Saturday, September 12, 2009

Garage Pics

We started work on the insulation. So far, so good. The empty spot in the middle there is where our new window will go. Very excited about that!
We haven't gotten as far on the other side. We have to wait for the electrical work to get done first. You can see three electrical boxes towards the bottom for the electric and the cable.

Pictures!

Daddy puts up the bird feeder. Jayden and Maya are completely intrigued.
Jayden and Maya are calling "Tweet, tweet!" to let the birds know the feeder is out.

They crack me up!
I have to look at this sad face every morning at drop off.
Afternoon at the park, after church...
Weee!
Ingenious! Popsicles without the mess...
Maya doesn't really care for dolls just yet, but she is getting to the point where she loves to play with her stuffed animals. She often sits with Bear and Bunnie at her table and has tea parties. Here she is giving Bear a drink.
Maya picked out her own outfit today. After dropping off Jayden, I came home to find her in a 4t outfit that was Caitlyn's. I can barely believe how cute it looks on her. I would never have tried it on her on my own.
Big Hug for Bear
When he's not crying, he's working on beautiful creations. Here's Jayden's Artwork:





Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Garage Conversion Project

Well, we started the garage conversion project. Last week, we started to pick up materials. We were very fortunate. We had a neighbor loan us his truck so we could bring stuff back home and several neighbors loaned us drills and other tools for the job. On Sunday, September 6th, we began construction.

Here is the final sketch. We'll have two smaller rooms and a dedicated laundry space. The room on the left will have a window, door and closet for Ricardo. The second room will have an entrance (no door) and a closet. I'm putting the futon in here in case of any overnight guests. When not in use, it will serve as a sofa. We also plan to put the kid's board games and puzzles, an entertainment center, and maybe a small table. This is going to be their hang out room.
Here is the window we picked up for the space. It's a beautiful custom order, Pella double paned window with low E ($100 tax credit). It was a special order window that was originally over $200. We picked it up on clearance for $40!
We have a very limited number of tools, most of which I bought before I was married. We don't own a square. And I'm not ashamed to say that I sauntered out back to Jayden's Bob the Builder Workbench and I'm now using his square with great satisfaction. I should be ashamed that yesterday he wanted to play with it and I said "No!"


At the end of today, here's what we've got so far... The left hand wall is completely framed.
And we're about 75% done with the right hand wall.
Here's the teeny tiny space we have left to do. We were so bummed out that we couldn't just finish it up, but we ran out of time and Esteban was so tired already. He's got a ton of bruises and cuts and the makings of one gigantic blister on his hand. I felt awful that he woke up so early today to get started on the project. He didn't take a nap in the afternoon and he's working a graveyard shift tonight. I know he's going to be super tired!