So, it’s not a big deal that we’re starting our 2018 goals in mid-April, and are kind of considering the end of the year in August, right? I mean, after #BabyHam2018 arrives in August, it’ll be kind of crazy, and then next thing you know, it’ll be Thanksgiving and Christmas… essentially no time for major house projects.
So without further ado, here are our goals for things to finish this “year.” Please, hold us accountable hahaha.
Outside
Let’s just say that the outside of our house has been pretty much straight up neglect. Every fall, we try to go through and trim back the bushes, forsythias (DON’T EVER PLANT THESE MONSTERS), and hydrangeas after they’re done for the year. And that’s about it. We got our driveway seal coated last fall, so points for that, right? Since we have a toddler who is pretty “okay” now at being able to play outside without too much oversight (we say that as we think he could be hands off, but this toddler thinks differently), we wanted to focus on the front of the house a little this spring, and make it a little more presentable:
- Fix garage and landscaping drainage issue.
- When we looked at buying this house, we knew there were past issues with drainage in the front landscaping bed because there was nowhere for the water to escape, so it had apparently broke down the foundation in this area from being constantly wet. The foundation was reinforced, supported, drainage added, and signed off by a structural engineer, all paid for by the previous owners. You can see the holes in the side wall in the below photo.
- There was also some residual water that was draining into the garage area, so a trench was dug and a sump pump was installed to pump that out. However, that sump pump just pumps water back out into the front yard and makes a mess of it all. We need to buy the supplies and dig a french drain so that it distributes the water a bit more evenly out, underground, under the walk way and into the front yard. Luckily, David is already an expert at this because he did something similar in our Maryland Home.
- When we looked at buying this house, we knew there were past issues with drainage in the front landscaping bed because there was nowhere for the water to escape, so it had apparently broke down the foundation in this area from being constantly wet. The foundation was reinforced, supported, drainage added, and signed off by a structural engineer, all paid for by the previous owners. You can see the holes in the side wall in the below photo.
- Reshape and plant some flowers in our front beds by the street.
- This bed area has always looked a mess. I think there were some massive tree-bushes that were cut out at some point (the stumps were still there), and then the ground cover bushes were just left hanging. We want to reduce the size of these (David seeded it in the fall, and some grass is peaking through now) and plant some low maintenance grassy/flowery ground cover like maybe liriope or spreading sedge.
- This bed area has always looked a mess. I think there were some massive tree-bushes that were cut out at some point (the stumps were still there), and then the ground cover bushes were just left hanging. We want to reduce the size of these (David seeded it in the fall, and some grass is peaking through now) and plant some low maintenance grassy/flowery ground cover like maybe liriope or spreading sedge.
- MULCH.
- We haven’t done this yet at this house. And we’ve lived here over two years haha. In my mind, I feel like it’s not worth doing this if we’re eventually going to be doing a massive landscaping overhaul (NOT a fan of holly bushes). BUT, eventually is probably still a few years out, so I just need to get over it and do it. David convinced me. Why not make the house look nice in the meantime? (These are all old pictures from right when we moved in. I promise the weeds aren’t there now!)
- We haven’t done this yet at this house. And we’ve lived here over two years haha. In my mind, I feel like it’s not worth doing this if we’re eventually going to be doing a massive landscaping overhaul (NOT a fan of holly bushes). BUT, eventually is probably still a few years out, so I just need to get over it and do it. David convinced me. Why not make the house look nice in the meantime? (These are all old pictures from right when we moved in. I promise the weeds aren’t there now!)
Inside
Like, really, I knew that having kids was going to make renovations go a lot more slowly, but you never really realize how hands on they are when they’re awake, and how little you can/want to do while they’re asleep for fear of waking them up, and because you’re just plain exhausted. Ok, maybe that’s just pregnant me.
So, a lot of the work on the nursery (which is right next to Connor’s room) tends to happen when he has sleepovers with his grandparents. He has fun, and we get to be productive around the house… win, win. For this list though, I think we may need to relocate his naps to the basement or something, because we’re going to be operating a floor nailer a LOT, and I’m not so sure grandparents would be up for that many sleepovers haha.
- Finish the nursery!
- So far, as we said in our LAST POST, we’ve got the ceiling patched and painted, window and crown molding installed and painted, and the room is painted. Here’s a gem from that process:
- We need to paint the doors, install new hardware, rip out the carpet, and install the flooring and baseboards. And last but not least DECORATE (the fun part).
- Crib and diaper free up. I think Connor is officially ready so can I check this one as complete? We just finished transitioning him to his big boy bed so that we can reuse the crib. It’s currently a mattress on the floor, and we’ll eventually put the frame in there once he’s ready. I was super nervous about it, because I thought he was going to give up his nap or something (and that nap is sacred to me right now)! He did so great and never really gets out unless he really has to go potty…
Then, potty training also went really well, I’m just so impressed with this boy, he surprises me everyday. We cloth diaper, so I wanted to be sure we weren’t having to change 2 kids diapers at the same time, and we definitely didn’t feel like buying another batch of cloth diapers.
- So far, as we said in our LAST POST, we’ve got the ceiling patched and painted, window and crown molding installed and painted, and the room is painted. Here’s a gem from that process:
- Finish the family room curtains and find a rug
- I have 1 set out of the 3 sets of curtains complete (I did them back in November), but just have not found the motivation to finish sewing the other 2 sets yet. This is how sewing works for me. Sigh.
- I’m determined to find the perfect, light colored, wool, stain-hiding rugs for the family room to brighten it up and make it a little more cozy… but I just haven’t found the perfect one yet 🙁
- I have 1 set out of the 3 sets of curtains complete (I did them back in November), but just have not found the motivation to finish sewing the other 2 sets yet. This is how sewing works for me. Sigh.
- Finish the family room built ins
- The cabinets have been sitting in place for about 2 months now, but we need to do some electrical work before we install and paint them.
- Then comes the “counter top” and shelf building up top. This will be an involved but “worth it” project for sure.
- The cabinets have been sitting in place for about 2 months now, but we need to do some electrical work before we install and paint them.
- Finish most of the upstairs flooring
- This is definitely a wish for me. I’d love to have the flooring in the hallway and on the stairs done before baby comes, because they’re just hard places to install and contain the mess of flooring with 2 kids around. Plus, it would get rid of a ton of flooring boxes that are laying around and in the basement! This carpet is just hideous on these stairs, right? Just imagine them that beautiful brown wood with white risers!
- This is definitely a wish for me. I’d love to have the flooring in the hallway and on the stairs done before baby comes, because they’re just hard places to install and contain the mess of flooring with 2 kids around. Plus, it would get rid of a ton of flooring boxes that are laying around and in the basement! This carpet is just hideous on these stairs, right? Just imagine them that beautiful brown wood with white risers!
- Hold a garage sale!!
- This room has been a “holding area” for us the past year, and we REALLY need to host a garage sale. I have a lot of stuff that I’m finally willing to part with, especially some decor stuff that just isn’t my style anymore. The basement storage room has a decent amount of stuff in it that’s ready to go too.
- This room has been a “holding area” for us the past year, and we REALLY need to host a garage sale. I have a lot of stuff that I’m finally willing to part with, especially some decor stuff that just isn’t my style anymore. The basement storage room has a decent amount of stuff in it that’s ready to go too.
I look at the list above and I’m both excited and slightly overwhelmed. I’ve had such a hard time being motivated to do stuff during the first trimester, since I was SO TIRED. But, I’m hoping my motivation picks up a bit more more since we’re getting closer and closer to August.
SO. Wish us luck and keep us accountable! Ask for updates haha! Just writing this all out makes me excited to knock it out! These are going to be a busy next few months 🙂 Do you think we’re in over our heads?