when moving I knew I would not have enough bookcases for all my books (one I left behind was built-in) and the one from the boy's room would be too tall for the upstairs of the new house and there didn't seem like there was a place for it on the main floor...so far
so I downsized...a lot....but not enough it seems...as I have 9 boxes of books with no shelves to put them on :(
I dream of more bookshelves...like the dens in the movies that have wall to wall books and that ladder on a track to reach them.
I've been looking on kijiji for deals...no luck so far, the extra books will have to just wait a few more months for the back account to grow so that more bookshelves can be bought or built into the upstairs hall outside the two bedrooms....
The boys are LOVING having their books back too...I spent Sunday evening unpacking them (I had to wait for the electrician to deal with the plug on the wall behind the big bookcase).
They are asking for me to read to them many times through the day (how could I possibly say no?)
We jumped back into SK today. I had started some of it last spring as he finished most of his JK early and then we took most of the summer off (cause life was crazy and we lived in a half packed world). We did a few little school things last week that was mostly review and then for this week I put us back onto the full schedule.
I love to see things 'click' for CO in terms of reading and math! I was worried that he would have lost a lot over the summer but it is going very well and he is needing very little 'review'. It is a little adjustment that his days aren't all carefree and full of play, but I eased him back into that since we moved by insisting that his morning 'jobs' get done again before 'play' could happen from day one of moving in. So, the only thing he has had to add in the mornings was 'school'.
I am using 'all about reading' for his language arts, 'math u see' for math and then 'Sonlight' for pretty much the rest of his subjects as they have a literature based curriculum and what better way to learn than through book?
I plan to throw in some extra 'theme' based activities each month that will include messy crafting. Stuff that I can work on with both boys together. For September it will be 'all about me'. CO has been asking lots of questions about whose belly he grew in, and about Judges making decisions. He is getting older and I think the fact that J is spending more time with his bio-family is really making CO think about the matter. He very much is voicing that he wants the judge to hit the desk with his wood hammer and declare that 'J is going to live with CO and his Mommy forever'. The judge will not be making that decision until trial which isn't scheduled until February...sigh.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
drawing to an end...
today I am happy that summer is drawing near to the end...because then I can stop driving here there and everywhere on Fridays to drop my boys off at childcare!!!! This is the last weekend! I am off next weekend and then the nannies start back! Sp the boys will be back to sleeping in their own beds and staying in their own house over the weekend! Yippee!!!
next summer I hope I can get more consistent weekend help. The kids have been helter skelter everywhere this summer. This weekend I am dropping them off at the cottage (one hour drive to the cottage and another hour drive to work) and then picking them up there again Sunday evening. I may just stay up with them for the night and then we can all come home as a family on Monday...depends on how tired I am after work.
next summer I hope I can get more consistent weekend help. The kids have been helter skelter everywhere this summer. This weekend I am dropping them off at the cottage (one hour drive to the cottage and another hour drive to work) and then picking them up there again Sunday evening. I may just stay up with them for the night and then we can all come home as a family on Monday...depends on how tired I am after work.
Friday, August 17, 2012
first night
everyone is sleeping for the first night in their new rooms after having baths in their new clawfoot bathtub...
now only if there was hydro in the master bedroom and upstairs bathroom then things would be ROCKING!
There are only a few more pieces of furniture to move which will happen in the morning. The important 'stuff' is mostly all moved. I will need to go back and sort and pack some stuff still in the next week or so but I think I can officially call us moved and in our new house.
now only if there was hydro in the master bedroom and upstairs bathroom then things would be ROCKING!
There are only a few more pieces of furniture to move which will happen in the morning. The important 'stuff' is mostly all moved. I will need to go back and sort and pack some stuff still in the next week or so but I think I can officially call us moved and in our new house.
two weeks
well today (it is 130 am and I should be sleeping but my feet are aching and I am stretching them to make them feel better so I can sleep) is furniture moving day!!!
I am SO happy that I was able to cram in so much work into two weeks! I have basically little to nothing done in the spare bedroom, downstairs bathroom & back entrance but those spaces had to be sacrificed in order to keep the moving day date.
My house no longer stinks and I am so happy of that fact! Almost every surface of the whole entire house has been cleaned, primed & painted (sometimes with many coats of paint). The boys room was a BRIGHT pink colour and it took lots of paint to cover it up. I have even started taking things over and filling up my kitchen cupboards and pantry.
My inlaws left Tuesday morning. They were a great help on Monday and lots was accomplished. My cousin is here with her kids and have been since Wednesday so there have continued to be a couple of extra helping hands. This week CO was in VBS again...such a blessing!!! He is able to get attention and stimulation in the mornings while I paint :)
CO's dental procedure didn't happen...long story but it is rescheduled for November...sigh.
I am SO happy that I was able to cram in so much work into two weeks! I have basically little to nothing done in the spare bedroom, downstairs bathroom & back entrance but those spaces had to be sacrificed in order to keep the moving day date.
My house no longer stinks and I am so happy of that fact! Almost every surface of the whole entire house has been cleaned, primed & painted (sometimes with many coats of paint). The boys room was a BRIGHT pink colour and it took lots of paint to cover it up. I have even started taking things over and filling up my kitchen cupboards and pantry.
My inlaws left Tuesday morning. They were a great help on Monday and lots was accomplished. My cousin is here with her kids and have been since Wednesday so there have continued to be a couple of extra helping hands. This week CO was in VBS again...such a blessing!!! He is able to get attention and stimulation in the mornings while I paint :)
CO's dental procedure didn't happen...long story but it is rescheduled for November...sigh.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
one week
well I am one week in....it is going well
I've had to rethink the 'action plan' of getting into the house a few times. In the beginning I thought I would complete the living room first and then work on the upstairs bedrooms so that the bedrooms could be set up and the living room could be a place for the boys to play while I worked...
well, that isn't what has happened
but I am happy to report that things are coming along!! I am hoping (lots of fingers crossed) that I will be living in my house a week from now!
yesterday my in-laws (a blessing from heaven) arrived and today my FIL took CO away for the day and kept him busy while my MIL helped my parents and myself at the house. The goal for today...get the upstairs finished.
The upstairs bathroom has a new floor toilet and vanity!!! as well as being cleaned and all painted (except one strip of baseboards and the window
The boy's bedroom is all primed and the ceiling and walls are painted (window not done)
The Master bedroom is all primed and the ceiling, walls and closet are all painted (window not done)
I am leaving the spare room for now as I am in no quick rush for it. All of the carpet is now officially OUT of the house (thanks to my dad finishing up with the spare room carpet and living room carpet today)
the downstairs front entrance, stairwell and upstairs hall is DONE (except the woodwork needs a coat of paint and the stairs need...something)
the living room and dining room are done other than the woodwork needing a coat of paint. I have a mystery spot on the floor beside my fireplace that I need to decide what I am going to do with. The downstairs toilet is installed!!! the hot water tank is in the laundry room (it used to be behind the upstairs bathroom door) and the gas stove in the kitchen is hooked up!!
the rope is in the tree outback ready for a piece of wood for a rope swing, the branches on the trees in the backyard were trimmed
My Aunt did an AMAZING job on the front yard!!! People were actually stopping and commenting on how great her work was looking.
My in laws are taking CO in the morning to the dentist. He is being put out for some fillings and a spacer. I HOPE that this goes smoothly. The appointment is at 8am.
Tomorrow my mother is picking up the sander and doing the living room, dining room and front entrance floors. (LOVE how much she has helped me this week...I would not be as far along as I am if it weren't for her)
The plan is to let the floors dry and stay off them until Wednesday. So Monday and Tuesday we will focus on the downstairs bathroom (need to take off the wallpaper, clean and paint), kitchen (need to finish taking off the wallpaper, putty the walls because the person who hung the wallpaper didn't prime the walls first so the coating is coming off the drywall with the wallpaper, finish washing cupboards, paint the cupboards, move the fridge, prime and paint), pantry (clean, prime and paint) and laundry room (install washer, dryer, laundry tub, clean, prime and paint, rehang the door so it is on the inside and maybe install a floor), front entrance (remove wallpaper, fix holes in wall, clean, prime and paint as well as hang up hooks in the closet for the boys)
Wednesday the plan is to add a second coat of paint to the two bedrooms and paint the last of the woodwork. The electrician is coming this day to install the new panel and fix a BUNCH of plugs that are reversed in wiring.
and then Thursday & Friday will be doing little touch-ups here and there as well as painting the upstairs floors.
The handyman still needs to re-route the laundry room plumbing/wiring so that the washer and dryer aren't on opposite corners of the laundry room, installing a reverse osmosis water treatment, hanging the laundry room door onto the inside of the doorway, framing the water meter & new plumbing he had to track through the house when he moved the hot water heater down the stairs, fix and replace the eaves trough.
Today a man was in to clean up the telephone and cable wires
Wednesday the electrician is coming.
I need to figure out the plan for the stairs...but overall, I am excited that there is an end in sight!!
I've had to rethink the 'action plan' of getting into the house a few times. In the beginning I thought I would complete the living room first and then work on the upstairs bedrooms so that the bedrooms could be set up and the living room could be a place for the boys to play while I worked...
well, that isn't what has happened
but I am happy to report that things are coming along!! I am hoping (lots of fingers crossed) that I will be living in my house a week from now!
yesterday my in-laws (a blessing from heaven) arrived and today my FIL took CO away for the day and kept him busy while my MIL helped my parents and myself at the house. The goal for today...get the upstairs finished.
The upstairs bathroom has a new floor toilet and vanity!!! as well as being cleaned and all painted (except one strip of baseboards and the window
The boy's bedroom is all primed and the ceiling and walls are painted (window not done)
The Master bedroom is all primed and the ceiling, walls and closet are all painted (window not done)
I am leaving the spare room for now as I am in no quick rush for it. All of the carpet is now officially OUT of the house (thanks to my dad finishing up with the spare room carpet and living room carpet today)
the downstairs front entrance, stairwell and upstairs hall is DONE (except the woodwork needs a coat of paint and the stairs need...something)
the living room and dining room are done other than the woodwork needing a coat of paint. I have a mystery spot on the floor beside my fireplace that I need to decide what I am going to do with. The downstairs toilet is installed!!! the hot water tank is in the laundry room (it used to be behind the upstairs bathroom door) and the gas stove in the kitchen is hooked up!!
the rope is in the tree outback ready for a piece of wood for a rope swing, the branches on the trees in the backyard were trimmed
My Aunt did an AMAZING job on the front yard!!! People were actually stopping and commenting on how great her work was looking.
My in laws are taking CO in the morning to the dentist. He is being put out for some fillings and a spacer. I HOPE that this goes smoothly. The appointment is at 8am.
Tomorrow my mother is picking up the sander and doing the living room, dining room and front entrance floors. (LOVE how much she has helped me this week...I would not be as far along as I am if it weren't for her)
The plan is to let the floors dry and stay off them until Wednesday. So Monday and Tuesday we will focus on the downstairs bathroom (need to take off the wallpaper, clean and paint), kitchen (need to finish taking off the wallpaper, putty the walls because the person who hung the wallpaper didn't prime the walls first so the coating is coming off the drywall with the wallpaper, finish washing cupboards, paint the cupboards, move the fridge, prime and paint), pantry (clean, prime and paint) and laundry room (install washer, dryer, laundry tub, clean, prime and paint, rehang the door so it is on the inside and maybe install a floor), front entrance (remove wallpaper, fix holes in wall, clean, prime and paint as well as hang up hooks in the closet for the boys)
Wednesday the plan is to add a second coat of paint to the two bedrooms and paint the last of the woodwork. The electrician is coming this day to install the new panel and fix a BUNCH of plugs that are reversed in wiring.
and then Thursday & Friday will be doing little touch-ups here and there as well as painting the upstairs floors.
The handyman still needs to re-route the laundry room plumbing/wiring so that the washer and dryer aren't on opposite corners of the laundry room, installing a reverse osmosis water treatment, hanging the laundry room door onto the inside of the doorway, framing the water meter & new plumbing he had to track through the house when he moved the hot water heater down the stairs, fix and replace the eaves trough.
Today a man was in to clean up the telephone and cable wires
Wednesday the electrician is coming.
I need to figure out the plan for the stairs...but overall, I am excited that there is an end in sight!!
Monday, August 6, 2012
day 4
it is crazy that it has been 4 days...four days of cleaning and painting
so far:
the livingroom is cleaned and primed and the walls painted the new colour and the ceiling painted
the diningroom is cleaned, primed and the walls edged in the new colour, the ugly built in cupboard was taken down and the track for the ceiling is primed (at a toss up as to replace the ceiling tiles or prime and paint them...or just wait until the plumber is done and then drywall the ceiling)
the front entrance/stairs/upstairs hall is all primed (ceiling too)
the bedrooms up stairs are all cleaned wall wise and ready to be primed as well as the upstairs bathroom
the kitchen has the wallpaper 1/2 off, the exhaust is cleaned and most of the upper cupboards are cleaned
the front yard has a whole truck load of brush cleaned away (my aunt came up and tacked this today...it was a crazy jungle)
this afternoon the gas guy should arrive to hook up the oven and disconnect the gas stove (I am moving into the middle of a wall rather than a corner
and tomorrow the plumber should arrive and hopefully install new toilets (one of them is constantly needing the handle jiggled as it is always running) and maybe install the new vanity and then tackle the craziness this week of my water pipes...the goal is to get the hot water heater from behind the upstairs bathroom door to the laundry room on the main floor. I would love it in the basement but I don't think that is going to happen
tomorrow the carpets are coming out of the bedrooms!!! and more cleaning and painting...
I am looking forward to walking into my house one day and it not stinking of cigarette smoke!!!
so far:
the livingroom is cleaned and primed and the walls painted the new colour and the ceiling painted
the diningroom is cleaned, primed and the walls edged in the new colour, the ugly built in cupboard was taken down and the track for the ceiling is primed (at a toss up as to replace the ceiling tiles or prime and paint them...or just wait until the plumber is done and then drywall the ceiling)
the front entrance/stairs/upstairs hall is all primed (ceiling too)
the bedrooms up stairs are all cleaned wall wise and ready to be primed as well as the upstairs bathroom
the kitchen has the wallpaper 1/2 off, the exhaust is cleaned and most of the upper cupboards are cleaned
the front yard has a whole truck load of brush cleaned away (my aunt came up and tacked this today...it was a crazy jungle)
this afternoon the gas guy should arrive to hook up the oven and disconnect the gas stove (I am moving into the middle of a wall rather than a corner
and tomorrow the plumber should arrive and hopefully install new toilets (one of them is constantly needing the handle jiggled as it is always running) and maybe install the new vanity and then tackle the craziness this week of my water pipes...the goal is to get the hot water heater from behind the upstairs bathroom door to the laundry room on the main floor. I would love it in the basement but I don't think that is going to happen
tomorrow the carpets are coming out of the bedrooms!!! and more cleaning and painting...
I am looking forward to walking into my house one day and it not stinking of cigarette smoke!!!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Ramblings #1
1. key day...scary yet exciting...it is a day of wait wait wait and then rush rush rush
2. I am NOT looking forward to being in limbo the next 2-3 weeks. I would LOVE it if an army of people would arrive and the house would be cleaned and painted over the weekend, and the boys and I could move in and start getting into our new normal
3. I woke up with a start at 5 am from a dream because I realized I forgot my shampoo at the hotel...the hotel I dreamed of over a month ago...the one I left my boys in alone for the weekend as I didn't have any other childcare
4. my son has an obsession with 'going to work'...right now he is clomping around in his work boots 'working'
5. my childcare for M-W backed out...so I now get to clean and paint with a 2 & 4 year old those days...sigh
6. CO is LOVING VBS this week
7. J is on an overnight with his grandparents...I miss him...CO does too
8. I need a shower
9. I have avoided buying groceries for almost three weeks...other than a couple of staples...we are eating Grandma's food...to get the most of my rent as it seems my rent was covering food all these years
10.cleaning and painting this house will probably do big damage to my relationship with my mother
11. I need an electrician and someone who can do eaves trough....or a handy husband....yesterday
12. I should go get CO breakfast, get dressed, pack the truck with cleaning & paint supplies, pack the trailer with bedding and my clothes, etc.
13. I still need to pick up a fridge and stove
2. I am NOT looking forward to being in limbo the next 2-3 weeks. I would LOVE it if an army of people would arrive and the house would be cleaned and painted over the weekend, and the boys and I could move in and start getting into our new normal
3. I woke up with a start at 5 am from a dream because I realized I forgot my shampoo at the hotel...the hotel I dreamed of over a month ago...the one I left my boys in alone for the weekend as I didn't have any other childcare
4. my son has an obsession with 'going to work'...right now he is clomping around in his work boots 'working'
5. my childcare for M-W backed out...so I now get to clean and paint with a 2 & 4 year old those days...sigh
6. CO is LOVING VBS this week
7. J is on an overnight with his grandparents...I miss him...CO does too
8. I need a shower
9. I have avoided buying groceries for almost three weeks...other than a couple of staples...we are eating Grandma's food...to get the most of my rent as it seems my rent was covering food all these years
10.
11. I need an electrician and someone who can do eaves trough....or a handy husband....yesterday
12. I should go get CO breakfast, get dressed, pack the truck with cleaning & paint supplies, pack the trailer with bedding and my clothes, etc.
13. I still need to pick up a fridge and stove
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