmed that I just sat around pondering how much I felt like I sucked all the time. I determined that I felt like I was in a tornado, and just when I got to the bottom I was picked back up and returned to the swirling hopelessness of the ride down. This just couldn't go on. It was a vicious cycle and I'm a control freak and I had to get out of it.
Here's what I did to flip things around in one week. Now mind you, things are not all "fixed", but it's a serious start. 1. I decided that I wasn't going to feel like crap anymore and that I was bigger and better than mental chaos. Things are rarely as bad as they seem. 2. I implemented the "everybody cleans" routine (previous post). Housework issue solved. I no longer worry about housework. Henry and I pick up during the week, but we don't worry about cleaning because there is a set time for that. 3. I decided that the baby was old enough to start sleep training. His night time feedings were becoming habitual snacks and let's face it, he's over 12 pounds so it's not like he's a newborn. I turned the monitor off at night and went to sleep. His room is right across the hall, so if he cried very loud or very long, Henry or I would hear him, he's only ten steps away. This is not to say that I didn't wake up several times the first few nights and flip on the monitor to see if he was still asleep, but after a few nights, I was over that. Sleep deprivation solved. I don't know if he's sleeping through the night, but I am. Since I was able to function better and the housework was getting done, problem 3 solved itself. Problems 5 & 6 have the same solution. Since the scheduled housework seemed to make me feel a ton better, I didn't see why this scheduled time thing couldn't work for the other issues I had. I decided that Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I would try to work, and Tuesday and Thursday I would not do any work unless both kids were asleep and I just wanted to. I see some of you saying "you should flip that schedule, your kids are more important". I invite you to see things from my perspective on this. On Tuesday and Thursday, I can choose to do zero work, just walk away and not do it. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I do not get to walk away from the kids. They are still here, so I only get to work about half that time because they still need to be fed and changed and played with. I figure it really works out to 2.5 days each and I'm ok with that, it's better than lots of alternatives. I still have not solved problem 4, the nap thing will take more time but I think I have a plan to start easing it toward the direction I need it to be in. Since the other things are better this is much easier to deal with. So that is how I'm dealing with life with 4. It might not work forever, but it's working for now and I feel like a normal functioning human and more like myself which was my goal. ~Kellie~