Outside and Inside . . .

It's a beautiful day here in New York today.  Still a bit too cold to open the windows but the sun is feeling warmer and the snow is melting slowly but surely.  It's supposed to be close to 60 degrees by Thursday.  Mother Nature really likes to play tricks on us in the month of March so I'm not completely convinced we're out of the woods yet but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  : )

Seeing our grass for the first time since January.

Happy little gnomes soaking up the sun.

Buddha and a patch of snow in our front garden.

My wonderful in-laws from Tennessee have come and gone in a whirlwind of sawdust and sheet rock.  We had such a nice visit.  Way too short but so much was accomplished.  My father in law is a work horse. If you want something done, he's your man.  He's no spring chicken anymore but he really could outwork somebody half his age.  There is still so much to be done but I thought I'd share some "befores and afters" of what's been done so far.

This room was a crafting area and computer room for me before the renovation started.  Our realtor told us we could increase the value of our house if we updated it and added a shower to the bathroom.  Jim put in a whole new bathroom all by himself.  I haven't taken "after" photos of it yet because there are a couple of finishing touches that still need to be added. 

Looking down into the room after it's been torn apart before the work started.  Can you spot my orange kitty, Finnegan??

New insulation was added.  The window on the left was the bathroom window before Jim changed the location of the bathroom.  We were going to close up the window but instead we're going to put a simple little blind over it.  It would be too much work trying to find matching siding for the outside of the house if the window was covered up.

New sheet rock was added after the insulation was put in.

The old ceiling and fixtures were taken down so that all new electricity could be run. 

A new ceiling was put in place and new fixtures will be next.  There's also now a place for a ceiling fan. 

This is what the floor looked like before.  It wasn't quite this bad before the work started but bad nonetheless.

This is with the new floor.  Now we're debating on whether to put in carpeting or a wood floor.  I am dreading mud season with two dogs going in and out that back door on a new carpet so I think we will go with the wood.  A sane wife/mother is a happy wife/mother!!!!  : )

Finnegan looking up at me from the bottom of the stairs.  : )

As you can see, there's still so much left to be done but it's taking shape nicely.  Jim has next week off and hopes to finish it then.  Meanwhile, I've been working on packing up some of my tchotchkes (not sure if I spelled it correctly!!) and things that I know I don't need right now.  All winter, we've talked about putting the house on the market in the spring.  Now that spring is officially here, it's scarey and exciting all at once.  So much to be done and limited time to do it all.  One day at a time, right??  : )


Many blessings for a very happy Monday ~ Wendy

Lots of Good Things Going On . . .

It looks like spring finally has its toe in the door. Seventy degree days last week and a spring snowstorm this week. We're still not sure if March is going out like a lamb or is going to be leaving with the roar it came in with. There's nothing you can do about weather so I don't get my feathers in an uproar too much. Thankfully, I'm one of those people who loves to be in my little cottage (sounds much better than "small house," doesn't it?!!?) otherwise I'd be crawling out of my skin like a lot of my friends are at this point. Having a baby certainly helped with the cabin fever thing. You don't feel as guilty sitting on the couch doing nothing when you're bouncing or feeding a baby while you're doing it. I think the reason I don't get as excited about the warmer weather coming is because that means the three H's are coming too ~ hazy, hot and humid. BLAH!!!!!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again (and again), God bless the inventor of central air!!! I just realized I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Back to March . . .

Here's what's been going on around here.

Megan's been learning how to feed herself AND growing teeth. It's so hard to believe my baby girl is just a month and a half away from being a year old!! We've been working on putting up one finger to show us how old she's going to be but it's not going very smoothly. Although, she's starting to put one finger in her nose. I guess that's kind of making progress. : ) Still no crawling or pulling herself up. The boys were late in doing that. She does, however, lay on her belly and kicks her legs a mile a minute. She's going to be a heck of a swimmer!!

Son #1 has been accepted to several different colleges and it looks like it's going to be Hofstra that wins out. It's not too far from us but far enough that he can get a sense of being away. How we're going to pay for this is a whole other story. I know it will all work out and I try not to worry about it too much. I'm a strong believer that worrying about something is totally useless and does a body much more harm than good. I was a worrier as a child and had a lot of stomach aches. I've seen how God has always come thru for me thus far in my life and I see no reason why now would be any different. Amazing Grace. : )

We're looking forward to baseball with Son #2 and Son #3's spring time production that the third and fourth grade multi-age class puts on every year. He's been walking around the house singing tunes to give us little hints of what's to come. Something about the 1940's and soldiers but I'm sure it's not just about soldiers. I'll definitely take some pictures when the time comes!!

We've also been getting a lot done around the house. Lots of projects going on at the same time and some of them actually getting finished!! Woohoo!! I'm very happy with the progress and will have lots of pics to share soon.

Happy Spring, everybody!!!!! We should all pat ourself on the back for making it thru the last several months of cold, snow, sleet, ice, wind and everything else Mother Nature threw at us this winter!!!! I, for one, shall laugh in the face of Hazy, Hot and Humid in the coming months. And then hide behind the central air. Of course!!!! : )

Many blessings ~ Wendy