Renovations And Pregnancy

Hi Friends!

Boy has it been awhile since I've been here! I found myself setteling into my pregnancy and just enjoying the time reading about becoming a mom, how to take care of an infant and preparing for the arrival of our sweet girl. Who has a name by the way. :) Aubrey Faith. We decided upon her name on the car ride home from our sonogram where we learned we were having a girl. But we wanted to make sure that was the right name for our little girl and subsequently went through every.single.female.name we could possibly think of just to make sure we picked the right name. And we did. She's an Aubrey through and through. It took us longer to come up with her middle name as there were many names that we liked. But Faith kept jumping out at us. We've come to rely on the Lord in such a new way during this pregnancy and we've depended on our faith in him to carry us through. We've been going through numerous layoffs, a huge home renovation (that I'll explain in a bit) and just the financial aspect of bringing a baby into the world with limited financial funds. Faith is carrying us through. And I hope and pray that faith will be something that Aubrey relies on as she grows older.

As I mentioned above, we are going through some huge home renovations. I mean huge. I've had to move out of the house even. Well, let me rephrase that. My husband, three dogs and I have all moved out. We are staying with my inlaws until our home is complete. There are 7 people and three dogs crammed into one small house. But we are making do and honestly, it's been pretty good! Let me share with you a brief story of our home woes.

It all started at the beginning of September. Shane and I were in Pennsylvania for my USA baby shower. My inlaws came over to prime the nursery for us. How nice is that?! Those of you who've hung around my blog long enough know that our house is a major fixer-upper. The previous owners had done little to improve upon the home and when they did home repairs, more or less seemed to slap happy things together. So, in each bedroom, along the window wall, was this decorative floral paneling. Ugly. When we first moved in, we just painted over the paneling in our bedroom because we didn't have the money to repair whatever was lurking behind the paneling. So, we sort of thought we'd do that in Aubrey's room as well. No big deal. But my mother-in-law decided to pull back some of the paneling to see what was beneath and lo and behold, there was just regular ol' wall. Until she kept pulling.....

..........and out flew WASPS. Tons and tons of wasps. There was a giant nest of wasps living inbetween the wall. We're talking honeycombs and everything. It was terrible! Being the great inlaws that they are, they killed all of the wasps. My father-in-law did it all by hand too! He didn't want to spray a bunch of chemicals into our home so he endured a few stings just to keep our home safe. What a guy! They ended up needing to tear down all of the paneling, drywall and insulation to make sure that they got every last hive and wasp. So, when we got home, we came home to this.

Nursery wall.

The black is where the wasps were. They had literally eaten through some of the studs. It looks like fire damage! Unfortunatly, some of that black damage is also water leakage from the windows. The windows are builder grade windows from the '50's. Terrible things.

Wasp damage.

So that got my mom-n-law thinking. She decided to check out about getting a grant to upgrade our home. Canada had been advertising these home eco-efficiency grants where you can do all of this work on your home to make it more eco-effecient and then the government will refund portions of your costs back to you. But first, you had to have an inspector come to your house and evaluate every.little.thing to see what sort of funding your home was eligable for. One of the perks of that is that they have a heat sensor thing that would be able to tell us if anything was living in our walls. We wanted to make sure there were no more wasps living in any other parts of the wall, so that alone made the inspector worthwhile.

Laundry Room - Long Outside Wall.

Turns out, we were eligible for all kinds of money because our home was just that bad. So, we decided to get the ball moving and redo our home. Quickly. Because a baby is coming in 2 months and three weeks. Every outside wall of our home will be torn down to the studs and new studs and insulation will be put up. We have already ordered new windows and soon each of those nasty builer windows will be replaced. Our bathroom was smashed to smitherenes just the other day - and since we only have one bathroom - that's the main reason we had to move out. That and the drywall dust. In tearing down drywall around the windows, we discovered that there is major rot due to the windows leaking. It's actually pretty bad. As it stands now, the nursery outside wall has been ripped down to the studs. New ones are up in it's place. The window is gone and instead there is plywood. An electrician friend also changed out the electrical outlets and switches. He'll be doing that for the rest of the house as well. We have some bad wiring! In all of this, there are plans to side the house as well. Did I mention that most of this needs done before Aubrey comes? Not the outside work of course, but all things inside need to be taken care of before she comes. We have plans to everything completed by November 20th. That includes repainting and putting the house back in order. It's quiet a construction zone.

Laundry Room - Window Wall. Wood Rot.

So, those are the major reasons I haven't been blogging lately. Things are BUSY around here. Though lately I've been finding myself sitting around twiddeling my thumbs. It's hard not being in my own home with my own things. But everyone has been amazing. I mean honestly, amazing. My sister-n-law has even given up her bed so Shane and I can sleep on it.

More Laundry Room Window Rot

Things with my pregnancy have been going really good. Aubrey is measuring exactly where she should be. I tested negative for my gestational diabetes test (or so I think. It's been well over two weeks since I've taken the test and hadn't heard I failed so I'm assuming no news is good news.). I'm in my third trimester already! I'm actualy 28 weeks and 6 days. The countdown for this little peanut to come is realy on! This pregnancy has been flying by and I wish it would slow down just a bit. I'm hoping and praying that our home will be ready intime for her to come. Please keep that in your prayers. :)

27 Week Pregnant - A tad bigger now. :)

Sorry for the long and wordy post! Just wanted to fill you all in! I'm coming back in a few days to share with you photos of my USA baby shower. Oh wow, did we have a great time! Talk to everyone soon! Hope you have a great weekend!!

An Unpretty Laundry Room

In my last post I mentioned how I am not waiting on pretty to get my organizing done. Wonder what I mean? Check out what I had to say on the subject.




I hopped into our laundry room and got to work.

If you may remember, we've been "remodeling" this room - since last June.

It's become quiet the project - and if I knew how to install plumbing, it would have been done months ago. But I don't.

And though these photos were taken in July, so the floor is cleaned and the tools are away, I've been living with my utility shelf in my tight hallway for months. Coincidently, that shelf was right infront of our only coat closet and infront of our bedroom door. We had to walk sideways to get into our bedroom. For months. How dumb am I??

Realizing my stupidity, I got to work.

I stacked two gorgeous new sinks on top of the washing machine box. Scooted the two pedestals next to the washer box as well. Picked up oodles of tools. And then picked up more tools. I cleaned up drywall and swept the room. There was space! Can you believe it?? Space!

I moved back in the utility shelf and began organizing.

I lined up the potions and lotions in a way that made sense to me.

Laundry supplies on the top shelf so they are most accessible.

Cleaning supplies on the second shelf. Again, lined up - any doubles were placed in front of one another.

The third shelf I placed cleaning rags and towels for the dogs.

That's also where I placed my bleach and toilet cleaning supplies. I corralled them in a basket so I can easily grab it when I need to clean the toilet.

The bottom shelf holds a gallon of paint, a basket for tools like my hammer, duct tape, nails and such. Another basket holds my lightbulbs, extension cords and flashlights. I stuck a tiny wastebasket next to the shelf and put out a rug.

Is it fantastic looking? No. Is it my dream organization? No. Do I wish that all of the junk was behind closed doors? Yes. But it's done. And organized. And every item has a home. I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Not Waiting On Pretty

Have you ever wanted to organize something so badly but you didn't have the right container? Or the cute basket? Or even a few matching baskets? Does it put your organizing on hold? For me, it can be paralyzing. I will put off the project completely until I have the supplies that I want to get the job done. I mean, can I really have an organized pantry unless I have matching baskets??

I'm letting that paralasys go.

I've put off far too many organizing projects around my home because if it wasn't going to be "perfect" then I just didn't want to even attempt it. Oh sure, I'll line up my canned goods or neatly stack my magazines, but what I really want is for it too look perfect. I have visions of walking through the Container Store with an unlimited budget to satisfy my organizational needs.

But I'm letting that dream go. Let's face it, ain't gonna happen.


So the thing is this. I'm going around my home and I'm going to organize. My containers may not be cute. My baskets may not match. But I'm going to get it organized. You see, often times when we get that "let's get it organized" bug, we rush to the nearest Target and load up on baskets and bins to take care of our clutter problem. Only to come home, stuff that junk in the bins and tuck it all away. We may not have purged properly. Or grouped like items together. Or catagorized. We may not even have bought enough containers in the first place because we have yet to organize the mess. Or maybe we bought too many and that requires a trip back to the store, hauling those bins out of your car, into the store, waiting in line to do said return - ugh, it's exhausting just to think about!

I started my organizing today.

Today I said "no more".


Is it fantastic looking? No. Is it my dream organization? No. Do I wish that all of the junk was behind closed doors? Yes. But it's done. And organized.

And I'm one step closer to gaining my home back.

I will not let my space rule me. I will rule my space.


So what organizing projects have you put off lately?

Makeovers

We are back from our mini-vacation in Pennsylvania. I had one of the best times hanging out with my family, antiquing, celebrating birthdays and Independence Day. It was so great!

While home, I had a hand in some makeovers. First, I made over my moms blog. She wanted something simple but something that also showcased her quilts. She is an avid quilter and makes such beautiful things. We were able to take some gorgeous photographs of her work and then incorporated them into her blog header. I also made her blog three columns. Head on over to check out her new look. She also did some makeovers herself.

Then it was on to my sister, Jenn's, blog. Jenn is an amazing cook and baker. She belongs to a group of bloggers called The Barefoot Bloggers. Each week they make one of Ina Garten's recipes and share what they liked and didn't like about the recipe. Let me tell you, I wish I lived closer so I could have some of the leftovers! For Jenn's blog, we incorporated some soft colors and gave it a vintage, sweet vibe. I also changed her blog into a three-column as well.



But I wasn't done with Jenn yet. She wanted some help redecorating/arranging her house and I told her the "payment" for redoing her blog (as if I would ever make her pay!) would be to get to redo her living room and kitchen. She also had me fix up her entryway too. We changed the whole orientation of her living room. We moved around accessories and edited for a new look. Then it was on to the kitchen. Jenn doesn't have a lot of space in her kitchen. She only has one drawer in the kitchen and that holds her silverware. The rest of her items must be stored in the cupboards. Well, I threw some organization into the mix and ended up finding so much more space! We changed things to make her kitchen function much better for her. As a cook, she needed the space and the organization to make things easier. Wouldn't you know that I have no pictures of the transformation! But she does! She'll be posting the transformation over at her blog. So head on over to check it out.



I had a bit of a makeover on myself too. I chopped my hair off! Well...I didn't. A beautician friend did. But let me just say, I love it!! I've had my hair short for years...and it wasn't until I got engaged that I decided to grow my hair out. I was always struggling with it so finally, I took the plunge and got it chopped. I'm so happy with it!

Our laundry room is sort of on a makeover hiatus.

Here is the eyesore that is my laundry room right now. Shane has much bigger plans than paint and accessories...so currently, the washer and dryer are in their boxes collecting...stuff. We need to replace drywall on two walls in the room. We are also deciding if we want to put in a utility sink. So, hopefully...fingers crossed...work gets done on this project soon!

And my last bit of makeover news comes from the world of television. Extreme Makeover Home Edition was filmed in Erie, Pennsylvania - right near my hometown! It was incredibly exciting to learn this bit of news. Mary J Blige even came out for the event. Crazy! You can read about it here.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is enjoying summer wherever you are. I sure am!

A New Washer and Dryer

I'm so incredibly excited to let you know that yesterday Shane and I purchased a washer and dryer set. We are soooo excited! A loooong time ago, I promised to redo our laundry room. But with three dogs living in there, a broken washer and dryer and lots of "stuff" it just wasn't going to happen. But, our washer is to be delivered on Tuesday. The dogs are moving OUT into the garage. And this space will be reclaimed! I'm so incredibly excited!! Every now and then I scream out "Bahama Blue! YES!!" (That's the color of our set.)

So, because I'm so excited, I'm relinking a post I did about laundry room inspiration. I hope to have the whole makeover done in two weeks time to post. (The dryer comes in 9 days and the pedestals the beginning of July.)

And, I'm putting some finishing touches on the living room so this week, there will be photos. I promise. And while you're here, don't forget to sign up for the photo giveaway. I can't wait to get my print ordered!

Running as Fast as I Can to Catch Up!

Saturday I had these amazing plans to decorate my home for Christmas. I'd been trying all week to get our laundry washed, the house swept free of the big tufts of white dog hair that collects constantly. Trying to make my home just shine so that come Saturday I could deck my halls. I had a marvelous meal planned with a ham, biscuits, veggies and maybe even a pie! Shane was to go hunting so I would be dog and hubby free to put on a Christmas movie and get to work.

It all started wonderfully. I put a load of red flannel sheets into the washer to get nice and clean. I was busy taking down my fall decor and neatly tucking it away until next year.

And then hubby came home early.

And the beauty of the moment came crashing to a halt.

Our laundry room was flooded.

For about an hour the washing machine was spewing forth water all over into my laundry room. (It's a normal sized room...we had to sleep in there for awhile when we first bought our house due to painting in our bedroom.) And it was flooded.

My beautiful day was ruined.

As we worked fevereshly to clean the mess, my heart sank. We still had our ham. And instead of being dressed in a nice sweater, hair nicely done, I was unshowered. Still in my pajamas. Tear stained face. (It was a stressful day).

All of this put me behind in my decorating, organizing, blog reading and updating. I have so much to say! So many things to blog about! So many new blogs I want to get to. Please bear with me. I'm fevershly trying to catch up.

Tonight I will deck my halls. Shane is at night school so I have the house to myself. I will be putting on "Christmas wtih the Cranks" and decorating my heart out! I want to participate in some tours of homes so I better get my behind in gear!

I wanted to leave you with this great stocking stuffer idea.



Yesterday, my charming inlaws came over to celebrate my sis-in-law, Anne's, birthday. They were so sweet in giving me a hostess gift. It's a mini-holiday reed diffuser from Pier One. The great thing about these sweet little scented things is that they are mini. Perfect for the holidays. And come in these amazing flavors of gingerbread (that's what I have), chocolate mint, and chocolate cherry. Perfect stocking stuffer or hostess gift!

I Love Laundry Rooms

I love laundry rooms. I love laundry. Am I a weirdo? It all began a little over eight years ago when I was living in Pittsburgh after high school and was officially doing laundry on my own. I loved pouring the soap, sorting my clothes, folding them oh so neatly. And I still love it. We are lucky to have a whole room in our home that we have dedicated The Laundry Room. It also houses our fur-babies while they sleep and is generally an all-purpose laundry/cleaning/storage room. And I can't wait to redo it! What is stopping me you ask? My LOATHING of painting. I hate to do it. I hate hate hate to do it. I'm honestly just wanting to hire people but I can't afford that. But I want this room to be prettified.

There has been so much inspiration in blogland lately - people redoing their laundry rooms - that it's got my bug justa' itchin' to get my laundry room up to what I dream of it to be. So today, I'm sharing with you some laundry room inspiration. Here's to hoping that these pix inspire me enough to paint my room and you enough to love doing your laundry!