Our Morning Routine

1. Shower (Location: main floor bath)
2. Toilet (Location: basement bath)

3. Sink (Location: kitchen)

4. Mirror (Location: main floor bath)

For those interested in seeing the gory details of remodeling work, you will enjoy the following couple posts. Feel free to skip them if you get tired of seeing rather unsightly messes. :o)

Before . . .

Since no project is complete without the proper "before" pictures, here they are . . . in part. A good bit had actually already been done prior to this picture--including priming the walls, finishing the ceiling, installing a new light switch and outlet, etc. However, most of that isn't real obvious in a picture like this, so here's the basic view of our main floor bath--the decorative shower curtain has been down since Chris started the drywall work.


One of the two main things driving this project was the toilet which was NOT seated properly, rocked when you used it, and was obviously causing some water damage in the floor. Besides all that, the wax ring seeped out under the edges and was absolutely gross. Enough said.

The second thing was that the vinyl flooring was no longer properly sealed to the floor, and therefore water could seep under the edges. Again, causing potential structural damage, and with two small children, not ever getting water on the floor is an impossibility. Or at least it has proved to be for us. And mopping was troublesome, too.

And here's the vanity. To save a few dollars, our plan had been to simply repaint it and replace the top. We've since discovered that that's probably not going to work. Its condition does not warrant the effort involved in refinishing it.

So, that's that. Or at least, that was that! :o)

Demolition!

This Saturday was the day . . . and in many ways it's good that we generally tend to underestimate the effort involved with a project. If we didn't, we might never start anything. :o) Ah well! We generally have fun doing it . . . and we certainly enjoy the results when we're done. :o) Mommy and Hannah had a "girls' morning" running lots of errands to get various pieces for the bath, while Daddy and Peter did demo work. So, here's what happened while we disappered . . .

Sink disappears.
Hmmm, . . .

At least I don't have to feel guilty about the filthy floor under the vanity! :o)

Pulling up the vinyl . . . and you can see the toilet drain in the back. Gross.

Floor gone. So far so good.

Removed some ceiling from the downstairs bath so we could access the pipes. Yep. Water damage.

Decided to replace cast iron pipe with PVC. Down with the wall.

Very big mess with lots of dust.

Mission accomplished!

And that's about where we're at. Chris ran into trouble soldering a water line which kind of slowed things up a bit Saturday evening, but before he went to bed (very late), he had the toilet reseated and functioning in the basement. In the next couple days he'll be repairing the water damage in the floor, installing the flooring, installing the new pipes, etc. Grandpa and Great Grandpa will probably get to help with reinstalling the vanity/sink and other myriad of finishing details. It's so nice to have reinforcements coming!!! :o)

PS - For those who are really interested in the details of this thing, due to the damage in the floor, we're going to be sliding the toilet a bit to the right which will also give us room to install a slightly larger vanity. Blessings! :o)

Table of Blessings

Our old table was handed down to us from some friends at work shortly after we were married, and it's certainly been a blessing, but serving eight people around it was very "cozy."
In answer to our prayers, the Lord provided a "new," larger table on Craig's List this week for less than we'll probably be paying for a new bathroom vanity! It's solid wood (i.e. very durable and kid-proof) and has six chairs!

It can expand to easily seat 10 people! (And maybe 12 if we get cozy again . . . ) :o)

Thank you, Lord! We're looking forward to many years of food and fellowship with family and friends around it!

Rainy Day Recipes

The Lord has blessed us with an abundance of rain this week! This picture most definitely does not do justice to the swollen creeks and flooded parking lots and roads! But, nonetheless, it was a very wet day that I took it. So what do we do when it rains?

We wear warm dresses to school . . .

Play ball games inside . . .

Decorate the walls . . .

Browse the sale flyers . . .

And make yummy, yummy kid-friendly granola bars! :o) This recipe was definitely not "healthy," but it was very yummy and super easy!

Happy Baking!

Microwave Oatmeal Bars:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a bowl, combine oats and brown sugar. Stir in butter and corn syrup. Press in greased 9-inch square microwave-safe dish.

Microwave, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes. (Rotate half-way through if you don't have a turn-table.) Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Microwave at 30% power for 4-1/2 minutes or until chips are glossy; spread chocolate evenly over top.

Refrigerate 15-20 minutes before cutting.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa M.!

We love you and can hardly wait to see you this week!!

By the way, Hannah colored two cards for you ...

The first one was in "girl" colors:

And the second was in "boy" colors. :o)
Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Classic Pic

Just had to share this absolutely classic pic I caught of Peter this afternoon! Enjoy! :o)

Flying high!

It's been raining a lot here in recent days, but earlier in the week we were still enjoying dry weather and we finished an evening of outdoor puttering with some swing time . . .

They were having fun together for sure!

Woo-Hoo!! Mommy caught a picture of both of them looking at me and smiling at the Same Time!! While on a swing no less!! Miracles do happen! :o)

Happy almost Fall!

A New Spatula

I came home from a Pampered Chef party Friday evening with a door prize of one of their great little spatulas! :o) How exciting! The kids thought so, too, and Peter immediately tried using it to scoop up his sippy cup. He was completely successful on his first try and flashed the biggest "I'm proud of myself" smile you can imagine. So I grabbed the camera and had him try again . . .


And again . . . "I HAD it!"

And again . . . "Got it this time, Mommy!"


And again! :o) Good job, Buddy!


And here's Hannah-bug's quite successful go at the same feat! :o)

Who knew a spatula could be so much fun?!?

A "Mommy" Airplane

So what do you do when your airplane looks like this . . .

And your little boy looks like this . . .

And Daddy's airplane repair service is yet two hours away? . . .

You make a "Mommy" airplane . . . out of paper!

It does not fly well, the reason behind Peter's only-half-smile, however, it was better than nothing. And it at least slightly resembled the airplane he would much have preferred to have been playing with. It got us through till Daddy got home at least, so I deemed it a success.

And Hannah really enjoyed decorating hers, so that was a double-success! :o)

Happy Flying!