over the weekend

Still much more to do.

Sprinklers

We need new sprinklers.

Our existing system is messed up (as in, previous owners must have paid their teenage nephew to put in the cheapest system possible)  (drip systems all over the place!), and it would be more work to fix it than to put in a whole new one.

But the two quotes we got from local businesses came back around $6000.

SO.

I spent a day taking measurements and drawing up a map of our yard, so we can put new sprinklers in ourselves.  Fun fact of the day: Our house is only 26 feet by 35 feet!  How about that!  Just in case you were starting to get jealous.

We sent in the map to get a sprinkler plan.  Then we started thinking about the massive trees that are taking up space in our yard.  The ones that have been mangled by bad tree-trimming and 50 years of who-knows-what.  The ones that drop hundreds of small sticks a week onto the lawn, and millions of samaras a year onto the neighbors' lawns.  The ones that hardly put out any leaves anymore.

And if the trees are coming out, they should probably come out before the sprinklers go in, so we called for a tree removal quote.  It came back around $3000.

..... Anyone want to start a landscaping business?  I feel like there's money to be made.

Nursery (unfinished)

This is the (unfinished) nursery.

This is the toddler bed that I found on KSL classifieds for $30 in Vernal

in the (unfinished) nursery.

Yes, pink pillowcase.  Because it's flannel and he loves it.
Also he's keeping in touch with his feminine side.

  
This is the 17-month-old boy who slept PERFECTLY

in the toddler bed I found on KSL classifieds for $30 in Vernal

in the (unfinished) nursery.

He put them on by himself, and he is the gosh darn cutest thing you've ever seen.

This is the night that the 17-month-old boy decided, after a week, that he didn't want

to sleep PERFECTLY

in the toddler bed I found on KSL classifieds for $30 in Vernal

in the (unfinished) nursery.

In fact, he decided to cry on the one night that his dad never came back from work,

 so his mom wasn't sleeping well either,

 and got much less sleep than she really needed,

especially since he woke up long before his usual (punctual!) 8:30 a.m.

And they were STILL late for church.

Fruits of our Labors

Despite the sleepless nights and compulsive Pinteresting, I've decided that the nesting instinct is a real blessing.  For a few consecutive months I am motivated to do any and all projects that have been cluttering my brain/house for weeks, months ... even years.

('Cause after the baby comes, you better believe I am doing nothing for half a year. Or longer.)

Case in point: this chair. 

Slice and I bought this chair maybe two years ago at a freight-damaged place in town - still one of the few pieces of furniture we have actually bought.  While we loved the look (and the chair has gotten us more compliments than anything else in the house!), it just didn't match anything we own.  So I've been planning to re-cover it ever since we brought it home.  

Last week I finally did.

My trusty handyman helped with the dismantling: 

Slice helped with some of the stapling and reassembling.  The job did take a little ingenuity - but don't be like Slice and get all surprised at my sewing and problem-solving skills.  Just because I keep them well hidden doesn't mean they aren't there!
The fabric is quite boring compared to the original (I know), but it's also neutral, which is what I wanted for now.  I still have another chair waiting in the garage, and some other ideas up my sleeve.

Not a bad piece of furniture for about $50 total.

Who am I kidding? We LOVE this chair!


Item #2: Right side-view mirror that has been broken since the elk ran into us almost a year ago.
Slice replaced it all by himself.

Item #3: Two bushels of peaches, canned and put away in my cute little pantry.
I have many many fond memories of canning (especially peaches), and this time was no exception.  It is just so fun!  Also, Slice and I doubled our yield from last year so we don't have to ration them quite as carefully.

In-Between

Last week I turned 24 on the 24th.

Golden.

It was a typical mom birthday, complete with a Subway lunch (thanks Ang!) and Velveeta shells & cheese dinner (thanks honey!) and brownie/cheesecake desserts (thanks Pinterest!).  I made some delicious new recipes and will post them on the Edd blog post-haste, for those who are interested. 

We also had some friends over in the evening to help us eat them (thanks friends!).

I contemplated piercing my ears for the occasion - you know I've been thinking about doing it forever - but of course I didn't get around to it.  Now I'm wondering if this is just the wrong stage of life for it.  Babies pulling on my ears?  More stuff to buy and try to keep track of?  Ouch.

Today I am 26 weeks along, and looky here, I took a picture of myself:

I think I'm about the same size as last pregnancy.  In fact, I FEEL smaller, but probably because the first time I was like "My body!! Not my own anymore!!" and stuff ... you know how it goes.  This time I'm just feeling lucky that I've had it so good.

And speaking of good, I'll have you know that I am staying busy.  The projects this week included sewing some curtains, picking upholstery fabric for my chairs, reorganizing a little, and wall-papering the inside of our bedroom closets.  Why wallpaper, you ask?  Well, why not?

The doors were ugly, the wallpaper was cheap, and the makeover took very little time because I am a wallpapering expert (thanks Mom!).  Also, I love the results.

Please, ignore the clutter because IT WILL BE GONE and/or completely reorganized within a few months.  

Don't you worry.

When the rooms are all done and I am happy with them, I'll post more (and better) pictures.  These are just the in-between pictures, got it?

Nesting 2.0

It's official folks, I am in full-on nesting mode.

Last weekend I drew sketches of each room in my house complete with colors, furniture, wall decor, and a very comprehensive to-do list.  I've scoured the internet far and wide, visited almost every store in town, and joined Pinterest so that I can keep my links all together.
I've also begun a love affair with spray paint.

Tuesday I spray-painted my "espresso" colored glider chair white, to begin the nursery makeover.  Wednesday I turned my cedar chest (high school graduation gift from my parents!) from this:

into this:

on my very own front porch.  Sorry, terrible pictures.  I'm not going to fix them either.

I have many more projects in the works.
But, as you know, I am full of self-doubt when it comes to these things.  Will my colors/fabrics/pictures work together?  Do I like that upholstery fabric next to those curtains?  Should I use a stripe on the chair or the chest, or both?  Do I leave the dresser in the room or switch it for something else?  Does it all make me happy and say what I want it to say?  Most of all (at this point): WILL IT ALL FIT IN THE ROOMS?

Because the delightful thing about living in a 70-year-old house is that you can barely fit a queen-size mattress into a bedroom.  Forget about a bed with headboard/footrails and dressers and nightstands and laundry hampers and extra chairs and oh, a crib for the new baby too.  Won't fit.

(Slice just said, "You're posting a picture of our bed right now??")

SO.

I've got 3+ months to go and my work cut out for me.

I've also, fortunately, got a husband who is patient and helpful, who offers opinions and only occasionally mocks me when I start talking about this stuff.

(And by "occasionally" I mean "almost every time I bring it up.")

We've been busy.

A few weeks ago we finally located a 10 inch rough-in toilet (in Sandy) and brought it home.  

Voila!  Bathroom complete!

After an unfortunate mishap with the previous blue paint job in our upstairs bathroom, we had to tear everything down, texture and paint again.  Green.  I did most of this one myself.

It looks much better in person, promise.

Friday & Saturday was the annual API tournament, for which we (I) took pictures again.  More on that later, because you KNOW I have only snarky comments for golfers these days.

Monday we celebrated our third anniversary with our first garden planting!  Yes, it's super late in the season and yes, it might be a total failure.  We're crossing our fingers.

We also splurged with the money from API and bought the cheapest patio set we could find ... thanks ALCO!  

(And thanks Slice, for hanging the lights.)

Tuesday, Slice surprised me with a little anniversary trip.  It was a total surprise, let me tell you!  Without me knowing, he planned for three babysitters, packed swimsuits, temple clothes and anything else he thought we might need, made up some story to get me in the car - and we left town.  But of course, he made me decide what to do.  So after hours of deliberation, this is what we did:

and we had a marvelous time.  I'm still sore.

At least I got to use that new swimsuit I bought in February ... before I get too big for it.

Add in a few more job applications, voice & piano lessons, a bunch of laundry, some family stuff, and trying to keep the house clean with a toddler and a puppy running around - and you have my summer right there.

for Heather

A few weeks and a few (hundred) bucks later, we are ready to tile!

Our resident concrete expert helped us fill the hole.

 Slice built a ledge for the shower.

 Then he filled in the shower pan and leveled out the rest of the floor.

We picked out some tile and bought all the spacers, grout, etc.

Now for the fun part!

After

Last week we finally got our light fixture and piano mirror installed.

I would still like a shelf for my music, a new couch cover, and some things on the wall above the piano....

but we'll call it done for now, shall we?

Emergency Bath Remodel

Our downstairs bathroom used to look like this:

Four feet by five feet; a toilet, a showerhead and a drain.  

(The sink is in the downstairs bedroom.)

What luxury!  You say.  You wish you had a bathroom like this, I know.

Anyway.

Since Alex moved in and started using it, there was a leak or two, some small fixings that didn't work, and

 then the bathroom looked like this:

 

 We ripped up the floor, took out the toilet and the drain.

And Slice tore down two of the walls.

And now, dear readers, the bathroom looks like this:

What to do, what to do?? 

I totally love glass tile and would love to tile all 20 square feet of it (all the way up the walls!).  But since bath remodel wasn't really in the budget in the first place, that may not be an option.  The cheapest fix may be the best right now.

In any case, my last fortune cookie from China Star reads

 "You shouldn't overspend at the moment.  Frugality is important."

which is obviously prophetic.  Right?

Room #1 - comprising Projects 0, 1-4, 6, 8-11, etc. etc. etc....

One of the things we loved about this house when we first walked through was that it was pretty much move-in ready.  No major projects needing to be done before it was livable.

Cue: ominous music

When the previous owners moved out and we came to (surprise!) deep clean, Slice and his father checked the ceiling in the living room.  It was sparkly asbestos -commonly referred to as "popcorn ceiling" and/or "linked to cancer" - applied to plaster, and we thought it would be easier to take care of without any of our stuff in it.  So while I finished up packing for the move, the men scraped and wiped the ceiling, then cleaned up and vacuumed/cleaned carpets before moving the furniture in.

Then we waited a month.

Slice primed the accent wall and formerly dark green hall.  Then as soon as the texture gun was available, we covered all the furniture and widened the cracks in the old ceiling.  Once again Slice and his dad worked to patch, sand, patch, sand, texture, scrape, prime, and paint. 

(Okay, I did a little of the sanding, priming and painting too.)

They did a fabulous job.  

Liam watched with great interest, and more than a little concern that his newly-found home was changing once again.

We decided on white walls ... for now.  We also replaced the original flowery sconces with new brass ones, but have not yet installed the main light fixture, because that will require some preliminary electrical work.  In the attic.

Last week, Slice and several of my brothers/in-laws moved our piano to the house.  My brother Jordan even tuned it for me!  I was so happy to have a piano in my house again, I broke my wrist to celebrate.

Now all we need is a light fixture, some "window treatments"* (I hate that phrase), a new piano mirror & bench, new coverings on my chair/cedar chest/couch, pictures on my walls, and the room will be DONE!
Good thing I have all this extra time and money on my hands; Liam and I can knock it out in no time.

Yes, that was sarcastic.

*more thermal ones, of course, because those windows are huge and we just got our first heating bill and YOWZERS!