Gearing Up

I have been hesitant to write anything on here (or facebook) about the house project that we are about to get into. The last time I wrote about one I ended up having to retract - - remember this post? (ha! no turning back!) Our contractor ended up bailing on us and as the economy started to get worse and worse, we thought that maybe there was a reason we weren't supposed to get into it at that time. Now 3 years later, I am really happy that we ended up not going through with the original project! We have had a lot more time to think about what we really want to do and save money so that we don't have to finance much of it.

Our plans have drastically changed from last time - I think what we are going to do will really maximize our living space without adding on much square footage and will retain the character of our charming 1930s home.

Starting in early April, we will be converting our basement into a family room, guest bedroom & bathroom. This is going to be a pretty complicated project since we will have to get our concrete floors broken up in order to dig down a couple of feet. There will also be a lot of work done around getting the basement water-proofed and up to code (i.e. egress window for guest bedroom). Once the major work is done, Jon will take over to do the finishing work. We will get the main room and bedroom complete but just frame out the bathroom for now (and get the plumbing run) but won't finish it at this point as we'll have to focus on what will start happening upstairs (more on that later)! I am super excited about having a guest bedroom! All of my family, some of Jon's family and many of our close friends are from out of state and we have always wanted a place to accomodate them when they visit! Currently, when we have visitors, we move Sophia out of her bed and into Anthony's room and all share the same bathroom -- not ideal.

My goal is to create a cozy b&b feel in the guest bedroom and I will center the design around this great pillow that I bought:

So, onto the upstairs! In May, we are hiring a [reliable, dependable - we hope!] contractor to add on a little bit upstairs. If you take a quick look at the first pic in this old post it will be easier to explain. The balcony will be closed in, as will the areas on either side of the addition on the first level. Upstairs, it will be a new bedroom for Anthony and a bathroom for the kids. Anthony's old bedroom will become my work-from-home office (yay!) and we will close the current full bath off from the hallway and open it up through our room (double yay!) The downstairs won't change too much except that the steps going down to the basement will be closed in and there will be a little more room in the kitchen to add a big closet to put the washer/dryer in. Again, Jon will take over all of the inside renovations - I am so thankful to have a husband that is so skilled in this area - the best part is his attention to detail - I love that we don't have unfinished projects all over the house - all trim work etc. gets done before he moves on!

I'm going to try to document the process on here with videos/pics, so stay tuned!

Breaking Free!

Jon and I decided that it would be fun to show up at the kids' school and break them out for a day! It was right before Thanksgiving and we both had off work but they still had school. We sent them to school as usual and about an hour later, I went to get Anthony. I didn't tell him that Jon was going to get Sophia - I just had him called to the office and told him that I was there to take him on a date! A few minutes after we left the school property, Jon showed up to bust Sophia out! He did not tell Sophia that I had already gotten Anthony.

It was a blast! Such a fun time of connecting with them 1-on-1!

I took Anthony to our favorite little breakfast place in town and then we went to see "Megamind" in the theater. He was so funny because he kept saying, "Mom, do you think Sophia is still in school now?" I love this little boy so much and I just had the best time talking to him and spending time alone with him!

Jon took Sophia shopping at "5 Below" just to kill some time while we finished up at the restaurant because he wanted to take her to the same place. I texted him when we were leaving and they showed up a few minutes later. It was fun because we are such regular customers of this place and know all of the waitstaff and they helped us keep the secret. Then Jon took Sophia hiking in a park - it was a beautiful warm winter day and they had so much fun together!


When we all got home, Sophia & Anthony were so excited to tell each other about their day - - and then discovered that the other one did sort of the same thing. It was so cute because they were so excited for each other and were not at all jealous about what the other one did. We heard them talking about it and when Sophia discovered that we had gone to the same restaurant but at different times, she said, "see Anthony, we're connecting the dots!".

What great kids we have! We think this is going to have to become an annual tradition - - next time I will be with Sophia and Jon will be with Anthony.

A Visit from 2/3 of the Frenchies!

So, I know this is totally out of chronological order, but I want to document a great time we had in October!

Darla (my sister) and Ella (my niece) came up to visit us. It was so much fun! I really really wish I lived near my sister! (actually all of my sibs - I didn't appreciate them when I had the chance!)

Here are some of the highlights from the visit:

Halloween

Jon enjoyed having a baby girl again for a few days!

and so did I!

Blogging Slump

I just can't seem to get motivated lately! I have this blog for 2 reasons - 1) family/friends that live far away 2) can't remember details of events. I never get pictures developed anymore and I don't put albums together, so this is my only place to archive the highlights of our life. It's also a back-up if I lose my files on my computer - - this unfortunately has happened.

I'm thinking of making this a password-protected blog...I've gotten some weird comments from random strangers lately and it makes me uncomfortable. I know it's a pain for the reader, but I think privacy is a good cause, don't you?!

okay, I'm going to try to sit here and do a couple of posts...wish me luck