I found out an interesting little tidbit the other day concerning my husband. It has to do with laundry. Growing up, my mom never used fabric softener in the wash when she was doing our laundry. That was a luxury, and as a single mother of two she kind of had to pick and choose the treats. Personally, I'd take our monthly adventures to Bonanza over fabric softener any day! Fast forward to me as an adult, and I've never seen the big hype about it. Laundry is laundry, it still smells clean, you use the dryer sheets so that there's no static, end of story. Hey, at least it gets done.
Jeff grew up with his mom using it all the time, however. You'd think the shit was liquid gold the way he goes nuts over it. Swear to god, he'll spend 5 minutes in front of all the selections sniffing them to see which one smells the best. I don't know why, because it always ends up being Downy. But whatever, we buy it and go on with our lives.
To me, using it is a pain in the butt! I know it's just one extra step when doing the laundry, but the bottle is too heavy to just pour into the washer cup thingy, so I have to pour it into ANOTHER cup just to put it into the wash. A couple months ago I just stopped using it. I didn't say anything to Jeff, even though I did feel a tiny stab of conscience every time I threw a load in and looked up at that bottle. I ignored that little stab though.
Okay so getting to my point. He noticed the lack of softener use, but didn't say anything. Until Saturday in the detergent isle at London Drugs when he stopped in front of the softener, and brought up the whole thing. Okay, okay, I got caught. I'll start using the freaking liquid gold if it'll make him happier. But actually another thing he noticed but didn't mention is that when I'm taking the clothes out of the washer and putting them in the dryer, I don't shake them out so that they don't wrinkle.
...
In case you didn't know this, my husband is a perfectionist.
And in case you also didn't know this, there is nothing quite as satisfying to me as doing small little things that annoy him. Pinching his butt as he walks up the stairs. Jumping out at him from behind doors. Turning all the lights out so it's pitch black and he can't see (this one is a fave). And now, added to the list, is doing the laundry and making sure he's downstairs watching as I take all the clothes and flinging them into the dryer in one huge pile of jumbled, wrinkly, mess.
24 November 2008
19 November 2008
I feel rich now!
It's amazing how doubling your square footage can make you feel like you're freaking rich. I forgot what space feels like and now I feel like I have so much of it! And I swear to god, my house has never been cleaner. Really it's just cuz I have more floor space to spread it over. It's okay, cleaning the house is part of my job right? Mmmmmkay, when I had an office job I'll admit I slacked on certain aspects of that too :)
So, without further ado, here are the pictures that you all (okay, only Jess) have been bugging me about. I will try to follow the order of the last posts but we've changed the layout so it's a bit different.
Coming down the stairs. We've got actual linolium on them. It's a christmas miracle.
Here is the bathroom, such a huge change. I mean, you don't have to walk through the shower to get to the toilet and there's a sink in there too now.
Here is where I would post a pic of the storage room, but not alot changed in there besides painting it white and pouring cement so that it's even. Plus I forgot to download the pic into photobucket and doing it now is just too much work.
Okay here is the view from the hallway at the bottom of the stairs looking into the family room. I love coming down into my basement now. The next one is a different angle of the room, looking into the hallway. In that one you can see my laundry closet.
This next one is of the office/craft area. Pre-reno, there was a big wall here and it was a bedroom. In this photo you can see just to the left that there is a door. That used to lead to where the kitchen was, and the kitchen was accessed by another door that we walled over. Anyway, if that made any sense at all, the old kitchen is now going to be Liam's room. Although it's not finished yet.
And finally this is looking into the family room from the office.
Told ya you wouldn't recognize it!! There are still a couple very minor things that need to be done like finishing with the baseboards, and doing the framing for the doors to the storage room and my laundry closet, but it's LIVABLE. And I LOVE IT.
So, without further ado, here are the pictures that you all (okay, only Jess) have been bugging me about. I will try to follow the order of the last posts but we've changed the layout so it's a bit different.
Coming down the stairs. We've got actual linolium on them. It's a christmas miracle.
Here is the bathroom, such a huge change. I mean, you don't have to walk through the shower to get to the toilet and there's a sink in there too now.
Here is where I would post a pic of the storage room, but not alot changed in there besides painting it white and pouring cement so that it's even. Plus I forgot to download the pic into photobucket and doing it now is just too much work.
Okay here is the view from the hallway at the bottom of the stairs looking into the family room. I love coming down into my basement now. The next one is a different angle of the room, looking into the hallway. In that one you can see my laundry closet.
This next one is of the office/craft area. Pre-reno, there was a big wall here and it was a bedroom. In this photo you can see just to the left that there is a door. That used to lead to where the kitchen was, and the kitchen was accessed by another door that we walled over. Anyway, if that made any sense at all, the old kitchen is now going to be Liam's room. Although it's not finished yet.
And finally this is looking into the family room from the office.
Told ya you wouldn't recognize it!! There are still a couple very minor things that need to be done like finishing with the baseboards, and doing the framing for the doors to the storage room and my laundry closet, but it's LIVABLE. And I LOVE IT.
10 November 2008
Whew!!! And Booyah!!!
It has been a loooong road, but by this time tomorrow we should be relaxing in our brand freaking new basement! Let me tell you the story.
A little over a year ago we found out we were expecting. No suprise to me there, we were trying after all, but for some reason Jeff didn't think he could have kids. I think he was humoring me with the 'trying' (jokes on him right?). So once I got over my excitement and Jeff recovered from the shock, reality kicked in. Our home is cozy. Read, small. At just 1000 sq ft, it has 2 bedrooms on the main floor along with a decent sized living room and kitchen, and a bathroom. The basement was a train wreck. TRAIN WRECK. I'm going to show photo's, and beware there are lots because it's just all so spectacularily fugly that I just couldn't pick one.
Okay, this is the view coming down the stairs.
This is looking into what was our laundry/furnace/storage room.
When you look out of the laundry room toward where the bathroom is. The door is tucked around the corner but you can see it from the stairs shot.
And THIS is our downstairs bathroom. And yes we did actually have to use it while we were renovating our upstairs bath. Ughh.
And now looking into our family room.
This next one is looking toward where we used to have the office area set up. Behind that wall was a bedroom that was used as storage, and a kitchen from when previous owners actually rented the basement out. Can you imagine???
With the impending arrival of Nicholas, and with only 2 bedrooms upstairs, Jeff decided to renovate the basement so that we could move Liam down there. There was no way in hell that we would have subjected him to those living conditions. So everything got torn down, right to the concrete, and Jeff has been single handedly building out our new basement. He had one friend come over to help haul some garbage out, and another came over to help him install the new hot water tank. Other than that, it's ALL HIM. And keep in mind the only thing he has ANY experience in is electrical work. The rest (heating and ductwork, plumbing, framing, drywalling, etc.) he learned how to do from the internet, asking people questions and his amazing how-to book that we got as a wedding present.
Needless to say, I'm pretty damn proud of him. There are quite literally countless drops of blood, sweat, and tears over this basement. We have made it through a whole year of cluttered upheaval, and come out stronger than ever on the other side. Let me tell ya, it was tougher than tough. I wanted to smack some sense into him on more than one occassion, but somehow I kept it together. And me with my prego hormones running all over the place!
I'm going to do another post with pics of the completed space later on, hopefully once things are a little more set up. You wouldn't even recognize it as the same house!
A little over a year ago we found out we were expecting. No suprise to me there, we were trying after all, but for some reason Jeff didn't think he could have kids. I think he was humoring me with the 'trying' (jokes on him right?). So once I got over my excitement and Jeff recovered from the shock, reality kicked in. Our home is cozy. Read, small. At just 1000 sq ft, it has 2 bedrooms on the main floor along with a decent sized living room and kitchen, and a bathroom. The basement was a train wreck. TRAIN WRECK. I'm going to show photo's, and beware there are lots because it's just all so spectacularily fugly that I just couldn't pick one.
Okay, this is the view coming down the stairs.
This is looking into what was our laundry/furnace/storage room.
When you look out of the laundry room toward where the bathroom is. The door is tucked around the corner but you can see it from the stairs shot.
And THIS is our downstairs bathroom. And yes we did actually have to use it while we were renovating our upstairs bath. Ughh.
And now looking into our family room.
This next one is looking toward where we used to have the office area set up. Behind that wall was a bedroom that was used as storage, and a kitchen from when previous owners actually rented the basement out. Can you imagine???
With the impending arrival of Nicholas, and with only 2 bedrooms upstairs, Jeff decided to renovate the basement so that we could move Liam down there. There was no way in hell that we would have subjected him to those living conditions. So everything got torn down, right to the concrete, and Jeff has been single handedly building out our new basement. He had one friend come over to help haul some garbage out, and another came over to help him install the new hot water tank. Other than that, it's ALL HIM. And keep in mind the only thing he has ANY experience in is electrical work. The rest (heating and ductwork, plumbing, framing, drywalling, etc.) he learned how to do from the internet, asking people questions and his amazing how-to book that we got as a wedding present.
Needless to say, I'm pretty damn proud of him. There are quite literally countless drops of blood, sweat, and tears over this basement. We have made it through a whole year of cluttered upheaval, and come out stronger than ever on the other side. Let me tell ya, it was tougher than tough. I wanted to smack some sense into him on more than one occassion, but somehow I kept it together. And me with my prego hormones running all over the place!
I'm going to do another post with pics of the completed space later on, hopefully once things are a little more set up. You wouldn't even recognize it as the same house!
8 November 2008
I knew I picked a gooder!
A couple of days ago, Jeff came out of the bathroom with a new goutee (sp?). I thought nothing of it, I mean sure it looks good *wink wink* but he occasionally play around with his facial hair. This morning he was rubbing his face and kinda bitching about how itchy it's getting with the hair. So I told him to just shave it off, no big deal. That's when he looked at me and said "I can't, I'm growing it out for Nicky."
Apparently he noticed how much Nicky loves pulling on Grandpas beard and wanted to provide his son with the same entertainment. Plus I think he was a bit jealous too. He told me that he's gotten WAY more smiles and laughs from the baby with the goutee than before, and so it's staying.
I guess I'll just have to listen to the complaining :) I can deal because it's for a good cause.
Apparently he noticed how much Nicky loves pulling on Grandpas beard and wanted to provide his son with the same entertainment. Plus I think he was a bit jealous too. He told me that he's gotten WAY more smiles and laughs from the baby with the goutee than before, and so it's staying.
I guess I'll just have to listen to the complaining :) I can deal because it's for a good cause.
5 November 2008
Maybe a mental breakthrough? I dunno.
My baby is a pretty big boy, 17 1/2 pounds at his last weighing which was a month ago. And since he's 6 months old and more than heavy enough, why isnt he sleeping through the night? Cuz this mama is getting pretty tired and is kinda over the whole co-sleeping deal. Don't get me wrong, I love having that warm little body next to me, and waking up to his smiles and giggles and giving him tired kisses all over his face the second I wake up...but it all comes at a price. Like, every morning I am shoved to the edge of our bed because though he starts out in the middle, throughout the night he snuggles closer and closer like he's trying to get inside my skin and live there. So, and mind you this is in my deep sleep, I shove over to give him room. I'm shocked I haven't ended up on the floor yet.
Oh and another by-product of this co-sleeping business? My own husband is stuck on the couch because he doesn't get a proper night sleep since he's hyper aware of every move Nicky makes. This is very sad to me, and even though he might not be getting lucky every night, dammit I want to be able to sleep next to him.
So I have been trying my best to sleep train for the past 2 weeks and let me tell you...it's not working out very well. I can't let the poor baby "cry it out" in the traditional sense, but I have been scheduling his naps and going in every few minutes to pat his back, shush him, etc. Still after 2 weeks, it's taking an average of 30 minutes for him to fall asleep. Ummm okay, it may have taken a while for it to sink through but I think I've realised that this method isn't going to work. Back to the drawing board.
And then today, as I was passing Nicky in his excersaucer on my way about the house, I got the "look" from him. The "hey mom, bring those boobs over here I'm kinda bored and I think I might want to eat for 30 seconds and then fall asleep for 30 minutes and drive you insane" look. And me, like a dumb milk cow, start walking over to him whilst hiking up my shirt. And then I stop. This is the mental breakthrough part. It occurs to me that maybe I shouldn't feed him right at that moment because, hey, he just ate 2 hours before. And it was a big meal too, AND he had just had his lunch a half hour before that. So he's probably not really hungry yet.
This, in turn, got me thinking that maybe the reason he's not sleeping through the nights or having good naps durning the days is because I'm trying to mix 2 different parenting styles together. I demand feed, but I'm trying to schedule his naps. Hey, it worked for Liam so I never gave it much thought when it came to Nicky. I'm thinking maybe this little one needs a bit more structure.
So, I'm going to stop the demand feeding. And I'm going to milk-smother him in the evenings in an effort to put him into a milk induced coma that he hopefully won't come out of until about 7 a.m. Heck, it's worth a shot. Being able to sleep a whole 8 hours straight for the first time in....I don't know how long....will be SO worth it!
Rock on.
Oh and another by-product of this co-sleeping business? My own husband is stuck on the couch because he doesn't get a proper night sleep since he's hyper aware of every move Nicky makes. This is very sad to me, and even though he might not be getting lucky every night, dammit I want to be able to sleep next to him.
So I have been trying my best to sleep train for the past 2 weeks and let me tell you...it's not working out very well. I can't let the poor baby "cry it out" in the traditional sense, but I have been scheduling his naps and going in every few minutes to pat his back, shush him, etc. Still after 2 weeks, it's taking an average of 30 minutes for him to fall asleep. Ummm okay, it may have taken a while for it to sink through but I think I've realised that this method isn't going to work. Back to the drawing board.
And then today, as I was passing Nicky in his excersaucer on my way about the house, I got the "look" from him. The "hey mom, bring those boobs over here I'm kinda bored and I think I might want to eat for 30 seconds and then fall asleep for 30 minutes and drive you insane" look. And me, like a dumb milk cow, start walking over to him whilst hiking up my shirt. And then I stop. This is the mental breakthrough part. It occurs to me that maybe I shouldn't feed him right at that moment because, hey, he just ate 2 hours before. And it was a big meal too, AND he had just had his lunch a half hour before that. So he's probably not really hungry yet.
This, in turn, got me thinking that maybe the reason he's not sleeping through the nights or having good naps durning the days is because I'm trying to mix 2 different parenting styles together. I demand feed, but I'm trying to schedule his naps. Hey, it worked for Liam so I never gave it much thought when it came to Nicky. I'm thinking maybe this little one needs a bit more structure.
So, I'm going to stop the demand feeding. And I'm going to milk-smother him in the evenings in an effort to put him into a milk induced coma that he hopefully won't come out of until about 7 a.m. Heck, it's worth a shot. Being able to sleep a whole 8 hours straight for the first time in....I don't know how long....will be SO worth it!
Rock on.
4 November 2008
Coolness Inc.
So, a friend of mine has been bugging me for years to try scrapbooking, ever since she went on maternity leave with her first baby. He's now 3, so that should tell you something about my super amazing procrastination skillz. Anyway, now that I am on mat leave myself and my baby has finally figured out that, wow wonder of wonders, he doesn't need me to hold him 24/7, I have a bit of spare time on my hands. (There were a lot of comma's in that sentance-you'll find that I'm the comma queen).
So, in light of my crossover to the dark side, er, I mean scrapbooking side, I went with some friends to a late night crop on Saturday. Guys, these are great! You get to go to a craft store when it's CLOSED. You don't have to worry about other customers being all up in your face and shoving past you, you can browse all you want, and you don't have to pay till the end of the night! Ahhhhh, it was so hard for me to resist temptation. See, since I'm pretty new to this I really don't have all that much in the way of embellishments (that is cool person talk for cute little decorations that go on your page) and so I pretty much needed everything in the store. Seriously. I managed to restrain myself and only spent $20. But when you add that to the money I spent at Michaels on paper and at the dollar store on embellishments, well lets just say that it's a good thing my husband is artistic and actually encourages this kind of hobby.
So I'm pretty proud of what I did, I think they're great for a first effort! Here's the first one I did. The top pic is from the night that we got engaged, and the bottom one is from some random night out.
This second one is of my boys. I bought this stamp alphabet on sale and apparently the reason I got such a good deal on it was because the P is backwards. Stupid dumb stamp makers.
This last one is my favorite one that I did. It's got my favorite pics of the boys together. I'm so glad that, at least for now, they get along so well! And I have proof! Because once Nicky becomes mobile and starts getting into Liam's stuff....well let's just say that I may have to get my license so that I can drive to the pub and drown my sorrows while Jeff plays referee. Gaaaaad, that's gonna be scary.
You know what else is really cool about scrapbooking? No kids for 7 whole hours! When you stay at home with them all day every day 60 minutes an hour 24 hours a day 7 days a week - insert gasping breath here - it's pretty much heaven. It's even hard to dredge up sympathy for the husband that is stuck at home with the screaming infant. Although I did manage a couple drops. I'm not THAT heartless...
Rock on --> I really want to get one of those little siggy icon thingys for my page...does anybody know where I need to go to find them?
So, in light of my crossover to the dark side, er, I mean scrapbooking side, I went with some friends to a late night crop on Saturday. Guys, these are great! You get to go to a craft store when it's CLOSED. You don't have to worry about other customers being all up in your face and shoving past you, you can browse all you want, and you don't have to pay till the end of the night! Ahhhhh, it was so hard for me to resist temptation. See, since I'm pretty new to this I really don't have all that much in the way of embellishments (that is cool person talk for cute little decorations that go on your page) and so I pretty much needed everything in the store. Seriously. I managed to restrain myself and only spent $20. But when you add that to the money I spent at Michaels on paper and at the dollar store on embellishments, well lets just say that it's a good thing my husband is artistic and actually encourages this kind of hobby.
So I'm pretty proud of what I did, I think they're great for a first effort! Here's the first one I did. The top pic is from the night that we got engaged, and the bottom one is from some random night out.
This second one is of my boys. I bought this stamp alphabet on sale and apparently the reason I got such a good deal on it was because the P is backwards. Stupid dumb stamp makers.
This last one is my favorite one that I did. It's got my favorite pics of the boys together. I'm so glad that, at least for now, they get along so well! And I have proof! Because once Nicky becomes mobile and starts getting into Liam's stuff....well let's just say that I may have to get my license so that I can drive to the pub and drown my sorrows while Jeff plays referee. Gaaaaad, that's gonna be scary.
You know what else is really cool about scrapbooking? No kids for 7 whole hours! When you stay at home with them all day every day 60 minutes an hour 24 hours a day 7 days a week - insert gasping breath here - it's pretty much heaven. It's even hard to dredge up sympathy for the husband that is stuck at home with the screaming infant. Although I did manage a couple drops. I'm not THAT heartless...
Rock on --> I really want to get one of those little siggy icon thingys for my page...does anybody know where I need to go to find them?
3 November 2008
All the cool kids are doing it.
So, I'm jumping on this bandwagon - side note: notice how every new blogger says this in the first paragraph of their first post? I'm jumping on that bandwagon too! Actually, it's kinda like when my best friend and I got our noses pierced in high school...I'm only doing it because Jess is doing it! Hehe. Cuz I'm a follower.
I guess I should start by introducing you to my fam. First up we have Liam, my firstborn son. He is nine years old (God that makes me feel old) and is pretty cool. I mean, come on, his favorite band is Black Sabbath. Or Guns n Roses. As IF you aren't jealous that I have such a cool kid!
Next up we have Nicholas, my sweet little baby boy. He is six months old right now and is VERY rolly polly. He hasn't told me yet what his favorite band is, however, he can be put asleep by Mama singing some Radiohead to him on Rockband.
And then there's my fabulous husband Jeff. I think the photo below says it all. Though I'm not treated to him dressed up in full Glam Rock gear on a daily basis, he does make me laugh all. the. time. I couldn't ask for more.
And there you have it, the people I care most about in the world. I'll try to update daily, for all 2 of you people who will actually be reading this :)
Rock on.
I guess I should start by introducing you to my fam. First up we have Liam, my firstborn son. He is nine years old (God that makes me feel old) and is pretty cool. I mean, come on, his favorite band is Black Sabbath. Or Guns n Roses. As IF you aren't jealous that I have such a cool kid!
Next up we have Nicholas, my sweet little baby boy. He is six months old right now and is VERY rolly polly. He hasn't told me yet what his favorite band is, however, he can be put asleep by Mama singing some Radiohead to him on Rockband.
And then there's my fabulous husband Jeff. I think the photo below says it all. Though I'm not treated to him dressed up in full Glam Rock gear on a daily basis, he does make me laugh all. the. time. I couldn't ask for more.
And there you have it, the people I care most about in the world. I'll try to update daily, for all 2 of you people who will actually be reading this :)
Rock on.
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