Overheard at dinner...

"TOOT!" (Use your imagination on this one)

Dad: What was that? Where's the duck?

Megan: In my butt!

Garage Progress!

In spite of Ric's five stitches and the random "orbs", we've been making progress on the garage. We have everything framed except for the floating wall we have to build behind the washer and dryer. (I'll explain why further down.)

We have a full wall separating the front from the back half of the garage - AND we've put sheetrock up on one side of that wall for some privacy if we have the garage door opened while we're working. We've also framed in the oil tank with a door for access as well. Above the oil tank will be built in storage shelves/cabinets.

Our biggest issue was what to do with the wall that is on the side of the house. The previous owners had problems with their pipes freezing because they were all under the concrete slab that the house sits on. So, they moved them. You can see them going up and across the blue wall in the picture and then they go into the house through the attic. (They still freeze every once in a while, but at least we can get to them!)

There's no way that we were going to try to move them again. So we finally decided to make a "floating wall" in front of them. We're only screwing it into the adjacent studs so that if we ever have to get to the pipes, we just have to get through the sheetrock. This will make it look a lot cleaner and hide the pipes! :)

So the last wall we have to build will go behind the washer and dryer, with panel access for the water hookups, etc. That will be a job for when both kids are out of the house for a LONG period of time so we can move the washer and dryer, take the current metal cabinet off the wall, and build the new one. In addition to that, we need to have the oil line moved from around the perimeter of the garage floor to up and over the new wall we've built.

It's going a lot slower than we'd like. But since we're not financing this or using any credit cards, we are limited to what we have available in our budget. It means a lot more to us that we're figuring out, paying for, and doing all the work ourselves. (Thanks to parents and grandparents who taught both of us *something* about being handy!)

Whew! That's the update! Much more to come! (Oh...and yes, we did get the rest of the light cans up - with gloves on!)

Our Garage: Cursed or Haunted? You decide...

First, we had an oil leak, so the tank had to be replaced.

Then, Ric was up on a ladder working on the ceiling when the sheetrock came off, slid down his back and landed perfectly so as to snap off the filter on the brand new oil tank. The result was an after hours emergency call to our oil company. We were lucky that they were able to clean it up AND it didn't require a "Haz-Mat" crew to come to the house!

And again, the other night, Ric and I were putting up recessed light cans. Ric was pulling out an old staple to move a wire and the hammer slipped. As it slipped, Ric's hand went right into the metal edge of the can and ended up cutting himself right below his thumb. Of course this was after hours too. We debated if he needed to go to the ER, but luckily, he was able to go to the Stat Care right before they closed and ended up with 5 stitches and a tetanus shot. (Whew!)

In addition to that - I've been taking pictures of our progress and I've noticed something interesting... strange "orbs" are showing up in different places in the pictures. But only when I take pictures in the garage (and not every picture has them either.) Are we haunted? Who knows. Maybe we need to call TAPS! :) It's actually kind of fun to think that we might be haunted, but it's probably dust or a reflection on the camera lens. Who knows....but take a look at these pictures. You decide...
You would think with the things that are happening, that we'd give up. Nope...we're still plugging along. You'll see the progress in another post.

What's this kid thinking?

I'm so glad that I listened to the advice I read somewhere about only purchasing the SMALLEST package when it comes to school pictures. Since you only get one chance at a good picture, who knows what you'll get?

So now I'm wondering...what was this kid thinking while the picture was taken? First of all, his shirt is all bunched up - and I didn't think it looked THAT big on him when I sent him to school.

Oh well...good thing I'm planning to take both kids in to have pictures taken in December! :)

PS - I'd like to know what you think that the caption should be for this photo. Leave a comment!

Overheard at breakfast...

While we were munching on our muffins, I was reading this article out loud to Ric. At various times during the article Ric would point to me. (You'll have to read the article to see why!)

Mom: I know - I'm reading this article because it applies to ME, but I thought you'd like to hear it too.

Ryan: But you're reading it to all of us Mom.