Just the Five of Us

Snow Part Deux

We have A LOT of snow. We were out this morning for almost two hours. We did a lot of shoveling, and the kids basically threw themselves around and tried to swim through the drifts. Owen and Emma went in first--I turned on the TV, made them plates of food, and told them to yell if they needed us. The rest of us came in shortly thereafter--the wind is crazy and Doug and I were starting to get sore and tired. Emma and Owen enjoyed riding around on the scooter and bike--after we cleared the driveway for them. Doug measured 17 inches at 1:00, but we probably have 20 inches now. On top of the 20 a few days ago. We have drifts and piles that are over five feet . . . now we're just waiting for the plow to go through so we can dig that out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Room

With the kids gone, we painted the living room. We were able to do the walls after Owen went to bed, and then I spent almost five hours doing trim . . . white doesn't cover anything!

Ten Years

A little over ten years ago, Doug and I got into a car with our realtor and drove around one night looking for houses. We had no idea what we were doing and only a vague idea of what we wanted . . . we were a realtor's--and seller's--dream.

I was teeming with early pregnancy hormones, which drove me to think we needed a house RIGHT NOW and also kept me in the backseat, looking out the window and willing myself not to throw up while Doug and the realtor talked about sports in the front seat.

I think we looked at six houses that night. Three of them were totally out of the question and two were contenders when we arrived at the sixth house.

We walked into the kitchen, hideously decorated and a total mess . . . should have been a red flag right there. We walked into the living room with its huge entertainment center and toy box blocking the fireplace (who wouldn't want to use it we thought). The seller was there . . . the mother with her two youngest--both under two--and I remember feeling a little awkward looking through her house while she was there. I look back at her, with a young toddler and a newborn, and I want to give her a medal for just putting her house on the market. I looked down to my left and saw a newborn in a pack and play sleeping. In that instant, I knew we were home and that in seven months, I would be looking at my own newborn sleeping in the living room.

I looked through the rest of the house with blinders on, and I remember convincing Doug we had to have the house. It had most of what we wanted (at that time), it was priced right, and all of the repairs it needed were merely cosmetic. We were very young and very naive.

We closed a couple months later and spent our first night in the house eating spaghetti in the kitchen on cooler tables and marveling that we actually owned a house. The next morning we welcomed our friends as they helped us move and started ripping down wallpaper.

Fueled by nesting urges and a summer off from school, I tore wallpaper off and carpet out with a vengeance, landing myself in the hospital once and leaving with strict orders from my obstetrician to not rip anything else out. I painted and gave orders and in November we brought Jake home to our home, knowing nothing about being parents but ready to learn fast as we dealt with Jake's many illnesses--one serious enough to land him in the hospital at only two months old--and the death of Doug's dad a couple months later.

In some ways, I wish I could go back and smack that couple in the head. They gave no thought whatsoever to living in the house long term. They planned to live there three or four years as a starter home and then move onto something bigger. They never thought of having three children in a small home in a neighborhood without many children. In a home with no dining room and only three bedrooms--two of which were on the main floor and right on top of the kitchen and living rooms. They didn't think of how much they love to entertain and how small the house was when more than six people were in it. They didn't think of what it's like to need to bathe three kids at night to get them all to bed at a decent time with only one tub. They didn't look at the concrete steps leading out of the house and think of toddlers learning to walk on them and kids running up and down them.

But in other ways, I'm so thankful for the lack of foresight they had. Ten years has made our tiny house a home. And while another 500-1000 square feet, a better layout, and another bathroom would make us all pretty happy, we're making do pretty well with what we have.  Countless hours painting, some minor remodeling, and ruthless decluttering have made our home doable and liveable and a home. We've brought three babies home to this house. One of the most vivid snapshots in my mind is looking up at the picture window and seeing Jake's little head on his arms, watching as we brought Emma out of the car and into the house--and having no idea how his life was going to change. Three toddlers have taken their first steps in our home. I can remember like it was yesterday sitting in our bedroom, ten feet apart, coaxing Jake back and forth between us and beaming like he was the first child ever to take a step. I can remember Jake clapping and squealing as Emma tottered around on the hardwood floor in the living room, thudding to the floor on her padded diaper bottom from time to time and working even harder to get up. And I remember Owen toddling from Jake to Emma, grinning and wobbling while we laughed and grabbed the cameras.

We've moved rooms around a million times to get the space to work best for us, but I think we've found one that works. I've given away tons of stuff to make a play area in the basement for the kids. We've been able to spend our money on experiences and education rather than a mortgage (and I've been able to stay home with the kids), and there's a lot to be said to being able to vacuum an entire house and only changing the outlet twice.

With creative thinking, our carprot became more outdoor living space. It may not be the deck off the family room and kitchen that I'd love to have, but it works for us and gives the kids a shady place to play when it's hot. We've planted gardens and the slope in the backyard that drove us nuts when we realized we couldn't put an iflatable pool out there makes some great sledding when a parent agrees to build a ramp and pull you down the hill.

We're fifteen minutes from everything in the area, and while we still don't like the busy traffic on the main street which hinders the kids' ability to roam the neighborhood, it makes for good yard sales when we feel like having them. We have tree lined sidewalks were the kids can ride their bikes . . . Owen has finally reached the point where we can trust him to ride three houses down and stay out of the street.

And while a Christmas tree in our tiny living room makes it so cluttered and full I have to really work to hide my stress from the kids, at night, we can turn the tree lights on and enjoy a wood fire in our fireplace. The floors are in desperatre need of refinishing, but they are hardwood and gorgeous. Jake loves that cinderblock and brick keep our house sturdy and safe from strong storms (not that we have many, but it's how his mind works). And the kids love their "hideout" closet in their room. With such a small house, it's all free reign for the kids and they never have to worry about staying out of certain rooms or being too careful . . . all of them insist on running through the house no matter how many times we tell them not to and all of them have cracked their heads on the corners of our boxy hall.  I'd love to have a laundry room on the first floor than opens to the back yard so I can carry wash out to the line without having to traipse up and down the stairs with wet laundry and kids underfoot, but it's good for the muscles.

We look back over ten years in our home and are thankful for it. We have so much more than many, and while it isn't always just what we want, it is more than what we need. We have no idea how much longer we'll be here. The kids keep getting bigger making the house seem even smaller, and Doug would like a bigger yard. As I start back to work in the next couple years, the time will come when we're able to move . . . and probably ready to as well. But as frustrated as I get with the house sometimes--what I would give for more room to entertain--it will be hard to leave it behind.

So we put no time limit on our residence here anymore. Our three year house has become a ten year house and who knows how much longer we'll be here. We have more projects we'd like to do and the second baby we brought home to this house will be walking out it's front door to the bus stop to join her brother this year. I don't know if Owen will follow the same path three years from now, but he very well could. And we cherish the time that we have here and are thankful for the tiny house that has forced us to learn to live together and keep us near to one another (though that can be frustrating too).

We just pray the furnace lasts until it's time to move. It's not likely . . . but ten years ago, neither was our living here for ten years.

Hoops

Jake had a good time showing us his new tricks.

He also showed off his shots. He reminded me how to hold the ball and shoot . . . "like putting your hand in a cookie jar." I'm not sure what that means, but after three years of instructional basketball, he can make some shots so he must be doing something right.

Doug enjoys blocking his shots. Emma likes to block with the broom.

Jake doesn't share Doug's enthusiasm. It can get violent.

Before

When we moved into our house almost ten years ago (ten! years! This was going to be our two to three year starter home!), the upper floor was gross. Green 30 year old carpet. Old, sagging drywall on the walls and ceilings. Old crooked doors hiding access to the attic space.

In 2002, Doug and I sent Jake to my mom's and ripped out the rug and drywall. And hoped we weren't breathing in anything bad.

Later that year, friends came up and helped us drywall the room. Ourselves. And not one of us was a carpenter.

And it showed.

But we had done it ourselves and we were proud. Then we carpeted. Then we painted. Plum.

And while that plum looked good in someone's dining room (where I had gotten the idea), in our upstairs with only two small windows, it was really dark.

Not a problem, we thought. The trim would brighten it up. That was in 2002.

Seven years and two kids later, the room is as it was seven years ago. Unfinished. Dark. Unsafe, especially around the stairs. And without trim, who knows what allergens have been drifting in from the attic area to plague Jake's already sensitive respiratory system. Not too mention frigid air in the winter. We had plans and intentions, but the money was always needed for other things. And the kids need, like, attention and stuff. And often, spending weekends at the pool or Hershey or exploring area attractions with the kids seemed easier--and a lot more fun--that finishing the upstairs.

A couple months ago, my mom offered to help us finish the room. Today, she and a carpenter will arrive and over the next three days, we'll transform Jake's unfinished "man cave" into a finished, safe, and beautiful room.

The kids are excited. Doug and I are excited. And we are all so very thankful.

Last night, I tucked Jake into his old room for the last time. He'll be spending the next couple nights bunking with Emma, though from his reaction, you would have though I told him he'd be outside sleeping on a board of nails surrounded by angry skunks and hungry mosquitoes.

Before:

After photo coming sometime next week after I get everything back together.

Older Homes Have Good Ventilation

It's not drafty in our house. It's well ventilated.

We've been keeping the heat set lower this year in attempt to save money on oil costs. And it is amazing what keeping the heat just a degree or two lower can do.

But the back of the playroom gets REALLY cold. Like probably under 60 cold. When the previous owners added on, they did not extend the heating ductwork to this end.

So we get ice on our windows. On the INSIDE. This happens upstairs, too, which is why the kids only sleep up there and drag all their toys down onto the kitchen table (Owen proof).

We have actually gotten used to it being cooler in our house.  The kids don't seem to feel any cold, as they run around barefoot and with short sleeves and don't complain (though in the morning, they like to sit in front of the heating vents).

We're still ready for spring, though.

Organizing and Living in a Smaller Space

*this post is for a message board because I'm having trouble linking photos, so feel free to ignore*

This is the view from the hall door. DS has the bunk beds. DD used the low bed (even DD loves Thomas!). But they tend to go from bed to bed, so they're all unmade (we're really bad about making beds). His dresser houses his foldables and next to that is his shelf . Each child's shelf is off limits to the other . . . special things get put on there. Anything left on the floor is fair game . The drawers under the bunk house some of his toys and extra sheets for all beds in the room.

DS's closet. His own space. Keeps lots of his "little" toys in there . . . K'NEX, Legos, special books and cards and things. Hangables too. Uniforms on the bottom and dress clothes on the top. As soon as I get my scrapbook pages out of there, there will be better space for the sleeping bags and anything else he wants up there.

My photo shelves. Scrapbooking is my only "hobby," so I have lots of them . Photos kept here as well. The filing cabinet is due to be moved upstairs and my MOMS Club bag is still there from the meeting last month (need to put that away!). When the cabinet is gone, they'll have a nice little place to curl up with whatever. I've thought of putting their books in here for a reading nook, but I like the books in the living room. Still debating (I rearrange a lot to find what works for us as our needs change).

DD's side of the room (behind the door is a half bath). Her dresser and shelf. Lots of art on the walls. DS's bulletin board for projects and things (won't fit on his side). The laundry sorter for all three kids . . . I started doing laundry by person, which has been much easier.

Our closet. DD has bottom left. DH has upper left. I have most of the right, with DH's pants. I have some things in a spare closet in another room, but almost all of our clothes are here. Drawer units hold our socks and things. Someday, DH and I will have real furniture . Until then, it's easy to put the laundry away when almost all of it is in one room.

That's all I have for now. I'll add more rooms later . . . when kids and time allow--naps are sporadic at best here . I'm always in a mode to get better streamlined and get rid of more, but it takes time. I have to admit that when everything is put away and the beds are made, the room looks really nice. One of my favorites in the house!