Painting Fences with Children

It's been a while since i have done a house update,

mainly because i'm too busy pointing the camera at these adorable little boys of mine.

Like these little boys, the list of things to do grows and grows, and grows some more.

But occasionally things actually do get checked off.

This almost check mark (we kind of ran out of boards) was added out of necessity more than anything else,

as keeping little boys safe, contained, and out of the ocean has become a big priority lately.

Pretty sure he got more paint on him than the fence, but at least he looked good doing it.

The Making of Man Land

I mentioned last week that the guys were pouring the concrete slab in the basement,

an achievement that Dr. Nails has been super excited about for a really really really long time.

I guess hanging out in a gravel pit just ain't all that it's cracked up to be : )

(though of course i haven't a single pic of what the gravel pit used to look like, let's just say it wasn't pretty)

As you can see, the smallest man loves it already, and I'm pretty sure the big man does too : )

At long last, Man Land lives!

My Island in the Sun

Remember how our house used to be itty-bitty?

Well, while the rest of the house has expanded exponentially, the kitchen has remained the same.

Small that is.  Tiny.  Teeny-weeny.  

See that little spot next to the microwave in the corner?  That's all the counter space i had. 

That's ALL.  Until our favorite carpenter came to the rescue.

(ahem, when he finally got fed up with trying to make lunch while i was trying to make lunch too ; )

Before:

After:

He spent a sunday whipping this island up for us.  Yup, just a day.  My oh my.
Eventually the back part will be very useful for storage.

Right now the bins are full of someone's toys, someone who likes to be underfoot play with them while I'm trying to cook supper, but at least I know where everyone is : )

In my head i have dubbed it the command center, or maybe headquarters, i guess i haven't decided.

But i can see the rest of the house and keep a watchful eye on those who need to be watched. 

(um, everyone?)  The best part?
 it's on wheels, so whenever the mood to dance strikes, it's no problem : )

If i point this nail gun at you...

...will you stop taking pictures of me?

Oh this poor man.

Carpenter by day and by night, this guy's got way too much on his plate.

Here's the back of the house where Dr. Nails has been working:

lucky lucky lucky me

to have a man who's so handy

He. is. awesome.  

and so is this amazing house he's building for us.

Hemming Things In

Dr Nails has been busy shingling the house all summer,

( a long, tedious, and arduous process as we all can only imagine ) 

but he made time in his busy schedule the other day to build a temporary railing on the steps for us.

Jake has recently become a remarkably speedy little dude, and before i know it he's into something,

teetering on an edge, eating something off the floor or falling down.

The upstairs living room is carpeted and has beautiful views out over the bay, 

so it's one of our favorite play spots in the house.

Here's what it looked like before:

Slightly precarious, don't you think?

Here's what it looks like now:

A repurposed door!  

Mighty impressive Dr. Nails, considering I was expecting to be stuck looking at 

an ugly piece of chip-board for the next 6 months.

It might not be a forever solution, but it's a solution nonetheless...

The rest of project 'keeping the little in one spot':

Yup, a (soon to be white) picket fence gate.

Safe and sound, and my sanity remains.

PS - I almost called this post something different, it included the word cage. 

or pen, i could have used pen too. but i didn't.

I don't really like those words. 

Color My World

The miracle of paint blows my mind, every time.

And every time I paint I wonder why I didn't do it sooner, like seriously.

Note: I use the term 'i' loosely.  Let's just say my on-site-supervisory skills are still sharp.

Because that red was like, so two years ago.

(actually, I painted it that color two years ago before I even lived here. 

The entire house was BEIGE before, so any color was an improvement in my books, 

but hey, that's just me...)

So, with a shake of my magic wand and Dr. Nails' super-duper painting skills, viola!

And now I have a brand new (to-me) kitchen. 

New-to-me applies to kitchens as well as cars, right?  Yes, i think so.

Now if it would only stay that clean, cause I'm telling you it doesn't look like the picture right now...

Letters for my Lovelies

I have a confession to make.

I am taking advantage of you guys.

 I am using you to write love letters to my family and to my furniture.

I hope you don't mind, because I plan on continuing to do so. 

It's my way of telling them how I feel, and preserving these little notes for future reference.

Oh, and so when I do bad things I can totally use these as leverage.

{ Everyone needs a get out of jail free card ; }

Now, if only my furniture could read, it would know how much it meant to me.

Here's another one:

Dear Dr. Nails,

you work so hard all day long at your job,

and then you come home and work so hard on our house.

I wish you didn't have to work so hard at all,

but I am glad that you do.

Thank you for making us a beautiful home.

Love, Me.

He Hearts His Hammer

So while Jake and I have been hamming it up for the camera,

Dr. Nails has been hard at work outside on the shingling.

The tap tap tap is rather soothing I think...

Slowly but surely our l'il shack is looking sharp!

So might I add is Dr. Nails, in all his glory!

Oh it's a funny funny little life indeed....

Trim it to win it

I think Dr. Nails must be feeling excluded these days,
 what with all this talk of wild men and advanced babies,

little laundry and the joys of motherhood.

Not that he would EVER admit it, mind you.
So I think it's time to pay him some much deserved attention...

Despite the fact that we haven't been talking much about him,
he has been hard at work on the finishing touches.

The windows look amazing with the trim up,
almost rivalling the beautiful view they frame.

And after a hard day's work the boys take a well deserved rest.

Yet another example of our dear Doctor's great skill.

He never ceases to amaze me, 

both in talent and his astonishing ability to look like a member of a 70's rock band.

And don't I love those 70's bands....

Under Foot

Despite the title, this post is not about the Hannah Dog.

 Although come to think about it she often does get in the way,

usually around suppertime when she lies in wait for me to drop something delicious.

I'd be a liar if I told you I didn't,

though most of the time it's not on purpose. 

I swear.

Anyways,

this is not about that.

This is about what is REALLY underfoot,

aka, new floors!

In case you weren't here to witness the state of our floors,
we have been living with bare concrete in our living room for a few months now.
I dug this photo up from the archives to show you:

Note the big crack in the floor where the old wall used to be,
and that beautiful chair under the window.
Remember my on going dispute with that van seat?

After listening to me bemoan the perils of an infant falling on hard,
unforgiving concrete for the past few months,
our carpenter friends decided it was time to get'er done.

The result?
Pretty nice I think.

I am particularly pleased with the couch situation.

It is much improved.

This is the floor Jake will hang out on.
I can just hear him and his dad tearing across it,
with the Hannah dog hot on their heels...

pitter patter.

Enough about us,

Let's talk about Dr. Nails.

Things have been different around here since The Boss arrived.
Yes - this is indeed Jake's shirt:

What with the steady stream of Jake's adoring fans and an endless list of baby needs,
it's often been difficult to get much accomplished.

Let's face it,
priorities have changed and things like working on the house seem less important.
Dr. Nails has been picking away here and there though,
and slowly but surely things are getting done.
Like the insulation and vapour barrier downstairs
( so not worth a photo - but definitely a worthwhile endeavour )

And on nice days he has managed to get outside to do some shingling.

For those of you in other parts of the world besides Atlantic Canada who have not witnessed the
phenomenon of cedar shingles, let me tell you, it is a process like no other.
Each shingle has to be positioned just right,
perfectly level and in line with the shingle next to it.
Then - "tap tap tap". "tap tap tap"
I think it's therapeutic for our dear Carpenter.

Whatever you want to call it, it looks pretty damn good.
And in black and white it looks perfect.
As always, nice work Dr. Nails.
One wall down, four more to go...... or is it five?

The New Digs

We might be a little rough around the edges, but we're getting there....

Here's what things are looking like with the wall down:

I love the fact that we now have room for a big table.

Even though it's so big that we all end up sitting down at one end,

at least we can fit many when there are many to fit!

I love the fact that no matter what I say that damn van seat keeps making an appearance.
I wish I could say that the Hannah Dog is the one who sits on it and not one of us humans,
 but that might be a teensy white lie.

I love that our monstrous TV no longer looks so monstrous.
It fits the space a lot better now so I don't feel like I'm living in a man den any more.

I also love that there's now room for baby things to be set up!

I only wish we now had a baby to put in them....

( Patience is a virtue I never really quite got. )

I love the fact that there are people all the way across the country 

who think to do special and amazing things for me,

there have been so many of you!

And most of all I simply love the fact that my Mom is here.

'nuff said.