And One Thing Led To Another...

That pretty much sums up any DIY project at Casa de P!

New Year's Weekend Warrior Project Scope:  Replace broken quarter round molding (aka shoe molding) in Living Room and Dining Room and paint walls and trim in Living Room.

We figured we'd be done before J had to return to work on Tuesday morning - Easy Peasy!


Preparing to paint

J removed the molding, and I spent Friday prepping and priming the walls and trim.  All was going according to plan until I started priming the baseboards in the Dining Room.  It was then that I noticed a most unfortunate (and familiar) smell. The previous owner's cat had struck again....UGHH!

[Background:  Not long after we moved in, five years ago, we discovered several VERY bad cat stained areas upstairs.  We spent the better part of a month sanding, scrubbing, priming, cutting out drywall and blowing up power tools before we were able totally eliminate the funkiness and put down new flooring in the affected areas.  We checked the rest of the house with a black light - yeah, I'll admit it, we got a little obsessed.  But in our defense, it stunk REALLY bad!  Truth be told - is it was probably a God-send that we didn't find the cat damage in the Dining Room the first go round 5 years ago.  I'm pretty sure it would have sent us over the edge mentally and to the poor-house financially to deal with all of that after having just purchasing a house. :]

At any rate, when J removed the quarter round it released the smell and began what turned out to be a very slippery slope of multiple modifications to our New Year's Weekend Warrior Project.

New Year's Weekend Warrior Project Scope (rev. 1): Replace broken quarter round molding in Living Room and Dining room, paint walls and trim in Living Room, prime funky baseboards to eliminate odor, and gently pull up laminate to determine if sub-floor damage is present.

Soooo...we set to very, very gently pulling up the laminate flooring in the areas we suspected might have sub-floor damage.  We were able to determine pretty quickly that those areas of the sub-floor were soiled.  Based on our previous experience we went ahead and primed the sub-floor and the baseboards in the affected areas crossing our fingers that that would take care of the odor.  Well...it didn't :(

New Year's Weekend Warrior Project Scope (rev. 2):  Replace broken quarter round molding in Living Room and Dining room, paint walls and trim in Living Room, replace funky baseboards, check drywall behind baseboards for damage, pull up laminate entirely, thoroughly treat sub-floor with oil-based primer, and decide on new flooring (the laminate used in our Dining Room and Living Room is no longer available so patching up the affected areas are out of the question).

Now here is where we REALLY went off the reservation :)

When we decided that new flooring was in order that got me to thinking long-term...REALLY long-term!  I've always said that I wanted to scrape the dingy, water stained popcorn ceilings "eventually."  Removing popcorn ceilings is super messy - not the kind of thing you want to be trying to do on nice floors if you can help it.  So naturally we decided it would be prudent (yeah, right...a better description would be crazy, loco,  or loony toons :) to go ahead and scrape and paint the ceilings of the areas that will get new flooring. And sooooo.....

New Year's Not-So Weekend Warrior Project Scope (rev. 3):  Replace broken quarter round molding in Living Room and Dining room, paint walls and trim in Living Room and Dining Room, replace funky baseboards, cut out funky drywall, scrape and paint ceilings and replace flooring in Living Room, Dining Room, and Entry, staircase upstairs hallway and probably Master Bedroom.

So that's what we've been up to.  Overall I'd say things have gone very well.  Thankfully, the weather has been amazing allowing the kids to spend lots of time playing outside so they aren't stuck inside with drywall dust and paint fumes which eases my Mommy guilt just a touch :)  We are making good progress on the ceilings, trim, and walls.  Not done yet, but getting there...and achieving pretty nice results thus far, if I do say so myself.  :)

Here are some pictures...

Popcorn that came off the Living Room ceiling..  I told you it was SUPER messy  :)

Here's another view of popcorn swept into a pile (it was about 1.5' Wide X 6" High)

Ceiling after scraping

I think this is the best way to capture the sanding/drywall prep phase. Think dust, dust, and more dust!!!!!

Ceiling's ready to be primed and painted...FINALLY!!!!

After - fresh paint on ceilings, trim, and walls

Semi-decorated room.

It didn't stay that way for long because we needed a place to store the Dining Room furniture since that was the next room set to go under the knife...drywall putty knife that is...harharhar :)  (Give me a break - I'm kinda running on fumes here - gotta laugh or I might cry :)

Dining Room process pictures to come....

Take A Look, It's In A Book!

I believe we have ourselves an emerging reader!!! :)  

Bring On The Caramel and Taffy!

About two years ago C knocked out one of his front teeth.  At the time the dentist recommended that we put in a spacer (false tooth) to prevent his other teeth from shifting around since he wasn't due for permanent teeth for at least two years.

Earlier this week C brought to my attention that his remaining front tooth is loose (VERY loose).  Since that means his permanent teeth trying to come in we went back to the dentist and had the spacer removed.  He's very proud of his snaggle-tooth...will show it to just about anybody who will listen :)

But the part he's most excited about is that he is now free to enjoy foods and candy that were previously off limits or very difficult to eat because of the spacer:  corn on the cob, gum, taffy, etc.

Missing In Action

Sorry we've been MIA.  We are still here and healthy!  (A miracle this time of year :)

But between a rather large DIY project in our living room and J's work-related travel this week, there's been no time for blogging!

Thankfully, I've come to a breathing point in the DIY project.  I'm hoping to catch up on some family related posts and maybe even post some before/after pics of the reno before I'm up to my eyeballs in popcorn ceilings goobers and drywall dust again.

Until then, take a look at the Remote Control Daddy G got for Christmas :) Happy Friday!!!!!

Wedding Plans

As G was getting dressed one morning this week she asked me if shecould wear this dress to "the wedding with Mark (a little neighbor and good friend)." When I asked whatwedding she was talking about, she replied "the one where we getmarried." Then C very condescendingly informed her that the dresswould be too small because she's not big enough yet....she has to finishpreschool AND kindergarten first and by then the dress will be too small. :)

Nice little laugh on a dreary Wednesday morning!

Special Christmas Presents

C made these for J and I at school.  He insisted we open them the night he brought them home...he was so excited :)

But my favorite was the card...

Translation:

Merry Christmas

I love you Dad and Mom

Off To Grandmas' Houses We Go

After church we went back to our house, packed the Silver Bullet and headed "home."

First stop was Grandma Brenda's where we ate a DELICIOUS (the lady can COOK!) late lunch and spent time with Grandma and Aunt Staci.

Thanks for the feetie jammers, Aunt Staci!  (A cool present in its own right, but especially impressive  and thoughtful considering Aunt Staci was very sick with mono, taking final exams, AND Christmas present shopping the two weeks preceding Christmas!) 

Grandma Brenda made G her very own Coloring Book/Crayon Pocket book!  Perfect size for G to transport a coloring book and crayons around!  You can't see it in this picture because the strap is in the way, but the bag is monogrammed with a G :)

Next stop Papa and Grandma's house

And while I'm on the subject of Papa and Grandma...word on the street is that my dad (aka Papa) went to town of his own accord and without provocation to purchase the Barbie G received.  Seriously, who is this man!?!  This just confirms my suspicion that my parents have fallen victim to an invasion of Body Snatchers :)

We went to my sister's house (she lives across the street from my parents) for supper with extended family.  Always good food and fun times!

All the first cousins...it is pretty much impossible to get a picture with all 4 looking at the camera :)

C (age 6); G (age 3.5), Hayden (age 3.5), and Kaitlyn aka KK (age 2)

This girl is a TOO FUNNY - between KK and G the grown-ups in our family don't stand a chance!

We didn't get to see Grandma H (my dad's mom) on Christmas day.  Thankfully, we were able to visit with her before we left "home." Love me some Grandma H! :)

Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed as I approach Christmas.  Trying to figure out who we are going to visit when, travel arrangements, etc.  But as I look at these pictures and reflect on our Christmas celebrations  I am SO VERY THANKFUL for each person that God has put in our family either by relation or by marriage...some of which I wasn't even able to see because we elected to stay home on Christmas Eve.    It may make for a hectic Christmas but I wouldn't trade'em for anything!