Josh and I have determined that we are bad at “sitting still.” Most (and by most, I mean intelligent) people who just barely had their fourth child in 6 years would be just focusing on the essential things and leaving larger projects for a time when things are less crazy. But we, apparently, are not in this category. So, instead we decided to finally do some huge projects that have needed to be done for the past 3 years.
In all fairness to our own intelligence, these projects DESPERATELY needed to be done. So, it was more the necessity of completing them than our own longing to be running around with our heads cut off (as it were) that led to their being a priority. Anyway, here’s what we did. (And by “we,” I mean that Josh actually provided most, if not all, the labor and I helped by otherwise occupying other potential “helpers.”)
Anyway, here is project number one: The Deck!
We had this deck on the back of our house. We loved it our first summer in the house. It was great! But we didn’t know how much work decks can be to maintain. Ours, like so much of our house and yard, was quite neglected for some time before it became ours and had been painted without removing the old paint. Because of that, it was going to be crazy time-intensive to refinish the deck properly, and the kids had been getting slivers in their feet just about every time they walked on it (because we’ve needed to redo it for two entire years). We discussed having somebody come professionally redo it, but didn’t love that idea. So we ultimately decided to get rid of it entirely.
The way things were…
As we demoed the deck, however, it became clear that there were far more problems with it than just chipping paint. There was and abundance of wood rot, some mold, and the fact that the deck was never actually structurally sound. It was a good thing we decided to take it out. Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Jayden for helping Josh break it apart.
The demo crew (picture taken through the sliding glass door)
Josh had already drawn up plans for some stairs to replace the deck as our means of exit to the back yard, and good thing, too! The lack of deck made it very difficult to let the kids play in the back yard, because I either had to lower them out one by one, or make them walk around through the garage. So basically every spare minute the following week Josh was working on the stairs.
Working hard in the back yard!
Josh made sure that the new stairs were code-compliant and as high quality as possible! And the steps are made of composite decking material so there will be NO SLIVERS!
The way things are!
Aren’t they beautiful?! We still need to clean up the old paint from the siding; but even with that, I think it is an improvement! Our plan is to line the concrete (where the dirt is) with some pavers. But after the time it took to complete the stairs, we need a major break. Especially because of the other projects.
Project two: The front steps
This used to be our front steps. Once upon a previous owner, the very ordinary concrete steps were overlaid with terra-cotta tiles. But then later somebody didn’t like them, so they painted them with, as far as we can tell, ordinary house paint. So we have had paint peeling off terra-cotta ever since we’ve lived here. (Yes Jordan, it was US who made the decision to buy the house.)
Before
This is another project we have been thinking about for a long time. We were under the impression that our only option was to tear out the whole thing and replace it. That would cost lots more than we want to spend, so we have been avoiding it (just like the deck). But Josh found out that, with a decent amount of elbow grease, he could remove the tiles and that the concrete underneath is actually in pretty decent shape! I probably should have made this project one, because Josh has been working on removing those tiles since February!
I don’t have an after picture, because they aren’t totally complete yet. But all the tile is off the main staircase and just the bottom landing remains. That has sunk so much that we are going to have somebody come and professionally replace it. And then we will have ordinary stairs! Ordinary never sounded so fabulous!
Project 3: The Garden
This isn’t so huge of a project; but nothing is a small feat when you have a two month old baby who wants constant snuggles. We finally did get our garden put in, and we’re hoping that today’s hail didn’t destroy it all.
The kids were big helpers! Projects where the whole family can be involved are my favorite!
Project 4: The Move Downstairs
Our house is on multiple levels, the top of which contains the bedrooms. Also, the kids’ bedroom windows face west, so they get downright toasty in the evenings. Before we even made it to May the kids were too hot to be able to fall asleep easily at night. Things have cooled down a little recently, plus we’re getting more used to the higher temperatures, but still, some nights were just rough. So, the other day I suggested (perhaps 1/4 jokingly) that we just move all of our beds downstairs for the summer. Josh thought about it for about 27 seconds and then said “Yeah. Let’s do it.” So we did.
Here is the mostly-before picture of the room as the playroom. (Some bins had already been moved upstairs).
Here is the after picture. All three big kids are in together.
We moved our bed and Helen’s pack n’ play into the tiny bedroom (before it was the craft/music room) next to the playroom. All our clothes are still upstairs. We converted Portia’s room into the children’s dressing room and Fay and Carter’s room into the playroom. Our bedroom is now the craft/music room as well as our dressing room. I have a feeling this will be the only summer we do this. But it is kind of fun, and a lot less hot!
We decided yesterday night that we really need to give ourselves a break and try to simplify our lives instead of always trying to take on more. So our next change is that we are going to try to really focus on getting the kids to bed on time every night. I think that will be a very positive change that will dramatically improve our quality of life!
