March 23, 2006
Progress
Progress
The dining room looks terrible. That's actually a good thing. The Toddler Girl decided to take an actual nap on an actual bed and not in my arms (this is a source of difficulty around here). Although I would have much rather crawled in bed with her, I quickly put on my painting clothes, hauled out the eight foot ladder, cleaned the top of the wall (I can't move all the furniture at once or by myself, so I think we'll be painting a wall or two at a time). With the wall all clean, I got out the primer and started cutting in along the ceiling. The Toddler Girl slept long enough for me to cut in that whole wall and I managed to clean and cut in a few other accessible areas.
If we can just get the dining room and hallway painted this weekend, then the downstairs will be more or less finished and we can move on to the upstairs.
For those of you playing along at home, here's my list from February and what we've done so far.
Repair/paint back side of front door -- scratched by the dog
Paint morning room
Paint girls' room
Paint upstairs bathroom
Paint dining room and hallway (started)
Paint back door
Replace mirror in upstairs bathroom
Fix grout in upstairs bathroom
Sand/repair/paint baseboards chewed by the dog
Shorten dining room curtains (I'm not sure they really need it. I need a second opinion.)
Hang curtains on backdoor
Switch light fixtures in hall and morning room
Restain front steps
Repaint the trim around porch columns
Wash siding
Things we've done that weren't on my list:
Bought/painted/replaced casing around back door, laundry closet door, and front door.
Repaired drywall in dining room where removing the old casing shredded it.
Painted baseboards in rooms we're painting.
Painted ceiling in morning room.
Painted wall on stairway and walls in kitchen not covered by cabinets.
Things we plan to do that aren't on my original list:
Refinish iron headboard for girls' room.
Paint ceiling in girls' room.
Find nicer switch plates for dining room.
Paint beadboard backsplash and soffit area in kitchen.
Clean like mad.
Try not to freak out.
Good luck with the not freaking out part. The hall bathroom is painted, but still has no cabinet doors. They haven't been stripped and painted yet, or new hardware purchased.
Congratulations on the new baby. Farm those kiddos out and take a nap. I've learned to appreciate naps when I get them.
Posted by: Mercy at March 23, 2006 02:00 PMMay I, at the risk of being too personal, suggest that you be careful about painting? I just can't imagine that paint fumes are good for you and the new baby.
I worry. What can I say?
Posted by: RP at March 23, 2006 02:49 PMRP, I tend to stay away from most paint fumes while pregnant, but I do have to get things done. We're using special low VOC paint and lots of ventilation.
Posted by: Jordana at March 23, 2006 02:57 PMHow you are doing so much at eight weeks pregnant is a mystery to me! Keep up the hard work.
Posted by: Meredith at March 23, 2006 03:06 PMI second Meredith, but only keep up the good work as long as you feel ok. If you push yourself too hard, you could end up like me* and be sick for five months straight.
* Just to clarify, I think I was sick for the second half of my pregnancy because I skipped too many pre-natal vitamins and I was stressed out about a few different things, not because I actually accomplished anything. =[
Posted by: Lenise at March 24, 2006 08:44 AMI'll keep that in mind, Lenise. I certainly don't want to be sick. On the other hand, the repeating phrase, "Three hundred people walking through my house" is highly motivational.
Posted by: Jordana at March 24, 2006 08:47 AMThanks for the clarification. I was a tiny bit nervous about the whole thing.
Posted by: rp at March 25, 2006 02:10 PM
Jordana Adams, Chief Pontificator