Summer Household Project- (beginning and middle)

Each year we pick a one or two major projects to work on during the summer, depending on time, money and need.  Graduate School, summer jobs and newborn babies have affected our “time” factor always.  Last summer we had a “forced” issue at home that made us decide to rip out the last of the carpeting in our home… at the end of summer.  We began with the ugly carpeting up the stairs which we decided had to have been at least 30 years old… it was old when we bought the house but taking the carpeting away would make it louder and slippery on the stairs we always thought and so we resisted.  And we removed “white” carpet out of the boys room at the end of last summer and found the worst of our wooden floors underneath.  At that point we determined to take care of it in the summer of 2010, which we did!  We tackled the job in June after school was out but before it got unreasonably hot.  Weather affects the floors curing time as well as ventilation.  We toyed with the idea of completely redecorating the room too, as it is the first room we ever decorated in this house back in 1996 for the impending birth of our first child.  In the end we decided to clean it thoroughly and “touch things up”.  It’s still a cute room and we like it. 

Here we have our boys room emptied out completely.  The big stuff we put in a storage unit for a month keeping only what was necessary on hand.  There is only so much room around here to store beds, bookcases, cribs, etc.  Rick picked up the drum sander around 7:30 a.m. and spent the entire day working on the floor.  There are lots of “cut-outs” in this room which makes it take longer. 

This floor could have given you a splinter the size of a pencil!  I am NOT kidding.  Nathan could not be put down in his own bedroom all year.

A close-up shot of a badly worn spot in the middle of the room; an example of the floors condition.

We sanded half of the landing as well… just half so that we could still get into the other room upstairs and the kids wouldn’t ALL be completely displaced from bedrooms.  The difference is clear when you see it side by side like this.  The floor at the bottom of the picture was the condition of the floor we lived with all year.

This room is now sanded completely; a very loud process of heavy physical labor.

It is ready to be stained in cherry to match the natural wood panel in the center of all the doors in our house.

A look at the new and improved floor repaired in its worst damaged spot up near and between the closet and the chimney.

The kids had slumber parties all week in the other upstairs bedroom which included our Sandy-cat, who often camouflages herself in Lindsay’s pile of stuffed animals.  Sandy snuck herself upstairs since we were trying hard not to let cats get up there to walk on freshly stained floors.  Children were also forbidden to go beyond the first half of the landing and doorway to the bedroom.

Yes!  There is a little dust involved in sanding.  Rick minimizes the dust factor by vacuuming as he goes with his shop vac, a trick he learned on an earlier flooring project.  We were down one child when Haley left for Girl’s Camp and so we packed all the rest of the kids up and moved them into the backyard for the week so that we could refinish the stairs.

The staircase is completely sanded; a long and tedious job with the wood carving on the edge of each step which had to be done by hand.

Here is a good shot of the floor showing the difference between sanded and stained.  This is not hardwood actually but soft pine.  Pine was used in the less formal parts of homes in the past.  The planks are wider.  I love wooden floors, however they come.

We added three coats of polyurethane over all since it isn’t high traffic and repainted all of the woodwork in the boys room.  We gave the stairwell a complete paint job from floor to ceiling which freshened the place up so much we feel like we’re living in a new house.  Nathan loves his bedroom now which is clean, safe and totally rearranged to meet his needs as well as his brother’s. 

My kids enjoyed campouts with Dad, who kept them safe outdoors at night, and some really great sleeping weather while the job got done.  Adding in drying time, it took almost a week.

Rick seems not to have taken any final pictures of this finished project.  I guess that will give me excuse to get out the camera again.  He really did a beautiful job on the floors and made our home a nicer and safer place for our family.

Is It Fall Yet?

Cindi thinks so!

Dance Party Thursday

This morning Rick left very early for a meeting at work leaving me on my own to get a lively household full of children out the door and on time to school.  Too bad he missed this one.

As I went about my morning routine, I had just finished helping one child study for a social studies test today when I started heading upstairs just before 8 a.m. to get Nathan moving along so we could have family prayer and scripture.  He wakes up before then but typically enjoys observing the activity upstairs while I get a few other things done.  It’s like a beehive in the morning up there.  I was halfway up the stairs when I realized that the music blaring from his bedroom was NOT his own and I had seen all of my other kids downstairs already at various stages of preparing for school.  Instead I walked into the bedroom to find a very happy Nathan dancing, and I mean DANCING, to “Party in the USA” that someone had turned on for him!  He was having a good time.  What entertainment for a one year old!  I still haven’t figured out who did that.

  

I had a good laugh and figured that at least he wasn’t screaming or bored. 

I do think that later children “grow up” a little quicker than the first ones do.  Sigh…

Coney Island Fun

This year we decided to once again attend the AFL/CIO Labor Day Picnic at Coney Island, sponsored by our Union.  They payed for adult admissions, car load of kids and parking.  Now if they can only help get a fair contract agreement before a strike after 8 months of working without contract, we’d be happy!  The food at the picnic is free along with drinks and all we have to do is pay for a $5 ride bracelet for anyone wishing to stay and play.  Totally affordable, if we budget and a good deal for our family especially!  I believe this is the largest picnic of its kind in the USA.  Last year President Obama came!!!  We skipped that time due to the large crowds expected and too many politicians; something neither Rick nor I enjoy.  This year it was just the State Governor in attendance.

 

This small amusement park sits on the Ohio side, right on the Ohio River southeast of the city.  We actually drive into Kentucky to get to it!  The kids enjoyed their hot dogs and cookies especially.  They all found some teachers or friends from school (teacher’s children) to say hi to.  Haley actually met up with some girls who used to go to Lindsay’s school (teacher’s children again) several years ago who are Haley’s age that she had made friends with when Lindsay sang in the school choir.  They invited her to hang out with them for a few hours and she had fun. 

 

While all of my children were active and busy I have mostly pictures of the two I got to hang out with.  This was Nathan’s first time at an amusement park, obviously.  They had a fun section that he and Kaitlyn could enjoy together.  Kaitlyn did this first, as she is now tall enough to go on some of the bigger rides with an adult.  

Nathan really liked the turtle parade.  It has a button that buzzes when pressed and he giggled as he rode around.  It was very cute.

The kids got to ring the bells on the train and boat.  Making more noise always seems to be exciting.

They even took off in a rocket ship together!

Lindsay and Tristan are buddies (left side) and decided to ride on everything together. 

Kaitlyn tried out the jumping frogs and enjoyed it before she left to go on her first roller coaster ride with her Dad to protect her.  She’s not sure she likes hills!

I found Haley riding this with Tristan and Lindsay close behind.  The older three really enjoyed being together and feeling a little independent; the only reason I can think that Haley kept leaving her friends to join her brother and sister again.  For all the bickering they do at times, they really are best friends.  That and the fact that Haley’s friends had pocket money to burn, I guess, kept her returning periodically to check in.

The crowds really hit once the various Union picnics were over so Nathan, Kaitlyn and I took a break from the lines and we walked over to the playground at the picnic areas.  They enjoyed themselves but I had to watch them very carefully with so many people around and lots of kids took advantage of the fact that their adults weren’t watching them very closely.  If I ever say anything to these children about behaving and being safe, their guardians tend to come out of the woodwork to attack me so I try and keep my distance asking my own kids to move to a different location when necessary or take a break from an activity where they are likely to get hurt or into trouble.

Late afternoon, the crowds died down a bit.  The older kids somehow lost their Dad but found me and I let tired children ride their last rides of the day before heading back to the parking lot.

We headed to McDonalds on the way home for an easy dinner with free kiddy cones at the end and five happy but filthy children got a good sudsy soak in the tub before bed.

Happy end-of-summer!

Outdoor Joys

Unlike many Moms that I know or have watched, I am a Mom who believes that children are washable!  Children who get a little dirty are usually happy and usually learning something and that is their job.  They are not “untidy”; just messy.  This morning we headed into the heat of the morning for the express purpose of having a little fun.  Getting a little messy was implied.

 

 

With sand between the toes, under armpits and of course in the hair these two kids headed inside for a bath before quiet time.  Nice clean children are ready to head to open house at school tonight with me playing single Mom of five children since Rick must also be at open house “on the clock” at his own school tonight.  That left me to choose which of my children’s schools I will attend and I figured that Rick is already representing our family at one school “sort of” and I would head in to meet the teachers that neither one of us knows yet at the other school.  Choices!  I do the best I can.  Why can they not make this easier?  Now it’s time to go rinse the sandbox from my bathtub!  It’s worth it for all the fun we had.