Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for house
Windows replaced
Yippee…we have new windows in every room on our second floor! Well, that’s not entirely true…the little windows in the laundry room and our master bathroom have not been replaced yet, but the big ones are done. There is now a new, sealed, and easy-to-open window in the office, in each kid’s room and there are two in our room. What a difference they’ve made already! I know that we’ll notice a big change in the warmth of the rooms this winter, and hopefully we’ll see a differnce in our utility bill, too!
I’m so proud of Dave for getting all of this done. This is one home improvement that should truly make our second story more comfortable for all of us. Hopefully he can get the little ones measured and in before the weather turns into winter completely.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another
No truer words can be spoken when you own a house. Yesterday morning our garbage disposal stopped working. So today Dave dove in trying to figure out why. Approximately $125 and several hours later, we have a functioning disposal again. But there were some struggles getting there. At one point, Dave was worried that we would have to rewire the whole thing, which would be a really tough job considering it’s over the finished part of the basement. But luckily it was just the switch that was bad, so he was able to rewire that and it was working again.
Thank goodness Dave knows how to do so many home improvement things. I would have really hated to pay someone to do that job. I know he gets tired of constantly having new projects pop up, but we’re so lucky that he can do them himself. Just add that to the many great things about Daddy!! 
A new window
Today Dave put a new replacement window in the office. We have stewed about windows for really over a year now, knowing that our entire second floor needed new ones, but not sure what route to take. We couldn’t decide between wood or vinyl windows for a very long time. There are pros and cons to each…the wood ones look nicer, but are way more expensive. The vinyl ones wear better, but don’t look as nice. We went back and forth so much. Meanwhile, the windows got worse and worse. One day I even saw Emma’s blinds moving when the window was totally closed! Ugh…no wonder the poor girl’s room is so hot! Finally, we decided to go with vinyl upstairs and worry about the downstairs windows next year. They are in better shape, and we think they will make it through the winter no problem. Dave measured and worried a lot, but he went ahead and ordered one window. He just ordered one to make sure that he had measured right and that he could install it himself.
Well, today proved that he had measured right and he could install it himself! He did a great job, and I’m so excited to have a new window in the office. We got the hyper-good light filtering glass (which has a much more official name, but I don’t know it) and it really does make a difference. When the sun beat into that window this evening it was way cooler than the window facing the same direction in Ben’s room. Plus it opens and closes soooooo easily compared to the old ones. I can’t believe I’m so excited about a new window, but it has made me really happy!
Now we just have to order the other 4 for the second floor. It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait to see how much it affects our heating bills this winter!
The big garage sale, day 2
Today was a very different sale day. First of all, the weather totally changed overnight and it was freezing today! Ok, freezing may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it was chilly sitting out there. It was overcast, breezy, and it started to spit rain a couple times. That definitely had a bit of an effect on the crowd, I’m sure, but I certainly can’t complain. While it was not a steady stream of people all day, they were on a mission, and we had a lot of buyers come through. I was so excited to sell the rocker, and I did so very early on this morning. In fact, almost all of the big things sold, and a lot of the little things (including some things that I thought would never sell) went, too.
The biggest disappointment to me is how many clothes we have left. I really thought that baby clothes would go better than they did. Man, some of the clothes we still have are in fantastic shape! It really surprised me, to be honest. At this point we’re not really sure what we’re going to do with all these clothes we have left. We definitely have some things to go to Good Will, and obviously we could take all of the clothes there, but I’m just not sure if we’re ready to part with all of them that easily. I guess I just need to give myself a little time to decide what I’m going to do. I’m sure that Dave and I will begin to box things up in the morning, and hopefully I’ll have a better idea then.
Oh, I haven’t even mentioned the money yet! We made a killing!! Well, maybe not a killing to some, but let’s just say we surpassed my goal of $500 profit with ease. Sure it was a ton of work, but seriously…having our house cleared out of a whole lotta stuff and getting a wad of cash for it all? Totally worth it!
More garage sale woes
Ok, this thing is getting out of hand. I can’t even put into words…just look.
I know it’s only Tuesday, but there is still a lot of work to do to get this thing ready to open on Friday. Wish me luck!
Stain the playset…check!
Dave and I finished the playset this afternoon. The kids were already scheduled to go to Danielle’s, so he took a half day of personal time and we finished. I think that both of us were surprised how quickly we got done. I know it was weighing on Dave, and he loves being able to check things off his list. One project done…about a million more to go! Do normal people have this many house projects, or is it just us?
Before After
Our “new” picnic table
Today our neighbors gave us their old Little Tykes picnic table. 
Yes, I said they gave it to us…out of the blue! Their kids are 9 and 12, so obviously they’re not using it anymore, and they wanted us to have it so Ben and Emma could more easily eat outside. Up until today, when we wanted to eat outside, the kids would have to sit on our regular chairs, which meant they were either up on their knees or they would have the table at their chins. But not anymore! Now they have a table just the perfect size for them! We’re so fortunate to have such gracious neighbors. They’ve given us so many things for our kids that they’ve outgrown and we couldn’t feel luckier.
Now we just need to rip off this deck and get a patio so we have more room for the picnic table to actually be up by our table…
They’re home!
It was so great to get the kids home today. I can’t even describe how anxious I was to have them get here. At one point, about ten minutes before they were scheduled to get here, Dave said, “here they are!” and I went running out front to greet them. Of course he was wrong, and it was some other van pulling into the subdivision. It was like I was a little kid waiting for Christmas. Then suddenly Ben appeared on the deck and shouted “Surprise!” It was awesome.
Grandma Judy and Grandpa Scott brought them all the way home because Grandpa planned to help Dave install our new sliding door. It was a long, hot job for them, but they got it done, and now we have a brand new awesome door! 
Of course, as with any home improvement job, there were a few wrinkles. For example, the screen door that came with the door was an inch too tall for the opening. Seriously? How could they get the measurements right for one door and wrong for the one that’s connected to it! I mean, really…that seems like it would be a simple concept for door retail…order the same size in the glass and the screen doors! But I digress. The fact of the matter is we now have a much nicer, more solid door that seals way better than one that’s half rotted on the bottom! I can’t wait to get the screen door in and installed so we can stain it all and be done with this project! Hopefully that all happens before the end of the summer…
So the house is sealed better and way nicer now that the kids are sleeping in their beds tonight. How can it feel so different having them sound asleep above us?? I’m not sure, but it is definitely more comforting and full of love.
The adjustment phase
I’ve mentioned how excited I am to spend the summer with Ben and Emma…several times, I think. What I’ve failed to mention is how difficult it is for all of us to transition into that full time stay-at-home Mom mode. It truly is a double edged sword. While I cherish the time together, I long for some adult conversation and interaction. I know what everyone’s suggestions will be…get out and do stuff with the kids and other moms. I hear it all the time. But it’s not that easy. There are schedules to coordinate and attempts at playdates, but even then we end up chasing our kids around the entire time and it’s not like a true Mommy date at all.
One of my biggest challenges is balancing the play time with the work time. I always want to get things done with my “free” time instead of just playing with the kids. I know that the projects will be there later and the kids’ childhoods will disappear in front of my eyes, so I try to tell myself to stop worrying about getting things done. But even when I do that, there’s still the normal things like fixing lunch & dinner, getting laundry done, and attempting to keep the house clean and in order. It truly is a balancing act that takes some time to master.
We will get into a routine…I know that for sure. And I’m also sure that as soon as we’re in that routine and really enjoying our summer to the fullest it will seem to end all too soon. It always does.
My day off
Today we had off for a “board holiday”. I can’t believe that our district actually gets away with that, since everybody knows that we’re really off because it’s Good Friday. Separation of church and state, right? I feel badly for anyone who is not a Christian. After all, we don’t take any of their holy days off. But whatever…I’ll take a day off.
This truly was a day off, too, because I took the kids to daycare like any other Friday. But I didn’t waste the day at all. After dropping them off, I hit Wally to get groceries. It was pouring when I came out, which sucked, but it was nice coming home to an empty house to unload everything. Isn’t it funny how the little things are so exciting when you have little ones around? Anyway, after putting everything away, I hit the basement for a day full of painting. The doors and door frames to the bathroom, the storage area, and the bathroom closet were all still plain wood or primed surface and yes, it had been almost a year since we put them in. So obviously it was a job way past due.
While I love painting, I forgot how tedious so much brush work is. Ugh, the doors are all six panel and the frames of course have three different sections, so there wasn’t much I could do with the roller. But it was a really nice day. I’m almost done…two of the doors need a second coat of rolling, but that shouldn’t take too long. It’s another step to getting a completely finished basement. Someday it will happen…I just know it!
