A few notes....

We've made TONS of leeway on the downstairs bathroom. We went a little bit bold with the colors, but the effect is pretty cool. All we have left to do is to paint and put up trim boards. I'll post a picture when I can get a decent one. I'd kind of like to wait until the project is complete until I share a picture.
We're also hoping to get a lot of progress done on our bedroom this weekend. It's basically a lot of woodwork, and a second coat of paint on the walls. And then I can hang stuff up on the walls, and sort of decorate. Yay!
A store in Fort Madison, Sweet Magnolias, is in the process of a going out of business sale. They have a lot of stuff that I'd love to have, but even at sale prices are a little steep for me. We did find one thing though, it isn't perfect, but it is the perfect size for the space that will one day hold our built in book shelves. I know we won't be able to afford the perfect built in bookshelves for years, but I really wanted something to put in the space that would hold our board games and whatnot. This is what I found:
It was only $80, and it was the perfect size. I thought we could reface the drawers, add some cool knobs, and paint it. We'll wait awhile before we start anything on it, mostly because we aren't sure exactly what we want to do with it. But for now, I'm just glad to have the nice deep drawers for extra storage.

Our open house is scheduled for the fourth weekend of June. So, if you're from this area and read this blog, and I know you, leave me a comment and let me know if you want an invite. Chances are you're probably already getting one. It's nothing to spectacular, just basically a way to let everyone see how far we've come. Plus booze and snacks.

I'm working on another blog. Since I'm becoming a realtor soon, hopefully (come on fingerprints!), I thought I'd start one up about the Burlington Iowa area. It'll basically consist of the fun activities going on in the area, because there really IS something to do all of the time, you just have to find them. Since I'm an old house lover, I'll probably post information regarding older houses that could use some help as they enter the market. There will also be links to other local sites and blogs that pertain to the area. We'll see. I hope to get more of a start on in the next couple of weeks. The link will be www.burlingtoniowa.blogspot.com.

In Jayden related news, he's still a bit of trouble. Not bad trouble, just getting-into-a-lot-of-stuff-because-he's-so-curious trouble. After the lipstick incident, I warned Josh, "Do not let him out of your site, not for a minute!" And I went off to work. I came home to Josh with a scowl on his face and a broom in his hands. He was cleaning up the hot cocoa powder that covered the kitchen floor, trailed through the family, and coated our couch in the living room. Can't say I didn't warn him. Our house smelled delicious.

THIS is why we can't have nice things...

Yesterday I posted regarding the difficulties working on the house when it's just me and Jayden. Well, it didn't stop there.
Here is the reason I can't even let the boy out of my site for ten minutes:

Jayden is going to look abused for the rest of the day because he had it rubbed into his eyes so bad that I couldn't get it all off.
That chair he's standing on....that I upholstered....with the perfect fabric? Slightly pinker. At least I bought extra fabric.

THIS is why I don't work on the house...

We have a LOT of painting to do. Although I'm a stay at home mom, I refuse to paint during the day when it's just me and Jayden. Today, I gave in. It was just a little bathroom. And this is what I got:

A potato in my paint. Plus a floor covered in toilette paper, a vacuum hose full of pennies, and one little hand covered in paint.
Surprised?
Not really.

Meet the neighbors.

I finally met some of the neighbors that have been waking Jayden up at the crack of dawn. I went out to hose of some of the cracked up, useless foundation I dug up in the back yard, as I was spraying these two baby birds came out to play in the water. They walked right up to me, and probably would have walked right into my palm if I would have let them.


And of course, the mama and dada kept a close eye on them:

I think playing in the water is enjoyed by most youngins...

Warning: Old person bit ahead.
I started my very first vegetable garden today. So far, it's just tomatoes. We'll see how they go before I venture into possible killing any other innocent plants.

Bankers, Gardening, and a new camera

Our bank appraiser and our loan officer came to the house on Tuesday to appraise the house again. The house turned out much different (in a good way) than we had planned on when they did the initial appraisal, so they wanted to redo it so our loan would look better. I think it went well, they both left smiling, so that's a good thing, right?

Well, we did really good with our to do list last weekend. We were able to accomplish everything, except getting anything started in the downstairs bathroom. Hopefully we'll be able to get to that sometime this weekend. And I really really want to get our bedroom finished. So hopefully we'll be able to get those two rooms under control in the next couple of weeks.

I'd really like to get some more yard work done also. Yesterday I decided to clean up the back corner, it was completely grown over when we bought the place, and it's getting more and more under control. I decided to uncover some of the concrete, there used to be a building in the corner, and the foundation is still there. What I thought was just a couple of cement slabs turned out to be the entire foundation. It's very uneven, and it was under 3-4 inches of dirt. I'm not sure what we'll do with it, but for now, Jayden is having a good time driving his trucks on it.

Also, in case you didn't know, we lost my camera in the move. We assumed Jayden put it in a box (because he really does try to help), but we haven't found it, so we think it may have gotten thrown away (another thing Jayden likes to help with). We finally gave in and ordered a new camera, since I'm (almost) a Realtor now, I can use it as a tax right off! I haven't had the chance to play with it too much, but I did take a couple of pictures and videos last night just for fun, and basically just to see if it could take a picture of Jayden that didn't turn out as a complete blur.
Jayden getting ready to settle in for the night with his new best pal, Grover.

Overwhelmed.

The house is looking pretty good. But, we still have A LOT to do. Tons and tons of little (and big) jobs are left. So now, the weekly big question, what do we do now? Make a list. That's right. A list. The answer to all dilemmas. I still want to have an open house in June so we can show everybody how far we've come. But, it won't look at that great if we don't have one single room completely done, which means we have to decide which rooms we'd like to finish up by next month.
I know the upstairs bath would be the easiest. All it needs is:
  • A second coat of paint on the floor
  • A second coat of paint on the bead board
  • Plus, I'd like to decorate it a bit. Maybe something on the walls (I'd love to do a mural, since this will eventually be the kids bathroom), and a real curtain on the window.
Our bedroom is the room I'd personally like finished up ASAP. Here are a few jobs that we still need to do:
  • A second coat of paint on all of the walls
  • Prep, primer, and paint most of the woodwork (doors included)
  • The oval window needs extensive work, but I'm not sure if it's a job I can tackle just yet
  • Decorate, a few pictures on the walls. Our walls are completely bare, and it's really starting to bother me more and more. Especially since I've been collecting picture frames since we bought the house that I just sitting in a pile in the front room.
Josh has been working like a dog clearing up some of the spaces that have been acquiring all of the boxes, lumber, and other miscellaneous items since we've moved in. He cleared off of the back porch, and we've been working on rescreening it in a vain attempt to keep the squirrels out. He also cleared out the front room, which was piled high with boxes, a bathtub for the master bath, and a bunch of kitchen cabinets. You can actually walk through the room. It's great. It's also given me a good idea of where to go next. So, one more list, I promise. This is what I hope that we can accomplish within the next week:
  • Finish up with the floor paint. I've really enjoyed having painted floor, and I've used the same cream color on every floor far. All I've got to do is a second coat on the upstairs bath, two boards in Jayden's room, and touching up on the kitchen floor. I'd also like to paint the back steps if I have time.
  • Clean up the master bathroom. It's another room that's on the end of the list of rooms to finish, so it's currently full of woodwork, boxes, and the litter box. I just want it cleaned out.
  • Start on the downstairs bathroom. It still has some sanding left, plus the walls and the bead board will need primered and painted. Hang the light fixture.
That's the end of my list making. Can we do it? I don't know, but it would feel really really nice to have those jobs done.
Wish us luck, we'll most definitely need it.

Photo Hunt 56: Childhood

This is from this past Sunday when we spent part of the afternoon at the zoo. Jayden's interest was held by the train the entire time, and any time we were near the train tracks he had to go and try to find the train. I think Taylor went along to make sure Jayden didn't cause any trouble.

On this past Tuesday we went down to Montrose to go to the butcher shop. There was a great playground situated right between the railroad tracks, and the Mississippi River. The boys thought it was great because you could walk right out to the water, and they were able to watch the trains within feet from a safe spot.

And, to keep in theme with everyone else, here's a childhood photo of me. :)

Vote for us!

Hey everyone, just a quick note. We've entered an online contest devoted entirely to house blogs. The grand prize is $5,000, and voters even have a chance to win $250 just for voting! We would really appreciate it if you stopped by to vote for us, because who couldn't use an extra $5,000 for remodeling projects??
Thanks!
Chelsea