Remember when AOL and the internet were new, and you would click on the little mailbox and wait for those three awesome words: "You've Got Mail"? Now everything comes electronically and we rarely get 'snail mail'. And now we get excited when we do get snail mail. Like today: Sweet P got two, count 'em - TWO pieces of snail mail today! She was so excited. And she was the only one in the house to get mail.
The first was a postcard from my brother and his wife that are currently travelling in Europe. Sweet P has been asking, every day since they left, where her letter is. LOL. Well, it finally arrived from Spain today.
The second piece of mail was a chain letter for a sticker club from her friend. The concept is, you mail a package of stickers to the kid whose name is in the #1 spot. Then you move the name of the kid who sent it to you into the #1 spot, put your name in the #2 spot, and send it to 6 kids. So those 6 kids will send stickers to the kid whose name is in spot #1 and then move your name to spot #1. Sound confusing? I am probably not explaining it well, but the bottom line is that within a couple of weeks, Sweet P should receive 36 packages of stickers! I was thinking of doing this with recipes for adults.....how fun would it be to receive 36 new recipes in the mail? Or email might be better.
Anyway, Sweet P was so excited to receive mail today. Someone should invent a talking mailbox that says "You've Got Mail" when you open your front door.
P.s. I know it's cheesy, but I love that movie. I know most people love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle (which I hate), but I prefer You've Got Mail.
P.s.s. I am still working on the "before & after" post about our reno......I accidentally took all the after pictures in RAW and don't have the time to go and edit them. So I am waiting for another sunny day to take the pictures in JPEG.
p.s.s.s. Little C is 11 months old now.....he will be 1 next month and Sweet P will be 4 next month.....that also means I go back to work next month (boooo - I really wish I could stay home with the kids forever)......
Friday, 26 April 2013
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
It has been one of those weeks
Every time I feel like we are getting a leg up on things, something comes up and we take 2 steps back. In the last couple of weeks, our van was hit in a parking lot. We were not in it, but it was considered unsafe to drive since the front passenger door would not open. We had to take it in to get fixed, get a rental for a week (we were given a Jeep Compass - let me tell you, that IS NOT a family car. Our car seats barely fit, T couldn't drive it, and as a passenger his knees were hitting the glove box), and we had to replace the car seats. Insurance has been great - although we still haven't been reimbursed for the car seats (which were over $800 for the two).
We finally got our van back and then in the mail get a ticket from a red-light camera. We went down to the courthouse to see if there was a way to reduce the ticket price or get on a payment plan....waiting to hear about that still.
Then I did our taxes (well, still doing them) and it looks like we will owe - AGAIN. Every time I am on maternity leave, I owe taxes. I don't know why the government can't just take off the right taxes on EI. On the plus side, it isn't much at all - the first year it was over $1000!
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A before & after post on the reno is coming soon - still working on some finishing touches in C's bedroom.
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On another note - I can't believe C will be 1 next month, and P will be 4 next month! And that I go back to work in 5 weeks. Where does time go? It will be really hard going from being home with them 7 days/week, to leaving them every morning 5 days/week.
We finally got our van back and then in the mail get a ticket from a red-light camera. We went down to the courthouse to see if there was a way to reduce the ticket price or get on a payment plan....waiting to hear about that still.
Then I did our taxes (well, still doing them) and it looks like we will owe - AGAIN. Every time I am on maternity leave, I owe taxes. I don't know why the government can't just take off the right taxes on EI. On the plus side, it isn't much at all - the first year it was over $1000!
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A before & after post on the reno is coming soon - still working on some finishing touches in C's bedroom.
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On another note - I can't believe C will be 1 next month, and P will be 4 next month! And that I go back to work in 5 weeks. Where does time go? It will be really hard going from being home with them 7 days/week, to leaving them every morning 5 days/week.
Friday, 29 March 2013
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Reno Day 6
It's Sunday and we have plans with the family to go to a Maple Syrup Festival, so this may be rest day instead of reno day.
Things are moving along quickly. My brother has been off work this past week so he was here helping out with my Dad (which is good, because with two little kids, I wasn't much help except in the coffee/lunch/cleanup areas).
So far, the wall is up, with drywall on and taped and the first coat of mud is on. My Dad may pop over today to do the second coat. The finish line is in sight, and this renovation has gone quite quickly!
I will post a budget breakdown, so you can see how much (how little) was spent on renos. Of course, labour was free since it was family, but we will get them something to thank them for their time and hard work. We couldn't have done this without them!
Renovation list:
-move light switch (since the current location will be covered by the new wall)
-open kitchen heat vent into bedroom
-close other bedroom vent and open into bathroom
-new light fixture (a low-light chandelier doesn't work for a boy's room)
-install a dimmer switch
-frame the wall
-drywall
-tape
-mud - 1st coat
- mud - 2nd coat
- mud - 3rd coat
- sand
- hang a room darkening blind
- door trim
- prime new wall (bedroom side and hallway side)
- paint bedroom
- door
- baseboard
- decorate
- move C in
So far, we are under budget, and ahead of schedule (or at least, ahead of where I thought we would be!). This reno creates a domino effect for the rest of the house. Once this room is done, and C is moved in, we have to rearrange/fix up P's room (since it won't have C's stuff in it anymore), rearrange the new dining room/living room shared space, paint the new hallway and the living room/dining room, front entry etc. And the bathroom needs some work. We have been in this house for 5+ years and we have only painted our bedroom, P's bedroom, and the kitchen. And now, this year, we will be working on all other parts of the house.
Why now? We desperately need the bedroom space for C and can't afford to move right now. So, like I said, domino effect. We will have to paint the hallway side of the new wall, so we might as well paint the whole 'public' living space at the same time so they are the same colour. Since we moved the dining table into the living room, we now need to rearrange and repurpose this space. And the bathroom just needs to be done. We are also on a mission this year to fall in love with our little house all over again - and to do that we need to make it function for our family of four, and we need to clean up/clean out a lot of stuff! It's going to be fun though! Especially the challenge of doing all of this on a very minimal budget (two kids in daycare!) and as much of it ourselves/with a little help from family.
Once I get the pictures uploaded to the computer, I will post more detailed posts on each the items above with before and after pictures etc.
Things are moving along quickly. My brother has been off work this past week so he was here helping out with my Dad (which is good, because with two little kids, I wasn't much help except in the coffee/lunch/cleanup areas).
So far, the wall is up, with drywall on and taped and the first coat of mud is on. My Dad may pop over today to do the second coat. The finish line is in sight, and this renovation has gone quite quickly!
I will post a budget breakdown, so you can see how much (how little) was spent on renos. Of course, labour was free since it was family, but we will get them something to thank them for their time and hard work. We couldn't have done this without them!
Renovation list:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- mud - 2nd coat
- mud - 3rd coat
- sand
- hang a room darkening blind
- door trim
- prime new wall (bedroom side and hallway side)
- paint bedroom
- door
- baseboard
- decorate
- move C in
So far, we are under budget, and ahead of schedule (or at least, ahead of where I thought we would be!). This reno creates a domino effect for the rest of the house. Once this room is done, and C is moved in, we have to rearrange/fix up P's room (since it won't have C's stuff in it anymore), rearrange the new dining room/living room shared space, paint the new hallway and the living room/dining room, front entry etc. And the bathroom needs some work. We have been in this house for 5+ years and we have only painted our bedroom, P's bedroom, and the kitchen. And now, this year, we will be working on all other parts of the house.
Why now? We desperately need the bedroom space for C and can't afford to move right now. So, like I said, domino effect. We will have to paint the hallway side of the new wall, so we might as well paint the whole 'public' living space at the same time so they are the same colour. Since we moved the dining table into the living room, we now need to rearrange and repurpose this space. And the bathroom just needs to be done. We are also on a mission this year to fall in love with our little house all over again - and to do that we need to make it function for our family of four, and we need to clean up/clean out a lot of stuff! It's going to be fun though! Especially the challenge of doing all of this on a very minimal budget (two kids in daycare!) and as much of it ourselves/with a little help from family.
Once I get the pictures uploaded to the computer, I will post more detailed posts on each the items above with before and after pictures etc.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Renovation Day 1
I guess, technically, since hubby emptied the dining room last night that this could make today Day 2. But, we will stick with yesterday as 'prep' and today Day 1.
It is March Break, so my Dad (who will be the main contractor on this project) is coming over today to measure for materials and to go pick some of them up. Because our house is small and the basement is mostly finished, all the cutting will have to be done on our porch. Which has a pergola roof. And it is March. And either snowing or raining. So today will also be the day a huge tarp goes up over the porch to give a covered, dry space for using the table saw.
Stay tuned for pictures and updates.
It is March Break, so my Dad (who will be the main contractor on this project) is coming over today to measure for materials and to go pick some of them up. Because our house is small and the basement is mostly finished, all the cutting will have to be done on our porch. Which has a pergola roof. And it is March. And either snowing or raining. So today will also be the day a huge tarp goes up over the porch to give a covered, dry space for using the table saw.
Stay tuned for pictures and updates.
On Your Marks...Get Set...Go!
And it has begun! We finally took the plunge and are about to start the renovations on the house to give the kids their own bedroom.
We have a small house and a large lot, and a very limited budget. While it's true that we do have the room to build an addition on the back of the house, we don't have the budget to be digging out a foundation and there is nowhere that it makes sense to add a bedroom - it would be either off the dining room, or off the back door/basement stairs/kitchen (unless we want to get into changing other rooms around and doing a massive renovation - with two little kids and both of us working by then - no thanks!).
I wanted to get some before and after pictures for you. But while I was out last night, my husband completely emptied the dining room and moved the table and chairs into the living room. Before I could get pictures. So you will have to settle for 'in progress' pictures (as soon as I take them).
Renovation plan:
- build bedroom for C
- rearrange/redo bedroom for P (once her brother is moved out of her room she will have more space and we will be able to rearrange her room again)
- paint (new) living room/dining room, hallway, entryway
- rearrange/decorate the new combined living/dining room
- redo bathroom (nothing major)
- front porch
- front yard
- back yard (veggie bed, sandbox, fairy garden, veggie pots)
We have a small house and a large lot, and a very limited budget. While it's true that we do have the room to build an addition on the back of the house, we don't have the budget to be digging out a foundation and there is nowhere that it makes sense to add a bedroom - it would be either off the dining room, or off the back door/basement stairs/kitchen (unless we want to get into changing other rooms around and doing a massive renovation - with two little kids and both of us working by then - no thanks!).
I wanted to get some before and after pictures for you. But while I was out last night, my husband completely emptied the dining room and moved the table and chairs into the living room. Before I could get pictures. So you will have to settle for 'in progress' pictures (as soon as I take them).
Renovation plan:
- build bedroom for C
- rearrange/redo bedroom for P (once her brother is moved out of her room she will have more space and we will be able to rearrange her room again)
- paint (new) living room/dining room, hallway, entryway
- rearrange/decorate the new combined living/dining room
- redo bathroom (nothing major)
- front porch
- front yard
- back yard (veggie bed, sandbox, fairy garden, veggie pots)
Unplugged
I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. Sheesh! However, it wasn't completely unplanned. I have been making a conscious effort to unplug/tune-out of electronics and tune in to my family. I don't want my kids growing up always seeing us attached to some electronic device.
We have even cut back our cable dramatically, and once our last month of credit on the bill comes in, we will cancel completely. We can watch most of our shows online via the station websites, Netflix, etc. and the others can be downloaded (or, with the money we save on cable, we can buy the full seasons of our favourite shows on DVD).
So, while I hope to continue (or start) blogging on a more consistent basis, it might be further apart between posts for this reason.
We have even cut back our cable dramatically, and once our last month of credit on the bill comes in, we will cancel completely. We can watch most of our shows online via the station websites, Netflix, etc. and the others can be downloaded (or, with the money we save on cable, we can buy the full seasons of our favourite shows on DVD).
So, while I hope to continue (or start) blogging on a more consistent basis, it might be further apart between posts for this reason.
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