My Son the Engineer

It's been a while since I've posted about a kid project on this blog.  So, since school is back in session, and I officially have a student, it seemed like the ideal time to post a first "School Project."  For our Social Studies curriculum this year we are using something called Road Trip USA.  During our lesson on Delaware, part of the information covered was on the Delaware Memorial Bridge (the longest twin suspension bridge in the world), with the option of a project building a suspension bridge.  My junior engineer perked right up at that, and began making plans and then design modifications before we even completed the lesson.

The building began after supper, with sticks, cardboard and yarn as the building materials.

The project was a big success!  The finished product remained on our kitchen table all weekend, until the play dough bases started to crumble and generally get in the way.  However, the Memorial Bridge was further memorialized in digital form, to be stored for the ages.

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And in other news, the "Front Hall Closet" doors got hung.  It may not seem like much, but since we have never had an actual coat closet before this is a major household improvement.  Next comes the hanging rod!

At Long Last

Well, we've been home for a while now, so I'm sure you all are wondering why I haven't posted.  In keeping with the rest of my summer - in which my house, my car and my phone all malfunctioned in some way, my camera also died.  It's hard to do project updates without a camera.  However, the internet is always there for me.  Below is the paint color we chose for the living room:

Yes, that is a bagel.  I just love paint colors named after yummy food.  

Below is what we have been doing with that paint color.  The living room, two closets and the hallway have been primed, sand-textured, and painted in the last week-and-a-half.  Thanks to all you lovely people who helped (specifically my mom and my brother).

In addition, I've been painting in the basement, which is another update waiting to happen.  The school room didn't get finished in time for the start of the school year, but it's getting there.  Since we didn't actually live in our house for most of the summer, I suppose we can manage to do school every day in a room not specifically designed for it (i.e. the kitchen).

I'll be getting a camera soon, and then I can post some real update shots.  Until then, you'll have to be satisfied with internet-supplied substitutes.

August Omnibus

Well, I haven't posted in a while because, well because it is SUMMER and I've been just a wee bit busy.  We've been living at my Mom's house for almost six weeks now, due to our house remodel, so my summer hasn't gone exactly according to plan. I'm trying not to let that get to the OCD me.  

If you are looking for an update on the house, I don't have one.  Not because great progress has not been made, but because in a photo one layer of drywall mud looks exactly the same as subsequent layers of drywall mud.  However, the light at the end of the tunnel appears to be Saturday, and as soon as I slap some paint on said drywall, I'll get some updated pictures for you.

Since we have been living with my mom for a lot longer then anticipated, many of the things I planned for the summer have changed - probably for the better.  I have this feeling my older kids are going to remember this as the "BEST SUMMER EVER!"  After all, Grammie makes smoothies almost every day and  chores have sort of fallen by the wayside.  Plus, Grammie and Grandpa have a SANDBOX.

If you are still looking for some updates, here is one for you.  When we arrived, Cam wasn't able to roll from his back to his front.  He can do that with ease and great speed now, and also hold his head up.  If Grammie had more rug and less slippery floor in her living room, he might be scooting around too.

And a few more pictures, because who DOESN'T want to see pictures of my kids????

Thanks for all the fun, Grammie, our last project will be to clean up our messes.....maybe.

Next time you see us, we'll be home!

House Update - The Drywall Edition

Almost eight years ago a guy named Aaron married a girl named Dana.  A few years later, the guy risked his life, his fortune and his sacred honor to buy the girl a backyard she really liked, that came with a fixer-upper she made plans for.  Now THAT is true love.

Here is that guy, working like a madman to make his house a better home.  In this picture he is working on the revamped linen closet.

I know these following pictures aren't the greatest, but you can probably figure out some of the changes we have made.  Things are really starting to take shape.  This is the view walking in the front door.  It used to be the door to our bedroom, but now it is a strategically placed coat closet.  Imagine that - a coat closet near the door!

Here is the living room, with the wall that was moved.  The wall used to sit on the line that the broom is pointing at.

This is the new door to the master bedroom, and at the back is the door to the future master bath.  That bathroom has been non-functional since we bought the house, and the entrance was from the kitchen.

Another shot of the bedroom, this time with the closet door in the background.  That closet is the old "hallway" to the bathroom.  This was Aaron's idea and a fantastic use of wasted space.

And another of Aaron's cool ideas - a pocket door that closes off the kids' bedrooms from the living room.  It will be really nice when we have company after bedtime.

Every day brings us closer and closer to the part of the project that I get to help with: PAINTING!

Stay tuned.....

Not A House Update

The work on our house is progressing nicely, but I haven't been out there for in the past few days to take pictures of the new drywall and plaster.  So, no house update today.  But, lest you feel short-changed, I'll update you on the non-remodeling goings-on.  

Yesterday the kids helped me make skin-care products.  They didn't really know or care what exactly it was they were making, they just enjoyed scooping and dumping and mixing.  If you care, we mixed coffee grounds, white sugar and oil to make a skin scrub.  Oh, does it smell good!

Today we collected some nearby cousins and went on a nature walk in the woods near my Grandpa's house.

We heard noises:

Found bones in hollow oak trees:

And then the kids used their cute faces and pleading voices to talk Great-Grandpa into ruining their lunches with an ice cream snack.

Big Fun!

Stay tuned for another update.....

House Update

Well, it's the start of another week and work on our house continues.  As with most home remodeling projects, things have been taking longer then anticipated, so the kids and I are still staying at my mom's house.  As if that isn't excitement enough, Ian decided he wanted to sleep outside in Grammie's tent.....alone.  I agreed, mostly because I thought he'd never actually carry through.  Well, he did and he loved every minute.

Back at the homestead the framing is all done and so is the electrical.  Drywall is going up, and the new layout is starting to feel real.  I think we came up with a good plan.

For the kids, this is just one big, long adventure.  On Saturday we visited the Farmer's Market for donuts, egg rolls and flowers.

There has also been lots of pool time.  

I have a feeling that they are going to want us to do some more remodeling next week.....

Summer Checklist: Stepping Stones - Check

The big news around here is that all the framing is done for our remodeling project, but I haven't been out there since that happened so I don't have any pictures.  That will have to wait until another post.  

In less big news, the kids and I carried on an annual tradition yesterday by making hand-print stepping stones.  Last year I tried to cheap out and buy concrete mix from Menards.  However, I don't really know that much about cement or concrete or whatever, and I bought the wrong stuff.  It had rocks in it, instead of all sand, so the stones we made from it were all rough and lumpy.  Oh well.  This year I broke down and bought Hobby Lobby's "Stepping Stone Mix".  Using their 40%-off internet coupon (and several trips to the store), I got three boxes of mix for $3.77 each.  I got the decorative marbles last week for 50%-off, and I already had the molds, so it really didn't turn out to be that expensive.

This is a project to try a mother's nerves, because there is so much temptation to touch at all the wrong times (Okay, admittedly I might overreact at this point in the game....maybe....probably not).  Ian also insisted on "checking" frequently after we were finished working, which I was convinced would result in a face or footprint superimposed on the hand print, but so far the results have remained intact.  The moment of truth is this afternoon, when we take the finished products out of the molds.

Cross your fingers people, because if these things don't turn out, I'm not going to get to cross them off the checklist, and I am going to be in the doghouse!