Catch up

I've missed posting on several events lately. When I'm feeling low, I just can't bring myself to write. I tend to just run around aimlessly or drink red wine instead. Let's see if I can catch up...


February was a hard month for me, so I'm gonna skip it for now. SKIP...


March 2nd, however, was my baby Tiki's birthday. Somehow, he's already one. Poor kid almost got overlooked because we've been so busy, but we did manage to make him yummy tacos for dinner. His party is Saturday, so I'll try to post more on that later.


Last night, S pulled out his second tooth by himself! I couldn't pull it; it just grosses me out. My hubby couldn't do it either. Finally, the poor kid took matters into his own hands and popped it out. I would NEVER have done that as a kid, but thank goodness he may be a little more independent than I was. He was proud, and very excited the tooth fairy came last night.


The biggest news, though, is that we moved into the office over the weekend. They opened for business yesterday. Things aren't really completed, but it's workable. They are so happy. It looks great, and the space is gonna work nicely. I'm trying to get some art from my friend the photographer and my friend the painter, so I'll post pics when all is settled. My tile job has drawn tons of compliments, so that's exciting. Just furnishing it and bring in the essentials (trash cans, coffee mugs, etc) is keeping me so busy and driving the kids crazy. Thanks to my dear friend, I bought Orla Kiely mugs, plates and bowls. They're adorable. We are quickly going broke, though, due to all the unexpected expenses, so my husbands about to cut me off. I can feel it coming.

Gotta run for school pickup, but I'll try to post pictures soon.

we're gonna buy your house. Sike!

I'm gonna finally try to tell this story, but I have been avoiding it. Avoiding thinking about it. We finally got an offer on the house. For $79,ooo less than asking. We countered, they countered. They wanted to close in 9 DAYS because they had locked in an amazing (4.27??) rate and only had it for 60 days. They hadn't yet sold their house, and weren't interested in moving until school was out so they wouldn't have to move their kids during school. We finally agreed on a price, with us and our agent bending over backwards. We were taking a huge hit, and she reduced her commission. They came for a second visit and looked forever. They couldn't get the appraisal back in time to get their rate, but they were still in love with the house and wanted it. They had to know what an amazing deal they were getting.
Then..... They sent word that they had "decided not to decide."

WHAT THE HELL?

So, I guess we're back to square one. I can't say I blame them. Once they lost the rate, there was no reason to rush things. They really should sell their house first. And they don't want to move yet anyway. But, I sure wish they hadn't yanked us around.

That's my story. I tried to write it all week, but I was too depressed to sit and go through it all in my mind again.

I feel trapped and helpless. My house has been for sale almost two years.

more rambling on the office

It seems all I can think or blog about is real estate and the office. I got about half (or less) of the tile grouted yesterday. It looks AWESOME. I have to brag and say that all the men working on the project are really impressed. To me, that's way more of a compliment than if a friend says they like it. The senior builder said "I'd recommend you", which for me was huge. It is such satisfying work. There is instant reward and you always know your end point. It's peaceful and steady. Who knows, maybe I have much more tiling in my future. I'm pretty sure my husband will insist upon it! As for him, I have to brag a little. Yesterday, he took a day off so I could grout. He took the baby to the grocery store, got all the right things, and put everything away! He picked S up from school, then he brought the three kids to see me. Finally, when I got home, he met me at the door with a glass of wine! The house was picked up and the kids were happy. Honestly, I could get used to that.
They finished the bamboo floors today, and I love them! I've always wanted to test those out, so here we go. I consider the office a big test for (hopefully) building a house one day. As for that, I did talk to my agent today. Someone who looked at the house a long time ago (maybe 9 months!) must still be thinking about it. Their agent asked her if I would take $400,000 for it. We're asking $479,000, so it's almost an insult. I told her to tell him we could only go to $450,000, and that is a give-away! But at this point, we would if we could.
She mentioned other leads, but I don't have any showings scheduled, if that tells you anything. I think this is the "I know my contract is running out soon" dance that we do every 3 months or so.

Waving the White Flag

I've surrendered, and I hired a guy to do the bamboo floors. He gave me a great price, and he's a pro who knows how to handle the height difference. He'll put in a reducer, which I had considered doing. Honestly, I was trying to take on too much. We want to be in at the end of the month. I still have to grout ALL that tile. Lay tile in the bathroom/kitchenette. Paint ALL the ceiling tiles. Plus find time to furnish and decorate the place. It will be worth it. I just get stubborn and take on too much. I do still have three kids to take care of, you know. (That's me still making excuses to myself.)
G is taking off work Monday, so we have three days to get as much done as we can. I'll try to post pictures.
In other real estate news... Oh, there is no other real estate news. That's right, NONE! I'm glad to be distracted by the office for now.

need wood

I have to find some wood for the rest of the office floor by Saturday. I got some gorgeous bamboo at Sams, but I don't know if it's gonna work. I laid down a piece today, and it is gonna be about 1/2 inch higher than the tile. It's 5/8 in thick. I really want to use it. I did some searching and found a "reducer" piece, but it would be like a tiny little hill to get on the bamboo floor. Is that bad? I don't want a thin piece of engineered wood that will scratch after seeing this beautiful bamboo. What do I do? We are supposed to lay the floor this weekend. It has me crazy!
On a good note, I somehow got in a nap this afternoon with all three kids at home! Hallelujah!

more on tiling

I finished tiling the public areas of the office Sunday. I still have to do the small bathroom and kitchenette area, then I will begin grouting. It's weird. It hurts and it's hard, but it's such a peaceful job. When I got home Sunday, the kids attacked me when I walked in the door. My husband had taken all the kids to a birthday party (I was proud of him!), and he called just as I was finishing up to ask if we could go to dinner with three other families. I was so tired and dirty, I couldn't imagine it! I said yes, though, and we did have fun.

What was surprising was the lesson I learned about greeting a spouse when he/she returns from work. It's really true what I've heard about them needing 10 minutes to regroup. All I wanted was to change clothes, pour a glass of wine, and nurse little Tiki. I couldn't deal with the kid's requests for apple juice or to help pull their pants up. And I got a different perspective on the late call requesting a dinner date. Of course, tiling is pretty hard work, so I assume it's a little different from a comfortable desk job. But I bet the mental part of it is the same.

I told my husband about my epiphany, and he seemed to light up a little. I know at the same time, he was learning a lesson or two about the spouse who stays home with the three kids! Overall, it was a good lesson for us both.

Tiling the office floor

I haven't talked much about the new office because our builder has been doing most the work. Now that it's time for the finishing touches, though, we are taking over. We have decided to tile much of the space, and so Saturday I began tiling floors for the first time. I've done backsplashes and showers, so I figured I could handle the floors. It ends up that they are easier. While I'm working, though, the rooms get bigger and bigger in my head! I think the hardest thing about the job is worrying about my kids, especially the baby. G stayed home with them Saturday. I needed his help Sunday, so my mom hung out here at the house with them. For some reason, I just can't use the tile cutter, and it helped my back and knees to have someone there to hand me the tiles as I worked. Otherwise, you are getting up and down constantly.

That would be the second hardest part: the back and knee pain. If I'm careful, it isn't too bad. I am in my thirty's now, and I notice many more aches and pains.

The experience make me appreciate, again, that I am able to stay home with my children. It is very stressful to me when I don't have access to them. Even though I know they are being well cared for, I miss them.

Anyway, here is a picture of the work I had done after day two. I have MUCH more to do. I won't promise that I'll finish. I may end up hiring someone to do the other two rooms, but I really do want to try to do it myself. It depends on how much my mom can help with the kids because it really is easier when my husband is there to help me.

Yes, that's all I have done after two days! My husband says I couldn't be any slower at spreading the thin set. I feel like it has to be perfect to make the tiles level, and I want to maintain a clean working environment. We've all seen tile jobs where there is dry thin set all over the tiles.

As I was working, he said, "this isn't like icing a cake." I exclaimed, "that's exactly how I was gonna describe it!" It is like making icing (mixing the thin set) and icing a cake. G say's " that's the problem!" Apparently I'm slow at decorating a cake too.

Gingerbread House

We finished decorating the gingerbread house today. It is our first one, so there are things I would change about it. I used the recipe in The Joy of Cooking, and usually their recipes don't fail me. But the instructions for assembly were not good compared to others I have found, and the dimensions weren't great. The roof was huge, and I had to cut it down a bit. Anyway, we are proud of it and the boys are thrilled.

Getting Better

We had a much better day today. My mom and I took the kids to the mall. I always feel better at the mall, even though I'm not a huge shopper usually. I had a gift card to Macy's I'd been wanting to use, though, so I got three great pair of pants. I wanted shoes for the kids, but the guy at Stride Rite said to wait until black Friday for their sale. I stopped by Party City to get eye patches for all the kids coming to Booboo's party on Saturday. It was a MUCH better day than yesterday. The kids seem to be climbing out of the germ pit. Maybe I can even send them both to school tomorrow and get started on the cake!!!

At the office, the builder started the demo this week! I love the smell of construction. Or in this case, I guess it's deconstruction. I thought I smelled the hint of cigarette smoke too. I love that smell... construction and cigarette smoke. It always reminds me of my dad when I was a kid. Thank God he stopped smoking a couple months ago! I never thought I'd see the day that happened. So, things are looking up around here after a very hard week.

On a good note...

Let's move on, shall we? Surely I have more going on in my life than a depressed housing market. There is some real estate news I am very excited about. We seem to have come to an agreement on the office space for my husband's practice.

We weren't in the market for any space and have been renting forever. Someone in the same building selling his space began pursuing us, but we couldn't afford it. Because he had no other prospects, he continued to call us. Finally we had a meeting and decided to go for it. That was a month and a half ago, and today we finally seem to have made a solid agreement and got all the details in order. We are to close just before the year's end. Now, my husband doesn't count his chickens before they hatch, but I am very excited!! The space will need complete demo and rebuilding, so it will be a nice project to distract me. Also, it will be wonderful to pay a mortgage instead of rent, and this is one of the prime medical office buildings in our town.

We are picking a builder by Monday (hopefully), so construction will begin soon. The wonderful man we are buying from is allowing us to work on it before we close so we can get in at the new year. Our last obstacle is the lease for our current space. It lasts through 2009, so we just have to pray we find someone to sublet. I'll try to get over there to get some before pictures so I can document the journey. Maybe we'll be rewarded for buying in this down market by getting a buyer of our very own.

cash in the attic

Tiki (right) and his buddy on a walk

It has been such a long day! I was outside in the cold at 7am getting ready for the yard sale. My friend who was "co-host" showed up soon after. People start showing up before the sun comes out at these things. I thought it was a success overall. I didn't sell the big things I wanted to sell like furniture and expensive strollers. Maybe I'll do consignment. I did sell a few of the furniture pieces that were priced a little lower. I came out with $291.50, which was pretty good for stuff I wasn't even using. I got the money to pay for my new desk, and that was my goal. Still, my back has been hurting for 3 days. I need to schedule a massage, but I honestly don't know when I could do it. The kids thought it was one big party, and were surprisingly okay with me selling some of their stuff.

After we all had a nap and cleaned up, my friend and her family came back over for dinner. It was one of those good dinners where you just throw together whatever you have. I made my signature banana bread and a great, big salad. She brought fried chicken (yum!), mac and cheese and we made a really good apple dish. Her baby is just 2 months older than Tiki, and my boys love him.

With the extra hour we got for daylight savings, I swear today seems to have been two separate days. How wonderful it feels to have Halloween and the yard sale behind me.

mounds and mounds of crap

I'm hosting a multi-family yard sale here on Saturday. I finally got around to going through the house this morning for stuff to sell. I had actually convinced myself that we had done such a good job sending things off to charity in the past that I wouldn't find much to sell. Boy was I wrong. My attic is full of boxes and baby items. That is actually the reason for the sale. But I found far more in the basement storage than I realized was there. I mean stuff from boxes we moved in here more than 4 years ago. I also found treasures, like photos I thought were missing and artwork.
I hauled much of it into my garage to clean up and price. Not paying attention, as usual, I piled it all up behind my golf cart. I use the golf cart to get my more elderly massage clients down to my basement office so they don't risk falling down the stairs. So of course, at 11:30 I found my client standing in the garage wondering how to get to her ride. My children will be doing the same thing tomorrow night when it's time to trick-or-treat. Ugggh. I have no choice but to get in there later today and move it all to the other side.

Right now, I can't imagine I'll make enough to warrant all the time and work involved. It is a nice way to clean out the house, though. Especially in the case that we ever sell it. And yard sales are green, right?

Master Bathroom Remodel

We're done! It took 10 weekends to do, but some weekends were much easier than others. I'm so glad we did it, and I'm SO glad we're done.

Here's the BEFORE:

This is AFTER:

backsplash talk

Here is a picture of my first tile job. It is the backsplash in our kitchen. It was not too hard. There weren't many cuts, and we did all our cuts with a nipper. Now, I really see the advantage of having (or renting) a real tile saw. For some reason, we favor those little 2x2 tiles on the grids, and I think they require a little more work. Just more surface to grout and set tile. In this case, we used slate. While it's easier to set because you don't have to get them at exactly the same height, they were really hard to grout because they had crevices EVERYWHERE! I had to constantly wash and scrub them to get the grout off the tile. Still, I think a backsplash is a great place to learn to tile. If you decide to do it, I want to see pictures!

Progress

Okay, we just finished laying the tile in the shower and tub. I think we're in week 6 of this project, but we're only able to get any work done on the weekends. It looks good. I don't know if I'll start grouting tonight or tomorrow, but I can't wait to have that done. I'm so anxious to get this finished.

As for other news, we haven't heard anything from the couple who looked at our house last week. I'm trying not to think about it. What a bad time to be trying to sell a house!

work, work, work

We finally got in bed just before 1:00 this morning! We haven't pulled a night like that in years. We managed to get the two big shower walls done. The glass guy came today to measure for the doors, so it was important to get as much done as we could. What took the longest was the tile in and around the shelf. Here's how it turned out...




I think it's the part I'm the most proud of. Whew, we still have so much to do. It is a great distraction from the housing market, though.

A few more tips I've learned

We finished tiling the bathtub last night. It went so smoothly and easily after getting that kick ass saw. These two other things I learned from the first day helped too:

We are using the tiles that are joined by a mesh to make a 12 x 12 tile. There is paper stuck to the back. Last time, I didn't try to tear off the paper until after I had spread the thin set. It ended up that often the paper doesn't come off easily, and I was racing the clock to get all the paper off before my thin set dried. It became so frustrating, especially combined with not having the proper saw. Last night, we removed the paper before we began setting the tile. Also, we trimmed off the extra mesh with scissors, which just helped to keep down the mess and lay the tile more quickly.

That's just my little tidbit for the day. More to come on tiling!

Add this to the "Lessons Learned"

After two long days, Guy got the prep work done for our shower. We were looking at the finished hardibacker when it hit us (well, Guy anyway) that we had forgotten to build in the inset shelf! We had talked about it, but we both forgot!

We have no choice but to cut one out and frame the shelf in. Ugggh. Hopefully I'll still get to tile today. Once the week begins, we just don't have much time to work.

learning the hard way

So far, I have learned these things about tiling shower walls:

1. Plan ahead and order your tile early to prevent driving around to FOUR Home
Depots to get all the tile you need.

2. Allow more time than you think you'll need for prep work.

3. Don't forget to measure ALL the walls, even the half walls, unless you want
to drive 47 miles back to the only Home Depot remaining that still has
some of your tiles.

4. Try to do all this on a day when your four month old is not teething and
refusing to nap and crying when anyone but his mom holds him. (poor baby)

house anxiety

I would love to say this bathroom remodel is going smoothly, but it isn't. Of course. The cabinets look great; the panel in front of the tub looks great. The mirror... Not so great. We had it removed and cut down a little. In the meantime, Guy spent two nights building a frame for it. They came to install it this morning, and our frame isn't as thick as the mirror. That think is thick! So, it wasn't proper support. They had to install it on a "J ledge," which sticks up out of our pretty frame. I'm hoping Guy will come up with an easy fix for it tonight when he sees it. Mostly because I want him spending time with me and the kids at night and not with his tools.

I think I'm mostly just nervous about this weekend's project. We are planning on using the 3 day weekend to tile our shower and around the tub. I'm very excited and nervous to get that going.

Also keeping me on edge is the fact that we haven't shown our house in TWO months. I'm having a hard time keeping my spirits up. Three other houses in the neighborhood recently got contracts. What's wrong with ours?