Weekend Warriors

Posted on | July 2, 2012 | 5 Comments

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve done much to the house. With the exception of one evening where we painted trim and Taylor cussed at some baseboard, we have been taking a bit of a break. One thing we’ve learned very quickly is that it isn’t too hard to burn out on renovations. We started so strong and spent just about every night of three weeks working well after midnight. While we got so much done, we got to the point where the sight of paint made us cringe and the smell of wood putty turned our stomachs.

While Taylor went to do some training, I did…nothing. You know, besides try to keep our house together. But as far as improvements? Nada.

So this weekend, we finally buckled down and got to work again. We called our friend Mark (the single handyman! ladies!) and had him up for some extra help. Mark gets work done, son. And he and Taylor really knocked out so much of our “to-do” list. You know, it’s funny what a difference the small things make. Some of the work included laying quarter round and changing out the electric receptacles. These are the little things no one notices if they are done, but they are certainly noticeable if they haven’t been done.

Mark also worked on the transition stair between our kitchen and bonus room. Because the bonus room is a converted garage (weird), it has some strange things about it. For one, the kitchen steps down into the bonus. The previous owners had this bizarre, make-shift stair there that was a bit creaky and scary. We ripped it out awhile ago, but we weren’t sure how to fix what we had done. Mark, being the handy guy that he is, took one look and knew just how to fix it up again. We let him get to work.

Meanwhile, Taylor tackled the stair steps that lead to our back door. There was some lovely, 1980s linoleum parquet flooring that would surely be the envy of the neighborhood. There was also a small hole that apparently led to our crawl space because last week, Stewart Little came to visit while Taylor was gone at work. Of course, I freaked out and stuffed the hole with a towel. I was glad to have a permanent fix done. I have to give Tay so much credit. He is such a quick learner, and every time he works on the house, he learns something new and perfects his techniques. I’m a proud wife, fo sho.

Both the guys took several breaks to measure Sullivan. He is 39 inches tall, for the record.

By the end of the evening, there was a super happy mama and two happy babies.

(Those eyes? I just died over the cuteness.)

We have to paint all the new trim, but the difference is unreal. I gotta tell you, it felt good to get back in the renovation saddle and get some work done. My biggest fear with purchasing a fixer upper is that we’ll end up in a stalemate with all these unfinished projects and no money or motivation to finish them. I think we’re finding a better balance between life, renovations, and a little bit of free time so that we don’t burn out before we’re even close to the end.

And you know, it’s not easy to look at all the projects around the house and not feel frustrated and like we can’t. stop. working. until it’s done! But it’ll make you crazy to work at a pace like that, especially with children and lives outside of the home. We’ll get there someday. We just have to keep remembering that.

(PS-Sorry for the crappy, Point and Shoot pictures. My charger for my Canon Rebel is missing, and my battery is dead. If you happen to have an extra, let me know! I need to buy one that will work for the T1i)

It's always nice to share with your friends.

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"I'm a twenty-five-year old mama to two little boys and married to the love of my life. I have a serious Diet Coke addiction and a tendency to overshare. My biggest dream is to write a book. A good book that tons of people buy and relate to and love. In the mean time, this is the story of us as we flounder through raising our wild, little boys, moving a million times, and buying and renovating our 1968 Ranch home."

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