Looking Up!

I'd say we are all well on the road to feeling better, except for Koen. He is in the depth of it right now, poor bubs. He is handling it well but looks like a mess with his runny, raw nose and eczema covered chin:)

We did go to church for the first 30 minutes so Kai could sing with his class and we could see our nephew's baptism. Kai spoke into the microphone and LOVED it. He said a few things in the mic to Jayden (nephew); `J-dog, I hope you weren't scared when you went in the water!' `I'm proud of you' `Everyone is so happy, I wonder why?'.

{He's doing `Go Tell It On the Mountain' here. They also did `Mary had a baby boy' to the tune of Mary had a little lamb.}

I went on the elliptical for 20 minutes this morning, the first time in almost a week. It sucks being out of commission for a week. Oh well, that's life and it could've been worse.

I went through some old posts and have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself/us for the basement reno. Seriously, that was a whole lot of work!!! So glad it is done (few odds and ends still) and now we just get to decorate that blank canvas down there.

{Not quite done...need to hang up the toilet paper holder and get a garbage can etc.}

Tomorrow I am getting snow tires put on the van. It is soooooooooooooooo much money and normally I just wouldn't drive if it was snowing, but, we still have two more December weddings and one in January so there isn't an option. If it's snowing on the day, we still gotta do it! I did get them on sale through Costco's website but still...yikes. It is a write off for the business so that helps I guess.

Question for you: Kai has been watching Transfomers every day with Gary at 6:30pm. Do you think he's too young? I never watch it because I find it so boring but last night I watched for a minute and realized it's actually all violence (dude, I grew up with 4 sisters, so I've never seen it before!). Now when Kai says `Destroy!' all the time, I know where it comes from. He loves, loves, loves it (because the autobots save the day) but I have mentioned to him that we might need to wait until he's six to watch it. Thoughts? Sounds dorky but should I ask Gary to debrief with him after each show? To the guys: how old were you when you started watching shows like that?

Time to get to work here. Have a great day!!

Love, Louise

Linoleum

This weekend we installed the linoleum in the laundry room and bathroom. In case you are interested, here are some facts:

1. Most places only sell a minimum of 12 feet so we got a 12X7' sheet and used it for both the bathroom and laundry room. Total cost? Only $160.00 from Nufloors. They had an HST free sale.

2. I was curious about installation (Home Depot currently has a $1.00/square foot installation sale which would've just cost us about $100.00) and Nufloors was going to charge $350.00. We decided to install it ourselves. Total cost? $20.00 (adhesive and trowel). Time? 2.5 hours.

3. We made one mistake. Crap. My bad. So, first you dry fit it in (actually harder than you think as we tucked it under the drywall), then you pull back one side and put adhesive (using a trowel) in semi circles, on every square inch. Note: every square inch. Then you lay down that side and apply pressure and roll it out to get rid of all ridges/bubbles etc. Then you pull back the other side and repeat. Now, the mistake. In the laundry room. I did not get enough glue in the very center as it was where it folded each time (does that make sense?). Did not know I had to cover every square inch, if I knew, I wouldn't have made the mistake. There is now a bubble of linoleum, that is not glued down, in the center of the floor. I know it's there. You might not notice, but we do! I totally, totally wish I had realized that last night. Was not on the online video I watched:(

The laundry room (still need a shelf/cupboard put up and Gary is currently putting the sink back in). Oh ya, one other mistake. The lid of the adhesive container got rolled into our linoleum and there was sticky adhesive on our lino. I washed it off but not with soap...let's just say that it's a bit sticky under the dryer:)

The bathroom. When it's done I'll show you the nice vanity light we have in...not sure why I didn't take a picture of it! It's much nicer than our ensuite one. This is the very last thing that needs to be done. The only thing, actually!!! We just need to put in the tub surround (I'm too scared to tile yet I'm also freaked out to put up the surround) and get the plumbers to put in the toilet and sink. Ta da! If you noticed that it is not sealed between the lino and tub, we know. We'll do that too:) Oh ya, and I have to put together a ridiculous closet organizer for the bedroom. I finished step 1 of a billion and got discouraged. Maybe I should have my dad over for some father daughter bonding time...dad, what do ya think?

Bon nuit.

Love, Louise

Dust and Ducks

Okay, it has been decided. The worst part about doing renos is not the money (by oh my goodness is it going FAST, do I seriously need to rent ANOTHER tool?! Door knobs cost how much?!), dealing with 2 crazy kids tearing apart the tool rental department (two visits in one day...dude said, `You must be tired by the end of the day!'), or the stress (oh, you gave me the wrong sized doors and I need the right ones NOW), it's the dust. I am so sick and tired of vacuuming, dusting, and steam mopping my entire main floor every single day. I think that all the dust producing jobs are now done. I think. So, next week, we will carpet clean the entire house. Fun times!

(looking down hall to laundry room, bedroom and bathroom)

The finishers finished today and so Gary and I will paint like crazy over the next 5 days to get all the baseboards, doors, trim and walls painted and caulked and whatever the heck you need to do to them. On Monday, the carpet is coming!!! I'm excited. Then I can move stuff down there. I'm a little sad that I bought the cheap berber carpet that matches our current basement stairs, but I think it is the right move with having 2 (or maybe more eventually) boys being wild down there and making a mess. Then, we just need the following; electrician to finish installing lights, us to put in the bathroom and laundry room floor, plumbers to put in toilet and sink. Then there are all those random things that add up to a billion dollars like closet organizers, shower curtain/rod, towel holder blah blah blah.

In other news, this is the book I'm reading. It says in the beginning that you could take one of two stances upon reading it, `Oh, everything is going to kill me anyway so I'm not going to change' or `I'm going to do all I can to live the healthiest life'. Now, I used to be more of the first type responder. I mean seriously, I have the worst genes in the world, I'm gonna get something no matter what I do. BUT, I wanna be around for my boys (and please, please, please...grandchildren!!) so I will do what I can to be healthy and to raise them as healthy as possible. Step one this week was buying a ton of glass containers. Small step, sort of expensive, but a good one. Can't believe it took us so long to just do that:)

Gotta go. Have a wonderful day.

Love, Louise

Kai Bear; Advice Needed

KAI

Okay, let's see. I love my Kai Bear. I need some advice on parenting this 4 year old boy. Kai will usually play with another kid in the same manner and energy level as the other child. He can play nicely and quietly with his cousin Annika and he can play rough and tumble with his big boy cousins. Now, let's say there is a classroom of kids. All are behaving nicely, Kai behaves nicely. Let's say one kid acts wildly and misbehaves, well, Kai gravitates to that kid immediately. He will encourage the behaviour and test some of it out himself (just like he does when Koen misbehaves).

I know that he is far from being a teenager but my fear is that he will do that when he is older. Why am I afraid of it? Maybe because I wasn't as goody goody as my husband:) As a kid however, I was not one of the wild ones. Ever. When I went with Kai on a field trip this week, I was so disappointed. I have never felt so rejected by him and at a loss of what to do. He completely ignored me and was so caught up in being silly/not listening with another boy (although he did listen to his teachers). It was impossible to separate them because the other boy was there with his grandparents who couldn't hold on to him (we were hiking through the forest). At one point, I took him to the back of the line (and he screamed and acted like he was dying) and we just left when everyone was having their snack. Usually on a hike we can talk about what we are seeing and he finds me interesting and engaging but it was like I was the most annoying person in the world and he didn't want to be anywhere near me. Since when am I not the coolest, smartest, prettiest, fastest, strongest mommy in the world? He's only 4. Isn't he supposed to think the world of me a little bit longer? Maybe my expectations are just too high. I mean, his behaviour wasn't terrible, it just wasn't what the rest of the class was doing and it wasn't what I wanted him to be doing.

And what can I possibly do about his friendships? There are some really good buddies of his in preschool whom he loves and who I love. And then there are kids that might not be the best influence on him based on Kai's personality (is that mean to say?). What can I do about it? I can discuss a lot with him but this is something that he has a hard time with. I have to say though, that when I was trying to keep him away from that other boy and he was pushing me away and saying he didn't want to walk with me, I was hurt. I can handle a lot of his words but for some reason, that field trip left me feeling really upset. Maybe it's my hormones? Maybe I was tired? Maybe it was a one time thing. Your thoughts on this are welcome.

KOEN

Dare I say that he is less monkeyish? He is still climbing on everything and making a mess BUT it's not a mess that requires a carpet cleaner to clean up. He is so sweet. Except when he drags his foot when I am trying to push him on the bike, then, I don't find him so sweet. I make him walk. And then he takes 10 years to get home and I get soooo frustrated.

Getting him to say `happy birthday' gives a better smile than `cheese!'

The boys loved the pumpkin scones I made. I loved them too and I don't even like pumpkin!

BELLY

Okay, I know you're only supposed to publish nice and flattering pictures of yourself but I am so perplexed by my belly! I seriously look 3 months pregnant. Now, my free T4 is currently in the hypothyroid range making me cold and fat (while still maintaining the jitters of the hyperthyroidism) but seriously, a pregnant looking belly? And this was first thing in the morning. Crazy. I miss my constant metabolism more than anything. I was normal for 30 years and I don't think I appreciated it. Having a wonky metabolism is so frustrating. I have a maximum weight that I am not `allowed' to go over. I'm 1lb away from it. Great. And no, I'm not publishing that weight. And no, I'm not pregnant.

BASEMENT

We rented a paint sprayer and Gary primed the whole basement in two hours and then he also did the whole ceiling. Below (on the left) you can see the colour that we will be painting the basement; Silver Fox. If you don't like it, please don't tell me now. We already bought the paint:)

All primed and ready to go!! I have to say that even though renos aren't fun, it was not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. Maybe that's because we only did the insulating, drywall cutting and hanging, and painting:)

Okay, I will def. have a thanksgiving post on Monday because I have a billion things that I am so thankful for.

And if you have any suggestions on Kai and friendships and behaviour, please let me know!

Love, Louise

Happy

I feel so good emotionally. Not sure why, but I'll take it! Not that I'm usually sad, but I just feel exceptionally happy. It could be that Jen and Andrey have brought their daughter home, an old student of mine that had two major heart surgeries in two weeks is looking up (it wasn't looking so good a few days ago), and another old student who was in a major car accident is now in critical care and is responding to various commands (this is a huge improvement).

And, no seque to this but our basement renos are going well! The mudder finished today which means Gary and I have a terribly dusty clean up job to do. I picked up some `Kleen Sweep' which should make it a bit easier? We get to start painting tomorrow!! Woohoo!!! And by we, I mean Gary:) Well, we'll just prime it and paint the ceilings because the finishers come in Tuesday and the carpet is ready and will be installed on the 18th. Oh my goodness. We are finishing early, I know it! Just have to somehow do the bathroom and laundry room floors in there and then finish installing the bathroom fixtures and we're good to go!!

I have to say that hiring more professionals decreased our stress dramatically and was so worth it. I still feel like we are doing a decent chunk on our own and I'm impressed with us. The final cost will be closer to $11,000 than $9,000 but it's worth it when it cuts the time and stress down. Our neighbours did their basement by themselves over the time period of a year. No way, Jose! I cannot wait to carpet clean our main floor and upstairs and have a clean house from top to bottom. I guess I can do that after the finishers.

In work news, there was a giant barbecue at the school last night. It was a lot of fun but it really just reinforced that teaching is so not for me right now. I found teaching so stressful and exhausting. I mean, I loved it and thought I would do it forever, but man, is life easier now! I don't have to rush the kids off to daycare, I get to wear whatever I want, I can work while the kids sleep, I can clean my house and make meals, I can stay on top of laundry etc. I am SO incredibly thankful to have such an awesome job. I'm trying to find the balance. I had three days with no work (due to the weather) and I almost went crazy. I read a book, baked and cooked but just felt `off'. I love having just a couple of hours of work each day while Koen naps. By the way I read, `Secret Daughter' about an adoption through India, I liked it, mostly because adoption is on our minds daily around here:)

Okay, better wake up Kokies to go get Kai Bear. I have an engagement shoot at Crescent Beach this evening, the weather is looking awesome. Maybe I'll wear my new boots. I have a thing for boots.

Love, Louise

We Did It!

So, Gary and I worked our butts off this week and we have hung all the drywall! Woohoo! Special thanks to the guys from church for doing the ceiling, my dad for working with me and doing such a diligent job, my bro in law Tyler for helping Gary several days in a row (and walking one hour to our house each time!!), and to Joel for finishing the bathroom with Gary today. I have to tell you, Gary did not complain at all and I've never seen him so focussed and hard working on something. I'm so proud of him!

Gary sealing off the basement for the mudder tomorrow. Please do not notice the terrible full length seam on the far wall, that was my bad, you are supposed to stagger them so there are no full vertical lines. We rented a drywall screwdriver from Home Depot, it was awesome. Today I went back and forth on doing the playroom with laminate flooring (better for studio) but I think we will go with carpet. It's just warmer and safer for the boys....I think.

The bedroom which will be Kai's eventually. He wants to move into it ASAP but I'm going to hold him off until he's a bit older. It has a great walk in closet and is right next to the bathroom.

The bathroom. The coloured drywall is the waterproof stuff. It should be all around but the other drywall was already there when we moved in...

The mudder comes tomorrow and does his thing, hope that goes according to plan!

*****************

I had 4 photography cancellations in the last 8 days. I never have more than one in a month so you can imagine that the weather has been sketchy!! We could've made it work on several of the days but oh well. So, now they are rescheduled which just means it will be a bit busier in the next few weeks. That's okay though because until we paint (in two weeks) I don't have a lot going on! For the first time since May, when Kai goes to preschool tomorrow and Koen naps, I have nothing to work on. I think I will just bake and make a nice meal. CRAZY. I'm excited.

****************

Today while steam mopping the floor (for the second time in one day, the drywall dust is driving me CRAZY), I noticed fresh drops of blood on the ground. I checked Koen's mouth and nose out but couldn't find the source. As he was heading to bed, Gary held him upside down and I found the source. Koen had fallen (aka pushed by Kai) about an hour earlier and the back of his head had been pierced by a sharp toy. There was a small, deep hole that was still bleeding. The back of his head was all red with blood, boy, heads sure bleed a lot! He is one tough cookie:)

***************

Me (I said a sentence with the word `stupid' in it which is a major no no in this house)

Kai: Mommy, you said a bad word!!

Me: You're right Kai, thanks for reminding me, I'm sorry.

Kai: Koen, do you forgive mommy?

Kai: Mommy, I had a bad dream last night.

Me: That's sad Kai, are you okay?

Kai: Well, you should've come into my dream.

*************

Koen can now say `Happy birthday' and it could be the cutest thing in the world. He was even singing it today. CUTENESS. Actually, that's tied with him counting to three in swahili (I always say moja, and then he says mbili, tatu).

Drywall

I left Gary in the basement, on his own, at 10pm tonight. I can't touch another piece of drywall. I am so done. The basement is so NOT done (probably 10-15 more hours to go). We have to have the drywall done by Monday morning and Gary and I are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo exhausted. I'm glad I've learned a lot but I wish there were 2 Louise's and 2 Gary's so that we could've had it done by now. We are only doing the painting ourselves after this. The rest we will hire the experts. Yes, it will cost $1500.00 more than projected to do the finishing but I don't care. I'd rather be editing pictures than cutting electrical outlet rectangles from big pieces of drywall. The idea of cutting the drywall for the bathroom and laundry room makes me want to vomit...all those circles to cut out....

And to let you know, I am pretty cool. I can cut drywall and then get up on a ladder and drill it in AND it will fit perfectly. I can carry a 4X8 1/2" sheet on my own. Now that I know I can do it, I'm never doing it again.

And seriously, I am so done with drywall dust all over our home. Oh, and the four couches in our living room (two belong in the basement).

Once Monday comes, we have 2 weeks `off' while the mudder is in there. All I need to do is buy a couple of light fixtures, doors, bifolds and carpet. Easy right? Better be!

Kenzie (and the basement)

I went to visit my nieces today and it was the boys first time seeing baby Kenzie. Kai just whispered around her (I told her she was sleeping) and then ran outside. Koen spent a good 10 minutes staring at her saying `baby' over and over.

I had to take a few pictures of her but will be taking some better family photos in a few days. Here she is!

She is sleeping so well at night, maybe getting up to feed once or twice. I know that this can change, but for now, I'm happy for Maria!

She just looks like a 2 month old to me, just like my boys were....big!

And for the basement, sorry, I think every post will have a basement update.

Last night we had six guys over from church and for four hours all I heard was the sound of drills and it was awesome!! Who knew it could be so exciting? They finished the ceiling! I love people willing to help, especially when they have cool tools. I did learn a valuable lesson. The basement was not sealed off so there is now drywall dust everywhere upstairs. I steam mopped 3 times already and it's terrible. Let's just say it's sealed now. Not so great for our lungs. I did one piece of drywall today (cutting and hanging it) by myself and it took half an hour...at least I know I can do it!

(The finished ceiling!!)

I'm thinking of moving our studio into our garage so that I don't have to store it in the playroom and transition the playroom to studio any time that we want to use it. We'll see once it's done. Too bad the bedroom is to small to use as a studio, it's nice and out of the way.

Tonight I am taking the evening off to watch `my' two shows; Criminal Minds and Modern Family. So excited!!

Love, Louise

Insulated and Life

After one week, we have finished the framing, plumbing, electrical and insulating. Gary and I insulated Fri, Sat and Sun evening. Phew, done!! Not a difficult job but a kind of itchy one. We had to do a lot of tuck taping (the red tape) because the vapour sheet was half done when we moved in so we had to seal it all off.

I realized something. I like things to look nice and fit perfectly. Gary likes things done quickly. So far, we actually have gotten along pretty well working together but I'm trying to be a little more `cool' about mis-measured things and Gary is trying to be a little more patient with my `that's not how they did it in the video...' comments:)

Tomorrow night is our drywalling `party' and I am SO nervous for some reason. Gary and I will do a bit tonight but save all the ceilings for tomorrow (ceilings are supposed to be first but the walls were partially done when we moved in). I just want the guys to do a really good job on it and I think I will be such a stress case if I'm around...I'm thinking of just leaving and letting them do their thing. We'll see! Our mudder is going to have to work over a 2 week span (due to holidays) which puts us back onto the original schedule, even though currently we are one week ahead. I have to say that I am learning a ton and it`s interesting. Just time consuming.

I had to get a picture with these shoes. I have to throw them away but they are special to me. They are Kai and Koen`s first walking/running shoes. Good old brown Dr. Scholl's shoes. I bought them secondhand for $5.00, 4 years ago, they have done well!

This box remains in our living room and has provided oodles of entertainment for the boys.

And Koen, my monkey. Seriously, isn`t he gorgeous? He can climb up into his booster seat (we have pub style chairs), walk down stairs with or without the rail, climb up the climbing wall at the park, climb into his own carseat...he keeps us busy:)

In photography news, we are pretty much booked up until September 2011 next year as I am cutting down my bookings to half. We got asked about 3 weddings (for next year) on Saturday alone...I am getting so much better at saying no. As much as I want to take everyone's picture, I can't. There is no way I could repeat this years work again. I want to have a lot more family time. This year we have 20 weddings and next year we already have 10-12. We will see. Interesting balance though, life and work, with kids and a husband in there.

Okay, time to work!

Louise

Hot Date Night | Insulating the Basement

Yesterday our drywall came...it was pouring so we improvised. I'll be honest, I only carried 3 single sheets down (they come in packs of 2). Gary and Tyler were machines!

Tonight I went to Home Depot to get the last of our supplies for insulating. I kind of felt cool buying my own T square. Last night we watched a super dorky DVD: `So You're Renovating: Insulating Your Basement' in preparation.

I made it just 2 hours down there before I felt like I could no longer breathe. I think we are about 1/3 done the insulating. Guess it's back down there tomorrow after we pack up our van full of insulation again (we can only buy 6 bags at a time). I started out pretty excited as I love learning new things. And then, well, it got a bit old....fast. At least Gary does the ceilings and I just have to do the walls:) And let me tell you, the walls look nice. We're getting there!!!! Just have to plan our drywall party....

Trendy

This weeks random jabbering on our adoption journey.

Here is a conversation I had with someone this week:

Person: You have such a glow! Are you pregnant?

Me: No, but we are expecting through adoption.

Person: Oh, that's great!

Me: Ya, we're really excited.

Person: Well, aren't you trendy! (75% joking, 25% serious)

Me: That's why were doing it! (100% joking).

I'm not trendy one bit. Look at my hair, my clothes, my car. Ya. I do not do things to be cool. We are obviously not doing it to be cool. I'm so thankful for the people that we have in our lives who have brought children into their homes through adoption. We do not have adoption in our families, anywhere. However, we do have friends that have like Melissa and Brent, and now, Jen and Andrey!! I'm so thankful that their journeys have helped bring us to where we are today...they have made something so unfamiliar to us, familiar.

And this is my guilty confession: I have not read one book on adoption. This is 100% the opposite of normal Louise. I have attended the conferences and spoken to a lot of adoptive parents but I have not read one book. I have asked for recommendations of good books but I haven't actually read any. I did go to Chapters and to the library and found out that there are maybe 2 books somewhat related, that I would never read.

I read a ton about parenting, babies, and kids, before we had kids and when Kai was a newborn. I found the books stressed me out and made it worse. Too many different opinions, I didn't know who to listen to! I will seek the advice of those that have gone through it before. I will seek the support of others around me. Maybe if something specific comes up, I will look for a book on that topic.

Our first month of actual waiting went well. We are so insanely busy that I don't have a lot of time to focus on it. Although I'll be honest, one of the major reasons why I want to push through this basement reno so quickly is just in case, by some teensy tiny chance, we get matched in the next couple of months, I want the basement done. There is no way I could finish the reno while bringing a newborn into our home! I want that time to just be us. Our family.

Okay, Koen is awake and we need to get Kai from preschool. Have a fabulous weekend!!! Gary and I are going to spend any free time insulating the basement! Woohoo?!

Louise

Renovations | Day 6 (and Koen)

The schedule for week one went right according to plan! Our wonderful electrician (nicest guy ever?!) is coming back tonight to finish his job. I mean, the plumber and electrician will come back after it's almost done to put all the fixtures in etc but for now, all good!

(The tub is in!)

(We'll have 6 recessed lights in the playroom...and really nice ones at that:)

Today we are having 45 sheets of drywall dropped off which means hopefully we can start on that soon. Gary needs to put in a vent to the outside (you know, drill through our wall...eek!) with his dad (for the bathroom vent) on Friday and then we will insulate away.

Koen is actually really stressing me out. We put the baby gate back up because I can't risk him getting into the basement these days. Yesterdays activities included eating 1/4 cup of margarine (using the butter knife) and picking every last unripe tomato off our vines and throwing them all over the yard. We have a lot of various tomato plants. This is what happens when he's unattended for 5 minutes. I love him like crazy and especially love the cuddles when he drinks his milk, but unless I am playing with him, he's causing trouble. I'm sure renos during this `monkey stage' are not helping. I have been off beta blockers for months but yesterday, I took two. I feels like my blood pressure is super high, even though it probably isn't. Love you Kokies!

Okay, that's my 5 minutes and I had to go get him twice (once for taking my entire purse apart and the other time for pulling a chair over to the edge of the basement to try to get over the gate). Gotta go!!!

PS When talking to Kai about Kenzie being born at Langley Memorial Hospital...

Me: Kai, do you know where you were born?

Kai: In a stable!!

Pretty sure that wasn't you buddy:)

Life Around Here

1. Babies: for some reason, every time I see a pregnant woman, or a baby, I get teary eyed. Not because I'm jealous but because it's beautiful. I'm so happy for them. I saw a friend at church who is due in three weeks and tears fell from my eyes when I asked how she was doing. I guess it doesn't help that my sister is 10 days overdue and there will be a new baby here soon! I look forward to our baby to be but know that now would not be the best time.

2. Renos: the plumbers were here for 5 hours today (and probably 1 hour tomorrow)and our bathroom is all ready to go! Well, you know, tub is in and the plumbing is in. Ha, it has a long ways to go! Great plumbers (one is my bro in law)! So far, so good! I think in our first week of renos, we will put in $2000.00. Wow. Framing, Plumbing and Electrical (that includes parts and labour). I have ordered the drywall (and about 10% more than I think we need) and will go pay for it tomorrow (okay, add $500.00 to the total!). It will be delivered on Thursday. Does anyone know a good drywall mudder? I have one lined up for a quote but would like one other one, just to compare. Organizing all this is like another full time job. Thank goodness I don't have to actually do any of the framing, plumbing or electrical...I'm already losing one precious hour of sleep each night just thinking about the renos.

3. Work: I have been working way too much. I know. However, it is paying for the adoption and renos so it's necessary. And, let's be honest, I enjoy it, I'm learning a lot and I love feeling productive. I stopped accepting bookings for 2010 a while back and am already booked up several months for 2011. I have 4 shoots this week, then 3, then 2, then 1. Ah. Can't wait!! Although then we are doing the photo directory for church...it never ends! November. Yes, then I will relax. For sure. No matter what!!! I have decided that next year I am going to have a monthly max of 2 weddings and 2 regular sessions. That's it! I will stick to it.

4. The Boys: Kai already has his first back-to-school cold. Took two classes to get it. So awesome. I think Koen must be getting it because along with being a monkey today, he was a bear! I had my two nieces over today to give Maria (my 10 day overdue sister) a break and it was a little busy. Ani pointed out `Four kids is a lot, especially when one of them is Koen'. SO TRUE. The older three, no problem! Actually, I shouldn't complain, Koen played nicely with them for a whole hour while I worked. AWESOME. I know that Ani would tell me in a second if anything was amiss.

I know this is boring. This is my life right now. Kids. Renos. Photos. I think we will book off the two weeks of spring break to do a fun family trip, maybe Tofino? The boys would LOVE it. Maybe just Green Lake, that's the easy thing to do:)

And some random Kai comments from the last week:

1. Kai: Mommy, smell my belly.

Me (smelling): Uh, what am I supposed to smell?

Kai: I ate some ham!

2. Kai: Mommy, I made this picture for God. How can he reach it?

3. Me: Kai, you may not not call Koen a penis or any variation of it.

4. Kai: If I eat the salmon, I will die for sure.

Renovations | Day 1

Phew. I'm exhausted and I wasn't even the one with a hammer in my hand:) Today a lot was accomplished! Our wonderful framing team finished framing in about 7 hours and did a great job.

My job for the day? Buy a right hand bathtub ($300) and buy the shower/bathtub ($120) kit. I thought I got a great deal on a bathtub but now I'm not so sure. It had a little, itty, bitty ding on the corner so I got $100.00 off. He was trying to tell me that it was originally an $800.00 tub but now I'm not so sure about that...sketchy dude.

So, some before and after's:

PLAYROOM BEFORE AND AFTER FRAMING

BEDROOM (looking towards the bathroom) BEFORE AND AFTER FRAMING
(Please note the plum paint on the ground, thanks Koen!)

Please note our lovely tub in our bathroom. Our plumbers are coming on Monday and doing all their plumbing stuff (and putting in the tub). Wednesday and Thursday is when our electrician comes in (dudes, quality recessed lights are PRICEY and we are getting 6 of them). THEN, it's up to us to insulate and drywall. YIKES!!!!! Right now I'm trying to figure out what to do for drywall, like, how many sheets and how to get it to our house:) Dude at Home Depot recommended just doing 4X8' sheets, thoughts?

I have learned so much already. I can't say I'm loving all these facts but it's probably good to learn sometime in your life...right? Like tonight (on my 5th trip of the week to Home Depot) I learned that the ceiling drywall should be 5/8" not the 1/2" that you put on the walls. Good to know. Too bad it's like twice the price. Yuck.

We have decided on carpet and now just need to make sure it's all ready to go in about 3-4 weeks:)

All right, that's it for now! Bon nuit.

Our Wonderful Basement-to-be

Okay, so this will probably be extremely boring for 95% of you but I want to record this for me:) Besides, if you are ever finishing your basement, you could be interested! Also, I do want to know your opinion on two things:

1. What is your favourite warm looking basement paint colour? Kai says he refuses to use the basement unless it is purple but I refuse to use the basement if it is purple:)

2. Basement carpet with two lively boys...should we go with berber? (our stairs to the basement are berber)

(This is Koen's bedroom for the next two months...he has a fort made with the toddler bed and foosball table. All of our rooms look a little chaotic because we want to be able to park in the garage during the basement reno).

(We had our last studio session on Monday, which was a very fun Smash the Cake for a one year old, and have packed everything up)

So, here is our tentative timeline starting this Saturday. I could be way off because I have never done anything like this before. Here we go:

Week 1: Framer, Electrician, Plumber (done by professionals who we are connected to). Get tub put in.

Week 2: Insulation (done by Gary and I, shouldn't take this long but giving him lots of time!)

Week 3: Drywall (Gary and 3-4 drywalling buddies who will be paid in pizza and beer. Should be done in one day as our basement is half done already. Ceiling should be the hardest cutting around all the `stuff'. I will probably try to do some of it with Gary and have his friends aid with the ceiling.).

Week 4: Mudding (will take at least a week, possibly more. We are hiring someone for this for sure!!)

Week 5: Painting (Gary and I). Anyone have a paint sprayer?

Week 6: Carpet and plumbers/Gary put in bathroom fixtures (toilet and sink). We already have our sink and toilet and just need to find a well priced tub. I'm going to check out `Andrew Sheret' at Splashes this week and see if I can find a good one. We were going to put in a shower but alas, the drain size and location of the drain will only allow for a tub. Currently deciding on carpet and then getting a couple of quotes. Need to get on it ASAP as it can take a month to order it. At this point, the kids will be able to play downstairs again! Woohoo!!

Week 7: Put in floor in bathroom and laundry room (we are doing the floating floors that you can buy at Home Depot). Looks super easy and they look great! (us). Put up cabinets in laundry room and bathroom.

Week 8: Put in doors to bedroom, bathroom and closets. (us)

Week 9: Put in baseboards and crown molding around doors etc. (us)

This takes us to basketball season when we will no longer see Gary so hopefully everything happens according to this schedule. I feel that as long as I have people booked for the appropriate time and the supplies available when needed, we should be good to go! If it is way over our heads, I will bring in some finishers to do week 9's job.

My budget for this is $9,000.00 but I'm thinking it will be closer to $8000.00. We'll see!! If we had it done before we moved in, they were going to charge $20,000 and I know it will be nowhere near that.

And, the final thing that I am keeping track of? Number of visits to home depot:) So far, we are at two.