James Street Rehab - Update

We did of bit of hardscaping. We still have to do plants, but the new walkway and the stone step look great.

Weekend Events

This past Saturday B woke bright and early at 6 am. Thank God Mike doesn't work on Saturdays and went downstairs and made her tea. I got up a little before 8 with Charlie sleeping until almost 9! Bad news is that she went to bed at 10:30. Oh well. Mike's Dad came over around 8:30 to help Mike put up crown molding in the living room. YES! Those two made my crown molding dreams a reality. They did a great job. Thank you Mr. B and Mike.

Mr. B also brought over some Easter presents. B's favorite, besides the chocolate bunny (solid, of course) was a dinosaur egg that was filled with dino bones. She had to use the enclosed tools to break and dig through the egg to find the skeleton.

Worst part of the weekend was Charlie taking a spill of the clothe dryer and onto the basement floor. She was in her bouncy seat and bounced right off. An ER visit, CT scan and a night under observation has made me a bit more responsible . That and the Bad Parent of the Year award I received. Yes, I knew you don't put the seat on an elevated surface, but B never bounced the seat (of course, B wasn't trying to crawl at three and a half months either) like Charlie. But, it never happens to me right? Yeah, right. So anyway, Charlie should be safe from my stupidity from now on, I have given up doing laundry. New clothes aren't that expensive are they? Seriously, have learned from my lesson. Weird thing is, I would never leave her on the changing table by herself, why in this instance was I so lax? I won't be again. My sweet little girl looked so sad with the monitor wires and the hep lock. We were lucky, and she didn't even get a bruise. At least I got the award.....

B is using a brush to dust the bones.

My perfect molding! Now, we just need to paint over
the brown wall.

B loving her sister. Look at the terrified look on
Charlie's face.

The sisters. Cozy in their jams.

Now that Mike (and his Dad) have knocked one thing off the to-do list, how far off is Ina's kitchen? That should be next right? HAH!

James Street Rehab - Update

The house is almost done. A bit more painting, and some bath stuff. Here are some new photos.

James Street Rehab - Update

The house is almost finished. Some painting outside, and the bath inside. I think it looks pretty good. I am happy Mike picked grey for the siding. And I love the new bath floor. But why didn't we add heat underneath?

James Street Rehab Update

THings are moving right along with our rehab. Most everything should be done by the end of March. The only thing I think that might not be done is the chimney rebuild.

WE are also replacing the two front windows.

I can't believe the work they can do in the winter.

The siding looks really good.

I hate all the noise, and I am sure I will be angry while they redo our bathroom (we only have 1.5 baths, so we are not replacing the tub - where would we bathe?).

Recap of the Week: Isabel, Kids, House Rehab and B's Pictures

It hasn't been a busy week, just one where I cannot get anything done. Charlie hates to be put down and isn't much of a day sleeper - well, she sleeps during the day about every other day. Today was a sleepy day - still hates to be put down though. She starts to wake just as soon as she feels her body at s new angle.

Today was good though. Great weather - almost 50 degrees and sunny. B, Charlie and I walked up town. I got a caramel, chocolate covered pretzel and B got an ice cream cone. Charlie, the poor thing, got nothing except some fresh air.

Isabel in the grocery bag. I went to put it away,
and about flipped when the bag moved. Isabel
gets into everything!

The girls in their dino jammies. B picked
out Charlie's. B loves to hold her. Charlie,
well, she tolerates it - sometimes. I am very glad B
loves her little sister. However, she always wants
to wake her up. I tell her if Charlie is sleeping,
I can spend time with you! Sometimes it works too!

I am slowly buying poor Charlie something else
besides sleepers. And I love when she smiles. She
looks a lot like B did.

Here is the back of the house - and some
rotted wood underneath the shower window.
Lovely - no I now why I have a runny nose.

They are really moving right along. I like
the new house color.

Here the gas utility is moving our meter for the
new porch. That is Mrs. Kravitz's house. She hates
construction on the street. I guess she would be
happier with a decrepit house across the street.

This neighbor was pissed they were digging in his yard.
Funny, we had our meter moved, but they didn't dig
into out yard.

B took this yesterday. Charlie is in clothes again - yeah!

Another B picture.
This is the chaos that has ensued because I don't
put the baby down. The corn popper is out, but we had
no gas to pop it (they turned it off to move the meter) so
I popped kernels in a paper bag in the microwave. I burned it.
B told Mike the kitchen burned on fire. There was a lot
of smoke.

One more of B's handiwork. I am not sure her
future is in photography.

I know the week isn't over - though I wish it were. I am desperate for Mike to be home too. The carpenters must talk about the most foul mouthed woman in the world. Yesterday was bad. The baby cried, B cried, the carpenters pounded non-stop, and I cried. Today, when they started the jack hammer (to break up the old porch) B went to school and Charlie and I bugged out. No way could I stay home and listen to it. Charlie went from smiling to crying when they started. I guess it will be worth it in the end.....

James Street Rehab and A Picture of Charlie

First things first - here is a picture of Charlie. I got the cute dress at the Gap. It is a 0-3 months. to counteract the shorter length, I got some hot pink leggings. The dark blue really looked nice on her. She is like Mike, blue is their color.


They are working on our siding. They started with the garage. Took off the old siding. and started putting up the new stuff. Some interesting stuff. The header over the garage door was rotted out with carpenter ants and the one side of the garage had dry wall instead of plywood sheets under the siding. They started last Friday and worked yesterday. Today, nothing. Snow is a good construction stopper.

The new siding is a nice grey color. It is
some sort of manufactured product. I wasn't sure about
it, but it is made with wood and has a 10 year paint
warranty and a 50 year product warranty. A plus
after living with peeling paint for several years.

More photos to come as more work gets done. We also need to pick out some tile for the bath floor. Not sure whether we should go light (marble like the vanity top) or a dark, dark grey slate. As soon as we figure that out, we can get it ordered and start the bathroom.

James Street Rehab

Yes, I mean our house. It is in need of some TLC. So, a new front porch, new siding, chimney work and a bath redo is on deck. We forgot to take a pre-start photo, but here are a couple of pictures.

They took of the old front porch. The new
porch will span the whole front of the house, with
a slight wrap around by the screen porch.

And they are taking off the screen porch. It is
rotting. We aren't replacing it, because eventually
(hopefully in 5 years or so) we will put a master
suite in it's place.

I will do updates as work progresses.