progress report

I would just like to express my thanks to the troops that rallied at the eleventh hour so we could get it done. Even though some had to overcome adversity, they showed up, and they banged it out. And we are grateful.

So, to catch you up, Jeff came Tuesday to do all the finish carpentry. And it looks awesome. He did a great job.
Concurrently on Tuesday, the vinyl for the bathroom floor was also installed.So we had Wednesday and Thursday (Thanksgiving) to paint all of the trim. Oh yeah you haven't seen any of the paint yet have you? I've been so busy down in the basement, I can't remember where I left you, dear reader. Well here are some painted wall/unpainted trim shots:
So, at Jeff's suggestion we did not paint the trim before installation which allegedly ends up looking better (I don't know because I have nothing to compare it to) but I do know it's a pain in the ass to try to get all that done when you are under the gun of carpet coming, as well as losing more than half a day to a holiday.

But as I said, the troops rallied - Pablo & David, Laci & Ryan, we thank you. It would not have been possible without you. So thank you for coming despite being advised otherwise and for helping us out. We can't thank you enough.

So, here are pictures of us working our little hearts out.
And then today, carpet was installed. It is amazing. Each step has transformed the basement immensely. Framing, drywall, paint... but carpet makes it real. It's incredible. Lying on the soft carpeted floor thinking that one short month ago I was sitting in that same spot sorting through a mountain of toys and sweeping up petrified cat poop. Ha! Incredible.
So, here are some shots of the carpet. And a few from Thanksgiving.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped us make this project happen. Thanks to Cody for setting a date and making it happen. And though he tired, he never ceased and his stamina continues to amaze me. To my kids who have been (somewhat) patient this last month when all we did for days on end was paint and paint and paint some more. Hopefully it will all be worth it to them to have twice as much room to run around in.

So now we have a little more to paint (will it never end??) - touch ups, a couple window sills, etc. Which we can hopefully finish in the morning and then Ryan and Cody will be moving everything back in. So someday, I'm sure we will be able to just sit and enjoy this basement! We are definitely looking forward to it. And wondering who will be the first to sleep over!

Birthday Girl

Here is a photo tribute to our little Princess Ja. She is one year old, and I am amazed. She is not a tiny little baby anymore (though I guess she never was a TINY baby). When I heard people say they miss the baby days, I thought they were truly out of their minds. But now that I have had a baby like Burgundy, I understand. She was the perfect, sweetest baby there ever was.Now she is one year old. She is standing, on the brink of walking. She is pretty close to being able to beat up her big brother. She is expressing opinions more every day. She has 5 teeth coming in at once, which makes her a little cranky at times. She eats like crazy and is always smiling when you go to get her out of bed. She loves bathtime and chasing after Finn. She is our little princess, and we are blessed to have her in our lives. First day home from the hospital.

falling off

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, we have just been working non-stop in our basement. Here are some pictures of the drywall, post mudding and texture. Although we are finished painting, I don't have any pictures of that yet, so you'll have to be patient.

Hopefully this post is not going to come across in the same mood I am whence I write it. Which is not good. Inevitably, you are going to have some hurdles while completing an undertaking such as this, and luckily we have not encountered anything terrible. I am just disappointed right now because we have had to reschedule some things this week. We were supposed to get finish carpentry done Monday, vinyl flooring in the bathroom on Tuesday, and carpet on Wednesday. Then we had Thanksgiving weekend off (or to do touch up painting) and then finishing up in the bathroom on Monday and Tuesday. But now we've been rescheduled for carpentry to Tuesday, we can't reschedule vinyl, so we hope those 2 don't get in each other's way, which means we can't do carpet until Friday. Granted, it's not a huge change, but we had it in our minds it would be done by Thanksgiving. So I am taking many deep breaths and trying to remain calm. I know it will all work out just fine. I don't do well with last minute changes.

Luckily, this whole project has been mostly stress free. Notice I said "mostly". Of course there are those inescapable people/issues. You just can't avoid that sort of thing sometimes, unfortunately. Drama is something else I don't do well with. But regardless, it is coming along and we should come in ahead of our target date which is Dec 5th.

Stay tuned for Burgundy's 1 year birthday post...

Walls!

It's all happening! Sunday, with Jim & Paula's help, we banged out the rest of the wiring and insulation. I was very thankful that Paula volunteered to babysit so that I could help out by cutting all the insulation. It's a hot and itchy job, but I love to get my hands dirty when I can. So, here is the fruit of that labor, all insulated (and lots of fiberglass dust hanging in the air (yes mom, I wore a mask!))

So, here it is. Drywall is up, mudding and sanding commences tomorrow. Walls! Finn's favorite part thus far (there have been many) would have to be the window well. When they loaded all the drywall in, they loaded it through the window and stacked it all in front of the basement door.

So the only way to get in and out was down into the window well and in through the window. Seems crazy, I know. Especially since we killed a black widow in that well a week ago (I can hear my mom gasping now). Normally those wells are so icky you're afraid to even open the window with the screen on! And now we climb down there 30 times a day. Finn got really good at it.

After we put the kids to bed, Cody & I like to go downstairs for a while just to take it all in. Last night, after climbing down the well in the dark and rain, Cody made a great point. "Upstairs has never felt so far away". It was true. It felt as if we were on a deserted island. Ah adventure! Dirty shoes after a hard day's work!