The Journal - Ryan and Leah's New House

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
2. Finish island countertop in kitchen
3. Paint front door exterior
4. Create deck plans / submit plans / have plans approved / build deck
5. Install lockable screen doors on front, side, and back doors
6. Install fence at back of driveway
7. Build patio and garden behind fence
8. Install shed off new patio

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.

mjb from Joisey said the following on 02/11/2008 at 14:47:57:
I say go for the screen door. It's an easy and cheap install and can be removed on a whim. We loved ours last summer and fall, and look forward to it this spring.

Lori from NJ said the following on 02/12/2008 at 06:58:50:
This is an easy one... just get a retractable screen door, and everyone's happy...And oh look, you handy DIYers... they even sell them at Home Depot!

Tante Ilse from unspecified said the following on 02/18/2008 at 05:47:41:
oh geez, this is definitely a no brainer and jury not required. screen door on the front without a doubt! like you said, a warm spring breeze, the sound of birds chirping, and a baby waiting for daddy at the front door...screen door on front. the end. love, aunt ilse

Rich from Norf' Jersey said the following on 03/06/2008 at 12:29:59:
I'm with hubby, no front screen door. I'd go with the terrace as well. It'll blend into the yard much better and be a lot less maintenance once it's complete.

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.

Ragnar from unspecified said the following on 02/14/2008 at 09:16:06:
Yikes! The last picture reminds me of a story my mom told me about when I was a baby...She was told to boil all bottle parts frequently and dutifully obliged. Somehow the water in the pot evaporated and when she came out of the living room (all across a hallway close to 30 feet from the kitchen) she was greeted by a hallway filled with impenetrable black smoke...My dad crawled on the floor, underneath the smoke, opened the kitchen window and turned off the gas...The woman two floors above who had 4 kids of her own smelled the smoke and told my mom she never boiled the bottles... so she stopped doing it too, without any consequences. I do understand why you'd want to boil used bottles though, just cringed a little when I saw the picture ;-) greetings from the other side of the big pond. -Ragnar

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."

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.

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.

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...)
2. Diaper bag / purse / misc. bags (bookbags once kiddies are in school)
3. Coats
4. Shoes
5. Incoming / outgoing mail
6. Stuff to go upstairs / downstairs
7. Stuff to return to other people
8. Recent purchases that need to be returned
9. Baby car seat / stroller
10. Current / pending projects (homework, crafts, gifts, etc.)
11. Vacuum / dustbuster
12. Display items (dishes, bowls, vases, etc.)

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...

Sharon from Desk at Work said the following on 02/21/2008 at 11:04:32:
I'm totally all over the shadow-striping idea, so count me in for that. Some weekend soon? Hmm, look. Now that's on "paper" too...

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.

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!