Breaking News!

Well, our house officially went off the market on Friday. And as of Saturday morning, it became an official disaster zone. Jim wasted no time implementing our "fix it up to our liking if we're not going to sell it" plan by tearing down the painted paneling and ceiling tiles in our den, which used to be a sun room and was converted very cheaply into a family room without the use of any actual drywall. Originally the plan was just to hang drywall, but he then, at my request, also knocked out the wall separating the den and the kitchen, so that they are now one big living space- you just step down into the den, but there's no actual doorway. Eventually, when we continue our fixing up, we will convert the den into a dining room area and add on an extra bedroom and bath, with a basement family room to be dug underneath. This will probably not happen SOON, but that is the Long Term Plan. In the meantime, the "new," drywalled, more open den area will be some sort of office/playroom/eating area combo, depending on what actually works and looks okay once the mess gets cleaned up and we see what we have to work with.

I'm sure this would all be a lot easier to visualize if I could post pictures of the destruction to illustrate my explanations, but I misplaced the cord to download pictures from my camera somewhere in all this jumble of stuff. I HAVE pictures, though, pictures of my kitchen completely covered in dust, all the counters piled with crap moved out of the den. There are pictures of walls and ceilings covered only in exposed insulation and decorated in dangling electric cords, pictures of my wonderfully open living space where once there was a stupid wall and a narrow, cave-like doorway. There is dust all over everything and extra furniture and toys stashed in every room of the house (example: FOUR sofas are wedged into our front living room, along with a rocking chair, the play yard, a coffee table, two end tables, a curio cabinet, a bookcase, a secretary desk, and an entertainment center. Now, it's fairly large as living rooms go, but TWELVE pieces of furniture is pushing it.)

I am very excited about the change, excited about choosing a paint color to match the blue of the kitchen and about rearranging the furniture and possibly choosing a new computer desk (I pretty much destroyed the one we're currently using; all the casters are broken off, and it falls apart when moved if you don't hold it JUST SO.) I am less thrilled about the chaos of the house, and the likelihood of it remaining chaotic for another week or so at least. But on the other hand, it's a wonderful excuse not to do any real cleaning- why bother, when everything immediately gets re-covered in dust the next day? Sure, everything will need deep cleaned when this is all over, but for now, my duties consist largely of maneuvering around piles of junk and keeping the kids out of the construction zone.

So, if I'm quiet for the next week or so, you'll understand, right? Busy sneezing every five minutes and keeping the kids from stepping on nails.

And also, because she doesn't have a blog of her own in which to announce it, I have to tell you all that my wonderful friend Jess (you know her from the comments section and also from pictures of her son, Gabriel, who was born the day before Eli) is PREGNANT! About two months along now, and feeling pretty sick, but very excited. And so am I. A new little baby to hold, a pregnancy to obsess over, and I don't have to do any of the actual vomiting or gaining weight or pushing out of heads! This is PURE FUN for me! I love you, Jess! Congratulations!