Friday, January 1, 2010

Renovation- 1 week in!

Matthew was right when he told me that things would be way different when I returned from Carol and Dave's house! He (and Stephen) accomplished a lot in my absence! While I was gone they moved the water heater and water softener, changed the plumbing for the washer, moved all of the water lines to the new plumbing, took out the old window, framed in the new window, built the frame for the bathtub, moved the new tub into place, put in the new window, prepped the ceiling for the new drywall, ran electric, "prefit" the tub, and I'm sure some other various things. :) They also bought all of the remaining items needed to finish the reno. We got the most amazing showerhead- I'm pretty excited about it!!







When I returned, I worked on painting the furniture that it going in the room. We're going with a deep espresso color because pretty much everything else is going to be light colored, so I thought that a little contrast would be nice. I *think* that I am going to be really happy with it.




I have almost everything painted, so I am excited to get it all put back together and see how it looks!
I'm really getting antsy to start looking at accessories like towels and shower curtains. I can't wait to pick out the things that will really set off all of our hard work. I just know that it is going to be so amazing in there when we're done!

Tomorrow, the drywall is going up!! Woo Hoo!!


I hope that everyone had a happy New Year- I know that we did! We went to the Cinema Grille to see the Princess and the Frog with the boys and Sara and Todd. After the movie, we came back to the house and had a fun, low-key evening.
Today, it was back to the grindstone!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

I'm a plumber!

December 29, 2009

Renovation- Day 4

I don't really have any fun pictures for today, but I do have exciting news... Today, Matthew let me help with the plumbing in the basement. That's right folks, I plumbed things! I feel like quite the handy woman. Remember when two chickens and 1 egg made me a farmer?? Well clearly, snapping 6 pex fittings into place makes me a plumber!! I feel like I have skills!!

We got a lot accomplished today (by we, I mostly mean Matthew). But I did start painting the molding that will go around the top of the walls. It's totally against the grain for me to paint things instead of staining them, but I'm pretty excited about how it's all going to come together!!

Sometime tomorrow, Eli and I will be leaving to go spend the night with my in-laws and my little boy!! The boys and I will be coming home sometime on Thursday- so hopefully I'll have a big exciting update then!! Matthew has assured me that there will be big changes occuring while I am gone! YAY!!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Renovation Day 3 ( and some other thoughts)

December 28, 2009

I had a *really* bad knee flare up last night. I was able to get an appointment with the rheumatologist for February 3. Hopefully they will be able to give me some more answers...

Today, Matthew was going to be working on plumbing and electrical things. Things that I am A: not able to help with, and B: not interested in at all! So I headed out to spend some time with a few people that I love.


First stop- Grandpa Toschlog
December 28th is the day that my Grandma passed away. It's been one year since her beautiful spirit went home. I miss her every single day, but of course, I've missed her for far longer than a year. She's been gone for a long time. I didn't know if Grandpa would be having a hard time today, so I made it my mission to spend some time with him and make sure that he was doing okay. I went to his house and then took him out to eat. He seemed to be doing pretty well, but he's a man of few words- so I'm sure that he wouldn't have expressed his grief, even if he was feeling it. It was nice to be able to spend that time with him today. He's a pretty special guy to me!


Second stop- Michelle


After leaving Grandpa's house, I got in touch with Michelle to make arrangements to meet. We decided to meet at Dairy Queen for a dessert. It struck me when she said that she would meet me there- because I've always picked her up. It's strange to see her grown up with a car and all of that.

A much bigger realization of her "adulthood" hit me soon enough though. As we sat down to eat, she said to me, "I'vegotsomenewsI'mpregnant!" Then she started crying. She'd been dreading telling me because she didn't want to disappoint me again. I was shocked to say the least. But as she told me about all the plans that she's been making- I have to say that once again, she amazed me. How this girl, time after time, manages to make lemonade out of the lemons that life hands her, I'll never know. This isn't going to be easy, far from it, but I know that she's going to make the best of the situation.



Third stop- Ernie

On my way back towards Indy, I decided that I would swing by and check on my other Grandpa, Ernie. By this time, the roads had become pretty slick. As I pulled up to his house, he was outside scraping off his car. Long story short, I ended up taking him ALL over Muncie to run his errand (yes, one errand. ALL over Muncie). After spending time with both grandpas today, I remembered that if it weren't for stubborn Grandpas, I'd have no grandpas at all!! :) It was nice getting to spend time with three very special people in my life.

Next, it was time to return home and check out the renovation progress. Matthew had a very productive day in my absence. He removed the blue bathtub and installed all new plumbing throughout our house!! The plumbing was the biggest accomplishment, but the memory of watching that blue bathtub go out the door holds a special place in my heart!! :)





Sunday, December 27, 2009

Renovation- Day 2

December 27, 2009

Today, the destruction continued. We said goodbye to the vanity, toilet, and drywall- and removed all of the debris! I cannot believe the changes that happened today!