Checking Off the List

With each baby comes a list of desperation of things to get done before their arrival.  The big ones included the banister and hand rail, the gate at the top of the stairs, and a few gas and water valves replaced in the basement.  Check. -T

Why would you put a water valve here?

You know, right above an electrical box?

Uncle Dale came to the rescue and moved it

Gas leak?  No problem!

One more new water valve

Now Lindsey can let Mae run wild upstairs!

Sucker Mae

100 Degrees = Inside Project

We continue to work through our list of things we want to get done before Baby Schlenk arrives. Two of the projects still on the list include finishing the outside fence - this time with chain link - as well as put up more shelves in the food storage "section" of the basement. We chose the project that is done in the 72 degree temperature. Dad, Scott, and I headed to the basement to do the next basement project. We had room along the steps to add more shelves for our food storage and just storage, so we took advantage. -T

This my friends is what we call "wasted spaces."

We are pretty sure we have a ghost in our basement...but outside of that, you can tell which are the new 2x4's.
Just like Stacy's mom...here is the first piece of masonite going on

(I told Todd to put a link for the song Stacy's Mom Has Got it Goin' On.

But... inappropriate. The title is all you need to know. -L)

Too cluttered for our taste...but this is not the normal spot for the drill

If your first thought is, "It is different colors," I already know! We decided to go for a more contemporary look...actually, the other side was scratched and I thought it looked cool.

House = Not Level, All the new stuff including these shelves = Level
We even put a can on it front to back and side to side and it didn't roll at all

Sometimes we did have to motivate Dad though as he had a tendency to just stand and watch

THIS is more like it! Also, we put this shelf so Costco cereal would fit

Cluttered for just a little bit longer

I guess the ghost didn't try to get in this picture

Oh, and we removed the bottom of the stairs because I refuse to stub my toe ONE MORE TIME!

I can't figure out why they didn't cut it initially.

Isn't organization the best thing ever!?

Two bins stacked on top of each other even fit underneath

The OTHER side - room for "school supplies" among other things

With lots of room to spare!

Cleaning Out The Basement

We should have taken more "before" pictures...actually ANY "before" pictures, but you can get a sense of dozens of boxes accumulating from moving in and getting new cabinets. Plus saw dust from drilling holes for electrical lines, plus cob webs and bugs and everything else that goes with a basement. I have tremendous vision for the basement, but for the time being, we just spent a day getting most of it cleaned out. -T

This is the best "before" picture that we got - it doesn't even do it justice!

This is what we failed to take a picture of - before this - just pure boxes out to about where the picture is being taken.

Our old bathroom door - put to use!

The food storage area became so much bigger all of the sudden! There were boxes and suitcases , etc. that lined this inner wall by the pole.

After the basement flooded (we were there to save stuff from damages)

I want to put a wall back there...

...to seclude the washer/dryer into its own room.

Despite the wet, it looks so much better!