Stucco, Priming and Framing - Painting Day Four

I was home again today for today's work. The main thing Armando focused on was our front porch railing. It took quite a while to get the old stuff ripped out. I would guess in part to be careful not to compromise the posts that needed to stay to support the overhang.

Since we had already purchased the ribbing for the railing, Armando said that to get the most use of the wood it would be best to reduce the gap of the railing from top to bottom. I think it only is a difference of about a quarter an inch, but it means the difference between getting two or three ribs from each length of wood. When Jim was preparing to purchase the wood, he became aware of how uneven the framing was so it will be nice to know that Armando has made it all straight.

The picture below not only shows the start of the framing, but our new house color. So that can be your little teaser.

Another major accomplishment today was the beginning of repairing the stucco. A lot of priming was done as well, particularly in the spots where the paint had come off from the power washing.

For a little more teaser, our paint samples are in the picture below. The color in the middle is the Pigeon Gray which we chose for the entire house. The color on the left is Wooden Peg and will be the color on the new siding put on Josh's wall. (The color on the right was rejected.)

The next picture is some of the stucco work and priming.

More priming

There also was a lot of sanding today. A. lot.

Josh's north window - sanded

The bathroom window - sanded

Josh's east window - sanded

Our bedroom window was sanded too. It was a rough day for Josh's naps. There just was work and noise surrounding the house all day.

And the debris continues to accumulate.

Armando anticipates they will be done next Thursday. There is just so much prep work for our poor little house. But the more detail they pay attention to, the better I am going to feel about our house when it is all said and done.

I also discovered a pretty big crack in the wall inside Josh room on the same wall where the siding was replaced. Armando was surprised and concerned about that and said he would fix it and paint up the patchwork.

Construction - Painting Day Three

We came home to lots of stuff accomplished.

Our roofing contractor had pointed out how poorly the back patio covering was supported. So while we were aware of this, we had not specifically spoken with our painting contractor about it. Jim had wondered yesterday if one of the posts should be replaced. Well, our painter had already started the work on stabilizing the covering. I guess it was pretty comical how Jim found him working on it and asked about it costing more money.

We knew it needed to be done, so we weren't upset he already started work on it. Especially because we have a lot of confidence in this guy.


The crew tends to make a big mess throughout the day, but it is always cleaned up real well before they leave. Our neighbor said the guys were working their butts off all day. And we can tell.

The new siding is installed on Josh's room

Just waitin' for that fresh coat of paint

Slow and Steady - Day Two of Painting

Painting work progressed today, it just didn't seem as noticeable - no shocking changes. If I hadn't been home, I might have questioned why they got so little done. But I saw first hand how hard they were working.

We did have one little incident where some of the power in the house went out. I had to find the key to unlock the breaker box so the switch could get flipped.

The most evident work took place on the wall outside Josh's room.

Here is the wall completely exposed.

Since the wall was going to be opened up, we took advantage of this time to put some insulation in. This house was built with no insulation. We've opened up one other wall from the inside amidst our home improvements and we threw some insulation in there too.

Insulation installed

And the black protection stuff

(no, I don't know what it's called)

One guy spent the bulk of the day scraping and sanding the trim around the garage.

Wood supplies just waiting to be used.

I think some of this is for the new front porch railing.

These are the wood pieces Jim bought for the front porch. He and his dad got them all primed.

I can't wait to see how the house looks when I get home tomorrow. I expect that Josh's wall will be done with the new panelling.

VANDALS!! (or House Painting Day One)

We moved into our house Labor Day Weekend 2006. We bought a red house. Barn red. Campbell Soup red.

What we noticed shortly after moving in was how bad a paint job was done on the house. There were several different random shades of red. Fixtures clearly weren't removed and there were splotches of red paint where there should be no red paint.

We knew it would be a while before we could afford to repaint the house. We optomistically hoped two years, but here we are at four. I think I'm actually a little surprised we're getting to it this soon. But we had our roof replaced last month and that just made us anxious to get the painting done and feel good about the house.

So here we go. Prep work started today. They powerwashed the whole house and it looks like a war zone! We're having the wood on the front bedroom replaced and changed from vertical to horizontal. You can see that it's removed already in the picture below. We also are having the railing around the front porch rebuilt. Jim and his dad ripped it all out a couple weeks ago.


It's been a little confusing to know what color(s) the house was before. It's looking like it really was a tannish yellow.

What a mess!



I keep wondering if the neighbors are happy to know the red is finally going away. Our house has certainly stood out like a sore (and very red) thumb.

The garage

The back patio

I'll try to keep posts updated throughout the week so you can see the progress.

Word of the Day: INNOCUOUS

I’m introducing a new feature on my blog. It’s called “Word of the Day” Click here to understand the fun!

Introducing Word of the Day

Wanna know another peculiarity of mine? Of course you do!

As far back as I can remember, I randomly will have a word that swirls in my head. I don’t know where it comes from and it generally has nothing to do with anything. I wonder if it is partially a byproduct of the wordsmith that is my dad. I don’t know why that would be – I guess I’m just looking to blame someone. So I’ll blame him today (and tomorrow). Sometimes it swirls around in my head so much that I start to question the meaning of it. What does that word really mean? Have I ever actually used that word? Have I used it correctly?

Then Princess Bride pops into my head:




So I figure why should I keep all this fun to myself?

When you see a Word of the Day post, your challenge is to use that word as much as you can that day. If it’s a new word to you, look it up, learn it, and use it in a sentence. Dictionary.com is a great resource for definitions and will even have a sound byte of pronunciation.

Bonus points if you use the word with me that day. Extra points to me if I’m coherent enough to realize you are using my word of the day.

Movin' On Up

Josh is movin' up in his bath time. We got a bath ring as he was outgrowing the little tub.

He took to it like it was nothing. Conquering the big vast waters. Kicking with his new-found freedom.

He just love it!!

Contemplative

I’ve been in a pretty reflective, self-evaluative mode for several months. There’s been a lot happening in various facets of life lately.

One thing I find myself trying to understand is how I view relationships – friendships in particular; and what the circumstances are that have influenced the evolution of my views on relationships. Is the way I think about things in line with other people or am I just on another planet?

I think about various phases of life and how they have combined to shape my thoughts and feelings today.

One of my earliest memories of actually being aware of what people thought of me was when I was nine years old. It was my first official year in The Glory of Christmas (I was finally old enough!), I played one of Herod’s daughters. There were some guys that played Roman soldiers. Considering that I was nine, I am sure my speculation of their age is quite skewed. They were likely in their early-ish twenties, maybe thirties? I just don’t know. But I recall palling around with these guys. There weren’t a lot of kids in the cast and I was used to hanging out with adults. We seemed to get along just great. But I have not been able to figure out what triggered in my head to suddenly worry that I was a “pest” to these guys. I even remember asking them in some sort of way that if I was bothering them, that I wanted them to let me know. I guess I thought that they probably didn’t want a little kid hanging around with them. I know they reassured me that it was fine, but that memory likes to pop its head up when I find myself evaluating my relationship with someone.

Then I think of when my hormones ignited adolescence. I was pretty boy crazy for a while and I know I didn’t always behave in a way that I can be proud of. Nothing scandalous; just your stereotypical-boy-crazy-teenager – trying too hard to get their attention.

The biggest piece is the ebbs and flows of girly friendships. Some friendships come and go, and some last. Even those that last go through various phases. I know that I have had times where I am pretty obsessive about the relationships in my life. I think about them a lot. How much effort I am putting into the relationship? How much effort are they putting into it? Is it unbalanced? Should I be looking for signs? Do I care too much? Too little? Some relationships I wish could be deeper. Others, I wish they would go away. Which side of the coin am I on? Again, am I the “pest” that someone wishes I would go away?

I wish I didn’t obsess over these thoughts so much. And while I can see it’s been in my nature for a long time, I don’t know why it is there.

I have realized how self-protective I am because of these types of thoughts. In my early twenties I learned to become pretty independent. Girlfriends were getting married and starting families and I could no longer rely on their availability to always do what I wanted to do. So I just learned to be able to experience life without needing to be attached to a buddy. While I think this is great to be able to do, I wonder if I still do this too much. I do not want to become so interdependent with someone so that if they are not around or not available I feel lost or abandoned. I want to be self-sufficient and confident. But I think this can also make me distant.

And now I’m at an age where I feel like the people in my life are pretty well established. I’m not against nurturing new relationships, but I am not seeking them out like I may have for a while. I know that relationships will always take effort, but I guess I am currently trying to understand what level of effort is acceptable, normal and rewarding. At some point, I feel I need to realize that the level of effort may just be a sign to let go.

The people that want to be in my life will be there. They make me feel loved and valued and happy. They want to share life with me as much as I want to share it with them. And that is comforting. I am trying to feel peace and confidence in that comfort.

Motivation

Nothing gets me more motivated to post to my blog than reading other blogs. I don't follow too many blogs, but I certainly have my favorites that I like to check. I love witty, humorous writing and it inspires me to to do my part. I never think I'm as witty as I would like to be, but I like to think I'm at least making an effort.

Also, I feel like posts are more fun with pictures and that is what holds me back the most from posting. To pull the pictures together that I want to, crop them, edit them, write about them. Oy vei! Too much! So, I'm trying to let myslef just write, unencumbered.

There is still a backlog of things I want to post about that must have pictures, so I will get to them as I can. But today, this is all I have to say. I am motivated. I've been reading a new blog that has me inspired again. It's refreshing.

Sleep Training Revisited

Just when things were going so smooth, Josh has decided standing in his crib is all he wants to do. Aye yi yi! This kid. I guess they are supposed to grow and change and present us with challenges. I probably wouldn't be a good mother to try to prevent this progress...right?

Last week I found him standing in his Pack N Play. He was upset becuase he was up and didn't know what to do from there. I also found him standing in his crib once. But there hadn't been anything since then. Tuesday he was crying upset during nap time and I found him standing in his crib again. I laid him down and we didn't have another problem. Wednesday at the grandparents' there were reports of him standing at the end of nap time. At this point I knew he knew this was a good trick and figured I could count on it becoming an issue. Thursday had more challenges and he essentially didn't take his second nap.

Today seemed to be a big challenge for him again. He stubbornly wants to do nothing but stand ALL DAY. He didn't sleep but maybe half an hour. I was shocked at what a good mood he was in this evening considering his delirious sleep deprivation.

So, we're going to try some tricks this weekend and try to teach him that standing is not allowed to get in the way of nap time. We've put a couple toys in his bed to give him something to focus on should he wake. And my friend Andrea gave me some tips of how to deal with him directly when he defiantly stands.

Crossing my fingers and my toes...

My Identity Crisis

I was immune to Starbuck's for a long time. I am not a coffee drinker. I love hot chocolate, but have never even been a fan of Starbuck's hot chocolate. It just seemed rather bitter or blah.

I don't know how it happened. I thought it was Jim's fault, but he denies it. Maybe it's my boss' fault. But somehow, someone, somewhere introduced me to the magic potion.

Java Chip Frappuccino...

I.

LOVE.

YOU.

I buy them too often. I was happy to learn they make a "light" version, but the addiction is still bad.

It's only recently that the baristas are starting to truly recognize me and try to make a connection. They certainly don't know my name with confidence yet (one girl is getting close) and no one has yet attempted to remember my order. I vary the size and flip-flop on the "light" version.

Through it all, they continue to contribute to my name game.

Shawna

I'm used to Shawna. I get it ALL the TIME!

This next one, however was a first.

SHON

Wha--?

And So It Ends

Ten months, six days.

That's how long I made it breast feeding. While I was pregnant and shortly after I gave birth, I had hoped to nurse for at least six months. I didn't know how hard or easy it would be for me, but I set a goal. I knew six months would be extremely beneficial for my child.

Then, as timing worked out, we would be traveling just after Josh was nine months. I debated (and researched) for months about whether it would be easier or harder to still be nursing while traveling. I decided that nursing was the route to go. I figured by that point if I had made it nine months, I might as well go the solid year.

After we returned from our trip, I was trying to figure out how to time out the weaning to cut him off by one year. How strict did I want to be about the timeline? While I was proud to have gone as long as I did, I knew I was quickly approaching the awkward stage where people start to wonder if you're nursing too long. While I didn't really care, I was surprised how much I was thinking about it. If I went over a year, was I going to be one of those moms who couldn't give it up?

What I didn't expect was for the decision to essentially be taken away from me.

Around nine months, my supply seemed to start progressively dwindling. I clearly had enough during our travels as there didn't seem to be any problem. But after our return, there was a perfectly bad storm of circumstances that had major impact. I had a couple different personal areas of life that were causing extreme stress. Then I had to fast for almost a day and a half for a medical procedure. At that same time, Josh got a stuffy nose and couldn't even breathe in order to nurse. Pumping out was not working and only increasing my anxiety. I went from four feedings a day to one overnight.

I was surprised to find how emotionally attached I had become to nursing. I was sad to know it was coming to an end so quickly. I needed more transition time and I wasn't gonna get it.

The decision was made to stop completely over Labor Day weekend so that I would have four days to be home and deal with any "side effects" and also I would be changing Joshua's schedule at the same time.

So Josh is now on formula and three meals a day plus snacks. I really like his new schedule and it's nice to finally have our meals lining up so we can eat together as a family.

All in all, I am proud of my ten months and six days. Josh has not been truly sick a day in his life yet (just two slight congestiony times) and I know I have laid a valuable foundation for his life.