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February, 2008 4:23 p.m. — Monday, February 4, 2008 This list is a little different than normal lists in that it is not all-inclusive. It only contains items we would like to get done in the near future — say, by summer. Having a short list makes it a little easier to focus. 1. Finish trim and doorway in dining room Ryan is pushing for a terrace of some kind instead of a deck. He thinks it will be easier and we wouldn't need permits. It sounds more complicated and labor-intensive to me, but of course I won't be the one building it either way, so my vote is not quite as weighty as his. The jury's still out on that one. Ryan also doesn't like the idea of putting a screen door on the front because of how it will look, but I say a warm spring breeze, the sound of birds chirping, and a baby waiting for Daddy at the screen door are much more important than how it LOOKS. Plus, I'm the one in the house all day — the one who would ENJOY the screen door and neighbors stopping by — so in this case, I think MY vote weighs more. The jury's still out on that one, too. Anyone else care to cast their vote? Leave a comment.
3:45 p.m. — Friday, February 8, 2008 Have I mentioned before how much I love Freecycle? Because I do. After moving into our house in 2003, we got our washer/dryer and our stove from Freecycle. For free. They were all beautiful and way less scary than what we inherited with the house. And then this week, while continuing my Freecycle perusing, I managed to score our little family a few free and necessary baby things:
Yes, that's right: 5 MILLION Avent baby bottles! With extra nipples. Do you know what this means? I will never, ever have to wash a bottle again. OK, so I'm exagerating, but that's how it feels. Notice anything else? Like that free container of Enfamil Lipil NextStep formula in the back with alllll the $8 Shoprite coupons and $5 manufacturer coupons? The coupons will end up saving us way more money than the little can of formula itself, and they were just a bonus thrown in the bag by the homeowner! And yesterday, I picked up a changing table pad and two beige covers for it. Once the covers go through the wash, they're no different than all of Lily's hand-me-down clothes that I love, right? The pad is in pretty sad shape and I may end up chucking it, but at least I got two nuetral covers out of it. Here's a parting photo of boiling bottle parts:
12:03 p.m. — Thursday, February 14, 2008
We sketched out this plan last fall, back when we said, "We have all winter to fine-tune this and submit it to the township. It will be ready and approved by spring." Ha ha! Drawing this plan up in Illustrator a few days ago was our first look at it since we filed it away in the House Box last fall. Here's hoping we haven't changed our minds much in the interim... Critiques or "We did such-and-such like you're planning, and it's not a good idea" encouraged. 4:12 p.m. — Monday, February 18, 2008 It has always been our plan to install pocket doors between the dining room and foyer, trim the dining room walls to plate rail height, and shadow stripe the walls above the trim. We've realized these are projects that need to get done before the weather gets warm, or — knowing us — we will inadvertantly ignore them until the fall, when the weather forces us back inside. One thing we've realized since living in the house is that we're in need of some storage on the first floor. Certain things accumulate on the [not frequently used] dining room table quite quickly, and if these particular things had permanent places to live, we could put them there right away, and it would be easier to keep the dining room consistently clutter-free. See? When we finish the dining room, we're going to somehow try to build in storage solutions at the same time. Here are the particular things that are currently accumulating: 1. Hats / gloves / scarves / umbrellas, etc. (mostly seasonal...) Yikes, that's quite the list. At least it's down on "paper" now so we'll have a reference point once we finally get started...
1:25 p.m. — Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Late last year, my Opa came over with an outdoor swing for Lily that he got from his church bazaar. Little did he know I had been wanting just such a swing for our yard, since Lily absolutely LOVES the one at the park. But it's been cold outside since he gave it to us, so we haven't had a chance to use it. Until now: Last night, Lily's Opa set up a temporary spot for the swing in the basement. (Notice the 5-gallon paint buckets in the background?) So now she can happily swing away while Mama does laundry. Much thanks to both Opas for making our little stinker so happy! Continue on to Next Next Month...
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