Home Improvements

Allison is in full-swing with pre-school. She's the only girl...I still don't think she's noticed. Maybe as the year goes on they'll add another girl to the mix. I hope she doesn't get pounded on too much...but, then again, she's pretty tough. Here she is on the first day.

My dad arrived here on Sunday for a 2-week home improvement project: putting a bathroom in our basement. Here's what the basement looked like before he got here (or, rather, the utility room of the basement where the washer/drier and rough-ins are):

The picture isn't that great but it shows how the current door opens to the w/d. To the right is a shelf and hidden on that side are the furnace, water heater, and radon mitigation. Where the shelf is a new wall will be put in, closing off those industrial things in order to meet the code for a bathroom. To the left of the w/d is where all our "baby gear" was being stashed and where the rough-ins are for the shower, toilet, and the pipe for the sink. The bathroom will share its space with the w/d, but it's a big space that won't involve looking at the furnace, etc. anymore. My dad's made a lot of progress so far, putting up the framing for the wall as we speak. He had to rent a special drill to bore through the concrete to get the shower drain in, something he wasn't anticipating. I guess the concrete is super-tough down there, which is good since it's the basement of our house. We want it to be strong! This weekend Paul will join in the effort, anxious to help but hasn't been able to do much so far because of work. I think Paul's dad might even come down and help as he put a bathroom in their basement so he knows a lot. It's been fun having him around...the kids love it. He's also helped by taking one of them off my hands here and there. Thomas loves going to the store so I might have to have him take him more often!

I'm still feeling ok. I'm 12 weeks now...the second trimester starts next week. I have good moments and bad ones, compounded by Thomas waking up due to molar teething and a recent cold. I try to nap to make up the lost rest time...and I definitely relax at night. Hopefully the second trimester will follow the same trend and be easier and leave me feeling more energized!