Long overdue update

Wow. It's been over a month. OK, I agree that's unacceptable. Actually, a lot has been going on (more the reason for frequent posts) but both Erin and I keep passing the buck to post something. "You, no you, no it's your turn." (Actually, Erin is WAY behind on posting, so really...)

Baby update: Somewhere around 36 weeks. All is well. Approximately 6 pounds in utero with long legs (doctor's words). Don't know where those came from. Maybe the dog? Another ultrasound next week so hopefully Erin can put up another pic. She must now push the coffee table away from her when getting up from the couch. Quite humorous. I'm thinking of installing a hoist.
Room(s) update: Well, there was a problem with the flooring. We had the old carpet and vinyl garbage ripped up in hopes that the underlying pine could be salvaged. Turns out that more than half of it was damaged beyond repair. So, new plywood was laid and horizontal carbonized bamboo was installed. It looks fantastic, but cost more than we planned (isn't that always the case?).

The parasite's room is DONE. Well, mostly. After the floors were finished I painted the baseboards, finalized some touch up painting, re-installed the closet doors and replaced door hardware. I previously replaced the ceiling fan and light fixture. After much nagging, I finally allowed Erin to start cluttering up the room with parasite paraphernalia. It looked so nice all empty and airy... Now the only things left to install are a closet organizer system (maybe next week.) and window blinds. Oh, and a parasite to take it all for granted.


The front soon-to-be-office room is also coming along, albeit at a slower pace than the parasite's room. I laid the track for the multipass doors, so that it is flush with the new flooring. Looks great! The baseboards are in but I haven't yet painted them. I just got some track lighting and will try to install it this weekend. I replaced all the receptacles and switches with decora versions and stainless steel switch plates. I never realized how cool the stainless looks. Such a great accent. I'm going to use them for future projects. Still have a lot left to do in there but it's mostly the boring aesthetic stuff like painting, blinds, etc. Not difficult but time consuming.

One sort of drawback... now that the flooring has gone in, it looks like it's time to fix up the adjacent dining room. SIGH. One room leads to another. So that project will be tackled sooner than planned. Which will in turn lead to the kitchen...

That's all for now. I'm going to nag Erin to post soon, since she's much further behind than I am. And since most of you care more about her and the parasite than my adventures. She's got a good story to tell about her baby shower and other misadventures.

Toodles.

Inflated like a balloon (and other pics)

Last night I took a picture of Erin in the tightest shirt she owns. 3 minutes later, she farted and deflated to a more normal size.

In other news, I've made a lot of progress on our living room conversion project. The long header spans the length of 3 standard size interior doors, which will slide one behind the other on tracks in the header and the floor. When closed, they will all tuck nicely behind the partition wall at the left side of the opening. Imagine, if you can amidst all the trash and chaos, the room will become a nice office during normal times, with an open airy feeling. When guests stay over the doors will slide shut. A murphy bed will eventually be installed for added functionality. Note the section of underlying flooring that is exposed in the last photo. The previous owners covered beautiful oak with a thin veneer of plywood topped with lovely early '80s puke green carpet. And yes, to the left is Pergo, installed over plywood over beautiful oak (the oak extends throughout the house...an unexpected surprise).

As usual, Brian does all the work while Erin relaxes and eats bon-bons

OK, shhh, just between us, Erin doesn't need to know the title of this post. It's best for all involved if she just stays out of it. She's sleeping right now, so let's not wake her, heh?

That's the story of my life...she sleeps or watches TV or otherwise just chills and does nothing while I take on the burden of preparing for the arrival of the parasite. Sheesh, just like her. I mean seriously, does she know how difficult this pregnancy has been for me? The bloating, weight gain, gas, etc. It's hard drinking for three! You'd think she'd be a little more considerate and pull her own weight around here.

But no, I'm left doing it all, as usual. So in preparation for the li'l parasites arrival, I've been busting my hump building a new bedroom/office. (I call it "parasite" because it's bleeding my wallet dry. I should just sign my paychecks over to Home Depot.) See, our new house is only two bedrooms and I was informed that with the arrival of children come unexpected house guests. Grandparents, uncles, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. No one told me it was a package deal. Apparently all these people want a place to stay. I suggested a sheet of plywood on top of cinder blocks, but NOOOO. They need a mattress. And a room. With doors. What is this, the Ritz?? So, slowly but surely I've been converting our otherwise useless front living room into an office/bedroom. The most challenging part of which has been framing for what are called "multipass doors." So now all these ungrateful guests will have not one, but three doors through which they can tote their overstuffed suitcases full of kiddie presents.

I guess Erin deserves a little credit for peeling the yards upon yards of hideous 1980s wallpaper, but let's face it, this post is about me. She needs no more of your pity.