Of Remodeling and New Recipes

Well, I thought things would slow down once the new year came in.  Ha, ha, I should have known better.  New Year's eve on through Monday, Scott and I worked almost constantly on Hunter's new bedroom in the addition we put on this summer.  I know borders aren't really "in" right now, but I found this border at a resale and it is just so Hunter that I had to use it.  This was kind of a good thing because, Mom could use the excuse of matching the border to tone down the John Deere green and yellow colors that Dad and Hunter wanted to paint.  As you can see, it is still green and yellow but hopefully a little more muted and tasteful.  Hunter absolutely loves it.  He kept running in as I got each section of border done to look at it and even touch it.  I do really like how it turned out and most of all I like that the room is done except for trim molding and carpet (both of which are not my job, yeah!).  Since Scott went back to work this week, I have started tackling closets, cleaning the drywall, priming, and painting.  It keeps us moving ahead, and I figure I can't mess those up to badly despite frequent interruptions from a little person.

Looking in from the doorway

I also decided to use one of my Christmas gifts this week.  Scott got me two books that I wanted as shown below.

I figured that there was no time like the present to try preparing a Filipino meal.  I saw with my own eyes how much it meant to my nephews, especially at the beginning, when my sister would cook them an Ethiopian meal.  Familiar food can be so comforting.  So this children's book is about a little girl who helps her mom cook pancit and the recipe is at the back of the book.  I also picked a recipe for chicken lumpia from my new recipe book.  Pancit is a rice stick noodle dish with vegetables and either chicken or pork, and lumpia is chopped chicken and vegetable eggrolls.  I forgot to take a picture when I dished it up, but I did remember just as I was putting the leftovers away.  This is how it looked:

Hunter really liked the lumpia (eggroll), but he kept calling the pancit snake noodles.  He did eat one whole lumpia and about half of the pancit on his plate, so I felt that was pretty good for a new experience.  Not sure if it was at all authentic, but at least it was a start.

I've also been spending hours this week filling out paperwork.  We had three forms to fill out for Immigration Services, one of which was 12 pages long.  We also had a couple of forms to fill out for the US Embassy in Manila and had to send copies of the last 3 years taxes.  It was a crazy big bundle.  Last night, I just kept shoving pages in front of Scott saying, "Sign here and here; now sign again here."  I went over them all one more time today; found a BIG envelope and took it to the Post Office.  It gave me a good sense of accomplishment, and it takes us one step closer to bringing our girl home.

Our Work Has Begun

Up until this time, most of the work on the addition has been contracted out, and it has been very nice to see things progress as we watch. Now all that has changed. We decided we would do a lot of the actual finishing things ourselves, mostly to save some money. Even though we have saved for this for years, the original estimate still exceeded our savings. Since we are more than capable of handling paintbrushes, hammers, etc., this is where we could save the most money. However things will also now slow down quite a bit too. We did need to decide on and paint at least a third of the family room because my fireplace was scheduled to be put in this past week. So the rush has been on to decide on colors and find the right lighting that will actually go in the fireplace. The drywall guys finished on Friday, and we had Saturday through Monday to get it done. Needless to say, I painted something every one of those days, either another coat on the ceiling or on the wall. Since I was the only picture taker, I didn't get in any of the pictures even though I actually did the most painting.

We actually agreed on a red color called Sun-dried tomato. Scott is putting on the first coat.

Hunter wanted to help paint so badly, so Scott came up with the idea of using a piece of leftover drywall and he used the same colors we did. I have never seen him work on a project with such focus for such a long period of time. I think he painted that piece for a couple of hours, first with white like the ceiling and then with red like the wall. It reassured Mom that he can focus on something for a long period of time.

Showing off his masterpiece...silly kid!

Here he is showing off Mom's masterpiece. For my birthday, Scott said I could have free reign with the fireplace, whatever I wanted for style and colors. It took Hunter and I a few days of driving around looking at fireplace models and rock samples at three different places to decide, but I absolutely LOVE the finished product (although it is not completely finished because we don't have the lights installed inside the alcove yet). Of course I can never just follow a normal pattern so by the end I had the guy removing one color of rock and adding in the special order red, but I really like the little pop of color that coordinates with the wall.

The alcove is recessed about five inches and we have lights that will mount on each side for soft light in the alcove. It will be beautiful, and I promise to post pictures of that when it gets all finished. Scott finished the mantel himself, and it is gorgeous too. He got compliments from the man that does the fireplaces.

The big picture...I think the red wall really sets off the fireplace. I couldn't be happier. Scott is pretty happy too, especially because it cost significantly less that what we had estimated. You all will have to come over for a visit around the cheery fire.

And the Color is...

The siding is finished, and for those of you who have been holding your breath for the last two weeks, the color is "warm sand". You know me; I'm such a beachy person. In all honesty it did turn out lighter than I thought it would be, and of course, I won't be completely happy until the old part is resided. Alas due to finances that will have to wait awhile. Things are still moving quickly. This big truck delivered all the drywall today. Hunter thought it was cool that it was a crane and a forklift all in one.

In the window it goes.

On Monday, they will start drywalling and my fireplace will be installed. We went yesterday afternoon to the showroom and figured out how we wanted the fireplace finished, and I am so excited about it! I don't think that company will do the rock finish for at least a few more weeks so you'll just have to keep tuning in. I will try to do a little better at posting more frequently, and I don't have any more trips to KY planned in the near future. That is what kept me away from the blog last week. This week, I have no excuses. Life just gets busy, and the little things sometimes get away from you. Planning for Mother's Day with both sides of the family and working on planning for Scott's 40th birthday have been my preoccupations this week.

One last thought while on the subject of Mother's Day. I just want to say how thankful I am for the godly, loving Mom that I have been given. She is such a blessing to me. I'm also thankful for a caring mother-in-law who has accepted me right into her family. That is a blessing that not many women get. Bless these two special ladies, Lord, and always let me remember what a gift they are so I don't take them for granted!

Cutting Through and Seeing Out

What a difference two days makes! Thursday and Friday were especially exciting for a couple of reasons. First the builders framed in all the interior walls. It's neat to be able to see the individual rooms. Plus they were able to give us a little bit more space where we thought we had lost some, mainly in the downstairs hallway and in my pantry. Second, they cut through the wall and windows in the old house to build the walls and doorways that connect the new part. Of course the also means the mess now enters our living space, but I guess the end product will be worth it. Finally, on Friday afternoon, they installed the windows, all except the last one because it started pouring down rain. Hunter ran into his "new room" and said, "Isn't it amazing I can see out my bedroom?!"

Hunter testing the new stair railing.

Kickin' it up in his new room. When he leads the tour, he says, "The bathroom is in the middle and my brother or sister's room is on the other side."

The real supervisor checking things out in the family room. My fireplace is in the background; can you see it?

The doorway that cut through the wall and joined the hall in our current upstairs.

Looking from the new part into the old. Hunter's old bedroom window is boarded up to make a wall. The landing of the old stairs is just through the new doorway.

Hunter already enjoying the paved garage to ride his bike, especially since it is raining outside. The door leading from the garage into the house is leaning in the background just a few feet from the doorway where it will be later hung.

Our builder said this coming week will be mostly devoted to electrical wiring and plumbing. I'm not sure how many pictures that will produce. He is also beginning to work on a house just a couple of miles from us, so he did warn us that work will slow down from the pace it has been going. We knew from the start that this would be the case. We were just lucky that he could move as quickly as he has because the other place needed to iron out some permit glitches. Maybe that means I'll get a day or two to sleep in each week. No big trucks coming up the drive or hammering or sawing starting before 7am. Woohoo! But really, who are we kidding? I have a 3 year old alarm clock that almost has me up by then anyway.

Building Update (Long overdue)

So the work on our addition is progressing so quickly, and I have fallen behind in updating the blog. I tried to put these pictures in chronologically so you could see how the last couple of weeks have gone. I don't think we fully realized until the walls went up and the roof went on that we are doubling our living space. The new part really makes the old part look small. I jokingly say, "How do you like our gymnasium?" when family and friends stop by to check it out because it reminds me of a little country church that added a big gym on the side. My dad laughingly said our house really looks Amish now because they are always putting big rooms on the sides or backs of their houses. Lucky for us, we picked out a colored siding so when that goes on which might even be in the next few days, we won't look Amish anymore.

The two car garage

The upstairs walls go up

Scott and our builder "discussing" measurements. We had to climb a ladder to get up to the second story, but we were so anxious to see it. The are leaning against the roof trusses that went on the next day.

They also got the new staircase built the next day too. We had to put in a new one because our current one is too steep and narrow to get furniture upstairs. Everything that Hunter has in his room currently was carried up in boxes and assembled in his room.

The roof was put one. The little supervisor is putting his stamp of approval on the job.

Now he is admiring his new bath tub and dancing too, I think. We will eventually take out that old window and put a doorway in just to the left of it leading into the upstairs hallway of the old part of the house.

The back side which is actually what you see from the road.

The front view...the builder's white trailer is parked where our new driveway will eventually be put in. This shot really shows how small the new addition makes our house look.

Taking Shape

Another week, and we've made quite a bit more progress than we expected. Monday started with leveling and cementing the garage. It was a beautiful sunny day for it. Scott was home and both he and Hunter really enjoyed watching the guys work that day. Those guys are so fast, and they have all the cool gagdets. Then despite the cooler temperatures and frequent showers over the last two days, our building team has gotten walls framed out. It's fun to see windows and doors appearing, well at least the holes anyway. We can actually walk out the laundry room door now (without falling down into a big hole anyway).
A snack, a drink, a chair in the sun, and Hunter had the best morning watching the action.

He had a great (and safe) seat to watch the skidsteer level the garage and later the cement truck.

The "experts" inspecting the day's job.

The view of our two garage doors.

The back of the garage with the door that will lead out to the garden and swingset.

Also I have to give credit to the electrician. He was here two days this week, and by the second, a certain 3 year old was following him around ask all kinds of questions. "Why are you turning the power off?" ;"Will any of the lights still work?"; "Will the fan work?"; "Can I still flush the potty?"; "How come you are doing that?"; "Will you turn the power back on? From outside or inside?" . He was pretty patient! It didn't take long for Hunter to come trotting into the kitchen asking me, "What's that guy doing called?" Me: "He is an electrician; that's what his job is called." H: "Ok, when I grow up I want to be an electrician (pronounced wektrishan, of course)."


Tomorrow's forcast is sunny and warmer. I can't wait to see how much they get done especially since a flatbed load of roof trusses was unloaded in our driveway this afternoon.

Construction Week 2

Monday morning: a fun forklift delivering blocks

Monday and Tuesday: laying the blocks

Thursday: Hunter watching the skidsteer moving dirt into the "garage" to fill and level out the ground.

Filling in and grading dirt along the back wall of the "garage"

Another load of dirt gets dumped. Four dump truck loads were brought on Thursday to fill and level out the inside of the garage and where the new driveway will be. The picture below shows how much dirt they had to fill in. Our back yard is a little deceiving in how much it really slopes, but they had to put another couple of feet of dirt in the garage area. I should have taken a picture of the finished day today because it makes it look a lot different. So I owe ya that one. We think that they will be pouring concrete in the garage either Monday afternoon or Tuesday. Hunter will be happy that he has a big paved place to ride his bike (which is still a tricycle right now although he is begging for a big bike for his birthday).

And So It Begins!

Many of you have heard Scott and I talk for a few years about putting an addition on our home. Well we are finally doing it. After years of saving, Scott is finally going to get his garage, and I am getting another bathroom and a pantry to store all my canned goods and canning supplies. Our contractor started on Monday by marking everything and tearing off siding. Tuesday was digging day. Hunter stood at the window for an hour straight watching the backhoe dig, and then he would check back in very often over the next couple of hours to tell me the progress. It was so nice that we did go outside after lunch and sat on the swing to watch for at least 45 minutes.

Hunter watches the backhoe from the safety of indoors.

Digging out the footers for the garage.

Piles of dirt and a house without siding

Wednesday was cement day (the first of many, I'm sure). Hunter was so excited all day. Thankfully, the truck didn't arrive until 3:30, and I still managed to get him to take a nap. He thought it was so cool to watch the chute unfold and swivel, and of course was full of questions about what cement was made of, what troweling does, and why did they spray so much water on the truck at the end.

Wednesday: The first day of pouring cement.

Hunter would not come back in the house until the cement truck left. (He looks closer to the hole than he actually was; mean Mom wouldn't let him get closer than about 3 feet since there was rebar sticking up in that hole.)


Today the rain came, but they still poured more cement. Much to Hunter's disappointment, we were at the grocery store although Mommy thought WalMart was sure nice and empty at 9:30 in the morning. It's funny to watch it all through Hunter's eyes. He told me last weekend when we were talking about the addition that he was going to hide under the table until it was done and then we could call him and yell Surprise. When I explained that it would take all of the spring and summer to finish, he was disappointed. However the use of big construction equipment has sure replaced the disappointment over length of time with excitement this week.