Mudroom

The past few days, I've been working on my most ambitious project yet - converting the closet next to our garage door into a bench and storage area. This creates a pseudo mudroom area to put on/take off shoes, jackets, and store backpacks, purses, and such. We have another closet to the left of these were we hang coats, store more shoes, the vacuum, etc., so we felt we didn't need the redundancy. 

I drew up the design with some guidance of some of Becca's pinned posts (if you pin it and don't use it, should it really be pinned at all?). So, after tearing everything out, painting, measuring, cutting, fastening, spackling, caulking, sanding, and touching up, I think it turned out great.

My Project

I'll be the first to admit that Scot does the bulk of the work on our house projects. I'm always willing to help out where I can, but he definitely takes the lead on the planning and the heavy lifting. There was one project that was recently completed that I did completely by myself, and I'm so happy at how this dresser for Riley's room turned out!

Framing Mirrors

President's Day brought a 4 day weekend for me, so I cranked through a project that we had been planning - framing all the bathroom mirrors so they weren't just the stock builder-grade look. I like planning out the projects and making drawings, creating cut lists and supply lists, and going to Home Depot. It's takes a little more to get me motivated to actually complete the project, but once started, I just can't let it go until it's done and done how I think it's right. For example, today I used 4 different caulks to fill in gaps, seal the edge against the counter, or seal the edge against the mirror (so white or clear, acrylic or silicone, paintable, ...).

I would just like to thank Pinterest for filling Becca's head with all sorts of ideas. I do point out that when she sends me links, it seems like the women are doing these projects without the help of their husbands :). But I make sure to give her the jobs that I don't like, like painting.

Guest bathroom before and after:

Kids' bathroom before and after:

Main floor bathroom before and after:

Master bathroom before and after (this one took a little more planning and execution, as I had to do some wiring for the new light fixtures):

Weekends

Scot started a new job in November that has quite a few perks that we've been taking advantage of. Our favorite is his 9/80 schedule. He works his 80 hours in 9 days, rather than 10, so he has every other Friday off. We have scheduled a few family activities on those Fridays, but most of them have been spent doing projects around the house.

The first was the most needed. I'm so disappointed that we didn't take a 'before' photo of our main floor bathroom. But any of you who have been to our house are sure to remember the dark maroon floral wallpaper that covered all four walls. That job took a whole weekend: Friday we stripped the wallpaper, and we repainted on Saturday. 

Then a few weeks later, Scot replaced the gold shower frame with one that's a little more our taste.

Next came a smaller project that has really helped clean up our garage: a bike rack! The kids think it's great, and I even caught Asher opening the garage door a couple of times the next day, just to take a peek at it.

The biggest project day of all came two weeks ago, when Scot decided to tackle two building projects in the same day, with a little help from Riley and Asher. He and I have both been pleased with the results of that Friday.

The wood on top of his workbench is for the next big project: framing all four bathroom mirrors.

In addition to these, Scot has also been doing some less glamorous, but no less useful, tasks. He has replaced two toilets, rotated the tires on both our cars, and changed the oil in mine, and washed the cars a couple of times. And there are probably more that I'm forgetting.

The beauty of this schedule is that we're getting a lot done around the house, we reserve Sundays for worship and family time, but we still have Saturdays to play, or just hang out together and be lazy. I couldn't help snapping this pic of Scot and Asher watching Iron Man yesterday afternoon.

Catching Up

It's been a busy month, and unfortunately I haven't taken a lot of pictures. But here are a few to catch you up on what's been going on in our family. 

This scene captures the sentiment of all five of us in the weeks between Scot starting his new job in Denver and our move. Having him gone so late was a hard adjustment for all of us, and we're happy to have him home at a normal time each day again.

I wish I could remember what they were so excited about when I was taking this one. Maybe it was because they were cuddling under that huge, super-soft afghan that I found for $4 at Goodwill. Maybe it was that we were days away from selling that awesome blue sofa on Craigslist. Or maybe it was just because Mommy actually got the camera out.

The first thing Scot did the day we got into our new home was set up the boys' bunk bed. Asher had been talking for weeks about sleeping on the top bed when we moved. The boys share a room now, and this was the first night Tyson slept in a "real" bed off the floor. Luckily he loves the bed, and has only fallen off once. That we know of.

Riley wasn't thrilled about sleeping in a room by herself, but we successfully convinced her of the benefits of having her own room. The selling points were: she could keep the furniture and dolls in her dollhouse and not worry about her brothers scattering them all over our real house; she could make her bed more easily if she wasn't on the top bunk (She loves making her bed. Weirdo.); she could let her brothers in the room whenever she wanted, but close the door and keep them out at her discretion; we promised her a new girly bed and cute furniture. She loves her new room, and especially the "princess net." One of the next projects on our to-do list is to paint her dresser purple. So far she has been very liberal about letting Asher in the room, but Tyson doesn't often get the privilege. Fortunately there is a shelf full of puzzles just outside her bedroom door, so he doesn't seem to mind.

Goals

I've never been good at goal-setting, but I've been in a self-improvement mood. This mood may correlate with a conflict I've been having lately: a desire to do some "nesting" in preparation for a new child versus my inability to make any firm plans or preparations related to Tyson's homecoming.

Instead, I am diverting these feelings to areas of my life that I do have some control over. I've made a list of goals for the month. And what better way to keep myself on track than share my goals (excepting a couple that are more personal and/or spiritual in nature) with the people who care enough about me to check in on this blog occasionally? So if you're reading this, feel free to ask me how I'm doing.

Health

• Sleep: be in my bedroom by 10pm. Getting ready for bed, reading, or lights off. Doesn't matter, as long as I'm in my room.

Money

• Budget: track all my purchases in the budget categories I regularly overspend in, and stay within the budgeted amount.

Home

• Declutter: throw out or give away one thing every day. I started this one a few days early, and so far it's been pretty cathartic.
• Cleaning: spend a minimum of 20 minutes every weekday cleaning.

Parenting

• Chores: include the kids in the housework. I need to teach them skills and start good habits now, while they're still eager to help. I've been falling into the habit of just doing things myself, because it's quicker and easier than including them. To counteract this, I made a list of specific, kid-friendly chores to keep on hand, so I can give them each an assignment while I'm working. On days when I have more time, I'll include them in what I'm working on. Today was one of those days, and Riley helped me clean her bathroom. She and I cleaned the toilet and the tub together, then she wiped the counter and sink while I cleaned the mirror.

Home Again!

We have been home nearly a week, but it hardly seems that long. I have had lots of laundry to do and errands to run. All that on top of adjusting to taking care of two kids by myself during the days has kept me busy. But we are so happy to be back.

Unexpected Visitors

Today, I broke into my own house. Ok, not really. When we bought the house, we inherited an ADT security system. What we didn't inherit were any codes for said system. I found a normal ADT installer code online with some instructions, and it worked, so I was messing around with the system this morning. I also found a paper that was left in a kitchen drawer with a code on it and it seemed to work as well. I was trying to figure out how to use the system when I heard a knock at the door.

When I answered the door, there was a cop with his hand on his side (gun) against the wall next to the door. I greeted him and he said that they had received a distress call. His partner was around the corner, maybe giving back-up or checking around back. I invited them in and explained that we bought the house and I was messing with the security system trying to figure it out. They asked for my ID, called in the licence number, and I was clear, so they left. I noticed that they walked all the way to the end of the cul-de-sac (about 5 or 6 houses) where they were parked.

It turns out that the code I found was the distress code and I had activated it. ADT tried to call the previous owner's phone number and couldn't get ahold of anyone so they called the police. We have been trying to get ADT to give us a code, or reset or disable the system. They have been horrible about returning calls and any service whatsoever. They pretty much won't do anything unless we agree to their 3 year, $40/month monitering agreement. I called about the police coming out and they said that the account is still active under the previous people and we can't change anything without the authorization code (the owner of the house was not the person that lived here - the account is under the owner's son's ex-wife).

So, what did we learn today? 1) Don't enter the distress code unless you want the police to really come. (It was actually reassuring that they were pretty quick and were very professional and thorough.) 2) A complete stranger is paying for our security system.

Fort Collins House

Becca and I traveled last week to Fort Collins to look for a house. We had a great realtor. He took us around town to give us a tour so we could get a better feel for the neighborhoods and amenities. Fort Collins has great park and school systems.

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There are 6 community sized parks, which means somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 acres, including ball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds, soccer fields, etc. Each one also has a focus area. One has a disc golf course, indoor pool and 2 ice skating rinks. One has a small working farm. One has a roller hockey rink. One has a BMX course. In addition to these, each square mile has at least 1 smaller neighborhood park.

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The public school system is also run very well. They let the schools compete with other schools and you can transfer your kids if you want. There are IB as well as AP programs. Around 50% of the adults in Fort Collins have at least a bachelors degree (much higher than the national average), so the people believe in education.

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We also went by some theatres and other places of interest. Downtown (which was the inspiration for Main Street, USA at Disney World) is a nice, walkable area with some really cool shops and restaurants.

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Overall, Becca was impressed. She had tempered her expectations just in case it seemed too small town, but she really was happy with our choice. It's a great place to raise a family.

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After the tour, we started looking at houses. Our realtor had sent us listings and we had narrowed it down to about 10 favorites. After viewing all 10 of them, the day was almost done. The next day, we went back to two we liked more than the others, decided on one, ran a market comparison, put together an offer, and sent it. By Saturday night, we had a contract. Here is a picture of it. It's a 2-story 4 bed/3.5 bath with a basement at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. We are happy with it. There are few things we'll change over the years, but mostly it's all cosmetic (kitchen countertops, flooring, etc.).

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During our trip, Riley stayed with some friends here in Austin. She definitely had a good time. We'll probably save this for another post. Becca and I had a nice time being together and getting excited for our move and future.

Impatient

Riley and I were enjoying ourselves this morning because today was laundry day. Laundry is by far my favorite chore. And Riley enjoys helping me sort the clothes and throw the wet laundry into the dryer.

Fairly early into the process today she spied an empty laundry basket and indicated that she wanted me to bounce her in it. This is a trick that Scot started with her, where he'll pick up the laundry basket while she is in it, and then bounce the basket up and down. I told Riley that Mommy couldn't do bounce, but Daddy would do it with her when he comes home. She obviously understood my explanation, because she stopped begging and immediately went to the front window to watch the driveway and wait.

Goodbye, Hello

Today, we said goodbye to Red Storm, our Ford Freestyle. We would like to take a moment to remember him/her. As Becca puts it, "I don't know if it was a him or a her. I didn't really have an attachment to it. It was a machine." So much for personification.

Our last two cars that we sold had a lot of memories and years of use. Black Sugar: Becca's Civic that she brought into the marriage and drove 130k miles of it's 145k miles. White Stallion: a 1989 4-cyl nissan pickup with a shell, moonroof, and a blue MVP stripe that taught 5 children to drive a stick and was known by everyone at the high school that it was ours and was used for Becca and my first date (sold in 2006 with only 110k miles).

As for Red Storm, it was a good car, but not great. We put hope in a domestic model, but it had some weird issues, like a recall on the back brakes, non-standard tires (a friend with the same car drove nearly 1000 miles on a donut until they found a place that had a replacement tire - for a stock Ford car!), but was pretty fun to drive (continual variable transmission anyone?). Ford didn't market the Freestyle well so it didn't sell all that well and so they don't make the "Freestyle" anymore - it's now the Tauras X. The main problem was that whenever we had company, we had to put the back seat up and thus lose most of the cargo space. The real problem was that the middle row had two captains chairs instead of a bench and that was an issue that we didn't consider when we bought it.

To understand a little of how Becca and I work, we'll look at how we decided to buy the Freestyle. We looked at about 7-8 cars and set up a spreadsheet with gas mileage, legroom, cargo room, shoulder space, number of passengers, etc. (probably about 10 stats). We then weighted each feature by importance and added them together to find our "optimal" choice. The Freestyle won and the Honda Pilot was second. Ok, now you know we're spreadsheet nerds.

We have been contemplating selling the Freestyle while it still has some value. I guess Becca has been looking more than me because when I brought it up, she had a couple of cars picked out. We are heading to the Texas coast (called the third coast [not east coast, not west coast] by some) in May and picking my parents up at the airport in another city on the way. So when we thought about hauling our stuff down (ok, 80% of the junk would be Riley's - why do the smallest people have the most stuff?) we just couldn't imagine how we could fit it all in with the back seat up. So, in other words - Mom and Dad, you owe us the difference! Just kidding.

We have purchased our last two cars (and now 3) at a place called Driscoll Motors. For anyone in Austin, we highly recommend it - the prices even surprised our bank last time when we got the loan. They basically buy cars from all over and sell them to dealers, but the public can also buy them. They might not be all cleaned up, but you know what you are getting. It's worked for us. They offered a fair price to trade-in our Freestyle (which we bought from them), so we more or less swapped cars.

So, introducing ____________ (needs a name - please leave a comment for your suggestion), our new Honda Pilot. BTW, we got lucky with what they had because it has leather seats, a built-in DVD system, and other nice features that we know we'll come to love and have to have in future family cars.

These are just Google pictures (the colors are correct), so don't think we went out and drove to the woods for a photo-op with the new used car.

Trip to LA: Day 8

The trip home was relatively uneventful, which in this case was a good thing. We took an easy morning and packed up, then had some corned beef and cabbage for lunch at Jessica's to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I got a few more games of NBA Live and Madden in with my brother-in-law and then we headed to the airport. I have to say that the TSA employees at Ontario International Airport were the most efficient, helpful, and friendliest that I’ve seen. We found out during the flight that Riley actually enjoys turbulence while the rest of us were close to getting sick. She had a big grin on her face as we passed through some weather on our approach to Austin. At one point we dropped enough that some people almost hit their heads on the ceiling as they came out of their seats a little bit. Riley loved it! The wait for luggage in Austin was the longest I have ever experienced – something like 30-40 minutes. I wonder if Xjet didn’t pay some bills and the pilots had to unload the luggage themselves.

Here’s to a fun vacation and getting back to the grind. Doesn’t it always feel like you need a day or two of vacation from your vacation so that you can get back to normal – sort through the mail, do laundry, get groceries, etc.? For the record, in 7 days I drove 506.7 miles, all within the LA metropolitan area. Insane. The freeways here in Austin seem so small and so slow now and everything is so close (of course, all in comparison).

Baby Fix

A newborn baby is a lot of work, right? Can you imagine five? I was able to spend a few hours tonight helping a family here in Austin that recently came home from a hospital in Arizona with healthy quintuplets. Three girls and two boys. They're about six weeks old now, and tomorrow is actually their due date. While I was there I fed two babies, changed three diapers and two outfits, retreived at least a dozen pacifiers, folded two baskets of laundry, loaded the dishwasher, and spent the rest of the time swaddling and rocking babies. I had such a good time that I'm going back again next week with my friend, Suzanne. If you've been invited to help the Wilkinsons, I would recommend it. It's a good way to get a baby fix. Both parents have a blog, and they've also got a website, if you're interested. Not surprisingly, they're all a little out of date, but they do have some photos of the babies. And for a funny interview with Jayson (father of the quints), check out this link.

I'm So Glad My Daddy Is Home!

Sleeping Like Babies

Scot mentioned in the last post that today was the first day of his 20th year of school. Well, I guess he's getting too old for this school stuff. One class and a few hours of reading and research, and now he's taking an evening nap just like Riley.

Riley's First Day Home

Riley Sophia was born on March 28th, 2007 at 7:38 pm. She weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces and was 17.9 inches long. We brought her home early Saturday morning (the 31st) and she is settling in well. All four of us are working on a sleep schedule. Bernie loves her and tries to help however he can by following us around when we are holding her.

In the 10 hours we've known her, we have learned a little about Riley:

Likes: Sleeping on Dad's chest, having her cheeks stroked, sucking on her hands (actually, the sleeve covering her hands).

Dislikes: Being naked (too cold!), dirty diapers