Good family news - Andrew made it through the night without a diaper, with no incident. We have kept him in the diaper for awhile and he usually does not use it, but with the toilet out on the first floor for awhile we did not want to risk. We gave it a shot, and he did fine. Once he turned the corner on using the potty, he went all the way with no turning back. He has a strong independent steak so once he realized he was capable, there was no doubt.
Tomorrow, Sarah and Dave leave for Taiwan. It was a quick week with us, but the kids have especially been delighted to have some family around consistently to play with them. They love the attention. We will all be sad to see them go.
The past week has brought an intense spurt of bathroom reno. Too much, in fact. I let the project languish a little bit, not by design, but out of desire to repeat follies from past summers.
Two years ago, I completed the bathroom and basement renovations, and it was not pretty. I enlisted half of Rachel's family as free labor and we hardly got it done before summer ended. I was wiped out physically and mentally. I had to take some shortcuts and so I was not as proud of the work as I could have been.
This year, I worked hard through July (when not on vacation or sick!). But I still had coffee in the morning, read the paper, had breakfast with the kids, and was done with work before dinner. It allowed me to keep a regular rhythm to life that was sustainable.
Last week, I wanted to kick the process into higher gear because summer was ending and guests are staying upstairs. After a few long days and nights, I got the floor, toilet, and vanity installed. And I vowed not to continue with these nights because my patience was wearing thin. Since then the shower has been tiled. I just need to grout, seal, and finish the trim.
Feeling a little bathroom fatigue, I decided to tackle to the other summer project - the kitchen / mud room door. The steel entry door was not ugly, but added nothing and stole needed light. On a separate trip to HOBO, a Chicago-area bargain home improvement store, we found an exterior-grade 15-lite door at a fraction of the price of any of the big boys. I ripped out the door and marveled at the sub-standard construction of my previous kitchen renovations. It is good to know that my skills have improved. We added a picture window above the door, because there was a hole in the exterior wall from where the original transom window was located. I also took the opportunity to remove the builder's grade trim from the door and the pass through to the dining room, and install trim that better matches what is found elsewhere in the house. Not painted yet, but a nice little diversion project.
We are also making headway in some mudroom renovations. I am sick of the ice cold shoes in winter, so I added an HVAC run to the mudroom. I am sure the walls need insulation to really make it habitable, but this is a start. There are some short- and long-term goals to accomplish to improve this area's functionality and appearance, so we will try to tackle some of those quick wins now that we can see this area from the house a little more.
Time to clean up - the garage is a complete mess, but the basement is getting there.
Work begins on Monday. Egads!
-alan
Tomorrow, Sarah and Dave leave for Taiwan. It was a quick week with us, but the kids have especially been delighted to have some family around consistently to play with them. They love the attention. We will all be sad to see them go.
The past week has brought an intense spurt of bathroom reno. Too much, in fact. I let the project languish a little bit, not by design, but out of desire to repeat follies from past summers.
Two years ago, I completed the bathroom and basement renovations, and it was not pretty. I enlisted half of Rachel's family as free labor and we hardly got it done before summer ended. I was wiped out physically and mentally. I had to take some shortcuts and so I was not as proud of the work as I could have been.
This year, I worked hard through July (when not on vacation or sick!). But I still had coffee in the morning, read the paper, had breakfast with the kids, and was done with work before dinner. It allowed me to keep a regular rhythm to life that was sustainable.
Last week, I wanted to kick the process into higher gear because summer was ending and guests are staying upstairs. After a few long days and nights, I got the floor, toilet, and vanity installed. And I vowed not to continue with these nights because my patience was wearing thin. Since then the shower has been tiled. I just need to grout, seal, and finish the trim.
Feeling a little bathroom fatigue, I decided to tackle to the other summer project - the kitchen / mud room door. The steel entry door was not ugly, but added nothing and stole needed light. On a separate trip to HOBO, a Chicago-area bargain home improvement store, we found an exterior-grade 15-lite door at a fraction of the price of any of the big boys. I ripped out the door and marveled at the sub-standard construction of my previous kitchen renovations. It is good to know that my skills have improved. We added a picture window above the door, because there was a hole in the exterior wall from where the original transom window was located. I also took the opportunity to remove the builder's grade trim from the door and the pass through to the dining room, and install trim that better matches what is found elsewhere in the house. Not painted yet, but a nice little diversion project.
We are also making headway in some mudroom renovations. I am sick of the ice cold shoes in winter, so I added an HVAC run to the mudroom. I am sure the walls need insulation to really make it habitable, but this is a start. There are some short- and long-term goals to accomplish to improve this area's functionality and appearance, so we will try to tackle some of those quick wins now that we can see this area from the house a little more.
Time to clean up - the garage is a complete mess, but the basement is getting there.
Work begins on Monday. Egads!
-alan
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