So, I'm way behind on my blogging! No surprise there - 3 children, right now feeling the "tummy gymnastics" of our fourth due in April, and maintaining two homes - I'm a little bit busy.
To sum up our week spent at the property - we had a toilet overflow, on the particle board floors (what a nightmare!). We need to replace that toilet because even a normal amount flushed down that toilet is too much for it, not to mention the large amounts of t.p. that toddlers tend to flush! The kitchen is now painted a lovely butter yellow (I did the whole thing myself).
And, the biggest accomplishment of that week is that our trailer now has skirting - which means it is now insurable. We were able to buy used corrugated metal (like barn tin) for the skirting - giving us a durable product and saving us tons of money, but the downside - it takes a LONG time to custom cut it into trailer skirting. But it is done. Praise the Lord!
Since then we have finished painting the living room, which was wall paper, but is now brown, with a darker shade of brown on the bottom, and white trim in the middle. Baby girl's room is now lilac, and the living room, hallway, and baby's room are now done with this vinyl plank flooring called Allure that we got at Home Depot. It was advertised as the "easiest floor ever", and I've not installed any other flooring, but this stuff was pretty easy. It consisted of vinyl planks with sticky strips that overlap each other, and it is supposed to be waterproof - a big plus in our decision to get it. It looks great, and I'm so pleased that we got it! The baby's room also now has baseboards, and oh, what a difference it makes!
We still have flooring left to do in both bathrooms - sheet vinyl, kinda nervous about that, and in the master bedroom - carpet, which we got for free from a neighbor, but we've never done carpet, so nervous about that one, too. The hall bath still needs sheetrock to be hung, painting, the vanity, toilet and tub (including tub surround) to be put back in; so pretty much everything! and the master bath needs a section of flooring to be replaced, the shower needs to be replaced (and who knows what else will need to be replaced once we pull the shower out), and the aforementioned overflowing toilet needs a replacement. In also needs painting and mirrors replaced, and probably a new vanity before it's all over with, but I guess we will see! The whole house needs baseboards. We need a deck built/rebuilt, because the makeshift stairs leading up to the front door are inadequate - the last step before going into the home is not tall enough, and my pregnant self almost can't make it! Especially not while carrying a child. There is just so much left to do, and not much time left before the baby is due. All in God's time, though; all in God's time.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Our Week at the Property: Day Two
So now we have sleepy people and stinky laundry! And, we have a nice list of things we need to go into town for, so after breakfast and dishes, we head into town. We, of course, stop at Home Depot, as we do almost every time we are down there. We need more paint and other supplies for the house. Jeremy got in touch with a guy we know who rents out mobile homes to ask his opinion on skirting for the trailer. You see, the insurance company will not insure our trailer until there is skirting up, so that is priority one on the to-do list. As it turns out, he will sell us some used metal , which happens to be the most sturdy material we could probably get for this purpose, for much, much less than we could buy new. So we pick up some miscellaneous materials needed to put this skirting up (or rather, we have McCoy's deliver it), and then later on, Jeremy and his dad (who arrived later that afternoon) pick up the metal. We stopped at our favorite local taco place, Taco Shack, for lunch. Then I trek to Wal-Mart with just Seth to pick up some things we needed there (and Seth picks up a birthday gift for his brother!). I ended up having to go BACK to Home Depot with a very sleepy Seth to pick up something that was forgotten, and by the time I got back, I was so DONE with shopping for the day! We wrapped the gift for Jude, and the children got to open some of their presents from their grandparents. After dinner, the last of the gifts were unwrapped and we had a nice stack for the burn pile, and lots of toys floating around. The men had accomplished some work on the skirting. We put sleepyheads to bed and enjoyed a nice bath in our only working (garden) bathtub. This night's sleep was much better!
Our Week at the Property: Day One
So last week my husband and in-laws took the week off and we all stayed at the property so we could work, work, work! We were going to just head out Monday morning, but since we already had our game plan, we just started packing up the van on Sunday. It's probably hard to imagine what a family of five (plus 2 in-laws) would take to stay out at a trailer that has practically NOTHING in it, but I'll give you a "short" list:
1 dorm size refrigerator - which was taken the day before, or else we would have been strapping even MORE things to the top. This held the most perishable things like meat, milk, yogurt, cheese, leftovers and any produce we could squeeze in. Probiotics and Bentonite in case anyone got sick because Wal-Mart doesn't stock these things. Faith ended up with diarrhea, so it was a good thing we brought them.
1 very large cooler, along with a smaller one - these were refilled almost daily; the bigger one held the least perishables, like eggs, some produce, bottled water, etc. And the small one held only ice for drinking purposes.
Linens galore: kitchen towels, sponges, washcloths, bath towels, shop rags, sheets for 3 beds (including extras for the little ones), and pillows.
Cleaning: soap, shampoo, dishwasher detergent, and everything to hand wash dishes as well, including a dish drainer.
Food, Prep Utensils, and pots/pans: I had to think through every meal we would have and what would I need to prepare it: a can opener? knife & cutting board? Spoons to serve it with? We ate out SOO much at the beginning of this pregnancy because of morning sickness, so now I'm trying to stick with eating healthy. I feel much better and have more energy when I eat like I should. Of course it would have been easier to just bring cereal and sandwiches, but we've been down this road before, and this just isn't the kind of food that satisfies working men and a pregnant mom! I don't regret the time I spent cooking, though it does mean I accomplish less around the property. It is a way to bless my family, esp. my growing baby.
A weeks worth of clothing for five people
Some vinyl flooring strapped to the roof, and some tools that weren't already at the property
All of this adds up to one VERY full van! We couldn't open the back door when we arrived, we had to carefully unload, piece by piece, from the side doors. We arrived somewhat late, so we had to air up the inflatable beds and set up the baby's playpen while trying to unload the van. The children were already asleep! Then we had to load all the food into the refrigerator, and try to find places for the kitchen stuff amidst dirty cabinets. Yuck. Eventually all the beds were made, and most things put away, and the kitchen counters cleared of most of the tools. And then we finally settled in to sleep. But neither of us slept well. Unfamiliar noises, plus a night-potty-trained 3-year-old who awoke us early in the morning because he wet the bed! So we had to take down the extra sheet we were using as a curtain to put on their bed. And Faith woke up with diarrhea, and of course we were using disposables, that of course leaked (people think cloth diapers leak, but it is very rare that we have even diarrhea leak out of our cloth diapers). So we immediately had lots of laundry to do. I brought supplies to hand wash, and we have a clothes line, but of course it would be cold and rain in the forecast! Thank God for nice neighbors who lent us their washer/dryer. I'll continue with my next post to let you know how the rest of this second day went....
1 dorm size refrigerator - which was taken the day before, or else we would have been strapping even MORE things to the top. This held the most perishable things like meat, milk, yogurt, cheese, leftovers and any produce we could squeeze in. Probiotics and Bentonite in case anyone got sick because Wal-Mart doesn't stock these things. Faith ended up with diarrhea, so it was a good thing we brought them.
1 very large cooler, along with a smaller one - these were refilled almost daily; the bigger one held the least perishables, like eggs, some produce, bottled water, etc. And the small one held only ice for drinking purposes.
Linens galore: kitchen towels, sponges, washcloths, bath towels, shop rags, sheets for 3 beds (including extras for the little ones), and pillows.
Cleaning: soap, shampoo, dishwasher detergent, and everything to hand wash dishes as well, including a dish drainer.
Food, Prep Utensils, and pots/pans: I had to think through every meal we would have and what would I need to prepare it: a can opener? knife & cutting board? Spoons to serve it with? We ate out SOO much at the beginning of this pregnancy because of morning sickness, so now I'm trying to stick with eating healthy. I feel much better and have more energy when I eat like I should. Of course it would have been easier to just bring cereal and sandwiches, but we've been down this road before, and this just isn't the kind of food that satisfies working men and a pregnant mom! I don't regret the time I spent cooking, though it does mean I accomplish less around the property. It is a way to bless my family, esp. my growing baby.
A weeks worth of clothing for five people
Some vinyl flooring strapped to the roof, and some tools that weren't already at the property
All of this adds up to one VERY full van! We couldn't open the back door when we arrived, we had to carefully unload, piece by piece, from the side doors. We arrived somewhat late, so we had to air up the inflatable beds and set up the baby's playpen while trying to unload the van. The children were already asleep! Then we had to load all the food into the refrigerator, and try to find places for the kitchen stuff amidst dirty cabinets. Yuck. Eventually all the beds were made, and most things put away, and the kitchen counters cleared of most of the tools. And then we finally settled in to sleep. But neither of us slept well. Unfamiliar noises, plus a night-potty-trained 3-year-old who awoke us early in the morning because he wet the bed! So we had to take down the extra sheet we were using as a curtain to put on their bed. And Faith woke up with diarrhea, and of course we were using disposables, that of course leaked (people think cloth diapers leak, but it is very rare that we have even diarrhea leak out of our cloth diapers). So we immediately had lots of laundry to do. I brought supplies to hand wash, and we have a clothes line, but of course it would be cold and rain in the forecast! Thank God for nice neighbors who lent us their washer/dryer. I'll continue with my next post to let you know how the rest of this second day went....
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