(first off...grammy, i'm so sorry i didn't blog last night to let you know that we had closed on the house! i hear you were a bit worried!)

we closed on the house by 6:45 last night! is it everyone's experience that sitting at a closing table is one terrifying experience? all those dollar signs and legal terms and hoping the selling party doesn't just say, "forget it, we want the house back!?!" i was SO relieved when we got home that i joined kenny in drinking a glass of wine to celebrate and relax. (yes, i'm still pregnant and yes, i drank wine last night. a few sips isn't going to hurt at 33 weeks along, and apparently my mom drank through all four of her pregnancies. that sounds like she was a pregnant lush - she wasn't, but she had an occassional glass of wine or beer when she was pregnant in the 70s :) ).

my mom visited yesterday mostly to watch the boys while we closed, but also to just hang out for a few hours. rowan was chomping at the bit to show her every detail of his new house. and the first thing he wanted to show her wasn't his new room (which he tells me we're going to "paint it green, mama!" every time we go into it) but the washer and the dryer. like mother like son. :)

let the unpacking and remodeling/demolition begin! this house is over 100 years old. it's held together by plaster walls and real 2x4s. a family whose decorating and showering preferences are far different than ours lived here for 38 years. the first order of business was to install a shower in the second floor bathroom. the cast iron/porcelain tub was surrounded by WOOD and WALLPAPER - not conducive for showering in. the woman who lived here used the shower in the basement. i've used the shower in the basement and i'm happy to say that soon, i won't have to anymore. it's concrete and you have to wear something on your feet to shower. and it's IN THE BASEMENT! remember, this house is over 100 years old. these old basements are cold, damp, and surrounding by concrete - great for being a basement, but not your shower!

kenny dug into our shower bulkhead this morning to see what he could see. we have no idea why the shower even had a bulkhead since the rest of the bathroom has 9 1/2 foot ceilings like the rest of the house. so, we decided today was demolition day! he pulled out all the wood wainscotting and pulled off the drywall that created the shower's bulkhead. there were shelves behind the shower plumbing (next to the tub if you're looking at the tub), also covered in the same wood with shutters for doors that he is tearing out as i type (and the boys take their nap). he took out the ancient tub spigot and tap and fortunately found an old shower pipe behind the wall which will make it easy to install a new one.

the remainder of the week will be patching and fixing and eventually (over the next year) we'll replace the lovely blue and wooden toilet and sink, either paint the rest of the wainscotting white or tear it out and drywall/paint, and tear down the lovely flowery wallpaper.

before pictures of the bathroom:
[link(pics/aprilmay_06/tub.jpg)][thumb]pics/aprilmay_06/tub.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/aprilmay_06/mcg bath.jpg)][thumb]pics/aprilmay_06/mcg bath.jpg[/thumb][/link]

painting rooms and adding furniture (a dining room table!) will come throughout the year. but a shower is a necessity. and so is a vegetable garden, which we hope to start in the next few weeks after we plan it out and install a rain barrel under one of our gutters (which we've been wanting for years!).

some people want to move into a house that is move-in ready. and while this house was certainly in move-in condition, there are things that we want to do to make it nicer, or more liveable or more "us." i like this - i like the feel of a house under construction (only if it's small projects!). i'm fortunate to have married someone who likes to do these projects himself. it saves money, and gives us both a sense that we're building our house ourselves (and hopefully on a rock, not in the sand!).