Closing Up the Hole in the Ceiling (FINALLY!)...

Funny story.

About 4 years ago the husband and I thought it would be great to build a room over the dining room for our then 8 year old son.

The space was already framed so we figured turning it into a room would be easy.

As soon as we started talking about it the husband cut a hole in the ceiling to get a better look at the space.

When we had a contractor come look at it he said in order to build it to code the highest point of the room would be 5 feet, the lowest point would be 2 feet--probably not tall enough for a growing 8 year old.

So we abandoned the idea.

And there the hole has sat--covered in paper and duct tape.

Until last week, when we finally fixed it!

BEFORE...

THE TOOLS

I called the Dad in for this project...but failed to take a picture of his tools.
My only job was to paint.

THE PROCEDURE

The Dad cut the very crooked hole to be more of a square.

He added a 2X4 and closed it in with a piece of sheet rock.

He taped and mudded...

And textured...

A couple of days later I finished up with my high gloss white paint.

AFTER...

It's as if it NEVER happened!
Thanks to the Dad!

I love this advice from D...

Every day do something that does not have to be done again the next day.

It can bolster your attitude toward housework to balance work that never stays done with a task that can be completed once and for all. If it seems that your life is a never ending cycle of washing dishes, changing diapers, and dusting furniture, treat yourself to a sense of completion by doing something that stays done. This could be making a journal entry, compiling a page in the family album, sending a note to someone, painting a room, doing some handiwork, refinishing a piece of furniture, or reading a book.

And I would add, closing up a hole in the ceiling--We will never have to do that again :)

Painting the 1/4 Bath and a Towel Rack and Decor for the Bathroom

This little room is connected to both my daughter's room and the downstairs bathroom.

BEFORE...

Some of THE TOOLS

THE PROCEDURE

The daughter helped me paint.

We painted it the same color as her room.
As we painted, we tried to figure out why we didn't paint this when we painted the bedroom 3 years ago...the only reason we could come up with was that I was a pretty big "Almoster" back then.

AFTER...

Here is the BEFORE picture of the bathroom from Monday...



AFTER...

It turned out great didn't it!

The kids love it!
I made them take a good long look at what it looks like clean...and told them this was the new standard.

I predict it will be a mess by tomorrow.

D tells us Your home is undoubtedly the most important temporal possession in your life. Unless you do something to create in it both spiritual and physical beauty, it remains nothing more than a shelter. A sunny gracious atmosphere in your home makes you feel radiant and happy. Dull surroundings push you into a depression...Make your home a haven of peace and beauty for your family. Make it a place where friends will want to visit again.

Pretty sure all our UofU fan friends will want to visit this bathroom again and again!

Painting the 2nd Coat in the Bathroom...

Remember my favorite crockpot lady, Stephanie O'dea?

She has a new cookbook--check it out!

More, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow

She's got 200 budget friendly recipes for the crockpot! Can't wait to get it!

***************

This post is pretty much the same as yesterday's--except the 2nd coat is finished and every one of the kids have commented on how great it looks (although the picture isn't doing it justice).

AFTER...

D says There are women who feel bored even when they have several small children to care for, dishes piled in the sink, clothes to wash, and a dirty house to clean. They aren't bored because of lack of things to do, but rather due to a lack of stimulus.

I plan to avoid boredom by trying out those new crockpot recipes!

Painting the Basement Bathroom...Cont.

The BEFORE picture is the same as yesterday...

THE TOOLS

THE PROCEDURE

First I changed into my "one size fits all" painting clothes.

Then I mixed the paint...I bought this paint 2 years ago so it had separated quite a bit. Isn't that a lovely green!

It took me about 3 1/2 hours to paint the first coat.

AFTER...

It's hard to tell from the picture but it definitely needs a 2nd coat.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant.

I am thinking about putting myself on bed rest come January 1st.

I am so tired!

D says It takes a mighty discerning person to tell the difference between tiredness and laziness :)

Painting the Basement Bathroom...

I made a list of my projects for this FINAL WEEK!

Monday: Paint trim and shelves in downstairs bathroom and 1/4 bath (is there such a thing?)

Tuesday: Paint first coat of paint in bathroom

Wednesday: Paint 2nd coat in bathroom

Thursday: Paint 1/4 bath and put decals (these are going to be great!) on bathroom walls and hang towel rack.

Friday: Write D a thank you letter.

BEFORE...

THE TOOLS

THE PROCEDURE

I started painting the shelves...they took the longest.

Then I painted the trim in the bathroom and finished up with the trim in the 1/4 bath.
I had already painted the ceiling in the bathroom several weeks ago and the ceiling in the 1/4 bath was painted 3 years ago.

Unfortunately the AFTER pictures don't look much different from the BEFORE pictures--but in person it definitely looks MUCH better.

Here is the AFTER picture I promised for my "surprise project" from last month

I made digital scrapbooks for all 6 of the kids!

I put together a years worth of pictures for all the kids except for the youngest--I scrapbooked her first 2 years.

They LOVED them!

It's time for our VERY LAST FACET! Can you believe it?

FACET #20

HAVE A GLORY

And finally, an ideal homemaker, through having these many facets in her brilliant diamond, will be able to take pride in her noble calling and in the great work she is doing.


I turned 39 on Friday.

Not too excited about that next birthday coming up.

I made a list of projects I want to accomplish before I turn 40.

I kept it small...I figure I deserve a slow year after this one!

You can read about them HERE.

Washing Walls and Finishing the Chalkboard...

Remember the AFTER picture from Wednesday?

Today I finished painting the chalkboard.

BEFORE...

THE TOOLS

THE PROCEDURE

It was easy...I just grabbed my brush and chalkboard paint and painted around the bottom and right side of the chalkboard.

I also washed some walls today--but I was so busy tying up loose ends for Christmas and our vacation that I didn't get pictures...they would have been boring anyway.

A final word from D on prayer...An old English proverb tells us: "Prayer should be the key to the day and the lock of the night." As a homemaker, make this part of your life and you will find your activities meaningful and your strength and abilities equal to your tasks.


We head out Sunday but I'll be back next Monday (Dec 27th) with my FINAL WEEK OF PROJECTS :)

Painting 2 Shelves

Today was a puke fest at our house.

2 of the 6 children were a little sick.

Another 2 of the 6 were REALLY sick.

Just glad they're getting it out of their systems before Christmas.

The BEFORE and THE TOOLS picture is combined...

THE PROCEDURE

I will be constructing 2 shelves in the boys room.

The wood was already primed so I only had to paint one coat of white paint.

The 2 year old was one of the REALLY sick kids so I spent most of the day rocking her and watching countless hours of Curious George.

The husband took the 2 year old for a ride in the car--she loves car rides about as much as she loves Curious George :)

So I took advantage of the break and got everything painted.

AFTER...

More on budgeting...

D says Everyone's budget has to be worked out on an individual bases. The main thing is to know, instead of wonder, where your money is going, to manage your income wisely--to spend less than you earn--and you'll sleep well at night and be rich. --Unless your baby is sick and wakes up every hour and a half when her George movie ends, and then wakes you up to start it over again...no amount of good budgeting can fix that.

The Rest of the Hall...

BEFORE...

The TOOLS and PROCEDURE'S were posted yesterday and Monday.

I finished up the hall today and it turned out great!

AFTER...

Every one of the kids commented on how good it looked.

The two oldest also pointed out how bad the doors look compared to the newly painted walls. Yes, the doors do need a fresh coat of paint...it never ends.

Big day tomorrow!

A new toilet gets installed AND

the big boy plays in the High School state football finals!

Between the excitment of the game as well as the anticipation of a new toilet I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep tonight!

More on husbands, and paint...D says One lady reported that a much-needed coat of paint was applied to their living room by her husband when finally in desperation she scribbled over the walls with water colors.

Maybe if the husband would have scribbled over the walls in the hall it wouldn't have taken me 5 years to finally get them painted.

On to the Walls!

Remember these BEFORE pictures from Monday?

Same TOOLS as Monday

THE PROCEDURE

First, I created a "Color by Becky" by mixing 2 different colors I already had.

I love the way it turned out and I love that this project isn't costing me a cent!
I took one wall at a time and first cut in the corners, top and bottom edges and then rolled the middle.

AFTER...

I finished this small hallway and the weird space...

I'm always impressed at what a difference a fresh coat of paint can make!

I couldn't get a good picture of this space--it's actually the same color as the small hall.

Tomorrow I'll finish up with the big hall.

FACET #15

ON HUSBANDS--ALL I ASK

An ideal homemaker is the type of companion and wife who merits the appreciation and cooperation of her husband and helps him to want to do his part well as a husband, father, and provider.

One More Ceiling...

I decided to break down and buy a toilet for the downstairs bathroom (actually 2, one for an upstairs bathroom too)...More on that later this week.

The downstairs bathroom ceiling

BEFORE...

Same TOOLS and PROCEDURE as yesterday.

AFTER...

Although it looks no different in the picture, the little boy noticed immediately and said it looked great--which both pleased and surprised me :)

One last word from D on Imperturbability...
If you are on schedule and have things under control BEFORE an emergency arises, you'll be much better prepared to cope with the problem than if you're already upset and behind in your work!

Painting the Hall in the Basement

The entire basement has been painted within the last few years except the hallways and a bathroom.

BEFORE...

and this strange little space...


THE TOOLS

THE PROCEDURE

Today I started with the ceiling--of course.

I always start at the top and work my way down.

I tend to avoid the basement.

My teenagers live down there.

They struggle when it comes to cleaning their rooms.

And during football season--the smell coming from the boys room is almost as bad as rotten potatoes.
They are supposed to do a thorough room cleaning on the weekends.

They didn't.

All 3 of them are in trouble.

All TV remotes and iPods have been confiscated.

AFTER...

D quotes more from Sterling W. Sill...

"The opinion has sometimes been expressed that it may be a good thing to 'let off steam' once in a while or to 'blow one's top.' One can't do this many times before he starts blowing his blood vessels and his nervous system and the success of the organization for which he is responsible. The ancient law still applies that 'whom the gods destroy they first make mad."

Oh I'm mad all right.

The kids can only hope I let off all my steam before they get home from school.

Painting the Front Doors

BEFORE...

I was so excited to get started on this project that I forgot THE TOOLS picture but here is a picture of the most important tool--the paint!

My friend Rachel painted her front door this color--FEDORA.

We have the same color brick so I am hoping it looks as great on my doors as it does on hers.

THE PROCEDURE

I painted the squares and rectangles on the doors first.

(pretty sure they have an actual name but I can't place it)

I was immediately reminded that painting this particular front door can be tedious.

I tried to be fast...but tedious and fast do not go together.

I painted from 1:30pm until about 7:30pm, taking only 1 potty break.

I kind of went into crazy Becky project mode--where everyone and everything gets neglected except for the project I'm in the middle of.

The husband and kids almost had to eat cereal for dinner but the daughter offered to whip up some homemade mac and cheese in exchange for 15 minutes off her violin practicing.

I took the deal and worked straight through dinner while she fed the troops.

By the time I finished (2 coats) it was dark and I couldn't tell what it looked like or get a good picture so you'll have to tune in tomorrow for the AFTER...

Instead here are my 6 cute kids on Halloween!

The kids thought they were so funny in these glasses.

They kept cracking jokes like--

Oh wait, take the picture again, I blinked!

I'm having trouble seeing, let me put on my glasses.

(The 11 year old's Sunday School teacher did not think it was funny when he used that one in class last Sunday)

D tells us there is value in playing with children--on their level--all year round. This helps her children to be creative--a talent sadly lacking in this generation; it forms a companionship between them and her which will help weather the tensions and temptations of adolescence; and it enriches their childhood with memory-making fun.

Thanks to the Grandma for the memory-making fun glasses!

A Beautiful Pantry--Finale!

These BEFORE pictures are from last January when I cleaned and organized the pantry...

THE PROCEDURE

Last week the daughter and I covered the shelves in "sticky paper"...

The daughter loved it and said,

"Wow Mom it looks so vintage, wait, what exactly does vintage mean?"

We almost finished it but ran out with only a couple feet of shelf left to cover...

Today I painted the last of the door trim ...no one will ever see it but it's high gloss white, just like I like it!

AFTER...

D believes that children from age 6 to 11 usually give the best help around the house. So this is the age to train them to be really effective in their responsibilities and to make certain that proper work habits and traits are being formed.

The daughter that helped me is actually 14...she was a good helper on this project but on other projects she's easily distracted.

My 6 and 11 year old are by far my best workers.

Too bad the 11 year old turns 12 next month.