Basement Schemes

House projects are on my mind again. In the next month, as soon as the weather warms up we are finally going to work on the basement. Of course by we, I mean we are hiring someone. Family was offering to help us do it ourselves, but my husband didn't think he had the time to take it on.

The floor will be jack-hammered out and removed. Then we will do plumbing work ourselves. 2 egress windows will be cut. Some keep-water-out-measures will be made before the floor repoured. Finish work will be done with the previously volunteered help.

I have been organizing and packing up the basement. We will have to demo a bedroom the cinderblock shower and remove the furnace and hot water heater. Then temporarily move out until the work is done. Likely living in my in-laws basement, which has me a bit nervous. I don't like feeling like I am in the way.

I am mostly excited. This will double our liveable square footage and the boys will have a room to share between them. A bathroom I am excited to design, our upstairs remodel turned out so great. An extra bedroom for guests, or if our dream of moving to the farm is further away than we would like Bear will move into it.

The other for sure plan is a storage room. We are debating about an office/adult workspace.

The rest of the space will be open for the kids to run and play. My old counter-height table will be setup for jigsaw puzzles, lego building, boardgames, etc. I would like to put a sectional and chair or two with an entertainment center and lots of builtin bookshelves.

1140 sq ft extra. We will end up with a 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom home. Upstairs parents and girls room. Downstairs boys room and guest room. Plenty of room for kids to be kids.

Other projects on the to-do-list:
-take up carpet in livingroom and kids' room and refinish hardwood floors underneath
-remove kitchen wall next to basement stairs and build half-wall
-put up shiplap walls in the kitchen and paint
-attempt to convince husband to trim windows and doors...and consider crown  molding in bedrooms and livingroom.
-paver stone patio in the backyard
-till area in backyard for a vegetable garden
-replace siding and roof again from last summer's hailstorm

On my mind, or out of it

Big D was puking last night, he only made it to the bathroom 2 out of 4 times. I am again firmly decided that we need to rip up our old carpet and refinish the hardwood floors. Or just rip up the carpet, the wood floors actually look pretty good.

This carpet has gone through 3 potty training children, horrific accidents and spills, grease, mud, and manure from the corral tracked over it. 6 1/2 years of stomach flu and exploding diapers. I am over the carpet shampoo-er and what to do with 5 kids and a damp carpet in winter.

In my mind, looking over our fence at the greener grass that is noncarpeted floors cleanup seems easier. What mom, strike that, person isn't 110% for easier cleanup?

At least one member of our household has been sick: either coughing, snifflely, achy, pukey, feverish, sneezing, Hershey squirts afflicted, plagued of some sort since the last week of January.

I blame the carpet. I can't sanitize the carpet. The carpet that our slobbery kissing germ sharing cuddly children crawl and roll across daily. Also the boys seem to have forgotten how hygeine works. The days of obsessive handwashing are over.

I am drinking coffee, hoping the kids will nap, and having hateful thoughts about carpet.

Nora's Nine Month Milestones

Nora has had an eventful March. On the 1st she took her first wobbly steps. On the 5th I heard something clinking when she took my glass of water, and then discovered her 1st tooth.

Today is the 10th, and she has 4 teeth and 2 more she is working on. Which really explains all the fussiness and biting this week.

9 months old and growing up fast. She says Mom, Dad, Up and gibberish. If you ask her big brothers she says all sorts of things, usually things they want.

Twinning in the shop

My inlaws were out of town today so we delivered lunch to the farm. With a warm snap, and tired of being in the house we decided to hang out at the shop. Not sure it is my most brilliant plan.

We are out of the house, but the babies are limited to being held or in their carseats. Mom is getting more out of this outing.

Schay It Ain't Schlow

Mama, I want to schwim underwater like Arieal. Claire wants to.

Mama, I cant schleep.

Mama, I help you schweep the floor.

Bear tidbit. Words that start with the letter 'S' are pronounced 'Sch' or 'Shhh'. Why I don't know, but I find it adorable. She also randomly adds Ls.

Notes to self

Notes to self

• Stop calling every member of my family honey. It gets too confusing.
• Make it a priority to program the coffee machine before bed. The grinder going off is a better alarm clock anyway.
• Throw out at least 75% of the Husband's T-shirts. That should make room for the ones he actually wears.
• Find and sign up for a woodworking class.
• Start putting together the tax stuff, extensions shouldn't be annual event.
• Get a babysitter and go do something enjoyable with no guilt, even if it means going alone. Maybe a weekend trip.
• Start supper before family members air grievances of hunger.

Kid Notes

Bear is obsessed with her dad and being a farmer. This topic deserves it's own post, so more on Farmer Claire later. There are days she will not answer to her name, unless is it preceded by 'farmer'.

Gracers when she gets mad, spits. I think I now understand my grandmother's saying. I will try to get a video, she is my only kid to do it. She takes a break from squawking to spit. We find it funny, I am not sure what that says about us as parents - laughing at the crying, angry baby. A lot of emotions experienced all at once.

Gracers also sticks her feet in her mouth, with preference for her right big toe. Big D used to put his toes in his mouth as a babe, my other kiddos didn't. So there is that.

Meekers hair is well past her nose and constantly in her eyes. Bug was the same and he financial received a haircut at 7 months. Meekers I can get away putting her hair in a ponytail, so I am hoping to put off haircuts. 

Bear so far has only ever had the haircut she gave herself, and she will 3 in a few months!

Bug and Big D both say they want to be home-schooled. Bug I am afraid, is finding school is too easy. Which has caused him to be in near constant trouble for talking too much and blurting out all the answers, and wanting to interrupt most subjects to share something he read in a book. 

Big D says school is boring, playing with friends is okay, schoolwork isn't interesting and as he knows he wants to be a farmer he would learn more if we just allowed him to go to the farm everyday with his dad. He is learning to read though, and we are both proud of his progress. He is very frustrated with words he can't sound out, or really anything that doesn't come easily. His teacher reports that he gives her a bearhug at the end of everyday (subs too). Substitute teachers are a huge exciting occurrence.

Most days here at home involve a lot of reading. Bear brings me books throughout the day. We read a least a chapter a day from a book outloud to the whole family (well Mom and kids anyway, Dad is typically off reading his own book) Bug both loves and hates this. He tries to sneak the book off to read ahead.

The big three love doing dishes, poorly, and with massive amounts of water everywhere.  But I tend to let them.  They are learning, having fun...and I just consider it rinsing before they go in the dishwasher.  Hey it keeps my counters shiny.