Two weeks to go

Last night I lost it. It's all finally gotten to me.

There are two weeks left until baby's due date. I should be resting, reading, not stressing out. Fat chance of that. Hubby has a goal of finishing the renovations as quickly as possible. For his week off, he is assembling and installing kitchen cabinets, then installing the new floors. He is quite intent on meeting these goals.

But then... we got hit with two storms. I can't shovel and the snowblower broke. Hubby had to shovel the driveway himself. The best I could do was clean off the cars and keep the dogs occupied.

I'm frustrated that I can't help more. I can't lift cabinets, I can't bend down to install floors. I can't (well, I can, but shouldn't) shovel. I want to sit on the couch and watch TV or nap or do nothing at all. We have been staying on our neighbors' pull-out couch because of the storms. J&J are accommodating, but it's not the same as having one's own space. We haven't been back to the rental house since Thursday. I had only packed for two days. I'm on Day 4 of living out of my suitcase. It's not cool. I need to do laundry-for everyone's sake. There's also several loads waiting for me at the rental house and a driveway's worth of shoveling 12" of crusty snow for hubby.

I'm tired and cranky and short tempered. I want my routine back, even if that routine means traveling to/from Newburyport every day.

On the bright side... I feel amazingly well for being 14 days from my due date. Baby continues to grow (about 6.5 lbs right now) making it harder and harder to bend over (snow boots are a PITA.) S/he is active and kicking. I don't think Baby has dropped as I still have a foot jabbing my rib. Ready or not, Baby is coming.

JACKHAMMERING

I'M SHOUTING AT YOU BECAUSE ERIC AND ANTHONY ARE JACKHAMMERING. THE KITCHEN FLOOR IS STUCK. 1/2 INCH THICK TILE + GROUT + WIRE MESH + SCREWS + LAYER OF LINOLEUM + 2ND LAYER OF LINOLEUM + PLYWOOD. THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS SHAKING.

AFTER THE FLOOR COMES TEARING DOWN THE WALLS TO STUDS, THEN BRING THE CEILING TO JOISTS. BABY AND I ARE HIDING ELSEWHERE AT THE MOMENT TO AVOID DUST AND THE NOISE. OUR LUCKY JOB IS TO SORT OUT THE JUNK DRAWERS. GOOD TIMES.

Housing Accommodations Needed

Last week, our house renovation took a little turn. Every room will be touched in a major way, particularly the rooms on the second floor. The roof and second floor ceiling will be removed so that new support beams and posts can be added. This means we cannot stay in the house for the duration renovation as we were hoping.

Before we make any decisions one way or another about continuing the project, we are being good doobies and investigating all options. That leads to this email... I am hoping that one of you might know of housing accommodations for Sept 15 through Feb 1 (give or take, we're mostly flexible.) The dogs will be coming with us; the place must be large dog friendly. (Indigo is 65lbs, if that helps.) We are looking for recommendations for apartment/condo rentals or sublets, house-sitting options, and/or campers/travel trailers (w/ bed and kitchen facilities, please.) The camper would be stored on our property for the winter. We would use the bathroom facilities in our house. Apartments, condos, and houses should be north of Boston for an easier commute to work. (Eric's family leaves on the South Shore, but the commute to Cambridge would be horrendous.)

Many of you will say "oh, you can stay with us" but really, you don't want two dogs, a stressed home renovator, and a very pregnant lady in your space for more than a few days. We don't want to bounce from place to place on a weekly basis. I thank you for the offer, but we are looking for longer term accommodations.

Any thoughts, ideas, etc are welcomed!

FUDGE (*&%$#@*)

We just met with the general contractor for the house renovation. The project will take about 4 months of his time (give or take and weather permitting) then about a month or more of our time to do all the finish work. If you look at a calendar, that's puts us smack in the holidays and we'll likely be working straight through Baby's arrival. Yippee! I was able to take this all in stride since it was anticipated.

Here's the kicker. We looked at the structural plans again and how they impact our living space. It is now official. Every room in the house will be touched. On top of that, our bedroom will largely suffer. There is a new beam that needs to go in to support the new roofline. It goes right over the bed. Oh, and let's not forget the posts that need to support that new beam. And new headers for the windows. It's starting to look like we won't be able to stay here while the construction is happening. I don't know yet what we're going to do. 2-3 months is too long to impose upon friends. And family lives to far away. One option is to put the bed on the three season porch (with new curtains and a space heater.) Another option is to find an apartment with a short term lease.

Oh, I almost forgot the budget issues! How could I? The GC came in with a budget that is the same, if not more, than our total financing package. And this only covers the contractors' time! We are purchasing 85% of the materials. Combined, these two costs puts the project budget WAY over. We have some creative thinking to do about reducing scope and telling the GC that he needs to cut his costs.

This is how to make a pregnant lady very unhappy.

A Tale of Two Additions

To paraphrase Dickens, it is the best of times and it is the worse of times. Well, not really.

Hubby and I are expecting our first baby, due in early/mid-January 2009. This is something we've wanted for a while and our wish was granted. We are very excited as are our friends and extended families. This is the first grandchild on my side and the fifth on hubby's. We are choosing to keep the gender unknown until the birth. How many real surprises can you have in life? I'll fill you in on the pregnancy itself in other posts.

At this same time, we are about to undergo a huge home renovation and addition. We've been planning this since January and due to various setbacks, we're finally breaking ground at the end of August. The goal is to have the foundation dug, addition framed and "buttoned" by mid-October, then finish all the interior work finished by year's end. Family and friends: consider this the official notice that we will be calling upon you frequently in the coming months to help with demolition, floor installation, cabinet hanging, nailing trim, and painting. The original plan was that Hubby and I would do most of the work, but I'm now out of commission for a very good reason.

Somehow, it will all get done. Wish us luck!